THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, September 24, 1995 TAG: 9509220185
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 16 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY LEE TOLLIVER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 234 lines
IT'S JUST PAST 1 on a cloudy Saturday afternoon and several Hampton Roads Sharks players are trickling into the team office parking lot in Virginia Beach.
They're gathering for the first road trip of the 12-week regular season, preparing for the longest of days in the life of a minor league football team.
Though today's journey will take the Sharks only as far as Richmond, it will demand something extra from the young men chasing fleeting dreams of gridiron stardom.
No glitz, no glamour and no spotlights will rise to greet these guys.
Life in the slow lane of adult football's lowest level of play is more like work. It is work without pay.
The only rewards are self-gratification for a job well done and the satisfaction of pursuing something you truly love.
For some, there is hope of making ``The Show.'' For others, they will be helped back into college. With eligibility still left, some players might further their chances by returning to the collegiate stadiums and the watchful eyes of talent scouts.
But those chances are extremely slim, and most of the Sharks know it. For them, it's more about loving the game, sharing fellowship with others who have their pigskin passion, and being part of a team with a common goal - all the things that first attracted them to football.
On this particular Saturday, that dedication will be put to the test.
The Sharks will take on the Richmond Ravens - a Mason-Dixon Football League rival.
The bus will be crowded as the seats are not meant for 6-foot-4, 300-pound passengers. The field on which they will play won't be fit for a sandlot pick-up game, much less an official contest. No scoreboard or clock will measure their efforts, and the lights will be dim at best. The game officials will show an obvious favoritism for the home team. And the locker room has no working showers.
Above all, it will rain the entire day - making the ride up gloomy, the game wet and dirty, and the ride back home treacherous.
But through it all, against all odds, the Sharks will prevail. . . .
1:25 p.m. - Many of the Sharks have already arrived at the team office and some are inside watching game films. Others are raiding the nearby 7-Eleven for drinks and snacks for the two-hour ride. The bus is already in the parking lot, the baggage compartments open and slowly filling with equipment. Some players arrive in their own cars and park across the street at a church. Others are dropped off by loved ones who will follow the bus to Richmond.
1:35 p.m. - Several more players arrive, but the coaching staff is showing concern about others still absent. The bus is supposed to leave at 2.
1:45 p.m. - Lassiter's Bus Service driver John ``Pee Wee'' DeLoatch waits patiently inside his idling bus as the team loads up. It's his first trip with the Sharks.
2:03 p.m. - Coach Red Stickney boards the bus with a checklist.
2:06 p.m. - Red is growing impatient. Several key players have yet to arrive. As one - a small wide receiver - boards, he shouts at one of the mammoth linemen: ``Hey, man, how'd you get a seat all by yourself?'' The reply is quick and simple, and warrants no response from the receiver: `` 'Cause I weigh 350 pounds.''
Enough said.
2:15 p.m. - Everybody is aboard and Sharks president and offensive coordinator Dr. T.J. Morgan gives a quick talk. ``Let's be all about business, you hear what I'm saying?'' he barks, showing the team an American Football Association newsletter that has the day's foe ranked ninth in the country. ``You see where they're ranked and we're not. They aren't showing us any respect. We asked to trade films with this team and they told us tough luck. (Ravens coach) has been at our games. They aren't going to show us any respect.''
From the back of the bus comes a deep-voiced: ``We've got something for that, coach.''
Little does Morgan know, the newsletter he's reading is a preseason poll and the Sharks are currently ranked No. 8.
2:20 p.m. - With that, Pee Wee shuts the bus door and heads the motor coach toward the road. He stops abruptly at the entrance to the parking lot. Cornerback Daniel Spencer has finally arrived.
``Sorry about that, gentlemen,'' he says, prompting players to look around to see who he's calling a gentleman.
2:34 p.m. - The bus finally clears the congested Pembroke Mall area and rumbles up the on-ramp to Route 44. They're on their way.
3 p.m. - Somebody pops a video tape into the bus VCR and Pee Wee turns on the system. Lots of the energetic chatter slows down, as the players watch the game against the Baltimore Renegade - a team the Sharks crushed, 35-13, and a team that is ranked 20th.
The Sharks won't know until the following week that they are No. 8.
3:11 p.m. - On TV, Charles Mott runs back a punt for a touchdown - smiling and nodding his approval as he watches.
3:13 p.m. - Sitting next to Mott is Tim Carr - a receiver/backup quarterback. On TV, he dives into the end zone to catch another Sharks touchdown. Both he and Mott smile.
3:26 p.m. - 42 miles to Richmond.
3:30 p.m. - About half the passengers are getting a little shut eye. Many worked late the night before.
3:38 p.m. - Only 20 more miles to the Richmond city limits, but the school where the game is being played is about 30 minutes on the other side of town.
Rain starts to splatter on the bus windshield.
3:34 p.m. - On TV, the Renegades score for the second time. Hampton Roads has scored five times.
4:01 p.m. - The Richmond city limits.
4:03 p.m. - Pee Wee eases down a ramp and onto I-95 south. The force of the sharp turn awakens several players from their naps.
4:21 p.m. - Elkhardt Middle School appears; the Sharks have arrived. Two hours and 39 minutes remain until game time. The rain is light, but falling steadily.
4:35 p.m. - As the players wander around, some checking out the field, one player stands in wonderment: ``That's not a field,'' he says. ``It's a ditch.''
5:08 p.m. Morgan's father, T.J. Sr., erects some small canopy tents so that the athletic trainers can start taping players. As the rain falls slightly harder, many of the Ravens are already arriving. Some talk, others don't - some friendly, others not.
5:30 p.m. - Many of the players are ready to go and already are wearing game faces. Others are finishing cold drinks from a 7-Eleven across the street.
