Hermitage topples top-ranked Varina

SLIDESHOW: Hermitage vs. Varina

Kara Kane had two good reasons for the huge smile on her face.

No.1, as she posed with her dad, Hermitage football coach Patrick Kane, was for turning 13 years old.

She celebrated the arrival of the her teenage years by watching dad's Panthers, ranked No.8 in The Times-Dispatch Top 10, defeat top-ranked Varina 7-6 last night.

The Panthers, who gave up 27 points in a loss to Meadowbrook last week, put on a defensive show against the visiting Blue Devils. Hermitage's touchdown was the result of Diamonte Bailey's 24-yard interception return in the second quarter.

The one-point margin was made possible when Justin Gist hurdled the Varina line and blocked Cody McDaniel's extra-point attempt in the third quarter.

And Derek Britt made sure the Blue Devils didn't pull off another Houdini victory such as last week's against Thomas Dale, by intercepting another Hermon Norrell pass with 30 seconds remaining.

"Everybody was counting us out [after last week's loss to Meadowbrook], but we believe in ourselves," Bailey said. "This gives us a lot of confidence."

The Panthers (2-1) and the Blue Devils (2-1) begin district play next week.

The night belonged to the defenses. Both teams forced numerous negative yardage plays. Varina finished the night with 139 yards of offense. Hermitage had 146 yards.

Penalties halted momentum often for both teams. The Panthers wound up with 11 penalties for 108 yards. Varina's tally: 10 flags, 82 yards.

"We keep living on the edge," said Varina coach Stu Brown, who has seen the Blue Devils win by two, score on the last play of the game and win in OT, and lose by one. "We have to get better. We played hard tonight, but they had a good game plan. They outplayed us. They were beating us off the ball. They have a linebacker, Curtis Grant, who could start at the next level now for some teams."

Grant was credited with 14 tackles. Linebacker mate Daryl Howell collected eight.

"Our defensive ends [Bailey and Raynard Revels] did a good job containing, and our linebackers on the inside are beasts," Patrick Kane said. "And we only have three seniors starting on defense."

Revels logged 13 tackles and two sacks. Bailey made the play of the night. He stepped into the middle of a screen pass, and "[the ball] was just there," Bailey said. "We talked about how they liked to throw the screen. Coach [Ray] Pauley was coaching me up on that."

Said Brown, "That was just an amazing call [a zone blitz] on this level."

Gist's blocked kick was all about athleticism. The Blue Devils scored on a 4-yard pass from Norrell to Tony Tate. Last week against Meadowbrook, Gist jumped over a tackler while running the ball.

"[The coaches] told me if the linemen cut [down], just jump over them," Gist said. "The defense had to shut them down, and that's what we did."

The winner of this game has won the Central Region championship the past three years. Could it happen again?

"No comment," Kane said with a little bit of a smile. "This was a good win for us tonight, but we have another tough game next week. We have to take care of district play."

Contact Arthur Utley at (804) 649-6559 or .

Varina ------------------------- 0 0 6 0 -- 6
Hermitage ------------------------- 0 7 0 0 -- 7

H -- Bailey 24 INT return (Stiebel kick)

V -- Tate 4 pass from Norrell (kick blocked)
RUSHING

Varina -- Johnson 21 carries 68 yards, Norrell 4-minus 9, Hayes 2-4, Harrison 1-2. Hermitage -- Riddick 22-32, Gordon 8-14, Britt 1-minus 4.
PASSING

Varina -- Norrell 9 completions 27 attempts 94 yards, 2 interceptions. Hermitage -- Riddick 10-17-104-1.

RECEIVING

Varina -- Harrison 3 receptions 19 yards, Tate 3-28, Pegeas 2-36, Hayes 1-11. Hermitage -- Vieng 4-50, Britt 2-14, Yurchak 3-33, Gordon 1-7.