Well every week there is always that game that the so-called “experts” miss on and this week, this one was that game. Whether you had Varina or Thomas Dale winning, you didn’t have them winning by a large margin, in most cases it was by a touchdown or less. Well for the first time since 1970, the Knights of Thomas Dale can lay claim to two straight wins against the Blue Devils and for the first time since 2001, the Knights won at Varina!
I had not been to Varina since the Highland Springs game last season that ended the Blue Devils 2014 campaign. You could clearly see the effect a 4-6 campaign had by the lack of crowd attendance… Don’t get me wrong, there was a crowd but compared to what the norm is for Varina home games, it was odd and furthermore, the regulars you are used to seeing at games, they could not be found either. After last week’s win over Norcom, a win against Thomas Dale would surely bring those fans back to the stands but it just wasn’t meant to be, not on this night.
It started off promising enough for the Blue Devils as the first play of the game saw Donnell Martin with a pickup of ten yards on the ground for a first down. Those who had Varina winning like myself were counting on the ground game carrying but a third down pass was dropped and that was a sign of things to come for the Blue Devils. Thomas Dale didn’t fare much better with their first possession and honestly this game was rather close early but it got away from Varina early because of poor ball handling which began on their second possession. The Knights defense was unmatched this night and one example of this was early in that first quarter with the Blue Devils facing a 3rd & 1 Sam Stark came in setting the Blue Devils back for a loss of three. The Blue Devils had no options really other than to punt but the punt was fumbled and recovered but it was recovered all the way back at the 11 yard line. That was all Thomas Dale needed to get the first points of the night…
On the next possession it was Donnell Martin who fumbled the ball for the Blue Devils on 3rd & 14 and although he recovered the loose ball, the Blue Devils took another loss and again punted. When the Blue Devils weren’t having trouble keeping their hands on the ball, they were being terrorized by the menacing defense of Thomas Dale as Mike Wilson was sacked on more than one occasion by Sam Stark as well as Shundarius Carter. One such Stark sack on the Blue Devils next possession was for a loss of 3 yards and on the very next play Wilson dropped the snap costing the Blue Devils seven yards. There was a sign of life for Varina late in the first half when the Blue Devils were moving the ball down field and it didn’t hurt that two Knight penalties helped moved the ball down field and in position to end the shutout with a Chris Jones 24-yard touchdown. No one knew at the time that would be the lone score of the night for the Blue Devils.
Give credit where credit is due however to the Knights who came out like the hungrier team… From the defense to the offense, you just saw a team that was playing with more intensity and determination. From the defense and players like Sam Stark flying around and getting their hands on Blue Devils to the offense where in the first half they weren’t flashy but they kept pushing and pushing till the Blue Devils defense would break. I recall in the second half on several runs, it seemed as though the Knights were pushing the Varina defenders down the field as they were running, much like what I saw with Monacan against Glen Allen last week.
The Knights scored 21 in the first half while allowing the lone Varina score. In the second half, the Knights who had played better as the first half went along played even better. The run game continued to excel with Max Oxendine getting many of the carries and the Knights scored not only on the ground but in the passing game as well. It came clearer as the game progressed that the Knights were not as bad as they looked last week against Bird and Varina might not be as good as they looked against Norcom.
The Blue Devil defense was no match for the Knights offense and vice versa. With the game ticking away and honestly out of reach after the Knights went up 42-7, the Blue Devils marched from their own 25 yard line all the way to the Knights 5. With a fresh set of downs it seemed inevitable the Blue Devils would give their fans something to cheer about before the night came to a close but the Knights shut that down completely. On three straight plays the Blue Devils chose to run the ball and they got no closer than the five. The Knights knew exactly what was coming on fourth down and Mike Wilson targeted CJ Jones and let the ball go but Shundarius Carter kept the ball out of Jones hands and that was Varina’s last possession and the Knights had their victory in hand.
SCORING SUMMARY
1st Quarter-
6:10- Trent Williams 11-yard touchdown run, PAT good; Thomas Dale 7-0.
2nd Quarter-
7:12- Trent Williams 12-yard touchdown run, PAT good; Thomas Dale 14-0.
2:10- Matt Lawton 12-yard touchdown pass to Christian Faber, PAT Good; Thomas Dale 21-0.
1:25- Chris Jones 24-yard touchdown run, PAT good; Thomas Dale 21-7.
3rd Quarter-
8:29- Maxwell Oxendine 9-yard touchdown run, PAT good; Thomas Dale 28-7.
