1 Program of the Decade
Previously released Top 25 Programs of the
Decade
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#1 Phoebus Phantoms
Coming into the 21st Century, the Phoebus Phantoms had not won
a state championship, but had established themselves as a solid program until
Head Coach Bill Dee, but throughout the 00's decade, no one has matched the
success of the Peninsula District school.
Phoebus missed the playoffs in 2000 after posting a 7-3
regular season record and lost their first game of the season in 2001, but then
hit their stride winning their final nine games that season then storming
through the postseason beating Warwick 49-14 (avenging their regular season
loss), Hampton 46-15, Mt. Vernon 42-6 and Patrick Henry 26-7 in the Division
Five title game.
Entering the 2002 season as the preseason favorites, the
Phantoms lived up to their hype posting a 10-0 mark in the regular season, but
ran into some dogfights in the regional playoffs as they slipped by Lake Taylor
27-21 and Kecoughtan 10-7 to win their second straight regional
championship. The state playoffs turned out to be a bit easier for the
group as they steamrolled South Lakes 55-0 and defeated Stafford 39-13 to clinch
back-to-back titles.
Over the course of the next three seasons, the Phantoms
compiled a 30-6 record, but did not advance out of the regional playoffs.
In '03, they topped Hampton in the first round 24-20 before losing to Indian
River 27-9 in the regional finals; in '04, the Phantoms beat Woodside 70-34
before losing to Hampton 26-21 in the title game; and in '05, they topped Maury
49-48 in overtime to open the postseason before losing to Hampton 29-7 in the
championship contest.
The 2006 Phantoms finished 9-1 in the regular season then
raised their game to a new level in the postseason blanking Lake Taylor 24-0
before capturing the regional championship in a 25-8 win over Maury. A
state semifinal classic against Potomac produced a 31-28 double overtime victory
before Phoebus topped Edison 34-25 in the title game.
Last season, the Phantoms earned their fourth regional
championship in eight years by defeating Warwick 28-9, Hampton 21-6 and Indian
River 26-0 before dropping a state semifinal contest to Stone Bridge 38-24.
Over the course of the decade, Phoebus has compiled a 90-12
record including an 18-4 mark in the postseason.
22 Minutes with Coach Dee
Click this
link to hear a 22-minute interview with Phoebus Head Coach Bill Dee as
he talks about their run through the 00's, the program's philosophy, standout
players, the keys to their success, and plans for the next two seasons.
Phoebus
Captures 3rd State Title In 6 Years
by
Matthew Hatfield, VirginiaPreps.com
December
10, 2006
Every Championship winning team
has those season defining moments and plays – whether it's at the High School,
college or pro level of any sports. They're
lasting memories we take with us long after the title celebration is over and
the players are gone. Days, weeks,
months and years from now, we'll later recall them when flashing back to that
particular date in history. On a
chilly December Saturday afternoon at Todd Stadium in Newport News, the Phoebus
Phantoms (13-1) had a pair of plays in the fourth quarter that helped salt away
a 34-25 victory over the Thomas Edison Eagles and brought Bill Dee's program
their third state title in six seasons.
After building leads of 14-3 and
28-17, Phoebus watched Edison pass their way back into the Division 5 final as
the Eagles threw for 341 yards on a defense that entering the State Playoffs,
was allowing less than 100 yards through the air per game.
With their lead trimmed down to only three, the Phantoms saw the Eagles
begin a pivotal drive with less than seven minutes to play in the fourth quarter
and their opponent approaching midfield. Then
6-foot-tall, 170-pound junior defensive back Reid Evans made an
incredible interception, his second of the game and fifth of the postseason.
Somehow, Evans was able to maintain his balance, possession of the ball
and stay in bounds. Three plays
later on a key 3rd & 1 from the 41-yard line, 6-foot-tall,
245-pound senior fullback Haroon Brown, who rushed for 138 yards and two
touchdowns for the game, muscled away from multiple Edison defenders and broke
off a tremendous 49-yard run. It
led to his backfield mate, Dennis Mathis, going five yards into the end
zone untouched for the game's final score.
"Those kids have been
stepping up," said Dee about Evans and Brown.
"The kid's just got a knack for making a play," he added about
Evans. "He's got great hands,
he's a competitor and he's just come so far.
I can't say enough. And
Haroon, it's been like, put the saddle on him and ride him.
He's going to go forward. In
short-yardage, those guys were stopping everybody [but] they didn't stop him all
day. He's just a horse."
On his second interception, Evans
said, "it's not just that one play. Our
defensive line came and got some sacks. We
had to make a turnover, so I had to go do that."
Edison struck first on a 37 yard field goal from Paul Bergstrom,
capping a 9-play, 46-yard drive in 2:22. On
the ensuing kickoff, Phoebus' Aaron Hawkins, who blocked eight kicks on
the year coming in, went 65 yards for a touchdown.
Once Brown punched in a touchdown from four yards out, it made it 14-3 in
favor of Phoebus with 5:43 left in the opening quarter.
It was typical Phantoms football as they out-rushed their opponent 61-7
through one period of play. Mathis
and Brown combined for 260 rushing yards and 4TD's on 46 attempts.
"I take anything those guys
give to me," said lineman Maurice Hampton, a Division I-A prospect,
on Brown and Mathis. "It's
thunder and lightning right here. We
love them to death." Hampton
helped open up wide rushing holes for them all day.
Following a scoring toss of 17 yards from Edison QB Shawn Lloyd to
Michael Rhoden, Phoebus pulled out a trick play on 3rd & 5
from their own 40. Dee called for a
halfback pass with Mathis, who hit a wide open Evans for 37 yards, setting up a
second Brown TD plunge.
