DATE: Saturday, August 30, 1997             TAG: 9708300578

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY PAUL WHITE, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: NORFOLK                           LENGTH:   49 lines

TROJANS COULD SPOIL SPARTANS' CELEBRATION

The only problem with the dawning of new eras in Norfolk State football recently has been Virginia State's abject refusal to cooperate.

In 1993, the Trojans dropped a wet blanket on the much-ballyhooed debut of coach Archie ``Gunslinger'' Cooley, posting a 21-7 victory in a thunderstorm-delayed Labor Day Classic. The following year, Virginia State marked Darnell Moore's arrival as head coach with a 54-6 thumping of the Spartans.

Fast forward to tonight's 7th annual Labor Day Classic. Spartan fans will be celebrating not only the opening of the on-campus Dick Price Stadium but also Norfolk State's new status as a full-fledged Division I-AA program.

Will the Trojans spoil the party again?

``I hope so,'' Virginia State coach Lou Anderson said. ``All the hype around the football game means very little to us. We're in it to win it.''

They've won it five times in a row, a streak that includes last season's 24-15 victory in which former Tallwood High quarterback Damon McNair replaced an injured Rodney Granger and engineered the win.

McNair is expected to start tonight, and his primary passing targets will be wide receivers Jovelle Tillman (formerly of Booker T. Washington) and Desmond Thornton (Maury).

This perpetual South Hampton Roads' connection - two years ago, 14 Trojans hailed from this area - is one of the reasons the team has enjoyed so much Labor Day Classic success, Anderson said.

``This is always like coming home to a lot of our kids,'' he said.

But it is home to Norfolk State, which will reap benefits from playing at Dick Price Stadium before the game even begins.

``We'll save $400 every home game,'' Norfolk State coach Darnell Moore said of the Spartans, who formerly played at Old Dominion University's Foreman Field. ``I don't have to pay for us to ride the bus to the game anymore.''

The combination of multiple offensive sets and inexperienced personnel for both teams could lead to a defensive-oriented affair. The Trojans return nine defensive starters from last year's 8-3 squad; Moore is promising confusing alignments from the Spartan defense.

``We're not an easy team to prepare for,'' he said.

A crowd of more than 30,000 is expected, and the game is the centerpiece of a festive weekend for alumni of both schools. Norfolk State was formerly a division of Virginia State, and the two schools have played each other every year since 1963.

``This is a form of entertainment and we're entertainers,'' Anderson said. ``But our job is to come in and play football. All I want to do is get to the sidelines and get it going.''

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