Thomas Dale 50,
Franklin County 0
Running backs Chris Tyree, A.J. Chavis, and Elijah Burns led a massive Thomas Dale rush attack, totaling 363 yards as the Knights rolled in the first round of the Region 6 playoffs over Franklin County, 50-0.
Thomas Dale totaled an impressive 468 rushing yards in the bout, and the defense pitched a shutout. Special teams fired on all cylinders, too, as Jamarkus Wilson returned a punt for a touchdown to go with a receiving score from John Pierce.
Defensively speaking, Zach Jacobs and Dusan Stjepanovic led the way with each eight tackles and two tackles for loss.
In the next round, the Knights will travel to Manchester to face the Lancers in a titanic local match-up, pitting against each other the best two teams in Chesterfield this year, and two of the best teams in the state. The winner of the game figures to have a solid chance to make a run for the 6A state title. Manchester has never won a title, and Thomas Dale won their first state crown in 2009.
The game will be at Manchester this Friday at 7 p.m. It is recommended that you seek out advance tickets and get to the game early, as it’s expected to be a sell-out.
Varina 33, L.C. Bird 7
As the high school football regular season came to an end last week, the new season begun this week for teams that made it to the playoffs. This week brought frigid temps along for the ride to get things started for each team’s playoff runs.
The first quarter started off relatively slow, with both teams dissecting each other’s offenses. Varina though did manage to squeak in a last second touchdown to end the first quarter to lead 7-0, thanks to quarterback Brion Logan’s 10-yard scramble. Around 2 minutes into the third quarter, L.C.
Bird had possession of the football, when quarterback Marcus Banks was rushed and threw an interception to linebacker Jeremiah Rhodes of Varina, which Rhodes took back 60 yards for a touchdown. From there, it was mostly a Varina-dominated attack. Running back Jeremiah Carter scored
Bird’s lone touchdown, a 57 yard run. Xavier Addison nabbed an interception for L.C. Bird.
“The key to tonight was we had a veteran team out there that knew what they were doing,” said head coach Stu Brown of Varina. “It makes all the difference in the world when you have a veteran lineup out on the field.”
L.C. Bird finishes their season at a respectable but uncharacteristic 7-4 record. According to VHSreference.com, it’s the team’s lowest win output since at least 1998. This could be characterized as the first time in some time that the Skyhawks have had to ‘rebuild’ to some extent. In 2006, the Skyhawks went 8-3. Varina will travel to play Hermitage next week in the regional semis, starting at 7 p.m. Friday.
Hermitage 35,
Meadowbrook 6
The Monarchs finished their season at 4-7, qualifying for the playoffs with a 4-6 record in year three of Adam Tiller’s tenure as head coach. Meadowbrook has qualified for the postseason in each of the last three seasons.
Last Friday they met Hermitage, which is widely considered to have one of the best defenses in the state and figures to have an excellent shot to make a run at the 5A state title.
The Panthers were able to smother the Monarchs’ attack, winning 35-6.
