Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, October 28, 1995 TAG: 9510300095
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: RAY COX STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: AMHERST LENGTH: Medium
With defense keeping it close, Liberty, the No.8 team in the Group AA poll, scored a late touchdown and turned a botched conversion kick into two points to upset sixth-ranked Amherst County 8-7 in a Seminole District game in the goop of the Lancers' rain-sodden field.
Liberty (7-1 overall, 7-1 district) has matched its best win total ever with two to play and would appear to be in good position to challenge for a Division 4 Region III playoff berth.
As for the Lancers (6-2, 6-2), they lost their second one-point game of the year after having led. Amherst County, the state's runner-up in Division 4 a year ago, is in danger of missing the playoffs now.
``I think we probably will,'' said Amherst County coach Mickey Crouch, whose high-octane team shelled Staunton River 74-0 last week. ``And if we do, then probably the most talented team in the state is going to miss the playoffs.''
Glimpses of that talent and the potential it represented came every now and then through the rain drops, but the fact was, the mire seemed to bother the quick-footed Lancers more than it did the Minutemen.
Understandably, Liberty's players didn't see it that way.
``If anything, the field hurt our passing game,'' said Liberty end Gregg Reynolds, who caught two soggy balls for 43 yards. ``All around, the conditions were neutral.''
Amherst County, not much of a passing team to date, took a 7-0 lead with 10:45 left in the third quarter when quarterback Mitch White tossed a perfect pass into the outstretched arms of halfback Maurice Clark, who was 9 yards beyond the defense. Clark covered 63 yards on the play and White came through with the conversion kick.
``We knew they'd make big plays; they're the No. 6 team in the state,'' Reynolds said. ``But we were confident that we'd make some big plays, too.''
That didn't happen until early in the fourth quarter after the Liberty defense, terrific almost all night, forced a punt from the Lancers' 28. With White back to kick, Ryan Stevens of Liberty streaked through to block it. Teammate Rick Wright then recovered at the 1.
``We had a play on and nobody blocked me,'' Stevens said.
Two snaps later, Stevens, playing I-formation fullback, burrowed his way over for the score. Liberty lined up a kick to tie, but holder J.J. Coles, the quarterback, lost control of the ball on the wet turf.
``Our kids saw the football on the ground and stopped like they thought they'd won the game,'' Crouch said.
Wright, at left end, had other ideas.
``When I didn't hear the kick, I knew it would be an automatic fire [pass attempt],'' Wright said. ``So I drifted out and hollered at J.J. to throw me the ball.''
Delivery and catch were true and Liberty had the lead for good with 11:14 left. Plenty of time for a comeback, but Amherst County had only two more first downs the rest of the way and never got close enough to threaten until a last-ditch drive that stalled in the closing seconds.
``We didn't block anybody all night,'' Crouch said. ``And that No. 1 [Marvin Harris] is one of the best linebackers I've seen this year. He made every play, didn't he?''
Liberty coach Mike Scharnus said his players knew the stakes without being told.
``They were very loose this week in practice,'' he said. ``That's just the type of kids we have.''
Both teams played some determined defense in the mud and fog of the first half.
The Lancers were back on their heels almost at once. After a short kickoff, Liberty moved smartly to the Amherst County 30. The big play was tailback Harris' 17-yarder on the first play of the drive. But then on fourth down, defensive back Dewayne Smith broke up a pass from Coles to tight end Robert Carson.
That was one of three fourth downs that the Minutemen failed to convert in the first half. The other two slew drives at the Amherst County 24 and 23.
And although Amherst County could move the ball - Clark's 32 yards on six carries paced a 62-yard first half ground attack - Liberty's defenders buckled down after being pushed back into the shadow of their own goal posts. Clark was stopped on an inside handoff on a fourth and 8 at the Liberty 30 late in half.
Liberty had just 105 total yards, 39 of that on the ground thanks to 31 yards worth of losses on three quarterback sacks, but the Minutemen had 10 first downs, three more than Amherst County, and managed to make all the important plays.
``I thought we played great defense, which means that five of our coaches did an excellent job,'' Crouch said. ``But we didn't have any offense and that's my fault. That's why we got beat.''
NOTE: Please see microfilm for scores.
by CNB