Hurricanes Take Down Crabbers 27-14 (VIDEO)

The Heritage Hurricanes were out to prove that their 35-21 season-opening victory at Lake Taylor was no fluke. They further validated their status as one of the top teams at the 4A level - ranked #6 in the latest Top Ten - as the Newport News program took down preseason Peninsula District favorite Hampton, 27-14 at John B. Todd Stadium on Friday night.

Hampton came in ranked #7 in the 5A Top Ten following a 26-0 shutout of Denbigh. Yet, the Hurricanes were plenty confident, given their 2-0 start to the season entering the contest and the fact they had beaten Hampton two of the previous three years.

Make it now a 3-1 record for Heritage's seniors in their careers against the famed Crabbers, a program with more state titles than any other in VHSL history.

Heritage scored on four of its first five offensive possessions, using some long, time-consuming drives to wear down Hampton's defense and keep the Crabbers offense off the field. Senior quarterback and four-year starter Jeremiah Boyd played one of his most efficient games in a Hurricanes uniform as he completed 10 of 11 passes for 159 yards with no turnovers, plus rushed for three touchdowns and had 22 yards on the ground.

Boyd, who's also a starter on defense at linebacker and committed to play his College Football at Navy, had four tackles and two pass deflections, one coming on fourth down to thwart a Hampton scoring opportunity in the fourth quarter. His first touchdown run capped a 12-play, 67-yard drive that took 5:52 off the clock.

Hampton thought it tied the game immediately following that touchdown on an 87-yard kickoff return by Dazz Newsome, except it was waved off on a penalty, much to the chagrin of longtime Head Coach Mike Smith. Heritage Head Coach George Massenburg played for Smith on two of his 12 State Championship winning teams and graduated from Hampton in 1997.

Newsome had another touchdown called back on a penalty on his 85-yard catch. So before Hampton could even get on the board, Heritage was up by two scores as tailback Roy Johnson III extended the Hurricanes' lead to 13-0 with a five-yard touchdown run at the 7:42 mark of the second period.

A beautiful diving catch on 4th-and-17 by Newsome from quarterback Cam Stevenson, who would later leave due to injury and replaced by D.J. Nunn, set up the first touchdown for the Crabbers. That came with 3:14 before intermission on Trequan Smith's 14-yard run on 3rd-and-11 to cap a 14-play, 65-yard drive.

Two of the big weapons in Heritage's win over Lake Taylor to start the season were receivers Amonyae Watson and Timothy Payne. Both are two of the better playmakers in the Peninsula District with Watson a highly recruited prospect that is now up to 14 scholarship offers, the latest coming from William & Mary earlier this month.

Each possesses size for the next level - Watson at 6-foot-2, 172 pounds, while Payne is 6-foot-1, 160 pounds - and can make things happen after the catch.

Watson, who was held without a catch in their 21-7 win over Warwick, helped set the tone early. He made three receptions for 42 yards in the first half to extend drives, and though he didn't find the end zone, his presence made it possible for Heritage to stay in front.

In the second half, Watson's seven-yard grab on third down moved the chains. By night's end, he had four catches for 49 yards. It may not seem like much, but it was more than the most dynamic receiver on the other side; Newsome was held to three receptions for 28 yards.

As for Payne, he's another guy that stretches the field. His 51-yard catch in the fourth period pretty much sealed the deal with Heritage up two scores. Four plays later, Boyd finished the drive off with a 13-yard run to conclude an eight-play, 97-yard drive that took 5:45 off the clock.

The best thing about this terrific tandem? Double-teaming one of them makes a defense vulnerable to containing the other.

Massenburg made it a point in the off-season to state that he wanted the Hurricanes to get back their roots on offense, which means lining up in I-formation and running the ball between the tackles. To start the second half a narrow 13-6 lead, the Canes did that as effectively as any team could hope against a district rival.

Johnson - also referred to as RJ3 (not to be confused with RG3 from the NFL) - ran the ball 22 times for 85 yards on the evening. In the second half, he was the main source of their offense with 15 of those carries for 58 yards. Heritage was content taking three to four yard chunks and methodically moving down the field.

A couple of catches by Watson and Shedrick Washington, another player that was called on to run the football, prolonged that series to begin the second half. Boyd capped the 13-play, 70-yard drive that lasted 7:34 with a six-yard scoring run.

Heritage's offensive line - from left to right - Traveon Williams, Christian Jones, Malik Kelly, Lamont Davis and Sheldon Green provided good push for the running game. Compounding matters for Hampton was the fact that stud defensive lineman Elijah Conliffe did not dress out due to a minor leg injury.

Green, who also played on defense, made an interception with 17 seconds to play in regulation. That was the game's lone turnover.

While Hampton ended up out-gaining Heritage 319-309 on the night and rushed for 212 yards on 30 attempts, the Crabbers couldn't get off the field when they needed to against the patient offensive approach of the Heritage.

It's not an easy turnaround for Hampton, which will take on Woodside at Darling Stadium on September 15th.

The Wolverines are coming off a 51-0 shutout of Gloucester and plan to get running back Tamir Walker, their leading rusher from 2015, back in the lineup.

Hampton should have Conliffe back, but they need a crisper performance from their passing game whether it's Stevenson or Nunn throwing the football. That combo combined to go just 9-of-24 through the air with none of those completions going for more than 20 yards.

As for Heritage, up next is a date with winless Menchville, who has been outscored 155-17 through three games.

Hampton/Heritage Photo Album on Flickr
Video Interview with Heritage QB/LB Jeremiah Boyd
Video Interview with Heritage Coach George Massenburg

Heritage Hurricanes 27: (3-0 Overall)
Jeremiah Boyd - 10-11 for 159Yds; 7Car. 22Yds. 3TD's; 4 Tackles, 2PBU
Roy Johnson III - 22Car. 85Yds. TD
Amonyae Watson - 4Rec. 49Yds.
Shedrick Washington - 4Rec. 49Yds; 4Car. 21Yds; 3 Tackles, 2PBU
Timothy Payne - 2Rec. 61Yds.
Jalen Apple - 6 Tackles (all solo), TFL
Asante Randolph - 6 Tackles (all solo)

Hampton Crabbers 14: (1-1 Overall)
Cam Stevenson – 5-14 for 56Yds; 6Car. 14Yds.
D.J. Nunn – 4-10 for 51Yds. 0-1TD/Int. ratio; 6Car. 39Yds; 1Rec. 20Yds.
Trequan Smith – 12Car. 95Yds. TD; 7 Tackles, 0.5TFL
Dazz Newsome – 5Car. 61Yds. TD; 3Rec. 28Yds.
Burnell Pulley – 2Rec. 27Yds.
Juanya Majette - 8 Tackles (4 Solo), 1.5TFL

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, plus watch him on the Cox 11 Sports Report.