STEPHENS CITY — Sherando defensive back Nate Lloyd said the Warriors heard a lot of chatter this week that their six-game winning streak against James Wood was going to end on Friday night.
After losing each of those six games by at least 21 points, with eight minutes left on Friday, the Colonels found themselves 2 yards away from a touchdown that would have brought them to within a point of the Warriors. After that, James Wood would have a chance to tie with a kick or take the lead with a 2-point conversion.
It was obvious after last Friday night’s win over Jefferson (West Virginia) that Sherando felt it would have to play better this week to beat the Colonels, and their steely resolve showed up in a big way with their backs against the wall at Arrowhead Stadium.
On third-and-goal, James Wood put the ball in hands of their do-everything quarterback Owen Neal. But as he fought for yardage near the goal line, Sherando defensive end Parker Edwards said he punched the ball out, and Lloyd recovered at the Warrior 1.
Sherando’s own formidable offense then ran out the last seven minutes and 45 seconds over 14 plays to give the Warriors a thrilling and satisfying 35-28 Homecoming win over their Frederick County rivals. Sherando improved to 4-0 and the Colonels fell to 3-1 in the Northwestern District opener for both teams.
“A lot of people were talking around in town that James Wood was going to come in here and beat us,” Lloyd said. “We didn’t say anything. We didn’t talk back. We just put our head down and worked, and got the job done.”
Neither team led by more than eight points at any point. Jaylen Tasco-Murray (31 carries for 240 yards and two TDs) scored the winning points on the first play of the fourth quarter, a 3-yard TD run that created a 35-28 lead after the third of Gabriel Dawda’s extra-point kicks.
It was evident coming into the game that both defenses would have their hands full with the opposing offenses, and both James Wood and Sherando only punted once each.
Led by Tasco-Murray’s third straight 200-yard rushing game and the Warriors’ third straight game of more than 300 rushing yards as a team (323), Sherando outgained the Colonels 415-364. Noah Taylor — who was the Warriors’ quarterback throughout the game — ran for 57 yards and three TDs on 13 carries and completed 5 of 6 passes for 92 yards, with three completions covering 18 yards or more to Colt Crittenden (76 yards receiving).
Ultimately, turnovers made the biggest difference. Sherando recovered three fumbles — all within 35 yards of the Warrior goal line — and James Wood recovered one on a field that was hit by a hard rainstorm. It started before the game and lasted around 20 minutes. James Wood’s coaches said the field was wet before the rainstorm.
The Warriors’ fumble recovery near the goal line in the fourth quarter was the biggest one. It came after Sherando stopped running back Jackson Ledford (10 carries, 22 yards) for 1 yard on first-and-goal from the 3-yard line, and stuffed Neal (20 of 24 for 236 yards and two TDs passing; 16 carries for 89 yards and two TDs) for no gain on second-and-goal from the 2.
Warriors coach T.J. Rohrbaugh feels the Warriors’ schedule set them up well for a situation like their goal-line stand. Sherando beat 2025 Class 4 state runner-up Loudoun County (now 3-1) in Week 2 and defeated a 2025 West Virginia AAAA state semifinalist in the Cougars last week.
“We were ready for those moments,” Rohrbaugh said. “We’ve had our backs against the wall a couple of different times throughout the season. I think the final score might not have indicated it, but we were in tight spots and we learned how to battle back. I’m glad that we played some tough opponents, and kind of hardened us for moments like that.
“Our guys played hard, man. I never question their effort. I never question what they bring to the table. They did an outstanding job of playing four quarters of football tonight.”
Lloyd said he typically wouldn’t be in the game when Sherando is using its heavy short-yardage package, and Lloyd was about to come off the field after the second-down play. But a teammate needed someone to relieve him, and Lloyd turned around and sprinted to the right side of the Warriors’ defense.
“After the ball was snapped, I saw the ball got punched loose, and I knew I had to scoop it up,” Lloyd said. “I just knew I had to make that play.
“Any adversity towards us, we will fight it. We’re just ready to take on everything full-steam ahead.”
Sherando’s impressive running attack made sure James Wood’s prolific offense didn’t get the ball again. Taylor gained 9 yards on the first play, and the next 10 plays would feature seven runs by Tasco-Murrray for 58 yards and three more Taylor carries for 14 yards to put Sherando on the James Wood 18. Taylor then kneeled three times to end the game.
Rohrbaugh gave credit to Taylor’s father and Sherando’s offensive coordinator Ben Taylor for his game plan.
“We were going to take a lot more shots [downfield],” Rohrbaugh said. “We thought it was wide open [for passing opportunities], and they were wide open throughout the course of the game. But we also just got into a rhythm running the ball, and we didn’t want to disrupt that rhythm. The situation just dictated that we keep running it. We did a great job of controlling the line of scrimmage on offense.”
Neither team was in full-comfort mode right away.
On the game’s opening possession, it took James Wood six plays to advance 52 yards to the Sherando 23. But on first down, Neal fumbled and Wyatt Grimm recovered at the Warriors’ 17. Sherando then moved the ball 16 yards to its 33, but a Tasco-Murray fumble was recovered by Logan Lafollette at the Warriors’ 30.
James Wood took advantage. Four plays later, Neal’s 1-yard TD run and the first of two Draven Hernandez extra points gave the Colonels a 7-0 lead at the 4:44 mark of the first quarter.
Sherando answered with a six-play, 55-yard drive that ended with a 10-yard TD run by Taylor. Dawda popped his extra point up in the air short, leaving James Wood ahead 7-6 at the 1:50 mark of the first quarter.
On its next possession, it appeared briefly that Sherando had forced a turnover on downs when Neal couldn’t connect with Jackson Lang (three catches, 51 yards) in the back of the end zone on a fourth-and-11 pass.
