August 27, 2011
By Mark Sawyer
Special to The Winchester Star

WINCHESTER- In a game filled with huge plays both offensively and defensively, James Wood senior linebacker Christian Bean came up with the biggest of the night - if not his career - Friday night to cap an incredible defensive stand and lift the Colonels to a heart stopping, season-opening 24-21 non-district victory over Heritage.

Bean's sack of Heritage quarterback Austin Nelson on third-and-goal from the Colonels' one-yard line with just 12 seconds left on the clock forced the Pride to rush their kicking unit onto the field and attempt a hurried field goal for the tie. The kick sailed wide left and the Colonels took over.

"Christian Bean - two words", James Wood head coach Mike Bolin said after the game. "He stepped up when it counted and made a huge play. I thought they mismanaged their timeouts there at the end and then to rush your field-goal team on the field, that's tough."

Bean's sack was the first of the game for the Colonels but only one of several huge defensive plays throughout the contest including three turnovers, and three goal-line stands.

"Our backs were against the wall and we needed a play," Bean said. "We just played defense like we were supposed to and that's what we got. We stepped up when we needed to."

"You have to expect anything on the goal line. I knew we had a short time, and I hadn't made a play. We've got to make plays on the goal line, that's where it matters most."
What was a defensive struggle through the first three quarters exploded into an offensive showcase in the fourth largely because of Nelson and the Heritage passing attack.

Trailing 21-17, James Wood (1-0) rallied to regain the lead when senior running back Aaron Clark broke loose on the near side and raced 30 yards into the end zone with 3:40 remaining on the game clock with what would eventually be the game winner.

Clark's scamper capped an eight play, 79-yard drive, all on the ground which followed up a pair of quick Pride touchdowns.

On the ensuing drive with plenty of time left on the clock, Heritage (0-1) almost made the Colonels pay dearly. Nelson led an 11-play drive that started at the Heritage 30 and the Pride raced right down the field.

On second-and-eight from the Wood nine-yard line, Nelson ran a draw right up the middle of the field and was stopped just short of the goal line, but it set up first-and-goal from the one.

A quarterback sneak and a halfback draw were both stopped short of the end zone, leaving the ball on the one-yard line for third-and-goal to set up Bean's sack followed by the missed field goal.

"This is a tough one to lose," Heritage coach Steve Williams said. "They did a good job scouting us. They're a great squad and they run the ball real well. There were a lot of positives and a lot of good came out of this loss. This was a learning experience and we took a big step forward tonight."

In the first half the Colonels' defense twice forced Nelson to turn the ball over (one interception and one fumble), stopping potential scoring drives and changing the tone of the game.

With 1:49 left in the third quarter, Wood capitalized on a Tanner Rutherford interception. Rutherford's pick set the Colonels up on the Pride 26-yard line.

Quarterback Jake Lewin plunged in from one yard out, capping a seven-play drive and giving Wood what appeared to be a commanding 17-7 lead at the time.

Clark led the Wood ground attack rushing for 136 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries.

"We came out fired up and we wanted it more then they did," Clark said. "That touchdown was for my grandma. The offensive line blocked great tonight and I had confidence that the defense would stop them. They got some big turnovers and those were big momentum swings."

Clark's backfield mate, and Christian Bean's twin brother Mark rushed for 64 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries. Nelson threw for 216 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 87 more to lead the Pride.