THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, October 8, 1994 TAG: 9410080444
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY RICH RADFORD, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH LENGTH: Medium: 90 lines
The big-play magic ran out of Norcom's wand Friday night.
A last-second, 38-yard field goal attempt by Maceo Thomas landed at the base of the goal posts as Indian River upset the defending Division 5 state champions, 14-13.
The loss ended Norcom's winning streak at 18 games.
``I was praying they'd miss it,'' said Indian River quarterback/defensive back James Boyd. ``I turned and it was straight enough ...''
But not long enough. The outcome stunned most of the 3,400 on hand at Lawrence Stadium.
With the Greyhounds out of timeouts, Thomas and the field goal unit rushed onto the field with the clock ticking down.
``If they'd had another timeout, it might have been different,'' said Indian River coach Bob Parker. ``They could have set up and taken their time.''
But the Greyhounds, who entered as the area's top-ranked team, were forced to use those timeouts in an attempt to get the ball back in the closing minutes.
Norcom made a final defensive stand with less than two minutes remaining, stopping Indian River at the Braves 39. And then the break the Greyhounds were looking for materialized.
Indian River's punt snap skittered across the ground. When punter Jeremy Bridges got a handle on it, seven Greyhounds were atop him.
The Greyhounds recovered Bridges' fumble at the Indian River 15 with 1:21 left.
An option pitchout to Rudy Howard was snuffed out by Indian River's Kahlil Johnson for a 4-yard loss. Then Octavious Brothers, inserted for ineffective starting quarterback Rod Richardson in the fourth quarter, was called for intentional grounding while trying to kill the clock with 32 seconds left.
Brothers had been a major player in two Norcom comebacks during the streak, catching a 61-yard touchdown pass in the late going of a 27-19 victory over Churchland this season and returning a fumble 56 yards for a touchdown in the final minute of a 13-7 victory over Western Branch last year.
``I was worried,'' Parker said of the prospects of another Brothers miracle. ``Especially when he ran the option.''
Brothers scrambled for three yards on the next play, but was stopped at the Indian River 21 by Boyd and Quenta McLean, setting up the field goal attempt.
It was one of many impressive defensive stands by the eighth-ranked Braves, who allowed Norcom just five first downs and a net 20 yards.
``We felt that if we could get on the board early we knew what kind of defense we had,'' said Indian River coach Bob Parker.
Norcom (4-1 overall, 4-1 in the Southeastern District) scored first when Howard intercepted an overthrown pass by Boyd and followed a great block by Brothers into the end zone for a 35-yard return and a 7-0 lead.
But the Braves (4-1, 2-0) took little time to answer, with Boyd hitting
Anthony Cason on a quick slant on the left side. Cason did the rest, outrunning Norcom's Jason Wells and Howard for a 56-yard score.
``We'd worked on it all week and it was designed just for Norcom,'' said Cason, who dove into the end zone. ``I knew I could beat the man-to-man (coverage).''
Boyd took a one-step drop and threw a rope.
The Braves took a 14-7 lead near the end of the first half when Shawndell Joyner rambled 7 yards around right end. The scoring run ended a 27-yard drive set up when Brothers was unable to get off a punt under a heavy Braves rush.
Overshadowed somewhat by the defensive showing was Joyner's rushing effort. The senior tailback ran 27 times for 125 yards. It was the first time in 20 games that a back had run for over 100 yards against Norcom, the last being Hampton's Myron Newsome in the first round of the 1992 Eastern Region playoffs.
The Braves had punting problems of their own. Stopped at their own 15 on their second possession of the second half, Bridges had troubles with a high snap. A streaking Wells blocked it and Norcom recovered at the Indian River 5.
Three plays later, Richardson hit Anthony Hawkins on a 5-yard scoring toss in the right corner of the end zone. But Thomas pulled the extra point attempt; 14-13.
Both teams had their problems with turnovers. Indian River committed four while Norcom fumbled five times, losing three.
``You just can't give a good football team the turnovers we did,'' said Norcom coach Joe Langston. ``They've got a good team and came to play. And when they smelled blood, they came at it.'' ILLUSTRATION: L. TODD SPENCER
Indian River's Shawn Green, left, and mike Toliver, right, foil a
punt attempt by Norcom's Octavious Brothers, setting up the Braves'
second touchdown.
by CNB