by Andy Hilton, recruit757
Hampton QB David Watford (Photo: Jon Fritz/recruit757)
It was a hard fought battle, as expected. The halftime score was surprising, but the ending made this another Hampton/Phoebus game to remember.
Phoebus started the game right where they wanted to. They kicked off to Hampton and the Crabbers opened the game on their own 21 yard line. Phoebus’ defense held the line and Hampton was forced to punt after a three and out. Phoebus started in great field position at their own 45. This is where tonight’s game began to vary from the previous Hampton/Phoebus matchup. The Phantoms failed to execute.
On the second play from scrimmage, Phoebus running back Dashawn Arnold fumbled the ball at the Hampton 45 and the Crabbers recovered it. Part of the problem was that Arnold wasn’t supposed to be in the game at that point. Tyree Lee had an equipment problem and had to come out of the game. The first break went the Crabbers’ way.
From there, Hampton went on a nine-play, 56-yard drive that was capped by a Kavon Bellamy three yard touchdown run. The Crabbers took the lead 7-0 with 4:09 left in the first quarter and almost didn’t look back.
Phoebus took the ball on their second possession of the night starting from their own 20. The Phantoms were carried down the field by Tyree Lee, plus they got the benefit of an 18-yard pass play from Jordan Roby to Romond Deloatch. The first quarter ended with Phoebus driving inside Hampton territory. The Phantoms continued to drive, but instead of leaning on Lee, Phoebus attempted a pass play that was picked off by Kavon Bellamy at the Crabber five yard line when Bellamy jumped the route of Rodriguez Jones.
Hampton moved the ball steadily down the field on the ensuing drive. On a second and eight from the Phantom 37, Justin Williamson almost single handedly killed the Crabber drive with an emphatic sack of David Watford back on the Phoebus 46. From there, little else was accomplished offensively. Both teams went into the locker room at halftime with Hampton leading 7-0.
In the opening drive of the second half, Phoebus steadily ran the ball right at Hampton. Well into the drive, the Phantoms benefitted from a Tyree Lee run around the right edge combined with a face masking penalty that put the ball inside the Hampton 13. Inexplicably, Tyree Lee fumbled on the next play and Hampton was ready to take it to Phoebus.
After getting a first down in two running plays, Hampton pushed to ball ahead nine more yards but left themselves with a fourth and one on their own 37. A Kavon Bellamy run didn’t get the yard that the Crabbers needed and the Phantoms were back in the hunt. The aggressive fourth down call might have been the turning point of the game.
Phoebus wasn’t able to advance the ball far, but they were able to move the ball down to the Hampton 26, where they got on the board with a 43 yard Eric Enderson field goal. The tide was shifting.
Hampton got the ball back, but was unable to muster much offensively. On the next possession, Hampton wisely punted after three downs failed to get them a first. A holding penalty by Phoebus gave the Crabbers a second chance on offense and Hampton moved the ball further down the field.
Hampton gained two more first downs and moved the ball into Phoebus territory before the third quarter ended. Hampton couldn’t generate another first down, but they did drive far enough to give Skyler Hutchinson a 37-yard field goal attempt that failed wide left. From there, Phoebus got the ball back with 9:44 left, trailing 7-3.
Phoebus once again ran the ball down the field. In chunks of four to seven yards at a time, Phoebus pushed Hampton back toward their own goal line. Previously in the game, the pass had failed them in a pinch. This time they had to have it. On third down and goal from inside the Hampton seven, Reggie Roby threw the ball at the feet of Atavius Matthews. Coach Stan Sexton had a choice to make. There were three minutes left in the game. Would they take the easy three points and hope to get the ball back, or would they press on for the touchdown?
The next play was a pass to Daquan Romero, who had come into the game at tight end. The Crabbers were looking for this play. They were ready. Still, Romero caught the ball just outside the goal line and pushed his way over for the touchdown. Phoebus surged ahead on a 14 play, 80 yard drive that ate up almost six minutes of clock. There was still time for a Hampton miracle.
Phoebus led 10-7. Eric Enderson drilled the kickoff which Cyrus Graves fielded at the one yard line but could advance past the Crabber 11. That put Hampton in the position of having to drive 89 yards to win, or at least 55 yards or so to get into field goal range for a tie.
On first down the Crabbers moved the ball forward three yards on a David Watford keeper. On second down, a delay of game penalty moved the ball back to the Crabber nine. David Watford’s pass attempt to Daquin Moore fell incomplete on the next play, leaving Hampton with a third down and 12.
On third down, Watford dropped back to pass, but Daquan Romero dropped Watford at the one yard line for a sack. The fourth down play was rushed, and Watford was sacked in the end zone by Tevin McGougan for a safety.
The comeback was complete. Hampton squib kicked after the safety but failed to recover. Phoebus ran out the clock and walked off with a hard fought 12-7 victory.
Phoebus C/DE Justin Williamson Postgame (Photo: Jon Fritz/recruit757)
The Phantoms saw their toughest game of the season and escaped with a win. Tyree Lee carried the offense with 155 yards rushing on 31 carries. Hampton was limited to only 171 yards of offense while Phoebus only posted 243 total yards.
The defense definitely carried the Phantoms long enough for their offense to put points on the board. When asked about his sack that stopped the second drive for Hampton, Justin Williamson explained how it played out. “Caleb Taylor told me to watch to watch the backside, and once Watford rolled out, I knew it was my chance to make a play. We were looking for a couple of formations that we thought they’d come out with, overall we just wanted to come out here and dominate.”
Eric Enderson broke the ice for the Phantoms after a drought that saw them score only seven points in five full quarters between the Great Bridge game and the game against Hampton. Enderson’s field goal got them on the board and his booming kick-off helped to pin the Crabbers back where they eventually yielded a safety. How did the victory feel? “We came back from being down. We faced adversity. We showed real heart and character… we now have two more weeks before we achieve our goal,” said the Phoebus kicker.
The goal for the Phantoms is a third straight State Championship and 45 wins in a row. Until then, they can enjoy their Eastern Region title and look forward to playing Dinwiddie next week on the road after Dinwiddie defeated Hanover on Friday night, 28-21 in the Central Region’s Division 5 final.
FINAL: Phoebus 12, Hampton 7
- Andy Hilton
