ETTRICK, Va. — One year ago, Matoaca shut out L.C. Bird in the postseason 28-0. The Skyhawks returned the favor Friday night with a 17-16 win that moves them into the Region 5C final.
Bird (9-3) opened the scoring with a 36-yard pass from Jason Wright to Sir Paul Cheeks that gave the Skyhawks a 7-0 lead. Wright was 7 of 14 passing for 98 yards and that touchdown while Cheeks had 4 catches for 73 yards and a score.
Matoaca (10-2) countered with a 38-yard pass from Bryce Yates to Dillon Newton-Short that tied the game a 7 at the half.
On the second-half opening kickoff, Bird's Christopher Showalter hit a squib kick into the Warriors' return unit. Showalter ended up recovering his own kick which led to a Corey Holland 3-yard TD run giving the Skyhawks a 14-7 lead. Holland finished with 29 carries for 161 yards and a TD.
Later in the third, Jaqui Vaughan (5 tackles, 1 sack) had a strip sack of Yates which led to a 25-yard field goal by Showalter that made the score 17-7
In the fourth quarter, Yates connected again with Newton-Short on a 35-yard scoring strike to make it 17-14, but Cheeks would pick off Yates on Matoaca's final possession to seal the win.
Don't miss Central Virginia's most honored local high school football show starting Friday, Aug. 28 at 11:15 p.m. on CBS 6 and on the CBS 6 Streaming App.
