ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, March 27, 1997 TAG: 9703270061
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM THE ROANOKE TIMES
Charles Burnette hasn't just provided skill, he has brought leadership to the Colonels' athletic program.
Charles Burnette is William Fleming's man for all seasons, but with the start of outdoor track, Burnette's reign as the Colonels' outstanding athlete is nearing an end.
During Burnette's football career a losing program became competitive in the Roanoke Valley District. The Fleming boys' basketball team earned its customary spot in the state tournament this year with Burnette playing a key role. In track and field, he is a versatile performer on a team that may challenge Patrick Henry for regional and state dominance.
Burnette says he has thought about the end of his high school athletic career. So have the three coaches - George Miller (football), Roland Lovelace (basketball) and Rudy Dillard (track) - who have counted on Burnette's athletic and leadership abilities during this school year.
``Probably Charles' most outstanding characteristic is his leadership,'' Miller said. ``He says words of encouragement to team members. He never tears people down.''
Lovelace also has come to appreciate Burnette's positive attitude.
``One intangible was that Charles was very coachable,'' Lovelace said. ``It's very important to have coachable people do what they're told to do.''
In football and track Burnette has proved his willingness to do what is best for the team.
His natural offensive position in football is wide receiver. As a sophomore, he was one of Timesland's top pass-catchers and an All-Roanoke Valley District selection. For the past two seasons, the Colonels needed him more at quarterback, so Burnette gave up his favorite position.
``The reason we moved Charles was that we didn't have any returning quarterbacks,'' Miller said. ``Charles is one of the most talented players on the team, so we felt he could do the job.''
When Burnette continues his athletic career in the fall as a football player at Norfolk State, he'll move back to receiver. His sacrifice, though, may have cost him the opportunity for a scholarship at a Division I-A school.
``He never complains because he possesses class and character, and because he's a team player,'' Miller said.
Burnette also played defensive back for Fleming, making the All-Timesland team at that position as a senior.
``I felt like many coaches would recruit him as a defensive back,'' Miller said. ``Because he had an interest in playing receiver, once he landed at a school and showed what he could do, a coach would give him an option.''
Burnette makes no secret of his desire to play wide receiver.
``I feel like I have more ability when I'm on my own,'' Burnette said. ``I don't feel anyone can check me with my speed and height. But the team needed a quarterback more than it needed a receiver, so I felt I would play there and give it my all.''
Giving his all is something that also makes Burnette valuable in track and field. Last spring, he tripped over a hurdle early in the season and broke his left arm.
``He was just coming over the seventh hurdle in a meet at E.C. Glass,'' Dillard said. ``There was a guy with him. Charles tried to go a little harder. He got his foot caught.''
Burnette could have missed the rest of the season. Instead, he returned with the arm in a cast and ran on the Colonels' 400-meter relay team.
``When I tripped over that hurdle, I knew my arm was broken'' said Burnette, who finished the race. ``There was a lot of pain. Why did I finish? There was a lot of pride that the coaches and the people in my family gave me.''
This spring, he'll run the intermediate hurdles again, plus a relay or a sprint to give him the maximum of three races per meet.
Dillard is convinced that if Burnette concentrated on running - indoor track and, possibly, cross country - he would have a college scholarship in that sport. At one time, Dillard toyed with the idea of running Burnette indoors during basketball season, though the plan was scrapped because of scheduling conflicts.
``I wish I had him more, but I wouldn't take him from football and basketball because I know he likes those sports,'' Dillard said.
Fleming needed Burnette in basketball this season.
James Stokes had graduated after taking the Colonels on his shoulders to the Group AAA semifinals a year earlier, and Fleming was picked to finish second in the district behind Patrick Henry. With a new coach, Lovelace, and a lack of height, the Colonels lost the first meeting with PH in December when the Patriots rallied late in the game. Fleming didn't lose another game to PH, winning three times - the last two by substantial margins.
Burnette and teammates Brad Dunleavy, Richard Wilson, R.J. Reynolds and Jaron Walker had been together since they were 8 years-old, Burnette said, so they ``felt comfortable coming into the season'' despite the loss of Stokes. Burnette led a balanced offense with 13.5-point scoring average.
``I tried to get the whole team involved ... instead of taking the game over,'' Burnette said. ``I wasn't the rah-rah leader in football. I should have said more than I did. But I did speak up when I had to. Still, in times we were down, I'd remind them we still had another half to play, [to] keep their heads up and the game would change around.''
Lovelace took note of Burnette's leadership.
``I don't encourage players to talk to the team, but there are exceptions,'' Lovelace said. ``We have four captains, but he was the one who'd talk to the team. He'd say, `Let's work hard,' and things like that.''
Burnette says basketball might be his favorite sport. ``I have more fun, though football is my best sport,'' he said. ``I like track because I can develop some of my very best individual skills for the team.''
Those skills have made him a three-sport, a rarity these days at a Group AAA school.
``Actually, it gets tiring when I take a break,'' Burnette said. ``I take a week off from one sport to go to the other. During that week, I'm tired more than when I stay active. I become bored and restless.''
LENGTH: Long : 112 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: JANEL RHODA THE ROANOKE TIMES. William Fleming coachesby CNB(standing left to right) George Miller, Rudy Dillard and Roland
Lovelace will miss Charles Burnette when he moves on to Norfolk
State University in the fall to play football.