Phoebus Comeback Earns Championship Bid

Phoebus trailed King George heading to the 4th quarter, but they came back to win 25-13 to advance to their third straight State Championship game at Darling Stadium in Hampton.

Phoebus opened the game with a drive that covered 80 yards on seven plays that ended with a Davion Roberts 17-yard touchdown run. The key play was a 23 yard run by Paul Stephen Davis, which included a 15-yard facemask penalty. Roberts gained 27 yards on the drive.

The Phantoms were up 7-0 with less than three minutes off the clock.

The next scoring chnaces were all se tup on special teams plays. King George drove to the Phantom 8-yard line before their drive stalled.

Senior Max Lipinksi converted a 30-yard field goal to get King George on the scoreboard and made the score 7-3. Lipinksi had a hand in the next score, too, when his punt was fieldied by Phoebus and the ball was downed at the 1-yard line.

The next play resulted in a safety when the Phantoms could not move the ball out of the end zone. The two points for King George trimmed the Phoebus lead to 7-5.

Phoebus added a 22-yard field goal with 9:39 remaining before half-time to extend the lead to 10-5.

Special teams plays continued when King George senior Roget Walker caught a punt after one bounce and returned it 51 yards for a touchdown. The ensuing 2-point conversion pass from Jack Pearson to Mehkai White gave the Foxes a 13-10 lead with six minutes remaining before halftime.

Phoebus took the ensuing kickoff and drove down to the 1-yard line, but the King George defense made three goal-line stops, including two from the one-yard line. However, the Phantoms defense collected their own safety, stopping the Foxes with a tackle in the end zone.

The third quarter was scoreless, featuring a a blocked punt by Phoebus as well as a goal-line interception by Rivals 4-star and Virginia Tech commit Chanz Wiggins.

Phoebus was in an unfamiliar spot as not only were they trailing, but they were behind to start the 4th quarter. The deficit didn't last that long in the 4th quarter, however.

Paul Stephen Davis picked up a bounced punt in stride and returned it 19 yards to the King George 22-yard line. Two plays later, Roberts scored his second touchdown of the game with an 18-yard scamper to give Phoebus the lead, 18-13.

Later, after forcing a punt, Phoebus took over at the King George 40-yard line. A personal foul moved the ball to the 18-yard line. Roberts carried 11 yards for a first down then rolled over a Foxes defender from seven yards out for a touchdown to give Phoebus the lead 25-13.

King George made it to the Phoebus 2-yard line, but turned the ball over on downs with 4:27 remaining. The Foxes did not get the ball back as Roberts gained 45 yards while converting three first downs to send Phoebus to their 34th consecutive win.

The Phantoms will take on Salem (13-1), a 31-21 winner over Tuscarora, for the Class 4 crown at Liberty University in Lynchburg on December 9th.

Defensive MVP

Maryland commit Anthony Reddick was the Top Performer on defense as he forced King George to double and somethimes triple team him to keep him out of their backfield.

Offensive MVP

Sophomore Davion Roberts (5-foot-7, 155) scored three touchdowns while rushing for 125 yards.