HAMPTON, VA (WTKR)- Woodrow Wilson has been on the sidelines at Darling Stadium plenty of times during his career, but never in the capacity that he was on Saturday.
Wilson took the field for the first time as the Crabbers' head coach, succeeding the legendary Mike Smith, and the team did not disappoint in his debut. Hampton's defense stood tall and the offense pulled away late, giving Wilson his first victory as the program's lead man with a 16-0 win over Gloucester.
"The kids played hard," Wilson said after the win. "They gave me everything that I asked of them and we came out with the W."
The Crabbers and Dukes couldn't find the endzone early on, going into halftime scoreless. The third quarter saw Hampton cracking the scoreboard, as Jamaire Lumpkin scored on a quarterback keeper from three yards out and the Crabbers added a two point conversion to give them an 8-0 lead.
The defense got the ball back and Hampton took advantage in the fourth quarter, as Lumpkin found a streaking Deron Baugh for another touchdown.
Smith led the Crabbers for 51 years and amassed 506 wins, good enough for third on the national high school football coaching victories list. Wilson picked up win number one in his first game taking over for his predecessor.
"I learned a lot from Coach Smith and some of the other people I played under at Pittsburgh and NC State," Wilson pointed out. "What I learned from all three of them was pay extreme attention to detail and that's what I do. I'll be in that film room studying, trying to put my kids in position so they can perform and that's what they did today."
Smith was on hand, taking the game in as a spectator in the bleachers, perhaps an unfamiliar environment for him at Darling Stadium.
"It's slightly different," he said. "I'm sitting up in the stands with my wife and she's still coaching and I'm just watching, but it's different."
The former head coach certainly feels he left the program in good hands with his longtime assistant. Now it's Wilson's turn to create his own legacy.
"Woodrow's doing an excellent job," noted Smith. "He doesn't have a lot of experience, he doesn't have a lot of size, but they're very competitive. I think they're playing really tough right now."
The Crabbers return to action on Thursday when they travel to Booker T. Washington.
