Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, December 2, 1994 TAG: 9412020027
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV11 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: RAY COX STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NARROWS LENGTH: Medium
Into this personnel blend went player after player. One was folded in here, another sprinkled in there.
After that, Lowe's concoction looked nothing like the one with which he and his fellow coaching chefs had started the season. The result was mighty appetizing nonetheless.
Working from the new recipe, the Green Wave has gone on to win six straight games, including playoff victories over Bath County and Bland County (by a composite 74-3), that have landed it in the state Group A Division 1 semifinals Saturday in Big Stone Gap against perennial roughneck Appalachia.
Of all the switches and adjustments, tucks and stitches, two of the most important involve senior Norman Perkins and junior Keith Morris.
First, Perkins was redeployed from defensive tackle to middle linebacker while maintaining his duties at fullback. He had injured a shoulder earlier in the season, which had limited his effectiveness. Never mind that, though. The move to linebacker re-energized him and the rest of the team.
``I'd played linebacker since I was in little league right on up to when I was on the junior varsity,'' Perkins said. ``Tackle was fine, but I loved it when I moved. That's what I wanted to play all along.''
Perkins has 64 tackles and has taken off as a fullback, rolling up 802 yards on the ground despite alternating with Scott Stafford on offense every two series.
Morris was playing safety, then was moved to linebacker before he was told to concentrate only on offense, where he plays both split end and tailback.
After the 17-12 loss to Bland County in the teams' first meeting, which was the turning point in Narrows' season, Morris has gone on to account for 760 all-purpose yards.
``I didn't mind playing defense that much,'' he said.
The conclusion by the coaches was that he was being asked to do too much.
``Because he was so versatile, we had problems putting him places because we wanted to put him everywhere,'' assistant coach Dave Mabry said.
``Morris, bless his heart, may not always be at the right spot and he may not always run the right play, but whatever he does, he does at full speed, so that's why we decided that's what we wanted to do,'' Lowe said.
Those weren't the only changes. Among the rest were Mark Harrison moving from tight end to strong tackle and also taking up a position at defensive end. Josh Gilbert moved in at nose guard. Scott Vaught shifted from middle linebacker to outside linebacker to make room for Perkins. Stafford switched from outside linebacker to cornerback. Brian Snidow started at safety. Brandon Hollie took up residence at outside linebacker.
``We just weren't getting the consistency that we needed before,'' Lowe said.
As important as all that was, the loss to Bland County was the watershed.
``It was a wake-up call,'' Perkins said.
Added Morris: ``We then knew what we had to do to get into the playoffs.''
NARROWS NOTES: Quarterback Bryan Pruett has thrown for more than 200 yards and four touchdowns without an interception in the playoffs. ... The one-handed catch end Robbie Stafford made to set up a touchdown in the Bland County game is still earning admiring remarks. ... Another one of the keys to the season has been the steady play of Adam Lowe, the coach's son, at center. That position had been one of the team's biggest question marks before the season. ``The biggest mountain he's had to overcome is his father,'' Don Lowe said. ... Narrows has long been known as a blue-collar, country-and-western kind of town, but split end Dalton Smith attended the second Woodstock rock festival in August accompanied by his father, who had attended the original bash in 1969. The younger Smith reported that he saw many rare and surprising sights.
by CNB