Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, September 18, 1993 TAG: 9309200268
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Bob TEITLEBAUM STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
That's because the Patriots might have had the best player on the field, but they still lost to George Washington-Danville 35-24.
It was the Eagles' third consecutive victory, but it proved costly. Their quarterback, sophomore Larry Moore, went down with an injury in the third quarter. He didn't return, and GW's wishbone scored only one more touchdown on a drive that was nearly half over by the time Moore went out.
"He might have broken his leg," said Ed Martin, GW's coach. "Patrick Henry played hard, and Shannon Taylor is a good player, but Larry's the key to everything [for us]."
Taylor rushed for 101 yards on 10 carries and threw for 87 yards. However, he completed only four of 20 passes, throwing an interception on the game's final play.
His best run came when he rambled 44 yards for the Patriots' first touchdown, completing a 63-yard drive that took two plays. The first play was a 19-yard pass to Jamie Price. Then, Taylor took off through the middle and cut to the outside for his touchdown run.
"On the pass play, the coaches saw there was no nose guard. I just knew it [the run] was going to go," Taylor said.
Not much else went right offensively for the Patriots.
"I don't know what it is," Taylor said. "We need to work harder on our pass routes. I know I can get them the ball."
For 21 minutes, the Patriots stayed with the team picked to win the Western District. It was 14-12 after PH's Ike Williams scored on a 7-yard run on third down. A bad snap on fourth down had given the Patriots the ball on the Eagles' 7.
Then it all went awry.
GW's Theomone Brooks took the kickoff 80 yards for a touchdown.
That wasn't the real back-breaker, though.
Taylor fumbled near midfield with 45 seconds left in the half. Since the Patriots (0-2) were to get the second-half kickoff, coming back from a nine-point halftime deficit would not have been out of the question.
But after the fumble, Moore gained 19 yards and then was sacked for a 9-yard loss. With eight seconds left, he lofted a 42-yard touchdown pass to Nathan Poole.
A 16-point halftime deficit was mission impossible for PH.
"Just before the half was the game. We come back and then give up that kickoff and easy touchdown," said Ed Scott, the Patriots' coach.
Scott wasn't happy with his offense.
"It was very sporadic and we had a lot of mental errors," he said.
Still, PH didn't give up. Price returned the kickoff 89 yards for a touchdown after the Eagles' last score. After the Patriots held, Taylor connected on a 32-yard pass play with Shawn Leftwich, then ran for 14 yards and a first down at the GW 23 late in the third quarter. On the next play, though, PH's Rod Akers fumbled and the Eagles' Corey Spencer recovered to stop any serious comeback threat.
For the second consecutive week, the Patriots went without a point after. Even when they were equal with the Eagles in touchdowns through most of the first half, they always trailed.
Scott told his troops that GW never got a real drive going after the middle of the second quarter. That was true, but GW still finished with 356 yards total offense. \
see microfilm for box score
Keywords:
FOOTBALL
by CNB