Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, June 11, 1994 TAG: 9406140006
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RALPH BERRIER JR. STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The second time the Terriers and Bulldogs played, Martinsville's Pete Scouras proved why he's the Timesland Coach of the Year.
McCaskill, a senior forward who led Timesland in scoring with 32 goals and 11 assists, scored the only goal in a 1-0 victory over Mar- McCaskill tinsville in the Region III championship. It was one of the most important goals of Byrd's season, as McCaskill stole the ball from a Martinsville player and boomed a shot into the net from 14 yards away.
A week later, Scouras guided the Bulldogs to a stunning 2-0 victory over the previously unbeaten Terriers in the Group AA semifinals, ending a terrific season for a Byrd team that won its first 19 games.
"It was pretty disappointing," McCaskill said. "I can't argue with the season we had, though. I thought this would be the year we would go to the state finals and hopefully win it.
"Martinsville has a great team. We were able to beat them once and they just beat us the second time. It was a good season."
It was especially a good season for McCaskill, who was named the player of the year in the Blue Ridge District, in Region III and in Group AA.
He was especially good in postseason play, when he scored 10 goals and had five assists in six Scouras matches. In addition to the Region III championship, Byrd won the Blue Ridge regular-season title.
McCaskill scored 67 goals in his four-year career.
"You've got to put the ball in the net to win," said McCaskill, a 6-foot, 160-pound senior forward who plans on playing soccer at Longwood College on a partial athletic scholarship.
"I hardly saw any double-teaming this year. I expected to see a little bit more, but we had some other guys who really came through."
One of those guys was sophomore forward Michael Berry, who was also named first-team All-Timesland. Berry scored 24 goals, making it difficult for teams to mark and double-team the Terriers' scorers.
Byrd's Jason Criss was Timesland's top goalkeeper.
Also on the All-Timesland team were midfielders Andy Tunnell of Magna Vista, Keith Mattson of Franklin County, Ry Moore of North Cross and Carson Shearer of Martinsville; backs Michael Dowdy and Jason Boyle of Blacksburg, Cannon Shearer of Patrick Henry and Greg Barth of Martinsville.
Scouras beat out esteemed fellows such as William Byrd's Jeff Highfill, Blacksburg's Shelley Blumenthal and North Cross' Richard Cook in being named Timesland's top coach. The characteristic that put Scouras over the top was the fact that his team got hot at the right time. The Bulldogs lost to Tabb in the state finals 1-0.
The reasons for Martinsville's late surge can mostly be traced back to Scouras' shrewd strategies.
When the Bulldogs beat Byrd, it was their second victory over an undefeated team that week. Two days earlier in the state tournament quarterfinals, a bold coaching move helped the 'Dogs shock defending state champion Blacksburg 3-2 in overtime.
With his team trailing 2-0 midway through the second half, Scouras switched senior goalkeeper Todd Johnson to forward, his old position. Johnson's throw-in with 10 minutes in regulation led to a Barth goal that tied the match at 2-2.
"When you're down 2-0, what the heck," Scouras said of his maneuver. "[Johnson] came in and really gave us a spark."
Johnson went back to goal and he and the defense combined to blank the Indians for two overtimes. Shearer's header off a Matt Durand throw-in with 2 minutes, 11 seconds left in the second OT gave Martinsville the win.
Martinsville finished 15-5-1, setting a school record for victories. The Bulldogs advanced to state tournament play for the first time since 1989.
"This was the most balanced team we've had," Scouras said. "We've had some better individual players in the past, but overall we were decent at every position [this season].
"This was a senior-dominated team that wanted to win. Things kept building up and building up, and we were at our best in the big games."
by CNB