CHESTER, Va. — Third-ranked Thomas Dale used their Dark Knight defense to come from behind in the second half and beat #5 L.C. Bird 27-16.
The Skyhawks (1-1) took an early lead on a 75-yard touchdown run by quarterback Jason Wright and extended their advantage on a three-yard touchdown pass from Wright to Corey Holland.
Bird outgained Dale 264-112 overall.
But the Knights stayed close thanks to a pair of field goals from Jonathan Gates and a short touchdown run from Jaiden Hite.
Trailing by two early in the second half, the Knights' defense took over.
Draylin Waller had two interceptions, one returned for a score, and Jonah Harris returned a fumble 75 yards for another score as Dale (2-0) outscored Bird 14-2 in the second half, all points coming from the respective defenses.
"Can we get punched in the mouth, and get back up and keep on fighting? We did," Dale head coach Kevin Tucker told Sean Robertson after the game. "Nobody in the state believes we can win. I'm going to take my 63 guys and keep believing that we can win each week."
Thomas Dale has now won six straight in the Battle of Chester rivalry though the Skyhawks lead the all-time series 27-25-1.
