Thomas Dale 36 Matoaca 21 By Zach Long – In a regular season finale with playoff implications, Thomas Dale downed Matoaca 36-21. The game looked to be a tight battle, as the score was 14-14 at halftime. However, the game ended up being a tale of two halves. With numerous injuries to key players, the Knights needed someone to step up, and Gabe McCollin did more than just that. The backup quarterback and running back exploded for three touchdowns in the second half. He ended the night with 90 yards receiving, 70 yards rushing, and 15 yards passing. Coach Kevin…
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by Zach Long – Virginia Tech, over the last decade or so, has been a premier Division I college football program. With that being said, premier programs need premier players, and L.C. Bird has proved to produce plenty. L.C. Bird defensive end Hakeem Beamon received his second scholarship offer Wednesday from the Hokies. Beamon broke the news on twitter. “I am blessed to say that I have received my second offer from Virginia Tech!!! #GoHokies” Being only a sophomore, Beamon’s talent and potential remained under wraps for quite some time. Then he received his first offer from North Carolina before…
Thomas Dale 18, Meadowbrook 6 By Zach Long – Thomas Dale and Meadowbrook have produced several tight, gritty games over the past few years, and this season’s meeting was no different. Thomas Dale downed Meadowbrook 18-6 Friday. High-octane freshman Chris Tyree scored on the opening kickoff for 83 yards to give Thomas Dale the early lead, but it would be halted by a vicious Meadowbrook defense for the rest of the half. Both teams missed several early scoring opportunities. Meadowbrook would score all their points in the first half. Kicker Jacob Grabham nailed two field goals early, and the Monarchs,…
From left to right Row 1: Jacob Hevener, Kevin McNeilly, Evan Wade, Austin Gruwell, Matthew Patterson, Nathan Arapoff, Kevin Shaw, Jared Velez, Luis Delgado, Cullen Hoover Row 2: Madison Overgard, Maddie Wade, Addison Winter, Jordyn Flood, Tiara Blevins
By Zach Long Thomas Dale 42, Petersburg 12 It was a beautiful night for a homecoming football game at Ed Karpus Field, and the Thomas Dale home crowd was out in full force. In the end, Thomas Dale extinguished Petersburg 42-12 Friday. On the Knights’ first possession, five different players touched the ball. A wide-spread distribution of the ball kept the Crimson Wave defense guessing all night. The Knights would deliver a quick strike, and ended their first drive on a Matt Lawton to Gabe McCollin 19-yard score. From there, Thomas Dale would have control of the first half. AJ Lazaro…
Dinwiddie had racked up points and defensive stops on the way to an unbeaten record heading into Friday’s Central District match-up with visiting Thomas Dale. While the Generals emerged with a 28-19 victory, things didn’t look so good for the home team as the evening progressed. “I was concerned at practice [Thursday],” said Dinwiddie coach Billy Mills. “I know we have had a good run, but we hadn’t really been challenged. We had experienced a team making a run at us this year.” Thomas Dale was ready, and they capitalized on some Dinwiddie special teams mishaps early on. A shanked…
By Zach Long Thomas Dale 56, Colonial Heights 7 The Thomas Dale “Dark Zone” defense continues to impress in a 56-7 victory over Colonial Heights. The Knights only needed 39 snaps on offense to score 56 points, as the defense racked up three touchdowns. The Knights have scored 44 points on defense this season, more than the offenses of three teams in the area. Coach Kevin Tucker acknowledged just how important those kind of numbers are. “Give our defense all the credit in the world,” Tucker said. “We only had 39 snaps on offense tonight, and that just tells you…
When you play three of the best teams in the area to start your season every year, you’re going to take your lumps. You might even get beat up. But not this time. Meadowbrook was getting progressively better, with each start. As a result, surprised the top-ranked team in the Central Region, Highland Springs, 8-7. With the win, the Monarchs improved their record to 1-2, and now will embark on the portion of the schedule where they started to excel last season. “We came out and had a nice effort against Hermitage last week,” said coach Adam Tiller. “Then this…
By Josh Mathews & Zach Long Thomas Dale 22, Varina 13 The Knights’ “Dark Zone” defense returned against Varina this past week as Thomas Dale didn’t allow an offensive touchdown in 22-13 victory over the Blue Devils. Thomas Dale kicker Austin Feeser booted a 37-yard field goal to give the Knights a 16-13 lead with 2:53 to play, and defensive end Shundarius Carter took the ball out of Varina quarterback Brion Logan’s hands with less than a minute to go in the red zone and returned it 79 yards for a score, putting an exclamation point on the victory. It…
L.C. BIRD 33, THOMAS DALE 0 L.C. Bird’s defense reigned supreme in the Battle of Chester, holding Thomas Dale to less than 100 total yards of offense as Bird cruised to victory 33-0. The Knights weren’t able to sustain a long drive, and they picked at the Skyhawks’ defense, but never broke through. Senior linebacker and Virginia Tech commit Rayshard Ashby gave all the credit to the coaching staff’s game plan. “The coaching staff is amazing, our coaches break down film so well and make it easy for us,” said Ashby. “The defensive line and defensive backs do awesome things…