For the first time this season, the James Wood football team will take the field tonight for a game after suffering a loss.

Because of the quality of the team the Colonels lost to, James Wood coach Ryan Morgan said there’s nothing major that his team needs to adjust. The Colonels (3-1) host North Hagerstown, Md., (2-2) in their Homecoming game at 7 p.m. at Kelican Stadium. It’s the first-ever meeting between the two schools.

James Wood lost to Kettle Run 42-28 in Nokesville last week.

“We had some blown coverages, some guys get mixed up in the secondary, and we had some offensive mistakes as far as missing blocks or not identifying who we were supposed to block,” Morgan said. “It’s little things that we need to clean up.

“Overall, I thought the kids played hard, they didn’t give up, and played well for the most part. It’s just a couple of our little mistakes that Kettle Run was good enough to take advantage of.”

The Hubs are coming off a loss against a Jefferson (W.Va.) team that Frederick County schools know far too well and one that James Wood will play next week. Jefferson took a 49-7 lead at the half en route to a 56-13 win over North Hagerstown. The undefeated Cougars previously have beaten Millbrook (55-23) and Sherando (41-14).

Morgan said the Hubs run both wing-T and spread offenses. North Hagerstown is led by running back Bray Alexander (5-foot-10, 197 pounds), quarterback Marc Buckley (6-4, 180) and wide receiver Ryder Johnston (6-1, 160).

Alexander had 168 yards and two touchdowns in a season-opening win over Thomas Johnson (Md.) on Sept. 3 and Buckley completed 10 of 13 passes for 178 yards and four TDs and had a rushing TD in a 42-6 win over Tuscarora (Md.) on Sept. 20. Johnston had four catches for 104 yards in that game and Alexander had two receiving TDs and one rushing TD against Tuscarora.

“[Alexander] is pretty shifty and powerful and has some speed,” Morgan said. “[Buckley] can throw the ball pretty well.

“When they get into spread, sometimes they’ll bring in an H-back and a fullback. They’ll split the wide receivers out wide and put the H-back out in the slot with the fullback in front of [Alexander]. They’re more of a running team.”

Morgan said when the Hubs are in the wing-T, the main thing the Colonels need to do is have their linebackers take notice of what the North Hagerstown guards are doing.

“They need to read their keys,” Morgan said. “Sometimes, linebackers tend to have their eyes in the backfield and they watch backs. Running backs will lie to you in the wing-t. They’ll go away from where the ball is going. We’ve got some young linebackers that we’re rotating in and are learning the position, so this going to be a test for them.”

James Wood’s defense is led by defensive back Ryan King (51 tackles, two interceptions), end Caleb Keefer (45 tackles, 10 for loss, four sacks) and linebacker Zach Smith (43 tackles).

While North Hagerstown isn’t as big up front as Kettle Run, the Hubs do boast some size. Junior Ty’Quan Lloyd is 6-5 and 270 pounds.

Defensively, North Hagerstown runs both four- and three-man fronts. Lloyd and tackle Kevin Boukom (6-4, 290) both play on the defensive line. Linebacker AJ Villamon had 18 tackles against Tuscarora.

James Wood’s offense features wide receiver Jaden Ashby (433 receiving and rushing yards, six TDs), running back Wes Brondos (84 carries, 564 yards, three TDs) and quarterback Jared Neal (42 of 73, 662 yards, seven TDs, three interceptions).

“[Boukum] gets off the ball pretty well,” Morgan said. “He can push some offensive linemen into the backfield.”

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