JUDGES, COLONELS COMING ON STRONG

November 4, 2011
By Robert Niedzwiecki
The Winchester Star

WINCHESTER- James Wood coach Mike Bolin had just spent three hours dealing with a rain that had picked up in intensity as the game wore on, but as he made his way back to the visitor's locker room at Fauquier High School he seemed like he was ready for more Friday night.

"I feel like going for a run," said Bolin amidst a small group of coaches and media. "You feel like going for a run?"

Bolin was understandably pumped after a 38-23 win over the Falcons, and more than 50 miles away in Winchester, Handley coach Tony Rayburn was expressing positive thoughts of his own following a 26-9 win over Millbrook.

My, how things have changed.

James Wood (4-5, 1-2 Northwestern District) and Handley (4-5, 2-1) have spent most of the year in search of a winning recipe, and now they're cooking with gusto.

Both the Colonels and Judges will carry two-game winning streaks into their 1 p.m matchup Saturday at the Handley Bowl. It's the 50th all-time meeting in a series the Judges lead 32-16-1.

"It should be a good game, because you've got two teams probably playing at their best," Handley coach Tony Rayburn said.

A victory in the Handley-James Wood series is always big, but a Judges win would carry a little more significance.

Bolin's understanding is that the Colonels - ranked seventh in Region II Division 4 - are assured a playoff spot, so the only thing they might do is change playoff positioning.

But a win will put Handley in a tie for first place in the district, making them Northwestern District champions for the fourth straight year.

It will also lock up a playoff spot. The Judges are ranked sixth in Region II Division 3. With three teams ranked within two-tenths of a point behind Handley, it could possibly lose its hold on a playoff spot with a loss, though each of those three teams (Fauquier, Skyline and Western Albemarle) are facing teams with better records and higher rankings.

"We don't want to back in to the playoffs," Rayburn said.

No, it's all about going forward, and both of these squads seem to have righted their respective ships in close losses to Sherando. The Colonels have beaten Millbrook (14-7) and Fauquier since a late rally fell just short against the Warriors (21-14) on Oct. 7, and the Judges have beaten Skyline (24-0) and Millbrook since falling in overtime to Sherando (20-17) Oct. 14.

Rayburn was particularly pleased with the play of his offensive line against Millbrook, which paved the way for a season-high 274 yards as well as a 60-yard touchdown run (Chris Skinner) and a 58-yard touchdown run (Dexter Sloane).

Handley also got a 60-yard interception return for a touchdown (Daquanta Pannell) against the Pioneers, and two interceptions that went for touchdowns (Tanner Rutherford, Erik Bearer) helped key James Wood's win against the Falcons. From quarterback Jake Lewin, the Colonels also got a 91-yard touchdown run and 42-yard touchdown pass.

Those are just some of the big plays that Bolin said has made a big difference in the past two weeks, because they hadn't been getting those plays before.

Big plays could make a difference this week too, but both teams will probably need to grind out some yards in order to set them up.

"Their secondary is as good as we've seen all year, and up front they're tough too," Rayburn said.

Outside of Lewin's touchdown run last week, the Colonels had just 90 yards on 41 carries, but Bolin didn't find that discouraging because Fauquier put as many as nine players in the box to stop the run.

Because of Handley's pass rush, the Colonels could use some consistency this week.

Though Rayburn thinks the Colonels have the best set of receivers in the district with T.J. Bruce, Chad Potter and Mel Savarese (a combined 65 catches for 849 yards and eight touchdowns), they need the ball to get to them to be effective. Handley has 43 sacks and 15 interceptions, both area-leading totals.

"We're not protecting as well as we can," Bolin said. "Jake still has to scramble a little too much."

"We've got to mix up our coverages, execute well, and we've got to tackle," Rayburn said.

A .500 record wasn't what these two teams were aiming for at the beginning of the year. But a three-game winning streak heading into the playoffs won't be something a lot of teams can claim.

"We're looking forward to [the game]," Bolin said. "We'll see what happens."

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