Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, November 20, 1993 TAG: 9311200239
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By BOB TEITLEBAUM STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The 6-foot-5 quarterback, who is on a lot of college's wish lists, was running for his life most of the evening under a heavy rush.
Offensively, Stonewall Jackson went from the I formation to the Wing T and dominated the first half in a 39-12 victory Friday night at Victory Stadium in the first round of the Group AAA Division 6 Northwestern Region playoffs. Stonewall Jackson advances to the regional championship game at E.C. Glass next week.
"We hadn't seen this offense," said Ed Scott, PH's coach. "The two films they traded with us, they used the I formation. Then, they come down here and run the Wing T.
"Really, they just beat us up front. I didn't think it would happen like this. Then, when we had a chance, we didn't execute."
Jamie Sisk rushed for 189 yards on 33 carries and scored three touchdowns. He was especially effective in the opening half, when he picked up 142 yards as the Raiders (7-4) built a 27-6 lead.
"We try to even it up, but he was going pretty hard," said Jim Powell, Stonewall Jackson's coach. "He's tough, and as long as he gained yardage, we gave it to him."
Taylor, who was sacked four times by a rush led by George Graham, passed for 158 yards. Most of that yardage came in the second half, though, when the Patriots (7-4) were trying desperately to get back into the game.
"I didn't get any time," Taylor said. "But we've got some injuries. We just didn't have enough bodies. This is real disappointing."
Powell knew the key to beating the Patriots was to keep Taylor in check. "We tried to get pressure on him, because if you let him sit back there, he'll pick you to pieces," the coach said.
It didn't help that Ike Williams, PH's top rusher in recent games, left the game with an injury in the first quarter after running two plays. With Williams grounded and Taylor pressured, the Patriots wound up with minus-11 yards rushing.
As for going to the Wing T, Powell said he did that because Monta Hicks returned from an injury. "We ran that offense the first five or six games, so we did what we had to do [to win]," he said.
The game started badly for Stonewall Jackson. The Raiders fumbled on their first two plays and PH's Marty Brown recovered the second miscue. But the Patriots went nowhere and punted.
Stonewall Jackson then marched down the field, going 62 yards in four plays. Sisk ran the first three plays, before Hicks scored on a 10-yard run.
PH came right back. Taylor ran for 14 yards on two plays, then connected with Jamie Price on a 38-yard pass. Taylor went the last 19 yards for the touchdown, carrying a couple of Raiders on his back to make it 7-6. A pass for the two-point conversion failed.
That was the Patriots' last good moment in the first half. Stonewall Jackson came back with touchdown drives of 69 and 50 yards. Sisk capped the first one with a 2-yard touchdown run, and quarterback Hirk Williams scored on a 10-yard jaunt to make it 21-6.
PH looked as if it might get to intermission down by two touchdowns. But the Raiders' Nathan Frampton blocked a punt, giving them possession at the 8. It took two runs by Sisk to produce the touchdown that basically put PH out of the game at 27-6.
The Raiders scored first in the second half, when Junior Nichols recovered a fumble in the end zone after a high snap on a punt attempt by PH. It was the second touchdown for Stonewall Jackson off the Patriots' kicking game.
The Patriots got their touchdown when Taylor started connecting. He kept a 70-yard drive going by completing a fourth-and-19 pass to Price for 24 yards. That set up Rod Akers' 2-yard touchdown run.
by CNB