Carmichael Perseveres Despite Objections of Others
kWest Forsyth kicker just wants to be a football player ? no more, no less
By JEROME RICHARD
Chronicle Sports Editor
Paula Carmichael strolled
behind the massive wall created
along the sideline by her West
Forsyth High School* teammates
as they stood shoulder pad to
shoulder pad like sardines watch
ing the Titans* season opener
with Carver High School. Every
few feet Carmichael would stop
and try to find a crack in the wall
of white and green uniforms in
order to catch a glimpse of the
junior varsity football game.
Last-Second
Touchdown Lifts
Elizabeth City
Past WSSU, 22-19
? Loss deals severe blow
to Rams ' title chances
By JEROME RICHARD
Chronicle Sports Editor
Elizabeth City State drove
86 yards in five plays to score
with four seconds remaining as
it handed Winston-Salem State a
22-19 loss in the Rams' CIAA
Conftrfoet EP+nir Sept. 16 ai ?
Bowman Gray Stadium.
The loss
I was a jsevere
I blow to the
preseason
favorite Rams' conference
championship hopes and a
crushing jolt to their confidence,
especially after it appeared they
had the game won when Richard
Huntley's 11-yard touchdown
run and Milton Mooya's extra
point kick gave them a 19-16
lead with 54 seconds left to play.
Elizabeth City took the
kickoff after Huntley's touch
down and drove for the victory,
capped by a short Kenny
Crump-to-Aaron Murchison
pass that Murchison turned into
a 30-yard touchdown with four
seconds to play.
Crump got the winning
drive started with a pass to Mal
colm Mackey and WSSU was
flagged for a personal foul to
move the ball to the Viking 49.
Another WSSU penalty moved
the ball to the Ram 45 before a
10-yard completion to Murchi
son and a facemask penalty got
the ball to the 30, setting up the
game-winning pass.
For the Rams, 1-2 overall
and 0-1 in the league, it was
another defensive collapse.
"We got caught on the
wrong side of the field," WSSU
coach Kermit Blount said. "We
did not recover and make the
play."
The Vikings lit up the score
board first with a ,10-play^ 77
yard drive, capped by Lamont
Avent's 1-yard run. WSSU
pulled within 7-6 on a 36-yard
pass from D' Andre Hopper to
Randall Carter as Mooya's PAT
kick was blocked. Elizabeth
City took a 9-6 lead to the lock
er room when it scored on a
safety with 1:08 to play in the
half.
Avent scored on a 2-yard
dive in the second half and
Huntley hit paydirt on a 1 -yard
run to set up the last-minute
fireworks.
The Vikings outgained .
WSSU on the ground, 323 to
237, as Murchison carried the
ball 17 times for 121 yards.
It was difficult for the
diminutive 5-2, 101 -pound kicker
to see what was happening on the
field, but it didn't seem to matter.
Carmichael was happy just to be
on the team. After all, this was
her first taste of organized spoils,
and though some people madfe it
plain they didn't think a girl
belonged on the sq^Mid,
Carmichael nevertheless perse
vered through the arduous August
practices and ignored people's
snide remarks to crash through
the banner and run onto the field
with her teammates for the season
opener against Carver. She didn't
play against the Yellow Jackets,
and she hasn't seen action in West
Forsyth's subsequent games,
though she came close in the
Titans' 33-0 victory over East
Forsyth two weeks ago.
\ "If we had scored again, she
would have been called upon to
kick the extra point," West
Forsyth coach Randy Pope said,
noting the Titans don't cut play
ers.
Having a girl on the team cre
ated some minor problems early
in the season for West Forsyth,
but once were ironed out, things
have sailed smoothly for the
Titans.
"There may have been a
comment or two early in the sea
son by some of the teenagers
being macho, but we nipped that
in the bud real quick," Pope said.
"The only disruption has been
separate dressing rooms, obvious
ly, and that is just because I have
to remember to lock it and unlock
it Other than that there have been
no problems, and that isn't a big
? *??
one.
Though Carmichael has yet
to appear in a game, she has
maintained a positive attitude,
persevered, and done what has
been asked of her, according to
Pope.
"She has stuck it out and
been to all the practices," the
coach said. 'The effort is definite
ly there. She has a good work
ethic. She is a good kid who has
been where she is supposed to be
at practices and games."
Carmichael, believed to be
see CARMICHAEL page 18
Paula Carmichael
Parkland receiver Camden Banner is upended on a crossing pattern by Mount Tabor* s Brian Shipp as Jason Muldoven (1) is ready to pounce.
A Speedster rushes fof ]
136 yards , two TDs
against Parkland
By JEROME RICHARD
Chronicle Sports Editor
Eugene Drummond's con
tract with Mount Tabor High
School has six more weeks to
*run, and after last Thursday's
rushing
" perfor
mance
against
Parkland, it is obvious he is
living up to its terms.
The sophomore ran for
1 36 yards on
16 carries and
4wo touch
downs as
Mount Tabor
won its third
consecutive
junior varsity
football game
by beating
Parkland 27- Eugeme
15 Sept 14 at Drummond
home.
No one would have pre
dicted Drummond's spectacu
lar performance based on his
preseason practices. During the
sweltering days of August,
Drummond had the habit of
running wide and being more
concerned with individual per
formance than the team con
cept, a felony in the eyes of
Mount Tabor coaches. It took
severe measures to get Drum
see DRUMMOND page 18
kit Tabor's Doug WgstUng bromks th* tape to win a boys' crost
Reynolds Staves Off East in Battle of Winless
A Demons pick up first win behind Evans , Booth , and defense
By JEROME RICHARD
Chronicle Sports Editor
Reynolds High School
scored right off the bat and
twice staved off East Forsyth
deep in its own territory late in
the game to record its first
junior varsity football victory
of the season, 14-0 Sept. 14 at
Deaton-Thompson Stadium.
Reynolds improved to 1-3
on the year. East Forsyth fell to
0-3.
The Demons scored on
their first offensive possession
when Dennis Evans bolted 44
yards to the end zone for a 6-0
lead as the two-point conver
sion was nullified by a penalty.
The teams waged a defen
sive struggle the rest of the
first half as the Demons headed
to the locker room on top 6-0.
They increased the margin
to 14-0 near the end of the
third quar-\
ter when
quarterback
????????? A. J. Booth
rammed over from the 3-yard
line and added the two-point
PAT.
Reynolds dodged two bul
lets in the fourth quarter after
turning the ball over to East
Forsyth deep in its own territo
ry.
The Eagles took possession
at the RJR 30-yard line the first
time and at the Demon 20 the
second time, but couldn't
punch the ball in either time.
"Defensively, we felt as a
team we did a much better job,
and offensively we moved the
ball the best we have all sea
son," said Reynolds coach
James Alexander.
He credited nose guard
Lewis Jackson and linebacker
Carlos Summers with good
defensive games.
"Offensively, this was the
most prepared we have been
this year.
"We feel we are making
progress every week. We feel
we are in for a much better sea
son from here on out."