Newspapers / Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.) / Oct. 24, 1991, edition 1 / Page 17
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JUNIOR VARSITY FOOTBALL REPORT, B2 Sports THURSDAY, OCTOBER 24, 1991 B1 Rams vs. Wofford could be playoff preview By CRAIG T. GREENLEE Chronicle Sports Editor * At last, Winston-Salem State has an upcoming game that folk can really get pumped up about. The ? Rams host Wofford College on Saturday at 7 pan, at ? Bowman Gray Stadium. OK, so what's a Wofford? Wofford is a rising Division II program located in Spartanburg, SC, Besides that, WC has produced col lege ball's best-ever imitation of Randall Cunningham. In three seasons, Shawn Graves has established himself as the all-division record-holder for career rushing yards by a quarterback ? 3,779 and count ing ? going into Saturday's game. Graves is one of those now you see me, now you don't option types. At 5-8, 160/ he's no grizzly. But when you com bine his slick moves with 4.41 speed in the 40, it's easy to understand why Wofford's wish bone attack is highly successful with Graves making the deci sions. Because of Graves, the Ter riers are 6-1, ranked 14th in this week's Division II polls and fourth in the South Region, The undefeated Rams (7-0), on the other hand, are seventh in the Division II rankings, and No. 2 in the South Region. Given that, and the fact that both teams made the national playoffs last year, this game has all the makings of a 492 playoff preview. either team. Wofford, for example, has scored only two TDs via the pass and that came last week in a 49-6 win over Newberry College. Against Newber ry, Graves attempted just five passes, his only com pletions being the TD tosses. He isn't about to * This year, Graves has run 121 times and thrown just 50 passes ? that's an average of just iH Graves' speed, which could prove troublesome for the guys in red. Rams know about option offenses "Our people know what to do," Richardson points out. "Everyone is aware of their areas of responsibility when you face an option quarterback. As long as we do that and don*t beat ourselves, our chances to win are good because the team that makes the most mistakes will lose." on Everettc Norwood, who personally romped and stomped North Carolina Central's defense last weekend (see photo caption for details). But Nor wood is just one of the guys who can hurt you. Willie Latta's presence changes the way defens es^ playjbecause of his value as a runner and receiv er. Latta and Norwood are the CIA A co-leaders in scoring with 60 points each. There's also quick stepping Bobby Brown, Ronald Beverly and quar mm Getting the juices flowing "Everybody is pretty excit ed," said Pete Richardson, Rams head coach. "Our guys have seen Graves^. picture in USA Today, so they won't have any problem getting ready to play." This matchup should be a mirror image face off since both teams worship the run. The Terriers are the best at it in Division II, racking up 342.3 ypg with a lot of help from massive Tom Colter, a 6-3, 302 pounds tackle who is a prc-season All America pick. The Rams, in the meantime, are very proficient when Ft comes to the ground game, averaging 330.4 ypg. Putting the ball in the air isn't a priority for over seven attempts per game. The key for Winston *s defense is putting a 60 minute muzzle on. Graves, something that nobody has done so far in 491 . "They run that wishbone and Graves is built for. it," Richardson said. "And they do a good job of protecting him. Our best bet is to control the foot ball and keep him off the field. He'll be hard to stop. But if we can just control him, we should be in good shape." The Rams have faced a few tricky QBs along the way, the most notable being North Carolina A&T's Connell Maynor. But Maynor doesn't have While Graves is the force that gives the Terri ers some serious bite, he isn't the entire show. Run ning backs Aaron Allen and Darrin Goss compli ment their QB's efforts, combining for 107 ypg. But even more revealing is that Allen gets seven ypc and Goss averages 5.4 ypc. Still, the Rams should emerge triumphant for two reasons: ? More offensive weapons; ? WSSU's overall defense is better. Wofford will have its hands full in trying to slow the Rams down. No doubt, all eyes will focus terback Mitch Nicholson to con tend with. On any given play, any one of those five can break a game open. Depth factor The depth factor will be crucial in wearing Wofford's defense down. As a normal course of business, the Rams pick up 5.6 yards every time somebody runs the football. And there's always a different person doing the damage. Wofford's defense, which allows 4.4 ypc after seven games, can't afford to zero in on just one of Win ston's backs. The Rams* health of offen sive talent will enable them to employ coach Pete's keep the ball away philosophy, which should aid the defense immense ly. With fewer minutes to play because the offense is consum ing time off the clock, Frederick Bowman, Alphonza Bellamy, Donald Carter and Tim Pittman will be better rested to continue their relentless pursuit of Graves. Still, that doesn't mean that the Rams are a lock for the win, even if they have a comfortable margin going into the fourth quarter. | Wofford is used to fighting back. In seven games, the Terri ers have led at the half just once, and that was last Saturday. But more importantly, this team can score points by the buschels, pumping out TDs like so many car bumpers coming off of a' Detroit assembly line. In their only loss (49-42 to West Georgia) this year, Wofford trailed by as much as 28-0 in the first half. But by late in the fourth quarter, the offense glided into overdrive and tied the game at 42-all, mainly by running the football. For the Rams to win, they must be ready to go from start to finish. Just like the A&T game. Nothing else will do. Scons from Oct. 19th Flag Division Vikingsfl8 Tiny Indians *0 LewisvHIe 6 Kemarsviiie 6 Grayhounds 12 King 12 falcons IfPackefs h , . Photo By Max DvnhM Falcons running back Jonathan Skinner heads for open spaces last week against the Tiny Rams in a Pee Wees match-up as Rams defender Tramone Cobp (80) pursues the play. Junior Pee Wees Division Hounds top Dolphins By Chronicle Staff The Grayhounds did as they pleased in winning five of six games against the King Dolphins last Saturday, winning every game except the Flag Division. That contest ended in a tie. Here's a rundown of the action in each age group of play. . Flag The Grayhounds and King kept haps it was fitting that the game ended in a 12-12 tie. The Dolphins took the early lead at 6-0, only to see the Hounds come back to knot the score on Jamal Conley 's 20-yard TD run. In the third quarter, King, scored again to take a 12-6 lead/ The Hounds avoided defeat whc; Conley scored from 20 yards out with 22 seconds left in the game. Ryan Spainhour threw the key block that enabled Conley to reach paydirt. v. Mitey Mites The Gray hounds put 20 points on the board in the first half en route to a 27-0 win. Teddy "Buzz Saw" Petree broke loose for two touhdowns in the second quarter to give his team a three-touchdown lead. Petree scored his first TD on a 65 yard punt return early in that quarter. Late in the half, Petree added his second TD on a 1 5-yard run. He also scored the PAT. The Hounds first TD was set up by the running of Travis "Hot Please see Page B3 Photo by Max Dunhill Teddy Petree of the Gray hounds Mitey Mites gets ready to make his cut on an end sweep. Rod" Brown and Jeffrey "Speed ster" Johnston. Kelly "Superman" Fries scored on a 10-yard run and Ronald "Bull" Gaithings ran for the PAT. Fries also scored the final touchdown of the day on a 22 yard dash to the end zone. Aaron "Superstar" McCorkle ran for the conversion. Junior Pee Wees The Grayhounds dominated on both . <?
Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
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