Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, November 20, 1993 TAG: 9311200224
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-2 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: BY MIKE ASHLEY SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: NARROWS LENGTH: Medium
Narrows' 21-13 Group A Division I Region C playoff victory over visiting Bath County was more of something from the old school.
The Green Wave (9-2) got a combined 180 yards and three touchdowns from the rugged backfield combination of Whitey Blankenship and Brett Mosley. Blankenship did most of his smash-mouth damage in the first half, accounting for Narrows' first two touchdowns and staking the Green Wave to a 14-7 halftime lead.
After a fumble on Bath County's first possession, Blankenship needed one play to zip 30 yards for a 6-0 Narrows lead at the 6:30 mark of the first period. He added another touchdown on a 1-yard plunge at the 6:06 mark of the second quarter.
On the night, Blankenship carried 19 times for 102 yards, but it was Mosley who carried most of the load in the second half.
His 3-yard touchdown run with 8:09 to play gave Narrows a 21-7 lead. The senior fullback carried 11 times for 70 yards in the second half.
"You don't have to be Einstein to know everyone is keying on Blankenship," Narrows coach Don Lowe said. "We made some adjustments in the second half to take advantage of that."
Said Mosley: "You need to play two halves of football. The line did a great job, and we just kept plugging away."
Still, despite Narrows' punishing ground game, Bath County (8-3) hung tough. Bath's Jamie Carroll carried 21 times for 92 yards in the game, and when Billy Thomas connected with Timmy Tuning on a 30-yard touchdown pass, the Chargers trailed 21-13 with 4:50 to play.
Bath County led 7-6 in the second period when Carroll scooted around right end for 15 yards and a touchdown and Alex Reuter added the extra point with 11:24 to play in the half.
The Chargers were driving in the third quarter with a chance to tie or take the lead, but Thomas bobbled the snap on a fourth-and-inches play at the Narrows 30 on the last play of the third period. The rejuvenated Green Wave rolled 70 yards in nine plays, culminating in Mosley's touchdown.
"We were just one or two plays away all night," said Bath coach Steve Isaacs. "That's the way football is. You just wonder if it wasn't meant to be for us. We're still young and ahead of where a lot of people thought we would be."
The football certainly didn't bounce Bath's way on an onside-kick attempt after the Chargers' last touchdown. Brian Ballard covered the kick for Narrows, and by the time the Green Wave punted, Bath had only 2:06 to go 80 yards. The Narrows defense was having none of that, though, and held on a fourth-down play with 57 seconds left to sew up the win.
by CNB