DANVILLE — On the 65th anniversary of the Danville East Knox Devil-Dog battle, it was Danville all the way as the Blue Devils (5-5, 3-4) muzzled the Bulldogs (1-9, 1-6) 52-12 on a chilly Friday night before a packed house at Danville’s Tough Street Stadium.
Before the game members of the 1960 teams, the Danville Blue Devils and what was then Howard Bladensburg schools, were invited to the 50-yard line for the coin toss.
Danville hit paydirt when, with 6:18 remaining in the first period, Cyren Wallace took the pigskin for a 33-yard gallop for a touchdown. Following the two-point conversion, the home team was up 8-0.
The most controversial call of the evening came with 5:18 showing on the clock when East Knox attempted to convert a fourth down and one on their own 35-yard line. The initial call on the field was that the Bulldogs made the first down, but then the decision was made to employ the chain gang. The measurement showed less than a yard shy of the first down marker, and Danville took over on downs.
That turnover on downs set up a Nolan Ridgeway touchdown run, with another successful conversion, the Blue Devils built a 16-0 lead. By the intermission, Danville had built a 24-0 lead, and the route was on.
One of the more sustained drives of the evening came before the halftime break when Danville was backed up in their own territory following a quarterback sack and penalty. The Devils were looking at a third down and 34 yards to go for a first down. Four plays later Cyren Wallace ran for a 13-yard touchdown, capping a 61-yard scoring drive and leading to the halftime score.
Danville quarterback Parker Proper took the snap and ran 49 yards in nine seconds for another Blue Devil score.
“Controlling the line of scrimmage offensively and good coverage defensively, and I think we did both of those things pretty well,” Danville coach Matt Blum said. “I’m just really proud of our seniors, of our team.
“You know, after that Northmor game, we were 2-3 and they could have just folded, but our kids are so resilient and they gave it their all and look where we’re at, we are going to the playoffs.”
The coach is also pleased that his team will have lifelong bragging rights.
“When I came here four years ago, we had lost to East Knox four years in a row, that is a long time, and our kids did not know how to win,” Blum said. “Now our seniors have led the team to four straight wins and for the rest of their lives, they can say they never lost this game.”
Much like another high-profile rivalry, Blum said that this is the goal from day one.
“This is our first and foremost goal,” Blum said.
His team will learn its official playoff assignment on Sunday. But Joe Eitel’s playoff projections have Danville 10th in Division VII, Region 27. If that’s correct, the Blue Devils will play at No. 7-seed Zanesville Rosecrans next week.
At the opposite end of the field, Bulldogs coach Andrew Beatty took a more philosophical approach.
“This is all bigger than football, isn’t it?” Beatty said. “I mean, that is what stood out to me all year, a group of guys out to do things the right way.
“Even when it is hard and even when you feel like you are climbing uphill. That is what I told them after the game, ‘Don’t get tired of doing things the right way.’”
The coach believes in life lessons coming out of football.
“I hope these young men, when they look back on the 2025 season, it’s not with heartache over going 1-9 but they can hold their heads up high, and this can make them better,” Beatty said.
Switching to a more somber subject, Aiden Riggle, a team captain for Beatty, is battling cancer.
“He is a fighter, and he is in a fight for his life,” the coach said. “The community has been so supportive; it doesn’t matter what color uniform you wear, it is the brotherhood of football.”
(Photos by Dan Werner)
