ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, October 31, 1996 TAG: 9610310010
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV5 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
COLUMN: HIGH SCHOOLS
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM
With the Virginia High School League football playoffs only two weeks off, it remains to be seen who will make the postseason.
Salem, Staunton River, Grayson County, Pulaski County, Magna Vista, Martinsville and Giles are virtually guaranteed playoff spots.
Lord Botetourt is probably in, though a slip in the final two weeks and some key victories by other teams could change the Cavaliers' prospects, in much the same way a couple of late losses did last year when William Byrd just missed making the playoffs.
With Franklin County's big victory over Patrick Henry on Friday, Pulaski County can lock up the Roanoke Valley District spot and a berth in the Division 5 playoffs if it can produce one more win. The Cougars are heavily favored to do so.
At the same time, PH lost a great chance for a spot in the Division 6 playoffs and may have to pull a huge upset Friday at Pulaski County or have some help in getting Gar-Field, C.D. Hylton or Woodbridge knocked off.
In Group AA, Salem seems to be in good shape to take the Blue Ridge District's spot in the Region III Division 4 tournament and can win the league championship on points with two victories or a Botetourt loss.
The Blue Ridge may win three of four spots in the Region III Division 4 tournament, with Lord Botetourt, Northside and William Byrd the most likely to join the Spartans. The Cavaliers, tied for first with Salem, have a slight edge on the other two.
Staunton River, with one game left, will join the three Blue Ridge teams. The Golden Eagles can tie Brookville for the Seminole District title, but might have to go as a wild card, because they won't have as many points as the Division 3 Bees.
Staunton River is most intriguing, for this team has never been to the playoffs or won a district title. The Golden Eagles have never so much as shared a football title.
Magna Vista and Martinsville should make the Region IV Division 3 playoffs, and Bassett has a chance to join those two teams to put three Piedmont squads in the postseason.
In Group A Division 2, Giles (Three Rivers) and Grayson County (Mountain Empire District) are in as district champions, and will be joined by two Hogoheegee teams that are not in Timesland.
In Division 1, the postseason race is very close. Parry McCluer will go as Pioneer District champion if it knocks off Bath County. The defending Division 1 champion Chargers have to beat the Blues for a three-way tie for the district title. That still might not be enough for them to earn a playoff berth, as the Blues might emerge as the top team in points and still go as the Pioneer champion.
Bland County, Pocahontas and Rural Retreat are the leading contenders for three wild-card spots, along with the team that is Pioneer District champion.
GONE: Roanoke Valley Christian is looking for a new boys' basketball coach and athletic director after Jim Farmer resigned to pursue other opportunities.
Farmer had been RVC's coach for five years, moving from Berean Christian when that school closed. He had his best team last winter when the Eagles went 16-7 and made the State Independent Schools tournament.
RVC amassed a 53-57 record during Farmer's tenure as he built the school's program into the strongest private school boys' team in the Roanoke area.
While this past season's team played in the state tournament, the highlight of Farmer's RVC career may have been when the Eagles beat Carlisle 86-65 after losing to the Chiefs 73-71 in the regular season last winter. Carlisle went on to claim its second consecutive State Independent Schools title with only two losses. The other defeat came against Floyd County.
STILL TRAVELING: Cave Spring might have switched boys' basketball coaches, but newly arrived Billy Hicks is still hitting the road much as his predecessor, Chris Carr, did.
The Knights, after holding Midnight Madness with the girls' team Nov.22 to celebrate the coming season, hit the road that Saturday for Greensboro, N.C., where they'll scrimmage against Country Day, a private school.
Country Day features Aron McMillian, son of former pro basketball star Jim McMillian. Country Day also has 7-foot and 6-foot-7 players who are exchange students.
On Nov.24, the Knights will attend the VMI-Wake Forest basketball game in Winston-Salem, N.C., to watch Matt Matheny, a former Cave Spring player who is now playing for the Keydets.
REPRINT: The VHSL is owning up to one of its printing boo-boos by redoing and redistributing the Virginia High School League Directory.
It's at the printers and will be ready sometime during November. The cost is $4,000, but at least people who need to track down coaches, principals and other high school officials will have the correct list, instead of the error-filled edition that made it impossible to tell who was doing what job at some schools.
VHSL DOINGS: By an overwhelming vote of 159 for, two against and one abstention, the VHSL ratified the new classification and alignment system that went into effect this year.
This doesn't mean everyone is happy about the way the schools are lined up in districts, regions and classifications, but they think the plan is working.
There could be some fine tuning three years from now, and don't be surprised if one of the changes moves the Piedmont District back to Region III and the Blue Ridge District into Region IV. Also, look for an attempt by Carroll County to move to the Piedmont.
The VHSL also changed its stance on students passing the literacy passport test this past summer. They'll be eligible immediately for VHSL actitivities. Previously, students had to wait until the second semester started to be eligible.
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