Wild Finish! Good story lines. Throw the JV records out the window. Hawk and Animal loading. Millbrooke dangerous??? Sherando v JF really the best two teams?
4D Thread
- Thread starter MaroonDude
- Start date
Personally I'd put Jefferson Forest and Salem at #1 and #2 with G.W., Sherando, and James Wood* in a group just below them. I have an asterisk next to James Wood because their offense is good enough that I think they could play with just about anyone in Class 4 if their defense can get a couple well-timed turnovers. They're averaging 57.2 ppg, which is second in VA only to Maury (57.3). This is very easily their best team in the past ~40 years, if not longer.
Sherando is a solid team and will be a tough out for anyone in 4D, but they have too many holes on defense that I fear better teams will exploit. Handley was moving the ball on them at will throughout the first half before blundering away each and every scoring opportunity. Sherando led 21-0 at the half, but it very easily could've been a 21-21 game. Still, credit to the defense for coming up with key stops when it mattered. I just worry those opportunities will be few and far between against the likes of Salem and JF.
Sherando is a solid team and will be a tough out for anyone in 4D, but they have too many holes on defense that I fear better teams will exploit. Handley was moving the ball on them at will throughout the first half before blundering away each and every scoring opportunity. Sherando led 21-0 at the half, but it very easily could've been a 21-21 game. Still, credit to the defense for coming up with key stops when it mattered. I just worry those opportunities will be few and far between against the likes of Salem and JF.
GW is what? 0-7 against Salem since 2014? It’s been ugly. With that being said (new year, new teams), I don’t see how Salem is grouped above GW this year. Salem has played 1 team all year with a winning record. GW may very well lose to Salem or JF but GW beat 2 state championship contenders (Reidsville and Magna Vista) this year. I’ve seen both GW and Salem play, from an outsiders perspective, GW is a top 3 team in this region along with Sherando and JF. Danville is definitely deserving of their 1 seed.
There's just one problem. Salem rises to the occasion and has beat GW 7 times in 12 years. Salem will win on the road against Jamey's got wood in round 1, and then win in round 2 against GW in Danville.
You’re 100% right. No debate from me…
Just saying, new season, new personnel, and there’s some analytics that point at GW winning in a Salem match up if both teams win next Friday. I plan to go to the Salem/James Wood game on Friday and I would like to see if Salem’s defense has gotten better at the second level. Salem’s defense is the worst of GW/JF/Sherando/Salem group.
If you go to James Wood and we're able to go, maybe we'll see you there. Missed you earlier this year unfortunately.
I'm not taking anybody for granted, but for my money I'd say JF is the clear favorite in D. Sherando and GW will be a tough draw for anyone. If Salem stays healthy I wouldn't want to play them. Lack of depth could hinder them from making it out of the region. The elephant sitting at the door waiting for whoever emerges from D is eventually Varina. They are the clear C4 favorite.
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I may be underrating G.W. Danville a bit. I wasn't too impressed when they played Amherst earlier in the season, but Magna Vista is a solid team and they destroyed them last night. That is an excellent win.
Salem's defense had better come ready to play. James Wood's offense is crazy good this year. They played Sherando in very wet conditions which no doubt hindered their explosiveness and favored Sherando, which wants to run the ball all game behind a strong o-line and excellent RB.
Who does the winner of 4D play in the semi-finals this year? 4A, 4B, or 4C?
Salem's defense had better come ready to play. James Wood's offense is crazy good this year. They played Sherando in very wet conditions which no doubt hindered their explosiveness and favored Sherando, which wants to run the ball all game behind a strong o-line and excellent RB.
Who does the winner of 4D play in the semi-finals this year? 4A, 4B, or 4C?
Region winners in C4 are seeded based on their final power point rating at the end of the regular season. #1 hosts #4 & #2 hosts #3 in the Semifinals.
GW’s hasn’t gotten out of the 3rd round of the playoffs in 30 years this year. Salem and JF will and should be favored in a GW matchup.
