THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, September 9, 1994 TAG: 9409090753
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY RICH RADFORD AND PAUL WHITE, STAFF WRITERS
LENGTH: Short : 44 lines
The preseason hasn't gone smoothly for either team.
Defending state champion Norcom lost two-way lineman Marte McCall to a broken ankle in its first scrimmage and had its second scrimmage canceled when Archbishop Carroll of Washington backed out of a commitment to meet last weekend in Petersburg. McCall is out for an estimated seven weeks.
Churchland is supposed to be a main contender for the Southeastern District title, but one would be hard pressed to see any indications of such after two ``flat'' scrimmages by the Truckers. Plus, they too lost a key player in preseason when Jermaine Turner injured a knee, knocking the halfback/defensive end out for at least three weeks.
Still, it will be No. 1 vs. No. 8 when the two square off at Churchland High tonight in a game that, even though early in the season, holds significant ramifications for these playoff hopefuls. Game time is 7:30 and gates open at 6:30. A sellout crowd is expected.
``We've looked flat in our scrimmages,'' said Churchland coach Ken Taylor. ``But we've also been telling our players that our season begins (with Norcom) and that scrimmages are to fine-tune things. Plus, we haven't shown all our (offensive) wrinkles. We didn't want to give away too many secrets.''
On the Norcom side, the cancellation of the Greyhounds' second scrimmage bothered coach Joe Langston, who hoped to use it to firm up personnel decisions in the backfield.
``There were some more looks we wanted to get and some things we were holding back in the first scrimmage to test in the second scrimmage,'' Langston said. ``We'll just have to make do.'' ILLUSTRATION: The Picks
[For a copy of the picks, see microfilm for this date.]
GAME SCHEDULED
[For a copy of the schedule, see microfilm for this date.]
by CNB