Boys Basketball: James Wood Coach Al Smith Takes Over Tuscarora Program

(June 21, 2013) - Quietly a month ago, Al Smith stepped down as the boys basketball coach at James Wood High School in Winchester to take over the Tuscarora program in Leesburg.

After the move was approved at the May 14 Loudoun County school board meeting, a release was issued by the Frederick County Public Schools:

James Wood High School boys’ basketball and golf coach Al Smith has resigned in order to teach at Tuscarora High School in Loudoun County and to coach that school’s boys’ basketball team. The Loudoun County School Board approved Smith’s hiring during its meeting yesterday.

Smith says, “I would like to thank Principal Joe Salyer, Coordinator of Student Activities Craig Wosher and the entire James Wood High School administrative team for providing me with the opportunity to teach and coach at James Wood. They have provided unwavering support during my five-year tenure as boys’ basketball coach and my seven years as the coach of the golf team.” Smith adds, “I believe I’m leaving both the basketball and golf programs in positions of strength and I think both teams will have the opportunity to compete for Northwestern District championships next season. I’m leaving James Wood with many great memories, but am looking forward to the new challenges and opportunities that await me as a teacher and coach at Tuscarora High School.”

Girls Volleyball: Loudoun County JR Maggie Phillips Named Region II Player of the Year; Raiders Brown Takes Coaching Honors

Maggie Phillips
Region II Player of the Year

(Nov. 13, 2012) - Loudoun County High School junior Maggie Phillips has been named the Region II girls volleyball Player of the Year in a vote of coaches, becoming the fourth straight Raider to take the honor and fifth in six years.

Loudoun County coach Jenica Brown, who led the Raiders to their seventh straight Region II title on Saturday and a 25-1 record going into tonight's VHSL AA state quarterfinal against New Kent (7 p.m. in Leesburg), has been named the Coach of the Year for the third straight time and fourth time since 2006. Brown's brother, Jarod, a Raider assistant coach during the long run, also took the honors in 2009 when he was acting head coach.

Region II Girls Vollyeball 2012 Selections
1st Team
Maggie Phillips, Jr. - Loudoun County
Katie Houser, So. - James Wood
Kayla Carlton, Sr. - Potomac Falls
Janey Goodman, Sr. - Powhatan
Taylor Huewe, Sr. - Loudoun County
Sydney Busa, Jr. - Heritage

2nd Team
Hannah Miller, Sr. - Fluvanna
Eileen Fauteux, Sr. - Potomac Falls
Melvina Brown, Jr. - Kettle Run
Morgan Hammer, Sr. - Loudoun Valley
Ana Ribeiro, Jr. - Handley
Justina Augustine, Sr. - Fauquier

Player of the Year 
Maggie Phillips, Jr. - Loudoun County

Coach of the Year
Jenica Brown - Loudoun County

Track and Field: 44th Annual Apple Blossom Invitational Schedule

(April 27, 2012) - The schedule is set for Saturday's 44th running of the Apple Blossom Track and Field Invitational at James Wood High School:

Competitive Cheer: Briar Woods Repeats as Region II Champ, Broad Run Runner-up; Stone Bridge 3rd in Northern Region

Briar Wood competitive cheer: Back-to-Back Region II Champions!
(Photo courtesy of Glenn Hancox)

(Nov. 6, 2010) - Briar Woods High School competitive cheer repeated its Region II title Saturday as the Falcons move onto the state meet where they have a chance to defend their AA state title. Broad Run was runner-up and also advances.

Stone Bridge, defending Northern Region champion, had to settle for third Saturday, but the Bulldogs will move onto the AAA state meet where they were runner-up last year.

Herndon was a surprise winner Saturday at the Northern Region meet with AAA defending state champion Fairfax runner-up. Chantilly also advance to States as fourth place.

Also moving on from Region II are third place James Wood and fourth place Sherando.

Northern Region Competitive Cheer 2010 Meet
1, Herndon 275.5
2, Fairfax 274.5
3, Stone Bridge 269
4, Chantilly 264
-------------------
5, Centreville 243
6, Hayfield 232.5
7, West Springfield 219
8, Lake Braddock 214

Football: Tuscarora Suffers First Home Loss Ever

By Owen Gotimer
Heritage High School student journalist

Leesburg (Nov. 1, 2010) - James Wood High School’s Cory Schrock ran for three touchdowns and Matt Copley threw for two as the Colonels dominated the scoreboard against Tuscarora Friday night, 42-7, to send the Huskies to their first ever home defeat.

Tuscarora looked good early on as junior quarterback Tyler Dietrich hit Chris Holoman for a 21-yard touchdown in the first quarter to knot up the game at 7-7. The Huskies’ biggest problem was that they allowed James Wood to score on three of their first four possessions and went into the half down 28-7.

