WINCHESTER — Friday night’s showdown between James Wood and visiting Millbrook was filled with explosive offense, as the two teams combined for 13 touchdowns.
Ultimately, it was the efforts of wide receiver and defensive back Aidric Yurish that put the Colonels in the driver’s seat late, helping them earn a 54-35 home win at Kelican Stadium. This moved James Wood to 6-1 on the year (3-1 district), while Millbrook dropped to 3-4 (2-2 district).
Leading 41-35 late in the fourth quarter, Yurish beat a defender one-on-one along the sideline and hauled in a 63-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Owen Neal.
Then, on Millbrook’s ensuing drive, Yurish picked off quarterback Keon Lewis 58 seconds into the fourth quarter. This set up a nine-minute, 23-second drive that resulted in a Neal touchdown.
“Owen just threw me an absolutely magnificent ball,” Yurish said of his touchdown. “He’s my best friend. We have a really good compatibility, and he threw me that ball, and I was ready for it.”
Yurish’s friendship with fellow junior Neal stretches back to their freshman season, where both competed for the starting quarterback job. Neal pulled ahead and has held the job ever since, but Yurish adapted and became a versatile contributor.
James Wood head coach Todd Wilson said Yurish’s refusal to “pout” after that early setback shows the type of player and person he is.
“He’s a team player,” Wilson said. “He’s a coach’s son, he knows the game of football. When he didn’t win the starting job as a freshman, he could have threw the towel in. But he’s a worker. He has a role in this team, and you saw it tonight. He’s a great receiver.”
Yurish certainly excelled late, but he impacted the game across all four quarters, finishing with six catches for 163 yards and three touchdowns.
Neal was also superb, finishing with 329 passing yards, 145 rushing yards and seven total touchdowns, while wide receiver Xavier Price added six catches for 103 yards and two scores.
Though offense defined the matchup, James Wood’s first big play came on defense. After Millbrook’s opening drive reached Colonel territory, the home team stopped the Pioneers on fourth-and-2, forcing a turnover on downs.
Starting on its 41, James Wood crossed midfield after Neal found running back Jeremiah Hodel for a 15-yard gain. Two plays later, Neal found Yurish for a 45-yard score, putting their team ahead with 7:05 left in the first quarter.
On its second drive, Millbrook answered with a 1-yard Rylee Baker touchdown run that capped off a 5-play, 57-yard drive.
The score was set up by a creative reverse handoff to Rome Johnson for 12 yards and a 34-yard catch by Cam Clark that moved the sticks to the 11-yard line. Clark finished with five catches for 75 yards and a touchdown.
It didn’t take long for James Wood to answer, as Neal ran to his right, avoiding initial defenders, before scampering along the sideline for an 80-yard touchdown. James Wood missed the extra point, putting it up 13-7 with 5:32 on the clock.
After Neal’s 171 rushing yard performance last week, Wilson said this was another example of the quarterback doing “his thing with his legs.”
“He had a couple of really good blocks along the sideline there,” Wilson said. “And then, once he was out in space, he’s not a 4.5 [40-yard dash] guy, but he’s a 4.8 or 4.9 guy and he was able to run away from their defender.”
Millbrook then kept the offensive train chugging, responding with an eight-play, 68-yard drive that resulted in Clark leaping up over a defender and catching a 20-yard touchdown pass from Lewis. Lewis ended the day completing 16 of 20 passes for 209 yards, a touchdown and an interception.
With Millbrook now up 14-13 with 76 seconds left in the first quarter, a kick return by Kaden McCullough brought the ball to Millbrook’s 43. However, James Wood quickly came upon fourth-and-2 heading into the second quarter.
On the quarter’s first play, Millbrook stopped Neal’s run to force a turnover on downs. Yet, a poor snap on second down caused the visitors to punt two plays later.
On the ensuing drive, Price tallied 32 of James Wood’s 58 yards. He caught a 19-yard pass, one play before hauling in a 13-yard score that gave his team the lead. Neal then found McCullough for two points, giving the Colonels a 21-14 advantage with 6:57 left before halftime.
Millbrook’s next drive opened with running back Carter Kinley carrying the ball three times for 29 yards, placing the Pioneers on James Wood’s 32. He finished with 18 carries for 72 yards.
Four plays later, Lewis found running back and standout linebacker Chris Bradford for a 16-yard touchdown to tie the game with 3:47 left before the break.
