THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, September 10, 1995 TAG: 9509070257
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST PAGE: 54 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JEFF ZEIGLER
DATELINE: ELIZABETH CITY LENGTH: Medium: 78 lines
WITH A YOUNG up-and-coming football team like Northeastern High School, there are going to be games which are so close that one mistake is the difference between a win and a loss.
Last Friday's 27-21 loss to Bertie County was one of those games.
A critical fumble by Northeastern's Don Jones on a rainy field in the fourth quarter set up the Falcons winning score. Ironically Jones scored two touchdowns for the Eagles and also rushed for 121 yards on 15 carries.
Bertie quarterback Shawn Ricks broke a 21-21 tie with a four-yard touchdown run with 4:37 to play.
Mounting its own drive, Jones fumbled and James Bell recovered for Bertie at the Falcons' 37 with 8:37 to play.
Bertie moved the ball 26 yards on four running plays. Then, on a second and four from the Northeastern 37, Andre Burden ran for five yards. But the Eagles were called for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, pushing the ball to the 17. Four plays later Ricks, who gained 76 yards on the ground, rushed four yards for the score. The extra point pass by Ricks was incomplete and the final stood at 27-21.
The contest saw several long scoring plays. Bertie started the fireworks early. On the first play of the game from scrimmage, Ricks caught the Northeastern secondary off guard and hit Jamon Allensworth with an 80-yard touchdown pass. It was Ricks' lone completion of the evening. Marvin Rankins booted the extra point for a 7-0 lead with just 12 seconds gone in the contest.
Much to the Eagles' credit, they mounted a scoring drive on their first possession. Quarterback Timmy Mitchell hit Steve Christian with a pass over the middle and Christian ran 35 yards. On the next play, Jones rambled 28 yards for the touchdown with 9:55 left in the first quarter. Northeastern attempted an unsuccessful fake on the extra point attempt and Bertie held a 7-6 lead.
The Falcons also scored on their next possession. It looked as if the Eagles would stop the drive when Bertie faced a third and four from its own 47. But Ricks burst through the middle and outran everyone for a 53-yard touchdown run with 7:40 to play in the first quarter. Rankins' extra point attempt was blocked, and the Bertie lead stood at 13-6.
The Eagles countered early in the second quarter when Christian outjumped defenders in the end zone and caught an 11-yard touchdown pass from Mitchell with 10:41 to play in the half. The catch ended a seven-play, 54-yard drive. Daniel Edwards' extra point kick was wide left and Bertie held a 13-12 lead.
Northeastern took a 15-13 lead with 45 seconds to play in the half on a 35-yard field goal by Edwards, but the Eagles could have had more. On a third and five play from its own 22, Northeastern's Mitchell hit Christian with a pass. Christian ran 71 yards down to the Bertie eight. But on the next two plays Kentron King was stopped for no gain and Mitchell was sacked back to the 18 to set up the field goal.
The Eagles mounted a long drive to start the second half. With 6:45 to play in the third quarter, Jones ran one yard for the score to end a 13-play, 72-yard drive. Edwards' extra point kick was wide, and the Eagles held a 21-13 lead.
Perhaps the turning point in the game came on the ensuing kickoff. Burden took the boot by Luke McCary and ran 76 yards down to the Northeastern nine. Two plays later, Burden rushed in from four yards out for the score at 5:48. The extra point pass from Ricks to Dunta Sutton was good and the Falcons tied the game at 21-21.
``The biggest play of the game was the 70-some-yard return they (Bertie) had after giving up the touchdown,'' said Northeastern head coach Eric McDaniels. ``That's hard to swallow.''
Roy Bond, Bertie head coach, said the fumble recovery by Bertie was also a big play.
``That was a real critical fumble,'' he said. ``They could have won the ball game on that drive.''
``The big plays early hurt us,'' McDaniels said after the game. ``Overall I thought we moved the ball well. The rain played in their favor, that was evident in the second half. Overall I was pleased with how the kids played.'' by CNB