Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, November 27, 1994 TAG: 9411290045
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DWIGHT FOXX STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
In the rematch Saturday afternoon, the Indians redeemed themselves.
Quarterback Greg Shockley completed 16 of 29 passes for 221 yards and two touchdowns, and wideout Shane Beamer caught nine passes for 121 yards and the go-ahead score as Blacksburg stunned the Tornadoes 35-26 to win the Region IV Division 4 championship.
The Indians (6-6) will entertain Amherst (12-0) in a Group AA Division 4 semifinal at 1:30 p.m. Dec.3.
Richlands (9-3) led 7-0 after one period, but the second quarter was as good as it gets when it comes to offensive football. The two teams went back and forth, with tailback Jeremy McCommons leading the way for the Tornadoes and Shockley sparking Blacksburg.
McCommons, who rushed for 177 yards and three touchdowns, broke loose on a belly play off right tackle and dashed 42 yards to give Richlands a 20-15 lead with 2 minutes, 47 seconds remaining. The 6-foot, 205-pound junior rushed for 133 yards on 14 carries and scored his touchdowns in the first half.
The Indians would counter with Shockley's throwing and Beamer's catching. Blacksburg marched 66 yards in 10 plays, with Shockley hitting Beamer on a beautiful fade pattern over the outstretched hands of Tornadoes cornerback Charlton Breeding in the right corner of the south end zone for a 5-yard touchdown with 17 seconds left in the period. That put the home team in front to stay, 21-20. Beamer caught four passes for 50 yards during the drive, and Shockley completed five of eight for 59 yards.
The teams combined for 34 points and did not punt in the second quarter.
At the start of the second half, the Blacksburg duo picked up where it left off as Beamer continued to burn the Richlands secondary on slants and curl patterns. His 14-yard reception put the ball on the Richlands 14-yard line, where fullback Tucker LaForce capped the eight-play, 57-yard drive by scoring on a fullback trap. Steve Cherry's second extra-point kick gave Blacksburg a 28-20 lead 3:32 into the second half.
``Their cornerbacks were playing back and their safety was playing deep middle,'' Beamer said, explaining his success. ``We thought they might make an adjustment, but they never did.''
It appeared Blacksburg had not made a defensive adjustment, either, when Richlands took its first drive of the second half for a touchdown. Tornadoes quarterback Stephen Dye capped a 60-yard drive when he found a soft spot between his center and right guard and scored from 1 yard on a third-and-goal play with 4:50 remaining in the period. The Tornadoes missed a chance to tie the score at 28 when Dye's pass for the two-point conversion was intercepted by the Indians' John Chapman.
Defensive lineman Kip Kenyon applied great pressure on Dye and didn't allow him to step into his throw. Blacksburg's defense gave up some points and yardage, but the two-point conversion was the first of many big plays in the second half.
Richlands defensive back J.T. Moore intercepted a pass by Shockley on Blacksburg's next possession to give the Tornadoes a first down at the Indians' 45, but the Blacksburg defense came up big when it stopped McCommons, who rushed for 1,778 yards and 25 touchdowns this season, on a fourth-and-two play from its 39. Chapman made the initial hit for the Indians and stood up McCommons. The pursuit of other defenders stopped his progress at the 38, leaving him 1 yard short of a crucial first down.
``I know they gave up 26 points, but our defense really stepped up when it had to,'' Shockley said.
Blacksburg turned over the ball three times - two interceptions and one fumble - but did not give up any points off those mistakes. Two Richlands interceptions and one fumble led to 22 Indians points, including the game's final score in the fourth period.
LaForce cashed in Chapman's interception on a 2-yard blast off left tackle with 6:55 remaining, and Cherry added the extra point to give the Indians a 35-26 lead. Chapman had returned the pickoff for a score, but it was called back because of a clipping penalty.
George Brown, the Tornadoes' coach, made a somewhat controversial decision when he failed to stop the clock in the last 5:05 of the game.
Blacksburg forced his team into the second of three fourth-quarter turnovers with a fumble at the Richlands 39 and marched to the Tornadoes' 6. Brown did not use any of his three timeouts during the drive, and when the Tornadoes' defense stiffened and forced the Indians to give up the ball on downs, only 15 seconds remained.
``We couldn't stop them,'' Brown said. ``Blacksburg had called off the dogs, so I saw no reason to use them [the timeouts]. They could have scored again if they wanted to, but they didn't. They showed some class by not running the score up. We weren't going to score two touchdowns anyway.''
see microfilm for box score
by CNB