THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, September 25, 1994 TAG: 9409220192
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST PAGE: 32 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Sports
SOURCE: BY JEFF ZEIGLER, CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: ELIZABETH CITY LENGTH: Medium: 65 lines
SOMETIMES the better looking team on the field isn't always the winner. Edenton-Holmes outplayed Northeastern in the second half of last week's football matchup, but the Eagles were able to hold onto a 13-12 win.
Shaun Williams, who ironically scored both of Edenton's touchdowns, missed a game-winning field goal with no time showing on the clock, allowing Northeastern to claim victory.
Both teams racked up a combined total of 140 yards in penalties in the sloppily played game. Edenton had 60 in the first half.
The Aces trailed 13-0 before coming alive in the fourth quarter. Edenton began its first scoring drive at 5:17 of the third quarter and had trouble moving the ball right away. On a 4th and 19 punt attempt from the Edenton 25, Northeastern's Jason White ran into punter Tony Downing and the Aces regained possesion at their own 40.
Suddenly, Edenton came to life. Backup quarterback Garfield Gilliam ran for 17 yards. After two short runs by Gilliam and Downing, Gilliam hit Corey Johnson with an 18-yard pass down to the Northeastern 25. Aided by a Northeastern offsides penalty and a six-yard run by Jamie Jackson, the Aces sat on the Northeastern 11 on 3rd and 10. Gilliam dropped back to pass and scrambled right on a broken play. He lofted a touchdown pass to Williams, who stood without a defender near him within 10 yards. The extra point run by Clifton Hudson failed and the Eagles held a 13-6 lead with 9:53 to play.
Northeastern failed to move the ball on its next possession as the fired up Edenton defense stopped three straight runs. Robert Pippen's punt drove the Aces back to their own 15 with 7:14 to play. On the first play from scrimmage, Gilliam was dumped in the backfield for an 11-yard loss. On the next play, Gilliam hit Williams with a short pass and Williams scampered 96 yards for a touchdown. The extra point run by Gilliam failed and Northeastern hung on, 13-12.
Edenton regained possession with 2:54 to play and no timeouts. Gilliam drove the Aces down to the Northeastern 20 on two straight passes to Corey Johnson. But on the second pass, Gilliam was hit hard and left the game with an ankle injury. After Hudson tossed an incomplete pass, Downing ran eight yards to the 12. Edenton was then called for an illegal procedure penalty, and Hudson lost yardage on a scramble and failed to get out of bounds. The Aces set up for the field goal with 20 seconds to play. Williams finally got the kick off with three seconds to play, but the 34-yard attempt fell short.
Northeastern opened the scoring when Jay Staten crossed the goal on a one-yard run and Pippen booted the extra point at 2:07 of the first quarter.
Pippen booted a 32-yard field goal with 22 seconds to play in the half, ending a six-play 79-yard drive which featured a 47-yard pass from Pippen to Luther Stallings. A fumble recovery by Northeastern's Raymond Carver led to a 27-yard field goal by Pippen with 5:24 to play in the third quarter.
Despite the win, Northeastern head coach Eric McDaniels said his team played with little concentration.
``Our concentration is about null and void,'' he said. ``The penalty totals were outrageous. We could have had a 30-point night. We're regressing. You should be far along by week four.''
Jay Swicegood, Edenton head coach, was happy with his team's defense, which came through for the second straight week. by CNB