Knights win when it matters most

The groundwork for Thomas Dale's 28-14 road victory over L.C. Bird yesterday in the Central Region, Division 6 semifinal was laid not just in practice, not in hours and hours of film study, and not in some late-night meeting where Vic Williams and his coaching staff conceived the game plan.

It was laid one bleak Friday two months ago when the Knights, up 14-0 at halftime, suffered a 21-14 defeat at the hands of the Skyhawks, their neighborhood rival, and made a commitment never to feel the pain again.

"The kids decided after that loss that they weren't going to allow people to dictate to them that they had to go home," said Williams, whose team, No. 4 in the Times-Dispatch Top 10, improved to 9-2.

"I've always said that high school football is about 50 percent enthusiasm and 50 percent play calling and execution.

"If kids have enthusiasm and determination, they can do anything."

It helps, though, that Williams' kids can block, tackle, run, throw, and catch with the best of'em.

Relying on a triumvirate of sure-handed receivers, quarterback Demitrius Campbell completed 10 of 16 passes for 175 yards and two touchdowns, the first for 36 yards to Airek Green 9:43 before halftime and the second for 12 yards to Brandon Burton at 4:55 of the third period.

Green finished with five receptions for 98 yards, Burton three for 36, and 6-4, 232-pound tight end Mike Dudley two for 41.

"We knew that they'd stack the box and make us try to pass," said Campbell, a 6-1, 175-pound senior.

"Most of the time, we ran the waggle or misdirection passes. We knew Bird has a tough defense, and we wanted to keep them on their heels."

Down 7-0 at the break, No.1 Bird (10-1) pulled even at 5:26 of the third quarter when Lionel Williams' 10-yard run concluded a nine-play, 48-yard drive.

Ralpheal Wheat returned the ensuing kickoff 73 yards to the LCB 22. Two plays later, the Campbell-to-Burton strike put the Knights ahead for good.

Brian Walker ended the Skyhawks' next drive with an interception, which he returned 33 yards to set up Mike Edmunds' 2-yard TD run.

Xavier Myles' 2-yard TD enabled Bird, ranked No.5 in Group AAA by The Associated Press, to close to 21-14 at 0:58 of the third quarter.

Then, midway through the final period, Green recovered an LCB fumble to launch a Dale drive that ended with Campbell's 1-yard run 3:23 from the end.

"Any time a team scores on us, we want to come back and show we're not down," Edmunds said.

"When they came at us, we came right back at them. We played with a lot of excitement. Coaches told us to get hyped. That's what we do."

Thomas Dale ------------------------- 0 7 14 7 -- 28
L.C. Bird ------------------------- 0 0 14 0 -- 14

TD -- Green 36 pass from Campbell (Prevost kick)

LCB -- Williams 10 run (Keck kick)

TD -- Burton 12 pass from Campbell (Prevost kick)

TD -- Edmunds 2 run (Prevost kick)

LCB -- Myles 2 run (Keck kick)

TD -- Campbell 1 run (Prevost kick)

RUSHING

Thomas Dale: Jackson 16-83 yards, Wheat 2-15, Campbell 4-10, Edmunds 8-7, Fields 2-6, Green 1-minus 1. L.C. Bird: L. Williams 18-76, Myles 3-10, Sayles 4-6, Hall 10-minus 2.

PASSING

Thomas Dale: Campbelll 10-16-0-175. L.C. Bird: Hall 7-11-1-152.

RECEIVING

Thomas Dale: Green 5-98, Dudley 2-41, Burton 3-36. L.C. Bird: B. Williams 4-97, Pankey 1-45, Haskins 2-10.