Colonels Stun Judges In 27-21 Overtime Win

Posted: November 8, 2014

By ROBERT NIEDZWIECKI

The Winchester Star

WINCHESTER — With James Wood up by a touchdown and Handley 56 yards away from the end zone with less than 40 seconds remaining, Colonels coach Mark McHale turned and made an all-too-predictable comment of “It doesn’t get any better than this.”

McHale turned out to be a little premature with that statement, but that was OK. A shocking turn of events just gave James Wood a couple more opportunities to show its collective heart, which seems to just keep getting bigger and bigger by the week.

James Wood junior running back Tyler Bishop busted around the right side for a 10-yard touchdown run to end the game in overtime and set off pandemonium on the grass of Jerry L. Kelican Stadium.

The Colonels’ 27-21 win over Handley locked up James Wood’s first playoff berth since 2011 and gave the Colonels (5-5, 2-2 Northwestern District) a rare win in their series with their historic rival.

James Wood had not beaten Handley (4-6, 1-3) — which was knocked out of playoff contention with the loss — since 2007, and Friday night’s win was just its second in 22 meetings with the Judges since 1992.

“From the past two years on varsity when I went 1-9 [each year], if someone had told me then that we’d go 5-5 and go to the playoffs, I would think that wasn’t possible,” said quarterback Brady Hepner, standing outside the James Wood locker room about 15 minutes after Colonel students rushed the field to celebrate with the team. “No one would have thought that after the last two years.

“I don’t think anyone would have thought we’d come out and have a goal-line stand against Millbrook [to win], and go out and play a hard-nosed game with Handley and beat them. We shocked some people.”

The Colonels were nearly the ones who got shocked.

Down 21-14 with about 38 seconds left (the Kelican Stadium scoreboard was not operational) and starting at the Judges’ own 44, Handley quarterback Will Dearing needed only 25 seconds to guide his team to the tying score.

Dearing’s 45-yard bomb down the right sideline to Justin Washington to the James Wood 3-yard line was the big blow and silenced the Colonel crowd to the point where you could have heard a pin drop on the home bleachers, and Dearing followed that with a 3-yard fade for a TD to Washington, with Nick Marshall’s extra point tying the game at 21-21 with 13 seconds left.

The turn of events could have been the impetus for a long offseason for James Wood. After all, the Colonels had given everything they had after taking over at their own 33 with 5:03 left down 14-13, as they converted a fourth-and-3 from the Handley 35 on their 67-yard TD drive that put them up 21-14 following a two-point conversion, only to see their edge wiped out.

But the Colonels held their ground on the first possession of overtime, as Nick Manuel broke up a fade pass intended for Dontae Mauck on fourth-and-goal from the 3.

The ball then went to James Wood, and most fittingly, to Bishop. After starting forward he quickly bounced right, and he proceeded to fight off a couple Handley defenders over the last 5 yards en route to the end zone, the final play of a spectacular night in which Bishop rushed for 221 yards and three TDs on 36 carries.

“The line played great in the first half, and that continued through the second,” said Bishop, who fought through cramps in the third quarter. “That was great, because if we wouldn’t have had that we probably wouldn’t be where we are right now.”

After forcing a three-and-out on Handley’s first possession of the game, James Wood announced its physical presence with authority by launching a 13-play, 55-yard, 6:39 drive that featured 12 Bishop runs and was capped by a 2-yard Bishop touchdown run.

Bishop ran for 117 yards in the first half as James Wood went into the break with a 13-7 lead.

“The O-line and the fullbacks blocked their butts off and Bishop ran hard, and that was the plan,” McHale said. “We wanted to use up time, and they did a great job. And that left [Handley] without possessions, which was big, because they’re good and they’ve got skilled people.”

Handley didn’t have all its skill players at the game’s outset though. Handley coach Tony Rayburn declined to explain why, but the team’s leading receiver in Mauck and leading running back in D.J. Frisby did not play in the first half. That allowed James Wood to double-team Washington (three catches for 70 yards and a TD), who was not targeted on any of Dearing’s seven pass attempts in the first half.

At first, it looked like their return to the game might make the difference for Handley in the second half. Mauck, who is also Handley’s second-leading tackler, helped force James Wood to punt after six plays to open the second half, and two plays later Frisby’s first touch of the game resulted in a 60-yard TD run that put Handley up 14-13 with 7:58 left in the third.

But James Wood showed its fortitude by settling things down until Dearing (14 of 23 for 177 yards) hit Washington in the final minute, and then the Colonels stepped up huge in overtime.

The Colonels’ pass defense was outstanding Friday night, as their frequent double teams of Washington and Mauck — who did not have a catch after coming in with 42 for 887 yards and 13 TDs — kept Handley from getting into a rhythm on offense.

“They did what they needed to do, and we didn’t,” Rayburn said. “We couldn’t stop [the running game].”

Dearing gave James Wood a lot of credit for how they played defensively and stepping up when they needed to. He was glad Handley persisted despite dealing with its own adversity.

“A little bit of time, it was a great thing to come back, but ultimately it didn’t turn out the way we wanted it to,” Dearing said.

Though his career didn’t end the way he wanted it to, Dearing was able to direct one of the best offensive stretches in Handley history over the past few years, and he set a single-game school passing mark last year.

“It doesn’t get any better than playing with some of your good friends, making plays, getting your name out there, making our names for ourselves in Handley history,” he said. “It’s something we can all be proud about, but it’s bittersweet right now.”

James Wood will just savor the sweet right now.

“I’m so proud of these kids,” McHale said. “This is something they’ll always remember.”

Jarett Cestaro led the Judges with seven catches for 76 yards.