For a second time in three years the Hermitage Panthers made the trek from western Henrico to Chester with the intentions of topping the Skyhawks, something Hermitage has not done since 2015.

Many of these young men who took the field Friday night knew nothing about the rivalry that used to determine who the region champion would be. For seven years straight these teams met in the playoffs.

The players might not know about the history of the rivalry but it did not keep them from getting hyped for this one. Two confident teams took the field with something to prove and even before kick-off the teams got a little chippy with one another, that confidence brimming and oozing out.

On this night in November, it actually felt like November with a chill in the air and the breath visible off the players clearcut evidence of that. That chill in the air, the coldest night yet for football this season might have had something to do with turnovers and dropped passes this night.

Hermitage had several dropped passes while Bird had some bad snaps and fumbles.

When the teams were not misfiring with the ball, the yellow was flying from the men in stripes with the two teams combining for 22 penalties, the bulk of those (17) coming in the first half.

The two teams had different plans for victory in this game with Bird's the one that was completed. That path should come as no shock to anyone as it was a path built around the run with 271 yards between three different players, the bulk of it belonging to Corey Holland & Jason Wright.

Hermitage on the other hand chose balance and it worked for the most part albeit Ben Yeanay was the ringleader of this offensive show. The Skyhawks defense did a good job of containing Earlonte Winston and the receiver/quarterback sync was off on this night more than it was on. While the Panthers found it easy to move the ball to the red zone, in the red zone was a different story.

Hermitage was never really out of the game but the Skyhawks were always one step ahead to the very end.

For a moment it appeared Hermitage would start the game off stunning a sparse crowd and the Skyhawks with Bryson Robinson going the distance on a 63-yard run but due to a holding call, that score would not stand.

You could not script it any better for the Skyhawks. Not only did the Panthers touchdown not stand, not only did the Skyhawks defense force a 3 & out but to add insult to injury for the Herm was a Skyhawks TD. The very first offensive play of the game came from the birthday boy himself, Jason Wright who raced 78 yards along the home sideline with the end zone his destination.

That would be the lone highlight for the Skyhawks in the first quarter. Hermitage would dominate in time of possession gobbling up nearly 7 minutes on their second possession of the game. That possession would also see the Panthers stretch the ball 56 yards but 13 yards short of a much needed touchdown and thus Eli Stanton would get a chance to be boot a field goal, a chance that prove successful.

The Panther defense complimented the efforts of the offense for the Skyhawks to a 3 & out.

Michael Cherry brought down Bryson Robinson from behind for a loss of 2 yards and a 3rd down pass for Ben Yeanay found the fingertips of his receiver but that was the extend of it. That is how the second quarter started for the Panthers.

With the ball at their own 33 the Skyhawks nearly had a huge gaffe when a handoff between Jason Wright & Corey Holland saw the ball on the field but Holland was quick to recover but not without a loss of 3 yards. It was another 3 & out for the Skyhawks, another credit to the Panther defense that was up to the challenge.

After the Panthers had the punt following just 14 yards on their next possession, things got a little interesting to closeout the first half.

Jaqui Vaughan who is a stud on defense made a rare play on offense catching a pass from Jason Wright and transforming it into a touchdown... briefly. Due to a holding call the touchdown was brought back and Bird would not recover. The penalty hurt, so did a sack of Jason Wright from Miles Shepperson.

Panthers got the ball back, overcame a holding penalty, got a friend down courtesy of a Ben Yeanay-Bryson Robinson combo and then disaster. The ball was fumbled and Chris Whithead came up with it.

With 2:50 to go in the half in the ball at the Hermitage 20 the Skyhawks knew they had to capitalize. Herm helped them out with a personal foul call that setup the Skyhawks at the 5-yard line and on the next play it was Corey Holland in for the score. For a second time, a Bird touchdown was brought back, this one for holding. Bird kept coming on third down withe exactly 1:00 to go, the Skyhawks led 14-3.

