Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, October 30, 1993 TAG: 9310310078
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-14 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: RAY COX STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: HOT SPRINGS LENGTH: Medium
Bath County and North Cross slugged it out in a three-overtime football extravaganza that left tongues dragging on the field and in the grandstands.
It didn't end until the Raiders stopped Bath County on its possession of the third overtime to survive a 48-42 thriller between previously undefeated teams.
"You ever seen one like that?" asked Steve Isaacs, the Chargers' coach.
It isn't a risky presumption that nobody in attendance had.
"I've never seen nor been a part of a game like that," said North Cross quarterback Hal Johnson, who was also called in to emergency duty in the secondary in relief of injured Eric Mull. "It says we have a lot of heart. But so does Bath County."
The overtime went 20-14 North Cross's way, with tailback Marcus Cardwell scoring on runs of 1, 3 and 5 yards for the Raiders then throwing in a two-point conversion run for good measure.
Cardwell, who played every down both ways, ended with 216 yards and four touchdowns on 37 carries.
"I'm not too tired, but my legs were cramping a little bit," he said.
Billy Thomas scored twice for Bath County in the overtimes and Michael Edwards added a two-point run, but a fumble on first down of the third extra period by the Chargers cost them 8 yards and North Cross held the rest of the way for the win.
"I think [the fumble] was the only mistake they made all night," Raiders coach Jim Muscaro said.
North Cross (8-0) lived up to its No. 1 ranking in the private school rankings and kept alive its hopes for a home opener when the playoffs commence three weeks hence. Save for the undefeated season - "You don't get those every year," Muscaro said - Bath County (7-1) didn't have as much to play for. The Chargers face their biggest game of the year next week in a Pioneer District showdown at Parry McCluer.
Bath County, which was down 20-6 in the first half had rallied to take a 22-20 lead on Edwards' 8-yard run with 7 minutes, 41 seconds left in the third quarter. North Cross responded with a 77-yard punt return by Monty Smith and a two-point run by Cardwell on the second play of the fourth quarter to go up 28-22.
"Cardwell was great, but Smith was the one who beat us," Isaacs said. "Every time they needed a play, he gave it to them."
Smith, who also played every down, finished with 206 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns.
But Bath County came back to tie the score with an 80-yard, 15-play drive punctuated by a 2-yard Thomas scoring plunge. The Chargers, who hadn't attempted a point-after kick all night, went for the run, but failed with 3:27 left.
"The only mistake we made was in coaching," Isaacs said. "I should have gone for the kick there. Our kicker, Alex Reuter, has never played football before and he's making about 40 percent of his kicks. Being a math teacher, I played the percentages."
At least one thing was established in the first half: Neither team had much of a clue about stopping the other.
North Cross, which had 14 first downs and 223 total yards by the break, scored first on a grind-it-out land-based 72-yard drive that required 16 plays and consumed 6:35.
Smith covered the last 9 yards and Mull booted the extra point.
The Chargers were off and running on their first possession, but Cardwell stripped Thomas and returned it 26 yards to the Bath 25. Six plays later, North Cross was in the end zone again, this time by virtue of a 2-yard Cardwell plunge. Cardwell had 106 yards rushing by intermission.
Bath County stalled at its 29 the next time it had the ball, but Cardwell fumbled a swing pass from Johnson away to Jason Pauley and the Chargers marched the 33 yards for the score. Thomas took the last play straight up the middle 1 yard for the score. Danny Woodzell dropped a pass from Thomas for two points.
Johnson connected with Smith for a 50-yard scoring pass with 2:52 left before the half and the kick made it 20-6, but Bath's Ben Essex raced 33 yards and Edwards' run for two points was good with 58 seconds left to leave the teams separated by six points at the break.
"They really showed what they're made of," Muscaro said of his team. "I'm very proud of them. They could have packed it in two or three times, but instead they scored twice in overtime on fourth down. That's reaching way down in there."
by CNB