It's hard to turn regular season success into postseason wins, a fact the Western Branch Bruins can now relate to. They took a 31-22 hit to the loss column at the hands of Thomas Dale on Friday. While losing is never fun, Western Branch can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Virginia football rankings (they are ranked 82nd, while Thomas Dale is ranked 16th).
Nick Tyree was his usual excellent self, rushing for 161 yards and a touchdown while picking up 8.5 yards per carry. Zakarai Sands got in on the action too, converting a pick into a touchdown.
Another reason for the win was Thomas Dale's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for five sacks. Jonah Harris was particularly dangerous to the passing game, picking up two sacks himself.
Western Branch's loss was their third straight on the road, which bumped their record down to 4-7. Those losses could be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they only averaged 11.7 points per game. As for Thomas Dale, the victory for they keeps them at an undefeated 11-0.
Western Branch does not have any more games scheduled as of now. Thomas Dale will be playing at home against Manchester at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Manchester is coming into the match hot, having won their last ten games.
