THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, January 18, 1996 TAG: 9601160098
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 18 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY VICKI L. FRIEDMAN, COMPASS SPORTS EDITOR
LENGTH: Long : 101 lines
HAIL TO THE Greyhounds!
No marching band is playing, but Joe Langston can hear the music, a melody that's part of his memories from 30 years ago when Norcom and Booker T. Washington got together to play a football game.
``That was the game of the year, the Super Bowl of high school football,'' said Langston, a player captain for Norcom in 1960 and the Greyhounds' coach for the last 22 years. ``They always played it the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. If you didn't go to a high school game all year, that was the game to go to.''
Those days are gone, and Langston knows it. But he can't help but hope that some of the spirit that ignited that rivalry will return when Booker T. and Norcom become part of the same district again in July - the new Eastern District.
Wilson, Norcom and Churchland will join Maury, Granby, Lake Taylor, Booker T. Washington and Norview in the new eight-team Eastern District for the 1996-97 school year. It is the first realignment of the district since 1975. Wilson, Norcom and Churchland are now part of the Southeastern District, which will gain Lakeland, Nansemond River and the new Hickory High School in Chesapeake.
Norcom principal DeWayne Jeter is chairman of the new district and Granby principal Michael Caprio is the vice chairman.
The announcement was made last fall by the Virginia High School League, but the work is ongoing, as principals and athletic directors meet monthly to consider the logistics and scheduling.
Bert Harrell, the Virginia High School League coordinator for Norfolk Public Schools, is pleased with the additions. ``It balances the region up,'' he said. Harrell said the Eastern District has had trouble scheduling games because of the distict's small size.
One concern already being considered is transportation. Although the distance between Norfolk and Portsmouth is nearly nil in some cases - ``If you can manage the tunnel, you're there,'' said Granby athletic director Marty Bechtol - Portsmouth buses are not available until after 4 p.m.
``If we play an afternoon game say in soccer, if it involves the Portsmouth schools, we won't be able to start until 4:30,'' Harrell said.
The new district will enhance some sports while hardly affecting others.
In the past, Bechtol says, in football ``basically a district championship came down to a four-game season. We're excited about seven district games.''
The change strengthens everybody's schedule. Wrestling, for example. ``Having just five teams, there were disadvantages to other teams, too,'' Harrell said. ``(The Eastern District) sent the same amount of representatives to the regional wrestling tournament as a district with 10 teams - the top four. The change rounds things out.''
The differences in sports, however, will continue. Portsmouth schools do not have swimming, girls field hockey and boys volleyball, and no plans are under way to add them.
Norfolk does not have gymnastics or indoor track. Indoor track, which has suffered because of the lack of a proper facility, will no longer be part of Portsmouth sports in the fall of 1996.
``In most cases, indoor track has been run outdoors,'' Jeter said. ``With the kind of cold weather we've been having, we're probably putting students at risk, and it's not wise to continue that.''
Schools where the sports do not match up will continue to schedule non-district games.
Jeter said he is hopeful that the change will enable Portsmouth schools to more successfully promote high school basketball.
``Norfolk schools have done particularly well promoting their basketball program, in particular during the Christmas season with tournaments,'' he said. ``We hope we can follow that lead.''
Where Norfolk schools need to play catch-up though, is in football. The Portsmouth schools have become accustomed to drawing the kind of gate receipts that a Western Branch or Indian River brings in. Norfolk has had trouble bringing in spectators to watch football.
``Every school has a different way of funding. . . . In Portsmouth we depend heavily on (the gate). We put the bulk of the money back into our program,'' Jeter said.
Speculation has already begun about over how the district will be affected by the influx of traditionally strong programs such as Churchland girls basketball. Bechtol says however, that idea is overrated. ``There's talent swings depending on the classes coming through,'' he said.
Jeter isn't so sure. Norfolk schools require athletes to pass a minimum of five subjects to participate. Portsmouth schools have an additional requirement. Starting next fall, athletes will need a 2.0 grade-point average, up from the current requirement of 1.7. Therefore, athletes who are eligible to compete in Norfolk would not be eligible to compete in Portsmouth.
``Yes, there will be a shift,'' Jeter said. ``The playing field is not going to be level.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photos
Joe Langston
He remembers Norcom vs. Booker T.
DeWayne Jeter
Chairman of the new Eastern District
Marty Bechtol
Excited about more district games
by CNB