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Final Score Friday Game of the Week Preview: (1)Hermitage vs. (3)Thomas Dale

Posted at 1:38 PM, Sep 07, 2017
and last updated 2017-09-07 13:40:35-04

For nearly two decades, Hermitage and Thomas Dale have been two of the winningest programs in the old Central Region. According to VHSL-reference.com, the Panthers are second with an .814 winning percentage while the Knights are 8th at 66.3%.

Despite those impressive numbers, these two teams don't play each other that often.  Our Final Score Friday Game of the Week will be the first meeting in the regular season since 1981.  It's a game that both Head Coaches wanted to schedule back in the offseason.

"It ought to be good for both programs to have the great competition early on in the season" Patrick Kane (Hermitage Head Coach) said.  "The great competition in the regular season will make you better in the playoffs"

"My first thought was that I wanted to schedule somebody that's going to be a winner" Kevin Tucker (Thomas Dale Head Coach) said.  "If you want to succeed in November, you got to have that tough schedule to get you there"

Hermitage and Thomas Dale have faced each other in the playoffs three times since 2002.  The Knights hold a 2-1 advantage but the Panthers won the last meeting back in 2011.