Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, September 4, 1993 TAG: 9309040271
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: MIKE ASHLEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PEARISBURG LENGTH: Medium
Senior wingback Peter Janney was both against Blackburg as Giles upended the Indians 21-12 in a meeting of 1992 district high school football champions.
A sore shoulder kept Raypheal Milton out of practice all week. Janney stepped in, and the Spartans' single wing didn't miss a beat.
Janney rushed 21 times for 120 yards, including 63 yards on a game-opening 72-yard drive by Giles. His 2-yard touchdown run and subsequent conversion staked Giles to the lead.
"I hadn't played tailback since JV football," Janney said. "It felt like I was at home, though."
Janney gave way to Milton late in the first half, and the shifty junior tailback was back to his old tricks, too, passing for 78 yards and rushing for 31. Milton had three key completions on an 11-play, 88-yard fourth-quarter drive that sealed the Indians' fate.
The last of those completions, a 19-yard touchdown pass to J.C. Riggs, was the stuff of NFL highlights reels - Milton backpedaling and lofting a perfect, arching completion to the corner of the end zone while under siege in the pocket.
"[Raypheal Milton] beat us with his passing ability," said Blacksburg coach Dave Crist. "Janney is probably a better runner, though. He runs hard."
Despite Milton's and Janney's heroics, the Spartans found themselves trailing at halftime. After holding Blacksburg to 14 yards total offense and no first downs in the first 23 minutes, Giles saw the Indians and quarterback Greg Shockley run the two-minute drill to perfection.
Shockley needed just 55 seconds to move Blacksburg 72 yards, connecting on four of six passes, including a 21-yard pass to Nick Burroughs and a 34-yard bomb to Shane Beamer to take the ball to the 1-yard line. Burroughs took the ball in from there to give Blacksburg a 12-8 lead three seconds before halftime.
The Indians were in the game before that drive because of a snap over Giles punter Patrick Steele's head that resulted in a wacky interception by Patrick Martin of Steele's desperation deflected pass. The result was first and goal for the Indians at the 5-yard line. Two plays later, with 28 seconds left in the first quarter, Burroughs crashed in for a touchdown that cut Giles' lead to 8-6.
Early in the second half, the Indians moved to midfield, but Byron Sargent's fumble recovery for Giles stopped the drive and turned the tide. The Spartans moved 51 yards in 13 plays, Milton lunging the final yard for a 15-12 lead as Maurice Milton line-drived the extra point home.
Blacksburg's next possession ended in a 48-yard Burroughs punt that pinned the Spartans deep in their own territory. Raypheal Milton led the final scoring drive, beginning at his 12 as the Group A Mountain Empire District champions upset the Group AA New River District champions.
"The biggest thing was the way we played the second half of football," said Giles coach Steve Ragsdale. "Even up nine points you can't relax with way Blacksburg can pass the ball. We found out about that at the end of the first half."
Shockley, who was 7-of-20 for 100 yards, completed only one of his last seven passes as the Indians twice turned over the ball on downs in the final five minutes. \
see microfilm for box score
by CNB