
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, December 15, 1994                   TAG: 9412150063
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: B-5   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: From Associated Press reports
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

BASS CHAMP MISSING AFTER CRASH IN N.C.

Imagine a 23-year-old quarterback, who's been playing football competitively for only four years while working nights as a short-order cook winning the Super Bowl.

In the world of fishing, that's essentially what Bryan Kerchal did when he turned in a stunning victory at the BASS Masters Classic in July.

Tragically, just when his career seemed to be blossoming, Kerchal apparently was a victim of Tuesday's commuter plane crash in North Carolina. He was presumed dead after American Eagle Flight 3379 slammed into the ground near Raleigh-Durham International Airport, killing 15 of the 20 people aboard.

Kerchal, a native of Newtown, Conn., took time off from his job grilling meat at a Ground Round restaurant to beat the best fishermen in the world July 28-30 at High Rock Lake, N.C. By any measure, it was the biggest upset in the history of the 24-year-old event

Kerchal was in Greensboro, N.C., to attend an employee appreciation event Tuesday at the headquarters of Wrangler, his primary sponsor, said company spokesman Brian Goldberg. He was making the short flight from Greensboro to Raleigh-Durham to connect with a flight that would take him home.

by CNB