Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, November 27, 1993 TAG: 9311270228
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ANDREA KUHN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
What was billed as a shootout nearly turned into a shutout.
Blacksburg prepared for a close football game against Lee on Friday night, but instead the Indians came out and dominated the Generals 35-6 to win the Group AA Division 4 Region IV title.
Lee scored with three minutes remaining to avoid a shutout.
Blacksburg advances to play Rustburg, a 33-10 winner over Amherst County.
"We tried to impress on the kids that this would be a 17-14 ballgame," said David Crist, Blacksburg's coach. "That's how we prepared them mentally."
Indians running back Terry Simpson said, "We were prepared for a tight game. We just came out in the first half and blew it open. We knew we needed just one more score [in the second half] to put them away."
The highlight of Simpson's night was a 50-yard touchdown run as Blacksburg went up 18-0 before halftime. He finished with a team-high 139 yards on 10 carries.
Junior running back-linebacker Tony Wheeler stood out on offense and defense for the Indians. He racked up 119 yards on 10 carries, including a 9-yard touchdown run to start the second quarter. He intercepted two Jeremy Pendergraft passes in the second half and returned them for touchdowns.
Wheeler's first interception came with 6 minutes, 22 seconds to play in the third quarter. Pendergraft, who was under pressure most of the night, threw to his left on second-and-22 from his 20-yard line. Wheeler stepped in at the 24 and broke down the sideline to put Blacksburg up 25-0.
With 5:35 remaining in the game, Wheeler read Pendergraft perfectly again, this time returning the interception 60 yards.
"My responsibility on defense is to mirror the quarterback," said Wheeler, 6 feet 2 and 193 pounds. "As soon as he took his hand off the ball, I knew where it was going. I got to it and ran it back."
The Indians did just as good of a job reading the Lee defense. Blacksburg's Greg Shockley completed nine of 17 passes for 95 yards, including a touchdown on the Indians' opening drive.
It took Shockley five plays to find senior wide receiver Tim Brown in the left corner of the end zone on a 14-yard pass.
"The offensive line did a great job run-blocking when they had to, and they did a good job on the pass when they had to, also," Shockley said. "I think we were just quicker."
Crist agreed.
"I was particularly concerned with the offensive line," he said. "I felt like if there was one thing we could do, it was outquick them. As it turned out, the game played out that way."
The play that drew the loudest response from the partisan Indians crowd was Tim Schnecker's 44-yard field goal with 16 seconds left in the third quarter that put Blacksburg up 28-0. The 6-1, 245-pound defensive tackle missed a 39-yard attempt short four minutes later.
If there was a down side for the Indians, it was penalties. Blacksburg was penalized 12 times for 120 yards. Lee had five for 45 yards.
"It got kind of out of hand out there," Crist said.
The Indians outrushed the Generals 298 yards to 156. Lee was paced by Patrick Stapleton, who had six carries for 38 yards and a 4-yard touchdown run that capped a six-play drive.
"They were a real good ballclub, one of the best we've played all year," said Allen Kinser, Lee's coach. "They were fundamentally sound and beat us from the first snap of the game."
by CNB