THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 9, 1994 TAG: 9410090163
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ED MILLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Long : 115 lines
Norfolk State couldn't stop the run. Winston-Salem State couldn't defend the pass.
The teams traded touchdowns like fast break baskets all afternoon Saturday at Foreman Field.
So when Norfolk State (3-2) got the ball one last time, at their own 29 with 1:37 to go, trailing, 48-44, there wasn't a soul among the 12,804 on hand who could have doubted what was going to happen next.
``We were going to win,'' Spartans fullback Stanley Johnson said. ``Once we got the ball, we knew.''
They were proven right when Aaron Sparrow dove into the end zone with seven seconds left, giving the Spartans a stunning 50-48 victory.
``The team that had the ball last was going to win,'' Norfolk State coach Darnell Moore said.
No one knew that better than Sparrow, who shattered a pair of Norfolk State records with 516 yards passing and 7 touchdown passes.
``I was counting on our defense to give us one more chance,'' Sparrow said.
The defense, which yielded seven touchdowns and 534 yards of
offense, chose the right time to stiffen, forcing a Winston-Salem (2-4) punt with 1:45 left.
``We knew we had to have it, and we just gave it to them,'' linebacker Richard Montgomery said.
The offense knew what to do with it. They ran on the field slapping hands - as if they knew the game was good as over. The fans sensed it as well. Most of them rose and cheered.
It very nearly was over on the first play. Sparrow reared and threw about 65 yards to freshman Reggie Bureau, who had a step on his man. The ball drifted perfectly into Bureau's hands, but he dropped it. ``We went for it all and we thought we could get it,'' Moore said.
It didn't matter. Sparrow hit Johnson for 20 yards and then receiver James Roe for 12.
Johnson then turned a screen pass into a 25-yard gain, dragging several tacklers all the way to the Winston-Salem 12.
Two plays later, Sparrow scored.
It was reminiscent of last year's game, when Norfolk State came from 27 points down in the fourth quarter to tie the game, 54-54, on a two-point conversion run by Kermit Buggs with two seconds left.
The saying goes that when certain teams get together, you can toss out the records.
When Norfolk State and Winston-Salem get together, they toss out the defense.
Last year, the teams combined for 1,095 yards of offense. Saturday, it was 1,086: Norfolk State with 552, Winston-Salem with 534. Last year, there were 16 touchdowns. Saturday, it was 15.
``The whole game was big plays,'' Montgomery said. ``They made a lot, we made a lot.''
No one made more than Sparrow. The junior from Wilson High School completed 26-of-43 passes, tying a team record for completions.
For most of the second quarter and the entire second half, Norfolk State didn't even make a pretense of running the ball. They rushed just five times from scrimmage in the half, none of them in the fourth quarter.
Time after time, Sparrow, operating from the shotgun formation, scrambled and found open receivers. He spread his seven touchdown passes among four receivers.
The strangest one came late in the first quarter, when Marty Conner caught a short pass near midfield. About to be tackled, he flipped the ball to Johnson, who ran about 45 yards for a touchdown.
``It wasn't planned. I just saw him there,'' Conner said.
The most acrobatic came midway through the second quarter, when James Roe leaped and took the ball away from Winston's Niam Moore in the end zone, for a 49-yard score.
Roe caught six passes for 156 yards. Darius Blount caught eight for 147 and Conner five, for 97 yards.
``I didn't doubt the offense all day,'' Blount said. ``That defensive secondary wasn't up to par.''
Norfolk State had defensive problems of its own. Winston-Salem rushed for 375 yards, and averaged 6.5 yards per carry. Tailback Richard Huntley, who ran for 305 yards on the Spartans last year, carried 33 times for 248 yards Saturday, and had two touchdowns.
Winston opened the game by chewing up 49 yards on just four carries to go up, 7-0, with 11:29 left in the first quarter.
The Rams held the ball for more than 42 minutes and appeared to have Norfolk State's defense worn down in the fourth quarter.
Ahead 41-38, Winston-Salem put together a seven-minute, 72-yard drive to go up 48-38 with 3:17 left.
But Norfolk State scored just 35 seconds later, when Sparrow found Roe single-covered in the end zone from 38 yards out.
Then the defense gave Sparrow and his receivers a final chance, stopping Winston-Salem on a third-and-three from the Norfolk State 37.
Winston-Salem went to a prevent defense, but the outcome seemed inevitable.
``All of us on the sideline were saying was that all we wanted was one more chance to throw the ball,'' Johnson said. ``They didn't stop us all day.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
CHRISTOPHER REDDICK/Staff
Norfolk State quarterback Aaron Sparrow, who shattered a pair of
single-game school records, scrambles away from Winston-Salem
linebacker Kelvin Bailey.
Photo
CHRISTOPHER REDDICK/Staff
Norfolk State wide receiver Darius Blount found himself all alone
for a touchdown pass from quarterback Aaron Sparrow.
Graphic
SPARROW'S BIG DAY
[For complete graphic, please see microfilm]
by CNB