The Thomas Dale Knights will square off against the Matoaca Warriors at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Thomas Dale has five straight wins, Matoaca has six straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
If Matoaca heads into halftime all tied up, they better play a good second half: that's when Thomas Dale took over last week. The Knights walked away with a 16-8 victory over Meadowbrook on Friday. The final result isn't all that surprising considering the Knights' considerable advantage in MaxPreps' Virginia football rankings (they are ranked 29th, while the Monarchs are ranked 121st).
The critical scores for Thomas Dale came from Cole Leinberger and Daniel Lewis.
Thomas Dale's run defense was locked in: Meadowbrook could only muster -0.6 yards per carry. While three picked up at least four total tackles, Leinberger stood above the rest. He picked up two sacks, forced one fumble, and made four total tackles (4.0 for loss). Thomas Dale's ground attack was stronger, having averaged 4.4.
Marcus Byrd
| 10/03/25 @ Meadowbrook | 5 |
| 09/19/25 vs Glen Allen | 6 |
| 09/06/25 vs L.C. Bird | 6 |
| 08/28/25 @ Cosby | 5 |
| 11/15/24 @ Manchester | 6 |
| 11/07/24 vs Petersburg | 5 |
Thomas Dale's defense also made the game a nightmare for Dashaun Chisem, racking up 11 sacks. Javaris Thomas-Tucker V led the group effort, picking up four of those sacks all by himself. Marcus Byrd has been hot, having also posted five or more total tackles the last six times he's played. Michael Davis was another major factor on D, picking up a sack, making six total tackles (3.0 for loss), and defending one pass.
Meanwhile, Matoaca scored the most points they've had this season on Friday, but it wasn't enough. They fell 22-17 to Petersburg. While the Warriors had to settle for second, they closed the game well in the third quarter, where they outscored the Crimson Wave 10-0.
Matoaca's defeat dropped their record down to 0-5. As for Thomas Dale, their win bumped their record up to 5-0.
Thomas Dale couldn't quite get it done against Matoaca in their previous meeting back in October of 2024 as they fell 13-0. Can the Knights avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
