Dinwiddie came to Thomas Dale in a heavyweight fight in the Central District. The Knights only had one blemish on their resume, that being a touchdown loss to a 1-loss Matoaca team. That loss too came as the Knights returned to action following a Covid pause.

The Generals on the other hand were undefeated and had soundly beaten the Matoaca team that had handed Dale their only loss.

But... Dinwiddie is a Class 4 school, Dale is a Class 6 school and the thought always is that the bigger school has more athletes at their disposal and over 4 quarters that team will put it out. That was not the case on this night.

On this night Dinwiddie fell behind early but with the return of Harry Dalton in the run game, coupled with Tylor Veney who had been coming on strong over the last 2-3 weeks, the run game proved to be fatal. All five General touchdowns came via the ground game including two from QB Brenton Hilton.

Not only did the ground game provide the scoring but the Generals took over the game, chewing up time off the clock and controlling the tempo of the game.

Thomas Dale rallied for two scores in the fourth but for every Thomas Dale touchdown, Dinwiddie had an answer of their own. After leading early, Thomas Dale trailed once the Generals tied it and never looked back.

The first two possessions of the game saw both defenses forcing 3 & out. The first, first down only came when Thomas Dale was called for pass interference on the second Generals possession. Dinwiddie was held to a 3 & out after this beneficial call.

It was on Thomas Dale's second possession of the game that they ended the shutout and took their only lead of the night. A 78-yard, 5 play drive was largely the benefit of a 62-yard connection between Ethan Minter and Kyon Turner.

Dinwiddie did not take long to respond after falling behind. This Generals drive began in the first quarter with Brenton Hilton recovering a Harry Dalton fumble. Dalton moments later turned on the jets for a 39 yard run but came up short of the end zone. Tylor Veney would finish what Dalton starter punching it in from 5 yards out and with the PAT we had a tie game.

Dinwiddie's defense continued to make plays. Thomas Dale was held to a 3 & out and on the Knights second possession of the second quarter although things looked promising at first, they went south quick.

Dinwiddie was called for pass interference giving the Knights a first down. Ethan Minter threw for another first down but then the Knights, facing 3rd & 8 saw Minter sacked by Ben Pfister, one of his 3 sacks on the night.

Meanwhile Dinwiddie was scoring for the second time of the quarter, courtesy of Harry Dalton capping off a 6-play, 85 yard drive that saw Dalton account for 72 of those yards. The most important of those yards came on a 1-yard punch from Harry for the Generals second TD of the night.

Dinwiddie's scoring would end there as their third possession of the quarter ended with a 15-yard sack by Jaleel Dowd. Tylor Veney had 3 carries for 19 yards on this possession but all was lost with the sack.

Thomas Dale would head into the half not just down a touchdown but with a missed opportunity late. The Knights were moving the ball down the field with Minter rushing and thrown for a first down but... four incomplete passes later and the Knights had a turnover on downs.

Dale's offensive woes against this Dinwiddie defense did not change after halftime... at least not in the third quarter. The Knights went three and out twice, sandwiching a Dinwiddie possession.

Dinwiddie's Harry Dalton continued to come at the Knights, this time for 11 yards on 3 carries. Dinwiddie found themselves facing a 3rd & 1situation when the Knights defense or should I say Brandon Camarrasana stepped up with a tackle o prevent another Dinwiddie first down.

That was not the case on the next Dinwiddie possession. A 6-play, 73-yard scoring driver saw Harry Dalton (3 carries) and Tylor Veney (2 carries) account for 60 yards and Brenton Hilton taking care of the rest for a 13-yard touchdown.

When the Knights did get the ball back shortly before the end of the quarter, Jordan Branch was rushing for 2 yards and Ethan Minter was hitting Christian Lyons for a 15-yard gain. Disaster struck when Ben Pfister hit Minter for a loss of 5 yards.

Things got a little crazy in the fourth quarter.

Dinwiddie's Quentin Mankin stopped the Knights advance.

Dinwiddie got the ball back and in 5 plays and 63 yards the Generals had their fourth TD of the night. Harry Dalton had 32 yards, Brenton Hilton had 24 yards and Tylor Veney scored from 11 yards out.

After Dinwiddie forced a Thomas Dale punt, the Generals went back to work with an 11-play, 73 yard drive that saw Dalton grab 33 yards on 5 touches and Brenton Hilton with a 24-yard run. The Generals found themselves facing a 4th & 3 and they went for it but Hilton only got a yard, unable to extend the drive.

Moments later Thomas Dale was scoring for the first time since the first quarter.

Facing 2nd & 3, Ethan Minter hit Kyon Turner for 10 yards and on the next play he hit Christian Lyons for 67 yards and a touchdown. In 3 plays and 84 yards the Knights had trimmed the lead.

Dinwiddie came right back on a 2-play, 56-yard scoring drive of their own that saw Dalton hit for a loss of one and then Brenton Hilton busting off a 57-yard run to the house. The lead was again 21 points...

Thomas Dale came right back with an 8-play, 72-yard drive. On 3rd & 1 Minter hit Kyon Turner for 77 yards and a first down. Minter then hit Jacob Seaborne for a 35-yard touchdown pass and the lead was trimmed to 14 points.

That would be as close as Thomas Dale would get. Dinwiddie would complete their first undefeated season since 2017 and secure the #1 seed in the Region 4 B playoffs.

Harry Dalton of Dinwiddie with 227 yards on the ground on 22 carries and 1 TD.

Brenton Hilton of Dinwiddie with 131 yards on 12 carries and 2 TD's.

Ben Pfister of Dinwiddie 3.5 tackles, 2 for a loss plus 3 sacks!

Ethan Minter of Thomas Dale 18 of 31 passing for 257 yards and 3 TD's.

Kyon Turner of Thomas Dale 6 for 85 yards receiving and 1 TD.

CJ Milazzo of Thomas Dale with 3 tackles, 2 for a loss plus 2 sacks and at one point when Minter had to leave the game, Milazzo stepped in at QB and threw a TD but it was called back.

Dinwiddie beats Thomas Dale for the first time since 2018.

Dinwiddie completes their first undefeated regular season since 2017.