Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, October 9, 1993 TAG: 9310090229
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JIMMY ROBERTSON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
It was answered.
Bryant hit a wide-open Chris Carr in the corner of the end zone for a touchdown with 51 seconds left. Then Shannon Gray ran in the two-point conversion to give William Byrd a stunning 15-14 Blue Ridge District victory over Salem, spoiling the Spartans' homecoming in the biggest league upset in years.
It was only Salem's second district loss since the Spartans entered the league in 1988. That year, Salem dropped a 6-0 game to Alleghany. Overall, Salem had won 24 of 25 Blue Ridge District games before Friday's loss.
In five previous games against Salem, Byrd had been outscored 183-14 by the Spartans.
It was the first Salem loss in the regular season since Sept. 22, 1990, when the Spartans were beaten by Graham 20-9. Salem had won 31 straight in the regular season since.
The Terriers' winning drive began at the Salem 39 after Salem's Nathan Routt shanked a punt that went only 15 yards. On the second play of the drive, Bryant hit Chris Almond to give the Terriers a first down at the Spartans' 28.
After two Bryant incompletions, the Terriers faced a third-and-10. On the third-down call, Gray took the pitch from Bryant and threw back across the field to Bryant. The quarterback then overthrew Carr, who was open in the end zone, leaving the Terriers one last play.
"I thought I had lost it right there," Bryant said. "He was wide open and we ran the play to perfection, but I just missed him. It made me sick."
Byrd called a timeout to set up the final play after a 5-yard illegal procedure penalty. Bryant went back to pass, scrambled right to elude the rush, and threw a strike to Carr, who was all alone in the end zone. Gray's run gave the Terriers a 15-14 lead with 40 seconds to go in the game.
"Coach Highfill put me in the shotgun formation to give me some more time and to give me a better view of the field," Bryant explained. "I rolled right, pumped once, and prayed. Chris made a great catch."
Carr, who finished with 66 yards receiving on three catches, said an assistant coach gave him some sound advice on the last play.
"Coach Paul Bernard told me to find the open area if Matt rolled out," he said. "I just drifted back and Matt threw a perfect pass."
"You have to give Byrd a lot of credit," Salem coach Willis White said. "We had Carr double-teamed all night, but they were able to make the adjustments. They were better prepared than we were and did a good job. We were not as prepared as I thought, and I have to take the blame for that."
Salem still had one last chance to win. The Spartans covered the Byrd kickoff at their own 46. On their first play, Salem quarterback Kevin Feazell hit Mike Prater, who stepped out of bounds at the Byrd 45 for a 9-yard gain. Feazell threw an incomplete pass on the next play, and he was sacked for a 9-yard loss on third down.
On fourth down, Feazell tried to scramble away from the rush, but the Terrier defense shut him down and sealed the victory.
"Our defense played their hearts out," William Byrd head coach Jeff Highfill said. "We've talked about senior leadership all year long and it showed tonight. Our seniors pulled us through on both sides of the ball."
Salem dominated the game from a rushing standpoint, outgaining the Terriers 206 to 112, but the Spartans could only muster 58 of those yards in the second half and only two first downs.
"We were hitting them hard, but we were not wrapping up in the first half," said Terrier nose guard Jeff Childress. "We made some adjustments at halftime and we were able to hold them."
Salem didn't waste any time jumping in front. After forcing a punt, the Spartans took over at the Byrd 47. Jomo Nelson, who ran for 99 yards on 18 carries, capped an eight-play drive with a 4-yard touchdown run. The extra point gave Salem a 7-0 first-quarter lead.
The Spartans scored again on their first possession of the second quarter. They took over the ball on downs at their 43. Two plays later, Mike Murphy burst up the middle and scampered 48 yards for the touchdown to make it 14-0.
Byrd, however, struck back just before halftime. With 15 seconds left in the half, Bryant found Carr, who made a spectacular one-handed catch for a 9-yard touchdown pass. \
see microfilm for box score
Keywords:
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by CNB