2:08- Matt Lawton 6-yard touchdown pass to Mariel Jennings, PAT good; Thomas Dale 35-7.
4th Quarter-
6:58- Davonte Russell 21-yard touchdown run, PAT good; Thomas Dale 42.7
KEYS TO VICTORY
The Knights came with the right game plan, they executed that game plan and they even got a little help from the Blue Devils in taking this game. When you keep a team to 157 yards of offense and 7 points, all the credit in the world goes to the defense. That Knights defense didn’t allow the Varina run game to establish itself at all as 107 yards came from 7 different players. Speaking of multiple players, there were several on defense for the Knights that got after the Varina quarterback all night long, clogged the holes so the Blue Devils couldn’t run up them in addition to chasing down those Bllue Devils to keep them from getting big yardage. Then there is the offense of the Knights, particularly the run game that came up with 227 yards on the night; 173 of which came from Max Oxendine and Davonte Russell. So many times I saw the Knights who were just too quick for the Blue Devils defense or in some cases too strong pushing them as they were running. With both the offense and defense working for the Knights tonight, Dale was sure to win but again, it doesn’t hurt to have a little help. Varina helped the Knights with poor ball handling, especially early on which set the tone for the game. The Knights got on the board first thanks to a Varina turnover and all night long Varina was having trouble holding on to the ball and in most cases they went backwards when recovering the loose balls and you’re just not going to win a game if you cannot hold on to the ball, it’s that simple.
PLAYERS OF THE GAME
The run game wore down the Varina defense and honestly came out playing the way many expected Varina to play tonight. In the third quarter Max Oxendine took over and for the night he rushed 12 times for 106 yards and scoring just once. The Knights would have likely won regardless but the way he ran that ball was impressive to say the least and tired down the defense of Varina and kept their offense off the field. If he can do that in a quarter/half, imagine what he is capable of in a whole game.
It’s always difficult to find a player of the game when the losing team was outplayed. A case could be made for some on defense such as Brydon Carroll who had a solid game but when a defense allows 42 points, can they really be the player of the game? On this night, only one Blue Devil scored and that was Chris Jones and with 31 yards he had the second most yards of any Blue Devil, next only to the quarterback.
EXTRA POINTS
First time since 1970 Thomas Dale has beaten Varina two games in a row.
First win at Varina for Thomas Dale since their playoff win in 2001.
7 points for Varina is its lowest score since scoring 7 against Highland Springs in 2011.
I had not been to Varina since the Highland Springs game last season that ended the Blue Devils 2014 campaign. You could clearly see the effect a 4-6 campaign had by the lack of crowd attendance… Don’t get me wrong, there was a crowd but compared to what the norm is for Varina home games, it was odd and furthermore, the regulars you are used to seeing at games, they could not be found either. After last week’s win over Norcom, a win against Thomas Dale would surely bring those fans back to the stands but it just wasn’t meant to be, not on this night.
It started off promising enough for the Blue Devils as the first play of the game saw Donnell Martin with a pickup of ten yards on the ground for a first down. Those who had Varina winning like myself were counting on the ground game carrying but a third down pass was dropped and that was a sign of things to come for the Blue Devils. Thomas Dale didn’t fare much better with their first possession and honestly this game was rather close early but it got away from Varina early because of poor ball handling which began on their second possession. The Knights defense was unmatched this night and one example of this was early in that first quarter with the Blue Devils facing a 3rd & 1 Sam Stark came in setting the Blue Devils back for a loss of three. The Blue Devils had no options really other than to punt but the punt was fumbled and recovered but it was recovered all the way back at the 11 yard line. That was all Thomas Dale needed to get the first points of the night…
On the next possession it was Donnell Martin who fumbled the ball for the Blue Devils on 3rd & 14 and although he recovered the loose ball, the Blue Devils took another loss and again punted. When the Blue Devils weren’t having trouble keeping their hands on the ball, they were being terrorized by the menacing defense of Thomas Dale as Mike Wilson was sacked on more than one occasion by Sam Stark as well as Shundarius Carter. One such Stark sack on the Blue Devils next possession was for a loss of 3 yards and on the very next play Wilson dropped the snap costing the Blue Devils seven yards. There was a sign of life for Varina late in the first half when the Blue Devils were moving the ball down field and it didn’t hurt that two Knight penalties helped moved the ball down field and in position to end the shutout with a Chris Jones 24-yard touchdown. No one knew at the time that would be the lone score of the night for the Blue Devils.