However, Sherando was called for roughing the passer to keep James Wood’s drive alive. The Warriors would put James Wood in a fourth-and-goal situation at the 16, but this time Neal hit Xavier Price (four catches, 36 yards) with a perfect pass in the end zone by the left sideline for a 14-6 lead with 8:44 left in the second quarter.
Sherando answered with two-play drive that included an 18-yard pass to Crittenden and a 44-yard Tasco-Murray TD run in which he ran virtually untouched through a big hole on the right side. Taylor’s 2-point run made it 14-14 with 8:06 left in the second quarter.
Next, James Wood went three-and-out and punted for the first and only time all season, with Neal just missing a completion on a deep first-down pass and unable to step into an intermediate pass on third down due to pressure.
On Sherando’s next possession, a low snap went under Taylor’s hands and past him, and he was forced to fall on the ball at the Warriors’ 25 to set up a third-and-20.
Taylor responded with a 24-yard pass to Crittenden. The senior had to stop and wait a bit on the ball after beating his defender, but he hauled it in for a first down. Seven plays later, Taylor scored from 1 yard out with 34 seconds left in the second quarter for a 21-14 lead.
With James Wood having to kick off to start the second half, the Warriors were in excellent shape for a two-score advantage after Taylor’s score. James Wood’s explosive offense wouldn’t let that happen.
With the help of two timeouts, the Colonels drove 68 yards for a TD in 32 seconds. The last play featured Neal hitting Aidric Yurish (13 catches, 151 yards) over the middle, with Yurish breaking a tackle at the 6, stumbling toward the end zone and lunging in before he hit the ground for a 23-yard score. Sherando was offsides on the extra-point kick and James Wood went for two, but Neal was stopped to give the Warriors a 21-20 lead at the halftime.
After mishandling the second-half kickoff, Kellan Williams retreated to pick it up and returned it 37 yards to the James Wood 45. Seven plays later, Taylor scored from 4 yards out for a 28-20 Sherando edge with 8:10 left in the third quarter.
Taylor said he feels good about his chances to score when the Warriors are near the goal line.
“We have a really big O-line,” Taylor said. “And especially when we run that quarterback run game with Jaylen lead-blocking — he’s a hammer and he’ll take out anybody in front of him — it makes a wide-open hole for me to step into the end zone. It’s really all [my blockers that lead to success].”
James Wood’s next possession started at its own 49. Neal hit Yurish over the middle, but the Warriors knocked the ball away from him at the Warrior 33 and Grimm recovered his second fumble at the 27.
A holding penalty on first down put the Warriors behind the chains, and Sherando would have its only punt three plays later. Neal directed an eight-play, 67-yard drive that ended with his 5-yard TD run. After Sherando was called for pass interference on the two-point conversion, Neal ran the ball in to tie the game 28-28 with 2:47 to go in the third quarter.
Sherando responded with the game-winning drive. Three Tasco-Murray runs netted 22 yards, Crittenden gained 9 on a run, then Taylor lofted a perfect pass to Crittenden toward the left corner. He caught the ball in stride behind the defense and was knocked down at the James Wood 3. Tasco-Murray ran the ball in on the next play, which was the first play of the fourth quarter.
Crittenden didn’t play last week against Jefferson due to an injury. He didn’t want to push himself so that’d be good to go against James Wood. While the running game dominated for Sherando, Crittenden’s catches late in the second quarter and third quarter were essential.
“It’s huge [to win this],” Crittenden said. “The emotions were so high coming into this. Coach Rohrbaugh kept saying, ‘Don’t get caught up in it, don’t get caught up in it. It’s just another game for us.’ We came into this like any other game, but we all just wanted to win so bad. We came out here and got it done.”
James Wood came in averaging 62.7 points and 534.7 yards per game. Taylor is glad Sherando answered the challenge.
“We knew they were going to be a really good team,” Taylor said. “Our defense really stepped up with some turnovers, and our offense was just ready to roll the whole game, and just dominated with the run game.”
James Wood coach Todd Wilson would have liked to have seen what his team could have done with a drier field. He said the wet conditions led to wet footballs and played a role in James Wood’s fumbles, which he thought was the biggest difference in the game.
“You can boil it down to the turnovers,” Wilson said. “We turned it over three times. If we don’t turn the ball over three times, we probably score three more touchdowns, and it’s a whole different game. It’s that simple. I said earlier in the week whoever turned the ball over more would probably lose the game, and that was us tonight.”
Wilson said the conditions also made it harder to stop Sherando’s running attack. James Wood had more than twice as many passing yards (851) as any other Winchester-Frederick County team coming into Friday, and Wilson felt the wet field was better suited for a primarily running team like Sherando’s. On James Wood’s final drive, Wilson felt Price might have had a chance to score had he not slipped after catching a screen pass.
“It’s hard to hold your leverage in mud [on defense],” Wilson said. “And the things that we do with our explosive players, it slows down their planting and cutting. Both teams had to play in it, but it benefitted their style of play a little better than it did ours.”
As good as James Wood has been since the start of 2024 (17-7 record), the Colonels hadn’t truly come close to beating Sherando the past two seasons. Now, James Wood knows it’s capable of making it happen.
“The guys know they were right there with them,” Wilson said. “It could have easily been a different outcome. We know we’re a good football team, and we know they’re a good football team, too. Hopefully, we get another chance. We’ve become familiar with each other over the last couple of years, and they know that we’re close on their heels.”
Next Friday, Sherando travels to Brentsvllle and James Wood heads to Warren County.
— Contact Robert Niedzwiecki at rniedzwiecki@winchesterstar.com