ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, October 6, 1996 TAG: 9610070167
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: KEITH POMPEY STAFF WRITER
No one suspected the Charleston (W.Va.) Rockets would leave Victory Stadium speechless.
Before Saturday night's game against the Roanoke Rush, the defending National Minor League Football champions talked about scoring a lot of touchdowns. And its fans predicted quarterback Major Harris, a former Heisman Trophy candidate at West Virginia University, would throw five touchdowns.
All seemed possible considering the Rush had an 0-5 record against the Rockets.
Unfortunately for Charleston, things changed as the Rush whipped the Rockets 54-27.
``I didn't think we were going to beat them that bad,'' said Roanoke offensive lineman Sam Napier. ``I thought they were going to come harder than that.''
Teammate Dee Thompson agreed.
``I thought this game was going to go down to the wire,'' the running back said. ``But, hey, the monkey is off our back. This was a team that we were trying to beat for a long time. We came out and did it tonight.''
With the victory, Roanoke (8-1) can capture the South Atlantic Division title by winning its last two games. Charleston (8-1) falls to second place.
And Billy Pate said he knew it would end up this way two hours before kickoff.
``I was extremely hyped up when I walked into the locker room and saw all of my teammates having the desire to win all over their faces,'' the fullback said.
His teammates didn't have to look far for an offensive MVP. The 6-foot, 250-pound Pate rushed for a game-high 121 yards and two touchdowns.
He wasn't the only offensive standout. Quarterback Darren Graham completed five of 10 passes for 204 yards and two touchdowns to Anthony Drakeford.
And the Rush harassed Harris all night. The quarterback completed only 10 of 30 passes for 187 yards with five interceptions and he was sacked five times.
``It felt really great to be able to play that well against Major Harris,'' said linebacker Terrence Harrelson, who had two sacks - one for a safety. ``It made us want to keep playing more and more.''first the
Rob Majors' 38-yard fumble recovery made it 54-27 late in the fourth quarter.
see microfilm for box score
LENGTH: Medium: 51 linesby CNB