We got some great games and some surprises in the first round of the (final) Central Region playoffs. Here's a look:
DIVISION FIVE
(Note: Numbers are my final rankings, not seeds)
SCORE: #8 Hanover 28, #7 Lee-Davis 21
MY PREDICTION: Hanover 21, Lee-Davis 14
QUOTABLE: "For me, this comes down to Sam Rogers. There are a lot of good high school players on both sides, but Rogers, who has already led Hanover to two regional titles, is special."
QUICK TAKE: Rogers ran AND passed for over 200 yards, his second consecutive week producing over 400 yards of total offense. The Confederates hung tough, fighting back from 21-10 and 28-13 second-half deficits to get the final margin down to a touchdown. The Hawk offense managed to score 28 points just a few weeks after mustering only six in a loss to this same Lee-Davis team. Hanover moves on to play Hopewell (see below), while Lee-Davis finishes its year at 7-4. This was another big step forward for Lee-Davis, which finished third in the Capital and clinched the top seed in D-5 for the first time in many years. The Confederates are also underclass-heavy, especially on defense, and should be a formidable team again next year.
SCORE: #9 Hopewell 47, #6 Dinwiddie 28
MY PREDICTION: Dinwiddie 31, Hopewell 24
QUOTABLE: "The Generals are expected to be at full strength (or close to it), something that wasn't the case during the first meeting . . . This is by no means a lock game, but it's hard not to say that Dinwiddie is the favorite. The General secondary will have to play well to keep up with the Hopewell receivers, but Dinwiddie has just as many weapons."
QUICK TAKE: Of all the games this week, this is the only one that was close to a shocker to me. The huge surprise wasn't that Hopewell won (although I picked Dinwiddie), but that the Blue Devils won handily. It seemed to me that everything was going the Generals' way: Experienced playoff participant, playing at home, healthier than the last time the two teams met. Yet, the senior-laden Blue Devils topped the junior- and sophomore-dominate Generals with big play after big play. To wit, Hopewell scored FIVE touchdowns of at least 33 yards, and four of those covered about 50 yards or more. Dinwiddie finishes up at 7-4, but could very well be my preseason #1 team next season. Hopewell moves on to host the last Central Region, D-5 title game.
DIVISION SIX
SCORE: #2 L. C. Bird 24, #1 Hermitage 20
MY PREDICTION: Hermitage 17, L. C. Bird 10
QUOTABLE: "The Skyhawks are talented, no question. But they've also overachieved to be as dominant as they have been. I don't think this is one of the two- or three-most-talented squads Bird has had since I've been covering the region, but they play very, very well, and that's often more important than pure talent. Bird's relatively-multi-dimensional offense also gives the stout Hermitage defense more to worry about."
QUICK TAKE: Paul Robertson rang up over 200 yards rushing, but Terrance Ervin also threw two touchdown passes and attempted 30 passes, which must be a Bird playoff record (if not a school record, period). This was a game with some wild momentum swings. There were two or three moments when I was convinced Hermitage would win, and two or three moments when I was convinced Bird would win. The penalty at the end of the first half and the premature snap on a field goal attempt The last big shift was Shawn Payne's interception with about eight minutes left in the game. Hermitage had the ball and a first down, up 20-10, with 9:02 to go. The next thing we knew, Bird had cut the lead to three points, and, worse, 6:40 still remained on the clock. The Panthers will be thinking about this one for a while, but hat's off the L. C. Bird for the resilience it took to come back and win this game in the closing minutes. Hermitage finishes 10-1 after losing to a Central Region team for the first time since November 27, 2009. Click here for HIGHLIGHTS of this game!
SCORE: #3 Varina 30, #5 Meadowbrook 29
MY PREDICTION: Varina 35, Meadowbrook 25
QUOTABLE: "I would never count out Coach Troy Taylor, Gerard Johnson, and the rest of the Meadowbrook Monarchs, but Varina looks like the favorite. The Blue Devils have tangled with a lot of good teams this year, and have played well in every single one of those contests."
QUICK TAKE: The Blue Devils needed a late Donovan Dowling touchdown, an onside kick, a fortuitous pass interference call, and a last-second field goal by Xavier Young to win . . . but they won. It took everything a battle-tested Varina squad to top a stubborn Meadowbrook team by a point at the end. Give credit to the Monarchs. The Blue Devils dominated the first half and led 14-0 early, but Meadowbrook stormed back behind another great game from do-it-all quarterback Gerard Johnson, who had a lot of help from Brandon McShine and Terrelle Whitaker. The Monarchs went on a 29-6 run before the Blue Devils' late heroics just barely pulled out the win. Meadowbrook finishes 9-2 with its first outright Central District title in tow. Varina moves on to host L. C. Bird in the D-6 Regional Championship on Friday.
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Catch Tom Garrett's articles and columns all year, right here on VirginiaPreps.com! You can also hear Tom on "Hardly Workin'" with Greg Burton every Friday evening at approximately 5:40 on ESPN 950 AM WXGI, as well as on pregame, halftime, and postgame for the WRNL AM 910 High School Game of the Week. You can also connect with Tom on Twitter HERE!
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