Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, November 25, 1994 TAG: 9411250013
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-13 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: RAY COX
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
With this 11th-game rebirth, the frog turns into the prince, the water into wine, the silver to most precious gold.
Or so the popular wisdom goes. Wonderful is a new life, sing these pilgrims to the promised land. The sparkle of the new day's dawn is most lovely, they say.
Yet for three of the four New River Valley-area teams that still live to punt, pass and pummel, the new day looks suspiciously like the old.
Recycling is wonderful for the environment, but more of an annoyance to the rest of us who expect something brand new to be sitting under our over-decorated trees Christmas morning.
Oops, we forgot. The portly unshaven gentleman in the red togs hasn't made his rounds yet. The animal-rights activists still are lying in ambush, ready to condemn him for his abuse of reindeer and the white, furry critters who were martyred so he could have decorative piping on his suit.
No, this is still the Thanksgiving season and we demand fresh turkey for our table, not leftover bird from last week.
Football teams can make no such demands. They must feast (or starve, as the case may be) on the fare that is served them. And on the menu this weekend for Pulaski County is E.C. Glass; for Blacksburg, Richlands; and for Narrows, Bland County.
Rematch city.
In other words, our local heroes are stuck with the same old thing being done the same old way.
Or so they hope. Supposedly, you learn something when you play a team. According to theory, after you dissect all the films and cross-examine all the witnesses, you ought to know what will and will not work the second time around - which ought to be considerable comfort to Cougars, Indians, and Green Wavers everywhere because they didn't manage to get it right the first time.
Historians among us will recall that Glass vanquished Pulaski County 14-6, Bland County nicked Narrows 17-12 and Richlands bludgeoned Blacksburg 34-14.
Note that it was said that it ought to be of comfort. It ought to be if this were a perfect world, which, alas, it is not.
What we have here is a profound case of Southern discomfort, in triplicate.
``We're better than we were the first time we played them,'' said Pulaski County coach Joel Hicks, whose team has won nine straight games since last being topped by the Hilltoppers. ``But I'm sure Glass is better too.''
Narrows coach Don Lowe went for a second look at the Bears of Bland County the afternoon after his guys pasted Bath County 44-3. Doesn't sound like the man's slept a wink since.
``I see no weaknesses,'' he said. ``I'd like to say I did, but I didn't.''
Blacksburg's David Crist couldn't be reached for his views on the Blue Tornado. He was staying past bedtime at the high school to watch films of Richlands. We may assume they were reruns.
Of course, they may never admit it, but these coaches and their players should be rubbing their gnarled hands with satisfaction, for it is not always that one gets a second chance.
At least they don't have to worry about messing something up on the return engagement, as do Bo Henson at Glass, George Brown at Richlands, and Ed Selfe and David Lambert at Bland County.
For a full report, those coaches can turn to Steve Ragsdale of Giles, whose Spartans beat Radford last week for the second time this year and the third time in a little over 12 months.
``We had our rematch last week,'' he said. ``I've had enough of rematches.''
by CNB