WINCHESTER — Friday was a historic night for James Wood football, as the Colonels hosted their first playoff game since 1980 by welcoming Salem to Kelican Stadium for the Region 4D quarterfinals.
This clash between the region’s No. 4 and No. 5 seeds was initially competitive, as Salem scored eight seconds before halftime to go ahead 28-21. However, the 10-time state champions overcame James Wood’s home-field advantage by outscoring the Colonels 40-13 in the second half en route to a 68-34 victory.
Salem improved to 10-1, while James Wood finished 9-2. The Spartans will visit No. 1 seed George Washington this Friday in the region semifinals.
James Wood head coach Todd Wilson said his team battled all night long.
“One thing I can say right now is I know our kids played tough tonight,” Wilson said. “They played hard for four quarters. We know that’s a good Salem team. We were a good team as well. They played better than us tonight.”
Several standout James Wood seniors gave it their all, including quarterback Owen Neal, who scored four total touchdowns. He completed 19 of 40 passes for 260 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions while running 12 times for 101 yards and two scores.
Receiver Aidric Yurish caught eight passes for 124 yards and a touchdown; fellow wideout Xavier Price returned a kick 65 yards and caught two passes for 81 yards before leaving the game due to injury; receiver Parker Kerns caught a 13-yard touchdown; linebacker Logan Lafollette returned a fumble 35 yards; defensive end Heston LaRue recorded multiple tackles around the line of scrimmage; and offensive linemen Timber Hough, Sawyer Farr and Lane Herring helped protect Neal during key plays.
Despite this production, James Wood struggled to contain Salem’s ground attack. Senior running back Jordan McCadden ran 27 times for 233 yards and three touchdowns, helping his team outgain the Colonels 452-408 from scrimmage. James Wood ran 63 plays compared to Salem’s 45.
Spartans head coach Don Holter said his team executed its game plan.
“Jordan McCadden is one of the best backs in the state of Virginia, particularly in [Class] Four,” Holter said. “We’re proud and love having him on our team, but we’ve got a lot of other good players, too. We take pride in our mules on our offensive line. They executed at the point of attack and got some movement, and we were able to score on some long runs and consistently get first downs and eat clock and do what we like to do.”
As the clock hit zero at the end of the third quarter, Neal found Kerns for six points in the near corner of the end zone, cutting Salem’s lead to 48-34 after the Colonels’ extra-point try missed.
Moments later, James Wood successfully recovered an onside kick to open the final quarter, sparking the loudest reaction of the night from an excited playoff crowd. However, a sack by Joseph Henderson and a delay-of-game penalty brought up fourth-and-24 from the 42. Neal’s pass fell incomplete, causing a turnover on downs and giving the Spartans the ball in Colonels territory.
Kerns’ previous score came at the end of a 10-play, 83-yard drive that saw James Wood move to the 13-yard line after one of Salem’s five personal fouls on the night. Those 15-yard penalties included the hit that knocked Price out of the game during a kick return, as well as a play where Neal was body-slammed by a defender on a sack. Wilson didn’t specifically mention these plays, but said he’s been proud of his players’ maturity and leadership this year.
“There were times we could’ve retaliated for stuff [but didn’t],” Wilson said. “I always go to battle for our kids, but I don’t have to because their leadership shows. They’re talented kids, but they’ll outwork a lot of everybody else as well.”
After the turnover on downs, Salem ran four plays before McCadden found the end zone on a 29-yard draw play to extend the lead to 54-34 with 8:33 remaining. The extra-point attempt failed.
The Spartans went on to outscore James Wood 20-0 in the fourth. The Colonels again turned the ball over on downs from the Salem 26 on their next possession, McCadden broke loose for a 64-yard touchdown run with 3:06 remaining and Braylon Smith scored on a 55-yard pick-6 with 1:55 to go.
Wilson said an up-and-down first half set the table for a difficult closing stretch.
“In the first half we kind of shot ourselves in the foot a couple times, but we kept it close,” Wilson said. “And then we just didn’t execute on some of the plays we ran. We recovered an onside kick, and then the offense just kind of stalled out there. Pass protection was good at times, and then it was bad at times. Defensively, same thing. We get them in a manageable down and distance, and they break a big run on us.”
Salem took the game’s opening drive 71 yards downfield, as freshman quarterback Pearce Oliver found Jaidyn Rudisell on a 44-yard go route for a touchdown. Now up 7-0, the Spartans forced James Wood’s only punt to end its first drive.
