Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, July 14, 1993 TAG: 9307140035
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: HAMPTON LENGTH: Medium
They're even blocking for one another. Salem quarterback Tra Wilson will take snaps from Richlands center Sam Barnett, and Blue Tornadoes running back Brannon Breeding will try to gain yardage for the West behind Salem's All-Group AA tackle, Josh Pugh.
During the winter, the Virginia High School League put Richlands on probation after Tornadoes coach Dennis Vaught admitted outfitting his team with cleats that were longer than permitted by high school rules.
Whether the cleats were a factor in Richlands' 17-7 victory in the Group AA Division 6 semifinal may never be known, but the issue was an emotional one for fans of both teams.
Vaught was suspended from coaching for a year and dismissed from the VHSCA for five years. It remains to be seen whether he will coach at Richlands in 1994.
For the four players trying to help the West defeat the East at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, the issue is moot.
"We just joked around about it. These are a bunch of good guys," Pugh said of the two Blue Tornadoes.
"I thought about it [playing with Salem players] before coming here, but it didn't bother me a lot," said Breeding, whose running led Richlands to its victory.
Pulaski County coach Joel Hicks, one of the West coaches who has a rivalry of his own going with Salem, just smiles at the reaction of players from the two teams.
"It shows what athletics are all about," Hicks said. "The athletes themselves take care of the problem by teamwork and by the nature of the game."
Pugh said it was a little bit tense at first. "But we figured we're on the same team and everyone became pretty good friends. We didn't think about it [the playoff game].
"We talk about it, but we hang around together. The past is the past."
Breeding echoes those sentiments.
"They're all good players or they wouldn't be here," he said of the Spartans. "I felt strange talking to them, but then it was just players talking.
"We talked about it [the Salem-Richlands game]. They said how they felt, but then we agreed not to talk about cleats. The past is the past."
\ BUSY SCHUG: Blacksburg's Kevin Schug has won not one, two or three but four jobs for the West football team.
Schug, an All-Timesland wide receiver the past two years, will play for VMI in the fall. For the West team, he also will handle the punting, kickoff and place-kicking duties.
"I can't remember one player handling all three kicking duties," said E.C. Glass coach Bo Henson, a West coach and veteran of numerous all-star games. "But I know last year that not having a punter killed the East."
Hicks usually has a strong kicking game at Pulaski County and once won an all-star game in this series when his team virtually kicked the East into bad field position all night. He can't recall one player doing all three chores.
"Kevin's the best one here at all three. We knew he kicked field goals at Blacksburg. Usually you can't pick a player who only kicks, but you don't always have one who is good at all three."
Wayne Caldwell handled the punting for Blacksburg last season, but Schug might be a better punter than place-kicker.
"I've never punted before because we had Wayne," Schug said. "But I'm happy to try all three."
Hicks says Schug has the potential to average 40 yards per punt with excellent hang time. He compares Schug favorably to some of the best Cougars kickers. That's strong praise and will be good news for VMI, which might not have known about the Blacksburg star's other skill.
"They just tried a couple of people out for each [phase of kicking]," Schug said. "I played soccer and figured I might do well at [any type of kicking]."
\ DIAMONDS IN THE ROUGH: After a day off, VHSCA all-star action resumes today with softball at 2 p.m. and baseball at 7 p.m.
Eight Timesland players are on the West softball team, led by player of the year Michelle Harrison of Salem and teammate Yolanda Helm.
The other six are Kelly Fackler of Fieldale-Collinsville, Temika Hodge of Magna Vista, Melissa Markham of James River, Chris Robertson of Bath County, Janell Sowers of Lord Botetourt and Bobbie Jo Wright of Glenvar.
Five Timesland players are on the West baseball team, including four from the Group AA ranks: William Byrd's Gary Wiggins, Jefferson Forest's Vince Whorley, Liberty's Mike Thompson and Carroll County's Kevin DeHaven. The other Timesland player is Fort Chiswell's B.W. Hill.
by CNB