THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, October 11, 1994 TAG: 9410110395
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C6 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY RICH RADFORD, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 79 lines
With the midpoint of the season upon us, thoughts turn to candidates for player of the year honors in South Hampton Roads and the race hasn't been this wide open since 1988.
That year First Colonial quarterback Jeff Rust edged running backs Mark Hill of Norview, Tony Collins of Lake Taylor and Kevin Blanding of Bayside.
Here are one man's 1994 front-runners:
Glenwood Ferebee, Green Run. Has passed for 579 yards and eight touchdowns while being picked off only three times. Has also run for 142 yards and four touchdowns. A great offense is helping his campaign, but he isn't making many mistakes with it.
Anthony King, Granby. If the Comets could just surpass the .500 mark. King may finish second in player of the year balloting and be bumped off the first team by Ferebee. He has thrown for 701 yards and eight touchdowns, but has played one more game than Ferebee. King has also run for 376 yards and six touchdowns.
Dre Bly, Western Branch. As a wingback, Bly doesn't touch the ball as much as some of the area's running backs. But he's a two-way threat offensively - 341 yards rushing, 277 yards receiving - and has seven touchdowns. Earns bonus points on defense, where he's one of the area's best open field tacklers and has three interceptions.
Wayne Bacon, Norview. His 427-yard game against Kellam vaulted him into the spotlight and he leads the area in rushing with 897 yards in five games. The end zone has been the only thing that could stop him on nine occasions.
Michael Basnight, Booker T. Washington. The most visible reason for the Bookers' success this season, Basnight has run for 579 yards and eight touchdowns. He also has 125 yards receiving with a touchdown and leads the area in punting with a 38.1-yard average.
Deon Dyer, Deep Creek. The tough Hornets fullback has run for 526 yards and nine touchdowns, but is only averaging 14 carries per game, far less than his competition. Playing for an unbeaten team helps his cause.
Mike Pishioneri, Kempsville. The Chiefs haven't received a lot of respect in the area poll, but Pishioneri is the blue-collar John Cappelletti of this bunch. Has run for 545 yards and eight touchdowns, completed his only two passes for 78 yards and a TD and caught six passes for 92 yards.
STREAKS OVER: While Norcom's 14-13 loss to Indian River ended the Greyhounds' 18-game winning streak, it also brought to a halt their run at the top of the South Hampton Roads high school football poll.
The Greyhounds were atop the poll for their last 24 games, dating back to early October of 1992. They took over the top spot, ironically, after beating then-No. 1 Indian River, 20-9.
Green Run, taking over the top spot, has a nine-game winning streak dating from last season.
LIFE ISN'T FAIR: Phoebus could win its first nine games, lose the final game of its regular season to Hampton and miss out on the Division 5 playoffs with a 9-1 record.
If Hampton goes 10-0, the Crabbers would advance to the Division 5 playoffs as Peninsula District champion. The Eastern District champion will most likely be a Division 5 team.
If Deep Creek and Norcom were to both finish with 9-1 records, one would win the Southeastern District and the other would have a power rating of at least 14.50 and the edge for Division 5's lone wild-card berth.
Because the Peninsula District now has 11 teams and no non-district games, the second-place team with a 9-1 record ends up with no better than a 14.40 power rating, provided one team finishes 10-0.
Hampton is in the same situation as Phoebus. But Hampton has a game left after playing Phoebus, which has the bye week in the Peninsula's last week of play.
Making matters more ironic, Bethel could finish the year 7-3 and in third place in the Peninsula District, but would have a shot at sneaking into the Division 6 playoffs.
In theory, Division 6 should be stronger than Division 5, because Division 6 includes the bigger schools. But that hasn't been the case in the Eastern Region for the last five years. by CNB