HAMPTON, Va. — HAMPTON, Va. (WTKR) — On state semifinal Saturday, Poquoson ended its season with heartbreak while Phoebus entered familiar territory.
The Phantoms jumped out on Sherando early and never looked back, cruising to a 34-0 win in the Class 4 semifinals to punch a ticket to a fourth straight state championship.
Maurikus Banks continued his tremendous play throughout the season by completing 23 of his 28 passes for 251 yards and two touchdown passes, both to Noah Jefferson. His partner in the backfield held his own running the ball. Davion Roberts, playing his final game at Darling Stadium, turned in 137 yards on the ground with three touchdowns in the win.
He got the scoring started on the first drive of the game with a three-yard scamper to the house, then helped finish a long scoring drive in the second quarter with a tough right on the goal line.
Phoebus continues to be a team that knows how to play in the big spotlight moments. Jeremy Blunt's group extended its winning streak to 48 consecutive games and now has a chance to defend their three straight state championships. The program won in Class 3 in 2021 and 2022 before pulling out a thrilling win over Salem in last year's Class 4 finale, a game that ended with Banks hitting Keyontae Gray for an 86 yard touchdown with just one second left to play.
The next challenger for the Phantoms' crown comes from Varina next Saturday at Williams Stadium in Lynchburg at 5:00 PM. The Blue Devils are 13-1 this season, their lone loss coming to Indian River in a double overtime 37-31 affair in the first game of the 2024 season.
Just 20 minutes north, Poquoson found itself with a chance to go to a state championship for the first time since 2010 but couldn't quite put a winning drive together.
The Bull Islanders were picked off with 1:30 to play and never got the ball back from Strasburg, falling 14-13 to finish the season at 12-2.
It took until the second quarter for either team to score, with the Bull Islanders striking first with an Owen Cupp 66-yard touchdown run to give the home team a 7-0 lead. The Rams struck back quickly, however, scoring on their next two possessions to grab a 14-7 lead going to halftime.
Elliott Duty's team got a stop right out of the locker rooms then got a touchdown off a seven-yard run from quarterback Eli Tyndall, but the ensuing extra point was missed to keep the score at 14-13.
With around three minutes to play in the game, Poquoson got the ball back but hit a fourth-and-eight quickly. Tyndall escaped pressure and delivered a strike to Dom Galacgac to just convert the first down. On the next snap, Tyndall tried to push the ball down the field through the air but the ball was tipped up and fell into the hands of Hunter Williams for the game-ending interception.
This is the third straight season that Poquoson has made the state semifinals but have not been able to breakthrough into a state championship game. This is the first time in that stretch they have hosted a semifinal matchup.
Strasburg will move on to face Graham in Salem for the Class 2 state title.
