THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, November 24, 1995 TAG: 9511240182
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LEE TOLLIVER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 63 lines
Most recent editions of the annual Joy Fund Charity Bowl have been close.
But that all changed Thanksgiving Day when a combined team of former Beach and Eastern district players showed up at the Center for Effective Learning Stadium with a bunch of new faces - younger faces.
``The game has a different look this year,'' organizer John Brett said as he watched the Beach/Eastern squad demolish a group of former Southeastern District players 39-7 in the 28th annual fund raiser for the Joy Fund. ``Lots of new people playing this year.''
The most noticable was former Green Run and First Colonial standout Shawn Beasley - a guy who hadn't played a single down of football since his final game as a Patriot in 1991.
Beasley played baseball at a couple of junior colleges and has since been a hot commodity in local volleyball circles.
Thursday, he shared duty with longtime Charity Bowl quarterback Jerry Alford of Booker T. Washington and gave the Southeastern a taste of what kind of player he used to be - throwing for 133 yards and three touchdowns on 4-for-8 passing.
``This is my first time. I was working security at Plaza Elementary School and Boo Boo Mitchell talked me into coming out,'' Beasley said. ``I've really missed football since high school and it feels good to be out here.
``This game was very competitive and I definitely can't miss this anymore. I've got a taste of football again.''
After the Southeastern team had opened the scoring with a 13-yard run by 1985 Indian River graduate Shawn Vaughan and the extra point by 1977 Cradock graduate Vernon Gregory, Beasley and company went to work.
On the third play of the third quarter, Beasley went to James Rogers on a short outlet pass and the 1989 Princess Anne graduate went 30 yards. Tom Edwards, a 1986 graduate of First Colonial, knotted the score with his point after kick.
From there on, it was all Beach/Eastern as the winning squad amassed 350 yards total offense to just 94 for the Southeastern.
Beach/Eastern scored two more times in the second quarter on a 14-yard run by 1986 First Colonial graduate Raymond Steverson and an 11-yarder by 1989 Bayside player Kevin Blanding.
In the third quarter, Jose Silver (Princess Anne, 1983) helped Beasley out by diving in the end zone to complete a 20-yard scoring toss. Early in the third, Beasley found James Church (Booker T. Washington, 1983) for a 39-yard scoring strike.
D.C. Crite, a 1988 Kellam graduate, rounded out the scoring on a 3-yard run with 3:37 remaining.
Crite won most outstanding offensive player honors, while Steverson was named the MVP. Teammate Roderick Burke (Norview, 1980) was the most outstanding defensive player. ILLUSTRATION: HUY NGUYEN
The Virginian-Pilot
Former Great Bridge player Ricky Laumann loses his facemask while
making a tackle in the 28th annual Charity Bowl Thursday.
by CNB