Coming into this one, the feeling among many was that the Panthers would prevail. Prevail they did but I don’t believe anyone thought they would shutout the Blue Devils… Sure the Blue Devils had struggled last week against Thomas Dale but Varina had scored in 233 straight games dating back to 1995, they surely would be able to get on the board right? Wrong…
The defense of the Blue Devils played well for pretty much the entire night including their first series against the Herm offense where they forced them into a three and out. The Panthers defense was better, Calvin Whithead showed that when he blocked a Varina punt setting up that first score of the game. Varina had something going on the next series but like last week, ball control proved to be a problem when Chris Jones fumbled the ball after being hit by John Kinney and Chris DeBerry recovering the loose ball. Hermitage’s defense would force the Blue Devils to punt on their next two posessions before the half and the Blue Devils defense held their own as well against Hermitage with the Panthers nursing a 7-0 lead at halftime. While the Blue Devils had no points to show for and the Panthers defense was rock solid, the Blue Devils were still in this game, all it would take would be a big play or a series where they finally get it together. Would halftime adjustments help with that?
No… Both teams were held to three and outs on their first series of the second half and then on the punt from Varina, Calvin Whitehead got in there again and blocked the punt but this time he was able to pick it up and return it for a score giving the Panthers a 14-0 lead. Varina was held to another three and out but they caught a break when Hermitage was flagged for roughing the kicker and the Blue Devils drive stayed alive and it seemed as though this would be the drive that changed the course of the game. The Blue Devils moved down the field with a run game that saw Mike Wilson gobble up 30 yards on the ground himself moving the Blue Devils all the way to the 4 yard line. A score was inevitable right? Wrong…
Jones got the ball three straight times and got nowhere against the stout defense of Hermitage… On fourth and goal the Blue devils had a predicament… Go for it and risk not getting anything or kick the field goal and at least get some points on the board? The Blue Devils chose to go for it and Mike Wilson was the ball carrier this time and instead of going forward he went backwards courtesy of Calvin Whitehead who came up with another big play… That tackle squashed the Varina threat, the closest the Blue Devils had come to scoring all night…
From that point, the Hermitage Panthers marched 93 yards down field overcoming penalties to score on a 14-yard quarterback keeper that put the game further out of reach for the Blue Devils… Before Varina’s offensive woes continued on the possession following the Herm score when Mike Wilson’s second down pass was intercepted by Will Adams… From 27 yards out facing a 2nd & 12, Justin Hall got the call this time and scored with a little over six minutes to go in the game.
Varina got the ball back with time slipping away and never got as close as they had previously when they were on the four. After a first down at the 50, Mike Wilson was sacked by Micah Caraballo and Varina’s forward momentum was halted… Varina faced a 4th & 12 on the 48… They could have gone for it with nothing to lose but they did not, instead they punted and Hermitage would take their knee and run out the the clock, becoming the first team since the 1995 Hopewell Blue Devils to shutout the Varina Blue Devils.
SCORING SUMMARY
1st Quarter-
5:37- Woody Winborne 9-yard touchdown from Eli Odom, PAT good; Hermitage 7-0.
2nd Quarter-
No Scoring
3rd Quarter-
9:10- Calvin Whitehead blocked punt returned for touchdown, PAT good; Hermitage 14-0.
4th Quarter-
7:29- Eli Odom 14-yard touchdown run, PAT good; Hermitage 21-0.
6:12- Jordan Hall 27-yard touchdown run, PAT good; Hermitage 28-0.
KEYS TO VICTORY
When it comes down to it, this game was won by Hermitage because of defense, a hungry defense that came up with big plays and turnovers… The Panthers came up with two turnovers as well as having two blocked punts… Even with all of that the Blue Devils threatened late in the game down only 14-0 when the Herm defense stopped Varina from getting in the endzone four straight times as the Blue Devils had the ball 1st & goal at the four yard line. A lack of a passing game also helped the Hermitage defense as without a passing game to take the pressure off the run game, Hermitage really kept the Blue Devils run game bottled up. They got some runs here and there but there was never any consistency. Credit the run game as well, Odom and Hall both had touchdowns on the ground with Hall picking up 107 yards on 12 carries.
PLAYERS OF THE GAME
In a shutout, it’s hard not to look at the defense as the best player on the field and there were several who made plays all night such as John Kinney and Will Adams but no one player had as much of an impact on the game as Calvin Whithead did. He didn’t have quite as many tackles as say John Kinney but with six tackles and two blocked punts, for which one he returned for a touchdown, it’s hard to argue that he was not a difference maker in this game.
Brydon Carroll and Calvin Coleman combined for about thirteen tackles tonight as for a better part of the game, the Varina defense held their own against the Panthers. With a 28-0 win, it’s easy to think this game was never in doubt but up until the third quarter it was just a one touchdown game and even going into the fourth the defense had kept it a two touchdown game. Eventually the defense wore down but these two were part of a huge defensive effort by the Blue Devils for much of this game.
