THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, November 15, 1994 TAG: 9411150459
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C7 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PAUL WHITE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: Medium: 81 lines
It's hard for a player to be candid when his coach is within earshot.
So it was hardly surprising that, with Deep Creek head coach Jerry Carter sitting less than 5 feet away, Hornets' fullback Deon Dyer was saying all the right things about his role on the team.
Yes, Dyer said, he considers himself a team player. No, it doesn't bother him that he only carried the ball an average of 13 times a game. And no, he doesn't really worry about when he's going to get the ball.
``When we're on the goal line, it might shock me if I don't get it,'' the 6-foot, 230-pound junior said. ``But most of the time, I really don't know when I'm going to get it.''
``Ah, come on, now,'' Carter interrupted. ``When we really need it, you know who gets it.''
Opponents know it, too. They just haven't been able to do much.
In the Hornets' season opener, Dyer had just seven first-half carries and Deep Creek trailed Booker T. Washington, 12-6, at the break. In the second half, however, Dyer carried 18 times for 120 yards and the winning touchdown as the Hornets prevailed, 13-12.
And in the Hornets' Southeastern District showdown with Norcom, which specializes in stopping the run, Dyer picked up 96 of his 120 yards and all three Deep Creek touchdowns after the half in a 21-3 victory that all but eliminated the defending state champion Greyhounds from the playoffs.
``I can't remember the last time a back ran like that against us,'' Norcom coach Joe Langston said.
It's been that kind of season for Dyer, who has rebounded from an injury-plagued sophomore season to help the Southeastern District champion Hornets post a 10-0 record heading into Friday's Eastern Region Division 5 playoff game against Phoebus. Kickoff at Western Branch is at 8 p.m.
Dyer has scored 17 touchdowns and likely would have gained a lot more than 935 yards if the Hornets didn't have such a balanced offense. Indeed, the only person who can hold Dyer under 100 yards appears to be Carter. Dyer's 135 carries were five fewer than Deep Creek's slotback combination of Deodus Harrell and Cedrec Williams.
But because a diverse offense is one of the main reasons Deep Creek finished the regular season unbeaten, Carter makes no apologies for Dyer's number of carries.
``He's not the machine, he's part of the machine,'' Carter said. ``We try to sell the kids on the notion that the team isn't just one person.''
Nor does Dyer seem to mind the way he's used.
``I don't care if I only get three carries,'' he said. ``It's a team thing. How much I get the ball doesn't bother me at all.''
Just don't tell him he can't block. Laying out a defender with a devastating block means more to Dyer than carrying the ball.
Dyer breaks into a big smile when the subject comes up.
``I love contact,'' he said. ``My favorite play is the pitch, with Dee, Lawrence (Claiborne) or Cedrec coming around and whoever's out there on that end, I get to block. I see that guy out there and I feel like I just have to go out and get him.''
Not being involved in contact was one of the main frustrations for Dyer last season. He injured his left ankle in the Hornets' opener, then badly sprained his right ankle later in the season and missed all or part of six games.
``That was really hard for me,'' he said. ``I didn't know how to handle it at first, because I'd never really been seriously injured before. Thoughts of quitting were going through my head.''
Dyer stuck it out, though, and rehabbed until he was 100 percent for Deep Creek's opener.
``That first game, I just prayed to the Lord that everything would be all right,'' he said. ``After that, I just had to believe in myself.''
Ten games later, all of Deep Creek's opponents have been turned into Dyer believers, too. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by L. TODD SPENCER
Deon Dyer has scored 17 touchdowns and gained 935 yards in 135
carries. ``I don't care if I only get three carries,'' he said.
``It's a team thing. How much I get the ball doesn't bother me at
all.''
by CNB