Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, October 8, 1994 TAG: 9410110042
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The Vikings found that four-down territory really starts closer to one's own goal line than that of the opponent. Northside refused to punt on fourth-and-one from its 29 midway through the third quarter, and the gamble paid off as the Vikings picked up a first down on the way to their first touchdown and a 14-0 non-district victory over Blacksburg.
Northside had to gamble on fourth down two more times during the 80-yard march that took up 8 minutes, 31 seconds before Karim Thompson scored on the first of his two 17-yard touchdown runs. It was Thompson's 132-yard rushing effort that sparked the victory, but it was a 2-yard dive by Darius Henderson that netted the first down on the Vikings' 31 to keep Blacksburg from getting a big scoring opportunity.
Northside (4-1) might have gambled out of frustration. The Vikings had just stopped an Indians march that ate up more than seven minutes to open the second-half kickoff and ended when Steve Cherry's 39-yard field goal was short and wide right.
At this point, Blacksburg (2-3) had 41 plays on offense to 16 for Northside and held a 193-47 advantage in yardage. So Jim Hickam's decision to go for the first down wasn't that surprising.
``In my heart of hearts, this just isn't me to do this sort of thing,'' said the Vikings' coach, who never has been known to feature wide-open, gambling offenses. ``But the offense had shown little spark and I had to show them that I believed in them. Sometimes you have to go the way you feel.''
Thompson had rushed for 44 yards to that point. Blacksburg had done a good job of containing him, but then it's hard to gain any yardage when your team doesn't have the football.
There was another reason why Thompson, one of Timesland's premier backs, hadn't done well.
``I was a little sick in the first half,'' the senior said. ``But my line started blocking in the second half.''
``He was sick as a dog,'' Hickam said. ``Tonight was the first we'd seen it. It may be the start of the flu.''
Henderson's pickup must have inspired Thompson. It was his game the rest of the way.
Thompson converted on the two succeeding fourth-down gambles. His first key run came on fourth-and-five from the Indians' 39. With a couple of Blacksburg tacklers hanging on him, Thompson made the first down by inches.
He also got a first down to the 17 on a fourth-and-one situation, then scored on the next play to make it 7-0 midway through the fourth quarter.
Northside's defense stopped the Indians after the touchdown. It was the first time the Vikings had held Blacksburg without a first down on a possession all night. After a short punt, the Vikings drove 58 yards, with Henderson's 30-yard run setting up Thompson's touchdown scamper against an Indians team that seemed to have played itself out.
``We had four opportunities to score and didn't score on any of them,'' Blacksburg coach Dave Crist said. ``Against good teams, you don't usually get that many [chances].''
Blacksburg took control right away, stopping the Vikings on the first drive, when Northside punted on a fourth-and-one from its 44. On the first play, Shane Beamer swung around from end and threw a 44-yard pass to Jim Reemsnyder to give Blacksburg its first scoring opportunity. This one ended when Cherry's 25-yard field-goal attempt missed just to the right.
Northside also stiffened to stop Blacksburg on the 22, and just before halftime Henderson picked off a pass by Greg Shockley on the Vikings' 13 to preserve the scoreless duel.
``Right now, that's [scoring] an area of weakness,'' Crist said. ``When we get better and take advantage of the opportunities, we'll be a better football team.''
While Henderson didn't have the yards Thompson did, he was just as important to the victory, as was the Vikings' huge line - led by Jim Painter and Greg Townsend.
Henderson played strong pass defense. He had Reemsnyder defensed on the opening Blacksburg offensive play, but slipped. Later, Shockley had problems going against the Vikings' senior back.
see microfilm for box score
Memo: NOTE: incomplete story ran in Metro edition.