THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, October 21, 1994 TAG: 9410210770
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY RICH RADFORD, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 99 lines
In the rain and wind last Friday, 1,200 fans showed up at Tallwood High to watch the Lions play a vastly inferior team.
Tallwood coach Ken Barto offers this theory for why it happened.
``Give people a flashy back and a defense that hits and they'll come watch you play,'' said Barto, a week after his Lions thrashed Ocean Lakes, 47-0. ``Even on nights like that.''
Tonight, on what is forecast as a perfect night for high school football, many more are expected to turn out at Kempsville High to watch the unbeaten Lions take on once-beaten Kempsville.
That is not a misprint. Tallwood, which lost its first 14 games after opening in the fall of 1992, has won six straight to begin the season.
But the question remains: Who have the Lions beaten? Their six opponents are a combined 8-31.
``We don't make the schedule, we just play the games,'' said senior middle linebacker John Vann. ``We know people say we've played nobody. So we've adopted a motto: Everybody's a nobody.''
Ironically, everybody once considered Tallwood a nobody.
In the Lions' first year, they went 0-10, were outscored, 402-48, and didn't come close to winning. The most respectable outing was a 23-7 loss to Salem.
``We were just a victim of circumstances that first year,'' Barto said. ``We had lots of freshmen and sophomores starting. That's when you find your football players and establish a program.''
Last year the Lions finished 2-8 with wins over Granby and Kellam. They also had two three-point losses (Cox and Bayside) and two one-point losses (Princess Anne and Salem). ``I was very disappointed that we weren't 6-4 last year,'' Barto said. ``But it was a positive disappointment.''
Two years after finishing last in the area in every statistical category, Tallwood now leads South Hampton Roads in scoring defense and total defense, allowing just 3.3 points and 108.8 yards per game.
Like a snowball down a mountainside, they've picked up momentum throughout, winning by 11, 14, 19, 21, 35 and 47 points. They've shut out their last three opponents. Of course, those last three opponents have been Cox, Kellam and Ocean Lakes, which is by no means a Murderer's Row.
While the defense has manhandled the opposition, the young offensive unit - which starts a freshman running back and has only two seniors - has matured and gained confidence with every game.
That freshman, TaRon Anderson, has run for 727 yards and 13 touchdowns. With 25 more yards, Anderson will surpass the freshman total of Norcom's Terry Ricks (1990-93) who is the area's all-time leading rusher with 4,025 yards.
``I thought I'd play junior varsity,'' Anderson said. ``Everyone kept talking about all these backs Tallwood had.''
When Anderson ran for 102 yards in his first game, the search for Tallwood's top back was over. Since then, he's had two games of over 200 yards rushing, including a season-high 240 against Cox in a 21-0 victory. And he's scored at least one touchdown in every game.
``Sometimes all I have to do is block one defender and he's gone,'' said Alvin Wilson, who plays fullback and defensive end. ``He's a freshman with real heart, one tough kid. And he's got great cuts.''
Barto said Anderson's confidence has grown to the point that Anderson will come to the sidelines and suggest plays.
``And most of the time they work,'' Barto grinned.
But if the Anderson plays don't work, the Tallwood defense can take up the slack.
Wilson has been the stalwart since moving to defensive end. The 5-foot-11, 185-pound junior played cornerback last year and was so bent on chasing the ball that he often left his primary responsibility . . . and was sometimes burned.
So Barto moved him to defensive end, where his primary responsibility would blend with his personality. ``I finally decided I couldn't teach this kid to go backwards,'' Barto said. ``I've got to get him near the ball.''
Tallwood's entire defensive unit plays with an aggressiveness that rivals that of 1993 Division 5 state champion Norcom, which comes as little surprise, since defensive coordinator Robert Jackson is a former Norcom assistant. And the Lions defense has the one thing that makes up for overaggressive mistakes - speed.
``All of our defensive backs run 4.5 or better in the 40, and our linebackers and defensive ends run 4.6 or better,'' said the 6-0, 215-pound Vann, who's being recruited by schools in the ACC, Big 10, Big East and SEC.
``Coach Jackson's repeatedly told us speed wins. So we work on it.''
That speed goes on display against a team with a winning record for the first time tonight. In fact, there are critics who say Tallwood's season begins tonight: It plays the four reputed big boys of the Beach District in the next four weeks - Kempsville, Bayside, Green Run and First Colonial.
Tallwood and Kempsville are 5-0 in the Beach District, as is Green Run. And Barto expects a crowd to rival the 8,000-plus who saw Green Run beat Barto's Bayside Marlins, 34-19, in 1986. It was Barto's first year as a head coach, and he's never played before a bigger crowd.
``I already told my mom to get there early,'' Vann said. ``This is the Battle of Kempsville Road. It's going to be a killer game and the line to get in is going to go around the corner.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
JIMMY WALKER/Staff
TaRon Anderson, a freshman at Tallwood, has rushed for 727 yards and
13 touchdowns.
by CNB