Warriors' Ojo piles up rushing yards in win

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By Spenser Leatherman - For The Daily

SHENANDOAH JUNCTION, W.Va. -- Sherando's Joe Ojo rushed 27 times for 248 yards and four touchdowns as the Warriors defeated the Jefferson (W.Va.) 36-9 on Friday night.

Ojo's first four carries on Sherando's first two possessions resulted in 66 yards and a pair of touchdowns to give the Warriors a 13-0 lead.

As Sherando drove down the field for its third possession, the Cougars forced a fumble on a 3-yard run up the gut by Ojo to recover the ball at their own 1-yard line.

The Cougars were unable to drive the ball anywhere and Rynal Newman recovered his own fumble in the end zone for a safety, giving the Warriors a 15-0 lead with 2:10 remaining in the first quarter.

After Andrew King threw his second interception of the game, Ojo drove the Warriors up the field for 58 yards on seven carries to give Sherando a 22-0 lead at the halftime break.

On Sherando's next possession after the intermission, Ojo ran 60 more yards on eight carries to give the Warriors a 29-0 lead.

Garrett Grantham's 44-yard punt after the Cougars offense stalled on its opening possession of the second half was muffed by return man Isaiah Williams. A pair of penalties pushed the Warriors back to their own 4-yard line before Jefferson scored its first points on the board on a safety as Jalen Brisco was brought down by tripping over his own lineman.

Jefferson's next drive stalled after a Justin Carter fourth-down pass was dropped by John Dempsey, giving the Warriors the ball at midfield. A series of Ojo runs to start the drive set up Brisco with a pair of passes, one a 23- yarder to put the Warriors in the red zone and the other a 19-yarder to George Aston for a touchdown with 11:45 to go in the fourth.

Jefferson scored on its next possession on a 67-yard strike from Justin Carter to Darrod Doleman to cut the Sherando lead to 27 with 8:49 to play, but the Cougars were unable to bring the lead down any further.

The Warriors bounced back to improve to 3-2 on the play of the offensive line giving Ojo the holes he needed.

"Joe is a special back," Sherando coach Bill Hall said. "He'd be the first guy to credit the offensive line for their effort."

The Cougars fall to 0-5 as the defense was unable to keep Ojo from reaching the second level.

"Ojo is a back that can take advantage of the cracks a team they face can leave," Jefferson coach Richard Mills said. "He did a great job tonight of exploiting what we did on defense. He's a great runner."