ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, December 14, 1995 TAG: 9512140019
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: COLLEGE NOTEBOOK
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY
Notre Dame and Virginia are the two schools in the lead for Powell Valley High School running back Thomas Jones, chosen Gatorade state player of the year.
Jones said Wednesday he will take a third visit to either North Carolina or Tennessee.
He has rejected scholarship offers from Florida State, Virginia Tech, Clemson, West Virginia, Syracuse and Washington, among others.
The only other school he is even considering is Alabama, which might re-enter the picture if he is dissatisfied with his first three choices.
There had been speculation almost since Jones reached major-prospect status that he would sign with Tennessee, where his father served as an academic counselor until this fall. Jones' father, also named Thomas, now works at East Tennessee State.
``I've remained neutral,'' the elder Jones said. ``I've tried, as much as possible, to be an outsider. He's more than capable of making his own decision.''
The younger Jones' criteria, in order, will be academics, opportunity to have an impact, environment and proximity to home.
``I want to play my freshman year,'' said Jones, whose first recruiting visit will be to UVa this weekend. ``I'm not really thinking in terms of starting. I just want to know, that if I get bigger and faster and do all the little things, that I'll be given every opportunity.''
MORE RECRUITING: Brian Remley, who committed to Virginia Tech in August, caught two touchdown passes Saturday for Berwick (Pa.) High School as it capped a 15-0 season with the 3-A state championship. Tech recruit Jeremy Kishbaugh plays linebacker for Berwick, ranked No.1 in the country by USA Today.
Another Tech recruit, linebacker Manny Clemente, was at the Harbor School for the Performing Arts in New York before transferring to Woodberry Forest in Orange. Clemente, once an aspiring actor, gave up the theater for football in the 10th grade.
Preseason All-American Antwi Bawuah, a 6-1, 260-pound defensive lineman from Gar-Field High School in Dale City, has publicly committed to Virginia and will take no other visits. Bawuah is called by his middle name, Kofi, which means ``born on Friday'' in his father's native Ghana.
James Madison has received football commitments from linemen Matt Von Schuch (6-5, 265) and Kevin Reinhardt (6-7, 250) from Clover Hill High School outside Richmond. Von Schuch and Reinhardt were rated among the top 25 prospects in Virginia by SuperPrep magazine before the season.
WEBB WATCH: Fork Union Academy football coach John Shuman reports Pulaski County High School graduate Eric Webb, 1994 co-offensive player of the year in Timesland, has met NCAA scholarship requirements and plans to visit Temple, East Carolina and Miami of Ohio.
Boston College and Virginia are two of the schools that have expressed interest in Webb's former Pulaski and Fork Union teammate, Jon Lilly, who is in the process of becoming fully qualified. Shuman said Webb ``would cut his arm off to go to Virginia Tech.''
CAVS HIT ROAD: Virginia had sold 14,000 tickets to the Peach Bowl before the opening of the school's ticket office. That's more fans than the Cavaliers took to the Citrus Bowl (11,100) in 1989 or the Sugar Bowl (12,500) in 1990.
WOMEN'S HOOPS: Wilma Walton, who originally signed with Radford out of Wheeling Park (W.Va.) High School, has recommitted to the Lady Highlanders after two seasons at Sullivan Junior College in Louisville, Ky.
Walton, a 5-8 guard, joins a wide-ranging Radford fall recruiting class that includes 5-11 Beth Beckett of Contocook, N.H.; 6-1 Kristy Bilbie of Ann Arbor, Mich., and 5-7 Kelli Tull of Cleburne, Texas
HOT-STOVE STUFF: Dublin resident and Ferrum College alumnus Billy Wagner is pictured on the cover of the current issue of Baseball America, which rates him the No.1 prospect in the Houston Astros' organization.
Wagner, a 24-year-old left-hander, had a combined record of 7-5 with a 2.88 earned-run average and 155 strikeouts in 146 innings with Class AA Jackson (Miss.) and Class AAA Tucson (Ariz.) this year. Wagner, called up to Houston in September, pitched to one batter and recorded a flyout.
LOCAL UPDATE: William and Mary senior Todd Doughty, a former track and field standout at Cave Spring High School, is showing no ill effects from the stress fracture that caused him to miss the 1995 indoor season. Doughty, the William and Mary record-holder in the decathlon, had personal bests in three of five events in his first indoor meet.
Bridgewater volleyball player Shannon Harrison, a junior from Salem High School, was named first-team All-Old Dominion Athletic Conference and first-team All-ODAC Tournament. Betsy Boardwine, a senior from Craig County High School, finished third in the ODAC in serving percentage as the Eagles posted their 11th consecutive 20-victory season.
Christiansburg High School alumnus Von Lewis, a junior at Bridgewater, already has qualified for the NCAA Division III indoor track and field championships by clearing 6-93/4 in the high jump. Lewis had a team-high three touchdown receptions for the Eagles' football team and averaged 38.3 yards per punt.
LENGTH: Medium: 97 linesby CNB