THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 8, 1995 TAG: 9510080177
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ED MILLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 74 lines
Badly hobbled by an ankle injury, Norfolk State's All-American receiver, James Roe, was to be used only in a true, glass-breaking emergency during the second half of Saturday afternoon's game against Bethune-Cookman.
Sticking to that plan, Spartan coach Darnell Moore kept Roe off the field, even as a 15-point Norfolk State lead melted away.
But with just 2:27 left and his team 72 yards from the goal, Moore got out his hammer. Roe went in, and with 1:03 remaining, caught a 5-yard touchdown pass from Aaron Sparrow to lift Norfolk State to a dramatic 35-33 win in the 48th annual Fish Bowl Classic at Foreman Field.
Roe's catch capped a seven-play drive that took just 1:23. Sparrow, just 22 of 57 on the day, completed five of six passes on the final drive.
``The crowd woke me up, to tell you the truth,'' Sparrow said. ``All I had to do was concentrate, take my time, and pick those guys apart.''
A soggy crowd of 8,716 rose in anticipation of the type of last-minute heroics Sparrow and Roe have provided many times. Roe had made a cameo appearance in the first half, catching two passes, and it appeared at halftime that his services wouldn't be needed again.
But the Spartan offense stalled, and a 28-13 halftime lead became a 33-28 deficit with 5:07 to play, when Bethune's Alton Bolden kicked a 36-yard field goal.
Norfolk State's final chance came with 2:27 left, when the Spartans took over at their own 28. Norfolk State had moved to the Bethune 46 when Sparrow found Darius Blount for a 39 yard completion that gave the Spartans first-and-goal from the 7.
Two plays later, Roe lined up in the backfield, then moved to a flanker position as the ball was snapped. Bethune's defense didn't react quickly enough, and Sparrow lobbed a pass to Roe in the left corner of the end zone.
``Coach Moore drew it up,'' Roe said. ``He kind of disguised it. I'm just glad I was able to loosen up enough to do something. Early on, it felt like I wasn't going to be able to do anything.''
Early on, it didn't appear that Roe would need to. With Marty Conner (11 catches, 136 yards) having a career day and the offensive line opening big holes, Norfolk State (4-2) scored 21 straight first-half points to go up 21-6 with 7:19 left in the half. Division I-AA Bethune (2-3) took advantage of a Sparrow interception to make it 21-13, but then the Spartans, helped by a 40-yard kickoff return by Jerry Davis, drove 41 yards in the final minute of the half to make it 28-13.
That was all the Spartans would get until the final game-winning drive, however. Bethune, meanwhile, started to warm up behind quarterback Todd Walker and receiver Morris Nobles.
With 14:10 left, Nobles got behind the NSU secondary and Walker hit him with a 73-yard touchdown pass. Less than three minutes later, the pair hooked up again. The second score gave Bethune a 30-28 lead. Walker finished the day 31 of 60 for 391 yards. Nobles caught 7 passes for 194 yards.
``Those things happen, you've just got to suck it up and come back on the next series,'' cornerback Lydell Finley said.
The defense did its part by forcing Bethune to punt with 2:32 remaining, setting up Norfolk State's final drive.
Moore said the idea was to use Roe as a decoy on the final drive, until Norfolk State got inside the 20.
``Only in the red zone,'' Moore said.
Bethune's cornerbacks did a good job of jamming Roe early in the drive, until Moore devised a way of freeing him.
``We didn't cover it right and that's just a lack of concentration,'' said Bethune coach Jack ``Cy'' McLaren. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
GARY C. KNAPP
Norfolk State's Darius Blount brings down the ball during the
Spartans first possession.
by CNB