Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, November 7, 1994 TAG: 9411120057
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOHN A. MONTGOMERY SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Denver should sign up Chad Booth.
Booth, a running back for the North Roanoke Broncos, churned out a career's worth of highlights in three quarters Sunday afternoon to lead his team to a 38-8 pasting of the Vinton Raiders in the Roanoke Valley Sandlot Super Bowl played at Salem Stadium.
The win gave the Broncos the Junior League Division II championship. Other champions crowned Sunday were the Inner City Falcons (Junior League Division I) and the West Salem Cardinals (Junior League Division III).
Inner City edged the Northwest Raiders 8-6 in the opening game, while West Salem defeated the Glenvar Bulldogs by the same score in the nightcap.
The Broncos completed their season at 10-0-1 as Booth ran around, over and through the smaller Vinton squad.
Booth, a ninth-grader at Roanoke Valley Christian School who turned 14 during the season, put up some gaudy numbers. He scored on runs of 40, 85, 96, and 43 yards. He also returned an interception 101 yards for another first-quarter touchdown.
The only blemish on an otherwise perfect day for Booth was a missed 24-yard field-goal try in the fourth quarter.
Vinton and North Roanoke met twice previously this season. The Raiders managed a tie early in the year, and narrowly lost 22-16 in the Roanoke County championship game.
But they were overmatched on Sunday.
``We ran a power game against 'em,'' Broncos coach Darrell Booth (Chad's uncle) said. ``The key to our success was that our line opened the holes.''
``I had a lot of good blocking,'' Chad Booth said. ``But when the defense hit me, I just kept moving. I never let them get me down.''
In the opener, Inner City overcame a 6-0 deficit by opening the second half with a sustained drive. Ralphel Lee scored from 2 yards, and Tyrone Ferrell converted the all-important PAT (worth two points) to provide the margin of victory.
Northwest's Rasul Majied scored on a 55-yard gallop early in the game to put his team on top.
Lee, Ferrell and Majied were involved in a pivotal no-call late in the game. Facing a fourth-and-16 deep in their own territory, the Falcons chose not to punt.
Instead, Lee completed a pass to Ferrell for an apparent first down. But as Majied made the tackle, he stripped the ball and then returned it more than 20 yards.
After a lengthy consultation, the officials determined the play did not count, and replayed the down - a decision that pleased neither team.
On the replay, the Falcons failed to make the necessary 16 yards, but advanced the ball just short of first-down marker.
``They told me there was an inadvertent whistle [before the ball was snapped],'' Raiders coach Kevin Baker said with a shrug. ``That's the way it goes.
``We beat them once [8-0] during the season and they beat us once [6-0]. Today, we just made a couple of more little mistakes.''
West Salem stopped Glenvar on downs late in the fourth quarter to preserve its victory.
Jeremie Shelor scored for the Cardinals. The Bulldogs touchdown was supplied by Anthony Hackett.
by CNB