A week after traveling to Varina and getting defeated 56-7, the Lake Taylor Titans returned home for an Eastern District game against Norcom looking to get back on track. It was the second time this year that the Titans, who reached the Class 4 State Championship last December, fell by a running clock margin as they were also handled by Norfolk rival during September.

While some thought Lake Taylor's games with Varina or Maury could turn out to be Game of the Year candidates, little did those know that took in the matchup in Norfolk between the Titans and Greyhounds that they would be treated to an instant classic with over 100 points produced, needing more than 48 minutes to decide a victor.

Lake Taylor would be that team to come out on top, prevailing 57-56 in an overtime game fans around Tidewater won't soon forget.

"They kept playing and I am just so proud of them," declared Lake Taylor's longtime Head Coach Hank Sawyer, now 196-54 overall at the helm. Sawyer's Titans are also 16-1 following a regular season loss dating back to 2005. He knew the important of not suffering back-to-back defeats as they aim to get a top seed for the postseason in Region 4A.

"The real challenge was if we lose, we lose. But let's get ready for the playoffs. Let's grow, improve and get ready for the playoffs because we don't have to be good team, we have to be good when the playoffs start."

This Eastern District clash was a tale of two halves as Norcom came out fast, leading 34-7 at the break after slowing down the Titans offense and Malik Newton while carving up a defense that has been known to be stingy over the years.

Greyhounds QB Jacoby Smith threw for over 300 yards and four touchdowns - all in a span of less than 11 minutes.

Sawyer and his staff had to right the ship with a lopsided deficit in front of the home fans, and he conveyed to his group that it would have to be done in small increments, not made up all on one play.

“I challenged them, let's move the ball. We can do some things and we can score some points, too. Let's get one touchdown at a time," Sawyer noted.

"We asked the kids, let's stop the bleeding. We are making mistakes and people are big-playing us. I challenged them to win the third quarter and then we'll talk about the fourth quarter when we get to it."

Of course, stopping a bowling ball going downhill - which may be the best way to sum up how Newton runs - is no easy task. Eventually, he treated the Greyhounds defenders as if they were those helpless bowling pins to spark his team's comeback for the ages.

Held to just 70 yards and a score in the first half, Newton broke the doors off as the Titans stormed back to make the game 40-28 heading into the final stanza, with the Greyhounds still leading, though it wouldn't be for long.

The final quarter saw a plethora of lead changes. First, the Titans went ahead 42-40 after a 53-yard run by Newton that turned Lake Taylor into an earthquake. Next, Liberty pledge Karon Prunty returned the ensuing kick for a score to put Norcom up 46-42. They weren't done.

That was followed by the Titans taking the lead back, making the score 49-46. As the time in regulation ran out, Norcom drove the field and made a game-tying field goal to tie the score at 49-all to create the extra session.

In fact, of the 16 touchdowns scored on the night, only the game's first - which came on an 8-yard run from Newton to cap a 10-play, 78-yard drive - lasted longer than three minutes.

Both teams scored, with Norcom scoring first, putting the pressure squarely on the Titans. A few plays later, Malik Newton scored his sixth TD of the night and ran the game-winning two-point conversion in to win the game for the Titans after Norcom looked to have it sealed at halftime.

Anything goes in the unpredictable 757, and nothing is over until the final whistle blows, especially when you have a back like Malik Newton carrying the ball.

“We went into halftime and Coach (Sawyer) got on us and the offensive line, and said the offensive line wasn’t executing,” Newton said. “All we told them was just to pray and execute in the second half and that we would win this game, and that’s what happened.”

Newton scored six times in the game, carrying the team on his back offensively.

“I couldn’t do it without the offensive line," stated the Class of 2021 talent with offers from more than a dozen schools, including Louisville most recently. "They came in the second half and did what they had to do. It feels awesome just to get a win. We came off a huge loss and have been determined in practice to come back this week and win.”

Newton missed some of practice this week, but came back to play Friday. As the stakes get larger, generally so too does his play on the gridiron.

“I missed two days, but it got better and the MRI came back good," he noted. "I came back and stretched and did what I had to do,” the star back explained.

And Lake Taylor is surely glad he did!

Lake Taylor Notables:

QB Jeff Foster - 4-12 for 61Yds. 1-1 TD/Int. ratio; 13Car. 61Yds. TD; 6 Tackles

RB Malik Newton - 30Car. 220Yds. 6TD's; 2Rec. 20Yds; 6KR for 122Yds.

RB Tarrion Washington-Jacobs - 14Car. 46Yds.

WR Darious Speight - 1Rec. 40Yds. TD

OL/DL Tyrique Tucker - 7 Tackles, 2 TFL, 2 Sacks, INT

Norcom Notables:

QB Jacoby Smith - 14-39 for 374Yds. 4-0 TD/Int. ratio

WR Karon Prunty - 7Rec. 124Yds. TD; 2KR for 106Yds. TD

WR Syhiem Cannon - 3Rec. 120Yds. TD

WR Maurice Outten - 1Rec. 83Yds. TD; 1Car. 2Yds.

WR/DB Jalen Bradley - 2KR for 95Yds. TD

This was the most points ever scored for either Lake Taylor or Norcom in their head-to-head series, which the Titans now lead 18-6.

From here, 5-2 Lake Taylor will look to build a winning streak as they host Churchland (6-1) this week at home. While some will point to the struggles of Lake Taylor's defense - giving up 29.6 points per game - as reason for concern, there are a couple things to consider.

Both of Norcom's second half touchdowns before overtime were on special teams via kickoff returns, so the defense didn't get scored on in either the third or fourth period. They also kept the Greyhounds out of the end zone during a scoreless first quarter.

If Newton can continue to perform like this going down the stretch, the Titans will still be a factor in Class 4. Cleaning up some of the ball security issues, which includes 14 of their 18 turnovers this year on lost fumbles, will be pivotal.

Sitting at 4-2 overall, Norcom will look to rebound against 2-4 Granby on Saturday at 1 PM in Portsmouth. As grueling as this loss is, the Greyhounds are proving to be one of the highest scoring teams around, averaging 45.7 points per game. That is just a point behind undefeated Maury, who's putting up 46.7PPG and will be coming to Joe Langston Stadium relatively soon on November 1st in a game that can still have Eastern District title implications.

The 57 points allowed were the most ever given up by a Robert Jackson coached football team. That goes back to his days at Bayside, Landstown and Salem. So the Greyhounds have to get some things ironed out defensively, something that was also evident when Hopewell - behind Class of 2021 stud TreVeyon Henderson - put up 46 points on them. Sure, Henderson and Newton might be the two best juniors in Virginia with the ball in their hands. They won't see Newton again until next year, though could run into Hopewell again in the Region 3A playoffs.