THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, October 14, 1994 TAG: 9410120127
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 18 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BILL LEFFLER, SPORTS EDITOR
LENGTH: Medium: 64 lines
WHEN COLLEGE FOOTBALL recruiters come to visit Wilson High School they'll get glowing reports on running back Darryl Scott from coach Jenson Baker.
And that alone should tell you how much Scott, a 5-foot-9, 190-pound senior, has progressed this year.
Just before the season started, there was much doubt that he would even get to play.
In a disciplinary move during the early practices, Baker suspended Scott from the team. After one week the coaches and players voted to allow him to return.
``He's a late bloomer,'' Baker said. ``I definitely think he can be an outstanding college football player. He's fast, he's strong and he's smart.''
It was the speed of Scott, probably the fastest runner on the Wilson squad over 40 yards, that turned his football career around.
A year ago he was playing linebacker - and not really the way Baker wanted it played. ``They thought I was too over-aggressive,'' recalled Scott.
Near the end of last season a Wilson kick returner was hurt and Scott was inserted to fill in.
``He made one outstanding runback and it was easy to see that he belonged carrying the football and not stopping runners,'' said Baker.
The last two games of the year he had six carries and gained 16 yards but Baker viewed him as a potential starter in 1994.
``He gained about 150 yards in a scrimmage game and then I had to discipline him,'' Baker said. ``We really were going without him but he asked for a second chance and we gave it to him. And he responded. He has become a very dedicated player.
``He's not one to hog the credit, either. The first thing he said after he gained 253 yards against Western Branch last week was that it was due to the blocking in the line.''
The 253 yards is believed to be the second highest single-game rushing achievement in Wilson history. Robert ``Ton'' Davis gained 257 yards against Granby in 1971, the year he tied a state scoring record with 176 points and rushed for 1,208 yards. Davis carried 36 times for his one-game mark. Scott had only 20 attempts.
Despite playing only briefly in one game when he suffered a hip-pointer in the first minute against Indian River, Scott leads all rushers in the Southeastern District with 798 yards. He has carried 96 times for an average of 8.3 yards per assignment.
``My goal when the season started was to reach 1,000 yards,'' said Scott. ``Now I would like to do even better than that.''
The Wilson school record is 1,438 in 1990 by Mike Atkins. That would seem to be out of his reach.
``You never know,'' said Scott.
The 18-year-old Scott, who answers to the nickname ``Dog,'' says the most important thing for him at the moment is to help Wilson beat Oscar Smith Friday.
``We're still looking for our first district win,'' he said. ``We want this to be it.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by MARK MITCHELL
Running back Darryl Scott, a 5-foot-9, 190-pound senior at Wilson
High School, was a late bloomer, according to his coach.
by CNB