The Virginian-Pilot
                             THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Sunday, June 18, 1995                  TAG: 9506150232
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST           PAGE: 54   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: Jeff Zeigler
                                             LENGTH: Medium:   79 lines

CAMDEN COUNTY TURNAROUND TOP ACHIEVEMENT

Now that the 1994-95 high school athletic year is finally over, it is time to look back on some of the best performances of the year. There were many of them.

Best turnaround: Camden High School. After a 1-9 season in 1993-94, the Bruins turned it around for a 6-5 record and threatened to make the state 1A playoffs.

Second best turnaround: Northeastern High School golf team. The squad placed second in the Big East Conference after years of lackluster performances. Douglas Biggs and Matt Spruill were Big East co-MVP's.

Surprise of the year: Manteo High School football. After losing starting quarterback Matt Midgett, the Redskins still won the Northeastern Conference championship.

Upset of the year: Camden County High School girls defeat Northeastern High School girls in basketball. No-win situation for Northeastern as 1A Lady Bruins beat the 4A Lady Eagles 60-54.

Close call of the year: Manteo High School football escapes with a 25-24 win over Currituck County with a touchdown and extra point with 1:44 to play.

Coach of the year: Scott Jones, Camden County High School football, and Bud Hendrix, Manteo High School basketball. Neither of these coaches makes excuses for their teams' performance. Both coaches were able to adjust well to different situations.

Best Athlete, Male: Jerrell Carver, Northeastern High School. Carver excelled in football, basketball, and was the Big East Conference Player of the Year in baseball. His excellent year was culminated by a draft notice from the New York Mets.

Best Athlete, Female: Heather Daniels, Manteo High School. Daniels was a dominant player on both the volleyball and basketball teams. At times she carried both teams singlehandedly. Holly Meads of Camden County High School was a close second.

Best Individual Performance: Rob Eckerfield, Northeastern High School wrestling. Eckerfield cruised to the 4A state championship at 103 pounds.

Most inspirational team: Perquimans County High School girls basketball. The Lady Pirates went three rounds into the state playoffs despite personal tragedy.

Best fans: Manteo High School boys basketball. When a visiting team steps into Manteo's gym, they really understand the term ``homecourt advantage.''

Team of the year: Currituck County High School baseball. Undefeated for 23 straight games, the Knights truly put forth a team effort. Despite the disappointment of not going farther in the state playoffs, Currituck had the most dominant team in any sport in 1994-95.

Second best team of the year: Currituck County High School softball. Winning has been a tradition for the Lady Knights for several years and 1995 was no exception. They finished the season third in the 2A state playoffs.

Third best team of the year: Camden County High School volleyball goes to the final four in the 1A state playoffs.

Best leadership: Cory Scott, Currituck County High School baseball. During the 1995 baseball season, Scott grew into a team leader. HIs cheerleading was an inspiration to his teammates.

Best kept secret: Cape Hatteras High School girls basketball. Finished second in the Tobacco Belt Conference with 14-4 record.

Best hustler, male: Maurice Shannonhouse, point guard, Perquimans County High School basketball. Nobody played harder or gave it their all more than Shannonhouse.

Best hustler, female: Renee Porr, volleyball, basketball, softball, Currituck County High School. Porr always seems to be in the middle of the action no matter what sport.

Best interview: Harrell Thach, football head coach Perquimans County High School. Thach doesn't pull any punches. If his team played poorly, he'll let you know.

Best clutch players: Alan Lawrence, Currituck County High School baseball, and Antonio Spencer, Manteo High School boys basketball. Lawrence always seemed to get the key hit for the Knights and Spencer always seemed to hit the crucial bucket for the Redskins.

Most unusual play: Clint Eley's 50+ yard field goal for Perquimans County High School. by CNB