Sherando vs John Handley

[MrSalem1000]

I wanted to provide my little write up on this game as well as get the conversation started.


Wow, this game is arguably the game of the year in 4D this year. The 8-1 Judges of Handley taking on the 8-1 Warriors of Sherando. On Saturday, November 9th, 2024 the Warriors will make that short trip up 81 from Stephens City to The Handley Bowl, Home of the Judges. The Warriors come into this game led by Senior QB Micah Carlson. Carlson has a slew of receivers that he can throw to including multi sport athlete Tucker Lafever. Micah has a great arm and has the ability to pick the Judges defense apart if the secondary of Handley does not play well. On the other side the Judges have a very solid QB of their own in Freshman Triston Darling. The kid is just a freshman and he is really showing this year how much talent he has. The Judges also have a stand out Senior running back in Hassan Akanbi. I do believe Hassan is the leading rusher in the Fredrick County area. During my time of living in Winchester, VA I learned about the importance of winning “The Apple Cup”. This game looks like it will decide the winner of The Apple Cup. For those that don’t know, Winchester is known for Apples. The Apple Cup is a trophy that the three Fredrick County schools Sherando, James Wood, and Millbrook battle for each year with the main Winchester City school, John Handley. I hope the community of Winchester shows out for this game and that both the Warriors and Judges play a great game next weekend. If you haven’t been to The Handley Bowl it is quite the experience. The High School is breathtaking and it’s just a beautiful atmosphere. Heck, I used to sometimes take the long way to the grocery store just to take a glance of the high school in passing in my car lol. I thoroughly enjoyed my time spent living in Winchester and really saw how much the Winchester community supports their high school teams. This will be a great game. My prediction? I’m taking the Judges in a close one 31-24. I think having this game at home will give the Judges an edge and will ultimately help them pull out the win.

 

[Scalvinscaliwag]

Where you at @Shruikan ? Tell all these pickers on the pickem how they are picking the wrong team. Is Sherando going to roll into Winchester and beat the Judges this Saturday?

 

[Shruikan]

Where you at @Shruikan ? Tell all these pickers on the pickem how they are picking the wrong team. Is Sherando going to roll into Winchester and beat the Judges this Saturday?

They may not want me to pick them based off my pick'em skills this year lol.

But yes, I have Sherando winning. I don't see either team being able to stop the other very often. A very banged up Millbrook team dropping 27 points on Handley doesn't look good for them on paper, but a good chunk of those came in the fourth quarter when the game was well in hand. Sherando's defense needs to make Handley's QB throw the ball and hope he doesn't have the day Kettle Run's QB had.

Not sure how I feel about the game being close. Could be, but my sense is that one team will win by a couple TDs over the other. If Sherando can force Handley's freshman QB to make some mistakes at key moments, they could put Handley in a hole that's hard to climb out of without riskier plays that could lead to more mistakes and bad field position. If Sherando can't stop the pass (or can't contain Darling), Handley could run away with it.

I'm going to try and make it to the game for the second half. Couldn't get off work that morning.😒

 

[Scalvinscaliwag]

Here is my keys for each team to win this game .
For Handley -
No turnovers - control the clock.
Sherando run defense has been stingy- if Handley can run the ball to set up play action pass they will blow Sherando out with big pass plays.
Handley is not a deep team , if they lose anyone to injury’s , especially defense they will be a different defensive team.
Handley has speed in the backfield at QB and RB, if they get to edge running the ball, Sherando will not be able to stop them. Sherando will be tough to run with a three yards and a cloud of dust type,of offense . They have to run out side the tackle box.
Big pass plays , Sherando pass,defense is suspect . kettle run exposed them on that.

For Sherando-
Get on top early and do not be sluggish at the start of the game.
If Sherando is running the ball on you , with read option QB plays and you can’t stop Carlson , he will gash you for 150 yards.
For Sherando QB who has a very good arm, he needs to be accurate when he throws to receivers . Some times I feel like he is more accurate on deep throws than the easier 5 to 15 yard throws .
Sherando defense has to contain and stop the big plays from Handley
Sherando needs to wear down those big Defensive And Offensive linemen . I watched the Handley Millbrook game and even though Handley had the game well in control, I saw what I thought was tired players on both sides of the line. Sherando who is smaller but not small on the line need to wear out Handley linemen .
I have thought a lot about how this game will go this coming Saturday, it really is a toss up for me .
It could go either way, which team is going to show up and play to there best potential?
The homer score I’m going with is Sherando 35 Handley 34. High scoring and somebody misses extra PAT.
Both teams are very good teams , and will be tough out in Region D playoffs.