Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, November 5, 1995 TAG: 9511060131
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: D9 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOHN A. MONTGOMERY SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
In the first half, the Roanoke Rush turned over the ball. In the second half, the Rush turned over a new leaf.
Roanoke defused the Charlotte Blast 14-6 in a National Minor League Football first-round playoff contest before a chilled crowd at Victory Stadium and will advance to play the West Virginia Lightning next Saturday in Charleston, W.Va.
``This is a major win for us,'' said Rush coach Denie Marie. ``Charlotte was 26-1 over the past two years coming into tonight. But our players just weren't going to be denied.''
There were some skeptics at first. The Rush overcame a very poor start, losing three fumbles and two interceptions in the second quarter alone.
Charlotte's only score came on Roanoke's second fumble, an errant pitchout from quarterback T.J. Jackson to Jamie Warren on the Roanoke 17-yard-line. Blast linebacker Sean Johnson recovered the ball in the end zone at the 10:29 mark.
But Roanoke's defense held, forcing three second-quarter turnovers of its own.
``We made two adjustments at halftime,'' Marie explained. ``We went to the the power-I [formation] because we wanted to pound it at them, and we changed our snap count.''
The strategy was successful, as the Rush put together a 14-minute drive to start the second half. Charlotte was penalized three times for encroachment, and Jackson hit tight end Eddie Sloss with a touchdown pass on fourth-and-five from the Blast's 7-yard line.
Charlotte's offense was totally ineffective in the second half, with the Blast gaining just 21 total yards.
``I can't say enough about our defense,'' Marie said.
Roanoke iced the game when defensive tackle Stephan Holloway hauled in a deflected pass in the end zone with 16 seconds remaining.
``Jerome Preston caused it,'' Marie said. Preston hit Charlotte quarterback Ricardo Stitt during his release.
``This is a really big win for us,'' said Sloss, who caught three of Jackson's five completions. ``Since this is our first year, we're proving we are the same caliber or better than everyone else.''
Roanoke generated just 156 yards of total offense, equally split between rushing and passing. But while the Rush suffered six turnovers in the first half, it was flawless after intermission.
``We just dropped the ball in the first half,'' Marie said. ``Our runners dropped the ball, and our receivers had a couple of drops.''
Roanoke's leading ground-gainer was Anthony Drakeford, who picked up 30 yards on 12 carries. Jackson ran seven times for 27 yards.
The Rush (9-4) lost twice to West Virginia during the regular season.
see microfilm for box score
by CNB