Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, December 4, 1994 TAG: 9412070090
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: D-9 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: M.J. DOUGHERTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BIG STONE GAP LENGTH: Medium
Appalachia ended the Green Wave's playoff run 30-6 in a Group A Division 1 state football semifinal at Bullitt Park.
The defeat ended the first trip to the state playoffs for Narrows (9-4). It also ended the Green Wave's six-game winning streak, the last three victories coming on the road.
The Bulldogs (11-2) won by making the right things happen on both sides of the line of scrimmage and taking advantage of Narrows' miscues.
``We knew coming into this game the two things we couldn't do were give up big plays and commit turnovers,'' said Don Lowe, the Green Wave's coach. ``We did both of those things.''
Appalachia had 13 plays that went for 10 yards or more. The total included a pair of touchdown passes by Travis Turner in the second half that put away the game: 44 yards to Travis Clark and 41 yards to Chris Mabe.
``I got lucky,'' said Turner, a freshman who passed for 205 yards. ``The offensive line did a great job. They gave me time to get back and set up and look the defense over.''
Meanwhile, the Bulldogs' defense pressured Narrows relentlessly. As a result, the Green Wave couldn't follow its game plan.
``They put on a lot of pursuit,'' said Bryan Pruett, Narrows' junior quarterback. ``We had a hard time blocking them. They had some big guys on the line.''
That pressure was part of Appalachia's plan to prevent the Green Wave from opening up its vaunted passing attack.
``We wanted to come out and play them real tight,'' said Todd Jesse, a Bulldogs defensive end. ``We knew what they were capable of doing. We wanted to keep them under control, so we rushed in. Fortunately, it all worked out for us.''
All that pressure added up to two sacks - by Mabe and Tony Gallaway - and three interceptions - two by Clark and one by Harold Bowman.
``We just kept an eye on him [Pruett],'' Clark said. ``We just stayed deep on him.''
However, Appalachia couldn't put away Narrows until Turner's touchdown pass to Clark with 1 minute, 28 seconds left in the third quarter.
The Bulldogs took an 8-0 lead late in the first quarter. Larry Huff capped a 62-yard drive with a 1-yard plunge.
A few minutes later, the Green Wave retaliated. In three plays, Narrows moved 59 yards for a touchdown. Kevin Morris handled the last 33 yards, taking a quick-out pass from Pruett and outsprinting the defenders to the end zone. However, when an option pass failed on the two-point conversion, the Green Wave still trailed 8-6.
That's where matters stood until late in the first half. Appalachia methodically drove 76 yards for its second touchdown. Twice during the drive the Bulldogs faced fourth down. Each time they called time out. And each time they made the play to keep the drive alive.
The second fourth-down situation ended with Huff throwing an option pass to Turner for a touchdown with 1:43 left before halftime.
``We've got lots of plays,'' said Huff, a halfback who played quarterback last season. ``We can do a lot of things. We can do more than run 3 yards and a cloud of dust.''
A two-point conversion gave the Bulldogs a 16-6 halftime lead.
Narrows had chances early in the second half to cut into the lead. But it came away without points each time.
The Green Wave took the second-half kickoff and moved to the Appalachia 29-yard line. But Clark stripped the ball from Morris going around right end and the Bulldogs' Todd fell on the ball.
On Narrows' next possession, Morris caught a pass over the middle and reached the Appalachia 21 before Sam Sallers made a touchdown-saving tackle. That would be as close as the Green Wave would get, turning over the ball on downs.
``I think the biggest thing today was that we'd get down there and we couldn't get it in the end zone,'' Narrows coach Don Lowe said. ``We haven't had that problem all year.''
In the fourth quarter, Narrows twice penetrated the Appalachia 20. But a stalled drive and a fourth-down interception near the goal line left the Green Wave without any points to show for its efforts.
The problem of not turning field position into points started the first time Narrows touched the football. Less than two minutes into the game, Morris returned a punt to the Appalachia 24. But Todd knocked the football loose from Morris as the return man was going down and Clark fell on it for the Bulldogs.
Because they stopped Narrows when it mattered most, the Bulldogs get the rematch they've been waiting for all year.
Appalachia will travel to Saluda to play 1993 Division 1 champion Middlesex (10-3) on Saturday in the state final. Last year, Middlesex dethroned the Bulldogs 10-6.
by CNB