NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — Messiah Delhomme’s football journey didn’t start on the football field. As he recalls, he was persuaded to play when his dad struck up a conversation with a coach at a local barber shop.
“There was one day when my dad took me to this barber shop and I met the coach there and we ended up talking to him and I went to go tryout,” he said. “And ever since then, my mom’s been along with me through the journey.”
Since then, Messiah has quite literally been the Messiah the Raiders needed since transferring from Bethel High School after his freshman year where he earned All Peninsula District Honors.
“The one thing I said was I refuse to go home. We’ve made it this far, we’ve worked this hard, it doesn’t stop now.”
That’s the mindset that has led Warwick to one of their best runs in program history with a 12-1 record entering the state semifinals this week. In their region championship over King’s Fork last week, Messiah had arguably the best game of his career with 212 yards, three touchdowns, and two crucial interceptions to lead the Raiders to a 31-19 win over King’s Fork at Todd Stadium. It was their first region title since 1992.
“We could put him at quarterback, we could put him at running back, we could put him at receiver, defensive end, linebacker, safety and he’s going to excel in all those different positions,” said Head Coach Corey Hairston whose been at the Raiders helm since 2014. “He definitely stood out to me the first time I saw him play in rec league. He was a man amongst boys.”
Aside from the x’s and O’s, Messiah’s good with numbers too. His favorite subject is Math with an impressive 3.5 GPA and growing up working on cars with his dad is what inspired his Plan B.
“I want to play football in college but if that doesn’t pan out, I want to be an engineer,” he said.
Either way, on his next barber shop visit, he’ll have plenty to update them on.