ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, September 28, 1996 TAG: 9609300129
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BILL RAY STAFF WRITER
The Northside Vikings used last week's bye to forget about two consecutive losses and concentrate on getting back to the basics. That return to fundamentals paid off for the Vikings as they gave the Christiansburg Blue Demons a rude welcome to the Blue Ridge District with a 21-14 win Friday night.
``It was nice to get a week off,'' Northside head coach Jim Hickam said. ``We didn't necessarily use the extra week to get ready for Christiansburg, we just used it to work on getting back to the basics.''
Leading the Vikings in his senior homecoming game, halfback John Doss scored all three touchdowns, while gaining 92 yards.
With 2 minutes, 30 seconds left to play in the first half, Doss bolted up the middle for a 44-yard touchdown, making the score 19-14 before the extra-point attempt. Northside quarterback Xavier Lee then connected with Doss for the 2-point conversion, giving the Vikings a seven-point edge.
``It was great to come out and play like that on my last homecoming,'' Doss said. ``That is how you want to play when you're a senior.''
Defensively, Northside (2-2 overall, 1-0 district) managed to hold Christiansburg star running back Mike Scott at bay, allowing him only 91 yards and one touchdown. On Sept.20 against Radford, the senior tailback rushed for over 200 yards.
``We felt like there were three things on the Christiansburg offense we had to stop,'' Hickam said. ``First, we needed to stop Scott. Then, we needed to stop the split screen, and we needed to stop the fullback dive up the middle.''
Following halftime, the two teams traded punts, but late in the game, it appeared the Blue Demons were going to make things interesting.
With about two minutes left on the clock, Christiansburg (2-2, 0-1) began driving from its own 46-yard line. But following a Scott first-down run, Blue Demon quarterback Matt Wright was sacked for a 10-yard loss, with an additional 15-yard penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct. An incomplete pass later and facing fourth and 29, Christiansburg got the break it was looking for in the form of a pass-interference call, giving the Demons new life.
But the Blue Demons were unable to capitalize as Wright was picked off by Nathan Marshall to end the threat and the game.
``I was really happy with the way we played,'' Hickam said. ``It got a little sloppy in the second half, but we will take the win.''
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LENGTH: Medium: 53 lines KEYWORDS: FOOTBALLby CNB