ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, September 26, 1996 TAG: 9609260016
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: N-14 EDITION: METRO
TYPE: HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS
SOURCE: KEITH POMPEY STAFF WRITER
Sitting on the grass outside William Byrd High School, Jamie Fuqua and Frank English talk about the time they met.
They were 7 years old and playing for the Vinton recreation program football team.
``Man, I started out as the quarterback. Then I ended up at nose guard,'' English says. ``Man, can you tell me how that happened?''
``I know,'' Fuqua says. ``We were the smallest on the team.''
Back then, their lack of size was offset by their heart. Sandlot opponents found the duo unstoppable.
``I became the quarterback,'' Fuqua says. ``Frank was the tailback because he could run. I used to pitch it to him on the halfback option.''
Even then, the close friends dreamed about playing high school football together. But they didn't just to be on the team. They wanted to be the leaders. But being teammates wasn't enough. They wanted to be team leaders.
Eleven years later, the seniors have earned that opportunity. They're doing everything they can to help William Byrd (2-1) challenge for the Blue Ridge District title.
``Those two and Chad Price and Zack Slayton are our team captains,'' says Jeff Highfill, the Terriers' coach. ``Frank is more of a verbal leader. Jamie leads by example. And they do everything that we ask. I think their leadership showed [Saturday] night.''
It was Chris Dowdy's 27-yard field goal in overtime that gave William Byrd a 17-14 victory at Bassett. But his winning kick would not have been possible without Fuqua and English.
With the Terriers trailing 14-0 in the third quarter, Fuqua returned a kickoff 82 yards for a touchdown.
Byrd forced overtime when English scored on a 1-yard quarterback sneak on fourth-and-goal with 10 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.
After the victory, Fuqua and English didn't brag about scoring the touchdowns. To them, individual glory doesn't mean a thing.
``We don't think about things like that,'' Fuqua says. ``One person doesn't make a team. A team makes a person. We don't care about who scores the touchdowns. All we want to do is win.''
The 5-foot-11, 170-pounder speaks from experience. During his high school career, he has played two offensive positions.
In 1994, he was a wide receiver. ``I played four games that season and averaged 23 yards per catch,'' Fuqua says.
Last year, Fuqua was moved to running back because Byrd lacked depth at that position. He tore knee ligaments while running the ball against Northside. ``That night I didn't even think that I was going to be able to walk,'' he says.
Although Fuqua didn't set any school records with his rushing abilities, he stood out as a second-team all-district defensive back.
This year, Fuqua is back at wide receiver, where he has been English's main target.
``I know that switching me around to all the different positions has messed me up some with getting recruited'' by colleges, he says. ``But my first priority is to win. And if you don't win, nobody is going to look at you anyway.''
Highfill disagrees about the recruiting end of it.
``In the long run, playing different positions might help him to get recruited,'' the Terriers' coach says. ``Recruiters are interested in good athletes, and if the person has a good personality.''
While Fuqua has been used at a couple of positions, English has stood out at one.
The 6-1, 198-pounder was named second-team All-Timesland in 1995 at quarterback and was the district's offensive player of the year.
``In my opinion, Frank is the best quarterback that I have ever seen,'' Fuqua says of his teammate, who had more than 1,700 yards of total offense in '95. ``In him, you have a quarterback who can throw. But if you cover the pass, he's going to run on you. He is a double threat. That's why he's the best quarterback that I have ever seen.''
And he might be the strongest.
English holds team records in the bench press, power clean and squat lifts. Maybe his strength is the reason he's still playing this year.
English suffered a slight separation of his right (throwing) shoulder in a scrimmage against Cave Spring on Aug.17.
But ...
``He played the rest of the game,'' Highfill says. ``That says a lot. He is a very unselfish ballplayer.''
So unselfish that he refused to talk to the media last year.
Instead, ``I wanted to get the senior into the paper,'' English says. ``They had been here four years and I was a junior getting all of the publicity. That made them feel left out. I just wanted to make it a team thing. I wanted everybody to talk.''
And 10 years from now, Fuqua and English hope they'll be talking about how this year's seniors led William Byrd to the Blue Ridge District title.
LENGTH: Medium: 94 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ROGER HART/Staff. Longtime teammates, Jamie Fuquaby CNB(left), wide receiver, and Frank English, quarterback, lead the
Terriers' offensive efforts.