Knights down Skyhawks 26-7 in "Battle of Chester"

#3 Thomas Dale (2-0) picked up their third consecutive victory over crosstown rival L.C. Bird (0-2) 26-7 Thursday night. It's the first time since 2000-2002 that the Knights have held a three-game winning streak over Bird.

GAME RECAP

After forcing a Skyhawks three and out, the Knights went straight to work on their first possession of the game. Quarterback Ethan Minter called his own number and raced 15-yards to the house to put them up 7-0 (PAT Good).

Minter would remain red hot in the first quarter. On their ensuing possession, Ethan led his unit down the field and hit Kyon Turner on a 23-yard touchdown pass (PAT failed) to extend the Knights lead to 13-0 over Bird.

The Skyhawks didn't lay down, and on their third possession of the second quarter, quarterback Bradley Hurt threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Jashaun Amin (PAT Good) to cut the Knights lead to six.

The Skyhawks posed a threat late in the third quarter when Hurt connected with Colin Jackson Gusti on a 19-yard pass off a trick play that took them down to their one-yard line. However, they would turn the ball over on downs after losing 14 yards on penalties and negative plays.

Knights running back Jordan Branch closed the door on Bird's hopes of a comeback on back-to-back touchdown runs in the fourth quarter to seal the victory.

NEXT UP

#3 Thomas Dale (2-0) returns to action next Friday at home against Hermitage (0-0). The Panthers were slated to open up the season this week against Henrico (0-1) but that contest has been pushed back to October 26th. The last time these two teams met was back in 2019 when Hermitage upset Thomas Dale 21-19.

L.C. Bird (0-2) hits the road again next week to do battle with Dominion District foe Monacan (0-1). Both teams will be searching for their first victory of the season. The Chiefs fell to Hanover (1-0) 20-7 Thursday night

IMPACT PLAYERS

Thomas Dale:

Ethan Minter - Passing: 9/14 61 yards TD; Rushing: 11 carries 78 yards TD

Jordan Branch - 15 carries 74 yards 2TD's

Kyon Turner - 3 receptions 32 yards TD

L.C. Bird:

Bradley Hurt - Passing 8/23 111 yards TD

Trevor Schultz - 24 carries 100 yards

Jashaun Amin - 2 receptions 16 yards TD

COACHES CORNER

L.C. Bird - Troy Taylor

Thomas Dale - Kevin Tucker