Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, July 15, 1994 TAG: 9407160019
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: HAMPTON LENGTH: Medium
They were partially right. The East also couldn't score and the West won for the sixth time in a row, 6-0, on Thursday at Darling Stadium as Anthony Poindexter returned an interception 41 yards for the game's only score.
Poindexter, the West's MVP, was part of a vicious defense.
``Their quarterback threw a little long to the wideout and I picked if off,'' said Poindexter, explaining the play.
Poindexter, an All-Timesland player as a junior who didn't make it as a senior when his school was dropped from Timesland, didn't have an easy time scoring.
``I got great downfield blocking,'' said Poindexter, who will attend Virginia in the fall. ``At first, I stumbled, but I got my feet and just took in in.''
The West might have scored some points, except for a missing player and a freak injury to Patrick Henry quarterback Shannon Taylor.
Taylor, who looked sharp at quarterback all week, suffered a deep cut on his left arm Thursday.
``Some guys where horseplaying with a knife. Nothing vicious,'' said Taylor, who was a bystander.
Though Taylordid play, he completed only one of his patented long passes, to Stuart Greene for 42 yards shortly after Poindexter's touchdown.
``I just couldn't do anything,'' Taylor said sadly.
The West also saw a 28-yard field-goal attempt by Powell Valley's Joel Davis in the fourth quarter sail wide right. Davis replaced Grayson County's Shane Griffith, the All-Timesland and All-Group A who was selected to play but failed to return his paperwork.
That forced the West defense to stand up to the East.
``I knew we had a good defense. It's the fastest, most aggressive one I've played on,'' said Northside lineman John Huffman.
Salem's Marcus Parker, moved to linebacker, finally was on the right side of a defensive shutout after spending most of his career at running back.
``We felt we were fast enough and powerful enough to move them around,'' Parker said.
The defense limited East running back Ken Oxendine to 50 yards.
``We knew we had to hit him hard and low,'' Parker said of the Group AAA player of the year, who will attend Virginia Tech.
The East's best and last chance to score came in the fourth quarter, after the West missed the field-goal attempt.
Using a passing attack, Aaron Brooks of Ferguson moved the East to a first down at the West 25-yard line.
Oddly, it was the West's Roger Gayles of Lunenburg Central who got the first down. On the play, both sides drew unsportsmanlike-conduct penalties, but it hurt the East more because after a mark off of half the distance to the goal - 13 yards - the East was docked 15 yards.
The East never recovered. Brooks completed two short passes, threw one incomplete and then was sacked for a 9-yard loss by Connor Marsden of Lake Braddock, who was a leader on defense all night.
William Fleming's Eddie Jones, moved to full back, rushed for 35 yards on eight carries and wasn't used exclusively as a blocker.
``I kind of expected a defensive game,'' Jones said. ``Every time we got in position to score, we'd get a flag or miss a kick.''
by CNB