THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, October 29, 1994 TAG: 9410290356
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY RICH RADFORD, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: Medium: 57 lines
Sometimes Dre Bly is an offensive terror, sometimes a defensive catalyst.
Then there are those special nights when he's both.
Bly put on a big-play exhibition Friday night as the Western Branch Bruins, ranked fifth in South Hampton Roads, downed No. 7 Indian River, 30-19, to keep alive faint playoff hopes and damage the Braves' own postseason dreams.
The 5-foot-10, 170-pounder caught four passes for 106 yards and two touchdowns and intercepted two passes, the second one on a leaping snag with six minutes left in the fourth quarter and Indian River driving.
``If anything, I underestimated him,'' said Indian River coach Bob Parker. ``And we were already giving him a lot of respect.''
Bly's first touchdown came on an 8-yard pass from Daryl Walton, which gave the Bruins (6-2 overall, 3-2 in the Southeastern District) a 10-3 lead with 3:42 remaining in the first half.
Bly followed that by picking off an option pass by running back Sam Hardy on a fly pattern to Anthony Cason with a minute remaining in the half. Bly returned it 24 yards to the Indian River 46.
But the half wasn't over and neither was Bly, who hauled in a 44-yard pass on a fly pattern down the right side. Two plays later, Malik Cook punched it in for a 17-7 lead.
Indian River (5-3, 3-2) cut the margin to 17-13 with 1:17 left in the third quarter, when James Boyd hit Cason on a quick slant for a 38-yard touchdown pass.
But the Bruins responded with a 64-yard scoring drive that ate up six minutes, concluding on a 10-yard run by Shyrone Stith, the area's leading scorer, for a 23-13 lead.
It was Stith's 17th touchdown of the season. The junior tailback is the only Group AAA player in South Hampton Roads to have scored a touchdown in every game.
The Braves went 24 yards on their next four plays and Boyd tried to hit split end Quenta McLean on a post pattern when Bly went high for his second pickoff of the game.
The Bruins played conservatively and punted after three downs, but Boyd fumbled on the second play of Indian River's next possession.
After two running plays, Bly killed the Braves' chances of a comeback when he scored on a 41-yard fly pattern down the left side for a 30-13 lead with 1:48 left.
Unfortunately, Western Branch is in Division 5 and its chances of making the playoffs are slim. Its only chance is to finish 8-2 and hope Hampton loses its remaining two games to Phoebus and Bethel. It's a possibility, but the Bruins would still need to edge Hampton, and possibly Norcom and Tabb, in the power points ratings.
Ironically, Indian River could finish 7-3, or even 6-4, and still make the Division 6 playoffs. by CNB