Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, November 18, 1993 TAG: 9311180124
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-8 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: RAY COX STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PEARISBURG LENGTH: Medium
One week, they're scoring 50 points. Another week they have Patrick Steele authoring an unheard-of 14 knockdown blocks.
Now we have Kevin Slusser, a sophomore running back and special teams man. Young Slusser touched the football but four times in a 49-14 rout of Shawsville. On each occasion, he scored.
Is that running the table or what?
Slusser's numbers at the end of this memorable evening included 142 all-purpose yards and four touchdowns. The scores came courtesy of runs from scrimmage of 16, 38 and 45 yards and a 43-yard punt return.
That's kind of like four grand slams in four at bats.
So what do you think that Slusser thought of this inspiring achievement?
"I didn't know I'd done it right off," he said.
That was until he read about it in the newspaper the next day.
Slusser had other things on his mind, specifically to remember his assignments from the wingback position he played most of the evening. Slusser was a novice at the position having been pressed into duty the previous week because of an injured starter. Slusser had never played wingback.
Apparently, he's a quick study, not to mention quick on his feet. The first two touchdowns from scrimmage were both variations of a reverse from wingback. To hear him tell it, the blocking on those plays was so effective that he didn't have much to do but avoid falling down in the open field.
Then, to further confuse him (although that was not the intention) his coaches moved him to tailback, where his third carry of the evening produced the fourth touchdown. At least that was a position that he's more familiar with, having played there frequently throughout the year in relief of starter Raypheal Milton, customarily given the rest of the night off in one of the Spartans' many blowouts.
As for the punt return, that too was an exciting play.
"That kind of surprised me," he said. "I wasn't paying attention to who was in front of me so I didn't call for the fair catch. I went to my right because Marty Smith, who was back there with me, told me to go that way. There were a couple of guys there who grabbed me, but Brandon Steele knocked them off me and it was open field after that."
Slusser certainly wasn't the first Spartan this year to see a lot of open field, but he was the first to score four touchdowns on four plays.
Other notable performances:
Whitey Blankenship of Narrows rushed for 230 yards and two touchdowns in a 37-6 rout of Fort Chiswell.
Floyd County quarterback Monty Moran had 122 yards total offense and threw an 18-yard scoring pass to Jason Pratt with one minute 19 seconds remaining as Moran rallied the Buffaloes for 17-0 down to beat Grayson County 21-20. Winky Nichols booted the decisive extra point.
Carl Lewis and Tim Kimbrough of Pulaski County each scored two TD's - Kimbrough the only two times he had the ball - in a 49-7 victory over Cave Spring. The Cougars capped a 10-0 season.
by CNB