WINCHESTER — Unbeaten James Wood football hosted Sherando on Friday, hoping to flip the script on a historically one-sided rivalry.
Instead, Sherando defeated the Colonels 49-20 after being powered by junior running back Jaylen Tasco-Murray’s four rushing touchdowns.
Tasco-Murray ran 17 times for 125 yards for Sherando (3-1, 1-0 Northwestern District), while senior quarterback Jacob Henry ran eight times for 112 yards and went 3 of 5 for 39 yards. Additionally, senior wide receiver Donovan Blackwell ran for a 71-yard touchdown to ice the game in the fourth quarter and sophomore lineman Evan Combs recorded two sacks.
This contest was Tasco-Murray’s second game with three or more touchdowns this season, bringing his season total to nine. After the game, he credited his success to his teammates — specifically his offensive line.
“I put it all on my teammates to be honest, because without them, without the blocks, I wouldn’t be able to do it,” Tasco-Murray said. “In practice, they’re putting in the work, and it’s just the chemistry. I trust them to block for me, and I get in the end zone when I can.”
Though James Wood (3-1, 0-1) lost by a significant margin, it was competitive early on, trailing by one score midway through the second quarter. Colonels’ head coach Todd Wilson said his team had positive moments, but ultimately didn’t play “James Wood football” the way it had in the first three games.
“I thought we had successful plays, some explosive plays,” Wilson said. “In the first half, I thought our offense was moving the ball well. In the second half, our defense made some big stops, but our offense was a little off rhythm. We just couldn’t get both sides going at the same time.”
Sherando already had the Colonels’ defense on its heels on the first drive. On a drive where Tasco-Murray, Blackwell and senior Mason McKee all ran the ball, a 15-yard facemask penalty on James Wood eventually moved the Warriors up to the Colonels’ 11-yard line. James Wood finished with 12 penalties for 95 yards, which Wilson said “disrupted the flow of the game.”
After a 2-yard gain by McKee, Tasco-Murray found the end zone from 9 yards out, giving his team a 7-0 lead with 9:41 left in the opening quarter.
Sherando head coach T.J. Rohrbaugh commended Tasco-Murray’s style of play.
“[Tasco-Murray] just attacks downhill. He hits it hard,” Rohrbaugh said. “That’s kind of our style of offense, so he’s done a good job of that.”
James Wood kept pace with Sherando on its first drive thanks to starting quarterback Owen Neal’s efforts. Neal, who finished 13 for 25 for 195 passing yards and a touchdown, connected with junior Xavier Price on third-and-9 for a 33-yard gain that moved the Colonels to Sherando’s 29.
A 10-yard penalty on the Warriors moved James Wood up farther before a 13-yard run by senior Kaden McCullough set up a goal-line run for Neal to tie the game with 6:10 on the clock.
Sherando quickly got downfield on its second drive, as senior Sunil Dutt’s impressive kick return gave the Warriors the ball on the James Wood 49.
Henry faked a handoff to Tasco-Murray before running the ball himself for a 34-yard gain. Two plays later, Tasco-Murray punched in a 4-yard score to make it 14-7 with 4:43 left in the opening quarter.
Henry said he was happy with the win after feeling he “let coach Rohrbaugh down in practice” during the week. Rohrbaugh, however, said there was never any doubt in his mind that the versatile quarterback would come through.
“He’s a great kid. I’ve got all the faith in the world in him,” Rohrbaugh said. “I trust him, I know what type of competitor and what type of football player he is.”
James Wood’s next drive started strong before a holding penalty negated a big gain by junior Jeremiah Hodel and forced the Colonels to punt on fourth-and-13.
With the first quarter coming to a close, Sherando moved the ball from its own 40 down to James Wood’s 31. The first play of the second saw Tasco-Murray gain 8 yards before an offsides penalty on the home team moved the Warriors up another 5.