The second half didn’t bring a better story for the Huskies as James Wood continued to be uncontrollable on the ground. While the Colonels averaged just over eight yards a carry, the Huskies saw the complete opposite end of the spectrum, averaging a mere three yards a carry. After allowing 285 yards rushing, Tuscarora finally fell to James Wood, 42-7.

The Colonel’s defense proved to be too overpowering for the Husky offense as Tuscarora was dropped at or behind the line of scrimmage 16 times.

Still, the explosive defensive line and linebackers for James Wood weren't the only factors in Tuscarora’s downfall; it was the hands of their receivers as well. The trio of Tuscarora quarterbacks, Dietrich, junior Edwin Mends, and freshman Chad Carrera, were 17 of 36 throwing for 184 yards but those numbers could have easily been closer to 27 of 36 for 270 yards if all the catchable balls had been hauled in. With those redefined numbers the Huskies probably would’ve had a shot at being in the football game.

Even with this loss, the Tuscarora football team has nothing to be ashamed of, finishing their regular season home schedule 4-1. With a win against Woodgrove High School next Friday night at WHS -- a team Tuscarora beat to start the season -- the Huskies would improve to 5-5 overall in their inaugural season.

Top Players:
JWHS, Cory Schrock – 96 rushing yards, 3 rushing TDs
JWHS, Matt Copley – 126 passing yards, 2 passing TDs
THS, Tyler Dietrich – 98 passing yards, 1 passing TD
THS, Chad Carrera – 4 of 8 passing for 73 yards
JWHS, Noah Cundall – 2 sacks for losses of over 10 yards

Team Stats:
Tuscarora
Passing – 17 of 36 for 184 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing – 25 carries for 75 yards

James Wood
Passing – 5 of 8 for 126 yards, 2 TDs
Rushing – 33 carries for 285 yards, 4 TDs

Competitive Cheer: Stone Bridge Wins Third Annual Cheers Sports Spirit Bowl

(Oct. 14, 2010) - The Stone Bridge High School competitive cheer team made it two straight meet victories as the host Bulldogs won the Third Annual Cheers Sports Spirit Bowl on Saturday.

Showing the state power's depth was the fact that Stone Bridge's JV squad finished third, ahead of seven other varsity units. Stone Bridge varsity also captured the Park View Invitational this season.

"The girls did a great job at this competition. There were a few errors and we were able to pick out a lot of things to be able to fix for district semi's (Oct. 19)," said Stone Bridge competitive cheer coach Nick Marchio. "We had a few deductions the past two competitions ... and the goal the team has set for the rest of the season is to make sure to have error-free routines and have more energy during the performance."

Third Annual Cheers Sports Spirit Bowl Final Standings
1, Stone Bridge High School 524 points
2, Forest Park High School 509
3, Stone Bridge JV 488
4, Battlefield HS 486
5, Loudoun County 460
6, James Wood 453
7, Freedom 434
8, Osbourn 433
9, Millbrook 367
10, Tuscarora 344.5

Football: Park View Football Scrimmage at James Wood Kicks Off at 6 p.m. Tonight

(Aug. 16, 2010) - The football scrimmage between Park View and James Wood, which was moved from Saturday so Patriot players could attend the funeral of a classmate killed last week in a dirt bike accident, is rescheduled for 6 p.m. tonight in Winchester.

Girls Basketball: Batts Hits School-Record Nine 3-Pointers in Loudoun County's 83-36 Playoff Romp over James Wood

Leesburg (Feb. 23, 2010) - Playing without last year's VHSL AA Division 4 Player of the Year, Kendra Holmes, the Loudoun County High School girls basketball team had little problems Tuesday as they dismantled visiting James Wood, 83-36, in the Region II quarterfinals.

Raider junior Brittany Batts broke her own school record of eight three-pointers in a contest by connecting on nine in the win as she also celebrated her 17th birthday! Batts would finish with a game-high 31 points as LC earned a fifth meeting this season with rival Freedom, at 7 p.m. Thursday in South Riding with a regional title game berth and state playoff bid on the line.

Senior Alissa Kain continued her outstanding all-around play. Kain, coming off a game high 21 points in this past Saturday's Dulles District tournament championship win over Freedom, scored 16 points and dished out eight assists.

Sophomore Erica Linnemann tallied 13 points. Linnemann has scored in double figures in the last four Raider postseason wins.

Holmes sat out for precautionary reasons as she suffered an injury in last Saturday's victory.

