In 1999 there was this big Central Region Final game between two of the giants of the region at the time in the Patrick Henry Patriots and Varina Blue Devils. There was a lot of hype surrounding this game for anyone that remembers it as I do, two of the teams of the decade squaring off to settle who was better. That day Varina won 41-21... the Patriots while good just didn't have the athletes that Varina brought to the field that night.

25 years later Varina was in another battle of two of the giants of the Central Region and Region 4B for that matter. The 2021 and 2022 Class 4 State Champions going to war with a trip to the state semifinals on the line. It was the Blue Devil defense versus one of the greats to come through the region, Harry Dalton. Leaving the game, neither was the story as the story centered around Kaleb Wyche & DaMari Carter. The two combined for 5 catches for 132 yards and 3 TD's in this matchup. Carter put his athleticism on display be it receiving, punting (4-107) and defense with an INT to his credit as well.

The defense did their job, they kept the explosive Harry Dalton to just 2 TD's on the ground & 2 TD's through the air with 272 total yards between running and throwing but it wasn't the typical performance. That is a credit to the defense of Varina who were intent on not letting him beat them.

The roles were reversed I guess you could say from a week ago when Dinwiddie pulled away in the fourth quarter against King George. 28-21 Varina entering the fourth quarter, the Blue Devils with a little over 3 minutes remaining in the game had a 41-21 lead on the Generals. The final touchdown we saw from Harry Dalton came with 17 seconds left in the contest when he hit Mickiel Johnson from 10 yards out.

As the sun set on a cold and breezy afternoon in Dinwiddie, so did the sun set on the Generals season and the Harry Dalton era.

With defeat for one comes victory for another... as Navy Nation filed out, as reality set in for Dinwiddie, the Blue Devils celebrated a region title; their second in five years under Coach Marcus Lewis. The Blue Devils now have the luxury of playing at home this Saturday with a trip to Liberty in the balance.

The first quarter was anything but ideal for the Dinwiddie Generals on the offensive side of the ball. The Generals went 3 & out twice and turned it over on downs once when they were unable to convert on fourth down. When they could not convert, they were making uncharacteristic miscues. On the Generals second possession of the day Harry Dalton fumbled losing 11 yards, followed that up with an incomplete pass and then was intercepted by Varina's Myles Anderson.

Although Varina did score a touchdown in this first quarter, it was not ideal for the Blue Devils either. On their first possession of the game they fumbled only for Dinwiddie's Mickiel Johnson to recover.

On the Blue Devils third possession Kaleb Wyche had a touchdown run called back, moments later the Dinwiddie defense brought the house on 3rd & 11 with a sack on the Varina QB.

Sandwiched between Varina possessions was a Blue Devil touchdown, setup by the Myles Anderson INT. DaMari Carter hauled in a 30-yard pass from Kaleb Wyche despite a 2-play, 19-yard drive. Confused? Don't be... the Blue Devils were subject to a personal foul call.

The Blue Devils started the second quarter building on their lead with a 3-play, 71-yard drive but much of that yardage, 60 yards in fact came on a DaMari Carter-Kaleb Wyche combo platter, their second of the day! That made it a 14-0 lead for the Blue Devils over a stunned Navy Nation crowd. This touchdown did not come easy either as they had to overcome a bad snap, 1 of a few on this day and a constant issue throughout the season.

The Generals had seen enough and they went to work on their first score of the day. It took Dinwiddie just 1:39 to go down field and end the Blue Devils shutout. That should come as no surprise to anyone as we all know how quick Harry Dalton is when he finds a hole and breaks free. In this case, Harry broke free for a 49-yard touchdown run putting the finishing touch on a 5-play, 65-yard drive.

It took nearly 8 minutes for Varina to answer the call of the first Dinwiddie TD of the day. In between the two scores were two possessions of both teams that ate up yards and time but contributed nothing to the scoreboard.

As halftime was nearing, the Blue Devils put together a 9-play, 62-yard drive. Varina did not make it easy on themselves as they came back from a time out on 1st & 10 at the Dinwiddie 16 and got flagged for too many men on the field. An incomplete pass later the Blue Devils had 30 seconds on the clock facing 2nd & 15 when Kaleb Wyche & DaMari Carter hooked up for a third and final time of the half. Just like that the Blue Devils went into the half up by two touchdowns and taking the wind out of the sail of the Generals.

The third quarter sure did pack some excitement. Two touchdowns with the Generals outscoring the Blue Devils, an almost INT for the Blue Devils and an INT for the Generals. This quarter had it all.

Varina built a 3-touchdown lead, 28-7 behind a 9-play, 70-yard drive that saw Devin Henderson and Myles Anderson more involved in the offensive scheme. Neither was on the receiving end of Kaleb Wyche's 4th touchdown pass of the day, that would be Trevon Rogers from 14 yards out.

