Canes Prevail, Move to 3-2: On Thursday night at John B. Todd Stadium in Newport News, the Heritage Hurricanes took on the Woodside Wolverines in a game that had serious playoff implications for both squads. While Heritage won't throw around the 'p-word,' they did get the victory they were looking for, edging Woodside 30-26 to push its record to 3-2 overall and 2-2 in the Peninsula District.

Afterwards, Heritage second-year Head Football Coach George Massenburg was doused with Gatorade by his players. The Hurricanes were led by the relentless running of senior tailback Khalid Abdullah, who racked up 184 yards and two touchdowns on 27 attempts.

"This is a long time coming. Coming into this game, we had to prepare a lot mentally and physically. We just have to get rid of the mistakes we made last year. We came into this game last year and lost by one point, and that was real heart-breaking for the team. We couldn't allow ourselves to go through that again this season," said Abdullah.

"The real motivation is that we're just trying to get to the playoffs this year. They were just another team that was in our way and we had to get past them."

Woodside, which beat Heritage on a field goal as time expired by Chris Moller (who's now at Morgan State) last year en route to an undefeated regular season and their first district title, created three takeaways in the first half. That included a 50-yard interception return by T.J. Thompson that set up a short field goal from Sean Butler to give the Wolverines a 9-7 advantage heading into the locker room at half-time.

The 9-7 lead for Woodside would turn out to be their only lead. Heritage, which came up short of knocking off Phoebus 28-27 a week ago, wasn't going to be denied this time. They scored touchdowns on each of their first three possessions of the second half with Abdullah, quarterback Richard Outlaw and fullback Cameron Siler all finding the end zone on rushes.

"After playing so well last week, we didn't want a letdown this week," admitted Massenburg. "We talked about it all week that this was the start if we want to be where we wanted to be at the end of the year. Being at Heritage is like a big family. They believe in me, believe in each other and it's just an overall great experience."

Heritage had its share of errors in the victory. However, Massenburg feels they were correctable ones and likes the progress his team is making, only two seasons removed from a winless season where they were the cellar dwellers in the PD.

"I tell them all the time, I don't mind you making mistakes, let's not make the same mistakes over and over again. A different mistake every day, I can deal with, but the same mistake, I can't deal with," Massenburg said.

More Analysis & Info Here
Video Interview with Heritage Coach Massenburg & RB Abdullah
Rod Johnson's Photo Feature

Stats:

Heritage 30:
Khalid Abdullah - - 27Car. 184Yds. 2TD's; 46-Yd. PR
Cameron Siler - - 8Car. 54Yds. TD
Richard Outlaw - - 3-5 for 65Yds. 0-1TD/Int. ratio; TD rush; FG
Marcus Van Hook - - 1Car. 35Yds; 5 Tackles, 2PBU
Juanye Patillo - - 2Car. 21Yds; 7 Tackles, 3TFL
Deonte Tucker - - 7 Tackles, 2TFL, Sack
Shomari Wright - - 6 Tackles, PBU

Woodside 26:
Darius Howell - - 10-19 for 163Yds; 11Car. 31Yds. 3TD's
Tyris Walker - - 9Car. 39Yds.
JayQuan Lassiter - - 10Car. 25Yds.
Quincy Jones - - 3Rec. 77Yds; 2Car. 8Yds.
Trey Reed - - 4Rec. 62Yds.
T.J. Thompson - - 6 Tackles, PBU, INT

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Matthew Hatfield has covered Eastern Region Football & Basketball since 2004 for VirginiaPreps.com, part of the Rivals.com Network. Check out Hatfield's Twitter page for more sports related updates, and you can also read his work in the Suffolk News Herald. To contact Matthew, please e-mail hatfieldsports2k4@yahoo.com, and don't forget to listen to him on the VirginiaPreps.com Hour every Saturday at 11AM on ESPN Radio 94.1 plus watch him on the Cox 11 Sports Report.