Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, September 23, 1994 TAG: 9409230092
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-12 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: RAY COX STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Unthinkable.
Unimaginable.
Tradition will crumble like a poorly-baked cake this week.
Christiansburg High's Andra Beasley and Giles' Raypheal Milton are responsible for this state of affairs.
Their football deeds of the past week overshadowed all in sight but each other's.
So hands have been thrown aloft in resignation and they have been chosen, for the first time in this space, as co-players of the week.
What else could be done?
First you have Beasley, a wing-T halfback who rushed for a school-record 330 yards and four touchdowns in a 32-28 victory over Graham.
``He ran like a wild man,'' Graham coach Glynn Carlock said.
Then you have Milton. who had 307 yards total offense, had a hand in 28 points including four TD's scored, made five tackles, and made a potential game-saving interception after being off the field for only two punts and four kickoffs as Giles beat Narrows 30-16.
``He was a man,'' Narrows coach Don Lowe said.
First you have Beasley.
``He had a tremendous night,'' Carlock said. ``Nobody has ever had a night like that against us. Ever. I'm not going to sit here and say that we missed a lot of tackles. He made us miss those tackles.''
Then you have Milton.
``We threw everything at him that we could throw at him,'' Lowe said.
Beasley and Milton have been in touch with each other this week, Beasley said. Obviously, they had a lot to talk about. None of that was bragging, probably. For two soft-spoken hotfoots like that, being mouthy is not part of the program.
They make it sound so simple, too.
``I was cutting in and watching what the rotation of the defense was doing, then going the opposite way,'' Beasley said. ``The line opened up the holes, but sometimes the holes were in an entirely different place than what we'd practiced.''
Milton, too, passed out verbal laurel wreaths to his linemen, as is his custom. Then he discussed his own mental framework.
``I'll always get up for Narrows because of the town rivalry and them being all geared up to stop me,'' he said. ``I'm a senior now and that was my last one. I was looking forward to that game.''
Milton passed for 143 yards and rushed for 164. Beasley had touchdown runs of 10, 28, 71, and 48 yards.
The confidence is what separates them from their peers.
With Christiansburg down 15-12 and driving just before halftime, reminders went around the huddle that there were only 40 seconds left.
``We don't need 40 seconds,'' Beasley said. ``We just need about 10.''
The next play, he scored from 71 out.
``Something got into me before that game,'' he said.
No kidding.
``During halftime, we were up by two touchdowns and I was worried about a letdown,'' Giles coach Steve Ragsdale said of the Narrows game. ``I went looking for Raypheal. `You ready to play the second half?' I asked him. `Dang right I am,' he said.''
No kidding.
Other performances of note:
Radford quarterback Foster Ridpath went 7-for-13 for 116 yards and a two-point conversion in a 28-0 victory over Grayson County.
Scott Holleman of Shawsville rushed for 152 yards in a 13-7 victory over Craig County.
Jamie Warren rushed for 125 yards and scored thrice for Floyd County in a 28-14 victory over Auburn. In the same game, Auburn's Kenny Wojiechowski had 108 all-purpose yards and scored all 14 of his team's points.
by CNB