Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, September 2, 1993                   TAG: 9308310321
SECTION: NEW RIVER VALLEY PREP FOOTBALL                    PAGE: PF-8   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: RALPH BERRIER JR. STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG                                LENGTH: Long

BETTER TO GIVE THAN RECEIVE - PAIN, THAT IS

So, it's a good thing Tony Wheeler's right shoulder has healed.

After an injury-prone season during which his troublesome joint went out more often than a low-wattage light bulb, Wheeler is expected to be one of the main men on an Indian squad full of young talent that's head and shoulders above the rest of the New River District.

A fantastic athlete on a team that should run away with the NRD for a second straight year, Wheeler appears fully recovered from an injury that virtually robbed him of his sophomore year in three sports.

He missed the first three football games last season after dislocating his shoulder during a chance meeting with former Cave Spring star and current University of Virginia rookie phenom Ronde Barber during a preseason scrimmage.

"I dislocated it when I ran into him," Wheeler remembered.

Nice to run into you, Ronde.

He played the rest of the football schedule in pain, then suffered the same injury again early in basketball season.

Doctors asked, "What's a joint like this doing in a nice guy like you?"

He had surgery, which was supposed to have sidelined him for the season.

He was back for the playoffs, however, then he skipped baseball in order to let the shoulder heal completely.

Had he been healthy enough to have played baseball, "we would had to have moved the fences back," said Jim Shockley, a longtime Blacksburg football assistant who also coaches baseball.

Now, shoulder healed, Wheeler is showing he has pop on the football field.

"It feels fine," Wheeler said. "I've been hitting in practice, and I've had no trouble at all with it. I want to put it in the past. This is a whole new year."

The fact that Wheeler hopes to be inflicting pain rather than receiving it when he tackles somebody has to be bad news for opposing ball carriers.

At 6-2 and 195 pounds, the swift-footed Wheeler has the potential to be a devastating linebacker. A move from outside to inside should make him even more effective.

"Moving him to inside linebacker should make things a little easier on his shoulder," said Blacksburg assistant Vaughan Phipps, who oversees the linebackers.

"On the outside, you wind up taking on people with your shoulder. The switch to the inside should take care of his shoulder and allow us to use his athletic ability."

Wheeler is in for another switch on offense, where he'll get to play some tailback after being a tight end as a sophomore.

The shoulder injury kept him from reaching his potential as a pass-catcher - mainly because it kept him from reaching.

"Once he got hurt," said Blacksburg Head Coach Dave Crist, "he couldn't get his arm up to catch the ball."

And if there's one thing Blacksburg receivers need to do this season, it's latch onto that flying pigskin.

Junior quarterback Greg Shockley, Jim's son, who threw for more than 1,600 yards as a Sizzlin' Sophomore a year ago, is back behind center (6-1, 245-pound center Tim Schnecker, who also earned Sizzlin' Sophomore status last year).

The Indians, particularly Shockley, will miss former All-Timesland wide receiver Kevin Schug, who caught more than 2,000 yards' worth of passes in two years, and departed receiver Steven Crist.

Still, Shockley is the first returning starting quarterback the Indians have had in seven seasons, and he'll be the main offensive cog.

"He's very consistent," said Crist. "I don't know who he'll throw to, though, because we're really going to miss the receivers we lost. It'll be difficult to replace them."

That's where lesser-known guys such as junior wide receiver Jim Reemsnyder, senior (finally, a senior) tight end Michael Donohue and senior receiver Nick Burroughs come in.

They'll catch their share of Shockley tosses, as may senior wide receiver Jay Safford, another terrific two-way, multisport athlete.

In the backfield, 1,000-yard rusher Chad Long is gone, and it may take several guys - Wheeler, Burroughs, or senior Terry Simpson - to replace him.

Whoever carries the ball probably will have his choice of holes to run through, opened by a gargantuan offensive line featuring the likes of Schnecker, Kip Kenyon (6-0, 196), Bobby Collins (6-2, 256), Kevin Morrozoff (5-9, 185) and Ryan Baird (5-11, 210).

"For us, this is excellent size," Crist said. "One of our strengths is our strength. The kids worked very hard in the off-season. We have some big kids who are light on their feet."

That's especially true on the defensive side, where some of the guys on the offensive front will rotate on the defensive line.

It may be impossible for opponents to get past linebackers Wheeler, Safford, Burroughs and Jason Price.

In the secondary, Crist will choose from Todd Perdue, Tim Brown, Tony Walker, Shane Beamer, John Chapman and Reemsnyder.

Even if the Indians escape unscathed in the NRD, they'll face a vigorous nonleague schedule featuring powerhouses Salem, Heritage, Graham, Tazewell and Giles.

"Everybody we play is tough," said Crist.

That just means these young guys will grow up that much faster.