THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, April 26, 1996 TAG: 9604250178
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 42 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LEE TOLLIVER, BEACON SPORTS EDITOR
LENGTH: Medium: 51 lines
Tonight's 7 p.m. Cox-First Colonial boys soccer showdown at Cox is much more than the classic neighborhood rivalry it has come to be.
The ramifications of a Cox victory could be felt five deep in the district standings - creating the type of parity Beach District coaches always harp about in the preseason.
The situation was set up by Tuesday results that made the race tighter at this point of the season than it has been in years. The Falcons (3-1 in the district) beat previously undefeated Kempsville (3-1) and Salem (2-2) put the first district loss of the season on Kellam (4-1) to leave First Colonial (4-0) as the only district unbeaten heading into tonight's action.
In other games tonight, Kellam faces 1-3 Green Run, Kempsville plays winless Ocean Lakes and Salem goes against 1-2-1 Tallwood.
If Cox, Kellam and Kempsville all win tonight, those three and First Colonial all will have one loss. A Salem victory over Tallwood would leave the Sun Devils right behind with two losses.
Beach District teams play nine district games.
``This is certainly making things interesting,'' Kempsville coach Kevin Denson said after his team's 1-0 loss to Cox.
A First Colonial win over Cox would not necessarily lock things up for the Patriots as they still have to play contenders Kellam, Kempsville and Salem.
But an FC win would really hurt the Falcons' hopes of a district title.
``With a second loss, we'd have to figure out how to finish second or third (for a good seeding in the six-team district tournament),'' Cox coach Jim Snodgrass said after his team's clutch win over Kempsville.
As crazy as it all seems, coaches saw this kind of scenario coming. For years, the district's depth has been growing.
Kempsville is ranked No. 16 in the first Umbro Boys National High School poll that appeared in Wednesday's edition of USA Today.
Northern Virginia power Hylton - which lost in a Group AAA semifinal last year after winning back-to-back state titles - is ranked No. 1.
Science Hill of Tennessee is ranked No. 5. The Chiefs tied Science Hill in a spring break tournament. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by CHRISTOPHER REDDICK
Cox goalkeeper Colin Kibler had eight saves in Tuesday's 1-0 victory
over Kempsville. He'll need another big game tonight against
neighborhood rival First Colonial. by CNB