Give credit where credit is due however to the Knights who came out like the hungrier team… From the defense to the offense, you just saw a team that was playing with more intensity and determination. From the defense and players like Sam Stark flying around and getting their hands on Blue Devils to the offense where in the first half they weren’t flashy but they kept pushing and pushing till the Blue Devils defense would break. I recall in the second half on several runs, it seemed as though the Knights were pushing the Varina defenders down the field as they were running, much like what I saw with Monacan against Glen Allen last week.
The Knights scored 21 in the first half while allowing the lone Varina score. In the second half, the Knights who had played better as the first half went along played even better. The run game continued to excel with Max Oxendine getting many of the carries and the Knights scored not only on the ground but in the passing game as well. It came clearer as the game progressed that the Knights were not as bad as they looked last week against Bird and Varina might not be as good as they looked against Norcom.
The Blue Devil defense was no match for the Knights offense and vice versa. With the game ticking away and honestly out of reach after the Knights went up 42-7, the Blue Devils marched from their own 25 yard line all the way to the Knights 5. With a fresh set of downs it seemed inevitable the Blue Devils would give their fans something to cheer about before the night came to a close but the Knights shut that down completely. On three straight plays the Blue Devils chose to run the ball and they got no closer than the five. The Knights knew exactly what was coming on fourth down and Mike Wilson targeted CJ Jones and let the ball go but Shundarius Carter kept the ball out of Jones hands and that was Varina’s last possession and the Knights had their victory in hand.
SCORING SUMMARY
1st Quarter-
6:10- Trent Williams 11-yard touchdown run, PAT good; Thomas Dale 7-0.
2nd Quarter-
7:12- Trent Williams 12-yard touchdown run, PAT good; Thomas Dale 14-0.
2:10- Matt Lawton 12-yard touchdown pass to Christian Faber, PAT Good; Thomas Dale 21-0.
1:25- Chris Jones 24-yard touchdown run, PAT good; Thomas Dale 21-7.
3rd Quarter-
8:29- Maxwell Oxendine 9-yard touchdown run, PAT good; Thomas Dale 28-7.
2:08- Matt Lawton 6-yard touchdown pass to Mariel Jennings, PAT good; Thomas Dale 35-7.
4th Quarter-
6:58- Davonte Russell 21-yard touchdown run, PAT good; Thomas Dale 42.7
KEYS TO VICTORY
The Knights came with the right game plan, they executed that game plan and they even got a little help from the Blue Devils in taking this game. When you keep a team to 157 yards of offense and 7 points, all the credit in the world goes to the defense. That Knights defense didn’t allow the Varina run game to establish itself at all as 107 yards came from 7 different players. Speaking of multiple players, there were several on defense for the Knights that got after the Varina quarterback all night long, clogged the holes so the Blue Devils couldn’t run up them in addition to chasing down those Bllue Devils to keep them from getting big yardage. Then there is the offense of the Knights, particularly the run game that came up with 227 yards on the night; 173 of which came from Max Oxendine and Davonte Russell. So many times I saw the Knights who were just too quick for the Blue Devils defense or in some cases too strong pushing them as they were running. With both the offense and defense working for the Knights tonight, Dale was sure to win but again, it doesn’t hurt to have a little help. Varina helped the Knights with poor ball handling, especially early on which set the tone for the game. The Knights got on the board first thanks to a Varina turnover and all night long Varina was having trouble holding on to the ball and in most cases they went backwards when recovering the loose balls and you’re just not going to win a game if you cannot hold on to the ball, it’s that simple.
PLAYERS OF THE GAME
The run game wore down the Varina defense and honestly came out playing the way many expected Varina to play tonight. In the third quarter Max Oxendine took over and for the night he rushed 12 times for 106 yards and scoring just once. The Knights would have likely won regardless but the way he ran that ball was impressive to say the least and tired down the defense of Varina and kept their offense off the field. If he can do that in a quarter/half, imagine what he is capable of in a whole game.
It’s always difficult to find a player of the game when the losing team was outplayed. A case could be made for some on defense such as Brydon Carroll who had a solid game but when a defense allows 42 points, can they really be the player of the game? On this night, only one Blue Devil scored and that was Chris Jones and with 31 yards he had the second most yards of any Blue Devil, next only to the quarterback.
EXTRA POINTS
First time since 1970 Thomas Dale has beaten Varina two games in a row.
First win at Varina for Thomas Dale since their playoff win in 2001.
7 points for Varina is its lowest score since scoring 7 against Highland Springs in 2011.
