Fans get quite a kick out of week

Lafayette, Phoebus stay atop rankings; New Kent emerges

This week could hardly have been more exciting for Peninsulaarea football fans. Four games were decided in the final seconds, with a special-teams play proving the deciding factor in each.

Fletcher Whalen began the fun by kicking a 35-yard field goal at the final whistle Thursday to give Warhill a 17-14 win at York. The kick was redemption of sorts for the usually reliable Brown University-bound kicker, who missed one in the final seconds of a three-point loss to Smithfield earlier in the season.

Heritage survived winless, but often competitive, Menchville 2018 Friday as Antwan Cowles intercepted the Monarchs’ 2-point conversion pass attempt with 1:06 remaining in the game. Tyler Thompson’s 19-yard run out of punt formation on fourth-and-11, with little more than a minute to play, helped Woodside turn back Hampton’s upset bid by 14-10.

Adam Caldwell punctuated the run of thrillers by kicking a 26-yard field goal with 3.3 seconds left as New Kent upset Smithfield 23-22. That was redemption as well for Caldwell, who had missed a field-goal attempt and extra point earlier in the game.

New Kent replaces Smithfield in our Daily Press Weekly High School Football Rankings, shown below.

1. Lafayette (6-0, last week No. 1): The Rams’ average margin of victory against Bay Rivers District foes this season is about 50-5, but that is likely to decrease a little with games Tuesday against No. 6 Warhill and Friday against No. 5 Poquoson.

2. Phoebus (6-1, last week No. 2): With a game against No. 4 Kecoughtan on Friday and the completion of the final 2 ½ quarters against Heritage the following Tuesday — a game Heritage leads 6-0 — Phoebus faces two significant hurdles to earning the No. 1 seed in Region 3A.

3. Woodside (7-2, last week No. 3): The usually explosive Wolverines netted almost half of their 147 yards against Hampton on a pair of Thompson touchdown passes.

4. Kecoughtan (6-2, last week No. 4): The Warriors provided some dramatics of their own — as they have often this season in winning close games — with Jonathan Melvin (173 yards rushing) running a yard for the goahead touchdown late in the fourth quarter of a 22-19 win over Warwick.

5. Poquoson (6-1, last week No. 5): The Islanders go from playing Tuesday-Thursday home games against Grafton and Bruton — teams they outscored 117-6 — to Tuesday-Friday road games against Smithfield and Lafayette. That’s a crazy schedule.

6. Warhill (5-2, last week No. 9): The win over York at Bailey Field virtually assures the Lions will play their first Region 4A playoff game against someone other than Lafayette or Lake Taylor, giving them a better shot at snagging a first postseason win in seven years.

7. Heritage (5-3, last week No. 8): After starting the season 1-2, the Hurricanes are knocking on the door of a home game in the first round of the Region 4A playoffs.

8. York (6-2, last week No. 6): The Falcons do not lack for talent offensively, but they have really not lived up to the promise they showed in the opener against Gloucester. They have road games at New Kent and Poquoson before the Region 3A playoffs to get the offensive engine revving.

9. New Kent (5-3, new to top 10): A win against York or Warhill to close the regular season would guarantee the Trojans’ first winning season in 14 years and first playoff appearance in 15 years.

10. Warwick (5-4, last week No. 10): With Denbigh up next, the Raiders will move into the Region 5A playoffs on a winning note after losing their past two games to quality opponents by a total of five points.

Dropped out of top 10: Smithfield (3-4, last week No. 7), lost 23-22 to New Kent. O’Brien can be reached by phone at 757-247-4963.