Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, January 12, 1995 TAG: 9501130035
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
VMI and Liberty are the only schools that have offered scholarships to the Partlows, named co-offensive players of the year in the Washington, D.C., area by the Washington Post.
Quarterback Brian Partlow, the Group AA player of the year, passed for a state-record 3,014 yards and 38 touchdowns this year. His twin brother, Michael, had 96 receptions for 1,871 yards - 60 yards shy of the national record.
``If the conditions had been a little better at Gate City [for the Group AA final], he might have gotten the record,'' said Ron Lindon, the one-time Radford High School assistant who has been coaching at Handley in Winchester for 19 years.
The Partlow twins have grade-point averages in the 3.7-3.8 range on a 4.0 scale and scored in the 1,150 range on the Scholastic Assessment Test as juniors. Each has been measured at 6 feet 4 and weighs 190 pounds.
College recruiters have expressed reservations about the Partlows' speed, but Lindon says they were timed in 4.6 seconds (Michael) and 4.7 seconds (Brian) for 40 yards during the summer at Virginia's team camp.
``We've played against some blazers,'' Lindon said, ``and I haven't seen Michael get chased down. We might as well bag it if we don't get these two kids signed. I don't know what the problem is, but if somebody does take a chance on them, they're going to come back and scald some people.''
MORE RECRUITING: Virginia has received a commitment, its 21st, from preseason All-American Dwayne Stukes of Owings Mill, Md. Stukes, the son of one-time Baltimore Colts defensive back Charlie Stukes, is a 5-foot-11, 183-pounder with experience as a defensive back, running back and wide receiver.
Tony Dingle, who committed to UVa last year but enrolled at Fork Union Military Academy, has met NCAA entrance guidelines and plans to sign with the Cavaliers. Shannon Taylor, formerly of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, is ``real close'' to achieving a qualifying score on the American College Test and seriously looking at Virginia Tech, said Fork Union coach John Shuman.
nVirginia Tech fans should not expect a rash of football commitments until the week of Jan.22-28. There was a moratorium on visits during the weekend while coaches were at their national convention, and Tech elected not to bring any recruits to campus this weekend with its students still on break.
Tech, which has four commitments, will entertain 20 to 23 prospects during the weekend of Jan.20-22. A smaller number is scheduled to visit the following weekend.
The first day on which players may sign binding letters of intent is Feb.1, the earliest in recent memory.
DRAWING CARDS: Hampden-Sydney and Emory & Henry ranked 1-2 among NCAA Division III football teams with an average attendance of 6,614 and 5,728, respectively. Guilford and Washington and Lee ranked 12th and 17th and helped the Old Dominion Athletic Conference finish first among Division III conferences at 3,929 - more than 1,000 fans per game ahead of the Ohio Athletic Conference, which was second.
GERIATRIC SET: Virginia Tech, with four scholarship basketball players injured or ineligible, could put a lineup on the floor in 1996-97 that would have five fifth-year seniors (Ace Custis, Keefe Mathews, Jim Jackson, David Jackson and Troy Manns), with a 23-year-old junior (Shawn Browne) as the sixth man. The Jacksons, who prepped for a year at Fork Union, would be in their sixth year out of high school.
AROUND THE STATE: VCU's 11-3 record going into Wednesday night's game with Richmond was the Rams' best after 14 games since 1984-85. Coach Sonny Smith had predicted as much while in Roanoke for a spring speaking engagement, explaining that VCU's offense would be more structured now that Kendrick Warren has completed his eligibility.
IN THE ACC: Patrick Sapp, who began the season as the starting quarterback for Clemson's football team, has joined the Tigers' basketball team. Sapp, a 6-5, 230-pounder, was the MVP in the Florida state basketball tournament as a senior in high school. ... Wake Forest has decided against redshirting Sean Allen, a 6-8 transfer who became eligible after graduating from Anderson (S.C.) College in December. Allen began his college career at South Florida. ... When Wake Forest sophomore Tim Duncan had 26 points and 20 rebounds Saturday against Florida State, it marked the first 20-20 game by a Deacons player since Gil McGregor in 1968.
STILL RAFFLING: Roanoke College, which raised more than $4,500 for cancer research through the Domino's-Valvano Classic, will raffle off a Louisiana State practice jersey autographed by Shaquille O'Neal and other late-arriving items at halftime of tonight's game with Bridgewater.
MEMORABLE DEBUT: Former Roanoke College basketball assistant Rick Hall, player personnel director and assistant coach for the Shreveport Crawdads, took over the Continental Basketball Association team when head coach Mike Newell was ejected after the first five minutes against Yakima. Hall directed the Crawdads to a 116-113 victory over the league's top team .
SAVING THE BEST FOR LAST: Tusculum College goalie Brian Pike, a graduate of George Wythe High School, was named first-team Tennessee-Virginia Athletic Conference and All-Midsouth Region after a senior year in which he saved 82 percent of the shots he faced and helped Tusculum win its fourth conference championship in five years.
NON-REVENUE: Ferrum College, coming off its seventh consecutive appearance in the NCAA Division III baseball playoffs, has been ranked 25th in the nation by Collegiate Baseball magazine. ... The women's golf program at Longwood College has been ranked No.1 in NCAA Division II.
by CNB