Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, May 21, 1995 TAG: 9505240034
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-11 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Several schools in the Piedmont and Blue Ridge districts are forming a seven-on-seven passing league that will give football teams what most other high school squads enjoy - a second season.
For years, basketball coaches have taken their teams to summer camps, held open gyms in the spring and fall and had their players participate on AAU teams.
In softball and baseball, high school players go through the season, then into recreation leagues. In soccer, first its high school season and in the fall it's time to play on a select team.
All sports but football in Timesland have some sort of participation during the off-season for the athletes. Now football coaches are striking back.
Six schools appear to be ready to form a passing league: Salem, Northside, Lord Botetourt, Fieldale-Collinsville, Martinsville and Rockbridge County.
``Tentatively, it's set to begin the first Saturday in June,'' said Willis White, Salem's coach. ``Each team will play two games every Saturday.''
``You can play two games at a time because you only use 30 yards of the field at a time,'' said Andy Ward, Lord Botetourt's coach. ``Each game takes less than 30 minutes to run, so you can have four games in an hour.
``I'm looking forward to it. It's a little bit of a challenge for everybody. At the same time, you learn some football skills, get some instruction along the way and maintain that skill through the summer.''
Before you think this is going to be a bruise-em-up, bust-em-up type of league, listen to the rules.
Each side has seven players - a quarterback, center, running back and four receivers on offense and seven defenders. There is no tackling or touching to down the ball carrier. A play ends when a pass is caught, so essentially, one team is working on its passing offense and the other on its passing defense.
The running back is not there to carry the ball. He's available to take passes coming out of the backfield.
There is no blocking or tackling. Players don't wear pads, though they may wear a school's uniform jersey.
``We'll keep score, but I don't know if this will be too exciting for spectators,'' White said. ``The coaches will officiate, so it's almost informal.
``I think this will be fun. That's the way we'll approach it.
``The primary [reason for the formation of the league] is to keep interest in football throughout the year. This is one way to do it. We're not trying to start spring practice.
``It's something new to this area. It's something that's being done throughout the country. They have camps for this at Bridgewater.''
Virginia High School League rules allow such off-season play, and many Northern Virginia schools have been taking advantage of this for a few years.
If any Timesland-area schools are interested in playing seven-on-seven football, Ward is accepting prospective members.
TOURNAMENT TIME: Patrick Henry boys' basketball coach lineup field for the annual Crestar Classic boys' basketball tournament in January at the Salem Civic Center.
In what will be the feature game, 1995 Tennessee champion Science Hill of Johnson City will take on William Fleming, which should be Roanoke's strongest team.
Deans' Patrick Henry squad, which should be improved, will take on Coolidge, a power from Washington, D.C. Northside faces perennial Group AAA power Petersburg, and Salem meets always-tough GW-Danville.
The NationsBank Holiday Hoops Classic will have a different look, said Salem coach Charlie Morgan.
Salem, Northside, William Byrd and Franklin County return to the eight-team field for the post-Christmas tournament at the Salem Civic Center.
Glenvar, which has many players back from the team that was Group A runner-up, joins the field. The Highlanders might face the Spartans in the first game in a matchup that would be a draw because of the proximity of the schools.
Patrick Henry also joins the field, and William Fleming has requested a spot in the tournament. The final two teams will come from among Riverside in Durham, N.C.; a team from South Carolina; and Waynesboro, a Group AA school that is talking to Charlie Morgan's brother, Richard, about becoming head coach of the Colonels.
By the way, PH also has added a home game against Group AAA Monacan from Richmond, as well as GW-Danville. The Patriots play at Northside, the Group AA runner-up this year.
IN STRIDE: Joel Hicks, Pulaski County's football coach, is excited about qualifying for the 100th running of the Boston Marathon in 1996.
Hicks, one of the top runners in the 50- to 54-year-old age group in the area, got his time last weekend at the Revco Marathon in Cleveland. He covered the 26.2-mile course in 3 hours, 23 minutes, a personal best that was 216th spot overall and fifth in his age group.
Hicks' running partner, Richard Weiss of Wytheville, ran the course in 2:59:18 to place fifth in the 45-49 age group and 61st overall.
Three other runners from Blacksburg joined Hicks and Weiss as Timesland runners qualifying for Boston. Howard Nippert was 11th overall among the men with a time of 2:27:33. Twins Anne and Lynne Jones, who played tennis at Virginia Tech, finished 50th overall in the women's 35-39 age group in a time of 3:44:13. They crossed the finish line holding hands.
AGAINST THE WIND: Coach John Shotwell has seen his James River softball team beaten by Floyd County twice this season in close games with a lot of offense.
Shotwell was particularly impressed with the hitting of the Bisons' Buffaloes' Leigh-Ann Pursifull in the first game.
``At their place, she hit a ball that must have gone 270 feet and the wind was blowing [what seemed like] 50 mph against her,'' Shotwell said. ``They told me she plays slow-pitch up there and always hits them like that.''
by CNB