The visitors moved the ball into Colonels’ territory once again, and this time running back Nicholas Baxley escaped a pile of defenders for a 36-yard touchdown run along the far sideline. The Spartans led 14-0 with 1:21 left in the first quarter.
Price then returned the kickoff 65 yards to the Spartans’ 19, and Neal broke outside toward the far left pylon for a 17-yard score two plays later, cutting the deficit in half 24 seconds before the quarter ended.
“College teams should love to have somebody like that,” Wilson said of Price. “Someone who can take the top off of [the defense] and get him in the run game, as a kick returner, punt returner. He’s just an electric, spark-plug kind of kid.”
Baxley returned the ensuing kickoff to Salem’s 49, and McCadden and Gabriel Johnson each ran for first downs to set up Johnson’s 28-yard touchdown run on a reverse to the left. This extended Salem’s lead to 21-7 with 10:23 left before halftime.
Facing third-and-18 on the next drive, Neal rolled left and slinged the ball to Price along the far right sideline. Price kept both feet in bounds, completing a 42-yard catch to the Spartans’ 43. However, Neal threw a red zone interception to Jayden Wood after his downfield try bounced off a receiver’s hands.
Salem immediately gained 35 yards on a McCadden 20-yard run and a James Wood penalty, but the Spartans fumbled a snap on fourth-and-10 that was recovered and returned 35 yards to the opposite 41 by Lafollette. Two plays later, Neal found Yurish over the middle, and Yurish broke outside by the near left sideline for a 39-yard touchdown. The Colonels trailed 21-14 with 5:39 left before the break.
Wilson spoke about Neal and Yurish’s relationship, and also praised the fourth-year class as a whole.
“Aidric and Owen, they mean a lot,” Wilson said. “I spent a lot of time with those kids because their dads are on the coaching staff. They came in together and competed for the starting quarterback job. They’re super good friends, so it’s awesome. I just told them they’re going to be fine in life. They’re great kids, and their playing days aren’t over either.
“Those seniors did a great job. Their character is what matters. It’s just a fun group to coach. I’ve coached long enough where I’ve had groups where, when the season’s over, you’re kind of glad that’s over. But with this group, I could coach them forever.”
After a bad snap forced Salem into second-and-28, the Spartans soon punted back to James Wood. Price returned the ball 9 yards to Salem’s 36, and Neal generated 13 rushing yards and 19 passing yards across the next four plays. Finally, running back Jackson Ledford punched in a 5-yard carry to tie the game 84 seconds before halftime.
Salem quickly responded, as a 59-yard Baxley kick return to the James Wood 21 set up a McCadden 5-yard rushing score eight seconds before intermission.
Neal threw an incompletion on fourth-and-5 from the James Wood 36 on the second half’s first possession, leading to Pearce connecting with Rudisell for a second score, this time for 16 yards, to extend Salem’s lead to 35-21 at the 7:50 mark. Holter said his team regrouped in the second half.
“Unfortunately, we gave up a 65-yard kick return and gave them a short field,” Holter said. “We gave them two short fields [in the first half], and they did what any good team does: they converted it into points. Now, we just sort of reset, refocused and found a way to win the play, the series and then ultimately the game. I’m proud of the way our defense played. Obviously, not proud of giving up 34 points, but [James Wood] averages [55] points a game. So there were some good things that happened.”
On the next drive, the Colonels moved to the Salem 46 after a 15-yard penalty flag was thrown on the play where Neal was slammed to the ground. Neal then found Price 39 yards downfield to set up a 4-yard quarterback keeper touchdown moments later.
Salem now led 35-28 with 6:01 left in the third, but it responded with a kick return to its 49. Five plays later, Pearce rolled out on a bootleg for a 25-yard rushing touchdown that extended the lead to 42-28 at the 3:50 mark.
Price was then injured on a kick return, bringing the game to a halt for about five minutes. Although the personal foul moved James Wood up to its 45, Salem forced a fumble that allowed Baxley to recover and return the ball 45 yards to the end zone. James Wood blocked the kick, making it 48-28 with 3:23 on the clock. This led into James Wood’s 83-yard scoring drive.
Despite a difficult loss, Wilson said he was proud of his players’ efforts. He thanked his team, the community and James Wood’s administration for a great season and said the playoff home crowd was memorable.
“It’s playoff football. It’s just exciting for the kids,” Wilson said. “Except for maybe the last quarter or so, I think it was pretty exciting for the fans that bought tickets and filled the stands up. They should be proud of how hard the Colonels fought until the last play.”
— Contact Joe Tuman at jtuman@winchesterstar.com
Follow him on X @jtuman21