EXTRA POINTS
First time Varina has been shutout since Sept. 29th, 1995 when they lost to Hopewell 25-0.
This shutout marked the 41st for Coach Kane’s Panthers since 2001.
The defense of the Blue Devils played well for pretty much the entire night including their first series against the Herm offense where they forced them into a three and out. The Panthers defense was better, Calvin Whithead showed that when he blocked a Varina punt setting up that first score of the game. Varina had something going on the next series but like last week, ball control proved to be a problem when Chris Jones fumbled the ball after being hit by John Kinney and Chris DeBerry recovering the loose ball. Hermitage’s defense would force the Blue Devils to punt on their next two posessions before the half and the Blue Devils defense held their own as well against Hermitage with the Panthers nursing a 7-0 lead at halftime. While the Blue Devils had no points to show for and the Panthers defense was rock solid, the Blue Devils were still in this game, all it would take would be a big play or a series where they finally get it together. Would halftime adjustments help with that?
No… Both teams were held to three and outs on their first series of the second half and then on the punt from Varina, Calvin Whitehead got in there again and blocked the punt but this time he was able to pick it up and return it for a score giving the Panthers a 14-0 lead. Varina was held to another three and out but they caught a break when Hermitage was flagged for roughing the kicker and the Blue Devils drive stayed alive and it seemed as though this would be the drive that changed the course of the game. The Blue Devils moved down the field with a run game that saw Mike Wilson gobble up 30 yards on the ground himself moving the Blue Devils all the way to the 4 yard line. A score was inevitable right? Wrong…
Jones got the ball three straight times and got nowhere against the stout defense of Hermitage… On fourth and goal the Blue devils had a predicament… Go for it and risk not getting anything or kick the field goal and at least get some points on the board? The Blue Devils chose to go for it and Mike Wilson was the ball carrier this time and instead of going forward he went backwards courtesy of Calvin Whitehead who came up with another big play… That tackle squashed the Varina threat, the closest the Blue Devils had come to scoring all night…
From that point, the Hermitage Panthers marched 93 yards down field overcoming penalties to score on a 14-yard quarterback keeper that put the game further out of reach for the Blue Devils… Before Varina’s offensive woes continued on the possession following the Herm score when Mike Wilson’s second down pass was intercepted by Will Adams… From 27 yards out facing a 2nd & 12, Justin Hall got the call this time and scored with a little over six minutes to go in the game.
Varina got the ball back with time slipping away and never got as close as they had previously when they were on the four. After a first down at the 50, Mike Wilson was sacked by Micah Caraballo and Varina’s forward momentum was halted… Varina faced a 4th & 12 on the 48… They could have gone for it with nothing to lose but they did not, instead they punted and Hermitage would take their knee and run out the the clock, becoming the first team since the 1995 Hopewell Blue Devils to shutout the Varina Blue Devils.
SCORING SUMMARY
1st Quarter-
5:37- Woody Winborne 9-yard touchdown from Eli Odom, PAT good; Hermitage 7-0.
2nd Quarter-
No Scoring
3rd Quarter-
9:10- Calvin Whitehead blocked punt returned for touchdown, PAT good; Hermitage 14-0.
4th Quarter-
7:29- Eli Odom 14-yard touchdown run, PAT good; Hermitage 21-0.
6:12- Jordan Hall 27-yard touchdown run, PAT good; Hermitage 28-0.
KEYS TO VICTORY
When it comes down to it, this game was won by Hermitage because of defense, a hungry defense that came up with big plays and turnovers… The Panthers came up with two turnovers as well as having two blocked punts… Even with all of that the Blue Devils threatened late in the game down only 14-0 when the Herm defense stopped Varina from getting in the endzone four straight times as the Blue Devils had the ball 1st & goal at the four yard line. A lack of a passing game also helped the Hermitage defense as without a passing game to take the pressure off the run game, Hermitage really kept the Blue Devils run game bottled up. They got some runs here and there but there was never any consistency. Credit the run game as well, Odom and Hall both had touchdowns on the ground with Hall picking up 107 yards on 12 carries.
PLAYERS OF THE GAME
In a shutout, it’s hard not to look at the defense as the best player on the field and there were several who made plays all night such as John Kinney and Will Adams but no one player had as much of an impact on the game as Calvin Whithead did. He didn’t have quite as many tackles as say John Kinney but with six tackles and two blocked punts, for which one he returned for a touchdown, it’s hard to argue that he was not a difference maker in this game.
Brydon Carroll and Calvin Coleman combined for about thirteen tackles tonight as for a better part of the game, the Varina defense held their own against the Panthers. With a 28-0 win, it’s easy to think this game was never in doubt but up until the third quarter it was just a one touchdown game and even going into the fourth the defense had kept it a two touchdown game. Eventually the defense wore down but these two were part of a huge defensive effort by the Blue Devils for much of this game.
EXTRA POINTS
First time Varina has been shutout since Sept. 29th, 1995 when they lost to Hopewell 25-0.
This shutout marked the 41st for Coach Kane’s Panthers since 2001.
