ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, September 28, 1996 TAG: 9609300133
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: KEITH POMPEY STAFF WRITER
James Hickenbotham was a man of his word at Victory Stadium on Friday night.
The Patrick Henry High School running back promised his offensive line something right before the Halifax County game.
``I told them ... basically to knock their man on his butt and I'll take care of the rest,'' said the 5-foot-10, 160-pounder.
Hickenbotham didn't lie.
The junior carried the ball nine times for 290 yards and three touchdowns as the Patriots defeated the Comets 28-6.
``My coaches just gave me the ball on certain plays and I just took advantage of it,'' said Hickenbotham, who had 221 yards and three touchdowns on his first four carries. ``But we, as entire team, played well. We had to come in here and make a statement. We were fired up after we got beat bad last week [52-14] to [George Washington] Danville. We wanted to let everybody in the state know that we are still alive.''
Patrick Henry's offense was unstoppable, accounting for 413 yards. Meanwhile, its defense held Halifax running back William Ballou - who had 124 yards against William Fleming two week ago - to 32.
``We were quite concerned by the way we played last week,'' said Ed Scott, the Patriots' coach. ``But we can be pleased by the way we played [Friday night]. We made some improvement.''
One improvement was how quickly the Patriots got on the scoreboard. Hickenbotham scampered 74 yards on Patrick Henry's first offensive play from scrimmage. Gouss Joseph's extra point made it 7-0 with 6 minutes, 54 seconds left in the first quarter.
Dominic English ignited the Patriots' next scoring drive.
The 5-10, 145-pound defensive back intercepted Halifax quarterback Carlos Jackson on the 38-yard line. Six plays later, Shaun Akers' 41-yard touchdown capped a 62-yard drive. The conversion made it 14-0 with three minutes left in the half. Hickenbotham scored on a 65-yard run before halftime to make it 21-0.
And Patrick Henry (3-1) made it 28-0 on the second play of the third quarter. Hickenbotham, scoring his third touchdown, scooted 76 yards.
Halifax (2-1) answered when Michael Chappell's 1-yard run capped an 11-play, 71-yard drive. After Comet kicker Jeremey Kerly missed the extra point, the score stood 28-6 with 5:19 left in the third quarter.
Halifax looked to put more points on the board by recovering an onside kick. But Carlo Younger dropped a fourth-and-goal pass in the end zone.
Afterward, Patrick Henry's ball-control offense ran out the clock late in the game.
see microfilm for box score
LENGTH: Medium: 57 lines KEYWORDS: FOOTBALLby CNB