In 44 seconds Hermitage had answered the Skyhawks score with their first and what would be only TD of the night.

It began with a big time pass from Ben Yeanay to Andre Clarke, Jr. for 41 yards, ball sitting at the Bird 28 with 41 seconds to go. Two incomplete passes later the Panthers went airborne again and this time Bird was flagged for pass interference. Just like that, the Panthers were at the 14 and that was all Yeanay needed to hit Clarke again as Clarke came across the field snagging the ball and running through the corner of the end zone but just enough to tag the end zone. Earlonte Winston scored the two-point conversion and the teams went into the half with Hermitage carrying a bit of momentum.

The Skyhawks in the third quarter began to lean on Corey Holland and the ground game to wear down the Panther defense and control the clock but not everything goes to plan. Holland had 3 carries for 13 yards and two plays later a bad snap saw Javien Johnson of Hermitage capitalize.

The Skyhawks second possession saw Holland rush for 20 yards and another fumbled exchange only this time Bird was able to recover their own loose ball.

The Panthers first possession of the second half did not fair so well albeit the drive was extended thanks to a pass interference call against Bird. It was short lived, however, as a pass to the Panthers was deflected and the Skyhawks Manny Evans happened to be in the right pace at the right time.

The Panthers next drive however was of the 60-yard variety that saw the Panthers penalized twice, overcome a fumble which Earlonte Winston recovered and rotation of Winston, Bryson Robinson & Ben Yeanay making plays.

As we seeped into the fourth quarter the Panthers had the ball 4th & 5, ball at the Skyhawks 34. Ben Yeanay attempted a pass but like it had so many times on this night, the Panthers pass fell incomplete.

The momentum and the game flipped just like that on the Skyhawks first snap of the fourth quarter. At their own 34, Corey Holland found his hole, kept those legs moving, made it past the pile and then straight up the middle leaving Panther defenders in his shadow.

In four minutes the Panthers would only muster 20 yards of offense. The Skyhawks defense with a 10-point lead had a lot to do with that. James Bland got to Ben Yeanay on the first play after the Panthers got a first down. Four plays later Michael Cherry forced a Panther fumble albeit the Panthers recovered but at the cost of 10 yards. Jaqui Vaughan would follow-up two plays later with a tackle forcing a turnover on downs.

The Skyhawks ate up 48 yards of Dutchman Field and in doing so they only left Hermitage 23 seconds to score 11 points... the Panthers fate had been sealed by Corey Holland. Although Holland would not score again he would touch the ball 6 times to the beat of 36 yards.

When the Panthers did get the ball back, they were backed up at their own 13 and unable to move the ball down field with incomplete passes.

The Skyhawks take the win and send Hermitage back across the river, their season over.

LC Birds Skyhawks:

Corey Holland was the fuel for the Skyhawks offense on a night where the path to victory was through the ground game. Holland had two TD's totaling 73 of the 174 yards he rushed for on 20 carries.

Emery Pope tormented the Panthers offense with a big night. That big night saw Pope get to the Panthers with 11 tackles, sack the Panther QB once and come away with a fumble recovery.

Hermitage Panthers

Ben Yeanay was the centerpiece for the Panther offense totaling nearly 200 yards of offense with just 187. Ben hit his mark 11 out of 24 times eclipsing the century mark with 113 yards. At times the passing game struggled and when it did Ben made it happen with his feet to the tune of 74 yards on 10 carries.

Miles Shepperson did his best to keep the Skyhawks offense from getting too far ahead with a half dozen tackles and a sack of QB Jason Wright.

LC Bird ends 2-game playoff shutout.

This was the first win for Coach Matt Bland in the playoffs.

11 points is the fewest the Bird defense has allowed since September.

LC Bird has now won 3 straight against Hermitage and 6 of the last 7.

11 points is the fewest Hermitage has scored against Bird since 2014.