5:45 p.m. - The special team players and coaches meet on the field to talk, the other players are lining up for the trudge down the steps toward the field some 300 yards away.
It's raining harder. Nothing and nobody is dry at this point. Well, except Pee Wee. He's opted to stay on the bus.
6 p.m. - Warm-ups get under way on the field. Most of the Ravens are still in their locker room. The Sharks have blossomed into an energetic bunch with team captains leading them through their paces. There is purpose in their voices as they chant and shout.
6:45 p.m. - As the Ravens finish their warm-ups, the Sharks huddle at the north end of the stadium for their inspirational talk.
7 p.m. - Game time finally arrives. The Mason-Dixon's top two teams, both undefeated, are about to go head to head. The energy is flowing faster than the rain runoff that rushes into ruts and ditches on the field.
7:30 p.m. - The Ravens take a 3-0 lead on a field goal. Why do the Sharks always start off so slow?
7:55 p.m. - Midway through the second quarter, the Ravens are up, 10-0, and the Sharks' 75-or-so fans aren't happy. Neither are the Sharks. The Ravens are full of themselves as they yell and bark at everybody on the Sharks' sidelines.
8:01 p.m. - With 15 seconds left in the half, the Sharks break the ice on a 1-yard touchdown pass from Kevin Johnson to Michael Harvey - breathing new life into the team and cutting the lead to 3.
8:40 p.m. - With three minutes left in the third quarter, the Sharks finally take the lead on Savoye Cherry's 7-yard pass reception from Johnson. With no time on the clock - kept on the field by the official since there isn't a scoreboard - Kevin Vines runs 78 yards for a 20-10 Sharks lead.
8:50 p.m. - As it has done to every opponent this season, the Sharks defense is pounding Richmond into submission and the offense is demoralizing the Ravens' defensive unit. The Sharks increase their cushion to 26-10, on James Rogers' 2-yard run early in the fourth quarter.
The Sharks don't mind the rain, the officiating, the terrible facilities or anything else at this point. They are riding as high as a football team can get.
8:58 p.m. - The Ravens cut the lead to 26-16 but still can't seem to grasp the momentum. Only six minutes remain in the game but there's no end in sight for the rain.
9:14 p.m. - Mott runs around right end for a 9-yard touchdown and defensive back John Garrett closes the show by interceptng a Ravens' pass.
This game is history and it's party time on the Sharks' sidelines.
Despite considerable trash talking by both sides and some jarring hits, both teams share a little sportsmanship after the game. In fact, the Ravens join the Sharks at midfield to recite the Lord's Prayer.
9:55 p.m. - Despite the lack of any showers, the Sharks have done a remarkable job of getting cleaned up and changed. Their gear is stowed on board and Pee Wee steers the bus for a local steak house several miles down the road.
10:15 p.m. - Golden Corral is almost ready to close and the manager tells Morgan Jr. that there isn't enough prepared food left to feed this horde of hungries.
10:20 p.m. - Western Sizzlin will suit this squad just fine. This buffet line is fully stocked, but in serious trouble as the Sharks grab their plates and attack. Much like the Ravens before, the food line has no chance against these guys.
11:15 p.m. - Everyone has finally had his fill and it's back on the bus for the long ride home. It's late, everyone is tired and stuffed, and, yes, it's raining even harder.
Midnight - Despite a pounding rain hitting his windshield, Pee Wee is doing a great job of cruising I-64 east. He wants to get home as much as the players do. But they have taken the opportunity for another nap. Pee Wee can't.
12:15 a.m. - The bus is quiet except for the hum of the motor, the pounding of the rain, the swish of the windshield wipers and an occasional snore.
12:45 a.m. - The Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel, usually crowded with cars, is almost devoid of traffic. The end is near.
1:25 a.m. - The Sharks' office comes into view. Pee Wee's job is done.
It has been a long, grueling day. But for those dedicated to the cause it has been equally satisfying. The Sharks are the only unbeaten team in the league now.
None of them seems to notice that it's still raining. MEMO: [This cover story appeared in The Currents, The Clipper, and The Sun on
this date. In The Currents, this additional information was included:]
HOME BASE WAS PORTSMOUTH
The Hampton Roads Sharks formerly were based in Portsmouth for
several years, when the team was known as the Tidewater Sharks. In 1990,
playing at Frank D. Lawrence Stadium, the Sharks won the Mason-Dixon
League championship.
In 1992 the team moved to Virginia Beach.
ILLUSTRATION: [Cover]
LIFE IN THE SLOW LANE
[Color Photos]
Staff photos, including color cover, by CHRISTOPHER REDDICK
Hampton Roads Sharks defensive line coach Jim Grisby watches an old
team video while riding the bus to play the Ravens in Richmond.
Sharks linebacker Joe Righetti watches as Tim Carr loads his
football equipment. Several players arrive just in time for
departure.
Savoye Cherry looks over Sharks coach Red Stickney's shoulder as
they peruse a preseason ranking of the country's best minor league
football teams. The Sharks were not rated but now are.
In a driving rain, Sharks running back James Rogers prepares for a
hit by Ravens defensive back Darnell Cosby. Rogers scored on a
2-yard run early in the fourth quarter to clinch the win.
LEFT: Sharks running back James Rogers gets some shut-eye while
passing away the two-hour ride to Richmond.
RIGHT: Richard Cobb dresses in a school locker room in Richmond
where there were no benches and no working showers.
ON THE COVER: Sharks wide receiver Charles Mott gazes out the window
of what would become a very crowded bus, not meant for 300-pound
bodies.
Staff photo by CHRISTOPHER REDDICK
The Sharks and the Richmond Ravens join in a group prayer in the
center of the field after the Sharks' victory in a pouring rain.
by CNB