NORFOLK, Va. — The Maury Commodores have had history on their mind since January. The storied Norfolk institution has never had a repeat state football champion. Loaded with Division I talent, the Commodores steamrolled through the regular season and the region playoffs. At times, history seemed like a foregone conclusion.
Then, in last Saturday's state semifinal, adversity struck. Ari Watford, a Clemson recruit considered by many to be the best player in the 757, went down with an ankle injury in the first quarter against Green Run. Up 14-0 when Watford went down, the Commodores held on for a 20-14 win over the Stallions.
Coach Dyrri McCain said this week that he made the decision to hold Watford out of Saturday's state final against Briar Woods. The Commodores finally arrived at the date long circled on their calendars, but they would do so without their best player.
Any questions about whether this would derail their pursuit of history were answered quickly. Quarterback Autori Newkirk found Lebron Bond for a 51 yard touchdown to give the Commodores an early lead. Newkirk added another in the 2nd quarter, this time to Jahvon Wiggins, taking a 14-0 lead into halftime.
On the first play of the second half Newkirk again went deep, this time 57 yards to Elijah Moss. Maury converted a two point conversion and the route was on. By the time Newkirk threw his 4th TD of the day, a 27 yarder to Damon McDaniel Jr., the Commodores had a 38-0 lead and a running clock in the state championship.
Maury would add one more, making it a 46-0 route of Briar. History officially transformed from a goal to a reality. Coach McCain held up three fingers on one hand, representing his 3rd title with the school, and the championship trophy in the other. The scoreboard will show a team that cruised to victory with little resistance, but history will remember a team that overcame adversity in it's pursuit of a second straight state championship.