THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Sunday, August 20, 1995                TAG: 9508170213
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST           PAGE: 14   EDITION: FINAL 
TYPE: [High School Football section:] Kickoff '95  
SOURCE: BY JEFF ZEIGLER, CORRESPONDENT 
                                             LENGTH: Short :   45 lines

CHOWAN STILL TRYING TO MAKE TRANSITION

Over the last two years, Chowan College's football program has struggled to make the transition from junior college to NCAA Division III.

The team's record over the two-year period is 2-18. Still, first-year head coach Dan Surface feels he has a good nucleus of players to turn the program around.

Jim Garrison, head coach for 37 years, has retired and Surface, who was defensive coordinator for the past 16 years, is hoping the Braves can improve on two consecutive disastrous years. Chowan will rely on just two seniors and nine juniors to get the job done.

The defense will be the Braves' strong suit. The experienced group coming back includes Tyrone Jones, defensive end; Derek Smith and David Devereaux, defensive tackles; Troy Robison, defensive end; Mark Long and Curtis Noville, linebackers; and Myron Matthias and Brian Canaday, safeties.

On offense, Kris Howell returns at quarterback. Others include Johnny Nowell, fullback; Josh Sophia, center; Joey Still and Steve Greenberg, guards; and tackle William Williams, a graduate of Northeastern High School.

``We look stronger on defense - we've got a good nucleus with experience,'' Surface said. ``We have some good players to build around on offense. Overall, we've got an inexperienced team.''

The Braves have beaten just one team over the last two years. Luckily, Gallaudet University is still on the schedule (Sept. 9).

``Last year we were 1-9, and the games weren't close,'' Surface said. ``We played a half, but not a whole game. This is a challenging schedule for us. It's a challenging stage in our development.''

Surface said his goal is simple: to have the team improve from week to week.

``We're just going to play them one at a time and see if we can win more than we lose,'' he said.

KEYWORDS: SUPPLEMENT SPECIAL SECTION

by CNB