Week 8 marks the last time in the regular season that there will be five local high school football games on the schedule.
Friday night features Fauquier at James Wood in a Homecoming game, Handley at Warren County, Millbrook at Jefferson (West Virginia) and Clarke County at Page County. (See related story for a preview on the Kettle Run at Sherando game.)
Fauquier (1-5) at James Wood (4-3)
When: Friday, 7 p.m.
Where: James Wood’s Kelican Stadium
Series history: Fauquier leads 27-22
Last week: Fauquier lost to Handley 46-3; James Wood lost to Sherando 35-0.
Players to watch: Fauquier: QB/DB Amari Martin; RB/DB Aaron Lewis; TE/DL Bo Green; WR/DB Justin Clarke; OL/DL Aidan Hartman. James Wood: LB/HB Vincent Salvati; QB Owen Neal; OL/DL Jordyn Sweetser; RB/DB Kobe Mason; WR/DB Kaden McCullough.
Coaches: Fauquier — Donnie Downs (first year). James Wood — Todd Wilson (second year).
Last year: James Wood outgained Fauquier 352-65 and picked up 274 yards on the ground in a 20-10 win. The Colonels led 14-10 at the half. Elijah Richards (30 carries, 146 yards), Dominik Ramirez (11 carries, 92 yards, two TDs) and Mason (six carries, 36 yards, one TD) were responsible for the entire rushing output.
Preview: Both squads are looking to bounce back from rough defeats.
James Wood has had a difficult time with injuries this year, and last week’s game against Sherando took a toll. Left tackle Kquinse Robinson didn’t play in the second half last week. In an email on Tuesday, Wilson said Robinson won’t play on Friday. Wilson said decisions on whether defensive lineman/running Dominik Ramirez and wide receivers/defensive backs Xander Manzo and Xavier Price will play won’t be made until Friday.
Mason returned to action last week. He had only seven yards on six attempts against a strong Sherando defense, but he still leads the team with 383 yards and three TDs on 67 carries (5.7 average). Neal has rushed 54 times for 290 yards (5.4 average) and two TDs and completed 70 of 125 passes for 928 yards, two TDs and seven interceptions.
The Colonels will take on a Fauquier team that is surrendering 27.3 points per game. Handley wracked up 479 yards (297 rushing, 182 passing) in defeating the Falcons last week.
Fauquier is averaging only 7.4 points per game in its five-game losing streak and had 198 yards against the Judges last week.
The Falcons will go up against a James Wood defense that is surrendering 328.1 yards per game and 28.7 points per game. The Colonels are led by Salvati (75 tackles) and Sweetser (35 tackles, five sacks).
Millbrook (3-3) at Jefferson (3-3)
When: Friday, 7 p.m.
Where: Jefferson’s Cougar Stadium, Shenandoah Junction (West Virginia)
Series history: Series tied 6-6
Last week: Millbrook beat Liberty 34-22; Jefferson beat South Hagerstown (Maryland) 48-14
Players to watch: Millbrook: RB/DB Cameron Clark; TE/LB Trey White; OL/DL Ezra Doyle-Naegeli; OL/DL Ty Jahnigen; LB Chris Bradford. Jefferson: QB Dylan Harich, RB Tay’Shaun Roper; TE Leeland Benner; WR/DB Demarius Wallace.
Coaches: Millbrook — Josh Haymore (12th year). Jefferson — Craig Hunter (12th year).
Last year: Jefferson scored the game’s first two touchdowns within six minutes, then scored 21 straight points after Millbrook tied the game at 14 and finished with a 35-28 win to put a damper on the Pioneers’ Homecoming contest. Kyler Jackson had 27 carries for 137 yards and four touchdowns. Harich was 16 of 23 for 153 yards and the one TD and ran for a team-high 84 yards and two TDs on 12 carries.
Preview: The Pioneers snapped a three-game losing streak last week, but the injury situation was significant. Running backs Jackson, Jahiden Nunez and Julius Brown all had to leave the game, and running back Ryan Annan was already out with an injury.
Millbrook could use as many healthy bodies as possible this week against Jefferson, whose three losses are all against undefeated teams. The Cougars have fallen to the top two teams in West Virginia’s 4A ratings (Spring Mills and Martinsburg) and lost to Sherando 42-14 in Week 2. Beginning with a late touchdown in the second quarter, the Warriors scored 28 unanswered points.
The Cougars are coming off a win against South Hagerstown in which they scored 46 unanswered points to end the game. Harich passed for two TDs, Roper ran for two TDs and Jefferson returned two kickoffs for TDs. Wallace, who had a receiving TD, returned a kickoff for a score for the Cougars’ first points. Jefferson has scored more than 40 points in each of its three wins.
Millbrook’s defense is allowing 264.2 yards and 21 points per game. The Pioneers will look to limit the Cougars behind Bradford (58 tackles) and White (40).
