THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, October 26, 1996 TAG: 9610260486
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PAUL WHITE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 66 lines
Turns out the talk about the rivalry and the way things were in the good ol' days didn't have much to do with what happened in the 64th meeting between Booker T. Washington and Norcom after all.
The real motivation behind the No. 3 Greyhounds emphatic 27-7 victory over the No. 5 Bookers Friday night was a lot more basic.
``They were in the road to where we want to go,'' Norcom coach Joe Langston said. ``They were in the way.''
Not anymore. The decisive victory gave the Greyhounds (7-1, 5-0) sole possession of first place in the Eastern District and left them in control of the race for the district's automatic berth in the Division 5 playoffs. The Bookers lost for the first time in Eastern District play.
The game was marred briefly by a halftime brawl involving the Booker T. Washington and Norcom bands, a skirmish which induced a handful of the roughly 3,500 fans at the Bookers' new stadium to hop the fence to join the fray before police restored order.
Although the players took no part in the hostilities, the fight may have played a role in a sloppily played third quarter which saw the teams combine for four fumbles and an interception.
``That's a natural reaction,'' Langston said. ``The kids see something like that and get all fired up. It's unfortunate, but we've got good kids.''
James Lavendar scored a pair of touchdowns, TaRon Anderson, healthy for the first time in weeks, ran for 114 yards and a score and Kevin Jones threw for 118 yards and a touchdown to highlight a balanced Norcom offense. But it was the Greyhounds defense which sparkled brightest Friday, imposing its will on the Booker offense. Booker T. Washington (5-3, 4-1) finished with 140 yards total offense, and most of that came on one trick play and during a garbage-time fourth quarter.
``We had to keep the pressure on 'em all night,'' Norcom lineman William Stanley said.
The Greyhounds' pass rush so intense it often caught up to the Booker passers Dominic Perry and Kelvin Fuller five or six steps into their seven-step drops.
``They were fierce,'' said Perry, who caught a helmet on his passing shoulder midway through the second quarter and spent the remainder of the game wearing an icepack. ``They were coming.''
This aggressiveness backfired on the Greyhounds early, however. Aware of the Greyhounds' passion for rushing the punter, Perry fired 52-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Garrion Baker out of punt formation on the first series of the game.
But the Greyhounds went 57 yards in seven plays to the Bookers 10 on their first possession. Then, on fourth and a yard, Lavendar sprinted 10 yards around right tackle for the tying touchdown.
Lavendar then took Jones' screen pass 21 yards for a score on the first play of the second quarter, and Anderson's one-yard plunge put the Greyhounds up by 14 at the half.
The Bookers had a chance to close to within seven when George Cutler picked off a Jones pass at the Greyhounds 33. But four plays later, Norcom defensive end Genoa Everett blindsided Fuller to force a fumble which the Greyhounds recovered. ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]
MIKE HEFFNER
The Virginian-Pilot
Norcom's TaRon Anderson slips past George Cutler of Booker T.
Washington for some of his 114-yard rushing production. James
Lavendar scored two TDs and Kevin Jones threw for 118 yards. by CNB