Loudoun County 83, James Wood 36
L (19-3, 8-1) — Batts 31, A. Kain 16, Linnemann 13, Cummings 6, Strange 6, Grimsley 5, S. Kain 4, Lapple 2. Totals 32 6-8 83.
Halftime: Loudoun County, 37-16.
Three-point goals: L 13 (Batts 9, A. Kain 2, Linnemann, S. Kain).
Rebounds: L 26 (Batts, A. Kain 4, Linnemann 4, Cummings 4, Strange 7, Grimsley 3, Lapple 3).
Assists: L 18 (A. Kain 8, Linnemann 3, Strange 3, S. Kain, Lapple 3).

Picture above by Gary Sousa at http://sousasportpics.com (and, no, he is NOT my brother!)

Photo Gallery: Football - Loudoun County vs. James Wood

Click on any photo to go to the gallery with more than 200 shots from Saturday's Region II Division 4 football game between Loudoun County and James Wood at Handley High School in Winchester.

Football Box: James Wood 27, Loudoun County 25

James Wood 27, Loudoun County 25
Game played Nov. 14, 2009 at Handley High School


James Wood        0  7  20  0  - 27
Loudoun County  8  3   7   7  - 25

1: LC - Fitts 10 run (Reimers from Campbell ) 9:33 (drive: 5 plays, 54 yards, 2:27)
2: JW - Lockhart 3 run (Lloyd kick) 6:26 (drive: 19 plays, 80 yards, 8:08)
2: LC - Brown 25 FG 3:50 (drive: 10 plays, 70 yards, 2:36)
3: JW - Lockhart 84 run (Lloyd kick) 9:23 (drive: 1 play, 84 yards, 0:18)
3: JW - Lockhart 12 run (kick failed) 5:35 (drive: 5 plays, 40 yards, 1:55)
3: LC - Rutherford 4 run (Brown kick) 3:52 (drive: 5 plays, 69 yards, 1:43)
3: JW - Abdelhalim 8 run (Lloyd kick) 1:45 (drive: 7 plays, 80 yards, 2:07)
4: LC - Howard 9 run (Brown kick) 9:56 (drive: 9 plays, 59 yards, 3:49)

Rushing
James Wood: Lockhart 33-265, Shiley 1-18, Abdelhalim 4-12, Lloyd 1-3, Alaniz 1-3, Shrock 1-2, Tinsman 4-(-2). Total: 45-311.
Loudoun County: Fitts 21-160, Howard 4-12, Rutherford 3-7, Williams 1-6, Campbell 5-2. Total: 34-187.

Passing
James Wood: Tinsman 3-8-0 27.
Loudoun County: Campbell 23-34-1 250.

Receiving
James Wood: Robinson 1-16, Copley 1-9, Alaniz 1-2.
Loudoun County: Morris 6-75, Ayoub 6-59, Reimers 3-39, Williams 2-35, Wasko 3-22, Johnson 2-21.

Football: Loudoun County High School Heartbreak! Raiders Fall 27-25 to James Wood

By Dan Sousa
VivaLoudoun Editor

Winchester (Nov. 14, 2009) - Heartbreak. That is the only way to describe the feeling for the Loudoun County High School football team and its fans as they watched their team gamely rally in the final seconds only to see a game-winning field goal attempt miss by inches as time expired in a 27-25 AA Region II Division 4 loss to James Wood in a game played at Handley High School.

It was a thrilling high school football game and the Raiders -- who didn't punt once on the afternoon and out-gained the Colonels by almost 100 yards -- certainly played their hearts out. The LC defense was nicked up and James Wood took advantage with Brock Lockhart rushing for 265 yards on 33 carries and three scores, including an 84-yard highlight reel run in the third quarter that changed the complexion of the game.

The Raiders countered with 160 yards on 21 carries and a score by senior Kevin Fitts and senior quarterback Austin Campbell went 22 of 34 for 250 yards. It was Campbell, with the Raiders taking over on their own 11 with just 100 seconds to go and one time out remaining, that calmly drove his team all the way down to the JW 15 for the 32-yard field goal which just missed the left upright.

Raider players and fans, at first thinking the kick was good, cheered, but then the cheers turned to groans, and James Wood stormed the turf field in a wild celebration as they had just captured the school's first playoff football win since 1975.

Check back for a box, photos, video of the finish and more details later.

Breaking News: Loudoun County Home Playoff Football Game Shifted to Handley on Saturday Due to Playing Conditions

The Region II Division 4 quarterfinal football game scheduled between James Wood and Loudoun County has been moved from Loudoun County High School to Saturday Nov. 14 at 1 p.m. at Handley High School in Winchester.

LC Athletic Director Ken Wright: "This will take advantage of the artificial turf field at Handley...as the playing surface at LCHS is inundated with rain."