Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, November 19, 1994 TAG: 9411210064
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JIMMY ROBERTSON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: AMHERST LENGTH: Medium
Amherst County broke off the bigger half.
The Lancers did their best Miami (Florida) impersonation of taunting and trash-talking, and then played exactly like the 'Canes en route to a 26-7 victory over Northside in a Group AA Division 4 Region III semifinal game at Amherst. The Lancers (11-0), who are the top-ranked team in Group AA, advance to the regional final where they will meet Salem next Friday night on their home field.
The loss marks the end of a rollercoaster season for the Vikings (8-3), who lost their first game, won their next eight and ended with two straight losses.
In a game that saw the Lancers taunt the Vikings right before the game and continue the verbal assault throughout, the Vikings' coaching staff said little.
"You know I can't say anything about the officiating," Northside head coach Jim Hickam said with a grin. "Besides, the officiating did not lose this game."
Most of Northside's problems came from an inconsistent offense and a defense that had trouble stopping the Lancers' new hurry-up, no huddle version of the Wing-T offense, especially in the first half.
On the Vikings' first possession, quarterback Mike Dillon fumbled at the Amherst 40, and the Lancers immediately took advantage. Running back Larry Hunter took the ball 60 yards on the very next play for a touchdown and the extra point gave the Lancers a 7-0 lead.
Hunter, though, was the center of some controversy, at least from a Northside perspective. The Vikings' coaching staff thought that Hunter had been ejected from last week's game against Nelson County, thus making him ineligible for this game.
"He [Hunter] did not play but about six plays last week because he was sick," Amherst County head coach Mickey Crouch said. "Yes, he did hit a kid late and got penalized for it, and then I took him out. He did not get thrown out."
Hickam was not so easily convinced.
"We were at the game and saw the official take him to the sidelines and gesture as though he was throwing him [Hunter] out," Hickam said. "We talked to the Nelson County coach and he thought that Hunter had been thrown out. The VHSL then told us that the referee had taken him to the sidelines, but had not thrown him out. We went through all the channels that we could. Eventually, we had to get ready for the game and not worry about it."
Hunter, who rushed for 114 yards on 17 carries - 96 in the first half - did most of the damage on the Lancers' next drive. A 15-play, 80-yard drive ended when Hunter took it in from the 1 and the extra point gave Amherst County a 14-0 lead it took to halftime. The big play came when quarterback Mitch White hit Hunter for an 18-yard completion on fourth down to give the Lancers a first down at the Northside 16.
The Lancers rushed for 159 yards in the first half using the new offense.
"We just wanted to add a new wrinkle for the playoffs," Crouch said. "We 've got a smart quarterback [White] to run it and it keeps the defense off balance."
The Lancers put the game out of reach in the fourth quarter when White hit Alonzo Mathews for a 34-yard touchdown pass that put Amherst up 20-0.
Northside's offensive bright spot came in the fourth quarter when Darius Henderson scampered down the right sideline 63 yards for a touchdown. Henderson finished with 103 yards rushing on nine attempts as the Vikings finished with 192 yards rushing. Take away Henderson's touchdown run and another 21-yard run, and the Vikings' vaunted wishbone attack mustered only 108 yards rushing.
"I don't know what the problem was," Henderson said. "They are really quick and seemed to always catch us from behind. I guess now we'll get ready for basketball season."
see microfilm for box score
by CNB