THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 27, 1996 TAG: 9610270176
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY RICH RADFORD, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ELIZABETH CITY LENGTH: 78 lines
Norfolk State's big-play defense did it again Saturday afternoon.
With the Spartans' offense slowed considerably by penalties, the defense shut down Elizabeth City State for a 14-7 victory at Roebuck Stadium.
The win left Norfolk State (6-2, 6-1 CIAA) tied for the league lead with Livingstone, a 43-25 winner Saturday over North Carolina Central. Elizabeth City fell to 4-4, 4-2.
Safety Jason Reeves returned an interception 42 yards for a touchdown late in the first half for what would be the Spartans' winning points.
While Reeves' touchdown was the eighth scored by NSU's defense this season, head coach Darnell Moore had trouble erasing the two that were called back.
``It's nice to have eight, but we should have 10,'' Moore said.
The two to which Moore referred were an apparent 96-yard fumble return by defensive back Robert Weaver early in the second half and a 59-yard interception return by Weaver with 10 seconds remaining in the game.
The first was called back when officials ruled Malcolm Mackey had never had possession of a pass from Alaric Clegg that Lonnie White stripped from Mackey's grasp.
The second was brought back for an illegal block during the return.
``That was not a clip,'' Moore steamed after watching his team get called for 14 penalties for 190 yards. ``Officials can call penalties on every damn play if that's what they want to do. But we came to play a football game, not watch a flag show. Three hours and 35 minutes is ridiculous for a football game.''
For the Spartans' sake, their early miscues did not end up haunting them.
After ECSU's opening drive was halted, Darius Blount was stripped while returning a James Cheatham punt. The ball was popped from Blount's grasp by Keith Manson at the NSU 30 and recovered by a handful of Vikings at the 4.
ECSU scored three plays later on an 8-yard pass from Eddie Cuffee to Aaron Murchinson and led 7-0.
Blount refused to let the fumble bother him, catching seven passes for 130 yards.
The Spartans' lone touchdown drive (six plays, 56 yards) was keyed by a 25-yard pass from Robert Morris to Blount that gave NSU a first down at the ECSU 15. Fullback DeAngelo Hodges capped the drive with a 13-yard burst followed by a 2-yard scoring run with 9:59 left in the half.
Reeves' interception return came when he snared an overthrown Cuffee pass intended for Uwezo Frazier with 2:02 remaining in the half.
Cuffee, a true freshman out of Green Run High in Virginia Beach, has been starting at quarterback in place of Kenny Crump, who broke a bone in his throwing hand early in the season. But Cuffee suffered bruised ribs in the first half and the Vikings turned to yet another true freshman, Clegg, in the second half.
That duo felt the heat of the Spartans' defense all afternoon and were sacked a combined nine times.
``We're battling a lot of inexperience,'' said first-year ECSU head coach Elisha ``Cadillac'' Harris. ``We've gone from an experienced senior quarterback who we thought could be an All-CIAA performer to playing two true freshmen.''
Moore felt at times that he was just battling a sea of yellow.
``We go from having second-and-goal from the 2 to third-and-goal from the 32,'' Moore, said describing a third-quarter possession on which the Spartans were penalized three times in four plays, once for procedure and twice for holding. ``We were not very efficient offensively, but the penalties just clobbered us.''
Spartans overcome 190 yards worth of penalties to win at Elizabeth City State. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
MIKE HEFFNER/The Virginian-Pilot
Norfolk State linebacker Darnell Mebane sacks Elizabeth City State's
freshman quarterback Eddie Cuffee in the second quarter - one of
nine sacks by the Spartans' defenders.
Photo
MIKE HEFFNER/The Virginian-Pilot
Norfolk State's Jason Reeves celebrates with teammate Tarik Crews,
left, after returning second-quarter interception for a touchdown. by CNB