Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, November 5, 1994                   TAG: 9411080025
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: C-2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: M.J. DOUGHERTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG                                LENGTH: Medium

NORTHSIDE RUNS OVER DEMONS

The Vikings beat Christiansburg 55-29 in a non-district game. All eight Northside touchdowns came via the ground, as did 20 of its 22 first downs. The Vikings amassed 426 yards rushing, averaging 7.9 yards per carry.

The victory was the eighth in a row for Northside (8-1), which clinched a berth in the Division 4 Region III playoffs.

Despite the defeat, the Blue Demons (4-5) remained alive in their quest for a spot in Division 3 Region IV postseason play.

Karim Thompson did most of the damage for Northside. He rushed for 169 yards, including five carries of 10 or more yards. He also had two touchdowns. His first score put an exclamation point on a 21-point second quarter by the Vikings that made it 28-0.

"At first, we had to adjust to their defense," said Thompson, whose only carry in the second half was a 57-yard burst as Northside took a 42-0 lead with a little more than nine minutes left in the third quarter. "After that, the line started controlling their defense. And we started moving the ball."

Thompson was not the only successful Vikings runner. Ten players carried the football, six of them scored and five of them had runs of 10 or more yards.

"We've got a lot of good running backs," said Northside's Darius Henderson, who scored twice and had 65 yards on only six carries. "It's hard to find enough playing time for all of us. But somehow the coaches manage to get us about the same number of carries - except for Karim, but he is an exceptional runner and he gets more and that's expected."

All those runners - and a line anchored by senior tackles Jeff Painter (6-foot-5, 265 pounds) and Roth Townsend (6-7, 314) - made the Vikings just too much for the Blue Demons to handle.

"They made some adjustments on the blocking scheme; I could tell that from the way they blocked the middle linebacker," said Mike Cole, Christiansburg's coach. "But the biggest adjustment they made is they wore us down. They were just too big and too physical for us."

The physical domination also transferred to the Northside defense. The Blue Demons' Andra Beasley, Timesland's leading rusher, was limited to 53 yards. He entered the contest averaging 183.5 per game.

The Vikings also forced two turnovers, both of which they turned into touchdown drives.