Football: Midseason report

Pilots soaring under new coach

As most teams hit the season’s halfway mark this week, there are a few surprises: Lakeland is alone in third place in the Southeastern District and Bayside, the defending Eastern Region champ, has fallen to fourth place in the Beach District.

But one of the biggest surprises is atop the Eastern District, where Norview is unbeaten and tied with perennial contenders Lake Taylor and Norcom. The Pilots (3-2 overall, 2-0 district) have yet to play the Titans (3-1, 2-0) or Greyhounds (5-1, 3-0). But Norview is enjoying a resurgence under first-year coach Greg Gibson, who took over a team with just one winning season since 2002.

“I like the direction the team is going,” said Gibson, the Pilots’ fourth coach in three seasons. “We’ve steadily improved each week in all three facets of the game.”

QB Kwe’shon Williams has thrown for 432 yards, rushed for another 232 yards and accounted for 11 total TDs, while RB Omar Grimes has 253 rushing yards.

The Pilots play Booker T. Washington on Friday, followed by Lake Taylor and Norcom.

“We’ve got the meat of our schedule coming up,” Gibson said. “But the kids are excited for the challenge.”

He said it

“ We did tackling drills in pregame and we got after it because we wanted to feel like we were coming to finish a game, not start a game.” - Ocean Lakes coach Chris Scott, after an 18-14 win vs. Salem in a suspended game. The victory left the Dolphins, Salem and Landstown with one Beach District loss heading into the season’s second half.

Midseason: Awards, big games

Our picks for the district Players of the Year:

Beach District: Eli Harold, Ocean Lakes. Harold is living up to his ranking as the No. 1 recruit in the Class of 2012, delivering big plays as a QB/RB/WR and on defense.

Eastern District: Da’Quan Saunders, Norcom. Saunders won the QB job early on, has steadied a young offense and leads the district with 803 passing yards. Booker T. Washington’s Lafayette Smallwood is the district’s most electrifying player, but that hasn’t translated into wins.

Southeastern District: J.C. Coleman, Oscar Smith. Coleman has three games of 150-plus yards rushing and holds a 5-yard lead over Great Bridge RB Adriell Mayes. That battle – and the pair’s POY race – should go down to the wire.

Can’t-miss games heading down the stretch:

Beach District: Salem at Landstown, Oct. 14. Landstown at Ocean Lakes, Oct. 28. The title hinges on both outcomes.

Eastern District: Norcom at Lake Taylor, Nov. 4. Looks like the Greyhounds and Titans are on a collision course for this regular-season finale.

Southeastern District: Oscar Smith at Grassfield, Oct. 28. No surprise here. The heavyweights should head into this one without a district loss.

– Compiled by Larry Rubama and Jami Frankenberry

South Hampton Roads top 10

The Virginian-Pilot’s South Hampton Roads high school football poll, as voted upon by Pilot football staffers Jami Frankenberry, Larry Rubama, Lee Tolliver, Chris Carlson, Ray Nimmo and Paul Eldert (first-place votes in parentheses, followed by record, voting points and previous rank):

1. Oscar Smith (5); 4-1; 59; 1

2. Ocean Lakes; 5-1; 49; 6

3. Norcom; 5-1; 44; 4

4. Salem; 4-1; 41; 2

5. Grassfield (1); 5-0; 35; 5

6. Landstown; 4-1; 26; 10

7. Lake Taylor; 3-1; 24; 8

8. Lakeland; 4-1; 16; 7

9. Bayside; 4-2; 14; 3

10. Great Bridge; 3-2; 10; 9

Also receiving votes: Greenbrier Christian 4, Cox, 2, Norfolk Christian 1.