Keeping the momentum going immediately after beating a local rival is not an easy task.
But the Handley High School football team hopes last week’s 14-7 win over Sherando is just part of a beautiful finish to its season.
Handley (7-1, 5-1 Northwestern District, No. 3 in Region 4D ratings) faces another tough challenge this week when it travels to James Wood (6-2, 3-2 district, No. 5) for a 7 p.m. game on Friday at Kelican Stadium.
A victory will give the Judges ownership of the Barr-Lindon Crimson Apple, which is awarded by The Winchester Star to the team that fares best in Winchester-Frederick County games. A Colonels win will give the “Apple Cup” to Sherando.
Handley is in the second step of a rare situation, but one that took place in the last two-year football scheduling cycle for Milbrook — ending the regular season with three straight Winchester-Frederick County football games.
Last year’s injury-plagued Pioneers went 0-3 against their slate. In 2023, Millbrook beat Sherando, lost to Handley, defeated James Wood, then lost to Handley again in the first round of the playoffs.
Handley coach Jake Smith said on Tuesday it was important for the team to celebrate the win over Sherando and enjoy it over the weekend. But Handley senior linebacker/tight end Jo-Jo Johnson did say after Friday’s game that the Judges had more work to do, and that’s been emphasized this week.
“You see it in the NFL, you see it in college football — there’s a big rivalry game, the team wins, and they go into the next week, and they don’t look like the same program,” Smith said. “We’re trying to avoid that this week, and so far, the guys have done a good job with focus.”
The Colonels know how difficult it can be to follow up a rivalry win. On Oct. 10, James Wood pulled away in the fourth quarter to beat Millbrook 54-35 in a high-scoring affair, then lost the following week 28-27 at Liberty when the Eagles recovered a fumble with 4:01 left, then scored a touchdown and a two-point conversion with 55 seconds left for the final points. Friday will mark James Wood’s first game since after having off last week.
“You come off a big win against a local team where the players know each other, they’ve played rec league against each other or been on the same team as each other … [players] seem to be more excited to play when you’re playing against local teams,” Colonels coach Todd Wilson said. “But the biggest thing that cost us the [Liberty] game is turnovers.
“As usual, if you turn the ball over, you’re not going to win a lot of football games. We had two costly turnovers against Liberty. When our defense was doing a good job of getting them off the field is when our offense was turning the ball over. In the first half, it wasn’t doing a very good job of getting stops.”
The Colonels’ defense has done a pretty good job of that overall this year (264.8 yards and 20.1 points allowed per game), but it has given up 84 points (49 to Sherando) in its two Apple Cup games. Last year, Handley set series records against James Wood for most points and the biggest margin of victory in their 63-game history together in a 57-16 win.
Handley’s Triston Darling ran for 193 yards and two touchdowns in that victory. The sophomore quarterback was dressed to play for the first time this season last week against Sherando, though he did not play. Smith did not have any specific plans for the 2024 First Team All-Region 4D All-Purpose selection when asked about him on Tuesday.
“Triston’s been practicing,” Smith said. “We’ll see [what happens with him].”
Outside of a rough game against Kettle Run, junior quarterback Duncan Hensler has done an excellent job guiding the Judges. He’s completed 72 of 122 passes for 1,039 yards, 17 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Hensler’s top receiver is Will Yoder (31 catches, 462 yards, six TDs).
Running back Jamir Washington leads the area with 827 yards on 105 carries, with five TDs on the ground. He also has 165 yards and three TDs on 14 catches. He ran for 196 yards on 35 carries against the Warriors.
Washington was a wide receiver before this season and was playing a hybrid receiver/running back role until becoming Handley’s clear No. 1 running back in Week 3 against Brentsville.
“I think Jamir has really adapted well to the running back position,” Smith said. “He’s starting to kind of settle in there. Our o-line did a great job of creating seams [against Sherando], and he did a great job of finding those seams.
“[Against James Wood], I think we’ve got to continue to run the football. In the passing game, we’ll have opportunities in the passing game that present themselves, and we just need to execute those when they arise.”
James Wood’s defense is led by linebackers Xavier Ledford (73 tackles) and Logan Lafolette (63 tackles, five sacks), defensive back Kaden McCullough (64 tackles) and defensive lineman Heston LaRue (48 tackles).
“We need to try and get some fourth-down stops, try and get them off the field, and not give up big, explosive plays,” Wilson said. “That’s what hurt us [against Liberty]. They were able to convert on some long distances for first downs.”
Smith was impressed with the speed at which Handley played against Sherando, closing quickly on whoever had the football. The Judges — who are allowing 10.6 points and 136.1 yards per game — held Sherando to 153 yards, nearly 200 below its season average coming into the game.
Handley will certainly need to close in on James Wood quarterback Owen Neal when the ball is in his hands. Neal ranks fourth in the area in rushing (101 carries for 660 yards) and first in rushing touchdowns (13), and his ability to buy time behind the line of scrimmage when he needs to before passing is part of why he leads the area in passing with 1,766 yards and 19 touchdowns while throwing the fewest interceptions (four). Neal has completed 80 of 125 passes for 1,766 yards.
“He’s a great player for them,” Smith said. “They’re just so empty [in the backfield] so much, and they throw the ball all the time. When Neal is in the pocket and has time, he throws a great ball. When things break down and he has to scramble and get outside of the pocket, he always finds a way to get the ball to somebody. It’s really hard to cover for five to six seconds at a time as a defensive back. On the scramble and ad-lib plays, he has the arm strength to throw it anywhere on the field.
“Obviously, containing him will be really big on Friday night. We’ve got to make sure we bring him down as a ball carrier and as a passer. He breaks a lot of tackles. He’s a big kid.”
James Wood is also led by wide receivers Aidric Yurish (26 catches, 648 yards, six TDs) and Xavier Price (27 catches, 607 yards, 11 TDs) and running back Jeremiah Hodel (64 carries, 458 yards, five TDs).
Handley’s defense is led by Johnson (58 tackles, 12.5 for a loss), linebacker Trent Gomez (47 tackles) and defensive lineman Carson Green (39 tackles, 11.5 for a loss).
“They’re big up front,” Wilson said. “Jo-Jo is a really good football player, but I think [Gomez] is just as good. He flies around to the ball as well.”
Wilson said sustaining drives and taking advantage of red-zone opportunities will be key for the Colonels, and executing well on special teams. James Wood has missed three extra points in the last two games.
“We need to limit mistakes, whether that’s penalties or turnovers,” Wilson said.
If Handley wins Friday, the final game against Millbrook would not matter in the Apple Cup standings. Even with a loss, a 2-1 Handley team would have the head-to-head tiebreaker over 2-1 Sherando. Both James Wood and Millbrook would be 1-2 in that scenario.
The Warriors will retain ownership of the Crimson Apple if James Wood beats Handley because of tiebreakers. In that scenario, 2-1 Sherando will get the trophy over 2-1 James Wood in a head-to-head tiebreaker situation if Handley loses to Millbrook (the Judges and Pioneers would each be 1-2), or get the trophy over 2-1 James Wood and 2-1 Handley if Handley beats Millbrook. In the event of a three-way tie, the previous year’s winner of the Apple Cup keeps the trophy, and Sherando won it last year.
— Contact Robert Niedzwiecki at rniedzwiecki@winchesterstar.com
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