By Robert Edmonds - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

WINCHESTER -- James Wood played the second of its three West Virginia opponents when it hosted Musselman Friday night.

The Colonels' smash-mouth defense almost shut down the Applemen offensive attack for the entire game. And with the defense allowing the Colonels offense plenty of opportunities, they made certain to make the best of it. With a lethal combination of speed and power, the Colonels' running attack took advantage by scoring early and then wore out the Musselman defense en route to a 28-7 victory.

"I am just real happy with our effort all-around tonight," James Wood coach Mike Bolin said. "We knew they were a physical, aggressive team and they came out and hit us hard early. Our guys didn't back down, though, and they did what we asked them to do and executed on the fundamentals that we preached all week in practice. I am just very pleased with our guys tonight."

Early in the first quarter, the Colonels defense pounced on a fumble by Applemen quarterback Korey Jackson to give the offense great field position starting at the Musselman 32-yard line.

On third down, an Applemen pass interference penalty kept the Colonels' drive alive and spotted the ball at the 12. Two plays later, McGreevy rumbled into the end zone for a 3-yard touchdown run to give his team the 7-0 lead.

"We definitely got some momentum after that first touchdown," James Wood's Cory Schrock said. "Our linemen did a great job of staying on their blocks and driving. We practiced that all week with our blocking and opening up holes and they really did the job tonight." When the second quarter began, it appeared that Musselman was primed to cut into the lead after a pair of large gains. A 13-yard run by Maverick Keller was followed by a Jackson completion to Aron Shiley to move to the Colonels' 19.

Following three consecutive stops, the Applemen offense opted to go for it on fourth-and-2. The Colonels defense held once again and James Wood took over at its own 11. Wood continued to go to its running game on the possession. This time, senior Chris Skinner would lead the way.

"Our front eight on defense were absolutely fundamentally sound tonight," Bolin said. "They all did a great job of making reads and shedding their blocks and if you are able to do those two things, you are going to be successful."

Skinner carried the ball twice for 26 yards and then quarterback Matt Copley hit Chad Potter for a 27-yard completion to quickly get into Musselman territory. Another carry for Skinner was all the Colonels would need as the back ran off the right side, finding daylight as he struck paydirt 27 yards later to cap an 89-yard drive by the Wood offense and give the team a two-touchdown lead.

Musselman opened the second half with a quick score, but James Wood responded quickly. The Colonels offense was forced to punt on the ensuing drive, but Musselman's return man muffed the punt and McGreevy pounced on the ball to allow his team to retake possession at the 35.

"Our defense was fantastic," Copley said. "Last week they almost got a shutout and they did almost the same thing tonight. They were physical and came out early and shut them down all night."

Schrock's 10-yard touchdown run swung the momentum in Woods' favor for good. The Colonels added another score in the fourth as the running game pounded away at the Applemen defense. On third-and-long, Copley delivered a strike to Potter for a 23-yard score on a slant pass to set the final score.

The Colonels racked up 184 yards on the ground in the win as they improved to 2-0 on the season.