"We were working on it in
practice because we noticed that when we run our sweeps, the cornerback tries to
come up to pursue. Coach Dee was
like, 'this is the right time now,'" commented Phoebus sophomore
quarterback Tajh Boyd. All
smiles afterwards, Dee got an even bigger grin on his face when he was talking
about the halfback pass. "You
got to have a couple extra cards in your hand for games like this.
You don't want to leave any of those plays.
I thought it was the right time to try to hit them."
Right before intermission, the
Eagles marched 77 yards on nine plays in 2:10, converting a 3rd &
28 play as well as a 3rd & 13 play, which happened to be their 14
yard touchdown connection from Lloyd to top playmaker Ben Barber.
Lloyd, who ended up one completion and 61 passing yards shy of tying
State Playoff single game records, went 12-for-21 with 211 yards passing in the
first half alone. During the third
quarter, however, Edison was only able to manage to produce 15 passing yards.
The improvement was a product of some of the adjustments they made in the
locker room.
"They were pretty good,"
Evans admitted. "We didn't get
much pressure on them, but after halftime, we came out and got a lot of pressure
on them. Basically, we just told
our d-line to get the quarterback some pressure."
Trailing by four in the third period, Edison converted a 3rd
& 9 from their own 41 when Lloyd found Rhoden for a 15-yard completion,
putting them in Phoebus territory. However,
on each of the next three plays, the combo of Terry Lyles, Alandus
Beggs and Landon Givers sacked Lloyd each time, forcing them to punt
the ball away.
"Our team knew we had to take
it to one more level. We had to dig
deep," stated Givers. "Everybody
came around, brought that level out and we came out on top."
Givers said words couldn't truly describe the feeling of the win for him.
"I just feel so accomplished that I'm leaving to go to college, go
on with my life knowing that I left it all on the field my senior year for the
Phoebus Phantoms. I feel so good
about that."
Forty-five seconds into the fourth
quarter, Mathis ran in a score that made it 28-17 in favor of the Phantoms.
Lloyd didn't blink, though as he quickly moved his team down the field
and completed three straight passes, including a 14-yard touchdown to Rhoden.
Their drive measured 65 yards and elapsed only 26 seconds of clock time.
On the point after try, Givers initially blocked the kick, but the
officials called a penalty on Phoebus and Edison then decided to go for the
two-point conversion. The Eagles
were successful in their two-point try with Barber hauling in the pass, slicing
the deficit down to three points.
"We saw in films all week and
today that they leave the middle open a lot, so we just tried to work the
middle. It worked out fine for us
even though I took a couple of hits," Barber declared.
His first and only reception of the second half came late in the fourth
quarter on 4th & 6 where he was popped by Nathaniel Motley.
"I've got to take some (hits) for the team.
Unfortunately, we came up short."
Barber felt what came back to bite
them were "turnovers." Phoebus
had none, while Edison threw two – one in the opening quarter and another
coming in the final quarter. Considering
the Phantoms scored 14 of their 34 points off turnovers, he was right.
"That really hurt us," he'd go on to say.
"The first kickoff they had they turned it into a touchdown.
They had a trick play in the second quarter, but you take away the
turnovers, that first kickoff and the trick play they had in the second quarter
[and] we're up 24-14 on them. Things
don't always work out the way you want them to."
For the Phantoms though, they pretty much did after all.
Earlier in the week, Boyd, a
quarterback who had thrown for as many touchdowns (nine) as interceptions on the
2006 campaign, spoke with former Phoebus player and current Virginia Tech Hokie
- D.J. Parker. "Keep the
tradition going," Boyd said Parker told him, also adding that he told
emphasized to "have fun, be relaxed and bring it back home."
Although Boyd only attempted four passes, the Landstown transfer
completed all three of his attempts in the first half, including a 20-yarder to Donnell
Dixon on 3rd & 6 before the end of the first quarter.
Best of all, Boyd didn't throw a single interception in four postseason
contests. "This game meant
everything to us."
Protecting Boyd up front, Hampton
got satisfaction by proving others wrong. "It
feels wonderful because when everybody doubted us, we came back and we pushed
through everything and got what we needed."
The doubt was never greater than in late October, following a narrow
35-28 win over a Menchville team that had been winless in Peninsula District
competition, and a 35-10 loss to Hampton in which the Crabbers, then defending
State Champs, burned them for 402 total yards.
About a month ago, Dee had a
private meeting with his seniors. "That
meeting was so special," believed Brown, who transferred to Phoebus from
First Colonial before his junior year. "He
got us together as a senior group and we talked about what we needed to do and
what's going to have to happen, how serious we're going to have to be to win
this State Championship. So we just
told ourselves we're going to come together as a family for four more weeks,
play hard, play together and we came out with four wins and a
Championship."
"Our meeting was very, very
important. That changed the whole
mood," added Mathis. "Around
the time last year's team broke was the time we had to get together and remind
ourselves we can't break. We've got
to tough it out for the rest. All
the injuries, all the pain, all the practices – it all has to come through
right here. Right here, we've got
to want it. I think it was the
reason why we won the State Championship today," added Mathis.
Was the third state title any more
special than the previous two? Although
Dee wouldn't say for sure, maybe, just maybe, it'll go down as his greatest
coaching job ever. "They're
all great. I think this one; the
thing that was great about this team is nobody expected these guys to be here.
I think a lot of people already had other teams penciled in for the state
final and these kids were determined that we were going to get this done."