THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, November 17, 1995 TAG: 9511170664
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 22 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BILL LEFFLER AND JULIE GOODRICH, STAFF WRITERS
LENGTH: Medium: 69 lines
IT WAS ONLY natural that players from the top three finishers in Southeastern District football this season - champion Deep Creek, runner-up Western Branch and third-place Indian River - dominated individual and team statistics in the league this year.
Deep Creek's Deon Dyer captured the scoring crown and was the leading rusher in the eight-team conference, which will be changing its alignment next year with Portsmouth schools moving to the Eastern District.
Dyer, a 6-foot, 240-pound senior, racked up 132 points and rushed for 1,289 yards. A year ago, he was runner-up to Western Branch's Shyrone Stith. The two reversed positions this year, Stith was second with 74 points.
The Hornets also had the kick-scoring leader in Joe Verdi, who registered 49 points. Verdi kicked four field goals and 37 extra points.
Coincidentally, the Hornets and Bruins also swapped the 1-2 kick-scoring positions from a year ago. Western Branch's Dan Dussia, the leader last year with 45 points, was runner-up with 31. Verdi, a 5-10, 165-pound senior, had 28 last year.
Indian River's James Boyd set the pace in passing, throwing for 1,132 yards. A 5-11, 190-pound junior, Boyd completed 72 of 154 attempts.
Western Branch's Daryl Walton also broke the 1,000 yard barrier, finishing second with 1,079. Walton hit on 77 of 145 throws. He won top honors last year with 1,328 yards.
The leading receiver was Walton's twin brother, Darren, who hauled in 39 catches. His receptions totaled 554 yards, giving him the top spot in both catches and total yardage.
Indian River's Boyd was the total offense leader with 1,520 yards. Walton, who finished third behind Dyer, was the pacesetter last year with 1,328.
Norcom's Jones was the front-runner in Portsmouth with 715 yards, seven more than Sessoms.
Deep Creek captured team offensive honors. The Hornets rushed and passed for an average of 314.3 yards per game. Indian River was second with 288.8, just edging Western Branch (288.5). Churchland was fourth with 273.9.
The Hornets also led in scoring with a 30.9 average. Western Branch was runner-up with 26.3.
On defense, Indian River was the leader, surrendering only 172.5 yards per outing. Deep Creek was second and Norcom third. Deep Creek yielded the least points, an average of 7.2 per game.
Top honors in Portsmouth in rushing went to Churchland's Termaine Sessoms. The 5-7, 185-pound fullback registered 708 yards in 109 assignments and was runner-up to Dyer in the district.
Portsmouth's passing leader was Norcom's Kevin Jones, who threw for 665 yards.
Jones, who is only a freshman, connected on 50 of 136 passes. The 6-2, 200-pounder placed fourth in the district. Great Bridge's Mike Cuddyer was third with 931 yards on a 75-of-183 effort.
Norcom's Lutrell Chavis, a junior wide receiver, led Portsmouth players in receptions with 18.
The leading Portsmouth scorer was Churchland's Sessoms with 48 points. This came on eight touchdowns. ILLUSTRATION: Photos
Darren Walton
Deon Dyer
Joe Verdi
James Boyd
by CNB