THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 6, 1996 TAG: 9610030197
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST PAGE: 27 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JEFF ZEIGLER
CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: ELIZABETH CITY LENGTH: 86 lines
Coming into its game with Northeastern High School last weekend, Currituck County High School didn't seem to get much respect. Despite a 5-0 record, Northeastern would be a huge challenge according to some.
Currituck lost the contest to the Eagles, 27-24, but in the process gained an immense amount of respect by taking the 4A school down to the final two minutes.
In the first half, Currituck had Northeastern's defense in a panic. The Knights scored on the first drive of the game on a questionable call. Quarterback Jesse Jones lofted a pass to Ken Simmons in the end zone. It appeared Simmons knocked the defender down and caught the pass, but defensive pass interference was called instead. The Knights declined the penalty and the touchdown stood.
The extra point run failed and the score stood at 6-0 with 8 minutes and 48 seconds in the quarter. The failed extra point established a pattern for Currituck, which was a contributing factor to the loss.
Currituck also scored on its next possession after stopping Northeastern on downs. The Knights switched back and fourth from a four-receiver offense to the wishbone, confusing the Eagles defense. The Knights marched 69 yards and scored on a 17-yard quarterback keeper by Jones with 4:10 left in the quarter. Again the extra point run failed.
Northeastern got on track in the second quarter going through the air. During the drive, quarterback Tim Mitchell connected on four passes, including a 14-yard touchdown strike to Ian Brown on a roll out with 8:01 to play in the half. McCary booted the extra point to cut the Knights lead to 12-7.
Currituck answered the touchdown with one of its own. The Knights missed another two-point conversion on a run and held the lead at the half, 18-7.
The Currituck defense used well-timed blitzes to hold the Eagles to just nine yards rushing in the first half. Eric McDaniels, Northeastern head coach, challenged his team at the half.
``One of the things we talked about at halftime was getting back in the game and winning our last non-conference game,'' McDaniels said. ``We talked about preparation. We emphasized that we were playing a good team. The great thing about this game is you don't win at halftime. A big plus for us was that we didn't give up.''
Northeastern erupted on its second possession of the second half. Mitchell hit a wide-open Steve Christian in the left side of the end zone for a 20-yard score.
The extra point run by Don Jones cut the Currituck lead to 18-15 with 5:53 to play in the third quarter.
Currituck came back with some razzle-dazzle, which backfired. On the second play of its next possession, Burton threw a halfback option pass into the hands of Eagle defender Mike Taft. The Eagles quickly took advantage.
Mitchell once again hit a wide-open Christian with a 35-yard bomb which put the ball at the Currituck 7.
Mitchell lost nine yards on the next two running plays and faced a third and goal from the 16. He dropped back to pass and was greeted by two Currituck defenders.
Mitchell barely got the lob pass off before being dumped hard. Jones caught the ball and scrambled 16 yards for the score with 2:45 left in the third quarter. McCary's extra point kick failed leaving Northeastern's first lead of the game at 21-18.
With 11:56 to play in the third, the Eagles recovered a Currituck fumble and capitalized on the turnover when McCary booted a 24-yard field goal to up the lead to 24-18 seconds later.
Not to be outdone, on the first play from scrimmage of Currituck's next set, Chris Patterson tied the game at 24-24 with a 79-yard run down the left sideline. A 37-yard field goal by McCary with two minutes to play was the game-winner for the Eagles.
Donnie Simpson, Currituck head coach, was confident that the Knights' offense could play effectively against Northeastern.
``I felt like we could move the ball on them like we did in our scrimmage,'' he said. ``What we wanted to do was keep their offense off the field.''
Simpson said that Currituck, a 2A school, was not considered capable of winning against the 4A school by the fans in his home county.
``Coming in here people didn't give us much of a shot,'' he said. ``People give us a hard time and ask me why we play these guys. I think we played well enough to win.''
Prognosticators in the area are now pointing to a showdown in the final week of the season between Currituck and Edenton-Holmes, who was swamped by Northeastern but has played well in other games.
The game could determine the Northeastern Conference champion. ILLUSTRATION: Currituck High's Ken Simmons helped the Knights score
on the first drive of the game. by CNB