Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, November 5, 1994 TAG: 9411120055
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: RAY COX STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
Indians quarterback Greg Shockley threw for 213 yards and four touchdowns and Blacksburg went on to beat Carroll County 38-7 to nail down its third consecutive league title Friday night. The Indians (4-5 overall, 2-0 in the district) thus qualify for the Division 4 Region IV playoffs, which begin in two weeks.
Once the championship was in hand, the Blacksburg players bathed their coach, David Crist, with an icy bath from the water cooler. It wasn't the first time the longtime coach had been sent scrambling.
``We hadn't planned to throw as much as we did,'' Crist said. ``[Carroll County] loaded up the run and were playing some gap schemes. We didn't really adjust until halftime.''
By that time, Shockley had thrown for 166 yards and a pair of scores, a 33-yarder to wide receiver Shane Beamer and a 3-yarder that Jim Reemsnyder snagged deftly.
``We were worried about the pass coming in,'' said Dave Haynie, the Cavaliers' coach. ``Shockley is an excellent passer and he has a lot of receivers.''
Shockley finished 13-for-16 and completed heaves to six Indians.
``They'd shifted their linebackers and linemen so that they had every gap filled,'' Shockley said of Carroll County's strategy to stop the run. ``It wasn't something we'd worked on. But I can't say enough about our line. I had all the time in the world to throw the ball.''
Blacksburg went back to the original game plan in the second half and stayed closer to earth. Of the Indians' 150 rushing yards, 89 came after the break. Fullback Tucker LaForce led the way with 66 yards on 13 carries.
LaForce scored the first Blacksburg touchdown on a 1-yard run in the first quarter. The Cavaliers (1-9, 0-2) had led 7-0 after an eight-minute drive to open the game had produced a 2-yard Barry Stockner scoring plunge.
That march was aided greatly by three pass-interference penalties. The key play was a 36-yard strike from quarterback Jake Beamer to Darrin Melton, who outwrestled Reemsnyder for the ball and plunked down on the Indians' 11.
Ten plays later, Carroll County crossed the goal line.
``The way it started, with them holding the ball for eight minutes and us getting all those penalties, I thought, `Here we go again,''' Crist said.
Actually, there went the Cavaliers again. Carroll County thwarted itself again and again from then on. Two interceptions, two lost fumbles, penalties ... it was an ugly way to lose.
``We've done the same thing all year,'' Haynie said.
Shane Beamer and Steve Cherry had big nights for Blacksburg. Beamer caught five passes for 109 yards, the most showy of which was the 33-yard touchdown in the second quarter.
``It was a 10-yard route and all we were trying to do was get the first down,'' the Indians' Beamer said. ``I'd been slipping all night and I just tried to keep my feet.''
Cherry booted four conversion kicks and a 31-yard field goal in addition to catching a 23-yard scoring toss from Shockley. The Blacksburg quarterback also connected with Lincoln Hopkins for a 24-yard touchdown.
see microfilm for box score
by CNB