Dinwiddie Hands Knights 1st Loss 24-14!

For just the second time in the history of this series the Generals and Knights met with both undefeated. In 2022 the two met at what is now being called the ‘Pit’. In that contest the Generals decimated the Knights 63-23. Thomas Dale arrived to Dinwiddie on this night looking to even things up but it was not meant to be.
Instead the Generals captured their fourth win in five meetings against their district rival. In accomplishing this feat, the Generals took command of the Central District with two games left on their schedule.
These two district and region powers brought in top five defenses to the party and it showed early. Dinwiddie was allowing 6.7 points per game while Thomas Dale had been allowing 6.0 points. In the first quarter, Dinwiddie led just 3-0 and by halftime it was merely 10-0. The defensive struggle was real.
Neither team had been able to convert a third down in the first half. Two 3 & outs, two sacks, two interceptions and a fumble told you all you needed to know about the first half of this contest. Dinwiddie appeared in control but no team was better suited for a tight game than the Knights who had won the previous two weeks in that fashion.
The second half of this contest still involved defense without question but the offenses came to party as the Knights threatened to come back. A total of 28 points and 4 touchdowns were scored in the second half as the two teams traded punches.
Jaiden Hite fueled the Thomas Dale touchdowns. The first made possible by a short field the Knights were able to take advantage of. Unfortunately for the Knights Dinwiddie was able to answer with a 9-play, 64 yard drive.
In fact, there all four TD’s in the second half came one after another in a span of 11 minutes. Those 10 points spotted early proved to be a difference maker without question in this one. A slow start on offense, ineffectiveness early in the red zone for the Knights were too deep of a hole to climb out of despite their best effort.
No Fly Zone?
Both QB’s put up yards in the passing game. In fact, of the 251 yards of offense by the Knights, 178 came from QB Wyatt Jessup. Of the 261 yards of offense from Dinwiddie, 102 yards came via QB Zion Boisseau. That said, it was not easy for either.
Knights QB Jessup was intercepted twice. The first on the Knights first possession of the night when Jayc McDowell bailed out the Generals defense with the pick on their own 24 yards line. The second was in the second quarter no less when McDowell did it again, this time on the Dinwiddie 4.
The Generals also broke up 3 passes. The dagger for the Knights aerial attack was after getting the ball back late Lamarion Bradley intercepted Jessup on the Knights 26 to end any thoughts of the almighty comeback.
The skies over Dinwiddie were a dangerous place to fly.
Red Zone Issues
The Knights will review the tape and be kicking themselves in the foot. They were already doing so before the game even ended.
The Knights on the opening series of the game made 6 plays for 32 yards and reached the Dinwiddie 24 when Wyatt Jessup was intercepted. Not the red zone but dang close.
After Dexter Richardson recovered a fumble, the Knights had the ball at the Dinwiddie 18. What Dale came away with was 5 yards to show for with the Generals defense standing tall.
Next Knights series the Knights covered 28 yards in 5 plays but Jessup was intercepted at the Dinwiddie 4.
Threes instances of the Knights knocking on the door but unable to come away with any points when it could have made all the difference.
4 In 11
No that’s not 4th & 11, it’s 4 scores in 11 minutes. A defensive battle early on saw the offense become the focal point for 11 minutes of this contest.
It began with less than 6 minutes to go in the third quarter. A 10-yard punt from Dinwiddie gave the Knights a short field to work with, setup at the Generals 26.
Jaiden Hite had been stopped in his tracks on first down and a Wyatt Jessup pass had been been broken up. The Knights faced 3rd & 10, the Generals defense had the Knights right where they wanted them until they didn’t. Jaiden ran left, escaped one General, another got his hands on his legs but no more than that. Hite was in from 26 yards out breaking the Dinwiddie shutout in just 55 seconds with 3 plays and 26 yards. The Knights did go for two but their attempt came up empty.
Dinwiddie fired back with a 9-play, 64 yard drive that took a little over four minutes to massage. Five Dinwiddie runs between Joshua Adams & Zion Boisseau netted 20 yards. Jaevion Hill-Jackson made the second biggest possession of this drive when he plowed through for 32 yards. The Generals faced a 3rd & 7 when Zion & Nyion Mason dialed up a 9-yard hookup that had Nyion impersonating a juggler.
The Generals now had a 17-6 but it did not last long.
