THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, November 17, 1994 TAG: 9411160176
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 30 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DENISE MICHAUX, SUN SPORTS EDITOR
LENGTH: Medium: 53 lines
They may be young, but Windsor head coach Tommy Austin doesn't like the word inexperienced.
``It's time together that they haven't had,'' said first-year coach Austin.
There are eight seniors on Windsor's team and there may be about three on the field at any one time. The rest of the crew is a talented pack of sophomores and juniors.
``When football players have played together for a long time you get to know how the other players are going to react,'' Austin said. ``These kids haven't played together that long.''
But that doesn't mean they don't deserve to be exactly where they are.
The Dukes (6-4) are the No. 2 seed and will play host to Surry County in the first round of the Group A, Region A playoffs on Friday.
``I think we belong there,'' Austin said. ``If the teams ahead of us were all 9-1 or 8-2 or something like that maybe not, but when 7-3 is the best record, we belong.''
Actually, 7-3 is the second-best record in the Tri-Rivers district. Sussex Central is 10-0, New Kent 7-3, and Surry and Windsor are 6-4.
After their meeting three weeks ago, the Dukes are relishing the chance to play the Cougars again.
Windsor took a 25-16 lead into the fourth quarter and allowed Surry to rebound and win the game 28-25.
``It was a pretty tough game,'' Austin said. ``We just didn't do some things like we should have in the second half.''
Three of the players who know that will be key to the outcome this week. Jerome Ricks, Gebre Jennings and John Ruffin are the controllers of the Dukes' defensive pass coverage.
``They were there last time,'' Austin said. ``They know what went wrong, and they have worked hard to correct the mistakes.''
On offense, the Dukes will continue to spread the wealth to keep Surry's defense from keying on any one player - primarily Wayne Briggs, who has rushed for 1,050 yards on 177 carries this season.
Ricks has two solid targets in wideouts David Bickley and Jason Snipes, who have caught 18 passes apiece.
Austin needs to make adjustments on the offensive line almost weekly because of injuries or illness and that can make consistency almost impossible.
``We have yet to play the same five guys in the same position up front,'' Austin said. ``We just need time to reach a point where everybody feels comfortable.'' by CNB