Tyree Lee is only 5-9 in height but his heart was larger than any player on the field Saturday afternoon at Dinwiddie High School. Lee, rushed for 163 yards on 29 carries against a very tough Dinwiddie defense. In consecutive weeks the Phantoms (14-0) had to pull off another late comeback to advance in the playoffs. In the Eastern Region Championship game, Phoebus had to find a way to escape a very pesky Hampton Crabber team, 12-7. The Dinwiddie Generals, were every bit as scrappy and possibly more athletic. However, the toughest Phantom opponent on Saturday perhaps, were the Phantoms themselves. Phoebus commited 4 turnovers, untimely penalties and miscues and could not seem to gain any offensive momentum for three and a half quarters. After a sustained drive in the first quarter that penetrated the Generals' (12-1) 5 yard line. After a penalty, moved the ball back to the 10, quarterback Jordan Roby fired a tight spiral across the field only to find Dinwiddie's cornerback Drakar Harvell, who returned the interception in full stride for a 80 yard touchdown. The Phantoms struggled to moved the ball against Virginia Tech commit Corey Marshall, and a very impressive Generals' front line. The Generals, led by another Virginia Tech commit in quarterback Chris Hall, drove downfield to score another touchdown. After a missed extra point, the Phantoms found themselves down 13-0. Once again the Phantoms began to gain some steam on offense. However, Phantoms' standout receiver, Breon Key, fumbled and Dinwiddie recovered to thwart a promising drive. The Phoebus defense forced a General punt. Once again Phoebus had another opportunity to get on the board, but turned the ball over on a Roby fumble to end any first half scoring hopes. The game turned into a defensive struggle in the 3rd quarter as Phoebus missed even more opportunities including a missed field goal by the always reliable Eric Enderson. Then in the 4th quarter, junior linebacker, Justin "Boom Box" Lyles made perhaps, the turnaround play of the game in recovering a Chris hall fumble. On the very next play, Roby hit Key for 53 yards, who made an outstanding catch over a General defender, and scampered into the endzone. Phoebus was now down by only one score, 13-7. The Phantom players were finally beginning to play with the intensity that we're accustomed to seeing. The defense forced another General punt and the game was now hanging in the balance. With just over 5 minutes left, Tyree Lee put the game on his shoulders and ran the ball with determination. However, Dinwiddie's defense put up one last valiant effort and The Phantom's were forced with a 4th down and 9. The state title hopes along with a 44 game win streak were on the line when suddenly, Jordan Roby, playing with confidence, found senior Anthony Haste across the middle for a gain of 13 yards. Two plays later, Roby fired another strike to Daquan "Da Da" Romero for another 17 yards. Two plays later, with just over a minute left Lee finished off an improbable Phantom comeback, with a 7 yard touchdown run. Enderson connected on the extra point and just like that Phoebus were up 14-13. There was absolute bedlam on the Phantoms' side of the field. Dinwiddie had one last chance, but Hall's desperation hail mary pass was picked off by Lee and with great use of his blockers, he returned a favor and scored from 80 yards to clinch the victory for the Phantoms 21-13. It was a heartbreaking loss for the Generals of Dinwiddie, but they have a lot to be proud of. Nobody expected them to play as well as they did. They were well coached by Billy Mims. Next for the Phantoms is the 2010 State Championship game versus another familiar opponent, the Stone Bridge Bulldogs (14-0). This will be the 4th consecutive year these teams will faceoff. The game starts at 12 noon and will be played in Charlottesville at the University Of Virginia's Scott Stadium. Let's Go Phantoms! FOCUS and EXECUTE!
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