WINCHESTER — Giving up a touchdown on the third play from scrimmage isn’t how the James Wood defense wanted to start Friday’s high school football clash against Culpeper County at Kelican Stadium.
That touchdown celebration proved to be the Blue Devils’ last one.
The Colonels held Culpeper scoreless for the remainder of the game and the James Wood offense opened up in the second half of a 48-7 romp on Hall of Fame Night. Quarterback Owen Neal ran for four touchdowns and tossed a 70-yard strike to Jackson Lang as the Colonels (3-0) pulled away to set up a battle of unbeaten against Sherando (3-0) next Friday.
James Wood had cruised in its two previous games against Clarke County (63-7) and Dominion (77-0), but got a challenge from Culpeper (2-1) for two quarters.
Certainly there were a few murmurs in the stands after Culpeper needed just three plays to go 56 yards to open the game with Lloyd Cropp taking a counter reverse 29 yards down the left sidelines for a score.
The Blue Devils moved the ball at points — mostly on 146 passing yards from quarterback Ryder Hoehna — during the remainder of the half, but the Colonels always had an answer if Culpeper got close.
A well-timed blitz from linebacker Logan Lafollette (on a fourth-and goal from the 3) netted a key sack and Aidric Yurish later picked off a pass in the end zone with 14 seconds left in the half.
“There were only minor adjustments [needed after] that one touchdown,” linebacker Jackson Ledford explained. “Once we fixed that, we got rolling. Once our energy picks up, we really keep it and that’s a big part of our defense.”
“We just made plays,” Colonels coach Todd Wilson said of his defense which faced a primarily single-wing attack. “The first time we missed a tackle and got out-leveraged there. …. [Clopp’s] fast and we knew they had good players on their team. After that, we didn’t get out-leveraged and we played our assignments better. The defensive line got a good push and the linebackers made their reads better.”
Culpeper’s defense, combined with the offense eating up the clock, slowed down a high-powered attack that was averaging 70 points per game.
After a drive stalled in Blue Devils territory to open the game, James Wood was able to square the score on its next possession. Dane Tews (33) and Ledford (26) combined for 59 yards rushing in a 77-yard march and Neal capped it with a 7-yard TD run. Draven Hernandez booted the first of his six extra points to tie the score at 7-7 with 2:25 in the opening quarter.
The contest stayed that way until late in the second quarter. Neal was 6 for 6 for 72 yards in a 90-yard drive, including a key 9-yard sideline pass to Xavier Price on fourth-and-3 from the Culpeper 33. A 21-yard toss to Yurish set up Neal’s sweep right from the 3 to make the score 14-7.
Yurish’s interception on a heave from the Colonels 21 kept James Wood ahead in a half that had its moments of frustration.
“That’s the kind of ballgame I figured it was going to be like,” Wilson said. “We knew their game plan — they wanted to run the ball, stay ahead of the sticks and eat up the clock. They did a good job of that.
“… It’s good that we faced adversity. We faced a little bit there in the first half. We didn’t really make adjustments. We just started playing a little bit better football. And after we got going, it kind of speaks for itself from there.”
Neal and Lang spoke volumes on the second offensive play of the third quarter. Neal found Lang in a seam about 15 yards downfield and the speedy receiver did the rest by racing untouched for the 70-yard lightning bolt to make it 21-7.
“We saw that adjustment, the coaches up top,” Neal said. “They said, ‘If we get this look it’s going to be there.’ We got it, took advantage and Jackson took it to the house.”
Culpeper had one brief glimmer of hope after Michael Street-Boggs picked off a pass that bounced of the hands of a Colonels receiver and returned it to the James Wood 34.
A holding penalty, one of many flags thrown in the last two quarters, negated a huge run inside the Colonels 5. On third-and-24 from the 33, Lafollette sacked Hoehna for a 9-yard loss to force a punt. Culpeper would get just four first downs and 37 total yards over the final two quarters.
Ledford’s 38-yard rumble started a 79-yard march that featured 63 yards rushing. Ledford capped the drive with a 4-yarder to make the score 28-7 with 3:37 left in the third.
The Colonels would continue to pile up the yardage on the ground, finishing with 305 on 40 carries. Neal rushed for two TDs (from 2 and 5 yards out) and Tews (12 carries, 97 yards) scored from the 3 in the fourth quarter.
“They gave us that six-man box and one of them has got to honor me,” said Neal, who rushed for 76 yards on 14 carries while also completing 13 of 20 passes for 233 yards. “It made it easy for the run game.”
“We can move the ball anywhere,” said Ledford, who led the rushing attack with 105 yards on 11 carries while Tews added 97 yards on 12 carries. “We did a really great job of moving the ball tonight. [The ground attack] was definitely in our game plan and I think it worked out the way we wanted it to.”
The Colonels hope success continues next week at Sherando, which is off to a stellar start.
While his team has overwhelmed three opponents, Wilson believes the preparation is there to face the Warriors, who whipped Loudoun County, last season’s Class 4 runner-up, 48-21 in Week 2.
“We’ve been prepared for every game since January,” Wilson said. “It’s not just like a one or two-game thing to get us ready. The guys have been working hard in the weight room all of the way back to January. It’s all the offseason stuff. … The guys have been really dedicated to that.”
But, certainly this contest has been circled on the schedule.
“We’ve been preparing for this game since last year,” Ledford said. “It’s a really big game for us.”
“It’s a cross-town rivalry and it’s been a rivalry for a while now,” added Neal. “We’ve just got to into it like any other week, stay focused and execute the game plan.
“But, I mean, it’s Sherando. There should be a lot of energy. They’re a good team. They’re very fundamentally sound, so it should be a good game.”