Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, October 7, 1993 TAG: 9310070311
SECTION: HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS PAGE: S-9 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By BRIAN DeVIDO STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
He stands 5 feet 7 and weighs only 145 pounds.
He is in the ninth grade.
\ The freshman: Jason Criss had earned one of the starting spots. Never mind that he might be too young or too inexperienced to be starting for the varsity at a tough position on a competitive team. He won the spot with his performance on the field. That's all that mattered.
Criss beat out Brian Young, who also was the team's starting quarterback, for a starting spot Young had held for two years. Young now plays baseball on a scholarship at Virginia Tech.
"We wanted to rest Young so he could just play quarterback," said Jeff Highfill, Byrd's head football coach. "But Jason had to beat him out. We weren't going to give it to him."
Criss did his part. In practice, the coaches thought he was more physical and quicker than Young. They also thought Criss had more of a defensive mind-set.
"It didn't take long to find out that he [Jason] could do it physically," Highfill said. "The question was: Is he mentally ready? How would he react to having 3,000 people screaming on a Friday night? That's what we needed to know."
Now was the time for Criss to ease the doubts of his coaches. Now was the time to prove that he could play at this level.
Now was the time for Criss to prove he wasn't just a lucky freshman, that he was here for a reason, that he belonged.
The first defensive play of the season for Byrd was about to begin. Instinct would take over now - the instincts that Criss had honed while playing football for the previous six years. It was a running play, and the Bassett running back was coming to Criss' side . . .
\ The athlete: How many people can go into a new sport in their freshman year of high school - a sport they hate - win a starting spot and help lead the team to the state championship game?
That's what Criss did. But the sport wasn't football.
"He was in the weight room one day," said Highfill, who also is Byrd's soccer coach. "He said he wanted to play soccer. I wanted him to play something in the spring so he'd stay in shape, either track or soccer. But if he came out, he was going to play varsity. He was going to stay in shape."
Criss decided to play soccer, despite what he thought about the sport.
"I'd never played soccer before," he said. "I hated it. I used to think it was a non-contact sport, but I learned that it was [a contact sport]."
Good thing for the Terriers' soccer team. Criss impressed Highfill with his talent.
"He came out, and it was amazing," Highfill said. "His quickness and him just being an athlete helped him make the adjustment to a new sport."
Criss split time as the starting goalie and helped lead the team to the Group AA championship game, where Byrd lost to Park View-Sterling. Since then, he has been the starter, making the All-Region III team the past two years.
He also has 23 shutouts in his career.
\ The play: The running back came to Criss' side. It was a sweep, Criss said. Or maybe it was an option play. He doesn't remember exactly what the play was, but he sure remembers the result.
"I'll never forget it," he said. "I closed the play down, hit the guy and made the tackle. It was a good feeling, and it told me I was capable of playing at this level."
The Criss era had begun at William Byrd.
\ The present: Criss is Byrd's football captain for the second consecutive year. He comes off a season in which he rushed for 1,003 yards and was selected to the All-Blue Ridge District team as a linebacker and to the second-team as a running back.
Now 5-8 and 165 pounds, Criss isn't on pace to run for the yardage he did last year. Through four games, he has 266 yards rushing for Byrd (3-1). Two members of the offensive backfield, seniors Shannon Gray and Mike Poindexter - who along with lineman Jeff Childress played varsity with Criss as freshmen - are getting an ample number of carries this year. Poindexter leads the team in rushing with 292 yards. But that suits Criss just fine.
"We have three backs capable of doing the job," he said. "Poindexter is our short-yardage guy. Gray is our big-play maker. I have the possibility of making a big play, but mainly I'm a guy who gets 4 or 5 yards a clip."
Criss also is starting at outside linebacker for the fourth consecutive year, and he is one of the top-ranked punters in Timesland.
And while Criss has all the right moves when it comes to evading tacklers, there is one thing he won't run around: his religion. Criss is a Jehovah's Witness.
"Competitive sports are not looked favorably upon in my religion," he said. "We don't salute the flag or pledge allegiance to it. If I'm at a game and I'm seated, I'll stay seated during the pledge. If I'm standing, I'll stay standing. That's my religious belief. I don't want to cause a scene."
Criss said his mother, who is a Jehovah's Witness, (his father is not) tried to explain to him the reasons competitive sports aren't looked upon favorably.
"She felt I was capable of dealing with it in a positive way," he said. "There are a couple of guys who give me a hard time - in jest - about it, but I feel playing sports has benefited me. My major purpose is to help the team any way I can."
by CNB