Semifinal Results
Woodgrove 28, Loudoun County 21
Woodgrove defeated Loudoun County 28-21 in a hard fought game hosted by the Wolverines on Saturday. After going down 22-0, the Raiders made a comeback, getting it to 22-14 and then 28-21, but the Wolverine defense managed to shut down County's passing attack and advance to the region final.
Woodgrove is undefeated against Class 4 competition this year, with their two losses coming to Broad Run and Massaponax, both of whom are representing their regions in the Class 5 championships next weekend. Winners of seven straight games, Woodgrove will look to knock off the defending champion Warriors at home next Friday night.
Sherando 16, Kettle Run 14
Kettle Run forced Sherando to play Cougar-style football for the first half of the game, sticking to their tactic of managing the clock well through the use of long drives designed to wear down the Sherando defense. The Cougars managed to pin Sherando against their own end zone twice via a pair of excellent punts.
Sherando led 9-0 at the half at Shentel Stadium (thank you to Shenandoah University), and extended the lead to 16-0 in the third quarter despite playing much of the game without star RB T.J. Washington and losing star QB Hunter Entsminger to a leg injury. Washington re-entered the game, but Entsminger did not.
The Cougars brought the game back to 16-8 and then scored again to make it 16-14. They very nearly converted another 2-point conversion to tie the game, but the runner fell just short of the end zone. Sherando managed to run out the clock and get off the field with a hard-earned victory.
The coming championship will be a much different kind of game, given that there's only one common opponent between the two teams (Loudoun Valley; Sherando won 56-14 and Woodgrove won 35-10). Both teams have felt the sting of defeat against fantastic opponents, and both have needed to grind out victories to advance in the playoffs.
Woodgrove has not given up many points to their Dulles opponents this year. Going by their schedule, they don't put up fantastically high point totals, but have scored as much as they've needed to in order to win (including an impressive victory over 5A Tuscarora 42-28), and have managed to contain strong offenses throughout the year.
Sherando is harder to predict this week. If QB Entsminger doesn't play, the Sherando playbook shrinks. Backup quarterback Chacai Campbell has gotten to play a fair amount this year and I have confidence in him, but it's hard to replace a QB that has been a starter for three years and is one of the best players in the state at his position.
The Warriors had a lot of success running a jumbo package involving Doleman and Bauer, and I hope to see more of that against Woodgrove next weekend, especially if Entsminger is unable to play. I have no doubt that Sherando's coaching staff will have the Warriors ready.
This one is hard to predict given the unknowns around Sherando and the lack of many common opponents over the year.
Going with my heart here:
Sherando 28, Woodgrove 27
Woodgrove 28, Loudoun County 21
Woodgrove defeated Loudoun County 28-21 in a hard fought game hosted by the Wolverines on Saturday. After going down 22-0, the Raiders made a comeback, getting it to 22-14 and then 28-21, but the Wolverine defense managed to shut down County's passing attack and advance to the region final.
Woodgrove is undefeated against Class 4 competition this year, with their two losses coming to Broad Run and Massaponax, both of whom are representing their regions in the Class 5 championships next weekend. Winners of seven straight games, Woodgrove will look to knock off the defending champion Warriors at home next Friday night.
Sherando 16, Kettle Run 14
Kettle Run forced Sherando to play Cougar-style football for the first half of the game, sticking to their tactic of managing the clock well through the use of long drives designed to wear down the Sherando defense. The Cougars managed to pin Sherando against their own end zone twice via a pair of excellent punts.
Sherando led 9-0 at the half at Shentel Stadium (thank you to Shenandoah University), and extended the lead to 16-0 in the third quarter despite playing much of the game without star RB T.J. Washington and losing star QB Hunter Entsminger to a leg injury. Washington re-entered the game, but Entsminger did not.
The Cougars brought the game back to 16-8 and then scored again to make it 16-14. They very nearly converted another 2-point conversion to tie the game, but the runner fell just short of the end zone. Sherando managed to run out the clock and get off the field with a hard-earned victory.
- 4C Championship -
Sherando (10-1) at Woodgrove (8-2)
Both Sherando and Woodgrove are coming off hard-fought games in which they had to defeat a team that had lost to no one else but them over the course of the season. Kettle Run and Loudoun County both ended their seasons with two losses, coming to the Warriors and Wolverines respectively. That is no easy feat.Sherando (10-1) at Woodgrove (8-2)
The coming championship will be a much different kind of game, given that there's only one common opponent between the two teams (Loudoun Valley; Sherando won 56-14 and Woodgrove won 35-10). Both teams have felt the sting of defeat against fantastic opponents, and both have needed to grind out victories to advance in the playoffs.
Woodgrove has not given up many points to their Dulles opponents this year. Going by their schedule, they don't put up fantastically high point totals, but have scored as much as they've needed to in order to win (including an impressive victory over 5A Tuscarora 42-28), and have managed to contain strong offenses throughout the year.
Sherando is harder to predict this week. If QB Entsminger doesn't play, the Sherando playbook shrinks. Backup quarterback Chacai Campbell has gotten to play a fair amount this year and I have confidence in him, but it's hard to replace a QB that has been a starter for three years and is one of the best players in the state at his position.
The Warriors had a lot of success running a jumbo package involving Doleman and Bauer, and I hope to see more of that against Woodgrove next weekend, especially if Entsminger is unable to play. I have no doubt that Sherando's coaching staff will have the Warriors ready.
This one is hard to predict given the unknowns around Sherando and the lack of many common opponents over the year.
Going with my heart here:
Sherando 28, Woodgrove 27
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