ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, November 4, 1996 TAG: 9611050125
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOHN A. MONTGOMERY SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES
THREE YOUTH TEAMS complete undefeated seasons in the Sandlot Super Bowl.
The tackling was spirited, the strategy was innovative, and the hot dogs sold out during three Sandlot Super Bowl football championship games at Salem Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
And while not one of Sunday's stars is a household name yet, all three contests were highly entertaining, unlike most NFL Super Bowls.
In the Junior Division I matchup, the Inner City Falcons (10-0) knocked off the Northwest Blue 20-0 behind two touchdown runs by Vincent Noel and a strong passing game for their fifth straight Sandlot Super Bowl title.
``We're a whole lot younger than they are, and we couldn't stop their big fellow [Richard Barrett] with the pass,'' said Kevin Baker, coach of the Blue (9-2-1).
Falcons coach Michael Boyd attributed his team's success to adopting a game plan and sticking to it. ``This team's very disciplined,'' he said.
The Junior Division II championship was a battle of Roanoke County squads. The Vinton Raiders, aided by long runs from Chris Kidd, Matt Sheaff and Kevin Amos, dropped the Cave Spring Lions 22-3.
``We have dedication on this team,'' said Raiders coach David Justis. ``But the other team played us well, probably as well as anyone we played all year.'' Vinton defeated Cave Spring 23-0 during the regular season.
``We stayed with what was working today,'' Justis said, referring to the dominant rushing attack of the Raiders (13-0). ``By the second half, we wore them down.''
Sunday's game ``was a good ball game,'' said Dwight Bogle, coach of Cave Spring (10-2). Bogle lamented the loss of his leading receiver, Fielding Fochtman.
``Fielding broke out in hives Saturday,'' Bogle said. ``So we had to play without him today, and we weren't able to pass very much.
``But under the circumstances, I thought our team played well. This game was a reward to the kids for their season.''
Cave Spring's only score came on a 21-yard field goal by Shane Draper. Draper's kick easily cleared the crossbar, and would have been good from 10 yards farther. Shane's ``just 11 years old,'' Bogle said. ``He'll be back next year.''
In the Junior Division III finale, the Bedford Road Devils crushed the North Salem Eagles 27-8 behind three touchdowns from A.B. Absher. Michael Pennix's five-yard touchdown run 10 seconds before intermission sealed the victory for the Road Devils (14-0).
Neither team scored in the second half, a fact that didn't escape the notice of North Salem coach Mike Henry. North Salem ``didn't give up in the second half,'' Henry said. ``We changed our defense at halftime, and that helped. But [Bedford] just jumped on us so quick.''
``Blocking and fundamentals,'' explained Bedford coach Jerome Evans. ``That's what we concentrated on all year long, and it paid off.''
North Salem (9-2) suited up just 14 players, but Henry focused on the positive. ``We had just 14 players all year long,'' he said. ``Our guys were a little nervous today, but I'm proud of them. Sandlot football's meant to be fun.''
North Salem's Brendan Hairston, who gained more than 1,100 rushing yards this season, scored the only touchdown for the Eagles. Hairston appeared to score on a screen pass in the second half, but the touchdown was nullified by a penalty.
Two other divisions each crowned three champions in Salem Stadium on Saturday. In Pee Wee competition, the Northwest Raiders defeated the Inner City Falcons 12-7 (Division I); the North Roanoke Vikings upended the Cave Spring Rebels 6-0 in overtime (Division II); and the North Salem Eagles beat the Glenvar Bulldogs 20-16 (Division III).
In the Little Division, the Inner City Falcons downed the YMCA Renegades 40-6 (Division I); the Cave Spring Vikings shut out the North Roanoke Hokies 20-0 (Division II); and the West Salem Cardinals blanked the Bedford Lions 20-0 (Division III).
LENGTH: Medium: 79 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ERIC BRADY\Staff. Omar Johnson (88) of the Inner Cityby CNBFalcons catches a touchdown pass during the Sandlot Super Bowl as
Derrick Artis (45) of the Northwest Blue watches Sunday at Salem
Stadium.