THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, September 3, 1995 TAG: 9509030197
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY HARRY MINIUM, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 54 lines
For 14 members of the Virginia State football team, victory never tasted as sweet as it did Saturday at Foreman Field.
Those 14 players hail from Hampton Roads, and many played key roles for the Trojans as they rallied from a 16-0 deficit to beat Norfolk State, 41-22, in the Labor Day Classic.
Quarterback Rodney Granger, a junior from Norcom High School, completed 15 of 28 passes for 212 yards and a touchdown. Tailback Samuel Harrell, a junior from Deep Creek, ran eight times for 68 yards and a touchdown. Gary Warren, a wide receiver from Southampton, caught three passes for 42 yards.
Linebacker Jacob Luthardt, a senior captain from Norfolk who had eight tackles, and linebacker Steve Jenkins, a junior from Chesapeake, helped lead a defense that shut out Norfolk State's highly touted offense in the second half.
The victory was especially sweet for Granger, who was 0-2 against Norfolk State quarterback Aaron Sparrow when they knocked heads in high school in Portsmouth. Granger has since guided the Trojans to victories over Sparrow and the Spartans the last two seasons.
``Aaron definitely got the better of Rodney in high school,'' Virginia State coach Lou Anderson said. ``I feel so good for the kid to have played the way he has here. He's done that in every big game for us. In every big game, he's come through, and this was a big game.''
Harrell said the game is big in part because Norfolk State is a larger school with a larger following that plans to move into Division I-AA in 1997.
``It's our big game, especially for guys like from this area,'' he said. ``I played with and against so many guys on the other side of the line. It makes you play harder when you know the other guys.''
And when you're playing on national television. Saturday's game was the first for Virginia State ever on national cable - it was carried by Prime Network - and is usually their only game on TV all season.
``We came out a little shaky,'' Luthardt said. ``Maybe we had the jitters because of television and the big crowd. I know I was nervous.
``But once we got our confidence, there was no stopping us. To beat a team like this, with All-Americans like Sparrow and (James) Roe, is really special.''
BIG GATE: Although Norfolk State is moving to Division I-AA in 1997, and thus will cut its ties with most CIAA rivals, it's doubtful the Spartans will end the series with Virginia State. The teams have been drawing big crowds, and raking in big bucks, since they began playing the Labor Day Classic at Foreman Field in 1991.
Saturday's game drew an announced crowd of 25,827. Four years ago the teams drew 28,487, the third-largest crowd the Spartans have attracted at home. by CNB