Defense stars for Sherando

By Tommy Keeler Jr. -- tkeeler@nvdaily.com

STEPHENS CITY -- Sherando senior linebacker Shawn Branham and several of his defensive teammates waved their hands in the air to try to ignite the crowd in the final minutes.

The Warriors, who had dominated on defense all night, had to make one last stand against James Wood to advance in the Region II, Division 4 playoffs. With the clock winding down and the Colonels about to make one last drive, Sherando's defense wanted to be on the field to secure the win.

"It was incredible," Branham said. "The adrenaline is pumping through your whole body. It was like each crowd was in a competition to see who could get louder. It was a great atmosphere.

"Our defense played great all night. When we needed it the most, we came through."

The Colonels were able to move the ball inside the Sherando 10-yard line in the final minute, but a penalty moved them back. On the final play of the game, a Ryan Kanatus interception allowed Sherando to advance to the regional final.

Sherando's defense held James Wood's running game in check throughout most of the game. James Wood running back Brock Lockhart had 124 yards rushing, but most of it came on the Colonels' final two drives of the game.

"We knew they were all about offense and we're all about defense," Sherando linebacker Nick Bakos said. "We knew it was win or go home. We have a lot of seniors and we didn't want it to be our last game. We knew we had to stop them.

"Brock Lockhart's a great runner. We knew we had to shut down their running game, and I think we did a good job."

Sherando was able to blitz James Wood at times, especially in the first half. The Warriors sacked James Wood quarterback Trae Tinsman three times and continually put pressure on him, helping force four interceptions.

The Colonels came into the game averaging 351.5 yards of offense, but the Warriors held them to only 229 yards.

James Wood had five drives stalled inside the Sherando 40. Each time the Warriors needed a big play on defense, someone would step up. Whether it was a sack by Bakos or Newman or an interception by Kanatus, Phil Root or Kadeem Blackwood, Sherando answered every challenge.

"I think our defense really showed our true colors tonight," Newman said "We played together as a unit."

Sherando has had to overcome a few injuries on defense this season, but Newman said this was the best they've played all year.

Any win is good in the playoffs, but doing it against their big county rival and stopping them on the final play of the game made it that much sweeter for the Warriors.

"It doesn't get any better than this," Newman said as he carried the Sherando spear off the field. "There's no feeling quite like this.

"We were in a situation where we had to lean on each other and depend on each other, and the defense came through. On the last play, I just wanted to go full-tilt and no matter what happened, I knew I had my teammates behind me."