Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, November 10, 1994 TAG: 9412300025
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: HSS-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Quarterback Seth Moore and receiver Aaron Coffey have been one of Timesland's top passing combinations. Before Friday's game against Cave Spring, the duo had combined for 29 passes and 430 yards. Moore, overall, was fourth in Timesland passing with 909 yards, and the junior went over the 1,000-yard mark in last week's 13-12 victory over the Knights.
Last year, though, Moore never got a chance when the Spartans seemed to need a passer.
``He wasn't ready at the start of the year and played junior varsity,'' said Salem coach Willis White. ``Toward the end of the year, he was ready, but he had strep throat. The virus wouldn't go away or we would have tried to work him in.''
``I don't know that that had anything to do with it. I had a chance [to play] in the sixth week, but I was still sick,'' said Moore.
Coffey caught only 13 passes for 11 games last year. ``We had three main receivers and I was switching with one of them bringing in plays,'' said Coffey. ``It was a year when it seemed like we we passed only on third down and it seemed I was always on the sideline for first and third down [situations].''
Now Coffey is in on all the plays. Salem has gone to hand signals this year. ``I like this much better. I didn't know at the beginning of the season what we'd do. I know last year I got more winded from running in plays than I did running my routes.''
White understands Coffey's wishes. ``Part of the reason for the change is that I didn't want them wasting energy running on and off the field. I wanted him on the field as much as possible,'' said the Salem coach.
Moore, who also plays baseball, is a smart quarterback. ``He doesn't make the same mistake twice, like throwing into the same coverage,'' said White.
When Rockbridge County came out to stop Salem's run, Moore had one of his best nights. He connected on four touchdown passes - three of them to Coffey.
``In our offense, the split end is our go-to-guy. It's the way our pass routes are. Everybody gangs up on our tight end side to stop the run,'' White explained about Moore's success that night.
Moore is the quarterback of a Salem team that until last week had the possibility of having its first losing season since 1983. After so many successful years, everyone in Timesland was asking, ``What's wrong with Salem?'' That's a tough load for a high school junior to shoulder.
``It's been frustrating,'' said Moore about a start that saw Salem go 0-3 before winning five of the last six games. The only loss was 21-18 to Pulaski County, rated No.1 in Timesland.
``At the beginning of the year, our defense wasn't playing well. We weren't playing good technique. Coach White said if we play better technique, we'd have a lot better defense,'' said Moore.
He can talk about defense because in addition to being quarterback, Moore is also a safety.
``We were chasing the ball up front. Against Lee [Staunton], we were following the ball against their misdirection. I'm supposed to stay back and play the pass first and help out on the run if they looked like they'd get through the line of scrimmage. The first three games, I was the leading tackler,'' said Moore.
Now Salem's defense is better, having thrown a couple of shutouts. Moore also slipped to fifth in tackles on the team.
Moore says since he started playing quarterback in rec ball, he wanted to have this position at Salem. ``It's an honor position,'' he added.
He and Coffey, despite a year's age difference, are now close friends. ``He's most always open, even if he has to change his pattern. We hang out on weekends together and it's been that way since my freshman year. I think it's easier if you're friends [with the receiver],'' said Moore.
Coffey says there's another reason he's having more success than just being in the game on every play.
``I lifted weights during the off season, and I ran a whole lot. I can read defenses better and Seth knows what I'm going to do.''
White says Moore is quick. ``He's not the fastest guy in the world. But he catches the ball well and he has good hands,'' said White.
Coffey is a member of the Salem 400-meter relay team that has done well in the Group AA state boys' track meet. He and Mike Murphy are the only returning members of that group for this year. As a sophomore, Coffey was a member of the 400-relay team that placed while last year the quartet finished seventh.
Whether Salem makes the playoffs, and the Spartans must beat Northside to do so, Coffey has no regrets of his career that came after some of the Spartans' greatest years.
``I guess it turned out for the better. I appreciate it a lot more than if we killed everybody. I can look back on it if we make the playoffs and say we earned it because we didn't have as much talent as other Salem teams. We had a lot of effort, though.''
by CNB