THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, November 4, 1995 TAG: 9511040514
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LEE TOLLIVER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Short : 45 lines
Mike Majette was hoping for a convincing performance when and if he broke the South Hampton Roads career rushing record of 4,085 yards set in 1993 by Norcom's Terry Ricks.
Friday against Cox, he was more than convincing.
Needing 73 yards to make the record his, Majette exploded for a 316-yard, three-touchdown effort that shattered Ricks' mark while sparking a 34-14 Cavaliers victory.
Majette's performance was the fourth best single game total in Beach District history - 18 shy of Lamont Still's 334-yard effort while at Cox.
It left him with 4,329 yards and one game left to play.
The Princess Anne senior ran his game total to 74 yards on the second play of the second quarter on an 8-yard dash past the right tackle.
The officials then stopped the game as Majette's parents raced onto the field and accepted the game ball.
``That was a great experience for me,'' he said.
``I thank God and my parents and having my mom and dad out here supporting me tonight meant a lot to me.
``Right now, I just feel great. This was the best game of my career and I wanted to make sure I really broke the record if I broke it.''
Majette had 236 yards going into his 27th attempt. That one was the capper - an isolation play past the tackle in which he dashed 78 yards for his final touchdown of the night.
``He's an amazing back,'' coach Mike Benzel said. ``He's got breakaway speed and he's hard to bring down.
``He's a man playing a child's game.''
Majette's touchdowns on runs of 10, 24 and the 78-yarder would have been enough to beat Cox, but the Cavaliers (3-6 overall, 2-6 Beach District) also got a pair of 1-yard touchdown runs from quarterback Aaron Mitchell.
The Falcons (4-5, 4-4) got second-quarter scores on a 12-yard run by Leroy Ellsworth and a 9-yard pass from Bart Dexter to Mike McIlravy. by CNB