THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, December 9, 1994 TAG: 9412080157
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 10 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY JULIE GOODRICH, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 151 lines
WITH ITS FOOTBALL team just one win away from a state championship title, Deep Creek High School is awash in a sea of purple the likes of which have seldom been seen before.
Purple spirit chains in the hallways. Purple banners in the classrooms. Purple clothing, with a bit of white thrown in to complete the school colors, on students, faculty, and administrators alike.
It's as if Barney the Dinosaur signed on as Deep Creek's interior designer.
``Before I knew it, we were out of purple paper,'' said principal Nat Hardee, a Deep Creek alumnus who has 23 years on the job. ``Believe me, that stuff's expensive.''
Pricey decorations aside, the exploits of the Hornets' football team, who will try to remain undefeated and complete a storybook season with a victory in Saturday's state finals, have energized the school, and that enthusiasm has spread to the rest of the community as well.
Everywhere you go, talk focuses on Deep Creek. In the grocery check-out lines, at the mall and at the dinner table, the question on everyone's minds is the same:
Can they go all the way?
``I see people in here buying tickets that I haven't seen for 20 years,'' said Hardee. The team is ``the first topic of discussion at Deep Creek Baptist Church, although there's still a little of God and religion thrown in there.''
It's been a long time since Deep Creek has had this much to cheer about.
In the early 1980s the Hornets' girls' basketball team rose to prominence on the state level and made the playoffs three times, including a state title in 1983.
That same year, the wrestling team also struck gold with a state title.
But, according to Hardee, nothing compares to the intense interest generated by this year's football team.
``Football is just a little different than other sports. For some reason, people kinda get worked up,'' said Hardee.
The excitement has not been lost on head football coach Jerry Carter. Although he said he's noticed little of what goes on in the stands, Carter does appreciate what effect a winning program can have.
``Any time you have success, people want to jump on the bandwagon,'' he said. ``The value of athletics is to serve as a rallying point for the community and the school.''
And rally they have. Several busloads of parents and fans made the 200-mile trip to Lynchburg last Saturday to see Deep Creek's win over E.C. Glass High School in the state semifinals, and more than 100 team sweatshirts have been sold to the faculty alone.
Pride in the Hornets has been bubbling over in Deep Creek. It's enough to put a cheerleader out of business.
``It's been a lot easier to get people into the games,'' said senior Rusita Wyatt, captain of the Deep Creek varsity cheerleading squad. ``Usually we have to pull them along, but now they get going by themselves. They'll start yelling `Defense!' before we even ask them to.''
Even students who don't normally bat an eye over athletics are doing their part to show support, if only by omission.
After the school was decorated for the state semifinals, Hardee asked the student body not to disrupt the banners or spirit chains.
``The amazing part is that no one tried to trash anything or tear it down. Some kids aren't that interested in football; they're not even that interested in school. But everything was left intact.''
``Everyone's really showing support for us, which is a nice feeling,'' said senior defensive lineman Wes Cochran. ``Down the street there's a church with a `13-0' sign, and beside it is a big white billboard with `One More To Win State.' ''
After going 7-3 last year, no one but the Hornets themselves thought they'd go this far. Hardly anyone picked Deep Creek to even finish first in the Southeastern District, much less go undefeated at 10-0 during the regular season.
The Hornets opened by winning their first seven games, but excitement about the team didn't start to build until Deep Creek manhandled Norcom, 21-3.
``Norcom had been state champs the year before, and we had always had trouble beating them,'' said Hardee. ``It was a war, but we won that game, and it started us down the road.''
``When the team beat Indian River, and then Norcom, people started to believe they could overcome anyone,'' said senior Sonia Palmer.
The regular season was one thing. Forget the playoffs. With an 0-4 record in post-season play, the rap against Deep Creek was they could approach the top of the mountain - just don't expect them to go over.
A workmanlike 36-19 win over Phoebus in the Eastern Region semifinal, the Hornets' first-ever victory in a playoff game, finally put Deep Creek over the top.
``Before the playoffs we felt like there was a weight on our shoulders, and with the win over Phoebus that weight was lifted,'' said Cochran. ``For once we didn't choke. We won the big game.''
``That win got us over the hump,'' said Hardee. ``It started making believers out of a lot of people.''
Deep Creek converted the last of the holdouts with its performance in the Eastern Region final, a spectacular 48-42 win over Hampton that will likely go down as the greatest game in school history. The game made a hero out of Dee Harrell, whose diving catch of Arnie Powell's last-second throw into the end zone scored the winning touchdown.
The Hornets resurrected their once-formidable defense just in time for the state semifinals, scoring a 24-17 win over E.C. Glass.
And now Deep Creek finds itself on the verge of bringing home Chesapeake's first Group AAA state title.
But why this team? Why this year?
According to Carter, it's not because of talent. The Hornets, for all of their firepower on both offense and defense, aren't incredibly deep. There are standouts on both sides of the line, but no one, big game-breaker.
The difference in this Deep Creek team from the ones that came before is a much more human element. ``The key to this team's success is in how they get along with each other. They're the most unselfish team I've ever had,'' said Carter.
Invariably after a game, the guys that ran for or caught the touchdowns are the ones who are mentioned in the paper the next morning. The linemen, the role players, and the guys on the special teams are left without getting the credit they so justly deserve.
About those players, Carter says: ``They're not envious. As long as we win, they're happy with whoever gets the praise. They believe in self-sacrifice for the good of the team.''
Even if they don't get the headlines, every player on the Hornets' roster will remember this year. A year Deep Creek staked its claim as one of the best teams in Virginia.
One more to win state.
``I can't believe we've gotten this far. Even if we don't win the state title, I'm happy with how we've done,'' said Cochran. ``Even before the season we told each other we were going to state.
``And now we're actually here.'' MEMO: [For a related story, see page 11 of The Clipper for this date.]
ILLUSTRATION: [Cover]
ONE WIN AWAY FROM THE CHAMPIONSHIP
[Color Photo]
Staff photos by PAUL AIKEN
Deep Creek's Deon Dyer, right, tries to break the grasp of E.C.
Glass player Taryll Cutchin in the state semifinals last week. Deep
Creek goes for the state title on Saturday.
Deep Creek running back Deon Dyer, left, blasts through the line
with the help of Lawrence Claiborne, ready to block E.C. Glass
player Brian Farmer in the state semifinals last week.
ONE WIN TO GO
What: Division 5, Group AAA state high school football final
Who: Deep Creek (13-0) vs. Patrick Henry-Ashland (13-0)
Where: University of Richmond stadium
When: Saturday, kickoff is at 1:30 p.m.
Semifinal results: Deep Creek defeated E.C. Glass 24-17; Patrick
Henry-Ashland defeated Fairfax 35-14
by CNB