LC Bird and Midlothian met undefeated in just the third game of the season but it meant more, so much more to both teams. For LC Bird a win would further back the belief that Bird is back. For Midlothian, a win would erase decades of frustration and futility. Nevermind the fact that both came into this one undefeated.

The meaning of this game ratcheted up the intensity of this game and you could see it all night long. The will of the Trojans Ashby Berry pounding the rock over and over again, challenging Bird to stop him. The defense for both teams making plays when it mattered the most. The emotions of the game getting to both causing mistakes to be made in a game that saw as much yellow as a block of cheese. The passion, the emotion of players yelling at their teammates for the better or the worse. It was felt by those on the field, those on the sidelines and those in the stands.

And at the end of the night, that emotion took over. The Skyhawks got the ball with 3:22 to go in the game at the Midlothian 40 and 7 plays later Bird was the Midlothian 6. The Skyhawks needed a touchdown and two-point conversion to force overtime, easier to type than pull off against a Trojan defense that held the Skyhawks to 131 yards of offense.

The Skyhawks pass fell incomplete. The next play went to La'Tavian Lowe who got the two yards for a first down but short of the goal thanks to an Ethan Shelor tackle. Bradley Hurt's next pass suffered the same fate as two plays earlier. Bird had just seconds left and they needed a big play.

A bad snap got away from Hurt who had to scramble to get to the ball before any Trojans could. He picked up the ball and took off running towards the Trojan sideline, hoping to find a lane to turn and run up but the defenders were quick to the draw. Ethan Shelor and Trey Cornwell tracked him down, Cornwell tagged him first and Shelor came in as backup, down went Hurt, down went the Skyhawks.

The sideline erupted as if the Trojans had just won a championship, the players and coaches storming the field, hugging, overcome with emotion. Skyhawk players too were overcome with emotion, sitting on the field, hanging their heads... The pure excitement overtaking the Trojans, the Skyhawks elected not to lineup for handshake but rather exited the field as Trojan fans stormed the field to celebrate with their team, their classmates.

Coach Hutchings himself overcome with emotion as players and coaches a like came to Hutchings hugging him... the coach himself choked up during post-game interview. For Coach Hutchings, this win was not about him... it was about the team, the program, the school and the community; he could not stress that more.

Midlothian won the coin toss and chose to defer to the second half.

The Trojan defense set the tone early holding the Skyhawks to two 3 & outs in the first quarter. Those three and outs sandwiched the Skyhawks only scoring drive of the night. The Skyhawks have a deep run game and on this night La'Tavion Lowe was the back of choice and carried the ball 4 times for 36 yards. Javion Williams however would be the Skyhawk to punch it in, pounding it in the end zone, never relenting despite the Trojan defensive pressure along the Skyhawks sideline.

That Skyhawk TD was in response to a 2-play offensive strike from the Trojans on their first offensive possession of the night. Chase Chambers hit Conor Harrington with Harrington off to the races for a 71- score. That was the highlight for the Trojans in the first quarter on offense.

The second Trojan possession was foiled when Javion Williams intercepted Chambers. Despite 36 yards from Ashby Berry on the Trojans third possession of the quarter, the Trojans settled for a 47-yard Maxx Lawton field goal try on fourth down. That field goal attempt never made it and fell about 10 to 15 yards short.

LC Bird's offensive struggles carried over into the second quarter. Of course those struggles came at the hands of the Trojan defense. Brandon Ross had two tackles keeping the Skyhawks 1-yard short of the first.

The next two ensuing Skyhawk possessions were 3 & outs. In the first half alone the Trojans held forced Bird to 4 three and outs.

Meanwhile Midlothian had the ball twice on offense. The Trojans were called for holding but made up for that when Bird was hit with a pass interference call. That would be the only first down on this possession for the Trojans as the Skyhawk defense would buckle down with four different Skyhawks making plays to end the drive.

The Trojans second possession of the quarter would be the ticket for Midlothian. The Trojans held the ball for nearly five minutes just grinding it out. Drew Kleski and Chase Chambers got things going with a 10-yard hookup while Ashby Berry accounted for 32 yards on the ground including two yards to score the TD. Berry would also score a two-point conversion to make it a 15-7 game.

For the first time in the game, the Trojans went a quarter without scoring. The Trojans faced a 3rd & 8 when Chase Chambers hit Zach Wirt for a gain of 12 yards and a first down. The Trojans however were called for holding and that was the first of two plays the Trojans would be caught holding, sabotaging their first possession of the second half.

After Midlothian held Bird to their fifth 3 & out of the game, Midlothian went on the attack on offense. In 6 plays Midlothian was at the Bird 7 threatening behind runs by Bryce Sowers and Ashby Berry in addition to a Chambers-Drew Kleski hookup. Penalties continued to hurt the Trojans and on the 7, facing 2nd & 1 Midlothian was again called for holding. The Trojans could not recover from the setback, on 4th & 2 at the Bird 8, rather than opt for a field goal the Trojans went with Zach Wirt on the ground who was wrapped up by Xavier Carpenter forcing a turnover on downs.

As the third quarter was winding down, Bird was warming up on offense. In 5 plays the Skyhawks ground out 23 yards behind a run game that saw Xavier Gaskin, La'Tavion Lowe, Alvin Townes-Fox and Jashaun Amin all tough the ball.

In the fourth quarter Bird's drive would stall and Midlothian's penalty woes would continue.

Midlothian's first possession of the quarter would self destruct behind 3 unsportsmanlike like conduct penalties.

The Skyhawks defense rose to the occasion limiting Midlothian to a rare 3 & out on this night. That came on the heels of a Bird possession that saw the Skyhawks manage just three yards.

That set the stage for a wild final three and a half minutes of football that saw Bird get within two yards of a touchdown and possible game tying two-point conversion but it was not mean to be on this night.

Just as the Bird defense rose to the occasion, so too did the Trojan defense. Ethan Shelor had two tackles in the final seconds of the game to keep the Skyhawks out of the end zone including chasing down QB Bradley Hurt after a bad snap on the final play of the game.

Midlothian

Chase Chambers - 2 of 5 passing for 81 yards and a touchdown.

Conor Harrington - 1 catch for 71 yard touchdown.

Ashby Berry - 30 carries for 139 yards and a touchdown and 7.5 tackles, 2 for a loss.

Ethan Shelor - 5 tackles and .5 TFL

LC Bird

La'Tavion Lowe - 16 carries for 72 yards.

Javion Williams - 1 rushing touchdown and 6 tackles plus an interception.

Xavier Carpenter - 9 tackles, 1 for a loss.

This was just the fourth time the Skyhawks and Trojans met as undefeated and first time the Trojans won.

This was just the fourth win in the series for Midlothian and first since 1986.

Despite the win, Midlothian has still not scored more than 19 against Bird.

Coach Hutchings is now 1-3 against LC Bird.