DATE: Friday, November 14, 1997             TAG: 9711120189
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS     PAGE: 10   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY JAY LIDINGTON, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   62 lines

CHRUCHLAND TO FACE BOOKER T. TONIGHT

The Churchland football team finds itself in a position that is both alien and familiar going into tonight's playoff game with Booker T. Washington.

Six players will miss the game because they failed to meet Portsmouth schools' 2.0 GPA requirement when report cards were issued Monday.

The Truckers are also a little dinged up with three players, including QB Brandon Hall, coming off injuries that kept them out of their final regular-season game against Granby.

They also lost offensive end/defensive back Damon Crocker two weeks ago when he shattered one of his fingers when he slipped and fell in a wet hallway while wearing cleats.

But the Truckers are accustomed to adversity, coach Ken Taylor said. They'll stay with the game plan that has brought them this far - control the ball, play effective defense and eliminate mistakes.

``We've overcome things all year,'' Taylor said. ``We've had people hurt and had people miss games for different reasons. We overcame that.

``We're going to play with who we have.''

The game also is the first playoff appearance by a Churchland team since 1976.

``We have an opportunity no one at this school has had in 21 years,'' Taylor said. ``We have an opportunity other teams don't have. Twenty-some teams are at home right now.''

The Truckers have done a fine job of keeping all four wheels on the road this season. They finished the season 8-2 overall and tied atop the Eastern District with Booker T. with 6-1 records.

Churchland defeated the Bookers 13-6 earlier this season. In that game, the Truckers held Booker T. to 22 yards rushing and 119 yards passing.

At Churchland, however, they're not looking back.

``We never look behind, we never look ahead,'' said senior center Nehemiah Thrash. ``That game doesn't mean anything any more. All that matters is Friday's game.'

The Truckers can attribute at least some of their success this season to the offensive line.

Thrash and his fellow linemen have been opening tractor trailer-sized holes for the team's leading rusher, Chatame Ward, and Hall.

As a result, Ward is seventh in South Hampton Roads in rushing with a 5.7-yard-per-carry average and fifth in scoring with 12 touchdowns and 86 total points.

``We put Chatame in a lot of good positions,'' Taylor said. ``The offensive line's been outstanding all year. We've had a lot of people come through for us.''

The team also is second in total offense, averaging just under 269 yards per game, fourth in points scored with 22 per game and allows its opponents less than 180 yards per game.

``We know that it starts with us,'' Thrash said. ``We're the start and we're the end. We all work together. We're just like family on that line.''

``We felt like coming into this year that we were the best team in the district,'' Taylor said. ``Our mission was to prove it.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by L. TODD SPENCER

Chateme Ward, here being tackled by Lake Taylor's Travis McNeil

earlier this season, will be the go-to man for the Truckers against

Booker T.

Send Suggestions or Comments to webmaster@scholar.lib.vt.edu