WARRENTON — After suffering a pair of tough defeats in recent weeks, James Wood football bounced back and earned a commanding road win over Fauquier to close out the regular season.
The Colonels, who entered Friday’s game as the No. 5 team in the Region 4D playoff ratings, cruised past the Falcons 59-13 to finish 7-3 (4-3 Northwestern District). The Falcons finished 1-9 (1-8).
Junior quarterback Owen Neal accounted for three passing touchdowns and two rushing touchdowns, connecting with senior wide receiver Kaden McCullough (six catches, 161 yards) for 63-yard and 38-yard touchdowns.
Additionally, junior running back Jeremiah Hodel carried the ball 13 times for 114 yards and two touchdowns and junior wide receiver and defensive back Xavier Price caught a 32-yard touchdown, hauled in an interception and recorded two pass deflections. Overall, the Colonels outgained the Falcons 453-205.
Though Fauquier made things interesting early, trailing 14-7 after the first quarter, it didn’t take long for the Colonels to get in rhythm and execute at a high level.
Neal said the win gives James Wood “more confidence” following a “tough loss” to Handley last week, while head coach Todd Wilson said the win proved that his team will take any opponent seriously.
“[We were] just getting things back on track,” Wilson said. “We’ve got a lot of respect for everybody we play, but we have to come out and play … you’re only guaranteed 10 of these games. So we’re trying to make sure that guys understand that it’s a special thing that they get the opportunity to play football.”
The Colonels looked excited from the jump, making two big plays early. On a windy night, the Falcons opted to fake a punt on fourth-and-18 from the 50 on the game’s opening drive.
James Wood’s defense made sure the home team didn’t sniff the first-down marker, stopping the Falcons for a 12-yard loss on their 38. Two plays later, Neal found McCullough to give his team a 7-0 lead just under four minutes into the game.
Falcons’ quarterback Amari Martin connected with receiver Justin Clarke for a 39-yard gain to the James Wood 17 on the next drive, but the possession ultimately resulted in a missed 39-yard field goal try. This gave the Colonels the ball on their 22.
A nine-play touchdown drive ensued, with receiver Aidric Yurish accounting for two first-down plays and running back Jackson Ledford adding another. The drive ended with Neal punching in a 3-yard rushing touchdown to make it 14-0 with 3:56 left in the opening quarter.
The Falcons overcame a third-and-18 situation on their next drive to get on the board when Martin heaved the ball to receiver Bryon Green, who beat a defender one-on-one before running in a 73-yard touchdown. It was now 14-7, 104 seconds before the second quarter.
“We were kind of playing safe a little bit, not bringing as much pressure there,” Wilson said. “Early on, they were able to get some deep shots on us … but our kids bounced back. They didn’t hang their heads once [Fauquier] made a big play.”
On their next drive, which carried over into the second quarter, the Colonels established the run and set the tone for the remainder of the game.
After Neal ran for 6 yards on third-and-1, Hodel ran for first-down gains of 18 and 23 yards. Two plays later, he scored a 1-yard touchdown to make it 21-7 with a tad over 10 minutes left before halftime.
Hodel said he credited the offensive line for his strong performance.
“I really have to thank them,” Hodel said. “Holes were opening up, plays were being made. Our line was blocking beautifully, and I feel like it really helped lead us to success.”
Fauquier’s next drive lasted only two plays before Price picked off Martin and gave his team the ball on its 25. After three more plays, Neal found a wide-open McCullough in the middle of the field, and the wideout added ample yards after the catch for a 63-yard touchdown. It was now 28-7 with 8:07 on the clock.
Neal said defenses needing to respect several of James Wood’s receivers gives James Wood’s offense the potential to hum.
“Aidric is a great receiver. They have to honor him,” Neal said. “They’ve got to honor Xavier, too. You can’t cover everybody, and … McCullough was [open].”
The Falcons moved the ball up to James Wood’s 29 on the next drive following an unsportsmanlike conduct call on the Colonels, but a forced fumble by Heston LaRue that was recovered by the offense moved them back to the 39. Fauquier moved the ball back up to a fourth-and-1 scenario, but a sack by Ledford and another Colonel defender forced a turnover on downs.
Starting from its 25, James Wood reached Fauquier’s 14-yard line in just three plays after big gains by McCullough and Hodel. However, a catch and fumble in the red zone was scooped up by Fauquier’s Kevin Newman, who ran the ball to his team’s 40-yard line.
With halftime getting close, Martin tested the James Wood defense with deep passes, completing a 17-yard attempt to Kam Johnson. However, Price came up with two pass deflections on the drive, forcing a Fauquier punt.
With under 90 seconds remaining, Neal juked out a defender and ran from the Colonels’ 38 to the opposite 39. Two penalties backed James Wood up to its 41, but McCullough made a 27-yard catch to bring up first down from the Falcons’ 32 with 27 seconds on the clock.
After two incompletions, Neal found Price in the far corner of the end zone to extend the lead to 35-7 going into the locker room.
Wilson complemented Price’s ability to bounce back from a taxing game versus Handley.
“You can see his confidence coming back to him,” Neal said. “He lost a little confidence last week in himself. He was going up against a really good athlete in [Will] Yoder. He’s a heck of a wide receiver. There wasn’t necessarily a ton that Xavier was doing wrong, but as this game went on, you could see his confidence coming back.”
Fauquier tried to instill some confidence in its own right by trying an onside kick to open the second half, but James Wood recovered on its 49. Neal then found Yurish, who finished with four catches for 107 yards, for a 30-yard gain.
Following two penalties on the Falcons, the Colonels now had possession on the 3-yard line. After a 1-yard loss, Neal ran in a 4-yard score to make it 42-7 with 10:50 on the clock.
After Fauquier went three-and-out, James Wood scored on a four-play, 52-yard drive where Hodel and Ledford ran roughshod. Hodel ran for a gain of 29, Ledford added 10 yards, Hodel another 12, before Ledford finally scored on a 12-yard run to extend the lead to 49-7 with just under five minutes to go in the third.
Fauquier then fumbled the handoff on the first snap of the next drive, giving James Wood the ball once again, this time from the Falcons’ 34.
After a 10-yard penalty against the Colonels, Hodel ran for a 23-yard gain and Ledford hauled in a 9-yard catch to help set up a 1-yard score for the former on the first play of the fourth quarter. It was now 56-7.
The Colonels recovered the ensuing squib kick. After a 30-yard catch by Yurish, James Wood opted to send kicker Aidan Bell out for a 29-yard field goal try on first down. Bell put the ball through the uprights to make it 59-7.
The final drive of the game was successful for Fauquier, as a kick return by Thomas Sanford III down to the James Wood 21 set up an eventual 1-yard touchdown run for Martin that made it 59-13.
Though it’s not yet confirmed what the Region 4D playoff bracket will look like, it’s a certainty that the Colonels’ season will continue. Neal said he and his teammates must come prepared, no matter how the bracket falls.
“This week, we’re going to have to prep,” Neal said. “Got to do everything 110%, can’t take any days off. Got to make that our top priority and hopefully win the game.”
With No. 4 Sherando having defeated No. 6 Liberty on Friday night, there’s a chance the Warriors will host the Colonels in the postseason for the second straight year. Wilson said it would be an exciting matchup for the area.
“It’s just one of those things where the chips fall where they are kind of situation, and we’ll play whoever our opponent is for that week,” Wilson said. “[That would] be exciting. It’ll be a big gate, we’ll bring a good, good fan base. They always have a good fan base. So it’ll be exciting.”
— Contact Joe Tuman at jtuman@winchesterstar.com
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