Phantoms Hand Over Another Defeat
With flag-bearer Dennis Williams (40) leading the way, Phoebus headed onto the Darling Stadium field on Saturday and came off with a 10-7 comeback win over Hanover in the Division Five state semifinals. Photo by Jason Norman
Sooner or later, every winning streak comes to an end.
It took them the entire 2007-08 season, but the New England Patriots finally fell in that year's Super Bowl.
They went over a third of the 1973 season without a loss, but the Los Angeles Lakers could "only" push the NBA longest win streak to 33 games (and fell in the finals to New York that year).
Sooner or later, Phoebus' winning streak on the football fields will stop. But thanks to some clutch play by the Phantom offense, it didn't happen on Saturday, as the Phantoms overcame arguably their worst first half of the season for a 10-7 comeback win over visiting Hanover in the Division Five state semifinals. It marked the Phantom's 29th consecutive victory.
After he and his offense were outgained 121-20 in the first half, and facing a 7-0 deficit, Paul Morant let his team know what needed to happen in the second.
"I couldn't believe that we were behind like that," said the Phantom quarterback, who'd been sacked and intercepted in the opening periods, "because we've been practicing hard all week. We knew we had to do it in the second half."
A pass interference penalty gave the Phantoms a first down at the Hawk 25 on the opening drive of the third period (they hadn't gotten into Hanover territory in the first half), and Morant and Colby Goodwin rushed to the 13. But a Morant pass fell incomplete on third down, forcing the Phantoms to settle for a 30-yard Eric Enderson field goal.
The Phoebus defense held, and Morant opened the next drive with a 12-yard strike to Chaz Robinson at his team's 30. Two players later, he nailed Daquan Romero at the Hawk 27, and Goodwin churned out 30 yards over the next four plays.
Tragedy nearly struck at the five, as Morant fumbled and Shreve Rohle recovered for Hanover. Deane Cheatham, who'd scored Hanover's touchdown on a one-yard plunge in the second quarter, ran 11 yards to give the Hawks some breathing room. But he fumbled on the next play, and Dontrell Jones got the ball back for the Phantoms. Two minutes later, Goodwin scored from two yards out, and Phoebus was on top, 10-7.
Romero, Dennis Williams, and Jonathan McLean threw Hanover quarterback Sam Rogers for a 15-yard sack at the Hawk 20, and Hanover punted Aaron Phillips, under a heavy Phantom blitz, could only kick to the 35. But the Hanover defense held, and Enderson's next field goal fell short, leaving the Hawks within a field goal at their own 20 with just under three minutes to play.
After throwing so many passes for the entire season, Morant found the perfect time to be on the other end of one, intercepting Rogers at the Phantom 41 to end Hanover's season.
"Playing quarterback helps me at safety, knowing what the other team's quarterback is going to do," he said. "I saw him going off the edge, and I knew he was going to try to thread the needle."
Next week, the Phantoms go for their second consecutive state title, and fifth of the millennium, at the University of Virginia against the winner of Sunday's Stone Bridge Massaponax contest. Two seasons ago, Stone Bridge knocked the Phantoms out of the state tourney, and the Phantoms returned the favor in last year's state semis.
"We have to get a lot better if we're going to bring home the trophy," said Phantom coach Stan Sexton, an assistant on the Phoebus champion squads of 2001 and 2002 (he took over before this season). "We found a way to win. I'm proud of the guys. We've had to overcome a lot of adversity all year long."