After giving up 31 points or more in each of its first four games, Jefferson has held its last two opponents to a total of 27 points. Millbrook is averaging 325 yards per game after rushing for 353 last week. Jackson leads Millbrook in rushing with 539 yards and five TDs and had 18 carries for 137 yards and two TDs last week. Clark is not far behind with 69 carries for 458 yards and four TDs. Chase Jones had six carries for 21 yards and two TDs, and Rylee Baker had 41 yards on five carries against Liberty last week.
Handley (5-1) at Warren County (1-5)
When: Friday, 7 p.m.
Where: Warren County High School, Front Royal
Series history: Handley leads 63-12-1
Last week: Handley beat Fauquier 46-3; Warren County lost 42-7 to Brentsville.
Players to watch: Handley: QB/DB Triston Darling; RB/DB Hassan Akanbi; WR/DB Will Yoder; TE/LB Ze’Quon Williams; RB/LB Jo-Jo Johnson; OL/DL Jaishaun Offutt. Warren County: RB/DB Gavin Dodson; RB Blaise Skube; QB Bryce Bergmann.
Coaches: Handley — Jake Smith (second year). Warren County — John Breeden (second year).
Last year: Akanbi returned the opening kickoff 69 yards to set up Handley’s first touchdown and would go on to rush for three scores as the Judges’ ground game devoured the Wildcats in a 48-7 Homecoming win at James R. Wilkins Jr. Stadium. Akanbi (eight carries, 191 yards), Manno Lusca (eight carries, 72 yards, two TDs) and Johnson (six carries, 55 yards, two TDs) led a Handley offense that scored on seven of its 23 offensive plays in the opening two quarters. The Judges’ longest scoring drive lasted six plays. Handley had 318 yards and seven TDs rushing in the first half.
Preview: A Handley team that dominated on the ground against Warren County last year is still punishing foes with its running attack. The Judges are averaging 304 yards per game on the ground and almost five rushing TDs per game. Akanbi has 822 yards and 11 TDs on 63 carries, and Darling has 677 yards and 13 TDs on 51 running attempts.
Darling is coming off his best passing game of the season against Fauquier (9 of 13 for 182 yards and three TDs). Overall, he’s 28 of 50 for 478 yards, six TDs and one interception.
The Wildcats have given up at least 31 points in four of their last five games and have surrendered a total of 93 points in losing each of their last two contests.
Warren County only had 135 yards in losing to Brentsville last week. Skube led the Wildcats with 66 yards on 13 carries. He had 44 yards on a TD run.
Handley is allowing 241 yards per game and 12.1 points per game. Johnson leads the team with 55 tackles (15 for a loss) and two sacks and Trenton Gomez has 32.5 tackles.
Clarke County (6-0, 1-0) at Page County (2-4, 0-1)
When: Friday, 7 p.m.
Where: Page County’s Buddy Comer Stadium, Shenandoah
Series history: Clarke County leads 24-14
Last week/game: Clarke County beat Central 27-12; Page County lost to Strasburg 50-7.
Players to watch: Clarke County: RB/DB Wyatt Palmer; QB/DB Tanner Sipe; TE/LB Carson Chinn; OL/DL Saia Tuivailala; OL/DL Joseph Stem; RB/DB Wilson Taylor. Page County: QB Jayden Taylor; RB Ace Campbell.
Coaches: Clarke County — Casey Childs (fifth year). Page County — James May (third year).
Last year: Clarke County scored seven touchdowns in the first half and had eight different players find the end zone in coasting to a 54-0 Homecoming victory in Bull Run District action. The Eagles’ six offensive touchdowns were all five plays or fewer in the first half, and they ran for 386 total yards, with Palmer recording 106 yards and a TD on three carries. Clarke County allowed just three first downs and 89 total yards. Page County didn’t pick up its initial first down of the game until the first drive of the second half.
Preview: Clarke County comes into this game with just three days of rest, but the Eagles are flying high after beating rival Central on Monday.
The Eagles rushed for 295 yards against the Falcons and are averaging 325.7 yards per game (283.3 rushing). Palmer leads the team with 827 yards and 11 TDs on 99 carries (8.4 average) after recording 133 rushing yards and two TDs on 28 carries last week. Taylor has picked up 480 yards and three TDs on 40 attempts (12.0 average) and Sipe has 320 yards and six TDs on 52 carries (6.2 average).
Page County has surrendered between 38 and 55 points in its four losses and gave up 249 yards on 25 plays against Strasburg.
The Panthers had 152 yards last week and have been held to 12 points or less in their four defeats. Campbell ran for 76 yards against the Rams, and Taylor had a 1-yard rushing TD.
Clarke County is allowing 12.7 points and 184 yards per game. Chinn has an area-best 78 tackles and Tuivailala has 54 tackles, 2.5 sacks, three QB hurries and has batted down four passes. Ryan Hanley has 45 tackles and two sacks.
