James Wood (4-1, 1-1 Northwestern District) at Meridian (3-2, 1-2)
Last year’s game between James Wood and Meridian in Falls Church went down to the wire. The Colonels won 22-19, with quarterback Owen Neal scoring the winning touchdown on a 23-yard run with 4:12 remaining as part of a 108-yard, two-touchdown performance on the ground. The Colonels then stopped Meridian on two possessions to close out the victory.
Meridian is coming off a 60-22 rout of Fauquier in which Duke Dawson scored four TDs (three rushing, one on a kickoff return) and Oumar Thompson ran for two TDs in the Mustangs’ double-wing attack. Thompson ran for 130 yards on 25 carries against James Wood last year.
The Mustangs lost 35-21 to Millbrook two weeks ago, scoring 18 of its points in the second half after trailing 21-3 at the break.
Quarterback Cruz Ruoff completed only 3 of 15 passes for 13 yards against James Wood last year, but he was the main reason why the Mustangs had offensive success in the second half against the Pioneers. He completed 18 of 29 passes for 185 yards, one TD and one interception. Dawson ran for 123 yards and a TD on 14 carries against the Pioneers.
James Wood is giving up 211.2 yards per game after limiting Warren County to 158 yards last week (14 on the ground) in a 72-12 win. The Colonels’ defense is led by linebackers Jackson Ledford (42 tackles), Logan Lafollette (38 tackles, four sacks) and Kaden McCullough (26 tackles, five for a loss).
The Colonels are coming off one of the best offensive nights in program history, with Neal (39 for 70 for 1,033 yards, 11 TDs and two interceptions; 47 carries, 268 yards, seven TDs) and Xavier Price (12 catches, 394 yards, seven TDs) hooking up for five TDs. Also for James Wood, Aidric Yurish has 10 catches for 302 yards and two TDs and Jeremiah Hodel has 48 carries for 375 yards and four TDs.