ROANOKE TIMES

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, November 28, 1993                   TAG: 9311270215
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: C-2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: RAY COX STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PEARISBURG                                LENGTH: Medium


GILES RISES TO TASK; WYTHE FALLS

Now we know what Giles' football team can do against a good defense.

Challenged for the first time in a long time, the Spartans didn't flinch and pulled out a 21-13 victory over previously undefeated George Wythe in the Group A Division 2 Region C championship game Friday night.

Next for the Spartans (12-0) is a state semifinal game Dec. 4 at the winner of today's game between Haysi and Powell Valley.

Giles, which was averaging more than 40 points per game, came in well under that this time. If not for a big first half and some timely defense, the Spartans would have been visited with even more anxiety than they had.

As it was, the Maroons (11-1) were forced into a situation that was not much to their liking after Peter Janney scored the last of the Spartans' touchdowns, on a 1-yard run with 4 seconds left in the third quarter.

"Being two touchdowns behind, we had to throw more than we wanted to," said Larry Russell, George Wythe's coach.

Still, the Maroons chugged back after the Janney score with a 65-yard march, all on the ground. It was simple, power football from the Wishbone formation with fullback Tony Callahan accounting for 25 yards on five rushes and Chris Dickinson getting the last 12 on three runs, including a 1-yard touchdown plunge. Russell opted to go for a two-point conversion pass, and the Spartans broke up the play in the end zone.

"Peter [Janney, also a linebacker,] said that they were tackling him nearly every play," said Giles linebacker Brandon Steele. "The defense we were in, I was up on the line, so if they got through, then Peter had to make the tackle or they were going to be running awhile.

"Nobody had moved the ball on us like that. It made me mad. It made us all mad."

George Wythe got nothing after that, though. One possession ended in a net loss of 2 yards (Steele had a 7-yard sack of Jeff Bourne), and the last drive ended in an interception by Marty Smith.

George Wythe finished with 113 yards rushing and 45 more through the air. Bourne threw two interceptions while completing three of 11 passes.

Long drives and lots of offense characterized the first half. There was only one big break, and George Wythe exploited that mistake to score its first touchdown.

Giles had stopped the Maroons on their first possession, but Smith mishandled Bourne's punt at the Spartans' 33 to give the Maroons new life.

George Wythe had to make a big play on fourth-and-11 to keep the ball moving. Bourne, operating out of the shotgun formation, hit Randy Blevins with a 24-yard pass that gave the Maroons first-and-goal at the 8.

"We weren't lined up right," said Steve Ragsdale, the Giles coach.

On second down, Bourne rainbowed a pass to Robert Dillow, who shook free in the right corner of the end zone for an 8-yard touchdown. Blevins added the conversion kick.

Giles came right back, moving 73 yards in eight plays. Raypheal Milton, operating on a gimpy ankle, connected with wide-open J.C. Riggs for a 31-yard completion to the George Wythe 9. Milton and Riggs hooked up again on a fourth-down play from the 5 for the score.

"I wasn't open where I was supposed to be [in the right side of the end zone] and I ran to the other side of the field," Riggs said. "I waved my arms so that Raypheal would see me."

Maurice Milton's kick tied the score at 7 with 2:40 left in the first quarter.

Giles stopped the Maroons after that, but Raypheal Milton - who went 7-for-11 for 104 yards and one interception - threw an interception to Blevins to put the Maroons back in business at the Spartans' 49. But that promising possession ended with two incompletions at the Giles 27.

Given that lift, the Spartans embarked on a drive. Riggs made another key play on a 29-yard reception from Milton on third-and-11. Janney's 13-yard touchdown run ended the drive with 37 second left in the half. Maurice Milton's kick was true.

Janney finished the half with 80 yards on 11 plays. Riggs' 65 yards on three catches provided most of the rest of Giles' offense.

The Spartans showed admirable balance with 132 yards rushing and 104 through the air for the game, but none of it was as easy as Giles would have liked.

"It was the best challenge we had all year," said offensive lineman Alex Webb. "They were the best defense we've seen. They came out tough and they stayed tough."


Memo: slightly different version ran in the State edition.

by CNB