Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, December 29, 1993 TAG: 9312290168
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SCOTT BLANCHARD STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SHREVEPORT, LA. LENGTH: Medium
Lewis and Drakeford, come Friday's Independence Bowl, also will be seconds away from anguish, but not because they chugged a bottle of Tabasco sauce.
It's about a simple game of throw-and-catch. Lewis, an Indiana flanker, does the catching; Virginia Tech cornerback Drakeford provides intervention.
Lewis, a 6-foot-2, 190-pound junior from Akron, Ohio, can taste big plays against man-to-man coverage, Tech's preference. Drakeford, a 5-10, 185-pound senior from Camden, S.C., smells deflections and interceptions.
If either fails, they get a self-inflicted whipping.
"When I get man-to-man, it's personal," said Lewis, a second-team All-Big Ten choice who caught 49 passes for 881 yards and five touchdowns. "If a pass is thrown and I don't catch it, it's like I lost."
Ditto Drakeford, only vice versa.
"After not playing for several weeks, it's a big challenge for me [to face Lewis]," said Drakeford, who missed Tech's last four games with a broken ankle. "Hopefully, I'll get a chance to get in and show them I've still got something.
"It's very discouraging [to allow a completion]. I don't even want opponents to try to throw to my side. I just hate for them to catch it."
If Drakeford is healthy, his matchup with Lewis will be pivotal in Friday's game.
Tech often relies on man-to-man coverage because of its frequent blitzes. One team, Penn State, played mostly man-to-man against Indiana this year, and Lewis had 12 catches for 285 yards, including a 99-yard touchdown catch in a 38-31 IU loss.
"That was just like playing in your backyard," said Lewis, voted IU's most valuable player by his teammates. "They challenged all our receivers and said we couldn't throw the ball. It was straight man with no help. They paid for it."
Tech might not try that strategy.
"Sometimes you take your chances one-on-one and you pick your spots," Tech coach Frank Beamer said. "Most of the time, you'd better have help. We've had enough time where you can add one thing or two for the game."
Drakeford, a pro prospect voted by Big East coaches as first-team all-conference despite missing four games, hopes he's in on it. He said he doesn't expect to start - that decision will be made today by defensive coordinator Phil Elmassian - but just wants to contribute.
He said few opponents have bumped Lewis near the line of scrimmage, so that's what he'll try when he's in "to see how physical he is."
Drakeford already knows some things about Lewis.
"He's like a Jerry Rice," Drakeford said, referring to the San Francisco 49ers' star receiver. "He could take over a game."
Lewis had only five catches in Indiana's first three games, he said, because opponents were paying so much attention to him. Then, IU's coaches started moving him around, sometimes lining him up on the "field" side of the ball, sometimes on the "boundary" side, sometimes inside another receiver.
That helped him get open, Lewis said. Drakeford normally plays the "field" corner position, and Beamer said no matter how much Drakeford plays or how healthy he is, that's where he'll play on Friday.
It's probably a safe bet, however, that Drakeford and Lewis will find each other more than once.
"He's going to come up and play me man," Lewis said of Drakeford.
"He has the confidence to do so. I don't feel they'll probably play me in zone."
Said Drakeford: "I don't think our guys really fear him. But we respect him a lot."
Keywords:
FOOTBALL
by CNB