Not a James Wood fan, but I am a Frederick County native. Sherando Fan
How is Salem's secondary?
I doubt that Salem has seen a passing attack as potent as James Wood's this season. If they can't pressure the QB they could very well lose this game. That would be crazy to say in any season other than this one in the past 30-40 years.
So mad I couldn't get off work to be at this game.
So mad I couldn't get off work to be at this game.
James Wood is a bad matchup for Salem. I like James Wood by 17. Wood definitely is more battle tested as they have played a tougher schedule. That schedule will pay dividends on Friday night. The Salem secondary will especially have to play stellar all night long to win. Neal at qb for Wood will pick them apart if they aren’t focused all game long and if there is no pressure on him. When Wood runs the ball, Jackson Ledford pounding the rock is a problem. He runs very low to the ground and is strong and physical. I gotta take James Wood in this one and an early first round exit for Salem.
I don’t think people are over looking this but Salems line is very big and good both sides of ball. They absolutely maul people. (People keep talking about pressure but pressure isn’t typically the number one goal of d line for salem, disagree with it all you want but historically salem coaches gap control first at the expense of pressure, actually forcing a qb out of the pocket is seen as dangerous because then that is when people get out of position and big plays happen, and no one is assigned the qb. Salem doesn’t even try to “penetrate” on run plays, don’t want to be up feild and out of position. It’s based on the principle that everyone does their job, including the defensive backs. They aren’t going to be helped by insane pressure they are expected to hold down their coverage responsibilities without help from pressure. Once you let a qb out of the pocket, responsibility for the qb makes different job responsibilities come into contest with other responsibilities. D ends typically have a bit more leeway to close in on qb but they don’t get a great first couple steps to do so because they too are not trying to get up field on run plays so they read play, then rush. Disagree with the coaching philosophy all you want this is typically how it has been coached historically at Salem. Read, gap control, then push toward qb but don’t let them force them out of pocket and don’t rush at expense of gap control. Built on the philosophy that d backs will do their job. Like I said, not everyone will agree with it, but it’s typically how it’s been coached at Salem, with some exceptions.)
sometimes strong line play doesn’t mean putting together a winning game (I think they won up front against ph most of game and we know how that turned out).
Anyways. Love to the mules. This is an under appreciated bunch of them. Win or lose on Friday
sometimes strong line play doesn’t mean putting together a winning game (I think they won up front against ph most of game and we know how that turned out).
Anyways. Love to the mules. This is an under appreciated bunch of them. Win or lose on Friday
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Salem could easily be overwhelmed by James Wood's passing game. However, I don't think their schedule was much, if any, tougher than Salem's. James Wood gave up 49 points in a 63-49 win over 4-6 Millbrook. It could be a case of neither team being able to stop the other's strength. That's what this preview suggests as well as it being a game between two teams which are almost equally strong but very stylistically different.
Salem At James Wood High School Football
Poor Salem might get Molly Whopped. Maybe they will stop at Smiley's on the way home to lick their wounds and get a couple scoops of ice-cream.
I had never heard of that Smiley's until I just looked it up. They could also get some of the Best Dang BBQ at the Smiley's across from White's Truck Stop or go to Buc-ee's, both of which will actually be open late Friday night.
Looking forward to seeing you my brother! Will let you know if I’m in attendance by Friday morning!
Smiley is elite ice cream fam. The don't sponsor any JV programs though, so there is that.
Going to be a great regional here. I wish Millbrook had landed on GW or JF so we could get an intra district matchup. Them playing Sherando again sucks for them. Sherando should win but likely closer than the first matchup. JF will roll in round 1. GW beat Glass 20-7 earlier this year. Glass has won 3 of their last 4 games so we'll see if their confidence plus the fact they kept it relatively close the first time around, can give them some edge to pull an upset. The real game is in James Wood. Every indication of a barnburner. Salem offense has moved it on everyone, stubbed a bit vs PH. Wood offense looking lethal. I'll go out on a limb and say the first team to score 30 points will win. Wood didn't fair well trying to stop the Sherando run game and Salem will be just as physical although the scheme isn't the same. I've giving the edge to the home team but a Salem win wouldn't be a surprise either.
