Bishop, Colonels run past Wildcats

FRONT ROYAL — It was no secret what James Wood was going to try to do against Warren County on Friday night. It was only a matter of execution and the Colonels executed to almost perfection.

James Wood used its offensive line and the running of Tyler Bishop to pull out a 52-34 non-district football victory over the Wildcats.

Bishop, who entered the game with almost 500 yards in his first two games combined, ran for 336 yards on 22 carries and five touchdowns for the Colonels.

“Got to give credit to the blocking too,” James Wood head coach Mark McHale said. “That O-line has been doing a great job.”

The Colonels were stopped on their first drive as Bishop had no carries. However, on the second drive the Colonels went to what they do best. Three straight runs by Bishop, capping it off with a 31-yard touchdown run for a 6-0 lead with 5:02 left in the first quarter.

“We knew coming in that their offensive line is really good,” Warren County coach Steve Crist said. “Then, obviously, Bishop he’s a talented running back too.”

James Wood needed only four plays to go 31 yards, after a nine-yard Warren County punt, on the next drive. Bishop scored on a five-yard touchdown to give the Colonels a 12-0 lead late in the first quarter.

The Wildcats managed 0 yards of offense and no first downs in the first quarter. The Colonels added to their lead to start the second quarter.

James Wood quarterback Dade Carroll connected with Dillon Manuel for a 27-yard touchdown and an 18-0 edge on the first play of the second quarter.

“We didn’t establish anything offensively,” Crist said of Warren County’s slow start. “We missed a couple chances, and I think that kind of put us in a little bit of a fog. Then we gave them short fields and they took advantage of it.”

The Colonels stretched the lead to 25-0 on a three-yard touchdown pass from Carroll to Ryan Bearer with 7:26 remaining in the first half.

The Wildcats finally came to life. On Warren County’s next offensive play, Joseph Rutherford scored on a 63-yard touchdown run to cut the lead to 25-7.

James Wood came right back with a 31-yard touchdown pass from Carroll to Manuel with 5:50 left in the first half for a 32-7 edge.

The Wildcats struck right back as quarterback Robert Rutherford threw a 69-yard touchdown pass to twin brother Joseph Rutherford with 4:32 left in the opening half. Joseph Rutherford took the pass made a cut back to the right side of the field and into the end zone to cut the lead to 32-14.

The Colonels used seven plays to finish off the scoring in the first half with a 65-yard drive. Bishop capped it off with a three-yard touchdown run for a 39-14 lead with 52 seconds left in the first half.

Bishop scored on a 91-yard touchdown run to start off the second half. James Wood’s Carroll also had a strong night in the passing game. He went 8-for-9 for 124 yards and three touchdowns.

“He managed the game well,” McHale said of Carroll. “He threw the ball well.”

Warren County’s Robert Rutherford went 12-for-23 for 206 yards and two touchdown passes. Joseph Rutherford finished with 91 yards on 12 carries.

“We showed some fight in the second half,” Crist said. “We didn’t give up, which is always a positive.”

Contact staff writer Tommy Keeler at 540-465-5137 ext. 168, or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Colonels 52, Wildcats 34
James Wood 12 27 6 7 –52
Warren County 0 14 13 7–34
First quarter
JW: Bishop 31 run (Pass failed), 5:02
JW: Bishop 5 run (Kick failed), 1:05
Second quarter
JW: Manuel 27 pass from Carroll (Run failed), 11:50
JW: Bearer 3 pass from Carroll (Burner kick), 7:26
WC: J. Rutherford 63 run (Ashley kick), 7:03
JW: Manuel 31 pass from Carroll (Burner kick), 5:50
WC: J. Rutherford 69 pass from R. Rutherford (Ashley kick), 4:32
JW: Bishop 3 run (Burner kick), :52
Third quarter
JW: Bishop 91 run (Pass failed), 10:04
WC: Ford 15 pass from R. Rutherford (Ashley kick), 6:16
WC: R. Rutherford 7 run (Pass failed), :35
Fourth quarter
JW: Bishop 14 run (Burner kick), 10:17
WC: Jost 22 pass from Cornwell (Ashley kick), 1:22
JW WC
First downs 18 12
Rushes-yards 34-415 32-128
Passing yards 124 228
Passing 8-9-3-1 13-26-2-0
Penalties-yards 8-65 6-35
Fumbles-lost 1-0 1-0
Punts-Avg. 2-38.0 5-22.0
RUSHING: James Wood Bishop 22-336, Brewer 3-7, Carroll 5-17, Funkhouser 1-3. Warren County J. Rutherford 12-91, R. Rutherford 12-27, Ford 1-1, Dickerson 5-(minus 2), Petit 1-3, Cornwell 1-8.
PASSING: James Wood Carroll 8-9-124-3-1. Warren County R. Rutherford 12-23-206-2-0; Cornwell 1-3-22-1-0.
RECEIVING: James Wood Manuel 6-132, Bearer 1-3, Sullivan 1-9. Warren County Ford 3-41, Haley 1-5, McMackin 2-28, J. Rutherford 1-69, Tierney 2-40, Spangler 3-30, Jost 1-22.