Phantoms keep firm hold of lead
HAMPTON – Phoebus solidified its opportunity to capture the Peninsula District title with a convincing 37-14 win over Kecoughtan on Saturday evening.
After a fight on the sideline that involved at least a dozen players, the game was called with 2:49 remaining.
With the win, Phoebus (7-1, 7-0 Peninsula District) maintained its one-game lead over Woodside while Kecoughtan (6-3, 6-2 PD) hindered its chances for a home 5A playoff game. The Phantoms will complete a game with Heritage on Tuesday. They will be trailing 6-0 when the second quarter resumes.
The Phantoms enjoyed favorable field position on their opening drive as the Warriors were forced to punt from their end zone, but could only muster 18 yards on the kick, giving the hosts the ball at the Kecoughtan 20.
Two Jaylen White runs advanced the ball to the 10, and after a six-yard Chris Daniels scramble, the senior quarterback found John Tucker at the 1-yard line and delivered a pass that Tucker caught before turning and pushing two defenders into the end zone with him for a score.
Phoebus’ swarming defense mostly kept the Warriors in check, but Kecoughtan did break one big play on their second drive. After a Phoebus holding penalty helped to set up a second-and-4 situation from their 43, Jonathan Melvin found James Mozelle for a 45yard completion to set up a first-and-10 from the Phantom 12. Melvin called his own number on four straight plays, and on the fourth, pushed his line forward three yards before breaking the plane of the end zone for a touchdown.
Phoebus added three more points on their next possession, courtesy of a 28-yard Anthony Wallace field goal as the first quarter ended.
But the Phoebus offense broke open on their next drive. A 20-yard completion to Latrelle Smith set up the game’s key play as Daniels sent Barry Hargraves on a deep post pattern, but hit White with a short pass, and the junior back outran the Kecoughtan defense for a 52-yard touchdown, helping to give the Phantoms a 17-7 halftime lead.
Daniels (seven of 14, 209 yards, two touchdowns ) scored on a three-yard run in the third quarter and later found White (79 rushing, 81 receiving yards, two scores) with a dump pass and the back weaved through the defense for a 29-yard touchdown.
Adam Hatcher put Kecoughtan on the board with a four-yard push into the end zone, but Phoebus put the exclamation point on their performance as Daniels connected with Dalon Dixon down the right sideline for a 56-yard touchdown.
But with just under three minutes remaining, Phoebus’ Caleb Randolph intercepted Jonathan Melvin and returned the ball for 20 yards before being knocked out of bounds on the Phantom sideline. After some brief shoving and jostling, about 20 members of the Kecoughtan team ran across the field and into the fray. After almost two minutes, the Warrior coaches crossed the field and got their team back toward their sideline, but the referees decided to call the game.
Several players will likely receive disciplinary action for the incident, and one Kecoughtan player, Nate Persinger, remained horizontal on the Phoebus sideline for five minutes after the game was called. He was taken off the field by stretcher and taken to a local hospital.
Phoebus retains top spot in Peninsula District standings