In less than 3 minutes the Knights had found the end zone again. This time it was a 68-yard, 6-play drive orchestrated by the passing game of Wyatt Jessup and executed by Jaiden Hite yet again. It began with Mykell Bryant returning the kick for 20 yards. That was followed up by three straight completions for Wyatt Jessup to three different players. Jessup hit Micah Flowers for a 19-yard gain then Jaiden Hite for 3 yards into Generals territory. August Heggie landed a 22-yard pass from Jessup to put the ball at the Dinwiddie 24. Following an NJ Hines 6-yard run Hite finished it off with an 18-yard dash to the promise land.
This time the Knights did convert the two-point try with Jessup and Flowers hooking up for two.
Just like that, the Knights were within 3 points and if you know anything about the Knights over the previous two games, they like to win the close ones. Dinwiddie just could not let that stand.
The Generals again answered the call with a 12-play, 47-yard and time consuming drive that ate up over 6 minutes of clock. Nyion Mason returned the kick 15 yards to their own 37. The Knights almost forced a punt as three plays had netted just 9 yards but the Knights jumped offsides for a free first down. The Generals hurt themselves when they were called for a flag that made it 3rd & 15 but it did not sting for so long as Zion Boisseau and T’Mari Buford hooked up for 18 yards and a big first down.
Now the Generals were over the 50 and advancing. Three run had the Knights at the 26 and then the big shot… Boisseau and Zaelon Mason connect for 25 yards, a yard short of the end zone. Boisseau handled things from there with a 1-yard plunge for the Generals final score of the night.
This brought a conclusion to the trading of shots by both teams offenses.
Return Game
Do not let anyone tell you that special teams does not matter.
The Knights had 100 yards off 3 kick returns. Micah Flowers & Mykell Bryant each had returns of 20 yards and Daniel Lewis had a return of 60 yards. That Daniel Lewis return setup the Knights at the Dinwiddie 34 in the late stages of the fourth. A short field is always a plus even though in this case they weren’t able to convert into points. Bryant’s return, however, prior to that possession set the Knights up at the Dale 32 which ultimately ended up with the Knights scoring their second TD.
For the Generals, Joshua Adams had a return of 24 yards and Nyion Mason had a return of 15 yards. Adams return opened up the third quarter.
Dinwiddie Generals 24, Thomas Dale Knights 14
Play | Score |
29-yard field goal by Victor Pacheco. | Dinwiddie 3-0 – 2:05 (1Q) |
20-yard run for Joshua Adams. Victor Pacheco PAT. | Dinwiddie 10-0 – 10:44 (2Q) |
26-yard run for Jaiden Hite. 2-pt conversion fails. | Thomas Dale 6-10 – 5:45 (3Q) |
9-yard pass from Zion Boisseau to Nyion Mason. Victor Pacheco PAT. | Dinwiddie 17-6 – 1:38 (3Q) |
18-yard run for Jaiden Hite. Wyatt Jessup to Micah Flowers 2-pt. conversion. | Thomas Dale 14-17 – (4Q) |
1-yard run for Zion Boisseau. Victor Pacheco PAT. | Dinwiddie 24-14 – 4:38 (4Q) |
Coach Speak
Dinwiddie Generals Gamers
Joshua Adams (2026 RB) had a modest night on the ground attack with 75 yards off 16 carries and the first Generals touchdown of the night.
Zion Boisseau (2027 QB) did have the monster numbers we are used to but who would against this Thomas Dale defense? That said, Zion did complete 11 of his 19 passes for 102 yards and a TD. Zion also scored a TD on the ground which gave the Generals the buffer they needed to seal this one.
Jayc McDowell (2026 CB) impressed me the most of anyone on defense for the Generals this night. This young man made six tackles but was tormenting the Knight passing game all night. Jayc broke up two passes and had 2 interceptions with a great read on the balls.
Victor Pacheco (2027 K) does what Pacheco always does… bring consistency to the kicking game. Pacheco delivered 3 PAT’s plus got the first score of the night for the Generals on a 29-yard field goal.
Thomas Dale Knights Gamers
Jaiden Hite (2026 RB) was the only Knight to find the end zone on this night with 84 yards of offense and TD runs of 18 & 26 yards.
Wyatt Jessup (2028 QB) did throw 3 interceptions, that cannot be swept under the rug but the young man still delivered against a tough Dinwiddie defense completing 14 of 25 for 160 yards.
Post-Game Nuggets
Dinwiddie has now won 4 of the last 5 and 12 of the last 19.
Dinwiddie has held Thomas Dale to 14 points in 3 of their last 5 meetings.
Coach Mills improves to 12-9 versus Coach Tucker of Thomas Dale.
Dinwiddie is undefeated at home this season, 5-0.
24 points allowed by Thomas Dale is the most for the Knights since Glen Allen put 28 on them Sept. 20th of last season.