Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, November 18, 1995 TAG: 9511200115
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Martinsville burned Salem's Ricky Eubanks on Friday and the 150-pound junior took his revenge on the Bulldogs by putting a torch to their football season and sending it down in flames.
The defensive back-wide receiver was the spark as Salem pulled away in the second half to a 31-10 Region III first-round victory and set up a revenge contest with Amherst County next Friday at Salem Stadium. The Lancers ended Salem's season a year ago in the second round of the playoffs.
When David Walker took a pass away from Eubanks just before the half and escaped for a 63-yard touchdown, Martinsville was back in a game it seemingly had lost when the Spartans scored 17 points early.
After thinking about that catch during halftime, Eubanks intercepted a Bulldogs pass on the second play of the third quarter. Eubanks later set up a touchdown with a punt return to the Martinsville 2-yard line. He sewed up the victory with a 27-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Seth Moore for the Spartans' final points.
``Eubanks does things like that,'' said Salem coach Willis White. ``He's our playmaker. I think he was mad when that receiver took the ball away from him.''
``He just outjumped me,'' said Eubanks. ``I thought I had him covered real well.''
The interception was the same type of play along the sideline. ``I was ready for it. Coach White said I had their back covered like a blanket.''
Eubanks was one of many stars in a game that started when fullback Chris Huff rumbled for 44 yards on the game's second play to set up the Spartans' first touchdown.
``It was a little fullback trap we always run to test the other team with early,'' said White.
``It opened up beautifully. We had seen on film they could be trapped. We knew we'd run it and we did at the right time,'' said Huff.
``It was in our game plan to come out early and shove it down their throat. The line did a great job,'' said Moore.
When the Spartans (10-1) were finished, they had 401 yards total offense in handing Martinsville (7-4) one of the worst losses statistically in the storied football history of the school.
Moore passed for 114 yards and ran for another 67. His only bad moment came when he was intercepted shortly before the half as Salem was driving for its third touchdown.
Huff and Gussie Vaughn totaled 128 yards on the ground, giving Salem's starting backfield unit 195 yards rushing. Rusty Howell, who has moved to backup tailback, scored two touchdowns on three carries.
Defensively, Salem held Martinsville's Manti Venable, Timesland's third-leading rusher with 140 yards per game, to just 54 yards on 15 carries.
``They just whipped us on both sides of the ball,'' said Martinsville coach Taylor Edwards, whose team had to regroup on Monday after thinking it was out of the playoffs following the regular season. ``I don't think it [the loss] had anything to do with us not being focused. We just got beat by a better team that will give anybody they play a heck of a game.''
Salem scored on its first three possessions. Huff's burst set up a 1-yard plunge by Howell to make it 7-0. Then freshman Brett Gresham, promoted from the junior varsity, kicked an 18-yard field goal before Howell ran 26 yards to make it 17-0.
NOTE: Please see micorfilm for scores.
by CNB