THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, December 11, 1994 TAG: 9412110212
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PAUL WHITE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Long : 102 lines
Deep Creek tried to match their finesse against Patrick Henry-Ashland's power Saturday, and in a way, it worked.
The Hornets met their match.
The Patriots churned out 302 total yards - all on the ground - and overpowered the Hornets, 21-7, on a raw, wet afternoon at University of Richmond Stadium to win the Group AAA, Division 5 state title for the first time in school history.
The Patriots (14-0) also became the first Central Region team to win a state title since Petersburg in 1979.
Elusive quarterback Daninelle Derricott ran for 119 yards and a touchdown to lead the Patriots' rushing assault, which was triggered by a mammoth offensive line which featured four players weighing at least 276 pounds.
``We had the quickness,'' Hornets defensive back Torrey Wilson said. ``But when they come up the middle, quickness can't stop that.''
The Hornets were denied their first state football championship and ended the season with a school-best 13-1 record.
``Our kids fought well,'' Deep Creek coach Jerry Carter said. ``They just had a little too much beef for us.''
So overpowering was Patrick Henry's rushing attack that for the second straight week, the Patriots won without completing a pass. Derricott was 0 for 4 Saturday with an interception. In the Patriots' 33-14 victory over Fairfax in the state semifinals, his missed on his only passing attempt.
But the 5-9, 145-pound senior made up for his passing deficiencies by darting through cracks created by his heavyweight blockers and picking his way through the Deep Creek secondary. After holding their own against elusive quarterbacks all season, Deep Creek finally met one they couldn't contain.
``He wasn't as good as (Hampton quarterback Ronald) Curry, because he doesn't have an arm,'' Wilson said. ``But when he scrambles, he's dangerous.''
Derricott was especially dangerous on third-and-long situations. Running a play called 24 bootleg, Derricott raced 37 yards on a third-and-7 from the Deep Creek 48 late in the first quarter. Two plays later, fullback Okema Lewis (nine carries, 51 yards) rumbled over left tackle from a yard out for the game's first touchdown.
``Number 45 (Deep Creek linebacker Dumeka Haskett) and I had a few words before the game,'' Derricott said. ``I knew they were coming after me. They wanted to stick me real hard. But they were overpursuing me a lot. I'd just step out of the way and I was gone.''
Lewis' run finished off an 11-play, 6:22 drive, a series of snaps that set the tone for the afternoon. The next time the Patriots got the ball, they engineered a 13-play, 96-yard, 6:31 drive capped by O'Neil Terrell's 19-yard quick hitter up the middle, which gave the Patriots a 14-0 lead.
And in the second half, the Patriots bridged the third and fourth quarters with another six-minute drive that yielded their final touchdown, a 9-yard Derricott run.
Derricott made the 24 bootleg work again on this drive, as he converted a third-and-11 with a 15-yard run four plays before his touchdown.
``They ran the ball right at us,'' Carter said. ``They're a good football team.''
The Hornets scored their lone touchdown late in the first half after a Dee Harrell interception. Deep Creek moved 68 yards in 1:42, and scored on a 5-yard pass from Arnie Powell to Jason Waters with seven seconds remaining in the first half.
But it was one of the rare highlights for Powell, who sustained a season's worth of punishment in one afternoon.
Much of the hitting was done by 6-4, 291-pound tackle Damien Woody, an offensive tackle who saw spot duty on defense in the Patriots' other playoff games but played the entire game both ways Saturday.
Woody, who often lined up against 230-pound tackle Tiernan Hughes, had two sacks and batted down two passes.
``I basically used a bull rush and tried to throw him out of the way,'' Woody said.
Thanks in large part to the pressure created by Woody and his mates, Powell completed just four of his 16 passing attempts with two interceptions. He was sacked three times and hit virtually every time he dropped back.
Fullback Deon Dyer gained 91 yards on 12 carries but was held out of the end zone for only the second time all year.
Mistakes also hurt the Hornets. In addition to two interceptions, a Harrell fumble on the first series of the game cost the Hornets the ball at the Patriot 25. And a motion penalty cost the Hornets five yards during a promising second-quarter drive. Three plays later, a 48-yard field goal attempt by Joe Verdi fell about 5 yards short.
``We knew we had to play pretty close to a perfect game,'' Carter said. ``We were a long way away from that today.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
PAUL AIKEN/Staff
Deep Creek quarterback Arnie Powell lies on the ground as Corey
Rivers of Patrick Henry celebrates a late-game sack. Powell
completed 4 of 16 attempts with two interceptions. He was sacked
three times and pressured almost every time he dropped back.
Photo
PAUL AIKEN/Staff
Deep Creek's Vernon Boone can't grab Patrick Henry quarterback
Daninelle Derricott, right, whose bootleg runs hurt the Hornets.
by CNB