THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, September 9, 1995 TAG: 9509090420
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PATTI WALSH, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 58 lines
For 25 straight games, the Kellam football team took the field hoping for a victory. And 25 straight times they came away losers. But that streak is history, as the Knights scored a 9-8 win over Norview at Chittum Field Friday night.
A series of Norview fumbles, penalties and a fourth-quarter field goal helped lift Kellam, whose last previous win was a 40-6 decision over Tallwood in 1992.
Justin Trout's 23-yard field goal with 11:59 left in the game was the winning score.
``Words cannot describe how I feel,'' said Kellam coach Chris Worst, who hadn't guided the team to a victory in his three years on the job. ``I've been with these kids for three years and the one thing these kids never did was quit. I believed in them all this time.''
Trout's field goal came after the Knights (1-0) recovered a Norview fumble, one of five lost by the Pilots, on the Norview 36-yard line and just 3:48 after Trout had missed wide on a 33-yarder.
``It feels great,'' said Trout through tears. ``We wanted to win this for Coach Worst. All I could think was that I didn't want to miss it. I wanted to kick it right down the middle.''
Added Worst: ``That just shows the love we have for each other. It's more than just X's and O's. That's what I was taught as a kid.''
After Trout gave Kellam the lead, Joe Jordan ran back the kickoff 58 yards to the Knights' 20-yard line, seemingly putting the Pilots (0-2) back in position. But Jordan's run was negated when Norview was charged with clipping. The ball returned to the Pilots' 22, where they were held at bay.
Norview had controlled the game until Trout's field goal but couldn't hang on to its 8-6 halftime lead.
The Knights jumped on the board first with 5:29 to play in the first quarter when quarterback Tim Walston scored from 10 yards out after a Norview fumble and an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.
``It's the best feeling I've ever had,'' Walston said. ``I knew we had it from the start.''
The Pilots, however, roared back and scored on James Whitley's 51-yard race down the sidelines, capping a seven-play, 74-yard drive.
Norview's Larry Austin led all rushers with 86 yards and Whitley ran for 82. Walston led Kellam with 59 yards of total offense.
Norview coach Will Robinson wasn't happy with the outcome or the playing conditions on this rainy night.
``I told my principal and my athletic director that I did not want to play this game,'' he said. ``But I was over rode. I've gotten people hurt in the past in conditions like these.
``When you play on a field like this, anybody can win. I tip my hat off to Chris Worst, though. There's nobody more deserving.'' by CNB