Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, October 15, 1994 TAG: 9411010009
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: CHRIS KING SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: RINER LENGTH: Medium
As Murphy's Law states, if anything can go wrong it will go wrong. But when you have two teams with a combined record of 1-11, something has got to give.
For the Auburn Eagles, that something was an attempted onside kick by Shawsville that actually went backward, setting up the game-clinching touchdown.
A little luck and the strong play of Bradley Hudgins and Jeremy Akers propelled the Eagles to a 27-12 win over the Shawnees in a Three Rivers District game Friday night.
After scoring on a 64-yard Chris Briggs run, to cut the lead to 14-12 with 6 minutes, 20 seconds to go in the game, the Shawnees (1-6, 0-2) attempted the ill-fated kick, which hit the tee and was downed at the Shawsville 34.
Two plays later, quarterback Jeremy Akers stood up to a fierce Shawnee pass rush and hit Shawn Hawley streaking down the left sideline for a 31-yard touchdown pass and a 20-12 lead.
"We have had the breaks go against us," said Auburn coach Steve Wright. "But tonight things went our way. You have to give our kids credit - they never quit and tonight was our night."
Auburn (1-6, 1-2) asserted its dominance right from the start when Hudgins took the opening kickoff 40 yards to the Shawsville 43. Hudgins then topped off the 10-play drive, in which he rushed for 32 yards, with a 3-yard run into the end zone. Hudgins converted the extra point to give the Eagles a 7-0 lead.
"Our offensive line dominated the game," said Hudgins, who rushed for 160 yards on 24 carries. "We did what we had to do to win and it feels great."
On Auburn's next series, Akers had a pass picked off at the Shawsville 11, but he more than atoned for his mistake with his defensive play. On the next play from scrimmage, Akers scooped up a fumble and rambled 11 yards into the end zone. Hudgins made the extra point to give the Eagles a 14-0 lead.
"Wojo [Kenny Wojciechowski] stuck the ball carrier the ball came right to me," said Akers. "I just took it in."
Shawsville answered back with six-play 43-yard drive of its own capped off by a 5-yard touchdown pass from Chris Graham to Cory Dow. The extra point attempt failed making the score 14-6 at the half.
In the second half, the Shawnees had chances, venturing inside the Auburn 15-yard line three times only to come up empty handed each time.
"We were out on the field for a long time in the third quarter. They [Shawsville] had a good ball control offense," said Wright. "I'm real pleased we had the fourth-down stands."
The Eagles closed out the scoring after forcing the Shawnees to turn the ball over on downs for the fourth time in the second half. On first down, Hudgins went 28 yards for the touchdown. He converted the extra point to make the score 27-12.
"We are still not capitalizing in the red zone," said Shawsville coach Darrell Sutherland. "The main thing for this team is for them to be the type of players they can be."
see microfilm for box score
Keywords:
FOOTBALL
by CNB