THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, November 11, 1994 TAG: 9411110823
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ROBIN BRINKLEY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: Medium: 60 lines
Deep Creek completed a perfect regular season and clinched the top seed in the Division 5 playoffs Thursday night with a 28-21 victory over Western Branch.
The Hornets, 10-0 and 7-0 in the Southeastern District, will play Pheobus (9-1) next Friday at Western Branch in the first round of the Eastern Region playoffs.
Western Branch, which came in leading the area in scoring and total offense but out of playoff contention, built up Thursday night's game as its Super Bowl.
But penalties and poor tackling hurt the Bruins.
Deep Creek's Deon Dyer and Dee Harrell combined to rush for 285 yards and four touchdowns.
Dyer carried 15 times for 155 yards. Harrell, filling in for the injured Cedrec Williams, carried 19 times for 130 yards, more than doubling his season's production.
Harrell, following blocks by guard Bryan Wingate and Dyer, swept 38 yards around right end for the winning touchdown with 3:43 left.
``I had to redeem myself,'' said Harrell, who muffed a punt to set up Western Branch's third touchdown. ``Deon made the lead block, and I just cut off it.''
Harrell's run came one play after the Hornets' had an apparent 53-yard touchdown pass from Arnie Powell to Shelton Davis nullified by a clip.
Western Branch had a 23-yard touchdown run and a 60-yard run, both by Shyrone Stith, called back by penalties in the first half.
Stith, the Bruins' leading rusher and scorer, was ejected along with Deep Creek defensive back Torrey Wilson following a brief scuffle with 5:42 left in the third quarter.
Stith had 81 yards rushing and one touchdown when he left.
But the pivotal play, acording to Western Branch coach Lew Johnston, was a 15-yard penalty against the Bruins for having 12 players on the field. The score was tied 14-14 and the Bruins had just forced the Hornets to punt from their own 11.
The penalty gave Deep Creek a first down at the 26. Four plays later the 235-pound Dyer ripped off the left side for 59 yards and the go-ahead touchdown.
Western Branch then cashed in one of its few breaks after Harrell muffed a punt. The Bruins recovered at the Deep Creek 23 and two plays later Daryl Walton hit Dre Bly with a 14-yard touchdown pass to tie the score with 5:58 left.
Deep Creek replied with Harrell's 38-yard TD run and the Bruins had one last chance to tie.
Walton hit Bly for 16 yards and a first down at the Bruins' 38.
But on third-and-6, linebacker Dumeka Haskett shed a block to tackle Walton for a 2-yard gain. On fourth-and-four, split end Jeff Leiker stumbled making a cut and Walton's pass fell incomplete.
Walton completed 12 of 18 passes for 162 yards. Bly caught eight passes for 124 yards. by CNB