THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, December 10, 1995 TAG: 9512100219
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ROBIN BRINKLEY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: MANASSAS, VA. LENGTH: Long : 112 lines
James Boyd and Sam Hardy led Indian River on a 90-yard joy ride Saturday that ended with a touchdown neither player will forget - and the Braves' first state football championship.
Boyd, a junior quarterback for whom all things seem possible, and Hardy, a senior fullback who is two-thirds guts and one-third guile, teamed for three completions covering 64 yards on the winning drive.
The capper was a short pass to the right side that Hardy hauled 29 yards for the winning touchdown with 2:55 left in a 13-12 victory over C.D. Hylton in the Group AAA Division 6 final.
``I got hit as I started my pattern and slid off when the outside guy committed to Boyd,'' Hardy said. ``He just dumped it to me. I got a good block from Anthony Cason and kept my feet.''
That wasn't easy on the Stonewall Jackson High stadium turf made slick by a light snowfall during the night nor was it always advisable.
On Hylton's first play after the Braves' go-ahead touchdown, Hardy made a diving interception of a screen pass that was tipped by linebacker Tony Spivey.
The turnover gave the ball back to Indian River at the Hylton 36 with 2:26 to play. The Bulldogs held and following a punt took possession at their 16 with 1:19 on the clock.
Andy Brown hit Byron White for a 23-yard gain to the 39. But that was as far as the Bulldogs got.
Two sacks by defensive tackle Chris Jones and two incompletions returned the ball to Indian River with 14 seconds left and Boyd went down on one knee as time expired.
``This is bittersweet,'' said Jones, looking a little more sweet than bitter. ``I'm a senior and I'll never play again. But this is how I wanted it to end.''
Hylton (10-4) defensed Indian River perfectly from late in the first quarter until the winning drive. The Bulldogs committed nine players to stopping the run and held Boyd to 46 yards in 12 carries, the first time in four playoff games he was under 100.
And when tailback Byron White squirted off right tackle for a 9-yard touchdown run that put the Bulldogs ahead 12-7 with 9:43 left, it came down to whether Indian River had anything left.
Things got worse offensively for the Braves before they finally put it together. Boyd threw an interception on the first play after White's TD and that allowed Hylton to run another 2 1/2 minutes off the clock.
Only 6:40 remained when Indian River regained possession at its 29 following a Hylton punt.
A motion penalty pushed the Braves back 5 yards and on the next play they were flagged twice, for an illegal chop block and an ineligible receiver.
That pushed the ball back to the 10. Two plays gained 5 yards and on third-and-24 from the 15, Boyd found Hardy on a waggle pass - a simple dump-and-run play - for 21 yards.
That left fourth-and-3 and again Boyd delivered, this time with a 13-yard strike to running back Michael Joyner for a first down at the 49.
Two carries by Boyd gained 8 yards. Then on third-and-2 he went back to Hardy on the waggle for the touchdown.
``Give Boyd credit,'' Indian River coach Bob Parker said. ``He did some bad things and some great things. We were arguing about the waggle pass. He wanted it and I wanted to call something else.''
Asked what play he wanted to call, Parker smiled and said, ``I don't remember right now.''
Boyd completed 8 of 17 pases for 154 yards to finish with 200 yards of total offense. He also made three tackles behind the line of scrimmage and blocked a punt.
Indian River came out of the gate like a top-fuel dragster and threatened to blow open the game in the first quarter. On the fourth play from scrimmage, Boyd hit Hardy on the waggle for a 54-yard gain to the Hylton 2. Boyd scored on the next play and Kasper Peterson's extra point made it 7-0.
The Braves stopped Hylton on three plays and forced a punt. Then on first down from the 30, Joyner broke two tackles on a 64-yard run off left tackle to the Hylton 6.
Two more carries by Joyner gained only 1 yard and, on third down, Boyd threw incomplete in the end zone. Indian River lined up for a field goal attempt, but Hylton jumped offides.
With the ball at the 3, Parker sent the offense back on the field but Joyner was dropped for a 1-yard loss on an option pitch.
From that point the half deteriorated into a battle of field position. Hylton's first touchdown came on a 50-yard punt return by Marcus Farley with 1:24 left. Ryan Cott's extra point attmept was wide and Indian River led 7-6 at halftime.
Indian River opened the second half with a great scoring opportunity when Boyd blocked Cott's punt and the Braves recovered at the Hylton 19. But three runs gained 4 yards and Peterson's 32-yard field-goal attempt was wide.
The teams traded punts before Hylton began its only touchdown drive at the Bulldogs' 42. The big play was a 27-yard run to the 14 by White, who carried 22 times for 67 yards.
An encroachment penalty against Indian River moved the ball to the 9 and White scored two plays later. The Bulldogs went for two on the conversion but quarterback Andy Brown was stopped short on a run around right end. ILLUSTRATION: Color photos
CHRISTOPHER REDDICK/The Virginian-Pilot
HUY NGUYEN/The Virginian-Pilot
Above, Sam Hardy scores the winning touchdown with 2:55 remaining in
Saturday's Group AAA, Division 6 final against C.D. Hylton. His
interception of a Hylton pass with 2:26 to play sealed the victory.
At left, quarterback James Boyd, who engineered the decisive drive,
gets around Hylton linebacker Sean Farrell in the second quarter.
by CNB