THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, October 8, 1994 TAG: 9410080456
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JULIE GOODRICH, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: Medium: 56 lines
Even before his team took the field, Deep Creek coach Jerry Carter knew Friday's game against Lake Taylor would be a tough, defensive-minded contest. After all, over the last two games the Titans had shut out Indian River and surrendered a lone touchdown to Norview's top-rated offense.
So it was a bit of a surprise when the final buzzer sounded and Carter looked up to see the scoreboard showing a 21-0 victory for the Hornets, third-ranked Deep Creek's second straight shutout.
``I don't know why people expected us to go out and run up the score,'' Carter said. ``We knew they were good defensively. . . . We just had to stay with our game plan.''
Neither team's game plan worked early. Lake Taylor (3-3, 1-1) drove to the Hornets' 39 on the opening possession of the game before losing the ball on a fumble.
Deep Creek (5-0, 2-0) only had two real possessions in the first half, the first ending with a punt and the second with a missed 32-yard field goal by Joe Verdi.
The Hornets nearly handed the Titans a score at the end of the half. On fourth down, Mario Elliott attempted a punt and was knocked down by Deodus Harrell, resulting in a 15-yard roughing-the-kicker penalty that kept the drive going.
Later, on third and long, Deep Creek was called for roughing the passer, which kept Lake Taylor alive until Torrey Wilson intercepted an Elliott pass in the end zone.
``We just came out and took them lightly. Our heads weren't in the game, and that made execution hard,'' said Deon Dyer, who led Deep Creek with 101 yards on 17 carries. ``We came together at halftime and decided it was time to play ball.''
Cedrec Williams' 33-yard kickoff return gave the Hornets the ball near midfield to start the third quarter, and Dyer capped a seven-play drive with a 3-yard touchdown run to give Deep Creek the lead. The big play came courtesy of quarterback Arnie Powell's only completion of the game, a 43-yard pass that tipped off the hands of intended receiver Kendall Watson and into the waiting arms of Williams.
The Titans fumbled on their next possession, handing the ball over on their own 44. Dyer covered 38 yards on 5 carries before barreling into the end zone on second-and-goal for the touchdown.
An interception by George Miller in the fourth quarter gave Deep Creek the ball deep in Lake Taylor territory, and the Hornets cashed in with a 9-yard touchdown run by Williams for the final margin of victory.
``We gave them field position with several turnovers,'' said Titans coach Bert Harrell. ``The turnovers, the tipped pass - those were the big plays that we couldn't let them have.'' by CNB