THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, December 2, 1994 TAG: 9411300171
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 26 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Sports
SOURCE: BY BILL LEFFLER AND JULIE GOODRICH, STAFF WRITERS
LENGTH: Long : 108 lines
WITH ITS FIRST district championship since 1990 and seeking its first state championship ever, Deep Creek dominated the 1994 All-Southeastern District football team.
The Hornets placed eight players on the 26-player squad, four on offense and four on defense.
Picked by the coaches at the eight schools, the team clearly showed the overall power of the district. Western Branch's Donald ``Dre'' Bly was chosen as the most valuable player on offense and Norcom's Rudy Howard was picked as the top defensive player.
Deep Creek's Jerry Carter, who has led the unbeaten Hornets to 12 straight victories and the school's first Eastern Region championship, was selected coach of the year.
Western Branch, boasting the highest scoring team in school history, monopolized the offense with six of the 13 players. Wilson placed two, and Great Bridge had one.
Norcom's, the No. 1 ranked defensive team in the area, topped the 14 defensive selections with five. Western Branch and Indian River each landed two and Churchland had one.
An all-senior offensive line included Western Branch's Bryan Johnston at center, Deep Creek's Zollie Russell and Western Branch's Steve Zembrzuski as the guards and Deep Creek's Dontrel Parker and Western Branch's Todd Hollowell at the tackles.
Bly and Wilson's Darrius Edwards were the wideouts.
Only one senior, Wilson running back Darryl Scott, was able to break into a talented backfield that included Western Branch sophomore quarterback Daryl Walton, Great Bridge junior running back Corey Holley and Deep Creek junior fullback Deon Dyer.
The kicker was Deep Creek's Joe Verdi, another junior.
The defensive squad was an all-senior unit except for kick returner Shyrone Stith, a Western Branch junior.
The down linemen are Deep Creek's Vernon Boone and Wes Cochran, Norcom's Lavar Bowers and Indian River's Shawn Greene.
Norcom's Kevin Mapp and Deep Creek's Kenny Manning are the ends.
The linebackers are Norcom's Richard Deberry and Octavius Brothers and Indian River's Quintae McLean.
Joining Norcom's Howard as defensive backs are Bly, the lone two-way selection, and Deodus Harrell of Deep Creek.
Churchland's Carter Chapman, who topped the district with a 33.6-yard average, was picked as the punter.
There are no holdovers from last year's offensive team. Deberry, Greene, Howard and Bly repeated on defense.
``The eight players from Deep Creek all had vital roles in our championship,'' said Carter.
``Boone and Cochran anchored our defense. Cochran is a fantastic technique player. I think Boone was the most dominant player in the district.
``Manning was one of our most consistent top performers and never did anything that would hurt you.
``I don't know where we would have been without Harrell. Down the stretch he really carried us with his all-around play.
``Russell and Parker were two more players who rarely made mistakes. They were stalwarts up front.
``Verdi's kicking speaks for itself. He put a dozen balls in the endzone on kickoffs and if we had needed to go for a field goal to win that Hampton game, I have no doubts that he would have made it.
``Dyer led us all year long. There's no better runner in the area. He was an awfully important contributor to our championship.''
The offense likely is the highest scoring in district history. The players racked up more than 400 points, led by Dyer's 104, Bly's 86 and Holley's 84.
The defense also packs a lot of scoring punch, topped by Stith, the district's leading scorer with 110 points, as a kick returner. Howard had 72 points.
The second team had all schools represented, with six players from Churchland, five from Deep Creek, Indian River and Western Branch, three from Norcom and Wilson, one from Great Bridge and one from Oscar Smith. ILLUSTRATION: Photos
Donald `Dre' Bly, Western Branch, is MVP on offense.
Coach of the year Jerry Carter guided unbeaten Deep Creek.
Norcom's Rudy Howard was named top defensive player.
Richard Deberry
Octavius Brothers
Rudy Howard
Kevin Mapp
Lavar Bowers
Carter Chapman
Darrius Edwards
Darryl Scott
Chart
ALL-SOUTHEASTERN DISTRICT FOOTBALL TEAMS
For copy of chart, see microfilm
by CNB