GW 35 Glass 10
JF 49 Handley 7
Sherando 34 Millbrook 14
James Wood 43 Salem 42 in OT
GW 35 Glass 10
JF 49 Handley 7
Sherando 34 Millbrook 14
James Wood 43 Salem 42 in OT
I don’t see JW
Just how good is this JF team bro? I’d love to see GW finally get over the hump, but in my eyes this JF team is a 2+ TD favorite over any team in this region. I’m reaching?
Handley's biggest issue is coaching, imo. I know it's easy to rag on the coach when things aren't going well and it's often done unfairly, but the wheels have fallen off that team over the past several weeks and I think the buck stops with him. They moved the ball almost at will against Sherando, James Wood, and Millbrook, but after consistent struggles in the red zone they seemingly gave up in the second half in each of those games. It's one thing in a total mismatch, but when a talented team quits when things look bad, it's a culture issue. They have no business losing 50-7 to Millbrook.
Sherando was down 20-0 against Salem a couple years back and came back to win the game. If that had been this year's Handley team down 20-0, the final would've been something like 56-7.
Sherando was down 20-0 against Salem a couple years back and came back to win the game. If that had been this year's Handley team down 20-0, the final would've been something like 56-7.
I have watched James Wood both in person and on the NFHS. James Wood QB is very precise. If you give him time, or his receivers time, he will make you pay. Their defense is the weakness.
Where is phoebusfan when threads like this need him. I need him telling us it doesn’t matter who wins it’s all Phoebus Phoebus Phoebus.
I watched the Sherando game. Figured it's the best example of what to expect. Sherando punished them with the run. Then JW was wanting to throw it deep a lot. JW doesn't kick the ball very deep either. Going to be interesting for sure. I look for it to be a high scoring game. A turnover here or there will be the difference.
Defensively, yes. Offensively, not a chance. Glass Offense has been pretty bad this year and could not move the ball to save their life. Last three games, they have moved the ball better, albeit it was against a 3 win Amherst, a 0 win Rustburg, and a deceptively bad Brookville team. GW defense is going to play better against the run. Glass defense played well against GW in the first matchup, but they had some issues tackling down the stretch. Glass is much improved, but I think GW is ready this year and will take care of business at home.
I’m not a full GW believer but I do like their chances this year with Lipscomb at QB.
While I will not miss the travel involved, I will miss watching Sherando play in 4D next year. This is, in my admittedly biased opinion, the most exciting region in the state. Three unbeaten teams with #4 and #5 at 9-1. JF will have to deal with Handley's electric QB, Sherando has a treacherous rematch against red-hot rival Millbrook, G.W. Danville has a rematch against an E.C. Glass team that no doubt wants another shot at the Eagles after their two-score loss earlier in the season, and James Wood will pit their best team in 40 years against state power Salem--and that's just the first round!
What an exciting time to be a football fan.
What an exciting time to be a football fan.
I could not agree more Caraxes. Last night felt like my childhood when I would go to bed on Christmas Eve. This is about to be a fun playoff
Salem V JW not even over yet but initial thoughts.
Salem played ugly. Center to qb 4 fumbled snaps is absolutely unacceptable as a former Salem center myself, plenty of penalties, and too much jawing between plays. Salem the far more physical and athletic team, but JW is not a good proxy for the kinda talent salem is going to play before they get out of region. Will have to actually need to start doing the little things right and put clean games together for the rest of season
still, good to have to travel over three hours and get a win in playoffs
Salem played ugly. Center to qb 4 fumbled snaps is absolutely unacceptable as a former Salem center myself, plenty of penalties, and too much jawing between plays. Salem the far more physical and athletic team, but JW is not a good proxy for the kinda talent salem is going to play before they get out of region. Will have to actually need to start doing the little things right and put clean games together for the rest of season
still, good to have to travel over three hours and get a win in playoffs
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