by Michael Natelli ’14

After an absolute blowout of Blair in Week 4, the Warriors pulled out an unlikely upset of Damascus (3-1) last week by a score of 14-3. The game was highlighted by unexpected plays; namely Jordan Larsen’s tipped-pass receiving touchdown. Despite several drives where Damascus got inside the 20-yard line, Sherwood made clutch stops, holding Damascus to just one field goal, and no touchdowns. Top plays consisted of Fernando Smith’s 39-yard touchdown run, Richie DiPietro’s interception, Eric Williams’ pick in the end zone, and of course, Jordan Larsen catching his own tipped pass and running it in himself.

Now that Sherwood has cleared one of their biggest hurdles, they will be tasked with taking down rival Magruder. Magruder has had a less than desirable season so far, posting a 1-4 record thus far, scoring a combined 15 points in the process (1 more point than Sherwood scored against Damascus alone).  But despite Magruder’s struggles, this game is as important as any other this season, because as described by junior quarterback Jordan Larsen, “Playoffs [for the Warriors] started [against Blair].” With teams like Churchill (5-0), Quince Orchard (5-0), Paint Branch (4-1), and Gaithersburg (4-1) winning on a regular basis, the 3-2 Warriors will need to be almost perfect from this point forward if they want to make the playoffs. They cannot rely on other teams losing in order to pick up ground. Their current goal must be to put themselves in place for a four-seed, and if Lady Luck wants to help by making these other teams lose some games, then that’s a wonderful bonus.

Pivotal Games for the Warriors:

Gaithersburg plays Quince Orchard in Week 9, so that means at least one of those teams will add a game to their loss column, letting Sherwood pick up a game in the standings.

Sherwood will take on Paint Branch in Week 8, so winning that game will also give Sherwood an opportunity to pick up ground on the top playoff contenders.

Unforunately, Churchill has a favorable schedule through the end of the season, except for hosting Sherwood in Week 10. This will be a crucial game for the Warriors; giving them a chance to tie Churchill’s record (8-2 if Churchill loses one other game and the Warriors win 4 straight). Tying Churchill will lower Churchill’s playoff status, and if all goes well, it will hopefully boost Sherwood’s.

Tonight’s Game:

Magruder’s roster lacks the star-power that teams like Quince Orchard, Gaithersburg, and Damascus have thrown at Sherwood in previous weeks, so that will allow the Warriors to get their dynamic running game going early, opening up the passing game in the second half. Expect this game to be Blair Part Two, as the Sherwood Roster outweighs the Magruder roster by quite a bit. If Magruder wide out Tyrii Jackson can be held to minimal or no catches, the opposing passing game will be non-existent, allowing Sherwood to focus on running plays; stacking the box and sending the house on blitzes consistenly. Sherwood will be use their dominant 4-headed backfield (Mofor, Smith, DiPietro, Vines) to control the clock, keep their defense on the sidelines, and put a crooked number on the scoreboard. The defense will have the night off, with only one Magruder receiver having any catches this year. Highly expected and anticipated win tonight for the Warriors.

Prediction:

35-3 Warriors: No reason to even think about Magruder playing well in this game. They should begin thinking about next season, because this season is a lost cause at this point.

Result:

The Warrior’s defeated the Colonels, 38-0, despite not playing to their fullest potential. Big plays helped the Warrior’s light up the scoreboard, but were far and in between.