Colonels Run Ragged Over Broadway In 21-14 Win

Posted: October 4, 2014

By MARK SAWYER

Special to The Winchester Star

WINCHESTER — For the James Wood football fans that were worried about how the Colonels were going to attack the defense of visiting Broadway Friday night with senior quarterback Brady Hepner out due to an injury and sophomore Dade Carroll making his first varsity start, the game plan was simple — run the football.

And when the Colonels said run the ball they didn’t mean establish the run, or use the run to set up their passing attack, they meant run the ball — all night.

James Wood ran 48 plays from scrimmage and each and every one of them was a running play. Not once did they ask Carroll to pass, nor did he even drop back to attempt a pass.

But when you gain 333 yards on 48 carries for almost seven yards a pop, why would you even think about throwing the ball?

Getting most of the work was Wood’s leading rusher junior running back Tyler Bishop. Coming into the game, Bishop had 186 yards in five games, and he picked up almost half that on his first carry Friday night.

Bishop rushed for a career-high 263 yards on 18 carries and scored twice, leading the Colonels to a confidence-building 21-14 non-district win over Broadway at Wood’s Kelican Stadium.

It was the Colonels’ third win in their last four games, with the only setback being a two-point loss last week to Fauquier. It also snapped Broadway’s three-game winning streak.

“No passes thrown, that’s got to be a record,” said James Wood coach Mark McHale. “Even Walter Barr threw two passes a game. Our formula, we told them last Saturday, was that we had to out-rush Broadway. If we out-rushed them we’d be fine.

“The kids fought and played hard. The defense really improved. This is a big win, it’s great for those kids. Their confidence is growing.”

After the Colonels defense forced a three-and-out on the Gobblers first possession of the game, it took Wood less than a minute to score.

On the second play from scrimmage Bishop broke free through the line, sprinted far side and raced 85 yards for the first score of the game. The snap on the extra point was mishandled and the Colonels had to settle for a 6-0 advantage.

Broadway (3-2) wasted very little time in answering the Colonel score. Thanks to a short kick and a good return on the ensuing kick, the Gobblers took over possession at midfield.

Nine plays and 50 yards later, Broadway quarterback Kirk Rygol hit Tristen Boyer in the corner of the end zone with a 24-yard scoring pass to give the Gobblers a 7-6 lead.

During its three-game winning streak, Broadway had only gave up 14 points a game, so it looked as if the Gobblers were going to settle down and possibly take control of the game.

However, that’s far from what happened. On their first possession of the second quarter, the Colonels showed that not only can they strike quickly, but they can also put together impressive drives as well.

With 8:48 left in the half, Wood took over on its own 26-yard line and just started handing the ball to a trio of running backs. And chunk by chunk, the Colonels starting moving down the field. A 15-yard run by Brandon Davis and a 27-yard gain by Bishop put the Colonels in Broadway territory.

Eventually Wood (3-3) got it down to the 1-yard line where Landon Rutherford hammered it in, giving the Colonels the lead back. After a defensive penalty on the extra point, the Colonels rolled the dice and came up a winner when Rutherford again found his way into the end zone for the 2-point conversion and a 14-7 lead at the half.

The teams played to a stalemate in the third, but as soon as the fourth quarter began Bishop got going again.

With 11:12 left in the game, the Gobblers pinned the Colonels back on their own 15, hoping to get a turnover or at least a stop so they could get in range for a tying touchdown.

However, the Colonels broke away from their goal line and in four plays, three runs by Bishop, they had made it out to their 45. On the next play Bishop carried and broke free into the Gobbler secondary. Fifty-five yards later, Bishop was over 200 yards for the game and had his second score, giving the Colonels a 21-7 cushion.

“It just felt good to do it,” said Bishop about rushing for a career high. “We did what we needed to do. We’re just going to go out there game by game and do the things we need to do to win.

“We think we have a good chance this year. We just need to stay focused and practice hard each week.”

Last week the Colonels gave up 204 yards rushing and that was a point of emphasis this week during practice.

What a difference a week makes. The Colonels had countless quarterback sacks and held the Gobblers’ high-powered running attack to 61 yards on 27 carries.

“They played a great game. No excuses, none, they played on the same field in the same conditions we did,” said Broadway coach Brad Lutz. “They’re a good football team, our players respect them as an opponent and at no point did we overlook them.

“We’ve still got a lot to play for. We kick back up in the Valley schedule next week. We have a tough opponent in Waynesboro and we’ll be ready.”

Broadway got its final touchdown after a short James Wood punt set the Gobblers up in great shape at the Colonel 17-yard line. A quick pass and three runs got the Gobblers into the end zone after a three-yard run by senior Austin Delawder to cut the deficit to 21-14 with 3:56 left in the game.