THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, December 2, 1994 TAG: 9411300185
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 30 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BILL LEFFLER AND JULIE GOODRICH, STAFF WRITERS
LENGTH: Medium: 95 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 on the 26-player squad, four on offense and four on defense.
Western Branch's Donald ``Dre'' Bly was chosen as the most valuable player on offense. Norcom's Rudy Howard was picked as the top defensive player.
Deep Creek's Jerry Carter was selected as 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 on offense.
Norcom, 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 as 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 defense was an all-senior unit except for Western Brnach junior Shyrone Stith, a kick returner.
The 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,'' Carter said. ``Cochran is a fantastic technique player. I think Boone was the most dominant player in the district.
``Manning was one of our most consistant top performers.
``I don't know where we would have been without Harrell. Down the stretch he really carried us with his all-around play. He's just a super run support, pass cover guy.
``Russell and Parker rarely made mistakes. They were stalwarts up front.
``Verdi's kicking speaks for itself. He put a dozen balls in the end zone on kickoffs.
``Dyer led us all year long. There's no better runner in the area.''
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. ILLUSTRATION: Photos by GARY KNAPP
First team offensive linemen are, front row, left to right: Zollie
Russell, Deep Creek; Bryan Johnston, Western Branch and Dontrel
Parker, Deep Creek. Back row, left to right: Jeremy Bridges, Indian
River; Todd Hollowell, Western Branch and Steve Zembrzuski, Western
Branch.
First team offensive backs are, front row, left to right: Corey
Holley, Great Bridge; Darrius Edwards, Wilson and Darryl Scott,
Wilson. Back row, left to right: Daryl Walton, Western Branch; Deon
Dyer, Deep Creek and Dre Bly, Western Branch.
First team defensive linemen are, front row, left to right: Kenny
Manning, Deep Creek; Wes Cochran, Deep Creek and Kevin Mapp, Norcom.
Back row, left to right: Shawn Greene, Indian River; Lavar Bowers,
Norcom and Vernon Boone, Deep Creek.
Special team players, left to right, are Shyrone Stith, Western
Branch; Joe Verdi, Deep Creek and Carter Chapman, Churchland.
First team defensive backs are, front row, left to right: Richard
Deberry, Norcom; Deodus Harrell, Deep Creek and Dre Bly, Western
Branch. Back row, left to right: Octavius Brothers, Norcom; Quintae
McLean, Indian River and Rudy Howard, Norcom.
Deep Creek's Jerry Carter
Coach of the Year
by CNB