Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, September 24, 1994 TAG: 9411040018
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LYNCHBURG LENGTH: Medium
When Cave Spring turned adversity into a lead at intermission Friday against Heritage, someone should have suspected something was amiss. It was, as the Pioneers turned the tables on the Knights with a last-quarter rally to take a 27-21 non-district football victory.
This is not to say that Cave Spring (3-1) didn't have rallying power. Twice the Knights came from behind only to run out of steam in their third attempt. Heritage (3-1) got the game-winning touchdown on the first play of the final quarter as quarterback Paris Lenon went over from the 4 and then ran for the extra point to close out a wild evening of scoring at City Stadium.
What really doomed Cave Spring were the kickoffs that opened each half. The game started when Mandell Haskins ran 85 yards through the Knights with hardly a block being thrown.
At the half, Cave Spring led 14-10 and seemed to have control. On the kickoff, Anthony Woollums couldn't get the handle and then tried to run from deep in his territory. He circled back through the end zone and was hit for a safety.
Woollums atoned for that mistake. He ran over a couple of Heritage players for a 17-yard touchdown midway in the third quarter that gave Cave Spring its final lead at 21-19.
``I just kept driving. I just didn't give up,'' said Woollums. ``I messed up on that kickoff and I wanted to make up for that.''
Woollums, who returned from injuring his shoulder in the opening half, explained the safety. ``I didn't know I was that far back when I tried to elude the tackler,'' the senior back said.
The opening kickoff was a shocker. Then Heritage stopped the Knights and tacked on a 34-yard field goal by Greg Middleton for a 10-0 lead just more than 6 minutes into the game.
``The kids didn't go in their lanes. We had people running behind each other and that created a seam right up the chute,'' said Cave Spring coach Steve Spangler of the opening kickoff.
The Knights, though, didn't die. Down 10-0, it took Cave Spring just more than 3 minutes to score and get back in the game. O.J. Beane went over from the 4, but the big play of the 62-yard march was a 37-yard pass from Jeff Lang to Jeff Wright.
The Knights might have trailed at the half except for a big play by Dusty Beekman. Heritage wanted to get momentum back and Lenon was going to the air. Beekman intercepted a Lenon pass at the Pioneers' 49 and took off. He refused to be stopped and scored with just 21 seconds left in the half.
``I knew there wasn't much time and I wanted to score,'' said Beekman. ``So I just dived [for the end zone].''
It would not be Beekman's last big play. On Cave Spring's third touchdown drive, he recovered a fumble on the Pioneers' 17 on the same play that Heritage's Marlon Tanner intercepted a Lang pass. Then Woollums ran for his touchdown on the next play.
Heritage was nearly stopped on the winning touchdown drive and forced to try a field goal. Lenon faked to Jimmy Anderson, who rushed for 131 yards, and kept the ball for the touchdown. He used a version of the same play for a two-point conversion.
see microfilm for box score
by CNB