For all the success that the Handley High School football team had from 2019-24, the Judges never won more than nine games or won a home playoff game in that time.

The 2025 Judges had some big holes to fill — mainly on offense — but Jake Smith guided them to a truly impressive season.

Smith is The Winchester Star Football Coach of the Year for guiding Handley to a 10-2 record — the Judges’ most wins since 2009 — and for capturing the Barr-Lindon Crimson Apple, which is awarded by The Star to the team that fares best in Winchester-Frederick County football games. Handley’s 10th win came at James R. Wilkins Jr. Stadium in the Region 4D quarterfinals, the Judges’ first home playoff win in 15 years. 

Last year’s Handley offense included Winchester Star Offensive Player of the Year and running back Hassan Akanbi (1,572 yards and 23 touchdowns rushing), quarterback Triston Darling (1,680 yards and 28 TDs passing and rushing) and three seniors on the line, including current Wake Forest freshman Jaishaun Offutt. 

Handley’s offense kept rolling along this season. Jamir Washington ran for 1,545 yards and 13 TDs, Duncan Hensler stepped in for an injured Darling and passed for 1,632 yards and 26 TDs, Will Yoder caught 46 passes for 757 yards and 12 TDs, and the front of left tackle Tyler Davis, left guard Jaiquan Offutt, center Jamar Thomas, right guard Carson Green, right tackle Jude Lindsey and tight ends ZeQuon Williams and JoJo Johnson helped the offense again score more than 400 points. 

The Judges’ defense was perhaps even more impressive, allowing 167.7 yards per game and 11.9 points per game. A linebacker, Johnson led the way as a Class 4 All-State Second Team selection and the Class 4 Northwestern District Defensive Player of the Year.  

The Judges went 9-1 in the regular season, losing only to Northwestern District champion and Class 3 state finalist Kettle Run. Handley ended the season with wins over Sherando (14-7), James Wood (35-23) and Millbrook (62-21) as part of its second “Apple Cup” title in three seasons.

Handley beat Liberty 48-0 in the Region 4D quarterfinals. The Judges lost 14-10 to Jefferson Forest in the Region 4D semifinals on a Cavaliers touchdown in the final two minutes. 

Q. What qualities made this team special?

Smith: Our team is very tight-knit. They’re all great friends. They all do a lot of things together in football and outside of football. If you see one of our kids, I think that’s probably pretty rare. There’s going to be at least two or three guys together at all times. I think that closeness and cohesiveness really plays into game situations, because they know that they can rely and trust one another in big moments. I think that showed up a lot this year in tight games.    

Q. Which individuals impressed you or surprised you, and why?

Smith: Offensively, you start with our offensive line. There were a lot of question marks there with three guys starting for the first time. Being able to do what we were able to do in the run game this year … we ran for [2,377 yards]. So I think [the offensive line] was a bright spot for us. It’s a little bit surprising [to run for that many yards]. It’s a tough ask for that to happen.

We had a lot of first-year football players this year, and that includes Jamar. That includes [cornerback] Amari Brown. That includes [cornerback] Isaiah Baxter. That includes [wide receiver] Christian Dinges. These guys had never played varsity football at all. I think for all of those guys, to have as much success as what they had, was really surprising. Luckily for us, they decided to play football this year. It was a blessing to have those guys out there.

Will Yoder’s had an outstanding year, which is a testament to what he does and how he works. Guys switching positions like Jamir, transitioning to the tailback position [from receiver], he did a wonderful job there. He took a lot of abuse and never missed a game. He’s a really tough kid. Duncan was a first-year starter at quarterback and had a heck of a season. That’s a high-pressure position. Everybody that comes to a game, their eyes are on the quarterback. There were a lot of expectations for this team and this program, and I think he handled that really well this year. Carson’s a two-way player, All-Region on both sides. He really had a standout senior year as well.   

Q. What do you consider the most memorable moments of the season?

Smith: The most memorable moment was winning the Apple Cup at James Wood, and being able to share that moment with Ms. Brenda [Titus, a bus driver for Handley athletics for 20 years]. I think that meant a lot to our team, our program, our school, and our community.  

We got to win a home playoff game, which hadn’t been done here in a long time. That was a very memorable moment for this group of guys, and our community and school. And then being able to host in the second round was good stuff.Â