Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, October 16, 1993 TAG: 9310160291
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JIMMY ROBERTSON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LYNCHBURG LENGTH: Medium
The usually pass-happy Patriots rushed for 279 yards and used a punishing defense to defeat Heritage 28-0 in a non-district football game at City Stadium.
Patrick Henry wasted no time. On their first possession, the Patriots (5-2) went 77 yards in six plays before quarterback Shannon Taylor hit wing back Adrian Moore on a 16-yard touchdown pass. Taylor's 46-yard run on a draw play set up the touchdown, and Patrick Henry took a 7-0 lead with the extra point.
"It was just a simple out pattern," said Moore, who caught four passes for 72 yards. "Heritage seemed to take away the deep patterns and left the underneath out patterns wide-open."
The Pioneers (5-2) responded with a long drive of their own. Heritage drove to the Patriots' 20-yard line in 11 plays but could not come up with the first down needed to sustain the march. The Pioneers settled for a Dustin Lewis 38-yard field-goal attempt, but the kick sailed wide to the left and Patrick Henry regained possession.
The Patriots immediately went to work. On the second play of the drive, Taylor hit Moore for a 13-yard gain to give PH a first down at its 37. Then tailback Rod Akers, who rushed for 125 yards on nine carries, went 63 yards for a touchdown. The point-after try failed, but the Patriots took a 13-point lead into the second quarter.
"I'm surprised that we ran as well as we did," said Ed Scott, PH's coach. "We ran a lot of misdirection plays, and we seemed to get a lot of yards out of those plays, which is unusual for us."
The Patriots' defense forced a punt on Heritage's next possession. Jamie Price took a booming kick on his 7-yard line and returned it 56 yards to the Pioneers' 38 to give PH great field position.
Once again, Taylor and Co. went to work. The quarterback found Moore in the flat for an 18-yard completion to the Heritage 20. Three plays later, fullback Ike Williams took it in from 3 yards. Taylor hit Akers for the conversion to give the Patriots a 21-0 lead with six minutes to go in the first half.
"We simply did not play well defensively in the first half," said Fred Stanbery, the Pioneers' coach. "Their offensive line dominated us. We knew they could run, but we felt that they would beat us with the pass and that is what we concentrated on in practice."
PH's last touchdown came with seven seconds left in the first half. Taylor again found Moore, this time for a 25-yard gain to give the Patriots a first down at the Heritage 18. Two plays later, Taylor hit Price on a slant pattern for an 18-yard touchdown. The point-after kick made it 28-0 and PH never looked back.
The Patriots' defense held Heritage to 107 yards rushing and 146 yards of total offense for the game.
"We played good defense all night and that was the key," Scott said. "If we can continue to do that, then we will be successful."
by CNB