Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, September 29, 1994 TAG: 9411100023
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: S14 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Thompson's problem was that he was playing as a 19-year-old. According to the VHSL Handbook, any student reaching the age of 19 on or before the first day of October during the year in which he or she wishes to compete is ineligible.
Thompson had turned 19 in May, so he was clearly ineligible. Thompson had appealed to the VHSL for an exemption because he repeated first and third grades to improve his reading ability.
Doumar did not declare the VHSL rule unconstitutional and his ruling applies to only this case. He granted Thompson his exemption because the league had arbitrarily granted 17 other exemptions during the past 10 years.
The VHSL is finally paying for its sins. In far too many cases, former administrations under two other executive directors - Bill Pace and Earl Gillespie - have not always enforced the rules equally. It was only a matter of time before a smart lawyer pointed out the inequities to a judge and threw the VHSL for a loss.
The best example of a student using the legal process to thwart the VHSL was when Altavista's Sherman Pennell, averaging 29 points a game, was found to be in violation of the league's amateur status rule when he took money that allegedly amounted to several hundred dollars from relatives for making dunk shots during games. He was found guilty and banished from the district tournament while his team was forced to forfeit its victories to that point.
Pennell got an injunction that threatened to shut down the VHSL's tournament. The league buckled by permitting Pennell to play in the tournament, though it let the forfeits stand.
For too long, this has been the way business has been conducted in Charlottesville. Under new director Ken Tilley, that will no longer be true. When the VHSL executive committee met last week, it first wrote down the rules for age-appeal cases and then made rulings on those according to the way the rules were written. No judge should have a problem with that kind of consistency.
``You're in the middle, but we still think that we have an age rule that will be applied fairly and consistently,'' said Tilley. ``There are reasons we might set the rule aside and they are clearly articulated. They will be sent to all member schools as soon as possible.''
William Byrd principal Bob Patterson, a member of the VHSL's Executive Committee that met on the appeals, says that for years there was no process of appeals. Then state legislators requested that the VHSL have a way for students to make appeals of rulings.
``We've found that the states without appeals processes are losing cases,'' said Patterson on the need to continue looking at each individual case.
``We talked at the executive committee that this ruling opens the door for other appeals, which it has. We heard six appeals, a few more than usual. Four were approved, one was not and one was deferred until we could get more information.
``We looked at them according to information we got from the judge in setting up criteria. We just had it all down in writing. Some of the criteria we're using is that they should have some allowance for a disability that caused them not to pass their classes. It depends on the severity of the disability.''
The VHSL has lost a case, but in the long run high school programs might be big winners since there finally will be some consistency in the process.
POINT HOUND: You can take his fullback position away from him, but you can't stop Monty Smith from scoring.
Last year at North Cross, Smith played fullback and tight end on offense. He scored 112 points in 11 games as the Raiders won the Private School Division 1 state title.
When he transferred to Patrick Henry for his senior season, coach Ed Scott already had a fullback and tight end. Smith would have to take table scraps as far as scoring was concerned.
Well, Smith just happens to be the leading scorer after four weeks in the Roanoke Valley District race. He has scored 26 points, which is only three fewer than he had last year after three games for North Cross.
Of course, Smith is a little more selective about the way he scores this year. For instance, he's fallen on two blocked punts in the end zone for touchdowns. Most players are lucky if they get one in a career.
And what about basketball? Smith led Timesland in scoring last year with 24.1 average. As a 6-foot forward in Group AAA basketball, can he match that? Don't bet against it after what's happened in football.
HOT STOVE LEAGUE TRADE?: Shawn Wright, who played defensive back for William Fleming as a sophomore last year, was the Central Region's leading pass receiver going into games this past weekend. Wright moved to Richmond following the football season and transferred to Meadowbrook. The 5-foot-7, 135-pound junior had 13 catches for 216 yards before last Friday.
The Colonels didn't come up empty-handed in the loss of Wright. Friday, Daniel Gunn, a senior, gained 108 yards on 22 carries after being ruled as an eligible transfer earlier in the week. Gunn, it so happens, moved to Fleming from Meadowbrook. In baseball, they'd say he was the player to be named later for Wright.
BARBER SHOP: So how many big-time college football players as sophomores would take a Friday night on an off week and travel 110 miles round trip to see their high schools play?
Virginia's Tiki and Ronde Barber are not the norm, but then everyone knew that. Last Friday, the Barbers were in the stands at City Stadium in Lynchburg, sitting with friends and watching Cave Spring play Heritage. After the game, the two former Knights hung around the dressing room with coach Steve Spangler, who had the twins both in junior high and high school.
SMALL TALK: There was very little discussion at the Region III meeting this past week of the Blue Ridge District's possible move to Region IV.
Part of the reason was the absence of Magna Vista principal Joe DeVault, who was out of the area. The other reason was that the Blue Ridge still must formally request and receive permission for the change from the VHSL Group AA board.
Northside principal Donna Henderson said she talked with Salem principal John Hall about the possibility of staying in Region III if the Group A-sized schools in the region decided to drop from Group AA classification.
That seems to be a moot point, though. Nelson County, which was Group A in size, reported it has grown so that it no longer has the option of dropping. Of the remaining Group A-sized schools in Region III, only Altavista, William Campbell and Buckingham County are interested in dropping, meaning the Blue Ridge still needs to move in order to create balance between Region III and IV.
by CNB