8Sports Blitz Game of the Week Preview: Thomas Dale at Glen Allen

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — This week, the spotlight shines on two of Central Virginia’s top high school football teams as the 2-0 Thomas Dale Knights travel to face the 3-0 Glen Allen Jaguars. With both teams supporting undefeated records, this matchup has earned the title of our 8Sports Blitz Game of the Week.

Glen Allen’s head coach, Malik Sexton, reflected on the significance of this game, saying, “This is one of our highlighted games. One of our three losses last year, and this one just so happened to be the one that we lost by the most points, 27-7 last year. So it was one that we had an asterisk by.”

The Knights are coming off a significant victory in Week 2, defeating LC Bird 27-16 in the battle of Chester.” However, they have had a bye week since then, leaving them eager to return to the field.

Coach Kevin Tucker shared his thoughts on the bye week, stating, “We’re coming off of a bye week. Can we get the rust shook off pretty quickly? You know when you start in August and you get through a Bird week, you’re kind of banged up. So the bye week did come at a good time. But at the same time, when you’re sitting around and waiting for two weeks to play again, we’re going to have a little rust to shake off during the early parts of the game.”

Meanwhile, the Jaguars have established a strong defensive presence this season, having recorded two shutouts and allowing just 14 points. Coach Sexton feels confident in his team. “I’m a firm believer that there is nothing that a team in the state of Virginia can do with us if we execute our 1-11th. If we just execute our role within the scheme, each one of our guys as well as our coaches, I have an amazing staff as well. So if everyone just executes their role within our scheme, I’m a firm believer that there is nothing that nobody can do to stop our guys.”

The Knights share that confidence. Tucker emphasized their growth and determination, saying, “We’re taking those baby steps now. At some point, you tell your toddler and kid that it’s time to take that pacifier away, and that’s what we’ve done with our guys. We’ve taken that pacifier away and said that the time is y’all’s. Let’s go out there and play football and make us proud.”

As the two teams prepare to face off, all eyes will be on Glen Allen High School at 7:00 PM this Friday. The question remains: who will leave the field with their undefeated streak intact?

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