Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, September 10, 1994 TAG: 9409130018
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By M.J. DOUGHERTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Then, the pass defense preserved the offense's work.
And by doing those two things - passing and stopping the pass when it mattered most - the Indians ended years of frustration against Salem with a 19-14 non-district football victory at Salem Stadium.
It marked the first time Blacksburg (1-1) had beaten the Spartans (0-2) in the 1990s. The Indians last won this battle in a postseason rematch in 1989. Their last regular-season victory came in 1981.
But none of that appeared to be in the offing with four minutes to go in the first half as Blacksburg took possession at its 30-yard line. On their previous three possessions, the Indians had managed one first down as they tried to run against the Spartans.
This time though, Blacksburg came out throwing. And from that point onward, everything changed.
Greg Shockley, the Indians' senior quarterback, went 5-for-5 for 56 yards during the drive. Shane Beamer caught two of the passes, including an 8-yard scoring strike in the right corner of the end zone as Blacksburg tied the score at 7 with 11 seconds left before intermission.
``I wasn't even the primary receiver on the play,'' said Beamer, who finished with four catches for 43 yards. ``It was designed to go to the back in the flat, so I just sat down in my spot. And Greg did a good job of coming back to me.''
The touchdown could not have come at a better time for the Indians, who had 22 yards total offense before mounting a drive.
``It was real good we came out and scored when we did,'' Beamer said. ``Putting up that touchdown was just like the Radford game last year [which Blacksburg rallied to win]. It gave us momentum going into the second half.''
The pass defense set up the Indians early in the second half. Beamer intercepted a pass by Salem's Seth Moore and returned it to the Spartans' 30. From there, it didn't take long for Shockley and Beamer to hook up again, this time for a 16-yard touchdown that gave the Indians a 13-7 lead.
``The offensive line and the receivers did all the work,'' said Shockley, who had 76 yards passing. ``I had the easy job. I just had to put the ball in the area. And I had all day to throw.''
The pass did something else for Blacksburg, it opened up the running lanes. And on the Indians' next possession, running back Steven Hunt really opened things up. He bounced around the left side and sprinted down the sideline for a 91-yard touchdown with a little less than four minutes left in the third quarter.
``In the first half, we ran that play outside,'' said Hunt, who had 132 yards rushing. ``We figured it could work to the outside. So at halftime we made an adjustment. And it worked.''
Not only did that score give the Indians a 19-7 lead. It made the Spartans change their tactics. They no longer had the time to run the ball.
``When they got the third touchdown, it completely changed our approach,'' said Willis White, Salem's coach. ``We had to come out of our game plan.''
So the Spartans went to the air, and they had some success at first. A fumbled snap gave them possession at their 45 early in the fourth quarter. Moore passed Salem down the field, capping the march by hitting Ricky Eubanks for a 19-yard touchdown pass that cut the Blacksburg lead to 19-14.
But that would be it for the Spartans' passing game. Twice in the finalt three minutes Moore's passes were picked off. Jim Reemsnyder returned his interception for an apparent touchdown. But a clipping penalty brought the play back. Then, with about 11/2 minutes to go, Hunt stepped in front of a pass near midfield and returned it inside the Salem 20 to clinch the victory.
Salem took advantage of an early Blacskburg miscue to take a 7-0 advantage early in the second quarter. The Spartans' Mike Murphy recovered a fumble at the Blacksburg 32. Salem used the rush and a Moore-to-Aaron Coffey pass play to move the ball to the 4. And on fourth-and-goal at the 1, Chris Huff plunged in.
The drive was the last hurrah for Salem's running game. After gaining 57 yards on the ground in the first quarter, the Spartans had 24 yards the rest of the way.
by CNB