DATE: Tuesday, November 18, 1997            TAG: 9711180436

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C4   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY ROBIN BRINKLEY, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   45 lines

W. BRANCH, BOOKERS WON DESPITE PENALTY COUNTS

Western Branch and Booker T. Washington won Eastern Region semifinal games Saturday night despite being penalized for 100 yards.

Playoff jitters? Perhaps. But a common theme in both games was the use of Peninsula District Association officials.

``As the No. 1 seed (in Division 6), I don't know why we don't get to use our own officials association,'' Bruins coach Lew Johnston said.

The Peninsula and Southeastern associations split the games and the teams don't know which group they are getting until the officials walk on the field, Johnston said. Each association will work one game this weekend when Hampton plays Booker T. Washington in the Division 5 final and Western Branch meets Kecoughtan in the District 6 final.

Western Branch's 11 penalties and 100 penalty yards in a 33-6 victory over Kellam were both season highs. The previous highs were seven penalties and 65 yards.

Booker T. Washington was penalized 13 times for 101 yards in its 9-3 win over Churchland. The 13 penalties were a season-high for the Bookers, but the 101 yards weren't.

``The officials were nice fellows and seemed intent on working a good game,'' Johnston said. ``But we were called for a lot of things we don't normally get called for. We had two or three roughing-the-passer calls.''

Booker T. Washington was penalized five times for offensive holding. There also were three defensive holding penalties in the game, including a crucial call on a fourth-down play against Churchland that likely cost the Truckers the game.

QUICK HITS: Western Branch played without all-district linemen Mike Query and Frank Lamagna against Kellam. Query, an offensive tackle, is out of the season with a broken ankle. Lamagna, a defensive tackle, has a sprained back. He's been receiving therapy for weeks, but couldn't get in a stance last Thursday. Lamagna weighs 260; his replacement, Reggie Bonney, weighs 200 . . . The Kellam game was the first playoff appearance for all of the Bruins' except one. Jeff Beard is making his seventh consecutive appearance as an assistant coach. He joined the Bruins this year after stints at Indian River and Deep Creek . . . Something has to give between Booker T. Washington and Hampton. The Bookers have allowed only 59 points in 11 games. Hampton has scored 50 points or more in four of its last five playoff games, including 53 last Saturday against Green Run.

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