Dinwiddie fired back in 1 play, Harry Dalton fired his own cannon and Caleb Bowles took it 67 yards to the house with the Generals cannon firing off to celebrate. The Generals were within 2 touchdowns again.

Quickly they would be within striking distance after Shannon McDowell intercepted Kaleb Wyche on third & 15 and the Generals marched 76 yards in 10 plays for their third score of the day.

It took the Generals 7 plays to get to the 50 but on 3rd & 11 the Generals were called for a false start. On 3rd & 16 Dalton put it in the air and got a pass interference called against the Blue Devils. No first down, the Generals faced 3rd & 1 and that was all Dalton needed as he raced 26 yards for his second rushing TD of the day.

Momentum and Dinwiddie were working hand and hand as the Generals defense forced a 3 & out of the Blue Devils.

The Generals last possession of the quarter saw Devin Henderson almost intercept Harry Dalton but he couldn't complete the process and the Generals dodged a bullet heading into the fourth quarter.

Unlike the week before where Dinwiddie took over the fourth quarter, the Generals struggled to score although it did not come as tough for the Blue Devils.

Sandwiched between two Varina possessions' was a Dinwiddie possession that was disaster from the start with a fumble from Mickiel Johnson which he recovered himself but not without a loss of 2 yards. The Generals marched on but facing 4th & 1 Harry Dalton was stopped in his tracks by the Varina defense for a turnover on downs.

Two plays later the Blue Devils were in the end zone when Devin Henderson carried in from 4 yards out. The Blue Devils again up by 2 touchdowns.

Dinwiddie got the ball back down two touchdowns but they did not have it for long. After Harry Dalton's first pass fell incomplete, his second was intercepted by DaMari Carter.

In 7 plays and 86 yards the Blue Devils locked up the win with a drive that saw Johnnie Washington and Devin Henderson leading the ground game to eat up clock and move themselves down field. 56 yards these two amassed on the ground before Kaleb Wyche mailed it in from 30 yards out for his first rushing TD of the day. The PAT might have failed but the Blue Devils were up by 20 with 3 minutes to go.

Dinwiddie would have the ball just twice more. The first would end with a Myles Anderson interception, his second of the day and third for Harry Dalton. When the Generals got the ball back, they had little time to work with but a score would make a loss more respectable if there can be such a thing. That is exactly what they did.

The Generals put together a drive that culminated in Harry Dalton's last touchdown as a General, a 10-yard shot to Mickiel Johnson and they were in there for the score. A 2-point conversion attempt would fall incomplete and with seconds left, the season along with the sun had set on the Dinwiddie Generals 2024 campaign and the Harry Dalton era of Navy Nation.

Varina on the other hand was hoisting the Region 4B trophy for a 2nd time in 4 years.

Varina Blue Devils

Kaleb Wyche had himself a day with 366 yards in a nearly flawless performance, 1 INT and bobbled snaps not withstanding. Wyche rushed for 191 yards scoring just 1 TD, the final Blue Devil score of the day. Meanwhile, he sliced and diced the Dinwiddie defense for 175 yards and 4 TD's completing 12 of 20.

His go-to was DaMari Carter who might have just had his best game of the season yet. Carter had 5 catches and took 3 to the house for 132 yards receiving. Not enough? As punter, he did so 4 times for 107 yards. Still not enough? How about an INT of Harry Dalton? He effected the game in a variety of ways, his presence felt without question.

Let's give it up for Jaiden Walker as well who shined on defense to no surprise with 8 tackles on the day.

Dinwiddie Generals

In his final game as a Dinwiddie Generals Harry Dalton accounted for all four touchdowns, 2 on the ground and 2 through the air. Harry did the most through the air completing 11 of 22 for 161 yards and the 2 scores. On the ground, Harry had a modest day compared to what we are accustomed to with 18 carries for 111 yards and 2 scores.

Defensively speaking Devynn Marshall carried the day with 5.5 tackles.

Varina has outscored their opponents this season in the playoffs 109-41.

Coach Marcus Lewis is now 11-2 in the playoffs.

This is the second time in 5 seasons under Coach Lewis that the Blue Devils are region champs, headed to the state semifinals.

Varina improves to 4-0 all-time versus Dinwiddie on the Generals home turf.

In 3 seasons with Harry Dalton at QB, Dinwiddie 8-2, 9-3 overall if you include his freshman year at running back.

This was the first playoff loss at home for Dinwiddie since 2021 when they fell to Patrick Henry.

Dinwiddie finishes the season with 11 or more wins for an 8th time under Coach Billy Mills.