Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, September 4, 1993 TAG: 9309040283
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOHN A. MONTGOMERY SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: LEXINGTON LENGTH: Medium
They also missed the game.
The Rockbridge Wildcats won their season opener, upsetting Blue Ridge District rival Northside 14-13 on a late touchdown and a pivotal two-point conversion.
Halfback Woody Newman scored on a 3-yard run with 1:51 to play, and quarterback Scott Rogers hit tight end Andy Cline in he end zone for the two-point clincher. Cline's catch, his second of the game, followed the 24-yard grab he had made seconds before to set up Newman's touchdown.
The Wildcats then snuffed out any comeback hopes Northside could muster when Lance Bedgood recovered Brian Powell's fumble near mid-field with 1:11 left to play.
Rockbridge led 6-0 for 3 1/2 quarters, but the Wildcats appeared to wear down late in the fourth quarter. The Vikings, ranked fourth in Timesland entering the game, scored twice in the final period and seemed to have the game in hand.
"I knew [before the game] we were good enough to beat them," said sweat-drenched Wildcats coach Jamie Talbott, "but when we got behind 13-6, I figured it would be tough because of their defense.
After Powell scored his second touchdown for Northside, the Wildcats had only three minutes to move the ball from their own 37-yard line. After two plays gained but 4 yards, a pass interference penalty (Northside's third in the final eight minutes) gave Rockbridge a first down on Northside's 44.
Rogers then threw consecutive critical pass completions to Collin Bissell (for 17 yards) and the 24-yarder to Cline to set up the winning points.
Northside coach Jim Hickam, in his 19th season, took the blame for his team's defeat.
"Any time a team plays its heart and soul out like our guys did tonight, you can't blame them," he said.
Hickam also refused to attribute the defeat to the pass interference penalties.
"Those penalties helped Rockbridge keep their momentum," Hickam said, "but their execution was there all night.
Rockbridge back Matt Early, who scored his team's first touchdown, paced the running attack with 70 yards on 16 carries. Rogers' passing game was nearly flawless as he completed all but one of his six passes for 63 yards.
Junior Karim Thompson led Northside's rushing game, netting 84 yards on five attempts. His longest run, a 55-yarder, came on Northside's second scoring drive. Only a diving tackle by Brandon Bissell prevented Thompson from reaching the end zone. \
see microfilm for box score
Memo: story ran on B1 in the State edition.