THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, September 3, 1995 TAG: 9509030163
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C14 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DWIGHT FOXX, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: Short : 46 lines
Indian River head coach Bob Parker received a second chance to prepare his team for Norview when severe thunderstorms forced the game to be postponed Friday night with his team trailing, 6-0.
Parker had the second-ranked Braves ready to play Saturday, and they averted a huge upset by completing a 13-6 victory in the season opener for both clubs.
Norview led, 6-0, with 11:41 remaining in the second period when the storms swept through on Friday night. Quarterback James Whitley had scored on a four-yard option run to cap a 10-play, 61-yard drive off the opening kickoff.
Parker admitted that Norview was much better than he had anticipated.
``They probably told you that if the game had been played on Friday night, they would have won,'' he said. ``They were more prepared to play on Friday night.''
If Indian River was ready to go Saturday, it still found itself in a battle. The first half ended with no more scoring than Friday's Norview touchdown.
Indian River got the lead with 1:29 to play in the third quarter when quarterback James Boyd scored on a quarterback sneak from 1 yard out to cap a 15-play, 68-yard drive. Senior kicker Brandon Lawrence hit the extra point.
The score stayed 7-6 for another 12 minutes. With 1:51 remaining in the game, Whitley tried to hit James Martin on a deep pass from the Indian River 45, with Boyd defending. The pass fell incomplete and Norview linemen Melwood Waters was charged with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.
Two plays later, Indian River got its second score when Sam Hardy raced in from 39 yards out with one minute left. The two-point conversion play failed when Lance Bishop dropped a Boyd pass.
Norview had a final chance but Whitley's pass intended for Joe Jordan was intercepted by Indian River's Corey Holley with 33 seconds left.
Boyd, who passed for 120 yards and rushed for 44, acknowledged, along with Parker, the value of the Saturday second chance.
``We weren't ready for them,'' the junior said. ``We slept on them last night.'' by CNB