Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, November 4, 1994 TAG: 9411040075
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV11 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: RAY COX STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NARROWS LENGTH: Medium
Erect of carriage, purposeful of step, 6-feet, 175 pounds and not an ounce of fat in sight.
But as we all know, football players don't get by on exterior appearance and never have. It is the unseen engine inside that differentiates the good players from those who cut a striking figure in the school colors.
We know that Lowery can play. Floyd County knows especially after being dismantled by the Green Wave 28-7 last week. Lowery was a menace on both sides of the ball.
Alternating at running back with Keith Morris, Lowery rushed eight times for 55 yards, seven of which produced Narrows' second touchdown. To convert the Green Wave's third touchdown, Lowery hurled a halfback option pass to Robbie Stafford for two points. That was the first time in his career Lowery did that and it tickled him to no end.
Defensively, the guy was a serious pain in the neck. Deployed at defensive tackle, he was credited with three sacks of his own and another in which he collaborated with teammates. Along with that, there was the 11 tackles, a huge number for a down lineman.
That he's playing that position at all is a novelty in itself.
``How many running backs do you know who play defensive tackle?'' Narrows coach Don Lowe said.
How many defensive tackles or running backs or anybody else do you know who calmly answered the bell in a life and death situation? Only occasionally now but frequently last year, Lowery would go home, in uniform, in the middle of practice, to deliver an insulin injection to his diabetic younger sister Crystal, a fourth-grader.
Lowery's parents, Gary C. and Brenda Lowery, are working people who couldn't get home to tend to the little girl. So her brother was issued the assignment and performed it with grace.
"If it helps her to live, I'm fine with it,'' he said.
Lowe marvels at the quiet dignity of the young Lowerys.
"The rest of us don't know how lucky we have it sometimes,'' he said.
Lowe should know. Most coaches would want to have a player like Lowery. Versatility, speed and poise are his trademarks. He's been a running back since he's been playing and a defensive tackle since being converted from a safety to a linebacker to the line itself as a sophomore.
"It's two different worlds going from the backfield to the defensive line,'' he said. "I've learned to really appreciate my blockers.''
His blockers probably are grateful that most nights, they don't have to deal with a guy like him. Not many tackles sport the combination of speed, agility and strength that he does. Those tools serve him well rushing quarterbacks. So does his stamina.
"At the beginning of the Floyd game, there were some wide holes in the line, but I couldn't get to the quarterback,'' he said. "But in the second half, the blockers wore down and I was able to hit the hole and get to the quarterback quicker.''
Lowery also threw some crucial blocks of his own. One was the key to a 55-yard strike from quarterback Bryan Pruett to Brandon Hollie that opened the scoring. Let Pruett tell about it.
"I looked up and they were blitzing the middle linebacker,'' he said. "But Lowery got a pad on him and knocked him off, giving me the time I needed. By then, Hollie was behind the cornerback.''
Sometimes it's the little stuff that people don't see that matter most. A key block, a nice move on a pass rush, the extra effort that produces additional yards on a running play.
Or just being there for a little sister in need.
Other performances of note:
Narrows' Norman Perkins rushed for 91 yards and a touchdown and Pruett threw for 117 yards and a touchdown against Floyd County.
Raypheal Milton of Giles had 284 yards total offense and accounted for 32 points and Anthony Myers caught five passes for 113 yards as the Spartans beat James Monroe, W.Va., 35-12.
Radford's Marlon Wesley rushed 15 times for 96 yards, Larnell Lewis added 80 overland yards and two touchdowns, and Foster Ridpath had a game-saving interception as Radford came from behind then held on to beat Galax 13-7.
Shawsville's Chris Briggs had 276 all-purpose yards and two TDs including a 76-yard kickoff return and quarterback Chris Graham had 147 yards total offense and scored a TD in a 49-26 loss to James River.
by CNB