ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, December 7, 1996 TAG: 9612090035
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM STAFF WRITER
The two state high school championship football games involving Timesland teams today will feature a clash of titan teams and dynamic coaches.
Four coaches, who have been around since the 1970s, hope to win state titles. Three of them - Salem's Willis White, Powhatan's Jim Woodson and Sherando's Walter Barr - are seeking their first state crown since the Virginia High School League went to a playoff system in the early 1970s.
Giles' Steve Ragsdale has two state titles - one Group AA crown in 1980 and a Group A Division 2 championship in 1993. He is the only state winner in this quartet of Virginia high school football's elder statesmen.
Today, Salem plays host to Sherando at Victory Stadium for the Group AA Division 4 title while Group A Giles hits the road to Midlothian where it will take on Powhatan. Both games start at 1:30 p.m.
There's no surprise that Salem and Giles are representing Timesland. They've had two of the area's premier programs along with Pulaski County and Parry McCluer, which failed to make it out of the regional playoffs this year.
That these four coaches are still around is a tribute to their perseverance in a time when the main concern of parents, fans and administrators seems to be holding a contest to see how much abuse they can heap on coaches, even when they're successful.
White once thought about retiring when health problems bothered him, but now he's rejuvenated with a Salem team that he says has been a joy to coach. White's first head coaching job at Fort Chiswell was a disaster and he nearly left the profession before being brought back to Patrick Henry as an assistant under Merrill Gainer in the early 1970s.
Ragsdale is a son of the legendary Harry Ragsdale, one of Timesland's greatest coaches at Narrows when the Green Wave was a state power. The Giles coach, though, made his name in college, as a member of Roanoke College's NCAA championship basketball team in 1972. He started his career at Giles as the school's boys' basketball coach.
Barr was the football coach at Shepherd College in Shepherdstown, W.Va. He retired, but then Sherando, a new school that had played football for one year, hired him. In three seasons under Barr, the Warriors have been to the Division 4 title game twice.
Barr got out of coaching, but not teaching. ``I became a guidance counselor at Loudoun County. Then I decided I wanted to get back into it,'' he said.
Woodson was an assistant at Powhatan where he had played for Bob Baltimore, whom he replaced in 1985. Baltimore is back as Woodson's assistant. Powhatan has played in the same district as perennial power Lunenburg Central and has been overshadowed by that program.
Woodson, 42, is the youngest of the four coaches. ``We strived for team unity, beating [Lunenburg] Central, winning the James River District and working our way up. We have far exceeded our goals,'' he said.
White has been frustrated three times in state championship games. The last time came in 1991 when the unbeaten Spartans, with a high-powered offense and low-octane defense, were beaten 31-27 by Spotsylvania at Salem Stadium.
Is White itching for a state crown?
``I'd really like to win a national championship,'' he said. ``It's been so tough to win a state that I've thought about skipping it and going on to win a national championship.''
White needs that state title to complete a solid list of coaching credentials. ``Any coach who says he doesn't want to win one would be lying,'' said the Salem coach. ``But the main thing is to get great effort out of the players when you have two good teams and one of them has to be second.''
It is hard for Ragsdale to believe his Giles team has come this far. Like Salem, this group of Spartans doesn't have a super star.
``The key is we have a bunch of seniors. Even though none of them played major roles on last year's team, we had some starters returning and some people backing up starters last year. All those people did more than we anticipated,'' said Ragsdale.
``How good are we? I don't know. I feel that way because week after week, they've surprised me and I still have that little bit not sure [feeling].''
In each game, the teams are similar in their philosophies. ``We've run the ball more than we've passed it. We average 12-13 passes a game,'' said Barr of Sherando.
White likes to throw about the same number of passes and when conditions were messy last Saturday at Grundy, Salem didn't shy away from the pass.
Giles runs the single wing while Powhatan uses the double wing. ``There are some similarities, a lot of double teaming and trapping,'' said Woodson. ``It's not just the single wing at Giles. It's power, power, power.''
``They run out of a wing-T with a double wing set,'' said Ragsdale. ``It's a lot of misdirection, the same philosophy [as single wing]. I would think it would help them somewhat to get ready for us. It helps us [prepare] for them.''
LENGTH: Medium: 88 linesby CNB