Wood faces test on the road

September 17, 2010

By Robert Niedzwiecki
The Winchester Star       

WINCHESTER- For James Wood High School football coach Mike Bolin, last week's 28-7 win over Musselman (W.Va.) was about as good as it gets - he was so pleased with the effort and execution, he gave his team the day off from practice Saturday.

From the sound of it, Hedgesville coach Rich Thomaselli would love to do something similar.

The Eagles (1-2), who host James Wood (2-0) at 7 p.m. tonight at Mumaw Stadium, have played well enough under their first-year coach. A week after a season-opening win against Washington (W.Va.), Hedgesville gave a Clarke County team used to regular season dominance all it could handle before succumbing 29-21. Last week was an example that the team still has some growing to do, however. Hedgesville fell behind 24-0 after one quarter in a 37-14 loss to Mountain Ridge (Md.). The Eagles wound up outgaining the Miners 382-377, but their penchant for penalties and turnovers (Hedgesville is averaging six per game) wound up hurting them.

"[Mountain Ridge] took it to us," Thomaselli said. "We went down, and by the time we stood back up we were down 24 points.

"James Wood's a big, physical team, but Washington moved the ball on them in spurts, and Musselman moved the ball on them in spurts. We just have to be patient."

Though he's only a freshman, the Eagles feel they have a better chance of doing that with new quarterback Troy Markley. Against Mountain Ridge in his first start, he threw for 240 yards and rushed for 40 more, settling down as the game went on.

In giving up just seven points and 182 yards per game - both tops among area schools - the Colonels have done everything Bolin could ask for on defense. Against Hedgesville's deceptive veer attack - which is averaging five yards per rush - he just wants them to keep doing the same things.

"We've just got to play smart and fundamentally sound," Bolin said. "Each player has got to do his job. He can't worry about what anyone else does. He's got to complete his responsibility every single play, and he's got to to trust everybody else to do the same thing. It's a solid offense, and if we deviate a little bit from what our responsibilities are, they'll exploit it."

On offense, Bolin said he'd still like to see better blocking from his line. But James Wood scored four touchdowns on six trips inside the 30 last week, and a running attack led by Cory Schrock (145 yards, 5.2 average, two touchdowns) is humming along with 202.5 yards per game.

"They're a situational defense," Bolin said. "They think offensively on defense. They're going to try and figure out, 'What would they do in that situation?' and they're going to make the call to stop that play.

"They want to stop the run just like any other team. They play multiple fronts. You've got to be safe offensively and you've got to call plays that work against multiple fronts. If we get the same type of effort the kids had Friday, we'll be OK. If not, we'll be in for a dogfight."

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