Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, November 9, 1994 TAG: 9411090043
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: M.J. DOUGHERTY
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Especially when you've got the Blacksburg Roller Hockey League.
The league's first fall season reached the halfway point Saturday afternoon with the league all-star game.
JASON BALLAS and ETHAN McAFEE each scored five goals and KEVIN CRAVENS stopped 61 of 69 shots as the West beat the East 15-8.
The league came into being last spring with a short season, "to work the kinks out," according to MIKE SCANLON of Blacksburg, the league president.
"We got tired of making 50 phone calls every time we wanted to play a game," said Scanlon. "So we set a league up."
That decision transformed roller hockey from pick-up games to an organized activity. The players came from the sport's devotees in and around Blacksburg, mostly Virginia Tech students and former students. That group ranged from Tech ice hockey players to those who have never put on a pair of ice skates.
"I guess I started playing when I was little playing in the street," said Cravens, an aerospace engineering student at Tech from New Jersey whose only hockey experience is of the roller-type. "If you count that, I've been playing since I was 10."
Games were moved from the outdoor basketball courts of Harding Avenue Elementary in Blacksburg to the rink in the back of Play It Again, a used sporting goods store, on Franklin Street in Christiansburg.
The rink is about the size of a basketball court, which makes it less than half the size of a normal roller hockey rink. Thus, teams play only three skaters, plus a goalie, at a time.
"This is a lot smaller so it amplifies your weakness," said Ballas, a graduate student in architecture. "In five-on-five, you can have a weak guy. Here, with three-on-three, if you have a weak player, you either have a weak defender or one of your players on offense is weak. And that pretty much limits what you can do."
Other rule changes include no icing, no offsides, no shooting from behind the center line and no checking.
But the action is the same - fast and furious, end-to-end excitement. And the equipment is basically the same - except it's in-line skates instead of ice skates on the players' feet.
"It's not really that hard," said McAfee, a Tech freshman from Virginia Beach, about making the transition from one type of hockey to another. "Except that you learn on roller blades, you can't stop real well. Most ice hockey players are good street hockey players and vise versa. And roller blades are very similar to ice skates."
SWIMMING ALONG: Six swimmers and one relay team from the Pulaski-based SouthWest Aquatic Team have achieved national prominence. The swimmers have been ranked in the top 20 in their events based upon times in YMCA-sanctioned meets this season
GRAHAM GRAVELY is tops in the nation in the Boys 13-14 500-yard freestyle. He is also ranked second in the 1650 freestyle, fourth in the 400 individual medley (I.M.), sixth in the 200 backstroke, seventh in the 200 freestyle and eighth in the 200 butterfly.
COLE THROCKMORTON is ranked in five events in Boys 10-and-under. He is second in the 100 breaststroke, fourth in the 50 breaststroke, 10th in the 200 I.M., 12th in the 100 I.M. and 15th in the 100 backstroke.
Ranked in three events each are BETSY GARRATT and WHIT HUGHSTON. Garratt is third in the 100 breaststroke, eighth in the 500 breaststroke and 10th in the 200 I.M. in Girls 11-12. Hughston is 11th in the 400 I.M., 13th in the 200 backstroke and 16th in the 200 I.M. in Boys 15-18.
SARAH CLEMENTS is 11th in the 1650 freestyle in Girls 15-18. RICKIE JENNINGS is 14th in the 200 backstroke in Boys 15-18. And the 10-and-under 200 medley relay team is eighth.
PIGSKIN PRIZES: The Pulaski Gold Raiders (ages 8-and-under) reached the finals of the Roanoke Valley Sandlot Super Bowl with a 16-13 win over Bedford.
GREG SARTIN rushed for 112 yards, including a 61-yard touchdown.
AMIR BROWN scored the decisive touchdown on a 33-yard scamper, keyed by a NEIL HAGA block.
On defense, CHRIS MATTOX and JUSTIN ROSS recovered fumbles while Brown had an interception and seven tackles.
In the first round, the Gold Raiders beat South Salem 24-8. Sartin scored two touchdowns while Brown and BRITT SHUMATE added one each.
The Dublin Cowboys won the regular-season championship in the Pulaski County Sandlot Pee Wee League. The Cowboys (9-0) clinched the title with an 18-14 win over the Pulaski Red Raiders (7-2).
ALAN WHEELING scored touchdowns of 3, 1 and 80 yards for the Cowboys. MATT ROAN and J.T. TWINE provided the blocking for Wheeling, who finished with nearly 200 yards.
DYLAN MOORE had both Red Raiders touchdowns on a pair of long runs.
The Pulaski Blue Raiders captured the Pulaski County Sandlot Junior League post-season title with a 32-12 win over Riverlawn.
TRAVIS ROOP and DAVID ROBINSON each scored two touchdowns for Pulaski. Roop is the county's all-time leading scorer with 400 points. Robinson led the league this season with 125.
The Blue Raiders also won the regular-season crown and finished 11-0. They have not lost since 1982 and are 57-9-2 over the last five years.
HOOPS HOOPLA: The registration deadline for youth basketball in Montgomery County has been extended. Registration for the Pee-Wee clinic and the Junior and Sandlot leagues now ends Wednesday. Registration for the Senior League will continue through Nov. 18.
Registrations will not be extended beyond these dates. For more information, call TIM COONEY at the Montgomery County Parks and Recreation Department, at 382-6978.
Registration continues for other basketball programs in Montgomery County. Sign-ups for the High School League for nonscholastic players in high school goes until Dec. 2. The cost is $15 per player.
Two adult leagues - Men's Fastbreak and Women's - are open to anyone age 18 or over. Registration closes Nov. 30 and play begins in December. The cost is $220 per team.
For more information, call TIM COONEY at the Montgomery County Parks and Recreation Department, at 382-6978.
Christiansburg is holding registrations for five adult winter leagues: Men's Slowbreak Open, Men's Slowbreak Over 28, Men's Slowbreak Church, Women's Slowbreak Open and Women's Church.
The last day to register is Nov. 28. The cost is $250 per team, plus $10 for each nonresident.
For more information, call CHUCK MUNCY, the supervisor of athletics, at 382-2349.
DEADLINE APPROACHING: Friday is the last day to register for weight training classes offered by Montgomery County. The cost is $15 for youth and $20 for adults. For more information, call TIM COONEY at the Montgomery County Parks and Recreation Department at 382-6978.
by CNB