Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, November 27, 1994 TAG: 9411290048
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: M.J. DOUGHERTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BASTIAN LENGTH: Medium
The Green Wave hadn't been beaten since a 17-12 loss to Bland County on Oct.14. The teams met again Saturday in the Group A Division 1 Region C championship game.
This time, Narrows shut down Bland County's passing attack for a 30-0 victory, the Green Wave's sixth consecutive victory. Narrows (9-3) will visit Appalachia at 1:30 p.m. Dec.3 for a Division 1 state semifinal. Appalachia won the Region D title with a 42-0 victory over Twin Springs.
Bland County finished 8-4 with its first postseason appearance in the program's third year of football.
Narrows knew what to expect from the Bears, and this time was prepared.
``We just knew what they were going to try - we knew they were going to throw the ball,'' said linebacker Norman Perkins, who had two interceptions. ``I thought the line got in there and made it tough for them to work. That's all we did. We just came off the ball as hard as we could.''
Bland County quarterback David Alan Lambert passed for 101 yards, but only three of his completions were for more than 10 yards. And none led to a score.
``Everyone talks about our offense and our balanced attack,'' said Don Lowe, Narrows' coach. ``But you've got to talk about our ability to play defense. When you go against a quarterback like Lambert and stop him, that's amazing. It's a tribute to Coach [Rick] Franklin [the defensive coordinator] and the staff.''
The Bears' deepest penetration came early in the third quarter. Down 8-0, Bland County moved to the Narrows 29. But on third-and-four, the Green Wave rush pressured Lambert into a throw that was picked off by Perkins. Narrows went on to score and take a 14-0 lead.
``They took us out of our game and we could never get back into it,'' said Bland County co-coach Ed Selfe, who is stepping down because of the demands of his job as a state game warden. ``We just didn't put it together. I thought we'd come out in the second half and do well. But we just couldn't do it.''
The Bears' only other scoring threat was on their first possession. But the drive stalled at the Narrows 32-yard line, and Monty Matthews' 51-yard field-goal attempt fell short.
While Bland County struggled, Narrows' offense slowly rounded into form.
The Green Wave got the only touchdown it needed early in the second quarter. Gary Lowery capped a 42-yard drive with a 2-yard plunge, after carrying for 18 and 7 yards on the previous two plays.
``We wanted to stick it inside to make them play the inside,'' Lowery said. ``Then we could work the outside. We were able to mix it up a little bit.''
Narrows' second score capped an 80-yard, 11-play drive that lasted 5 minutes, 23 seconds. Scott Stafford's 1-yard touchdown run took a bite out of the Bears, and two Green Wave scores in the fourth quarter put the game out of reach.
A busted option-pass play worked to Narrows' advantage to give the Green Wave a 22-0 lead. Robbie Stafford caught the toss from Lowery in traffic near the Bland County 5. He was hit and fumbled. But David Turner, the intended receiver on the play, fell on the football in the end zone.
``It was supposed to be to me in the end zone,'' Turner said of the pass. ``Robbie went across and came up with it. Then someone hit him, he fumbled it and I fell on it. I was there at the right time, I guess.''
Lowery added the final score on a 5-yard run against the Bears' reserves with less than three minutes left.
see microfilm for box score
by CNB