Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, November 16, 1995 TAG: 9511170007
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-4 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
This fall, fellow writer Ray Cox and I have taken a picking odyssey that defies description.
If parity was the objective in Timesland, this is one year teams in this area have come close to making the phrase, ``On any given week any team can beat another'' a reality.
Luckily, we haven't picked the upset-filled Piedmont District games or our records would be just above .500. Usually, anything below 75 percent success in picking high school football is considered weak.
There has been parity around the state below the Group AAA level. There are only three unbeaten Group AA teams and only five in Group A. That means anyone is liable to win a Division 1,2,3 or 4 state title.
Here are the five most surprising regular-season encounters that left Cox and me bemused, wondering how full the moon was on that night. Some weren't losses, but they were stunning in other ways.
Lord Botetourt 27, Rockbridge County 21: Except for this game, the Cavaliers struggled against teams that were better than them. Lord Botetourt's only other victories came against Group A Craig County and Alleghany. Both those teams were winless.
Rockbridge County played Group AAA Cave Spring a close game, beat Group AAA Franklin County and lost by a touchdown to Salem, the No.5 Group AA team in the state.
So how did Botetourt win at Rockbridge County? One of the reasons might have been that Wildcat coach Jamie Talbott missed some practices that week because of illness. It upset Rockbridge County's routine.
Lord Botetourt was motivated to play a strong game. When it jumped on Rockbridge County early, the Cavaliers' confidence shot up 100 degrees. By staying in the game early, Lord Botetourt was in a position to win and did just that.
The Cavaliers' 27 points were the most given up by Rockbridge County.
Cave Spring 14, Patrick Henry 7: It's not that the Knights couldn't beat PH. It's the fact they beat them under some strange circumstances.
The week before this game, Cave Spring was upset 35-30 at Franklin County. That was supposed to burst the Knights' bubble.
Worse, Cave Spring quarterback Jeff Lang was ejected at Franklin County for two unsportsmanlike penalties, meaning he had to sit out the PH game. Sophomore Corey Paxton started in his place.
PH was only 3-3, but the Patriots had been beaten by GW-Danville, E.C. Glass and Salem - three teams that had one loss between them at the time.
Rain forced postponement of the game to Saturday. It was also Cave Spring's homecoming and football coaches hate that date because it upsets the routines of their teams.
Paxton, though, guided the Knights' offense so that it didn't kill them. The Cave Spring defense, which has stood tall all year, halted PH's quickness and the Knights won.
How important was this victory? It was the turning point that gave Cave Spring the inside track to a wild card playoff spot.
No matter how many times people criticize Cave Spring for playing Group AA teams and making the playoffs, that's the system. PH played a tougher schedule, but when it didn't beat Cave Spring, the Patriots lost a playoff spot. Group AA teams had nothing to do with it.
Redskins 27, Cowboys 23: Oops, what's that doing here? This is a high school column. Still, it's a good fit for some strange games of interest in the area.
Heritage 20, GW-Danville 13: This game featured two non-Timesland teams, but it's possibly the state's most shocking football score of the year, if not of the decade.
Heritage, a Group AA school, won at Danville. The Lynchburg newspaper figured, correctly, this would be a rout and didn't cover the game.
The Pioneers had lost to Patrick Henry, a team that had been mauled by GW 40-7.
Giles 37, Radford 0: Sure, Giles was supposed to win. By two or three touchdowns. It was 37-0 at the half and only the mercy of Giles coach Steve Ragsdale, a quick-moving head referee named Jim Haupt and Radford not trying to extend a game with hopeless passes stopped the rout.
Powell Valley coach Phil Robbins, whose No.1 ranked Group A team beat Radford 28-7, saw the game and said it wasn't the same Bobcats' group that his team played just a few weeks earlier.
One factor, Radford running back Larnelle Lewis was on a one-game disciplinary suspension.
Patrick Henry 26, Pulaski County 21: I saw it and I didn't believe it at the time.
I figured it would be a good game, but PH beating Pulaski County? It hadn't happened since the last time the Roanoke River went wild through Victory Stadium. And it wasn't raining that night.
Pulaski County had won 18 consecutive Roanoke Valley District games and lost only twice to RVD teams in the past eight years. This was supposed to be a mail-order special in picking the winner.
PH was up 18-0 at the half and 26-0 after three quarters. Raheem Barnwell ran the option offense to perfection. Then Pulaski County started coming back, cutting the score to 26-21.
The Cougars got the ball on their 34, but four incomplete passes meant victory for PH.
MIDNIGHT MADNESS II: Working around a football team in the playoffs, Cave Spring will hold its second Midnight Madness Saturday at the high school gym starting at 9:30 p.m. and ending, by Virginia High School League rules, before the stroke of midnight.
The main focus of this event is charity and fun. Last year's first Midnight Madness, patterned after the celebration of opening basketball practices at many colleges and universities, focused on school spirit, fun and raising money for charity.
More than $1,100 was raised and donated to the Ronald McDonald House and the Barbara Rhodes Memorial Scholarship funds, two charities chosen by the Cave Spring boys' and girls' basketball teams.
Both basketball teams will be introduced and there will be entertainment and games for the fans in attendance. Admission is $2, plus a can of food.
by CNB