Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, November 19, 1994 TAG: 9411230042
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: M.J. DOUGHERTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: HOT SPRINGS LENGTH: Medium
But Narrows quarterback Bryan Pruett and receiver Keith Morris didn't mind.
Three times the pair hooked up in that short span. The plays went for gains of 35, 42 and 3 yards. And most importantly, two touchdowns.
The scores turned a close game decidedly in favor of the Green Wave. And they went on to easily beat host Bath County 44-3 in the semifinals of the Division 1 Region C high school football playoffs Friday night.
The victory was the fifth straight for Narrows (8-3). And it gives the Green Wave the opportunity to try for six in a row next weekend at the winner of today's Northwood at Bland County contest in the regional finals.
The loss knocked Bath County (9-2), ranked ninth in Timesland at the end of the regular season, out of the playoffs. It also made it two straight years the Green Wave defeated Bath County in the first round of the postseason. Last year Narrows won at home 21-13.
The fun started for the Green Wave when it took over at its 44 after a Bath County punt. With 1 minute, 8 seconds left before intermission, it held an 8-3 advantage. But instead of running out the clock, Narrows started passing.
After four played moved the ball to the Chargers 35, Pruett went deep to Morris.
"The cornerback stepped in a little too much,'' said Morris. "And I burned him."
The touchdown made it 14-6 with just 28 seconds to go in the half. Then on the ensuing kickoff, Brandon Hollie mishit it, the ball bounced off a Bath County player, and Heath Fleeman of Narrows fell on it at the Chargers' 45.
"It was a squib kick that turned out to be mishit," Narrows coach Don Lowe said. "It wasn't a called onside kick. But like everything else tonight, it went our way."
Pruett and Morris went to work on the very next play. A pump-and-go resulted in a 42-yard completion to the 3. But Bath County's Jamie Carroll made the touchdown-saving tackle in bounds and Narrows was out of timeouts.
So Pruett threw the ball out of bounds to stop the clock with 2 seconds left. Then he found Morris in the left side of the end zone as time expired in the half.
"Everyone still thinks of us as a running team," said Pruett. "But we've thrown the ball well all year."
After a two-point conversion, Narrows took a 22-3 lead into the locker room.
"We knew what was coming but the way they threw the ball, some of those passes were perfect," said Bath County coach Steve Issacs. "We were still in the game until that the touchdown made it 22-3. That put us down three scores. And that would have been a lot for us to make up."
In the first four minutes after intermission, Narrows scored two more touchdowns to put the game away. Norman Perkins sprinted 81 yards on the second play from scrimmage of the second half. And Morris capped the Green Wave's next possession with a 7-yard plunge.
Those two scores, plus the Green Wave's three second-quarter touchdowns, all came in a span of less than eight minutes on the clock.
At the beginning of the game though, it appeared the Chargers would be the dominant offensive team. They took the opening kickoff and drove to the Narrows 7. There the drive stalled and they settled for a 25-yard field goal by Alex Reuter.
Narrows took over in the second quarter, drove for its first score and proceeded to roll off five more touchdowns.
Meanwhile, the Narrows defense kept the high-powered Chargers in check. The Green Wave allowed just 133 yards rushing and three points.
It also forced four turnovers, the last of which Hollie turned into a touchdown with an 85-yard return to cap the Narrows scoring.
see microfilm for box score
by CNB