Gloucester (3-6) at Phoebus (8-1) . . . A perennial state title contender, Phoebus is locked into the #1 seed in its portion of the 3A-East Region playoff bracket. Their only loss all year came to archrival Hampton, a Group 5A school they won’t see in the postseason. Gloucester has been eliminated from playoff contention, but the Dukes have been more competitive than usual as evidenced by their upset of Heritage in October.
Although the Phantoms are fourth in total yards per game in the Peninsula District at 273, they have the top rusher in the district in Jomari Becnel (220Att. 1144Yds. 15TD’s), who incidentally gave Phoebus a 1000-yard rusher for the 16th straight year. Martaine Morris (102Att. 635Yds. 6TD’s) power the Gloucester ground game, but the Dukes have been plagued by turnovers with 18 interceptions from their quarterbacks on 148 attempts.
In fact, in Gloucester’s recent loss to Warwick, they threw seven interceptions. It’s hard to win games with miscues like that, and mistakes may mount up against an aggressive Phoebus defense with secondary players in Marlon Carter and DaQuan Lewis that can make them pay.
Matt Says: Phoebus 42-6
VHSL-Reference.com Says: Phoebus 56-13
Coach Young Says: Phoebus 49-7
New Kent (2-7) at Lafayette (9-0) . . . Coach Andy Linn’s Rams of Lafayette are looking to wrap up their third straight undefeated regular season with a win over a New Kent team that has been shut out each of the past two games; 42-0 by Poquoson and 27-0 at the hands of Warhill. Lafayette is pretty much locked into the #2 seed in 4A-East, unless a colossal upset occurs with 1-8 Norcom beating undefeated Lake Taylor (so basically pencil them in as the #2 seed). New Kent is simply playing for pride at this point and trying to build for the future under Head Coach Clark Harrell.
Davion Barnes (1717Yds. 11TD’s) has had a tremendous season for New Kent running the football. That won’t be easy against Lafayete, though. The Rams are tops in the Bay Rivers in rushing defense, allowing just 87.4 yards per game. Any one of six or seven different guys could lead them in tackles on a given night. Lafayette QB Cheyton Pine, a Pittsburgh recruit at linebacker, has accounted for 22 total touchdowns. While the Rams are known for their running game, receivers Hezekiah Grimsley (24Rec. 578Yds. 7TD’s) and Tyrek Graham (19Rec. 379Yds. 5TD’s) keep DB’s on their toes.
Matt Says: Lafayette 49-10
VHSL-Reference.com Says: Lafayette 48-0
Coach Young Says: Lafayette 56-12
Although the Phantoms are fourth in total yards per game in the Peninsula District at 273, they have the top rusher in the district in Jomari Becnel (220Att. 1144Yds. 15TD’s), who incidentally gave Phoebus a 1000-yard rusher for the 16th straight year. Martaine Morris (102Att. 635Yds. 6TD’s) power the Gloucester ground game, but the Dukes have been plagued by turnovers with 18 interceptions from their quarterbacks on 148 attempts.
In fact, in Gloucester’s recent loss to Warwick, they threw seven interceptions. It’s hard to win games with miscues like that, and mistakes may mount up against an aggressive Phoebus defense with secondary players in Marlon Carter and DaQuan Lewis that can make them pay.
Matt Says: Phoebus 42-6
VHSL-Reference.com Says: Phoebus 56-13
Coach Young Says: Phoebus 49-7
New Kent (2-7) at Lafayette (9-0) . . . Coach Andy Linn’s Rams of Lafayette are looking to wrap up their third straight undefeated regular season with a win over a New Kent team that has been shut out each of the past two games; 42-0 by Poquoson and 27-0 at the hands of Warhill. Lafayette is pretty much locked into the #2 seed in 4A-East, unless a colossal upset occurs with 1-8 Norcom beating undefeated Lake Taylor (so basically pencil them in as the #2 seed). New Kent is simply playing for pride at this point and trying to build for the future under Head Coach Clark Harrell.
Davion Barnes (1717Yds. 11TD’s) has had a tremendous season for New Kent running the football. That won’t be easy against Lafayete, though. The Rams are tops in the Bay Rivers in rushing defense, allowing just 87.4 yards per game. Any one of six or seven different guys could lead them in tackles on a given night. Lafayette QB Cheyton Pine, a Pittsburgh recruit at linebacker, has accounted for 22 total touchdowns. While the Rams are known for their running game, receivers Hezekiah Grimsley (24Rec. 578Yds. 7TD’s) and Tyrek Graham (19Rec. 379Yds. 5TD’s) keep DB’s on their toes.
Matt Says: Lafayette 49-10
VHSL-Reference.com Says: Lafayette 48-0
Coach Young Says: Lafayette 56-12
