Colonels boasting potential at RBs

By Tommy Keeler Jr. - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

WINCHESTER -- James Wood coach Mike Bolin knows the Colonels will have a tough time replacing graduated running back Brock Lockhart with just one person. So, the Colonels plan on using several players to fill the void left by Lockhart, who ran for an area-best 2,016 yards last year.

The Colonels are trying out several players for the role and Bolin said he's not sure how many they will use during a game.

"We're going to run as many guys as we have confidence in to run the ball," Bolin said. "We're going to run as many guys as we can."

Bolin said he compares this year's running backs to the ones the team had in 2007, when Hunter Rutherford, Randy Brannon and Tyler Orndorff shared the load.

Bolin said Joel McGreevy, Nathan Maurer, Chris Skinner and Aaron Clark were among those vying for the running back spots, while Cory Schrock will return at starting fullback. Bolin said it's too early to tell who will start or be among the top backs. "Every single day somebody steps up and does something different," Bolin said.

Another big hole for the Colonels to fill is at quarterback. Trae Tinsman, who threw for 1,249 yards last year, has graduated, but Bolin is excited about the team's new quarterback -- Matt Copley.

Copley, a senior, saw very little time last season, but, according to Bolin, has looked sharp in the preseason.

"He's worked really hard in the offseason to get ready," Bolin said. "It wasn't a strange thing to come up here this summer and see him and a couple guys throwing the ball around. He understands what it takes to play at quarterback."

Bolin said Copley can run with the ball, and they plan to roll out more with him and let him make some plays with his feet.

The loss of both Lockhart and Tinsman, Bolin said, has forced the team to come together even more and make up for what the two standouts did.

"It's a different type of attitude this year," Bolin said. "I think the kids are more focused. I think the kids realize that we don't have those two or three guys that we can kind of rely on. Everybody's gotta step up."

Another open position is at place-kicker. For the last five years there has been a Lloyd kicking for James Wood. Andrew and Zach Lloyd have been the kickers, and for the first time during Bolin's tenure he won't have a Lloyd to kick for him.

Chandler DeHaven and Peyton Hottel are currently battling for the kicking spot.

"They both want it," Bolin said. "It's a dead heat right now. We're going to go with who's the most consistent."

Bolin said one big change this season is Frederick County Public Schools not having freshman programs. The Colonels had only 18 freshmen come out for the team this year.

The first day of practice didn't go as well as Bolin would have liked, as he and his coaching staff adjusted to the lack of a freshman program. However, on the first Saturday of practice, the team's first day in full gear, the Colonels had an outstanding practice.

Bolin said the players had a lot of fun, finally being able to hit each other. They also did a drill called the Tennessee Drill, which places each of the players in one-on-one matchups.

"I've never had as much fun at a practice as I did [Aug. 7]," Bolin said. "They were lighting each other up. They'd stick a hit on somebody, and then they'd pick 'em up and pat 'em on the head."

James Wood has made the playoffs for the last three years, and won its first playoff game in almost 40 years last season.

Despite losing a lot to graduation, Bolin said his players still have high expectations this year.

"I don't think people expect much out of this year, because of what we lost," he said. "But we don't have any lower expectations than we've ever had. We expect to win football games. We expect to play hard and we expect to compete. We don't settle for anything less for our team."