Thomas Dale football advances to Region 6A title game
CHESTER, Va. (BVM) — Thomas Dale football’s undefeated season remains intact this week. On April 8, the Knights defeated the visiting Franklin County Eagles 41-31 in the Region 6A semifinal game at Thomas Dale to push their season record to 6-0.
Despite being down a pair of offensive starters in standout freshman quarterback Ethan Minter and running back Jordan Branch, the Knights offense was able to keep up with the Eagles, who gave the team a bit of a scare in the first half.
Knights senior running back DeAngelo Gray began the scoring in the game with a 46-yard touchdown run before the Eagles answered with a 49-yard touchdown pass. The Knights again went to the ground game for a score when running back Brandon Rose scored from 28 yards out, but the Eagles aerial offense was again too much for the Knights D as they tied the game at 14 with a 31-yard touchdown pass.
Running back Dewayne Calloway would break loose for a 48-yard touchdown in the second quarter, though they would miss the extra point, and the Knights defense held just enough to force an Eagles field goal which they converted to bring the game to 20-17 at the half.
The Knights would continue to use the ground game in the third quarter with quarterback Ethan Hamill scoring on a 4-yard keeper before another score through the air by Franklin County put the game at 28-24. On the ensuing kickoff, Knights return man Jacob Seaborne would bring the ball back 95 yards for a touchdown to give Thomas Dale a decisive 35-24 lead. Another defensive stop by the Knights would set up another DeAngelo Gray touchdown run, this time from seven yards to put the game on ice at 41-24. Though Franklin County would score again, all it did was make the final score look more respectable at 41-31.
In total, the Knights would rush for 433 yards and five scores en route to the victory. The win sets up a matchup between two undefeated teams in the Region 6A title game as the Knights will face the Oscar Smith Tigers (6-0) on Thursday, April 15 at 2 p.m. EST at Oscar Smith High School in Virginia Beach, Va.
The two teams have previously met in the 6A title game in 2019, but it was the Tigers, not the Knights, who came away with the 27-7 victory. Thomas Dale will look to get a bit of revenge on Oscar Smith this time around when the two teams meet Thursday.
Regardless of who wins the matchup, fans should be in for a competitive struggle between two highly–talented, undefeated teams.
