2 weeks Ago By By Justin Robertson For The Northern Virginia Daily
STEPHENS CITY — The Sherando High School football team wants this season to play out far better than last year’s, but a tough early roadblock stands in the Warriors’ way of starting the year on a positive note. That roadblock comes in the form of Brentsville, which the Warriors will face on the road at 7 p.m.
Friday night in a rematch of last year’s Week 1 game. In his first-ever game as Sherando’s head coach last year, T.J.
Rohrbaugh and the Warriors lost 28-21 in the opening week matchup versus Brentsville. The Week 1 defeat was the second time Sherando fell victim to the Tigers. Sherando leads the series 5-2 all-time.
Rohrbaugh and the Warriors are hoping to begin their season in the win column this time around. But that will be easier said than done against a Brentsville team that finished 12-2 and made it all the way to the Class 3 state semifinals last year. “They’re just a very well-coached team,” Rohrbaugh said of the Tigers in a phone interview on Sunday.
“Loren White is their head coach, and he does a great job over there. He always has his kids ready to play. Brentsville has been extremely successful the last several years.
Offensively and defensively, they have their systems that they run. They don’t change a whole lot from year to year, but they got a good team this year, just like they had a good team last year. I’m looking forward to the challenge on Friday night.
” Sherando went 5-6 (2-2 Class 4 Northwestern District) last year and made the playoffs in Rohrbaugh’s first year at the helm. Now looking to propel the Warriors over the .500 mark, Rohrbaugh expects his team to be competitive and play sound football against the Tigers.
“My expectations are always we go out there and we’re physical as a team, we play with great effort and we execute in all phases offensively, defensively and special teams,” Rohrbaugh said. “I think those three things are key ingredients to the success of any team.” In last year’s meeting between the two clubs, the Warriors put the ball in harm’s way several times.
Rohrbaugh is looking to avoid the turnover bug on Friday and views the turnover margin as the key to the game. “You can’t turn the ball over, and you got to create turnovers,” Rohrbaugh said. “When you go against a good football team, I think the turnovers go a long way in terms of determining who wins and loses a game.
” Sherando returns senior quarterback Micah Carlson, who completed 153 of 266 passes for 2,076 yards, 19 touchdowns and 12 interceptions as a junior in 2023. He also contributed 144 yards and three scores on the ground. Joining Carlson in the backfield will be senior tailback Jason Foster, who missed last season after rushing for 1,124 yards and 16 touchdowns in 2022.
The Warriors also bring back their tackling leader from last year, senior linebacker James Walters. The 6-foot, 204-pound Walters finished with 70.5 tackles as a junior en route to a Second Team All-Area defensive selection.
Senior defensive lineman Kaleb Nowlin (9.5 sacks, 59 tackles) and senior defensive back Tucker LaFever (two interceptions, 60 tackles) also return. In total, Sherando is returning eight starters on both sides of the ball.
Brentsville, on the other hand, returns just four starters on offense and three on defense, according to InsideNoVa . Brentsville quarterback Caleb Alexander and running back Nico Orlando both graduated. Tyler Owens, the Tigers’ top receiver from last year, is also no longer with the team after he transferred to St.
Michael the Archangel Catholic High School over the summer. Defensive lineman James Vaughn also switched schools, transferring to Radford after he was a Second Team All-State selection as a junior in 2023. Although the Tigers lost several key contributors from last year’s squad, they do return tight end Wyatt Vonderhaar, who was Class 3 Second Team All-State as a junior in 2023.
Rohrbaugh spoke highly of Vonderhaar, who is also a returning starter at defensive end, and said that he “does a little bit of everything for them.” Vonderhaar had three catches for 95 yards in last year’s matchup, gashing Sherando’s defense for three separate 30-plus yard gains. Giving up those big plays is what Rohrbaugh and the Warriors’ defense will look to avoid on Friday.
“Offensively, they got a lot of good skill guys,” Rohrbaugh said. “They got a couple of good linemen..
. They got a quarterback who can deliver the ball, so they’re going to be a very formidable challenge.” Joining Vonderhaar on offense are sophomore wide receiver Charles McCullough (seven TD receptions) and junior linemen Gabe Haley and Ben Funderberg.
Sophomore nose tackle Isaiah Garmon and linebacker Micah Tredinnick also return for the Tigers after they saw the field on defense as freshmen in 2023. “Defensively, they’re very aggressive up front,” Rohrbaugh said. “I think that helps them out.
.. They’re very aggressive with their front seven, and they do a good job on the back end of just playing sound football and not giving up the big plays.
” As with any Week 1 game, there may be some anxiety and nervousness for the Warriors on Friday. To help mitigate that, Rohrbaugh wanted his team to focus on practice this past week. “There might be a little bit of nerves there at the first kickoff, but as soon as you get out there and get game action, you’re too focused on what’s happening on the field to be nervous anymore,” he said.
“I always tell our guys if we prepare Monday through Thursday, there’s nothing to be nervous about on Friday.”.
