THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, September 10, 1994 TAG: 9409100411
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY RICH RADFORD, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH LENGTH: Medium: 70 lines
Octavious Brothers wasn't even born when Franco Harris made The Immaculate Reception.
But Brothers has seen film replays. And he was well aware of the uncanny resemblance between his catch and one of the greatest plays in NFL history.
Brothers was in the right place at the right time, hauling in a deflected pass by Norcom quarterback Rod Richardson and turning it into a 61-yard scoring play which catapulted the Greyhounds to a 27-19 victory in front of a standing-room-only crowd estimated at 4,500 at Churchland High.
``I knew we needed a big play,'' Brothers said of the catch. ``When I caught the ball I had one defender to beat and I wasn't about to let him catch me.''
The Greyhounds, coming off a Division 5 state championship season, trailed 19-13 when they took possession on their 39 with 3:48 remaining after forcing the Truckers to punt.
Richardson's intended receiver was Jarmaine Granger, who went streaking down the right hash marks. Churchland defensive back Quinton Morris cut in front of Granger at the last second and broke up the pass. Or so it seemed.
Brothers, running an under route, caught the ball waist-high and didn't break stride until performing the splits under the goalposts. Maceo Thomas' extra point gave the Greyhounds their first lead, 20-19, with 3:26 remaining.
In the closing moments, the Greyhounds defense came up big, sacking Churchland quarterback Mike Holland three times.
Norcom added insurance points on a 1-yard run by Rudy Howard with 24 seconds left, a touchdown set up when Holland was sacked by Richard Deberry at the Truckers 8 on fourth down.
Up until Brothers miraculous catch, it appeared the Greyhounds winning streak, which is now at 15 games, was in jeopardy.
Greg Boothe scored on a 77-yard run on the game's second play from scrimmage, bolting around left end on a pitchout and beating the Norcom posse to the goal-line as Churchland took a 7-0 lead.
The Truckers increased the lead to 13-0 when defensive back David Drake recovered a fumble and returned it 61 yards for a touchdown. The fumble occurred when Richardson overshot Brothers on a pass to the flats and officials ruled it a lateral.
``That wasn't a lateral, it was a pass,'' said Norcom coach Joe Langston, still steamed about it after the outcome. ``The film will prove it.''
Norcom broke back, and broke some of Churchland's upset-minded momentum, when Mike Ricks scored on a 1-yard run with no time remaining in the first half, cutting the lead to 13-6.
The Greyhounds got off the half's final two plays in 21 seconds, with Ricks picking 3 yards on the prior play.
Churchland marched 75 yards on their first possession of the second half, capping it on Boothe's 3-yard run, again around left end. But verbal taunting by Churchland tight end Demarte Franklin after the play resulted in a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, forcing David Tynch to attempt a 35-yard extra point. He pulled it left.
Norcom marched 95 yards on its first possession of the fourth quarter, with Howard scoring on a 4-yard run with 5:27 remaining to start the comeback.
Brothers was in tears afterward, pointing to teammate Marte McCall, who sustained a broken ankle in preseason and is out for seven weeks.
``This one was for No. 71,'' Brothers said. ``We never hung our heads. We've got a lot of pride at Norcom. We don't stop playing until the scoreboard says double zero.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo by Christopher Reddick, Staff
Mike Riggs leads Norcom to a 27-19 victory over Churchland
by CNB