THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, November 27, 1994 TAG: 9411270246
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DENISE MICHAUX, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 70 lines
If only there were a way to bottle it and sell it.
Nansemond River head coach Jerry Varacallo wishes he could coach it.
Donald Turner has it - the ability to make the big play with everything on the line.
Turner, the Bay Rivers District defensive player of the year, didn't disappoint on Saturday afternoon with a late interception of offensive player of the year Brian Ginn to lead the Warriors to their second straight Group AA, Region I, Division 4 title with a 10-6 win over York at Arrowhead Stadium.
The Warriors (11-1) will travel to Spotsylvania to face the Knights in the Group AA state semifinal next Saturday.
With less than two minutes to play in the game and Nansemond River leading, 10-6, Ginn hooked up with Brian Cardone on a 26-yard pass. A personal foul call against the Warriors put the Falcons (8-4) on the Warriors' 23 with 1:16 remaining.
Leshawn Pugh and Leon Porter knocked the Falcons back to the 30 with a sack of Ginn to bring up second-and-17 with 56 seconds remaining.
``I just kept telling everyone to contain the quarterback,'' Turner said. ``I was hoping he would go to my side. I was saying, `Please go to my side.' ''
Ginn responded by lofting a pass out to his left.
``I saw it the whole way,'' Turner said. ``I just stepped in front. The pass was little out of my reach, so I just dove for it and it fell into my arms.''
``We don't coach that,'' Varacallo said. ``That's just pure athletic ability. If I could find a way to coach big plays . . .''
Trailing 6-3 with less than nine minutes to play, the Warriors hadn't been able to utilize Porter on the option and were running out of time to make something happen.
On second-and-10 from their own 37, Porter finally let loose on the option and scampered down the right sideline to the York 20, where Brian Smiley pushed him out of bounds.
A penalty and two uneventful plays later the Warriors were faced with a third-and-12 from the Falcons 23.
Enter a 6-4, 195-pound freshman with only four games of varsity experience under his belt. Anthony Jones was promoted from the junior varsity squad to help out through the playoffs and had already caught a 17-yard pass in the second half to set up Drey Asbell's 35-yard field goal.
Porter found Jones running across midfield for a 15-yard connection to keep the Warriors' drive alive.
Dejuan Gambrell followed it up with an 8-yard run into the end zone and Nansemond River was on top for the first time all afternoon with 6:55 left.
The Falcons had taken a 6-3 lead into the locker room, and they seemed to get all of the breaks in the third period.
The Falcons fumbled the ball three straight times, but instead of coughing it up into the Warriors hands, the Falcons recovered all three and got a first down out of the deal.
Joe Johnson started the string, recovering his fumble for a 4-yard gain. Je'cisken Ramsey repeated that for a 1-yard gain and then Brad Orgeron fumbled a pass from Ginn, but recovered it for a 5-yard gain and a first down.
``I was beginning to wonder a little bit then,'' Varacallo said. ``We weren't getting any of the bounces.''
Turner finished the game with 124 yards on 20 carries to lead all rushers. Ramsey paced the Falcons with 92 yards on 27 carries. ILLUSTRATION: MICHAEL KESTNER photo
Nansemond River's Donald Turner shakes off a York defender Saturday.
Turner finished with 124 yards on 20 carries.
by CNB