THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, November 18, 1995 TAG: 9511181753
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY CHARLIE BAUMGARDNER, CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: HAMPTON LENGTH: Short : 42 lines
Granby's defense, which had shut out its last three opponents, did the job for a half against high-powered Hampton Friday night. But the Crabbers turned it on in the final two periods and posted a 28-0 win over the Comets in an Eastern Region Division 5 semifinal game at Darling Stadium.
Hampton (10-1) will face Deep Creek (11-0) in the region title game Nov. 24 at Oscar Smith.
It is a rematch of last year's region final, which the Hornets won 48-42 on a controversial touchdown reception by Dee Harrell in the final seconds.
Granby (7-4) was trailing by only 7-0 at the half, but the Crabbers were, at times, their one worst enemy. Hampton had two touchdown passes called back in the first quarter and D.J. Alexander intercepted a Ronald Curry pass at the goal line in the second period to prevent another Hampton score.
``We struggled offensively,'' said Curry, who scored the game's first touchdown on a 25-yard run with 8:30 left in the second period. ``But our defense picked us up.''
The Comets, who managed just 127 yards in total offense, had only one serious scoring threat. That came early in the second half when quarterback Anthony King scrambled 50 yards to the Hampton 20. But Mark Bacote made one of his two interceptions two plays later to end the threat.
Hampton finally got untracked in the third period when Curry hit Christopher Ricks with a 32-yard scoring pass. Darryl Smith, who rushed for 128 yards on 15 carries, added a pair of 18-yard touchdown runs in the fourth period to complete the scoring.
``It's a shame the final score was 28-0,'' said Granby coach Dave Hudak. ``We played well on defense. We made some mistakes on offense, the kind you can't make against a great team.
``This won't leave a sour taste in our mouths, though. Over the year, our defense really came through for us.'' by CNB