Thomas Dale is on a six-game streak of home wins, while Manchester is on a five-game streak of away wins: one of those streaks is about to end. The Thomas Dale Knights will take on the Manchester Lancers at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the pair posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.
It can be hard to translate regular season success to the playoffs, but Thomas Dale had no problem doing just that on Friday. They walked away with a 31-22 victory over Western Branch. Given Thomas Dale's advantage in MaxPreps' Virginia football rankings (they are ranked 16th, while Western Branch is ranked 82nd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
It was another big night for Nick Tyree, who rushed for 161 yards and a touchdown while picking up 8.5 yards per carry. Nj Hines was another key contributor, rushing for 48 yards and two touchdowns.
Meanwhile, Manchester stacked a seventh blowout onto their ever-increasing hoard on Friday. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat Landstown 42-0 at home. The score at the end of the third wound up being the final score as Manchester just coasted through the last quarter.
Their wins bumped Thomas Dale to 11-0 and Manchester to 10-1.
Thomas Dale couldn't quite finish off Manchester when the teams last played back in November of 2022 and fell 38-35. Can Thomas Dale avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
