Crabbers Rally Past Woodside 34-23 (VIDEO)

Every time Hampton Crabbers senior Dazz Newsome touches the football, he has one thing on his mind. That's finding the end zone. And why not? The guy scored 18 touchdowns five different ways in 2015, including seven in one game against Gloucester.

With his team trailing Peninsula District foe Woodside 23-17 early in the fourth quarter, Newsome and his teammates didn't worry, even after the team exhausted all three of its second half time-outs in a span of 38 seconds.

That's because Dazz can simply dazzle, which he did with three touchdown runs, two in the game's final four minutes, to propel Hampton to a 34-23 comeback win over the Wolverines. His three-yard scoring run with 3:46 to play put the Crabbers in front and his 45-yard burst at the 1:45 mark sealed the deal.

“I was never going for the first down. I was going for the end zone the whole time,” said Newsome, who comes from a football background as both older brother Deon and father Myron went on to play at the collegiate level for Virginia Tech. “The whole offensive line did great.”

On the night, Newsome - used previously on offense for the most part at wide receiver - ran the ball 13 times for 106 yards. He added two receptions for 48 yards, plus did work on defense with three tackles and a pass breakup.

In the fourth quarter, the Crabbers came up with two key takeaways, first on a fumble recovery from senior lineman Jalen Powell and then later an interception courtesy of junior defensive back I'jaughn Gaskins that allowed them to run out the clock.

“It was a great win for us and a great win for the kids. The fact that they showed some resilience in the second half, I was real happy for them," commented Hampton Head Football Coach Mike Smith, the VHSL's all-time leader in victories with 465 in his 46th season at the helm. "The guys grew a lot. I think they’re going to work harder and be a better football team now.”

Woodside struck first on a 36-yard touchdown run by quarterback Tyhier Tyler just barely over two minutes into the contest. That would be a precursor of what was to come in the game, even though Hampton swing momentum with a safety and a Newsome score to take a breif 8-7 lead.

Tyler's second touchdown run of the half put Woodside back in front and the Wolverines extended their lead to eight points on a 41-yard field goal from kicker Chad Mitchel.

Committed to play his College Football at Army, Tyler gave the Hampton defense fits, even with the return of four-star lineman Elijah Conliffe to the lineup from a leg injury that kept him out of the team's loss to Heritage a week earlier. The senior QB for the Wolverines ended up with 132 yards rushing, 80 of them before half-time.

“Two days to prepare for that offense is kind of cutting it short when you only see it once a year. That quarterback is dangerous," Smith commented.

The Crabbers ran 53 plays for 319 yards. That included 40 rushes for 209 yards, while QB's D.J. Nunn and Cam Stevenson combined for 110 yards passing on 6-of-13. They gained 221 yards in the second half.

Woodside was much more reliant on the running game in amassing 250 yards on 40 carries among five different players. Only one run went for longer than 11 yards in the second half though, and that was a 42-yard scamper by Tyler where he broke containment.

“We weren’t communicating in the first half," Newsome noted. "Everybody started talking and we were able to hit them in the backfield.”

The Wolverines were flagged for ten penalties for 87 yards. Eight of those infractions came after half-time, including three of the 15-yard variety.

Hampton’s lone two penalties of the night, for ten yards total, came before intermission.

When Jovonn 'Bubba' Quillen graduated in the off-season, it meant Hampton would have a new starting quarterback for the first time in four years. Turns out they've used two different guys in Nunn, formerly of Warwick, and Stevenson, an ex-Kecoughtan backup, to take snaps from center.

Both are capable of playing other positions as well. Nunn has lined up some at wide receiver and Stevenson mans one of the cornerback spots on defense, despite his 5-foot-6 stature. In fact, Stevenson made three solo tackles and Nunn had two solo stops from his defensive back spot.

Nunn was most effective throwing the ball, completing four passes for 68 yards and a touchdown with no turnovers, plus effectively ran for 40 of his 48 yards over the game's final two periods with a touchdown using his legs. He came in to relieve Stevenson the week before against Heritage, and similar to this contest, helped jump-start a spotty offense depending almost exclusively on Newsome.

“I thought both quarterbacks played well for us. D.J. came in and handled the second half really well. Cam’s tough, too. He can still play quarterback and a lot of places," Smith stated.

"They always look out there and see how small he is and pick on him, but it doesn’t work. He did a heck of a job out there at corner.”

Woodside only completed 5-of-16 pass attempts for 40 yards. At one point, the Wolverines had eight straight incomplete passes.

At 5-foot-11, 145 pounds, senior receiver Burnell Pulley doesn't possess the kind of size scouts covet. Who knows if he plays football beyond this season, but one thing is certain and that is he was an unsung hero in their comeback win over Woodside.

All three of his receptions for 48 yards on Thursday night at Darling Stadium came during scoring drives for the Crabbers. His first catch from 16 yards out from Nunn was a touchdown to pull Hampton within two points. He later caught a stop route for 10 yards and added a 22-yard reception on 2nd-and-6 that put Hampton into Woodside territory.

With Nunn able to run or throw it, tailback Trequan Smith (10Car. 40Yds. with 8Car. 34Yds. during the 2nd half) as an option in the backfield and Pulley stepping up on the outside, it kept the Woodside defense from being able to just key in on Newsome and get stops.

“We thought any time we had Dazz back there, he would be a decoy for other plays," Smith acknowledged. "It worked pretty well for us most of the time.”

Hampton/Woodside Photo Album on Flickr
Video Interview with Hampton's Dazz Newsome
Video Interview with Hampton Coach Mike Smith

Hampton Crabbers 34: (2-1 Overall)
D.J. Nunn – 4-10 for 68Yds. 1-0TD/Int. ratio; 12Car. 48Yds. TD
Cam Stevenson – 2-2 for 42Yds; 5Car. 15Yds; 3 Tackles
Dazz Newsome – 13Car. 106Yds. 3TD’s; 2Rec. 48Yds; 3 Tackles, PBU
Trequan Smith – 10Car. 40Yds; 1Rec. 14Yds.
Burnell Pulley – 3Rec. 48Yds. TD
Juanya Majette – 9 Tackles (8 Solo), TFL
Jalen Powell – 6 Tackles (5 Solo), FR
Tyrique Coleman – 5 Tackles (4 Solo), TFL

Woodside Wolverines 23: (2-2 Overall)
Tyhier Tyler – 5-16 for 40Yds. 0-1TD/Int. ratio; 14Car. 132Yds. 2TD’s
Demetri Banks – 12Car. 60Yds.
D’Angelo Chesson – 4Car. 48Yds. TD; 1Rec. 9Yds.
Tamir Walker – 6Car. 35Yds.
Kendall Bell – 10 Tackles (7 Solo)
Kamari Jackson – 8 Tackles (6 Solo), 2TFL
Chequez Herring – 8 Tackles (6 Solo)
Anthony Gonzalez – 8 Tackles (4 Solo), TFL

Matthew Hatfield has covered football and basketball since 2004 for VirginiaPreps.com, part of the Rivals.com Network, and is a staff writer for Tar Heel Illustrated. 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 every Saturday at 10 AM on ESPN Radio 94.1.