THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, December 18, 1995 TAG: 9512180120
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C6 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LEE TOLLIVER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Short : 40 lines
The Columbus Battlestars' 20-0 victory Sunday in the first Hampton Roads Holiday Bowl at the Center for Effective Learning helped close the door on a Hampton Roads Sharks season that slid the wrong way towards the end.
``I'm embarrassed for the fans,'' coach Red Stickney said of the small crowd that braved a bitter, wind-driven chill. ``The last two games, the team hasn't been in it at all. They came out here 13-2 and the game didn't seem to mean anything to them.
``The fans stuck with us and we have a better football team than they saw in the last two games.''
That team failed to show against Columbus - which at 15-0 is the only unbeaten minor league football team in the country.
The Sharks were without eight starters, and it showed most on offense - playing without the starting quarterback, top running back, two wide receivers and three linemen.
Had Columbus not been flagged 15 times for 125 penalty yards, the outcome could have been worse.
After the teams traded possessions for the first quarter, Columbus mounted the game's first sustained drive only to be stopped at the Hampton Roads 2 by a Sharks defensive stand.
But Hampton Roads couldn't muster any offense, punted from the back of the end zone and watched as Columbus went in from the Sharks 23 in five plays capped by quarterback Clarence Royale's 2-yard run.
Royale put his team up 12-0 just before halftime when he found Craig Avery on an 82-yard bomb.
Columbus then nailed the coffin shut when Avery took the second half kickoff 90 yards. Timba Johnson ran in the conversion to round out the scoring. by CNB