ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, August 31, 1996 TAG: 9609030144
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM STAFF WRITER
Northside fans were rubbing their eyes Friday night. They had just seen something rare.
This wasn't your average opening victory. It was the Group AA Vikings' offense dominating Group AAA Cave Spring on the way to a 27-14 victory.
With quarterback Xavier Lee at the controls and John Doss weaving and dodging tacklers once his line had done the job, Northside rolled up 315 yards of total offense.
Northside coach Jim Hickam was astounded at the Vikings' efficiency.
``Particularly [for a team] as inexperienced as this one is,'' he said. ``In the backfield, we only had one player [Doss] who had played more than four or five snaps and on the offensive line we only had two [Clay Kasey and Shannon Ragland],'' he said.
Some might have figured the dominance was the result of the Vikings' using a no-huddle offense.
``We hadn't seen it. Nah [it didn't change the game]. You have to tackle people,'' said Cave Spring coach Steve Spangler.
The Vikings still took their allotted time between plays and coaches signaled the plays to Lee, who called the plays at the line of scrimmage.
``It changes tempo. More important, it rests the linemen. They rest between snaps instead of going back to the huddle,'' said Hickam.
Northside needed all the rest it could get. The Vikings used a lot of two-way players, whose energy might have been sapped by the humidity. One lineman who never seemed to stop was Kasey.
``Every time their quarterback was sacked, it seemed like he was there,'' said Doss.
On offense, when the Vikings needed a big play, it seemed as if Doss or Lee made it. The biggest series of plays were made by Doss in the fourth quarter.
Lee, who accounted for 104 total yards, went down on the final play of the third period with muscle spasms in his right leg. Without its starting QB, Northside promptly fumbled the ball on its own 24. Cave Spring cashed in, with Josh Dowdy diving over from the 1 to cut Northside's lead to 20-14.
``I was really worried about getting into the game. I felt like when I came back, I had to be a leader,'' said Lee.
When he returned, Lee did the appropriate thing - feed Doss the ball. Doss had the wind knocked out of him at the start of the second half and sat out several series. Doss carried three of the next five plays, the third a 38-yard romp to the Knights' 7 as the senior weaved and dodged Knight tacklers.
``After Cave Spring scored, I told the team I'd put it away for them,'' Doss said.
Doss also carried on the next two plays and dived in from the 2 with 5:22 left to clinch the victory.
Not to be overlooked, though, was the Vikings' defense. Scott Mashburn had two interceptions and Doss one as Northside held Cave Spring quarterback Corey Paxton in check. A hard rush led by Kasey and Ragland resulted in three sacks.
Even when Cave Spring took an early 7-6 lead, Northside's defense couldn't be blamed. The score was set up when Jud Poulter blocked a punt and Matt Berger returned it to the Vikings' 24.
On the previous series, Northside had shut down Cave Spring after the Knights had a first down on the Vikings 25.
``We couldn't move the ball,'' Spangler said. ``We had to control the ball, but we couldn't establish the running game.''
The Knights' best weapon was a draw, which Greg Wells ran for several big gains. ``But you can't always rely on gimmicks. There's no way to go from here but up,'' said Spangler. see microfilm for box score
LENGTH: Medium: 76 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ERIC BRADY STAFF Cave Spring running back Darnellby CNBGlover (20) is brought down from behind by an unidentified Northside
player and Scott Mashburn (right) after gaining yardage Friday
night. Glover's only carry netted 12 yards for the Knights. c olor KEYWORDS: FOOTBALL