RICHMOND, Va. (WTVR) - L.C. Bird overcame a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter to knock off top seeded Hermitage 24-20 to advance to the Division 6 regional final.
The Panthers built a 14-3 first half lead on the strength of two Derrick Green touchdown runs. The Skyhawks scored just before halftime on a Terrence Irvin pass to Darrius Hawkins to make it 13-10 Hermitage at the break.
In the second half, Niko Johnson put Hermitage up 20-10 with a 16 yard TD pass to Nate Roscoe but the Panthers never scored again. Shawn Payne had a huge interception for Bird that set up a Paul Robertson 5 yard run that cut the lead to 20-17 with 6:40 to play. Irvin then hit Zack Levine on a 24 yard TD pass that gave the Skyhawks their 24-20 advantage.
The loss ended Hermitage's win streak against Central Region teams at 34 in a row. Bird now moves on to face Varina in next Friday's Division 6 regional final.
