ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, September 28, 1996 TAG: 9609300128
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: MONETA
SOURCE: JOHN A. MONTGOMERY SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES
Emotion flowed so freely Friday night at Staunton River High School that when the football game was over, even representatives of the same team exhibited the extremes.
Coach Bob Gray was sporting an ear-to-ear grin.
Tailback Kevin Martin was in tears.
And both were overwhelmed.
The Golden Eagles held off Brookville 28-13 in a matchup of previously unbeaten Seminole District teams. Staunton River opened a three-touchdown first-half lead, then survived a Bees comeback after intermission.
``I haven't felt like this since we won the state [Group AA title] in track,'' said Martin, who rushed for 148 yards on 29 carries, and scored the clinching touchdown in the fourth quarter.
``I read where we hadn't beaten them in 29 years; we won something like 2-0 back in the '60s,'' said Gray, who rated the victory as the biggest in his six years as a head coach.
The Golden Eagles (5-0 overall, 1-0 district) had waltzed past four non-district opponents to start the season. Brookville (4-1, 0-1) entered the contest as the top-rated Group AA program in the state.
The Bees had not given up a touchdown in their previous 15 quarters. But Staunton River broke that streak quickly. The Golden Eagles were on the scoreboard five plays into the game when fullback Jarrett Ferguson went off tackle and ripped through the Brookville defense, rushing 56 yards for the score.
The Golden Eagles extended their lead to two touchdowns on a 1-yard quarterback sneak by Danny Thomas on the first play of the second quarter. Thomas' keeper capped a five-play, 44-yard drive that was set up when Bees quarterback Bryan McAlister lost a fumble.
Four minutes later, Staunton River again parlayed a turnover into a score when Daniel Welch intercepted a Brookville pass near midfield and rumbled to the Bees' 4-yard line. Ferguson took the ball in for the touchdown three plays later.
The Golden Eagles nearly put away the game at the end of the first half, but time expired when they were on Brookville's 2-yard line.
``I screwed up,'' said Gray, who blamed himself for a poor play call. On a first-and-goal from the 2 with 17 seconds left, the Eagles ran a halfback-option pass and Martin was tackled before he got off the throw.
Staunton River hustled to get back to the line of scrimmage, but the horn sounded before the snap. ``I wanted to at least kick a field goal in that situation,'' Gray said.
Brookville, which overcame a 22-point deficit in its first game this season, jumped back into the fray quickly after halftime as Jeff Woody returned the kickoff 88 yards for a score.
Woody also scored on the last play of the third quarter, taking a short pass from Jason Brown and scampering 37 yards for a score.
Because Ferguson was nursing a sore ankle, the Eagles' running game slowed in the third period, and Brookville took possession on its 31 trailing by only a touchdown and a two-point conversion (21-13) with nine minutes to play.
But Thomas intercepted Brown's pass on the next play, and Martin ran three successive plays for the decisive touchdown.
``I got hurt'' during the game, Martin said. ``I think I broke my finger. But we just had to fight back.''
NOTE: Please see microfilm for scores.
LENGTH: Medium: 67 linesby CNB