THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, September 29, 1996 TAG: 9609260170
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST PAGE: 35 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JEFF ZEIGLER, CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: ELIZABETH CITY LENGTH: 75 lines
Although Northeastern High School's football team had been winning, it was not until last Friday that the Eagles were truly convincing.
Their victory couldn't have come at a better time.
The Eagles were facing the No. 4-ranked 2A team in the state, a team that knocked off defending 3A champ Bertie County. Northeastern had lost to that same team just weeks before. It looked as though Edenton-Holmes would be no pushover.
Or so most people thought.
The Aces' normally adept running game ran into a brick wall. Edenton's staunchy defense was tested by Northeastern quarterback Tim Mitchell, who threw for three touchdowns and ran for another as the Eagles bombed the Aces, 34-6.
Perhaps the hype about Edenton's 4-0 start was too much.
``We told them before they came over here that they were in for a rude awakening,'' Edenton coach Jay Swicegood said. ``We're not a rah-rah team. We were not focused at all. We were not able to handle the successes that we've had.''
Domination on offense and defense was the word for the Eagles (4-1). Northeastern running back Don Jones rushed for 158 yards on 16 carries against the highly touted Edenton (4-1) defense, while the Eagles held Mitchell Stanley to 88 yards on 20 carries - by far his lowest output of the season.
``Our defense never folded even with their backs to the wall. And Edenton had two outstanding backs,'' Northeastern coach Eric McDaniels said. ``I told the people on the sidelines that we've beaten one heck of a football team.''
After taking over on downs, the Eagles put together a 71-yard scoring drive highlighted by three pass plays. Mitchell hit Steve Christian with a 13-yard pass and a 14-yard pass during the drive. On a second-and-4 play, Mitchell threw 28 yards to Ian Brown for the first Northeastern score at 4:08 of the first quarter. Luke McCary's kick put the Eagles up 7-0.
Edenton had not seen a defense as good as Northeastern's all season. A big defensive stand stopped the Aces on their next posession. It took Edenton 13 plays to drive to Northeastern's 4-yard line.
On a fourth and goal, Northeastern's Derick James tripped up Stanley on a handoff and the Eagles took over on downs with 9:56 to play in the first half.
The Aces scored their lone touchdown about two minutes later.
Quarterback Chris Williams hit Devon Coston with a 27-yard pass to the Northeastern 2-yard line. On the next play, Shelton White ran two yards for the score with 7:51 to play in the half.
Northeastern killed Edenton's momentum by scoring on its next two drives. On its next possession after the Edenton score, Northeastern's Mitchell tossed short to Jones - who plowed down the right sideline. Suddenly, he fumbled on a hit and the ball rolled to the end zone where Edenton's Shawn Rankins recovered.
The play was called back when the official ruled Jones had stepped out of bounds before the fumble.
On the next play, Mitchell went 24 yards to Christian for a touchdown at the 6:40 mark.
With 1:15 left, Mitchell ran in his own score to put the Eagles up 20-6 at the half.
A killer turnover for Edenton at the beginning of the second half helped Northeastern put the game away for good. Edenton's Larry Chamblee intercepted a Mitchell pass to give the Aces possession at Northeastern's 28-yard line. Six plays later, Williams tossed to Stanley, who ran the ball to the 10 before fumbling to Northeastern's Travis Snowden.
The Eagles capitalized on that turnover when Mitchell hit Christian in the end zone with a 7-yard pass. McCary's kick put Northeastern up 27-6. The Eagles' final score came on a 7-yard run by Jones with 11:56 to play in the game.
Northeastern played its best game of the season by far.
``We executed well offensively and thought we were fairly sharp,'' McDaniels said. ``We had several sustained drives. Emotion was a big part of this game.
``It couldn't have come at a better time with the conference just down the road. We did tonight what football teams are expected to do emotion-wise.''
KEYWORDS: HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL by CNB