ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, June 30, 1996 TAG: 9607010124
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-10 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: HIGH SCHOOLS
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM
There's no such thing as a sure bet, but the safest wager this fall is that at least one Timesland team will make the semifinal round of the Group AA Division 4 football playoffs.
It's a setup, of course. Under the new Virginia High School League football alignment, all but one Division 4 school in Region III comes from Timesland.
The bet would be a lock were it not for one non-Timesland school. Heritage, the newest Group AA member in Region III, is in Lynchburg. While the Pioneers weren't that successful in the old Group AAA Western Division, there is every reason to believe they will be a strong factor in the Group AA Seminole District in all sports during the 1996-97 school year.
Heritage is the fourth largest school in Region III. Salem, with 939 students in the top four grades, is listed as the biggest school in Region III and the seventh largest Group AA school in the state.
However, Northside, according to principal Allen Journell, has 1,055 students instead of the 824 listed. The latter figure includes only grades 10-12, but the VHSL changed this year to base football divisions and classification on the top four grades. Only Tabb (1,071 students) has a larger enrollment than Northside among Group AA schools.
Seven of the 10 Division 4 schools come from the Blue Ridge District, so the Blue Ridge is assured of two playoff spots next fall.
Christiansburg is the only Blue Ridge District school in Division 3, and the Blue Demons are the second largest school behind Jefferson Forest in that grouping. Christiansburg's chances of making the playoffs even as a wild card are not good unless it can compete with the Blue Ridge District teams that have more students.
Northside and Salem would be Group AAA teams if it weren't for the fact that about 10 to 15 schools in the Richmond-Northern Virginia area with smaller enrollments have opted to play in Group AAA.
Are the Vikings, with superior numbers, overwhelming favorites to dominate Region III football and sports in general?
``Yeah, I guess. You know how that works,'' Journell said with a laugh. The fact is, the Vikings might be rebuilding in football and boys' basketball.
As for Salem, the Spartans figure to be strong in football, as well as boys' and girls' basketball.
``So we're one of the big boys,'' said Willis White, Salem's football coach. ``This is unusual. The year I left Patrick Henry [after the 1982 season], we had under 1,000 students. The years when Patrick Henry was big was when Merrill Gainer coached there. We had 1,600-1,700 in the mid 1970s just after they had closed Jefferson.''
In Region IV, Magna Vista with 591 students is the only Piedmont District member playing in Division 4. Five Piedmont schools are among the nine Division 3 teams, meaning the numbers are there for a couple of playoff spots.
However, Graham and Gate City, with strong football traditions in Group AA, bar the way in Division 3 for complete domination by Region IV's newest district, which has six Timesland schools.
Oddly, Magna Vista and Martinsville switch divisions. Magna Vista is the smallest school in its division in Region IV, but the Warriors must buck only Richlands and R.E. Lee-Staunton with strong Group AA football traditions.
``It seems like the years we go up, Martinsville goes down and when we go down, they go up,'' said Don Bateman, Magna Vista's athletic director and football coach. ``We picked up a few more students. I really have no problem being Division 4 except in our situation, most of the teams will be right much bigger than we are.''
The Warriors might have one of the state's toughest Group AA schedules, with Liberty, William Campbell and Heritage as non-district opponents.
In Groups AAA and A, Timesland schools will undergo few changes in football divisions, though Parry McCluer moves up to Division 2 in Region C with 372 students.
In the Roanoke Valley District, Cave Spring, Patrick Henry and Franklin County remain in Division 6, while Pulaski County and William Fleming stay in Division 5.
Woodbridge, in the Northwest Region Division 6, remains the state's largest high school with 2,109 students. However, an old-time power, T.C. Williams of Alexandria, has regained lost enrollment to move up to second with 2,098 students.
COACHING CAROUSEL: It appears Rhonda Gillespie of Carroll County will replace Marty Swan as volleyball coach at Patrick Henry. Gillespie, a former star athlete at William Byrd, coached the Cavaliers to the Region IV tournament.
Swan, Timesland's coach of the year in volleyball, guided PH to second place in the Group AAA ranks before resigning to take a job out of coaching.
At Rockbridge County, neither Bath County coach Richard McElwee nor Altavista coach Mike Cartolaro applied for the Wildcats boys' basketball job. William Campbell's Pat Paye and Rockbridge County assistant David ``Weenie'' Miller did apply. Miller looks like the favorite to be named as head coach, possibly as early as this week.
McElwee is giving up baseball coaching duties at Bath County to concentrate on boys' basketball. This past year, both of McElwee's teams made their respective Region C tournaments. He had coached the Chargers for 13 years in baseball, making him one of Timesland's veterans in that sport.
At Pulaski County, Todd Browning is expected to be named athletic director, replacing Ron Kanipe, who is taking another job in the system.
CUP RUNNETH OVER: One more note about the final Central Fidelity Cup standings for overall athletic excellence.
While it was mentioned that William Byrd won the Group AA cup despite not winning a state championship, it was overlooked that the Terriers' 267.50 points were the most among the three winners. Frank Cox of Virginia Beach took the Group AAA title with 250 points and George Mason of Falls Church won the Group A title with 182.50.
LENGTH: Long : 105 linesby CNB