ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, August 31, 1996 TAG: 9609030142
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: FROM STAFF REPORTS
Pulaski County opened its season in typical fashion, holding Good Counsel to three first downs and beating the visitors from Wheaton, Md., 33-7 on Friday night in Dublin. The Cougars started with a victory for the ninth consecutive season.
Pulaski County held Good Counsel to one first down and 24 yards in the first half while building a 26-0 lead. Fullback Craig Hodge scored twice, on 5- and 1-yard runs.
Hodge carried 15 times for a game-high 77 yards as the Cougars had rushing attempts by nine players. Pulaski County had 223 yards on the ground and a total of 270, compared with Good Counsel's 79 total yards.
``We did a great job of containing Good Counsel's outstanding skill players,'' said Joel Hicks, the Cougars' coach. ``Overall, we have to be happy, but we need to be better in order to win at Amherst next Friday. For sure, we need to cut down on the penalties.''
The Cougars were flagged 10 times for 94 yards.
Franklin County 36, Laurel Park 9: In Rocky Mount, the Eagles stifled the Lancers' offense and scored early in the game to cruise in a non-district opener.
Brandon Smith had 18 rushes for 177 yards and teammate Henry Eggleston ran six time for 64 yards and three touchdowns for Franklin County. The Eagles gained 299 yards on the ground.
Quarterback Steve Robertson was the lone bright spot for Laurel Park, completing 13 of 28 passes for 182 yards.
Staunton River 48, Bassett 40: In Moneta, Jarrett Ferguson and Kevin Martin combined for 342 of the Golden Eagles' 359 rushing yards and scored all of their points in a wild season-opening victory over the Bengals.
Martin, a senior tailback, rushed for 176 yards and scored four touchdowns and added a two-point conversion. Ferguson, a senior fullback, had 166 yards, three touchdowns and a pair of two-point conversions for Staunton River.
Carl Watkins and T.K. Johnson were the top guns for Bassett in this non-district shootout.
Watkins rushed for 109 yards and two touchdowns, and Johnson Ran for two touchdowns and threw for a third.
After the Bengals scored on Watkins' 1-yard run with 1:23 left, Bassett's onside kick didn't go far enough and Staunton River ran out the clock.
Floyd County 28, James River 26: In Floyd, the Buffaloes fell behind early, but battled back and held off the Knights for a season-opening non-district victory.
Anthony Burrell owned the first half with 178 yards on the ground for James River. The Knights still trailed at intermission, however, 21-20.
Nick Wohn of Floyd County rushed 16 times for 215 yards and accounted for 309 yards of total offense. Wohn also had a key run deep into James River territory that sealed the victory.
Freshman Josh Spence had 21 tackles for the Buffaloes.
Bland County 27, Galax 8: In Galax, the Rockets took advantage of three Maroon Tide turnovers, converting all three into points in a season-opening Mountain Empire District matchup.
J.B. Lambert had 103 yards of total offense for Bland County, including a 65 yard kickoff return to begin the second half. Lambert also opened up the scoring with a 2-yard run in the first quarter.
Galax fumbled five times in the game.
Mount Hope (W.Va) 34, Covington 6: In Covington, Dominique Scruggs ran for three touchdowns as the visitors dominated the error-prone Cougars in an interstate matchup.
Scruggs scored Mount Hope's first three touchdowns on runs of 12, 13 and 18 yards. Covington helped set up each score by, in order, shanking a punt, throwing an interception and failing to get off another punt.
Shannon McCoy scored the Cougars' only touchdown in the fourth quarter with a 42-yard run. McCoy finished with 62 yards rushing and William ``Boo'' Stewart added 60.
Bath County 24, Pocahontas (W.Va.) 16: In Dunmore, W.Va., Chris Gwin had two interceptions and caught a 57-yard pass for a touchdown as the Chargers downed the hosts in a non-district season opener for both teams.
Brandon Woodard had 18 carries for 88 yards and two touchdowns for Bath County.
Jimmy Holbert carried 19 times for 112 yards and two touchdowns for Pocahontas.
Richlands 21, Carroll County 6: In Hillsville, J.T. Moore scored on a pair of 1-yard runs to lead the Tornadoes past the Cavaliers in Carroll County's first game as a member of the Southwest District and Region IV.
Charlton Breeding's 70-yard scoring run accounted for 30 percent of Richlands' scoring. Carroll County got its lone score on a 44-yard pass from Nick Lawson to Jake Beamer.
James Monroe 20, Narrows 6: In Lindside, W.Va., the Green Wave opened its season with a loss as the hosts picked up 260 of their 291 total yards on the ground.
David Turner led Narrows with 56 yards on 15 carries, and Dalton Smith got the Green Wave's only touchdown on a pass from Jeff Bowers.
Martinsville 27, Rustburg 6: In Rustburg, senior running back Manti Venable had a pair of touchdown runs and the Bulldogs didn't allow a completed pass in an opener between non-district opponents.
Venable's 57-yard run in the second quarter broke open a tight game and gave Martinsville a 21-6 lead at the half. Venable finished with 16 carries for 121 yards.
The Bulldogs scored first on a 54-yard Leander Preston punt return, which was followed by a 96-yard kickoff return by Daniel Gibson for the Devils' only touchdown.
Pocahontas 21, Auburn 14: In Pocahontas, Randy Shupe's third touchdown run of the game came with 4:29 left in the fourth quarter, lifting the Indians to a season-opening victory over the Eagles.
Shupe, a junior tailback, ran 17 times for 81 yards, with touchdowns of 8, 2 and 4 yards.
Auburn had a pair of 50-yard rushers in Mike Bibb (56) and William Shelton (54). The Eagles' Jason Phipps threw for 61 yards.
Christiansburg 16, Fieldale-Collinsville 13: In Christiansburg, the Blue Demons ran the ball 52 times in a ball-control attack, gaining 223 yards in a season-opening victory over the Cavaliers.
Chris Epperly and Eric Schmucker had touchdown runs for Christiansburg.
Fieldale-Collinsville got all its scoring on big plays, a 49-yard pass from Phillip Hairston to Kevin Franklin and a 73-yard run by Franklin.
Franklin led all runners with 113 yards on 10 carries. Schmucker had 77 yards on nine carries for Christiansburg.
Liberty 27, Patrick County 6: In Stuart, senior running back Jerry Staples opened the scoring with a 9-yard run in the first quarter and finished with 14 carries for 119 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Minutemen past the Cougars.
Quarterback Duane Butler passed for a touchdown, ran for a touchdown and tossed a two-point conversion pass for Liberty. He finished 8-of-13 for 146 yards.
Patrick County trailed 8-6 following an 80-yard touchdown run by Barry Collins in the first quarter. Collins had 77 yards for the game, and Junior Penn rushed for 67 yards on 18 carries.
Abingdon 19, Rural Retreat 0: In Rural Retreat, junior Chris Spurlock carried 10 times for 99 yards, including touchdowns of 33 and 39 yards, as the Falcons opened their season with a victory over the Indians.
Gene Fields had 21 carries for 94 yards for Rural Retreat, a Group A program that held Group AA Abingdon scoreless in the second half. The Falcons scored their first touchdown on a 29-yard pass from Joey Wolfe to Joe Fuqua and led 13-0 after one quarter.
see microfilm for box score
LENGTH: Long : 148 lines KEYWORDS: FOOTBALLby CNB