ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, September 14, 1996 TAG: 9609170023
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: NARROWS
SOURCE: ANGIE WATTS STAFF WRITER
Make no mistake about it - the old rivalry between Giles and Narrows High Schools was alive and well Friday night at Ragsdale Field. Thousands of fans were decked out in their respective team colors, bands were blazing tunes and cheerleaders were leading the chants.
Off the field was quite a show. On the field, however, the competition was seemingly non-existant.
Giles mounted a 35-0 halftime lead that had Spartans' fans singing their goodbyes at the break. By the time it was over Giles had registered its third blowout in as many games, this time a 38-12 win over its county rival.
``We played very, very well,'' Giles coach Steve Ragsdale said. ``I don't think I can complain about anything.''
That's because the 12 points given up by the Spartans defense came in the second half, when most of their starters were resting on the sidelines.
``When your banged up and your down that's when you test your true character,'' Narrows coach Don Lowe said. ``So I was real pleased with our effort in the second half, but we weren't playing against [Ragsdale's] first unit, that was obvious.''
Narrows opened the game with the ball and it was three-plays-and-out for the Green Wave, who barely had time to adjust before Giles put its first points on the board.
Starting at the Narrows 44-yard line, it took just three plays for the Spartans' Chris Hutchinson to get moving, running 27 yards around left end for the score and a 7-0 lead.
After exchanging punts, it was more of the same for Giles in the second quarter, with Matt Whitehead taking it 23 yards up the middle for the score. Whitehead and the Spartans' single-wing offense confused the Green Wave on the play, leaving a wide-open hole to the endzone.
After a fumble gave Giles the ball on the Narrows 11, Whitehead stumbled in from the 3 for his second touchdown of the game.
The Spartans' Shawn Vaught was next to join in on the action, completing a 69-yard touchdown pass to Phillip Hilton with 5:55 left in the half for a 28-0 advantage. On the next possession, Vaught ran 24 yards down the right sideline for a score.
The trio of Hutchison, Vaught and Whitehead finished the game with 174 of the Spartans 217 total yards rushing.
The Green Wave's utility man, David Turner, saved the shutout with a 3-yard run with 9:19 remaining and added another 12-yard score as time expired.
``I hope the kids realize there's going to be some team down the line they have to get ready for,'' Ragsdale said. ``I don't know who it is, but someone's going to give us a tough ballgame.''
NOTE: Please see microfilm for scores.
LENGTH: Medium: 57 lines KEYWORDS: FOOTBALLby CNB