Thomas Dale 39, Meadowbrook 0
It was a beautiful October night for some Friday night light action as the Meadowbrook Monarchs visited the Thomas Dale Knights in a primetime conference matchup.
To start the game, both sides started off slow, with penalty after penalty slowing each side down and offenses trying to figure out their opponents’ defensive schemes. Eventually, the Knights’ offense ignited.
Thomas Dale was led by a fierce ground attack on offense. Running back Chris Tyree was the big story of the night on both sides of the ball. He made 16 rushes for 67 yards and a touchdown and returned an interception 28 yards for a another one. Running back Collin Holmes also had a big night, rushing 11 times for 76 yards and a touchdown. Quarterback John Pierce went 4-for-6, with 64 yards passing and two touchdowns, one to Gynai James and one to Zach Jones. The Knights special teams had a big night as well, with Garrett Graves’s two field goals propelling Thomas Dale even further over Meadowbrook.
All night long Dale’s defense was a force to be reckoned with. In the first half, they kept the Monarchs contained in the run and pass games. In the second half, they had two interceptions – one returned for a touchdown – on their first two defensive drives. Not a bad way to set the tone for the rest of the game.
Meadowbrook had their fair share of struggles throughout the night. On offense, they could not find a rhythm to stick with and it cost them greatly, leading to no points on the board and some turnovers early on in the second half. On defense, for the first few drives, they held Thomas Dale scoreless, but it was not enough, as the Knights ended up scoring 39 on the Monarchs.
L.C. Bird 35, Clover Hill 0
Last Friday, the L.C. Bird Skyhawks traveled to face Clover Hill for the Cavaliers’ homecoming game. The home team went in the game off a big comeback win against Cosby. The Skyhawks would be led by Senior C. J. Donaldson, who would put on a show.
The first drive finished with a diving touchdown by quarterback Marcus Banks. The Skyhawks’ defense would continue to play shutdown, forcing a quick Cavaliers three-and-out. Assuming possession, Donaldson capped off a long drive with a 10 yard scamper. The Skyhawks continued to score as Donaldson would carry it in for a two point conversion giving the team a 15-0 lead going into the 2nd quarter.
Clover Hill threw an interception to JeVon LaPierre, setting up another Marcus Banks touchdown, that made it 22-0.
Donaldson shined once more and finished the game with 23 carries for 254 yards, and 3 touchdowns. The Skyhawks defense also played big. DaMontre Blowe had 6 tackles, and defensive backs JeVon LaPierre and Davion Mundin each made an interception. The Skyhawks move to 5-1, and they will host Manchester, also 5-1, a team to which they lost last season. Clover Hill falls to 2-5, and they will go on the road to face a 3-3 Midlothian team.
Dinwiddie 40, Matoaca 2
The Matoaca Warriors hosted the Dinwiddie Generals Friday night in a conference battle. The Warriors looked to snap their 4-game losing streak after winning their season opener against Cosby. Dinwiddie’s aim was to stay hot and improve to 6-0.
The Dinwiddie offense would show no problem driving down the field, but would struggle to finish the drive. William Anspach kicked two field goals within the first 8 minutes giving the Generals an 6-0 lead in the first quarter. Running back Zyan Sturdivant would fix their no-finishing problem by rumbling his way down the field for a 60 yard touchdown extending the Generals lead to 13-0 going into the 2nd quarter.
A stingy Dinwiddie defense would continue to keep the Matoaca offense off the field as they would continue to force the Warriors to a string of 3 and outs. The Dinwiddie offense would only get stronger as Junior Ky’mon Pope would get comfortable throwing a 34-yard touchdown to Sturdivant. The Generals were ahead 19-0 midway through the second quarter.
By the end of the third quarter, the Generals had built a 40-0 lead.
Matoaca ended up with a safety when junior Johnathan Coleman punted the ball for a booming 66 yards, and the Warriors made the play on the ball in the end zone.
Matoaca’s Kyle Williams was bright on the offensive side with 52 yards on 6 carries. Manny Hickman carried 10 tackles including a sack.
“Dinwiddie is who we thought they were: fast, physical, and relentless,” said coach D.L. Johnson. “I anticipate them winning it all this year. That’s a great testament to the competition in our conference.”
Zyan Sturdivant would finish the game with 173 rushing yards and three total touchdowns. Ky’mon Pope would finish the game on 87 passing yards to go aside three passing touchdowns.
With a win, Dinwiddie goes to to 6-0 and will go back on the road to face Meadowbrook this Friday. With this loss, Matoaca drops to 1-5, and they will play a road game with a 3-3 Colonial Heights team.
