Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, November 25, 1995 TAG: 9511270053
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: DANIEL UTHMAN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NARUNA LENGTH: Medium
The undefeated Generals turned back the Cavaliers 28-16 before a capacity crowd for the Region III Division 3 title. Fieldale-Collinsville finished the season 9-3 after winning the Piedmont District title and earning its first playoff berth since 1982.
``They've got all those Division I prospects, but our kids played together as a team,'' Cavaliers coach Richard Savedge said. ``We had two players on the All-District first team. There weren't a lot of individual standouts, but they pulled together well. That gave us a lot of advantages against a lot of teams.''
Savedge then walked to a back hallway of William Campbell High School, where one player after another considered how far the team had come since the 2-8 and 3-7 years.
``Keep moving forward, don't regress,'' said fullback Mancino Craighead, encapsulating a new team for the Cavaliers.
The theme for both teams was the big play. The Generals (12-0) got the lead they never relinquished with 34 seconds left in the third quarter, when quarterback Dominique Dews hit Marco Pannell on a sideline streak that went 46 yards for a touchdown.
Dews later had a 10-yard keeper on second-and-six for the final touchdown.
Down 20-16 early in the fourth, Fieldale-Collinsville's Kevin Franklin put his team on his back and kept William Campbell off of it. In five runs, he had the Cavaliers down to the Generals' 11.
Then, William Campbell's defense stiffened and stifled the Cavaliers. Fieldale-Collinsville got down to the 7, but on fourth-and-six, quarterback Phillip Hairston was forced from the pocket and had to run from the 1.
He didn't make it. The Cavaliers never got as good a chance the rest of the way. Franklin was FC's top runner with 75 yards on 14 carries. Generals' freshman Eric Pannell led all rushers with 126 yards on 10 carries.
William Campbell did what its fans expected with a 36-yard touchdown pass to open the scoring. The Cavaliers, however, surprised the Generals two plays later with a 56-yard scoring strike from Hairston to Franklin.
William Campbell scored 18 of its points on passes of 36, 67 and 46 yards.
``They have great receivers, and they caught big plays,'' Savedge said.
The Cavaliers had little trouble moving the ball on the Generals, but seemed to trip over themselves when in the red zone.
``We've got to be able to score in that position,'' Savedge said.
Three second-half interceptions also slowed FC.
``We felt pretty good about how we got the thing going,'' Savedge said. ``I didn't think we threw the ball as well in the second half.''
NOTE: Please see microfilm for scores.
by CNB