ETTRICK, Va. — A year ago, Matoaca blanked LC Bird in the playoffs 28-0. The Skyhawks returned the favor Friday night with a 17-16 victory that puts them in 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) responded with a 38-yard pass from Bryce Yates to Dillon Newton-Short that tied the game at 7 at halftime.

On the second half kickoff, Bird’s Christopher Showalter hit a kick into the Warriors’ return unit. Showalter ended up recovering his own kick, which led to a 3-yard run by Corey Holland giving the Skyhawks a 14-7 lead. Holland finished with 29 carries for 161 yards and a touchdown.

Later in the third, Jaqui Vaughan (5 tackles, 1 sack) completed a strip-sack by Yates that 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 the score 17-14, but Cheeks picked off Yates on Matoaca’s final possession to seal the victory.