ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Saturday, November 2, 1996             TAG: 9611040120
SECTION: SPORTS                   PAGE: B-2  EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM STAFF WRITER


COLONELS' WORD HAS FINAL SAY SPARKS FLEMING TO VICTORY OVER EAGLES

The magic spell Franklin County used to upset Roanoke Valley District foe Patrick Henry a week ago was broken by William Fleming and fullback J.R. Word.

Word rolled right through the Eagles' defense Friday night for 116 yards rushing to spark the Colonels to a 32-7 victory in a district game.

Franklin County's upset victory last week certainly got Fleming's attention. The Colonels dominated once the 5-foot-9, 220-pound Word started running up the middle. On Fleming's first possession, the Colonels' heralded running back, Lee Suggs, was having no success when Word got the ball and rumbled right through the Eagles' inner defense for a 54-yard touchdown to start the rout.

``We practiced [on me running], but I didn't know I'd get this many yards,'' said Word. ``They were trying to contain Suggs and our passing game. That left me wide open.''

Fleming coach George Miller was quick with his praise. ``He's one of the few fullbacks we've had who can run for 100 yards [in a game],'' he said. ``They were prepared to stop us, but J.R. is a good player with excellent results.

``His yards are helped by his alignment. He's the closest back to the line and the quick-hitting plays are more beneficial for him.''

Help eventually arrived for Word. Quarterback Charles Burnette threw three touchdown passes, the last one going to Richard Wilson, who grabbed the ball away from two Eagle defenders in the end zone to make it 32-0 late in the third quarter.

Demare Gill provided more help for Word, collecting 68 yards on the ground. All this got Fleming (4-5 overall, 2-1 RVD) ready for next week's finale against Roanoke City rival Patrick Henry.

For Franklin County (3-7, 1-3), a long season is over and the coaches and players who chose to wear green ribbons in honor of fired head coach Horace Green can put them away and look toward next season.

``We didn't have a real good week of practice. We were still full of ourselves [from beating Patrick Henry],'' said athletic director and interim coach Jerry Little, who guided the Eagles in the final three games.

Little still tried to pull some surprises, as he did in keeping Patrick Henry off-balance. The first was a quick kick on third down of Franklin County's opening series. It was a short kick and gave the Colonels good field position to set up Word's run.

``I thought our kids played well on defense the first half, but they were on the field too long,'' said Little.

Fleming didn't have a flawless game, either. The Colonels were penalized for 141 yards.

Franklin County tried changing quarterbacks to get some offense going. The Eagles turned to another junior, Jamie Tuck, for the second half in place of Bobby Basham, who engineered last week's upset.

Four interceptions and three lost fumbles destroyed any hopes of a Franklin County rally. Wilson, one of the best on either side of the ball, picked off his eighth pass of the year, tops in Timesland.

Franklin County scored with five seconds left when Tuck passed to Travis Kent for 53 yards, but the Eagles had only 88 yards total offense.

NOTE: Please see microfilm for scores.


LENGTH: Medium:   65 lines
KEYWORDS: FOOTBALL 





























































by CNB