November 8, 2010

By DAVID SELIG

The Winchester Star

WINCHESTER- The James Wood football field house was, understandably, a somber place following Friday night's 30-7 loss to rival Handley.

But after all the players and most of the coaches had left, head coach Mike Bolin had one resounding nugget of optimism.

"We're excited about getting into the playoffs," Bolin said, his voice growing louder as he finished discussing the details of the painful loss. "Last year we kind of backed in, and we came out and played pretty well in the playoffs. ...

"Shoot, last time we were the last seed, and we had a big upset win. There's no reason we can't this year."

For the second straight year, all four of the Winchester-Frederick County teams have qualified for the Region II playoffs, and each will play a quarterfinal game this week.

And, as he suggested, Bolin's Colonels will again need to pull off a significant upset to advance.

With the eighth and final seed in Division 4, James Wood (6-4) will travel to Mineral to face No. 1 Louisa (10-0) at 7:30 on Friday night.

The Colonels were seeded sixth last season - when only six teams in each division made the playoffs - and they upset No. 3 Loudoun County 27-25 for their first postseason win since 1970.
After losing to Millbrook this past week, No. 5 Sherando (8-2) will also be hitting the road Friday, paying a return visit to Ashburn to face No. 4 Broad Run (9-1), the team that defeated the Warriors 36-13 in last year's regional final. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

If Sherando and Wood both win, they'll meet in the playoffs for the third time in four years.

The other Region II Division 4 matchups are No. 7 Orange (7-3) at No. 2 Briar Woods (8-2) and No. 6 Fauquier (8-2) at No. 3 Liberty (9-1).

After winning a share of the Northwestern District title Friday night, Handley and Millbrook will each host games in the Division 3 playoffs.

The Judges (6-4) are the top seed and will welcome No. 8 Western Albemarle (4-6) to the Handley Bowl at 1 p.m. on Saturday.

No. 3 Millbrook (6-4) will host No. 6 Park View (4-6) at 7 on Friday night. The Patriots beat the Pioneers 45-28 Sept. 3 in Sterling.

The other Region II Division 4 matchups are No. 7 Dominion (4-6) at No. 2 Warren County (7-3) and No. 5 Goochland (6-4) at No. 4 Monticello (6-4).

The Region B playoffs don't begin until next week.

Clarke County finishes its regular season Friday at home against Madison County (7:30 p.m.). The Eagles can win a share of the Bull Run District title with a victory.

- Contact David Selig at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.