ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, August 31, 1996 TAG: 9609030141
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: KEITH POMPEY STAFF WRITER
PATRICK HENRY has its hands full with Group AA Jefferson Forest.
Maybe Jefferson Forest High School's football team should return to Timesland.
The Cavaliers always seem to play some of their best games against Roanoke Valley opponents. And Friday night's season-opener against Group AAA Patrick Henry was no exception.
Unfortunately, for the Group AA Cavaliers, their best wasn't good enough as PH scored a 36-34 victory at Victory Stadium.
"I'm not disappointed in the way my players played," said Bob Christmas, Cavaliers coach. "They showed real heart. I felt we played well enough to win. We didn't get the lucky breaks. So we had to fight for everything out there. But PH is great team and we played our best."
While Christmas was satisfied, Patriots coach Ed Scott was indifferent about his team's performance.
"That was a disappointing football game," Scott said. "We made a lot of mistakes. We knew how they were going to play in certain situations but we didn't do the right things.
"But then there were times when we played great. All in all, I think we are still in good shape."
Two PH players who were in great shape were running backs Shaun Akers and James Hickenbotham.
Akers, a 5-foot-11, 175-pound senior, rushed for a game-high 121 yards and three touchdowns. Meanwhile the 5-10, 160-pound Hickenbotham scored twice. First, the junior had a 32-yard TD. Then, he added a 95-yard kickoff return.
"By the way the game started, I didn't think that we were going to play this well," said Akers. "I thought that Jefferson Forest running back would be the one who had a great game."
He was right.
The Cavaliers, who rushed for 298 yards, looked as if they might run through the Patriots.
On its first possession of the game, Jefferson Forest marched 81 yards on eight plays to break on top 6-0. Frank Wade, who had 89 yards on seven carries, provided the points on a 10-yard touchdown run.
But after that score, the Cavaliers became their worst enemy, fumbling the ball seven times, mostly at critical times. As a result, PH went on to take a 20-6 lead on Hickenbotham's 32-yard third-quarter TD run.
The Cavaliers answered when quarterback Jerton Evans scored from 5 yards, making it 20-13.
From the point, both teams started to light up the scoreboard.
Hickenbotham broke loose for a 95-yard kickoff return on the ensuing kickoff. Dominic English's two-point conversion made it 28-13.
Cris Ridgeway's 69-yard punt return made it 28-19 PH. Then with 7:41 left to play, Ridgeway caught a 21-yard TD pass from Evans to make it 28-26.
After forcing the Patriots to punt, the Cavaliers looked to take the lead. But Evans fumbled the ball on the 49-yard line. Then, Akers locked up the game by breaking a 62-yard TD run.
"As I was running for the end zone, I kept thinking about winning the game," Akers said. "I caught a cramp in my ankle, but I wasn't going to let anybody catch me."
Jefferson Forest scored its final touchdown with less than two minutes to go, but it was too late.
see microfilm for box score
LENGTH: Medium: 67 linesby CNB