THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, October 15, 1994 TAG: 9410150381
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY RICH RADFORD, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: Medium: 76 lines
With the wind howling and the rain coming down at Indian River, Deep Creek decided to play conservatively Friday night.
So they passed.
Deep Creek coach Jerry Carter, applying a twist he learned from an old North Carolina coaching buddy, sent his Hornets airborne in a 16-8 victory over Indian River.
The victory allowed Deep Creek, ranked No. 2 in South Hampton Roads, to grab sole possession of first place in the Southeastern District at 6-0 overall, 3-0 in the district.
Fourth-ranked Indian River fell to 4-2, 2-1.
``When it's wet, it's to your advantage to throw,'' Carter said. ``We knew where we were going (on passing routes). They didn't. We had six balls we were rotating in and out, so the field might have been wet but the ball wasn't.''
With the green light on, Deep Creek quarterback Arnie Powell had his first 100-yard passing game. Were it not for a few untimely drops, Powell would have had much more. The 6-foot-4 sophomore completed 3-of-11 passes for 105 yards, including a 51-yard touchdown strike to Kendall Watson.
``We thought all along that (Powell) was a good quarterback,'' Indian River coach Bob Parker said. ``We respected him. We just figured he hadn't been needed as much in their other games.''
The Braves jumped to an early 8-0 lead, benefactors of a poor snap that sailed over punter Lorenzo Artis' head. Instead of risking a Braves fumble recovery near or in the end zone, Artis kicked the ball through his own end zone and conceded the safety less than two minutes into the game.
Indian River then scored on its opening possession following Deep Creek's free kick. Shawndell Joyner ran for 51 of the drive's 64 yards, completing it with a 12-yard touchdown run. The Braves lined up for an extra-point attempt, but an off-line snap sent quarterback/holder James Boyd scrambling.
Early in the second quarter, Deep Creek got on the board when Powell hit Watson on a slant pattern, and Watson did the rest.
Deep Creek's two-point conversion run by Deon Dyer was stopped, however, by Milton Hall and Antonio Person as Indian River maintained an 8-6 advantage.
The Hornets took their first lead and received a huge emotional boost in the third quarter, when Joe Verdi booted a 42-yard field goal into a crosswind.
``Verdi's kick helped us out a whole lot,'' Powell said. ``It took some of the pressure off us.''
And put it on Indian River. The Braves never had great field position in the second half and Joyner, who ran 19 times for 95 yards in the first half, started to show the effects of playing back-to-back games against Southeastern powers Norcom and Deep Creek. He finished with 117 yards on 28 rushing attempts.
``He's got some bruised ribs from the Norcom game and it really affected him in the second half,'' Parker said.
Dyer scored on a 1-yard plunge with just over five minutes remaining to give the Hornets their final cushion. The 44-yard drive was keyed by another Powell-to-Watson connection, this one for 29 yards on third-and-12 from the Indian River 34. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo by Christopher Reddick, Staff
Indian River running back Shawndell Joyner eludes Deep Creek's
Torrey Wilson on his way to a first-half touchdown. Joyner had 117
yards on 28 rushing attempts.
by CNB