THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 2, 1994 TAG: 9409300198
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST PAGE: 31 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JEFF ZEIGLER, CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: ELIZABETH CITY LENGTH: Medium: 71 lines
When Elizabeth City State and Norfolk State clash on the gridiron, just about anything can happen. And last week it did.
The Vikings, coming into the game 0-3 with two of those losses shutouts, were heavy underdogs. After all, the Spartans have hot-shot quarterback Aaron Sparrow, who was supposed to pick apart the Vikings' secondary. He did at times, but the Vikings were able to hold him and the Spartans down enough for a 27-26 victory before a packed house at Roebuck Stadium.
When the Vikings jumped out to a 14-0 lead, the locals smelled an upset. The Vikings' defense opened the game by stopping a Norfolk State drive when LaMar Sherrod picked off a Sparrow pass in the end zone.
The Vikings jumped on top when Aaron Murchison ran 10 yards on a handoff for a touchdown with 38 seconds left in the first quarter. Wilton Evans kicked the extra point for the 7-0 lead. The seven-play, 81-yard drive was highlighted by a 45-yard pass from quarterback Kenny Crump to Malcolm Mackey.
Meanwhile, the Vikings' Damion Latta picked off another Sparrow pass on the Spartans' next possession. Later in the half, the Vikings held the Spartans on a goal-line stand. The Spartans had the ball inside the 10 for four plays but could get no closer than the four. The Vikings took over and proceded to drive 96 yards for a score when Murchison rumbled in from two yards out with six seconds left in the half. Evans kicked the extra point for a 14-0 lead. Mackey kept the drive alive when he run 36 yards on a third-and-two play.
Then, on the Spartans' first possession of the second half, the unbelievable happened. On a second-and-seven play from the Vikings' 37, Sparrow was being pursued by Marcus Barber, who was looking for the sack. Sparrow eluded Barber by doing a cartwheel, then had the presence of mind to hit Darius Blount with a strike at the one. On the next play, Stanley Johnson ran in for the score. Ryan Weiss's extra-point attempt was blocked, and the Vikings' lead stood at 14-6 with 10:10 left in the quarter.
Later in the quarter, the Spartans drove again, with Sparrow connecting on short passes, and looking shaky on some others. A pass interference violation in the end zone by a Vikings defender gave the Spartans the ball on the two. Johnson ran it in for the score with 3:48 left. The extra-point pass failed, and the Vikings clung to a 14-12 lead.
Twenty seconds later, the Spartans took the lead. On the first play of the Vikings' next drive, Crump threw a pass into the hands of a Spartans defender, who ran it in for a 14-yard score. Johnson's extra-point run failed, and the Spartans led, 18-14.
The Vikings could have rolled over and died at that point, but the Vikings matched the Spartans' score. With 1:09 left in the quarter, Crump scored from a yard out. The extra-point kick failed, but the Vikings took the lead at 20-18.
On the next drive, the Vikings' defense struck again when Clifton Autrey picked off a Sparrow pass. The Vikings turned it into another score when Crump ran nine yards for a touchdown with 13:47 left in the game. Evans's extra point made it 27-18.
Sparrow still had some late-game heroics left. He drove the Spartans with four complete passes, and Johnson scored from the one with 5:28 to play. Sparrow hit James Roe with the two-point conversion pass, and the Vikings' lead was cut to 27-26.
The Vikings needed to kill the clock to win and nearly failed at the attempt. But another wild play saved them. Driving down the field, Crump fumbled at the Spartans' eight with less than two minutes to play. The ball was recovered by Norfolk State's Kevin Dunmeyer. But Dunmeyer blew the Spartans' chances of a comeback when he fumbled, and Crump recovered. Even though it was originally a fourth-down play, the Vikings retained possession because possession had switched to Norfolk State when Dunmeyer recovered the original fumble.
The Vikings' then killed the clock and broke the Spartans' back. by CNB