ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, June 16, 1996 TAG: 9606170013
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-10 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: HIGH SCHOOLS
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM
Another high school sports year is over, and when the players, coaches and fans return in the fall, Timesland will be a changed world.
First and foremost will be the switch in Regions III and IV. Much has been said and written about Blacksburg and Christiansburg moving from the now-defunct New River District to the Blue Ridge District.
What about the Piedmont District going to Region IV? Besides a lot of mileage come regional tournament time, what does this mean to high school athletics in Timesland and in Henry County?
Martinsville, Laurel Park, Fieldale-Collinsville, Bassett, Magna Vista and Patrick County move as a six-team Piedmont District to Region IV.
While teams from the Piedmont District once dominated Region III athletically, things have changed in the past few years. Piedmont teams have struggled, and the biggest reason is that schools in the Martinsville area have lost enrollment while those in the Blue Ridge and Seminole districts have gained students.
The Piedmont District schools' listed enrollment when the Virginia High School League realigned showed Magna Vista with the largest number of students, at 602 to 407 at Laurel Park.
The smallest Blue Ridge District school was Lord Botetourt (714), and most of the Seminole District schools had similar enrollment figures.
In Region IV, the Piedmont District has some larger schools to battle, but not as many of them. Carroll County (909) is the largest Group AA school in Timesland, but because of the Cavaliers' rural setting, they've had a hard time coming up with strong athletic teams.
The Piedmont will be at a disadvantage in size to Lee-Jonesville (874), Richlands (837) and Grundy (762). But that's better than fighting 10 to 15 schools with bigger enrollments.
Piedmont District teams won't dominate Region IV, but they'll be very competitive.
When the fall season rolls around, Patrick County will re-enter Timesland, making the Piedmont District once again an all-Timesland league.
In Group A, Glenvar goes from the Pioneer District to the Three Rivers District. This presents some interesting scenarios.
The Highlanders might not dominate in some sports as they did in the Pioneer District. Girls' basketball and softball come to mind, with Floyd County (both sports) and Radford (girls' basketball) standing in the way of the Highlanders' annual trips to the regional and state tournaments.
In boys' basketball, Glenvar will be rebuilding while the other schools have some veterans returning. In football, Glenvar must step up its program to take on Giles and Radford, which over the past few years have been two of the state's top Group A programs.
Glenvar faces new challenges, but the Highlanders should be able to handle the pressure. Consider boys' tennis, in which Glenvar was wiped out by graduation after winning four consecutive Group A titles. No one gave the Highlanders a chance, but they rebuilt and won a fifth straight crown.
Some Timesland personalities will be missed; coaches and players change every year. But the absence of Patrick Henry's Woody Deans and William Fleming's Burrall Paye will be felt more than most.
These two basketball coaches retired after collecting more than 800 victories and three state championships between them. More than just coaches, they were personalities.
Paye was the perfectionist who drilled his teams over and over while doing a meticulous job of preparation. Deans was the promoter and innovator who got better and better each year. Matched against Paye, he provided one of Timesland's greatest and most bitter rivalries.
The two wouldn't want to sip afternoon tea together, but when they were recognized at The Roanoke Times' sports banquet June 9, they waived to one another in one last salute.
HIRING FREEZE: Going into the weekend, Patrick Henry still hadn't found a boys' basketball coach. School officials have only known since early January that there would be an opening.
In the past few months, PH's search committee has interviewed 10 to 15 candidates. After grilling a preliminary list, the committee called back some of the contenders for more interviews. One member of the committee had seen enough and quit rather than spend more time trying to find the perfect coach.
As school closed for the summer, PH still hadn't hired a coach. The three candidates who seemed to have the best credentials - Ed Green, the former Roanoke College coach; Rich Lyons, Luray's athletic director; and Jack Elsworthy, the coach at Central Dauphin East in Harrisburg, Pa. - hadn't heard from anyone at PH in recent weeks.
Usually, if someone knows the candidates and does the homework, it's easy to tell who the committee will choose. But not this time. Sherlock Holmes would have thrown up his hands in dismay at this mystery.
In fact, the search committee interviewed two candidates with questionable pasts that would make it impossible for them to be hired.
While Dr. Elizabeth Lee, PH's principal, must match a coaching position with a teaching opening, this is a critical job that should have been filled before the end of the school year.
Bo Blankenship, a part-time assistant coach last season who didn't teach in the Roanoke school system, was running the summer league that is so important to preparation for the fall and winter. That was his last job, because he withdrew his name as a candidate for the coaching position when it become obvious he wouldn't be Deans' successor.
This may go down as the longest search for a coach in Timesland history. Surely there was a simpler way to come up with a boys' basketball coach at PH.
MORE PATRIOT-ISM:Just when PH was struggling to fill a boys' basketball coaching vacancy, as well as others in volleyball, wrestling and cheerleading, comes news the Patriots may be looking for a track coach to replace Jeff Johnson.
It seems Johnson is considering stepping down after building PH into a boys' power. The Patriots tied for second in the Group AAA meet this year and have won back-to-back Northwest Region titles.
``I haven't made a decision,'' said Johnson, who also is an assistant football coach. ``I like track and football, but I have a 9-year-old and a 5-year-old that I need to spend more time with.''
Johnson has spoken to PH's athletic director, Dave Osborne, about keeping his outdoor track duties and giving up the indoor season.
Johnson also is concerned about having Louis Booker, one of his top athletes, back next season. Booker, because of asthma, didn't compete as a freshman or a sophomore and will need five years to finish high school. A VHSL rule states a student-athlete has four years from the start of ninth grade to complete four years of eligibility, but the Patriots are making a hardship appeal to let Booker run as a fifth-year senior.
LENGTH: Long : 122 linesby CNB