THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 16, 1994 TAG: 9410160245
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C8 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PAUL WHITE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 55 lines
Offense comes and goes at Norcom, but when the Greyhounds play defense the way they did Saturday, it really doesn't matter.
Norcom limited Booker T. Washington to just 80 total yards in a 15-0 victory on a blustery, bone-chilling night at Chittum Field.
In the process, Norcom rebounded from its 14-13 loss last week to Indian River and kept itself in the hunt for a Division 5 playoff berth.
``We finally played as a unit,'' said Norcom's Kevin Mapp, who turned in the play of the game when he returned a fumble 68 yards for a touchdown. ``After that loss last week it was time for us to go out and play.''
``They didn't have any choice,'' Norcom coach Joe Langston said. ``Anything else and they'll be home for Thanksgiving.''
The Greyhounds (5-1) remained on playoff course by harassing Bookers' quarterback Michael Beverly into a 6-for-15, 23-yard performance and sacking him seven times. The game's final play, with Terry Gilliam crashing into Beverly just as he released the ball, was a microcosm of the punishment the quarterback received all night.
Gilliam also registered the most significant sack of the game in the second quarter, blindsiding Beverly on a fourth-and-5 play from the Greyhounds' 21 and jarring the ball free. Mapp scooped up the loose ball at his own 32 and streaked untouched into the end zone.
Quarterback Rod Richardson scored Norcom's other touchdown on a seven-yard run. The play capped off Norcom's only sustained drive of the evening, an 11-play, 69-yard march that chewed up nearly six minutes of the first quarter.
The Greyhounds' attack struggled the rest of the night, as Norcom wound up with just 123 total yards.
But the Bookers' offense couldn't capitalize, as Norcom contained running back Michael Basnight and had Beverly scrambling for his life.
Basnight finished with 72 yards on 18 carries for the Bookers (4-2), but was unable to break the big runs that have become his specialty.
Norcom's victory continued their mastery over Eastern District teams. It was the Greyhounds' sixth straight shutout over a Norfolk school.
``We're still trying to find that momentum, like last year,'' Norcom's Rudy Howard said in reference to the team's 1993 14-0 state championship run. ``But we try to forget about last year. This team's got to find its own identity.
``Have we found it yet? Wait until the state championship game. I'll give my answer then.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Norcom's Maceo Thomas, above, and Jarmaine Granger, below, pinch
Bookers back Michael Basnight.
by CNB