Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, November 8, 1993 TAG: 9311080026
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOHN A. MONTGOMERY SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
It was a Super Bowl Sunday of football in Salem - with a few welcome variations:
None of the players had multiyear contracts or shoe endorsements. Ticket scalping was not a problem. The halftime extravaganzas consisted of wholesome cheerleading routines. And two of the best-known celebrities in attendance were basketball players working in the press box.
(The announcer's spotter was former Salem High School, University of Virginia and All-ACC guard Richard Morgan, and the timer was Percy Covington, a former star for VMI and 1988 state champion Patrick Henry High School).
But the football was spirited and well-executed as the Junior Division (ages 11-13) of the Roanoke Valley Sandlot Super Bowl crowned three 1993 champions.
The winners were the Northwest Raiders, the North Roanoke Chargers and the South Salem Falcons.
South Salem claimed the Division III title, running its record to 10-0. The Falcons used back-to-back touchdown runs by Chris Conner (51 yards) and Jason Buster (46 yards) to down North Salem 14-6.
All of the game's scoring came in a span of two minutes in the first quarter.
North Salem (7-4) scored first on an 8-yard run by Eric Thomas. But the Falcons rebounded quickly, as Conner tied the score. Although they missed the extra-point attempt, the Falcons recovered an onside kick, and Buster scored on the next play. Buster also booted a conversion kick, which is worth two points in sandlot play.
"We practice the onside kick quite a bit," said Scott Conner, South Salem's coach. "We recover it about 50 percent of the time."
North Salem missed two opportunities to pull even. A late second-quarter drive ended on downs at South Salem's 1-yard line, and a penalty nullified a fourth-quarter score.
"We were close," said Mike Henry, the North Salem coach.
The North Roanoke Chargers (14-0) needed only 15 seconds to take the lead in their Division II game against the Cave Spring Lions. Eric Johnson returned the opening kickoff 80 yards for a touchdown, and the Chargers were on their way to a 23-0 victory.
The kickoff return was Johnson's first ever for a touchdown.
"It feels great!" he said.
Johnson also scored five extra points - four on two kicks and one on a run. The Chargers' other touchdowns came on runs by Nat Franklin (64 yards) and Josh Sprouse (27 yards).
"Getting off to a good start was important," said Bobby Ragland, the Chargers' coach.
Ragland, in his 24th season, and Cave Spring coach Dwight Bogle, in his 33rd year, needed no introductions - to the players, to the spectators and certainly not to each other. "Dwight always has his boys prepared," Ragland said.
"This was a young team and our boys came out tight," Bogle said. "And of course, we gave up two first-quarter touchdowns. But after that we played 'em pretty well."
Cave Spring finished 6-4-2.
In a dramatic Division I game, the Northwest Raiders opened an early lead and upset the previously unbeaten Inner-City Falcons 14-12.
Raiders backs Ronnie Stevens and James Higginbotham scored touchdowns on long, twisting gallops, and quarterback David Pannell completed extra-point passes to Reggie Jones and Grover Jones.
The Falcons, behind the running of Eric Macke and Deshawn Anderson, rallied with two fourth-quarter touchdowns. Lineman Dominic English was credited with the second score when he recovered Anderson's fumble in the end zone.
Inner-City failed on both conversions, however. Anderson was gang-tackled after the first touchdown. After the second score, with 1 minute, 15 seconds remaining in the game, the Falcons attempted a two-point kick for the first time all year. The Raiders' defense swarmed holder Demar Gill before he was able to place the ball for Macke's kick.
"I thought the key was that in the first half we blitzed our linebackers and tried to catch them in the backfield," said John Word, the Raiders' coach. "In the second half, they caught on to it."
The Falcons (12-1) beat Northwest twice during the regular season.
Unaccustomed to losing, the Falcons were gracious nonetheless. They applauded politely as the Raiders (9-4) received their medals.
"Win or lose, you show class," said William Pannell, Inner-City's coach.
by CNB