#DestinationFridayNight took me to my alma mater on Friday night, Route 5 where the Blue Devils of Varina call home. The Blue Devils were in an uncomfortable position, one they had not been in since the Spring of 2021 and that is 0-1 on the season. On the flip side of that equation was a Hermitage team coming from across the county in one of the sneaky good rivalry games that gets lost in some of the other rivalry games across the region.

In recent seasons Varina & Hermitage have not thought much of one another. Hermitage of course is tired of losing to the Blue Devils and last year it was a personal spat over the re-scheduling of the game that led to a social media war of sorts if you will. This season the Panthers were hoping to prey on a wounded Blue Devil but it was not meant to be.

What was meant to be was another hard fought game in which both offenses struggled at times against good defenses. In the end it was the Blue Devils who survived and I do mean survive.

Hermitage had a chance late to potentially go down the field and score, go for two with little time left and maybe just maybe force Varina into their second overtime game of the season. The Varina defense made sure that did not happen stepping up when needed the most

To be honest the first quarter was a bit stale if you like action. The Blue Devils won the coin toss and chose to defer.

Hermitage had the ball three times and the first two did not fare well at all. The Panthers got hit with a penalty and Jeremiah Wright broke up a pass forcing the first of two 3 & outs. Off the first two possessions of the night the Panthers had -7 yards to show for.

Varina did not fare so well either with the ball twice and forced to a 3 & out of their own on their first possessions of the night. Breon Bonner was able to extend the Blue Devils second drive getting the first, first down of the day for either team but the Blue Devils still had to punt.

Punting and kicking would be an issue for the Blue Devils on this night. Short punts routinely gave the Panthers a short field to work with. That was the case on the Panthers final possession of the first quarter.

Markus Lee of a pass got the Panthers their first, first down of the night. The Panthers went to the run game with Earlonte Winston mowing down 25 yards to the Varina 2, a touchdown felt imminent. Braylon Hood got to Winston for a loss of 4 yards, the Panther pass fell incomplete next and on third down Ben Yeanay was sacked by Jervell Barksdale. Hermitage settled for a field goal and had their first and only lead of the night.

Varina came into the second quarter trailing 3-0 and went into the half up 12-3. The Blue Devils came away with nothing on a drive that began in the first quarter but on their next possesion after forcing Hermitage to a turnover on downs on 4th & 1, the Blue Devils surprised the Panthers.

It appeared Varina was going to punt, another 3 & out but the Blue Devils faked the punt and Ivan Thompson got the first down. The very next snap saw the Blue Devils tag the end zone when Kaleb Wyche hit Myles Anderson on a 49-yard touchdown. It wouldn't be the last time the two would hookup.

The Panthers were forced a 3 & out and then Blue Devils went right back to work. Two first downs later Kaleb Wyche was off to the races for a touchdown run but that would not stand due to a holding call. Three plays later Kaleb and Anderson did it again, this time on a 25-yard touchdown.

Trailing 12-3 Hermitage was moving the ball down the field, they were in Varina territory at the Blue Devil 33 and then disaster began to strike... It started with Braylon Hood & Sair Rex nearly picking off a pass but instead they proved two objects cannot occupy the same space. Devin Henderson had his chance on defense nearly coming away with an interception. Those three failed, Kaleb Wyche did not and the Panther threat was thwarted.

The third quarter resembled more of the first quarter with the lack of production on offense. Varina's Kaleb Wyche got the first down but a fumble for the Blue Devils from Anthony Hansom set them back 24 yards for which they would not recover from and the Panther defense shut them down on their second drive.

Hermitage went 3 & out on their first possession of the second half but then the Panthers got it going behind the legs of Earlonte Winston who got the Panthers three first downs extending the drive every time the Panthers were up against the wall.

The Panthers had the ball, they were driving and when they needed a big play they turned to Earlonte Winston. The Panthers had driven the ball to the Varina 22 when Varina was penalized for targeting. The Panthers were now sitting pretty at the 6 of Varina and if you thought it couldn't get any worse for the Blue Devils you would be wrong. Two plays later Varina was called for offsides making it even easier for the Panthers to score and that is exactly what they did when Winston punched it in from two yards out.

Just like that after the Eli Stanton PAT, the Panthers were within 2.

Varina said you can do that, watch this. The Blue Devils covered 80 yards in 8 plays overcoming penalties along the way. Breon Bonner, Trevon Rogers & Devin Henderson ate up 28 of those yards on the ground, Rogers also had a 15-yard catch from Kaleb Wyche and speaking of Wyche. Kaleb had three runs but none bigger than a 22-yard sprint with 5:15 to go to give the Blue Devils a little cushion. Varina led 18-10...

Varina's defense stepped up on the next Panther possession with Myles Anderson breaking up a pass and the Blue Devils coming away with the sack to slow down any momentum the Panthers picked up.

Speaking of defense... Hermitage defense stepped up too, held the Blue Devils to a 3 & out although a false start call did not help the Blue Devils case.

The Panthers had another opportunity, a chance to get down the field and possibly force overtime. From their own 31 the Panthers went to work and within four plays they were at the Varina 37. Holding stalled the Panthers... Jeremiah Wright broke up a 1st & 20 pass. Braylon Hood brought down Earlonte Winston on second down while on third down the Panthers were called for offensive pass interference. The Panthers down to their last down went airborne and Kaleb Wyche went up and stole the ball.

A fitting ending to a night where Wyche had provided the fireworks on offense, he seals the deal on defense.

What more can you say about Kaleb Wyche. Without his biggest playmaker DaMari Carter on the field, all Wyche did was make plays. 4 of 6 completions with 2 of those touchdowns. Also carried the ball 13 times for 112 yards and a touchdown. On offense he had 216 yards and 3 scores but he won't don't there, he had two interceptions off the Panthers as he did all he could to insure victory.

The Blue Devils defense had some playmakers on this night that kept the Panthers at bay.

Freshman DB Jeremiah White broke up two Herm passes and unofficially I have him at 5 tackles on the night.

Junior linebacker Braylon Hood has a half dozen tackles by nights end.

In last 5 meetings the game has been decided by 13 or fewer points.

With the Blue Devils 4th straight win in the series, this is their longest win streak since winning 11 straight from 1992-2006.

Varina with the win avoids their first 0-2 start since 1985.

This is the Panthers first 1-2 start since the Fall of 201.

Coach Marcus Lewis is now 4-1 versus Hermitage as a head coach whereas Coach Jean-Pierre is 0-4 versus Varina.