Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, September 3, 1994 TAG: 9409070081
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By BOB TEITLEBAUM STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The Knights had just scored a touchdown on Roanoke County rival Northside to pull to 14-13 with 38 seconds remaining Friday night.
Coach Steve Spangler sent in receiver Billy Frantz with the play for the two-point conversion attempt. But Franz told his teammates the wrong play.
So while 10 other players from the Knights ran the wrong play, Frantz ran the the play Spangler had called. ``I was so confused, I ran the right play,'' said Frantz.
Frantz was wide open, and Cave Spring quarterback Jeff Lang passed to him for the two points that gave the Knights a 15-14 non-district victory in the football opener for both teams.
``The ball wasn't supposed to go to [Frantz]. I saw him out of the corner of my eye. He was wide open,'' said Lang.
``I thought, I'd better catch it. Catch it and we win,'' said Frantz.
Frantz's grab ended a 14-game losing streak for the Knights. It also helped sustain the Vikings' opening-game hex. Northside has lost six of its past seven openers (the lone victory against Rockbridge County two years ago in the Wildcats' very first game).
This was a case of Cave Spring overcoming early adversity for the win. The Vikings pounced on early mistakes by the Knights and took a 14-0 lead in the second period.
Northside drove 40 yards on its second possession after Jason Sheetz jumped on a Knight fumble. Karim Thompson scored from the 2.
After the ensuing kickoff, Northside checked the Knights, forcing a punt. This time the Vikings drove 57 yards, but had to come up with a big play to score. Faced with third-and-goal from the 22 after a penalty, quarterback Mike Dillon found Chad Rector over the middle for a touchdown to make it 14-0.
And when Sheetz recovered yet another Cave Spring fumble, the Vikings were at the Knights' 30 and in position to pull away. But the drive bogged down and Scott Booth's field-goal attempt was blocked, giving the Knights a respite.
``The key to the whole thing was when we didn't score on that third opportunity,'' said Northside coach Jim Hickam. ``We lost our concentration and couldn't get it back.''
About the same time, the Knights found theirs.
First, Cave Spring's offense got going with a six-play, 67-yard scoring march, including a 15-yard penalty on Northside. Anthony Woollums rolled in from the 20 to make it 14-7 at intermission.
Then both offenses stalled. The Vikings had two problems. Dillon, the starting quarterback, was too sick to continue. ``He's been ill for two days,'' said Hickam. ``Booth [the new quarterback] did a good job, but it's the first time he's taken a snap.''
Also, Cave Spring junior Jimmy Fusco was a one-man wrecking crew against Northside's wishbone attack. ``I was keying on the quarterback option,'' said Fusco.
Defense aside, the Knights looked to be out of luck with 2:19 remaining when they failed to score after getting a first down on the Viking 20. On fourth down, Lang's short pass to Dusty Beekman left Cave Spring at the 23 and gave Northside possession.
But on the Vikings' third play, Thompson fumbled and the Knights' Isaac Williams recovered at the Northside 25.
Lang then took over, hitting Nathan Fox for 20 yards, giving Cave Spring a first down at the 5. After two incompletions, Lang went back to pass again, but saw an opening and then ran wide right for the touchdown.
``The defensive end was sucked in and the corner went to the receiver,'' said Lang.
Northside-7--7--0--0- - 14
Cave Spring-0--7--0--8- - 15
NS - Thompson 2 run (Booth kick)
NS - Rector 22 pass from Dillon (Booth kick)
CS - Woollums 20 run (Poultier kick)
CS - Lang 5 run (Frantz pass from Lang)
-----------------------|||||-Northside|-C. Spring
First downs---|--10|--11
Yards rushing-|-180|-102
Passes C-A-I---|-1-6-0|-5-12-1
Yards passing-|--22|--62
Penalties-yards|-9-108|-4-38
Fumbles-lost--|-2-1|-3-2
Punts-average-|-3-35.0|-3-33.7
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING -Northside, Thompson 15-48, Dillon 6-39, Henderson 3-38, Bean 11-37, Booth 6-16; Cave Spring, Lang 9-35, Fox 4-22, Beane 4-14, Woollums6-13, Beekman 4-12, Manning 1-5, Hale 1-1.
PASSING - Northside, Dillon 1-5-0-22, Booth 0-1-0-0; Cave Spring, Lang 5-12-1-62.
RECEIVING - Northside - Rector 1-22; Cave Spring, Fox 3-54, Beekman 2-8.
Spangler said the game wasn't over on the Knights' failed attempt at scoring late in the fourth quarter. ``Things have to happen and breaks get there for the tough teams,'' he said. ``We had our turnovers, but if the kids could hold them, we had a chance. The kids did just that and gave us a chance.''
by CNB