Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, December 2, 1993 TAG: 9312030039
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: S27 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
The New River District has had eight champions since 1978, when Blacksburg won the first of its three state titles. If the Indians win this year's crown, the New River will have taken eight of the past 12 Group AA titles.
This could be the last one for a while, though. Consider that Radford won four times and George Wythe once. Wythe now is a member of the Group A Hogoheegee District, and Radford is dropping to the Group A Mountain Empire District next year.
The New River District has three teams left. Christiansburg, which made the Region IV tournament this year, loses the district player of the year, Rebecca McNeil, and doesn't figure to be as strong next fall.
Carroll County, which upset Blacksburg in the district tournament and won the junior varsity title, should have a decent team next fall. The Cavaliers, though, won't have a team that can compete on the state level.
Blacksburg loses most of its top players from this year's team, though leading scorer Lisa Price returns.
In Region IV, Gate City, which plays Blacksburg in a semifinal Friday night, and Richlands are young clubs and figure to be the best in the region next fall.
With only three teams, the New River District may very well crown its final state champion this year. Two years from now, the district might be only a fond memory with regional realignment planned.
"I would say next year will be a rebuilding year," said Mickey McGuigan, Blacksburg's coach. "We won't have a lot of size. I don't know if the New River District can continue to do well in the state."
At Radford, Brenda King guided two Bobcats championships. She says one reason for the New River's success on the state level was the intense competition among league teams. With the district down to three teams next year, that's obviously gone.
Said King, "We knew if we could play well against other New River teams, we were capable of winning the state championship."
In 1989 and 1990, the state finals were all-New River District affairs. Wythe won the '89 crown by beating Radford for the fifth time. The next year, Radford stopped Blacksburg in the final.
The only other Timesland team to make the state final more than once is Martinsville. The Bulldogs have lost in the final three times in the past 10 years.
\ CHOPPED DOWN TO SIZE: Not only did Pulaski County's football team stuff pregame words down the throats of visiting Gar-Field players on Friday in the Northwestern Region Division 6 championship game, but the Cougars' crowd did the same to the Indians' fans.
Gar-Field fans, as do most of those from a team with an Indian nickname, use the "tomahawk chop" cheer.
When Gar-Field took the field, the Indians' fans began chopping. When Pulaski County stuffed fabled Indians receiver Winston October on the game's first passing play, the Cougars' fans, unrehearsed, gave a big chop to the Gar-Field fans.
"I heard that on the sideline," said Pulaski County coach Joel Hicks, who usually is too busy concentrating on the game to notice anything from the stands.
The Cougars' fans were aroused when Gar-Field players started taunting Pulaski players before the game. That move backfired because for the first 15 minutes the Cougars played inspired football, taking a 24-0 lead.
Pulaski County might have done that without Gar-Field's taunting. The Gar-Field taunting was like sticking your hand in a hive to make sure the bees weren't loafing. Ouch.
\ COLONEL MARCHES ON: Several years ago, veteran William Fleming football coach Sherley Stuart was thinking of retiring. With the Colonels' main running back, Eddie Jones, and their quarterback, Al Holland Jr., graduating, this might have been the time for Stuart, 57, to step down.
But Stuart, one of Timesland's most popular coaches, says he's coming back. He still hopes to teach for two or three more years, and the thrill of coaching hasn't left him.
Stuart was in the Pulaski County dressing room after the Cougars' 34-26 victory over Gar-Field. Stuart says coaches should back teams from their districts, and that's why he was there to congratulate the Cougars.
\ HANGING IN THERE: Two years ago, when Laurel Park football fortunes weren't going as well, head coach John Kovack wasn't sure he was going to have a job much longer.
"I wasn't thinking of resigning as a coach, but some people were thinking that I might not be back," said Kovack, who in December 1991 couldn't say whether he would return for the 1992 season.
Luckily, high school administrators don't always listen to fans. Kovack returned, and this year's Lancers upset top-ranked Magna Vista in the playoffs before losing to Jefferson Forest last Friday night.
"It's worse than it's ever been. If you lose some games, fans think of that [firing a coach]," Kovack said. "Luckily, I had an administration that backed me. You don't always have the best athletes, but fans don't realize that."
Kovack has taken courses in administration, earning his master's degree. If a position opens in the Henry County system, he might go into administration. Fortunately, he's learned to back the coach and not the fans, who pay attention only to wins and losses.
\ DANDY DON: He is known as Dandy Don Meredith, and there is no basketball coach in Timesland quite as flamboyant as the Lord Botetourt boys' boss. Now that Meredith is retired from teaching, he often is asked when he's going to give up coaching.
"I enjoy the kids and the challenge," he said. "I look forward to the year. It's [coaching] been so much a part of my life. There's not but a few coaches left from when I started.
"You go to clinics in the summer, look for old faces and they're all gone. You start wondering, `When's my turn coming?' Everyone knows when it's time to get out, and when I feel it's time, I'll certainly do it."
Meredith still is a substitute teacher, and he runs a farm in Bedford County. He also is president of Botetourt Country Club and an avid golfer. He likes to hunt and fish, but for this old war horse, there's always time for basketball.
by CNB