Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, October 5, 1995 TAG: 9510060040
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-5 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
If there is a Timesland football game of the year this fall, those two teams are going to play it a week from Friday on the Bobcats' field.
Giles, off to a 5-0 start, possibly has a finer team than the 1993 outfit that won the Group AA Division 2 title. Raypheal and Maurice Milton might be gone from that offensive juggernaut, but this year's edition of the Spartans has averaged 41 points a game. That's only one point less than the 1993 club averaged in its first five outings.
In 1993, Giles played at Radford and had a close call before beating the Bobcats 30-28. Radford, then a New River District team, has since dropped to the Group A ranks and joined Giles in the Three Rivers District.
Radford's start this year isn't as impressive as that of the Spartans. Radford is 4-1 and averaging only 25 points a game. However, the Bobcats' only loss came to 1994 Group AA Division 2 champion Powell Valley when Radford fell in Big Stone Gap 28-7. That game was close at the half.
The Giles-Radford game matches two of Timesland's best veteran coaches - the Spartans' Steve Ragsdale and the Bobcats' Norm Lineburg. When both teams were in the New River District, they had some classic matchups.
The game will settle the Three Rivers District title, but more than that is at stake. Giles was No.1 in the first Group A rankings and, win or lose against Radford, will be in the playoffs if it doesn't lose again.
Radford, because of its setback at Powell Valley, isn't assured of making the playoffs as a wild-card team should it lose the Three Rivers District title. So the game might be a little more important to the Bobcats from that standpoint.
The week off is another key. It gives the coaches time to prepare and change things. So don't count on anything when Giles meets Radford, but anticipate one great night of football if the game lives up to its billing.
BOTETOURT REVERSAL: Thanks to my longevity as a sportswriter, I can say not many things surprise me in high school sports. What happened Friday night, however, was shocking.
First, watching Byrd shut down Northside was a mild surprise because I had picked the Vikings. It was a case of Byrd proving itself.
Jim Carroll, who has broadcast high school games for WROV-AM for about as long as I've covered games, gave me a glimpse of the most shocking developments when he got the first partial score of Botetourt's game at Rockbridge County. The Cavaliers led 13-0.
Moments later, Carroll said I've got f\ io.
As the evening wore on, Botetourt quickly had 27 points. I mumbled to Carroll that Andy Ward, the Cavaliers' coach, said he planned to ``open up his team's offense and pass more.''
``We threw 11 times, but we started the game with a pass on the first play and again on third down. We wanted to show that we wouldn't give the ball to Wesley Cox every time,'' Ward said, referring to Botetourt's outstanding back.
Ward also wanted to find ways to get the ball to receiver Jeremy Conner, a Sizzlin' Sophomore last year who hadn't been a big part of the offense as the Cavaliers lost their first three games and scored 28 points.
Conner caught four passes and also ran back a kickoff 85 yards for a big touchdown that blunted a Wildcats rally.
``You don't know how much this meant to our program,'' Ward said. ``We've never beaten one of the big three [Northside, Salem or Rockbridge County] in the Blue Ridge District. This is a good feeling, like I got rid of 500 pounds on my back - that big monkey, an ape.''
Ward's ``big three'' are teams that have won or tied for the Blue Ridge title since Salem and Northside dropped from the Group AAA ranks to Group AA. Alleghany also fits, but Botetourt has beaten the Mountaineers.
As a reward for beating Rockbridge County, the Cavaliers travel to Salem this week. That's some reward for one of the biggest victories in the school's history.
ANTICIPATION: You might say James River's first victory of the season in girls' basketball was long overdue.
The Knights beat Craig County on Thursday after losing their first eight games. That was a disappointing beginning, but considering the strength of the opposition, James River might have been the best 0-8 team in the state.
Four of the eight losses came to Group AA powers Lord Botetourt - the top-ranked team in Timesland - and Alleghany. The Knights' Group A non-district foes were Auburn and Shawsville, and their Pioneer District opponents were Parry McCluer and Covington. All but Covington had winning records.
Combined, the six teams on James River's schedule had a record of 40-19 through the weekend.
The Knights lost in double overtime to Covington, then just missed a big upset when they wiped out much of a nine-point deficit in the final seconds in a 51-47 loss at Parry McCluer.
BEST 3-9 TEAM: If James River was one of the best winless teams before it beat Craig County, Blacksburg certainly is a much better squad than its record of 3-9 through the weekend indicated.
The Indians had lost seven games to Floyd County, Lord Botetourt, Salem and William Byrd - all members of the Timesland High Five this week with a combined record of 33-6. The other losses were a double-overtime thriller at resurgent Northside (5-5) and a regulation defeat at the hands of Piedmont District leader Fieldale-Collinsville (8-3).
MOYER AND NEBRASKA: It was hard to believe that in the first Timesland football statistics of the season, only five running backs were averaging as much as 100 yards per game. Last year, 10 backs averaged more than 100 for the season.
One of the top returning rushers is Roanoke Catholic's P.J. Moyer, who finished fifth a year ago with a 146-yard average.
This year's Celtics team isn't as strong as last season's squad that rolled through 12 opponents without a major challenge on the way to a private schools state championship.
Still, Moyer leads Timesland with an average of 161.6 yards through five games. The junior already is getting a lot of recruiting attention, including five letters from Nebraska.
Not bad for someone from one of the state's smallest football-playing schools.
Memo: NOTE: Also ran in October 5, 1995 Neighbors.