THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, September 16, 1994 TAG: 9409140133
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 23 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JULIE GOODRICH, CLIPPER SPORTS EDITOR
LENGTH: Medium: 72 lines
When Norcom travels to Bruin Stadium Friday night, the Greyhounds will bring with them a 1993 state title, a 15-game winning streak, and one of the most formidable defenses in the Southeastern District.
They should also bring earplugs.
Although there are several things that might give Western Branch a slight edge, such as home-field advantage and the best all-around backfield in the district, the Bruins are hoping to spring a different method of attack on Norcom.
An assault on the senses.
``Some of the alumni got together and dusted off the old Victory Bell, so they'll be ringing that all through the game,'' said Western Branch coach Lew Johnston.
The Victory Bell is only one half of the attack. The Bruins are also employing a diesel locomotive horn, and plan to sound it whenever it will bother the Greyhounds most.
Given that this game is one of the biggest hurdles for Western Branch in recent memory, Johnston seemed relatively at-ease during practice this week. He admitted to having a few tricks up his sleeve.
``We're planning a few interesting things, sure,'' he said. ``We've got them well scouted.''
One reason Johnston might seem so serene given the task at hand is that last week's 55-21 pounding of Granby revealed a surprise in the Bruins' backfield. Shyrone Stith, the third option in the Bruins' Wing-T behind the much-heralded Dre Bly and Malik Cook, scored a school-record five touchdowns against the Comets.
``I've said before that Shyrone is the best-kept secret in Tidewater . . . although I guess he's not that anymore,'' Johnston said. Having Stith come to the forefront is ``such an advantage for us, because if people key on Dre we'll just bring Shyrone around the other side.''
Still, the numbers are strictly in favor of the Greyhounds. Consider this:
Norcom is 42-6 in the 1990s. The Greyhounds' only losses in the past few years have come to teams that went on to win the state title (Wilson twice in 1991 and Bethel in 1992).
The Greyhounds have not lost to a team from Chesapeake, a 15-0 streak, since Deep Creek beat them 18-14 in 1990.
``It's going to come down to stopping the big play,'' said Johnston. ``And with two evenly matched teams, it often comes down to the kicking game, just like it did in Michigan-Notre Dame.''
Adding another wrinkle to the game is the fact that Western Branch quarterback Daryl Walton is a former Norcom junior varsity player, which leads Johnston to jokingly refer to the sophomore as a ``marked man.''
``Really, we've shown very little of our offense. Against Granby, we went ahead early and I didn't want to start passing the ball to make it seem like we were trying to run up the score. But we haven't even begun to show what we have offensively.''
With the way Norcom played against Churchland last week - the Greyhounds were trailing 13-6 at the half - Johnston's first reaction was that the Western Branch-Norcom matchup would be a high-scoring affair.
``But in the second half, it was the old Norcom,'' he said. The Greyhounds thundered back to win the game on the strength of 21 fourth-quarter points. ``I think it served as a wake-up call for them. And knowing coach (Joe) Langston like I do, I'd say it's going to help them. But that's fine, because we want Norcom at their best.''
Hopefully for the Bruins, there won't be a repeat of last year, when Western Branch led 7-6 with less than a minute left - only to lose the game on Octavious Brothers' 56-yard fumble recovery for the winning touchdown.
``The kids' confidence is up . . . we've tabbed this as our Michigan-Notre Dame,'' Johnston said. ``But we're playing the defending state champions, and they're 15-0 in their last fifteen games. We respect them.'' by CNB