Football Playoff Berth Likely On The Line As Handley And James Wood Continue Rivalry

Posted: November 7, 2014

By ROBERT NIEDZWIECKI

The Winchester Star

WINCHESTER — After rallying from a 14-0 halftime deficit in a 21-20 win over Millbrook two weeks ago, James Wood coach Mark McHale told his players after the game, “It doesn’t get any better than this.”

McHale might feel differently about that after tonight.

The area’s oldest rivalry gets a major jolt this year, as Handley and James Wood are set to battle in what essentially amounts to a play-in game for the 4A North Region playoffs at 7 p.m. today at the Colonels’ Jerry L. Kelican Stadium.

Only 16 teams from the region will get into the playoffs. The Judges (4-5, 1-2 Northwestern District) — who lead the all-time series with James Wood 35-16-1 after last year’s 49-15 victory at the Handley Bowl — are ranked 17th in the VHSL power ratings and need a win to get in. James Wood (4-5, 1-2) is ranked 15th and could still get in with a loss, but would likely need some help to do so.

Just the fact that the Colonels — who had a bye last week — are in the playoff conversation heading into its annual season finale with the Judges is music to their ears. The Colonels haven’t made the playoffs since 2011 as a result of posting back-to-back 1-9 seasons in 2012 and 2013.

“To me, this is my biggest rivalry. It doesn’t get out of my genes,” said McHale, the Colonels’ second-year head coach and a 1968 James Wood graduate. “You’ve got that setup, city vs. county, and I think either team that wins is going to go to the playoffs.

“It’s a great buildup to end your year. At this time last year we weren’t looking at anything, and now we’ve got some incentive and things to play for. We’ve got a great group of seniors, and they deserve to go to the playoffs. But we have to deserve it by beating Handley.”

At the beginning of the year, most people probably wouldn’t have thought the Judges would be on the outside of the playoff bubble going into the regular-season finale. Handley went 7-4 last year, and was essentially adding a player to an already explosive offense in senior wide receiver Justin Washington, who missed the team’s final six games in 2013.

But after snapping a three-game losing streak with a 56-38 win over Millbrook last week, the Judges have new life.

And the manner in which they won can’t be understated. In its three straight losses, Handley trailed 14-13 heading into the fourth quarter against Kettle Run in a 27-13 loss; led 29-14 late in the fourth quarter in a 43-29 loss to Sherando; and led 21-13 at the half against Skyline in a 35-28 loss. But against Millbrook, a Judges team leading 35-31 scored the first 21 points of the second half, and the only points they gave up came on a touchdown with five seconds left.

“It was different, to come out in the second half and actually dominate, unlike the past three losses,” said Handley senior defensive linemen Marquaye Jackson.

And by not only rallying to beat Millbrook, but also stuffing it on a run up the middle when the Pioneers went for a two-point conversion with 59 seconds left, James Wood also got the type of resolve-testing game it needed after suffering consecutive blowout losses to Sherando and Skyline.

“That goal-line stand was one of the best ones we’ve had in a while,” said James Wood senior running back and linebacker Tyler Bishop (101 carries for 653 yards and six TDs). “We’re just going to use that momentum and carry it into this week.”

In the second half against Millbrook, James Wood used time-consuming drives on offense and prevented explosive plays on defense to rally for the win, and the Colonels will need the same formula against Handley.

Led by quarterback Will Dearing (1,848 yards passing, 24 TDs and 11 INTs), wide receivers Dontae Mauck (42 catches, 887 yards, 13 TDs) and Washington (20 catches, 340 yards, 5 TDs), and running back D.J. Frisby (638 yards, 3 TDs), the Judges are averaging a Northwestern District-best 353.7 yards per game. Handley piled up 557 yards against Millbrook (357 passing).

“Last week, execution-wise, it was our best game,” Handley coach Tony Rayburn said. “We got the ball to our guys who can make plays. Our line blocked well, we ran well last week. Last week we were a lot more balanced, and hopefully we can do that this week.”

McHale said he knows James Wood can’t shut down Handley’s offense completely, but the Colonels will have to find a way to slow it down.

“We’re playing a really good football team that’s blessed with a lot of speed,” McHale said. “The biggest thing is that people who’ve got the deep third [of the field], they can’t get beat deep. They’ve got to keep everything in front of them.

“All of Handley’s games, it’s either a player catching it in space, juking and gone, or he’s beating somebody deep. So we’ve got to keep everything in front of us. We’re going to have to bleed and not break.”

James Wood will also have to be wary of Dearing’s running prowess as well. After rushing for only 34 yards through four games, Dearing has gained 274 rushing yards over the last five.

“The line’s definitely got to get more pressure on the quarterback [than in last year’s game], and keep contain and keep him inside when he does run,” said junior defensive end Asa Brewer (56 tackles and a team-high 4.5 sacks).

On offense, James Wood had a lot of people step up for Bishop at tailback against Millbrook when he went out in the second half with a shoulder injury, but with a bye week to help him heal he’s ready for his usual workload.

The Colonels’ first two touchdown drives in the second half against the Pioneers took 11 minutes and 10 seconds off the clock, covered 168 yards, and needed 23 plays, with all but one of them rushing.

If James Wood can move the ball like that against Handley — which is surrendering 163.9 yards rushing yards per game and gave up 299 on the ground last week against Millbrook — it will be to its advantage.

With Brady Hepner at quarterback (745 yards, 8 TDs and 10 INTs passing, 243 yards and 3 TDs rushing) James Wood can also mix in the zone read option.

“We’ve got to be better with tackling, because last week we missed a lot of tackles,” Rayburn said. “The Bishop kid is tough, because he’s a downhill runner and he accelerates through the tackles. The quarterback runs well — against Skyline we had trouble with the zone-reads. We stopped the running back decently, but we had trouble with the quarterback, so we have to do better with that.”

Jackson said the Judges have to be efficient with their assignments.

“We’ve been working a lot on just containing and just holding our ground,” he said. “Whoever’s focused on the quarterback, focus on the quarterback. Whoever has the running back, has the running back.”

Though both teams have the same district record, the Judges have fared better than James Wood in the common opponent category. Handley had a chance to beat Sherando and Skyline in the second half while James Wood was routed by both, while Handley pulled away to beat Millbrook comfortably while the Colonels had to rally.

But all that matters for the playoffs is how these historic rivals play on one night against each other.

“We’re ready to play, and we feel like we have a good shot,” Bishop said. “The coaches are putting us in a great position to play, and we’re going to go out there and do our best to win.”

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