James Wood’s next drive was in danger of blowing up after Trevor Floyd sacked Neal and brought up second-and-23.
However, Neal fought back and found Price for a 12-yard gain on fourth-and-5. This led to the quarterback finding Yurish for a 14-yard score that put the Colonels ahead 28-21 at halftime.
“They had a good offensive game plan,” Pioneers head coach Nick Manuel said. “It seemed like no matter what adjustment we made, they just were able to execute. I think some of it was on us, some of it’s on them for doing a really good job.”
Coming out of the locker room, James Wood received the ball and picked up where it left off. On the drive’s seventh play, Price caught his second touchdown of the game, a 32-yard score that made it 35-21 with 9:36 on the clock.
Millbrook battled back, as a 31-yard run by Johnson and an 11-yard catch by Bradford helped the Pioneers reach the red zone. Once there, Baker — a routine goal-line threat — scored his second short touchdown to make it 35-28 with 6:58 left in the third.
With the two sides trading scores, the flow of the game suggested James Wood would come down and score again to regain a two-possession lead. So, Millbrook went for an onside kick and recovered the ball.
However, a 5-yard penalty negated the recovery, forcing a rekick. The Pioneers decided to onside kick once again, but this time the Colonels recovered the ball. Manuel said this was something his staff had planned to do all week.
“We saw early in the week that [Wood had] a weak spot we wanted to go at,” Manuel said. “We knew it was going to be used at some point, we just didn’t know when it was going to be. But the way their offense was moving the ball, I don’t think it mattered if they got the ball at the 20 or the 50; they were going to march and have some success. So we figured, might as well go for [the kick].”
After James Wood regained possession, a 15-yard run by Neal set up a 24-yard touchdown run for Hodel. The extra point was no good, so James Wood led 41-28 with 5:23 remaining in the third.
Millbrook’s next drive began with a huge gain. A 35-yard catch by Kinley coincided with a 15-yard penalty on James Wood, thus moving the Pioneers from their own 17 to the opposite 33.
From here, a 25-yard catch by Bradford predated Lewis’ eventual 1-yard touchdown run. This cut the lead to 41-35 with 1:53 left before the final quarter.
With the game seemingly up for grabs, Yurish soon took matters into his own hands. After a 15-yard penalty moved the Colonels back to their own 37, Neal threw a laser down the far sideline right into Yurish’s chest.
The wideout outran the nearby defender to give his team a 47-35 lead, 23 seconds before the end of the quarter. James Wood failed its conversion attempt.
On the first play of the next drive, Millbrook appeared to throw a pick-6, but the play was called back due to a roughing the passer call. The Pioneers then drew a pass interference call, moving them up to their own 46 as the quarter ended.
On the second play of the fourth, Yurish intercepted Lewis to get his team the ball back. He said he was prepared for the wheel route Millbrook’s receiver was running on the play.
“I knew they loved this … wheel thing, and I saw Keon drop back,” Yurish said. “I saw his eyes go right to the middle of the field, and I saw that ball going in there. I just know I had to come down and get it.”
After the interception, James Wood practically refused to surrender possession. Over the next nine minutes and 23 seconds, the Colonels ran 15 plays for 58 yards.
Price made a 19-yard catch that got the team out of a third-and-16 and Yurish later made a contested catch to move James Wood from third-and-15 to fourth-and-2.
With the ball now on the 6-yard line, Wilson called timeout before Neal ran for 4 yards to gain a first down. He then ran in a 2-yard touchdown to make it 54-35 with 1:45 remaining.
Three plays later, defensive lineman Heston LaRue sacked Lewis to end the game.
Wilson called Manuel a “great coach,” and said the game’s high-scoring outcome didn’t surprise him due to Millbrook’s productivity this year.
He said his team’s depth and talent are attributes he’s glad he can rely on each week.
“Every week, it’s somebody different,” Wilson said. “One week it’s Aidric, one week it’s Owen, it’s Xavier. Guys just step up, and we’ve got a lot of really good athletes and just good character kids who work really hard.”
James Wood will return to action next Friday by visiting Liberty, and Millbrook will host Skyline that same day. Both games will kick off at 7 p.m.
— Contact Joe Tuman at jtuman@winchesterstar.com
Follow him on X @jtuman21