ETTRICK, Va. — One year ago, Matoaca shut out L.C. Bird in the postseason 28-0. The Skyhawks returned the favor Friday night with a 17-16 win that moves them into the Region 5C final.
Bird (9-3) opened the scoring with a 36-yard pass from Jason Wright to Sir Paul Cheeks that gave the Skyhawks a 7-0 lead. Wright was 7 of 14 passing for 98 yards and that touchdown while Cheeks had 4 catches for 73 yards and a score.
Matoaca (10-2) countered with a 38-yard pass from Bryce Yates to Dillon Newton-Short that tied the game a 7 at the half.
On the second-half opening kickoff, Bird's Christopher Showalter hit a squib kick into the Warriors' return unit. Showalter ended up recovering his own kick which led to a Corey Holland 3-yard TD run giving the Skyhawks a 14-7 lead. Holland finished with 29 carries for 161 yards and a TD.
Later in the third, Jaqui Vaughan (5 tackles, 1 sack) had a strip sack of Yates which led to a 25-yard field goal by Showalter that made the score 17-7
In the fourth quarter, Yates connected again with Newton-Short on a 35-yard scoring strike to make it 17-14, but Cheeks would pick off Yates on Matoaca's final possession to seal the win.
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