ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, November 23, 1996 TAG: 9611260033
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-2 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: PEARISBURG
SOURCE: BILL RAY STAFF WRITER
The Giles Spartans extended their home winning streak to 33 games Friday night with a 30-15 victory over Chilhowie in the Division 2 Region C football championship.
The Spartans have not lost at home since 1990 and are 56-5 overall in that span.
On a bone-chilling, blustery night, rushing was the name of game as both teams employed unorthodox offenses. Chilhowie came out in a wishbone set, while Giles worked out of its trademark single-wing formation.
``The single wing is real tough to defend,'' said Mike Sturgill, Chilhowie's coach. ``You can't read it, so you just have to attack it.''
It was the Spartans (12-0) who attacked early, driving down the field in seven plays on their first possession to open the scoring. On third-and-goal from the 3-yard line, tailback Chris Ratcliffe scored off the right side to make it 6-0.
Ratcliffe and fellow back Shaun Vaught had exceptional nights, with Ratcliffe rushing for 131 yards and Vaught 123.
``Ratcliffe is just a fine football player,'' said Steve Ragsdale, the Giles coach. ``He's got great speed and plays hard for us on both sides of the ball.''
The Spartans extended their lead to 9-0 on a 33-yard field goal off the foot of Jeremy Saunders. The three points were a blessing of sorts for the Warriors, because Giles began the possession the Chilhowie 15-yard line.
After going three-and-out on its first three possessions, Chilhowie (10-2) tried to turn things around in the second quarter.
With 5:07 left in the half, the Warriors cut into Giles' lead when quarterback Harley Davidson ran 7 yards for a touchdown.
But just as quickly as the tide turned in Chilhowie's favor, the Spartans regained control. Giles drove 80 yards for a touchdown with two minutes remaining before intermission.
``I felt like that score right before halftime really took a lot out of us,'' Sturgill said.
But Giles was not finished in the first half. After a successful two-point conversion run by Vaught, the Spartans had one more shot at the end zone.
With crafty clock management, Giles forced the Warriors to punt and the Chilhowie defense had its back against the wall again. But the Warriors' Earl Allen stepped in front of a Ratcliffe pass in the end zone for an interception that allowed Chilhowie to go to the locker room down by 10 points.
After a slow start to the second half, the Spartans took advantage of good field position once again to extend their lead.
With barely two minutes left in the third quarter, Davidson was unable to handle a poor snap on a punt attempt. Giles recovered at the Chilhowie 29. Five plays later, wingback Chris Hutchison took a handoff from Ratcliffe for a 23-yard touchdown run on a reverse.
Despite being down by 17 points, the Warriors were not about to roll over. With six minutes left, Davidson kept the ball and scored over the right side from 2 yards. Charlie Gobble then took a handoff over the same side for a two-point conversion to make it 24-15. But as was the case all evening, Giles responded.
The Spartans recovered the ensuing onside kick and put up six points to ice the game.
``This was by far our toughest game of the season, without a doubt,'' Ragsdale said. ``Chilhowie has a really good football team and they played us well.''
NOTE: Please see microfilm for scores.
LENGTH: Medium: 69 lines KEYWORDS: 2DAby CNB