ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, August 5, 1996 TAG: 9608050149
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: KEITH POMPEY STAFF WRITER
It turned out the Roanoke Rush didn't need game film after all.
Heading into Saturday night's season opener, the Rush didn't know what to expect. The Carolina Bobcats are in their first season in the National Minor League Football League. And Roanoke didn't have anything to scout. The only thing the Rush knew was that former Los Angeles Rams linebacker Jim Youngblood was the defensive coordinator.
Well, maybe Youngblood should have strapped on a helmet. The Rush defeated the Bobcats 17-0 at Victory Stadium.
"Everybody did a great job tonight," Roanoke coach Duke Strager said. "That was a good team that we played tonight. But since we didn't have any game film to study, we prepared for everything this week. And our key was to keep it simple on defense. And our defense felt real good tonight."
Strager didn't lie.
Roanoke held Carolina to only 102 yards of total offense. The Bobcats moved past the 50-yard line twice. And both were in the fourth quarter.
"Our defense has been working real hard," Rush defensive back Rob Majors said. "A lot of us have the right chemistry when we work with coach Strager. We got some talent and we work real hard."
However, it was hard to say who was the defensive MVP as Majors, nose guard Elvis Dudley and defensive tackle Jerome Preston all stood out.
Majors, formerly of William Fleming High School, had an interception and deflected two passes. Dudley had a game-high two sacks and four hurries. And former Virginia Tech standout Preston finished with a game-high eight tackles and five hurries.
Preston made a bold prediction.
"You won't see anybody all year blocking Elvis and I," he said. ``This type of game is something that you are going to see all year. We are just going to fly around and just have fun."
Another Rush player that had fun was former Lexington High School standout Anthony Merchant. The former outside linebacker rushed for a game-high 130 yards, 103 in the first half.
Roanoke took a 3-0 lead on Dave Merrick's field goal seven minutes into the first quarter .
The Bobcats put together a drive of their own, but Majors intercepted a Kent Meredith pass.
Roanoke turned the turnover into fullback Billy Pate's 19-yard run for a 10-0 lead. The Rush scored their final touchdown when Terrence Harrelson recovered a fumbled punt attempt in the end zone in the third quarter.
Carolina controlled the ball for most of the fourth quarter, but it was too little too late.
LENGTH: Medium: 56 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ERIC BRADY Staff. Roanoke's Ernest Starker (27) breaksby CNBloose on a 47-yard punt return in the first quarter.