ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, September 21, 1996 TAG: 9609230135
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B2 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: DANVILLE
SOURCE: JOHN A. MONTGOMERY SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES
Friday night's football game with George Washington-Danville was a good-news, bad-news situation for Patrick Henry.
First, the good news: PH opened and closed the scoring, forcing two turnovers and quickly converting both fumble recoveries into touchdowns.
Now, the bad: The Patriots lost by 38 points in a game that wasn't as close as the score indicated.
Aside from the two fumbles, the Eagles played nearly perfect football, walloping PH 52-14 in a non-district matchup.
GW (4-0) rolled up 460 yards rushing while limiting the Patriots (2-1) to 71 yards of total offense.
The Eagles were led by a number of outstanding individual performances:
* Senior running back Shawn Wesley rushed 18 times for a game-high 146 yards and two touchdowns.
* Junior running back John Dickerson scored four touchdowns, caught three passes and ran for 120 yards.
* Junior quarterback Chanston Rodgers completed four of six passes and ripped off a 66-yard run of his own.
* And 6-foot-5, 270-pound defensive lineman Tyrone Robertson forced two fumbles, caused an interception, tackled several PH runners for losses and basically dominated the game.
``They just plain whipped us,'' said Ed Scott, the Patriots' coach. ``We just played awful. We didn't fight back, and I don't understand it. I was worried a little bit about our defense after last week [a 39-6 victory over Albemarle], but this ''
PH started the game strongly, recovering a fumble on the opening kickoff at GW's 20-yard line. Four plays later, senior running back Shaun Akers scored from the 1 as the Patriots took a 7-0 lead.
The Eagles responded, however, marching 65 yards in seven plays for the tying score when Wesley ran the ball into the end zone from the 7.
GW seemed to score at will for the remainder of the game. The Eagles put up 24 points in the second quarter alone, including a 22-yard field goal by Mike Riano - GW's first field goal in nearly two seasons.
``We played well,'' said Ed Martin, the Eagles' coach. ``We're a good football team, and when we don't make mistakes, we usually play well.''
Martin was particularly pleased with the play of Robertson, who terrorized the Patriots from several points of attack on the defensive line.
``He's a great player,'' Martin said. Robertson's ``being recruited by everybody in the country, and rightfully so.''
There were few bright spots for the Patriots. Boo Battle, who alternated at quarterback with Dennis Dunnaville, led the PH rushing game with three carries for 30 yards, 23 on a quick burst in the second quarter.
The Patriots' second touchdown came late in the game, when senior defensive end Drew Dickinson scooped up a Randy Logan fumble and raced 50 yards for the score.
The Eagles continued their mastery of Roanoke Valley District teams, extending their regular-season winning streak to 26 games against RVD opposition.
In 23 meetings with PH dating to the 1960s, GW is 18-4-1. The Patriots have not won in Danville, but managed a 0-0 tie on the Eagles' field in 1964.
see microfilm for box score
LENGTH: Medium: 66 linesby CNB