Tasco-Murray then ran for a 12-yard gain before punching in a 1-yard score two plays later to secure a TD hat trick with 9:58 remaining before halftime. James Wood thought it forced a fumble on the play, but the officials confirmed the score.
Now down two scores, James Wood got about as big a break as it could’ve hoped for by gaining 48 yards on one play.
Neal connected with junior Aidric Yurish for an 18-yard catch along the sideline to move James Wood to Sherando’s 37. On the same play, two 15-yard penalties were called on the Warriors, moving the home team to the Warriors’ 7.
Three plays later, Neal hit paydirt on a 2-yard run to cut Sherando’s lead to 21-14 with 7:52 left before the break.
On the ensuing kickoff, Blackwell’s return gave Sherando possession on James Wood’s 48. Across the next five plays, the Warriors reached the 19. Once there, junior Noah Taylor took the ball 19 yards to the end zone on a draw play, making it 28-14 with 4:43 on the clock.
James Wood turned the ball over on downs on its next drive, giving Sherando the ball on the 50 near halftime. An impressive catch along the sideline by senior Sean Benton gained 23 yards, and an unsportsmanlike conduct call on the Colonels moved Sherando up another 15.
A holding penalty moved Sherando back 10 yards, but Tasco-Murray made up for this error by housing an 18-yard run for his fourth touchdown of the evening. The Warriors now led 35-14 with 113 seconds before the half.
McCullough then made a big play, returning the kickoff for 63 yards, to place James Wood on Sherando’s 12. The Warriors made pivotal stops and forced James Wood into a fourth-and-14 scenario.
Wilson opted to go for the touchdown, but Neal’s end zone shot went incomplete. Wilson said he didn’t think too hard before deciding to pass up a field goal opportunity.
“That’s just our style. We’re going to be aggressive,” Wilson said. “That’s how we are all the time, so there wasn’t anything too detailed there. I have confidence in our offense and felt comfortable trying to score.”
The Colonels started the second half strong, as Neal ran for 14 yards to place the ball at midfield. Six plays later, on third-and-2, Neal stepped up in the pocket and found McCullough roughly 15 yards downfield. McCullough outran Sherando’s nearest defender, scoring on a 38-yard reception to cut the lead to 35-20 with 9:15 left in the third. The Colonels’ run play for two was no good.
Three possessions later for Sherando, the Warriors started on their 45 and got a big boost from Henry, who ran for a 40-yard gain down to the James Wood 15.
After Tasco-Murray gained 8 yards, the Warriors moved closer and closer to the goal line until reaching the 1-yard line at quarter’s end. On the first play of the fourth, Taylor ran the ball in to make it 42-20.
James Wood’s ensuing drive reached third-and-16 after the first of Combs’ sacks. However, Neal found Price for a 17-yard gain, bringing the ball to James Wood’s 47.
Price, who finished with three catches for 67 yards, then made another 17-yard catch to mark another first down.
Neal continued throwing the ball, finishing the drive with six completions for 65 yards. Yet, James Wood walked away empty-handed after missing on fourth-and-9 from Sherando’s 14.
A 20-yard run by Henry coincided with a 5-yard penalty on Sherando, placing the road team on its 29. Here, Henry pitched the ball to Blackwell, who sprinted downfield for a 71-yard touchdown to cap the scoring and make it 49-20 with 6:56 remaining.
Rohrbaugh said he’s unconcerned with his team’s record and is looking ahead to the rest of the season.
“First off, I’ve got to take my hat off to James Wood. They did a lot of things offensively that hurt us,” Rohrbaugh said. “But, I say it all the time, I don’t look at wins and losses. We watch the film, we look at what we need to do better and we’ll just take it from there.”
Sherando will next take it back to Arrowhead Stadium to host Brentsville, while James Wood will look to get back in the win column when it hosts Warren County. Both Homecoming games will kick off at 7 p.m. on Sept. 26.
— Contact Joe Tuman at jtuman@winchesterstar.com
Follow him on X @jtuman21