Hampton (4-0) vs. Bethel (3-2) – Tuesday 7 p.m.at
Darling Stadium
After the rainfall from Hurricane Joaquin turned local football fields
into quagmires, one key Peninsula District matchups should take place on Tuesday
evening, four days after its original schedule date. At Darling Stadium, the
undefeated Hampton Crabbers (4-0) will square off against a Bethel (3-2) team
that has won three straight contests.
At Darling, all eyes will be focused on Hampton’s Dazz Newsome. Last
week, the multi-purpose Crabber scored seven touchdowns against Gloucester,
just one short of Marshawn Williams’ Peninsula record of eight, which the
current Virginia Tech Hokie running back scored for Phoebus in a 2013 win over
Warwick.
Newsome, whose brother Deon starred for Hampton and now also plays for
Virginia Tech, scored in four different ways. On offense, where he lines up as
a wide receiver, the junior caught two passes for scores, and ran for two
others. On special teams, Newsome returned two punts for 73- and 54-yard
scores, while on defense, the cornerback ran back an interception 46-yards for
a “pick-six” touchdown.
Yet, Newsome is not Coach Mike Smith’s only weapon. Quarterback Javonn
Quillen is a threat with his aerial attack, as well as fleet feet, noted by his
1,000 plus yards of passing and rushing in 2014. In the 76-7 win against
Gloucester, Quillen connected on all six of his passes for 188 yards and two
touchdowns, while running for two more scores.
However, Bethel is not a pushover team by any means. Their opening game
loss was 14-6 to Indian River, who currently ranks #1 in the 5A South (East)
rankings, 3.5 ahead of Hampton. In addition, the Bruins also took undefeated
Phoebus into triple overtime before dropping a 7-0 decision.
Bethel’s calling card is its defense. In five games, the Bruins have
allowed just 62 points. In last week’s 17-14 win against Heritage, it was the
defense that stepped up and shut out the Hurricanes in overtime, allowing for
John Vassilakopoulos to kick the game winning 27-yard field goal.
Vassilakopoulos is also a key threat for the Bruins, having converted all of
his field goals and extra points over the past three weeks.
Currently, Bethel is ranked fourth in the 5A South (East) classification.
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