ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, May 5, 1996 TAG: 9605070004
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-10 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: HIGH SCHOOLS
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM
For the first time since their 1992 Group AA Division 4 playoff game, Salem and Richlands will meet on the football field in 1996.
It won't be a game, but the teams will be opponents for a half in Pulaski County's Hudson Chevrolet Touchdown Classic on Aug.24 at Dobson Stadium in Dublin.
In 1992, Richlands won 17-7 and went on to the state title by winning the next week. Later that winter, Salem protested its loss to the Virginia High School League, saying the Blue Tornado wore illegal cleats. Though Richlands coach Dennis Vaught admitted as much, the VHSL refused to force the Blue Tornado to vacate the title.
Since then, Salem and Richlands have not met in football, although both qualified for the playoffs.
According to Dan Callahan, the director of the classic, Richlands principal George Brown called about filling an opening in the jamboree. Once Richlands was accepted, the natural matchup for one of the eight halves involving eight teams was between Salem and the Blue Tornado.
``George's attitude was very sincere,'' Callahan said. ``He wanted Richlands to have an opportunity to mend some fences. He asked me if I would contact Coach [Willis] White [of Salem] and discuss it. If they wanted to play, we would.''
White echoed those sentiments.
``It's better to do it in a scrimmage,'' said the Spartans' coach. ``That's [the playoff incident] all over with. It's time to start new. If we meet in a playoff game, the contest will be the important thing. That's the way I like it.''
``Who would have thought four years ago that these two teams would be back [on the football] field in a harmonious situation?'' Brown said. ``We're happy to play Salem and have a fun time.
``I know they have a lot of hurt feelings. We're reminded of it daily. It's time to put those things behind us. Next year's seniors were eighth-graders. They weren't connected with the teams. We need to let bygones be bygones. We have a lot of admiration for that city and all it can do.''
It's noteworthy that the summer after the 1992 contest, four Salem and Richlands players participated for the West in the Virginia High School Coaches' Association all-star game in Hampton without incident.
Pulaski County's jamboree, in its 13th year, starts at noon with Cave Spring meeting Martinsville. The rest of the schedule, with the halves starting on the hour, goes like this: Franklin County vs. Christiansburg; Salem vs. Martinsville; Pulaski County vs. Richlands; Franklin County vs. Stafford; Cave Spring vs. Christiansburg; Salem vs. Richlands; and Pulaski County vs. Stafford.
GRAY RETURNING TO ROANOKE: Andy Gray is coming back to coach boys' basketball in the Roanoke Valley area, but not in the Roanoke Valley District.
Gray, the coach at Gar-Field in Dale City, was rumored to be a candidate for the Patrick Henry vacancy. He is not going to apply for that job, however, or the opening at William Fleming.
Gray will bring his Gar-Field team to Salem to participate in the NationsBank Holiday Hoops Classic from Dec.26-28 at the Salem Civic Center. Franklin County and William Fleming, which participated this past year, are dropping out.
The Eagles are going to a holiday tournament at Altavista, replacing Group AA champion Liberty. The Minutemen had committed to play at Altavista, but switched to a preseason tournament at Virginia-Bristol that has a field including some prestigious private schools.
Fleming decided to replace the tournament with a home-and-home series against perennial Group AAA power Petersburg.
Salem coach Charlie Morgan, who had hoped to get Liberty for his tournament, feels Cave Spring will enter a field that includes Northside, William Byrd, Patrick Henry and his Spartans. The other teams might include one from South Carolina and the return of defending champion Riverside of Durham, N.C.
STRONG CRESTAR: The Crestar Classic boys' basketball tournament will have one of its most attractive fields, though pairings have not been set.
Former PH coach Woody Deans, who still is lining up teams for the Patriots' extravaganza at the Salem Civic Center on Jan.18, has Northwest Region powers Woodbridge and Potomac joining Group AA contender Nansemond River and West Virginia powerhouse Woodrow Wilson of Beckley.
Woodrow Wilson played in the 1995 Crestar, beating a strong Fleming team. Nansemond River steps up to Group AAA this winter after winning the Group AA title in 1995 and reaching the semifinal round this year, and the Warriors still have Antoine Willie, the Associated Press' two-time Group AA player of the year.
Besides PH, the Timesland entries are Salem, Northside and Fleming.
COACHING TALES: There are a lot of potential moves in the coaching fraternity, starting with former George Wythe football coach Paul Wheeler, who won two Group AA Division 4 titles at Rustburg. Wheeler is likely to become an assistant at Pulaski County. If so, he'll likely be the successor to longtime head coach Joel Hicks, who no longer will commit to coaching the Cougars for more than a season at a time.
Wheeler played for Hicks at Woodrow Wilson in Beckley, W.Va., and, like Hicks, uses the wing-T formation. Wheeler was out of coaching this past year while teaching at Brookville.
Former Radford player and assistant Kevin Saunders, the head football coach at William Campbell, is a finalist for jobs at Potomac and Osbourn, which steps up from Group AA to Group AAA in the fall. Amherst County's Mickey Crouch also is a finalist at Potomac.
The Albemarle football job is open, and Timesland Coach of the Year Steve Isaacs of Bath County is a possibility. Bath County boys' basketball coach Richard McElwee is a candidate for the Bassett job.
At George Washington-Danville, a boys' basketball coach is expected to be named this week, and Laurel Park's Frank Scott is one of the finalists. Scott and GW assistant coach Chris Carter are considered the favorites to emerge with the position.
At Cave Spring, assistant coach Billy Hicks still is the favorite for the boys' basketball position, but William Byrd assistant David Culicerto also has applied.
BIG DECISION: The VHSL's executive committee will have to deal this week with the Group AA and Group A girls' basketball tournaments.
Principals refused to readjust the schedule, as wrestling did, to keep the two tournaments at the Salem Civic Center, where they have grown in popularity.
Their only known alternative to Salem is Virginia-Bristol, with a gym capacity of 2,500. This will take the tournament about as far away as possible from most participating teams, and it is likely that no more than one or two schools from the Bristol area will qualify, making the tournament a potential financial disaster for the VHSL.
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