Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, September 21, 1995 TAG: 9509220043
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV5 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
For instance, Annandale was thrashed by E.C. Glass in a preseason scrimmage that everyone used as a measuring stick for the Hilltoppers.
Now that scrimmage might not mean much. The Atoms are 0-2 after being throttled by Herndon 54-24 and Fairfax 40-0. Apparently, the cupboard is bare for football material.
The Division 5 state titlist, PH-Ashland, is 3-0 but struggled to a 9-8 victory over a suspect Atlee team last week.
In Group AA, Division 4 state titlist Spotsylvania lost its opener to Brooke Point 14-0, but has since won a couple of close games including a 14-7 contest against Battlefield District foe Louisa County Friday. Handley, which won the Division 3 crown, lost 21-16 to Sherando Friday and is 1-2.
There have been no problems for Powell Valley (Division 2) after a 3-0 start except on defense, where the Vikings have given up seven touchdowns including two in a 34-13 victory over Richlands on Friday. However, they have Thomas Jones, the Group A Player of the Year last fall, rushing for just under 300 yards a game, so who cares about defense or who needs it?
Appalachia (Division 1) also is 3-0 after beating Clintwood 20-7. The Bulldogs haven't been tested yet, but down the line is a game against Group AA Gate City, perhaps the best team in Region IV, and a season-ending contest at Powell Valley where there is sure to be a turn-away crowd.
Even at the private school level, Roanoke Catholic, after beating Massanutten, is 3-1, but the Celtics are nothing like last year's team that won the Virginia Independent Schools Division 2 state crown with a defense that gave up only six touchdowns in 12 games. Catholic already has given up 12 touchdowns.
MISMATCH: In a series dating back to 1961 when Pearisburg High School, became Giles, there never has been a mismatch to approach the one Friday night as the Spartans routed the Green Wave 63-0.
As one of the state's fiercest rivalries, this was Timesland's most surprising score in recent history.
Narrows' biggest margin of victory came in 1978 as the Wave hung a 48-0 loss on Giles. In 1984, Giles won 41-0 for its most lopsided triumph before Friday. Neither team has ever scored in the 50s, much less the 60s.
A VAST IMPROVEMENT: As further evidence that things finally are going right in the Virginia High School League office, coaches, school officials and fans should take a look at the latest edition of The Leaguer, the annual publication by the VHSL that summarizes the previous year.
It is the best organized Leaguer in many years with easy to read information in athletics, forensics and drama. For journalists, this edition will be invaluable when looking up facts on the past year's winners in state, regional and district competition for all sports.
Bob Button, the new public information officer for the VHSL, is to be commended for reorganizing the material so well. He took a lot of heat last spring when the state basketball program had a couple of major errors that weren't entirely his fault since he was new to the area.
VHSL executive director Ken Tilley says the directory of schools and coaches, due out next month, will be more user friendly. That's good news because some of the recent directories had such small, light print, they were difficult to read.
Button is also attempting to gather Virginia High School League athletic records (coaching and team) to put into one place when people have need of them. Former Associated Press state sports editor Marshall Johnson has most of these records on computer, but in Button's plans are to make all these available and save them for future reference into the 21st century.
BYRD ADVANTAGE: When tournament time rolls around for girls' basketball, William Byrd has a huge advantage over other teams in the highly competitive Blue Ridge District and Region III.
Both the district and regional tournaments are scheduled at the Byrd gym. It means that if Byrd wins the regular season title and the Region III tournament, they won't have to play a post season game away from their gym until the Group AA semifinals. Then the Terriers will only have to travel a few miles to the Salem Civic Center.
Some other Blue Ridge District coaches have complained about this setup, but Byrd's athletic director, Jane Layman, was the only one who volunteered to take the tournaments when 1995-96 planning was done last year. So Byrd seems to have the hostess with the mostess in timing and planning.
IT'S NOT OVER YET: Blacksburg's football team is 0-3, but has lost to Giles, Salem and Cave Spring. Those teams are 9-0 between them and occupy three of the top four positions in Timesland ratings.
The season hardly is over for the Indians as it might be for many teams after losing their first three games. Ditto for Christiansburg, which has three straight setbacks to Southwest District foes.
Blacksburg has a key date at Christiansburg on Oct.20. That game will probably settle the three-team New River District championship and leave the winner qualified for the post-season playoffs as the league's champion.
That's the good news. Unlike last year when Blacksburg beat Christiansburg and Carroll County for the league title to finish 4-6, the Indians aren't likely to play host to all playoff games as they did in 1994. When Lee (Division 4) beat Gate City (Division 3) Friday, it meant the Generals will probably win the Highlands. For Blacksburg to then host all the region games, it would have to outpoint Lee in the ratings. That's not likely to happen.
By the luck of the alternating pairings, Blacksburg also played host to the Group AA Division 4 state semifinal playoff game after it upset Richlands in the 1994 Region IV finals. This year, the Region IV Division 4 champion travels for the state semifinals.
Advantage possibilities such as this example are about to end. Next year, both schools go into the new eight-team Blue Ridge District in Region III and will almost surely have to post a winning record just to get into the playoffs.
Still, Blacksburg football coach Dave Crist isn't upset about the coming changes. He says he'd rather be in a competitive league where it's easier to make out schedules.
OUT AND ABOUT: GW-Danville coach Ed Martin attended his team's game against Cardoza (D.C.), which the Eagles won 56-0 for their third consecutive victory.
Martin was sidelined before the season with a heart problem and eventually underwent surgery at Duke to repair the aorta. A full recovery is expected.
Meanwhile, GW is off to a 3-0 start and is taking up where it left off last year when the Eagles lost in overtime to Annandale of the Group AAA Division 6 state championship game.
Memo: Also ran in Neighbors Sept. 21.