THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, August 29, 1996 TAG: 9608290609
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C9 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ROBIN BRINKLEY, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 87 lines
Players Who Transfer and the Numbers They Leave Behind. Tomorrow on Rikki Lake.
Maybe that's a slight exaggeration. But there's nothing that gets the high school sports community talking like a good transfer story.
The biggest name in play this fall is TaRon Anderson, the erstwhile Tallwood Lion who has been practicing with Norcom while awaiting a ruling on his eligibility.
Anderson, a junior who rushed for more than 1,000 yards in each of his first two seasons, didn't post the required 2.0 grade-point average last semester to be eligible in Portsmouth.
So why is he practicing?
Support is building in Portsmouth for a six-week probationary period that would allow athletes to keep playing while trying to raise their GPA. A proposal is expected to come before the School Board today. If it's voted on and passed, dozens of athletes across the city could regain their eligibility.
That's a long shot. But probationary periods are not unprecedented. Suffolk, which shares the 2.0 GPA standard with Portsmouth, has one. Suffolk athletes' whose GPA's fall between 1.65 and 1.99 are given six weeks, during which they can continue to play, to get a 2.0.
The Portsmouth School Board also has received what amounts to a hardship plea on behalf of Anderson from his guardian. Anderson, whose mother died last fall, lives with his uncle and aunt. The uncle just happens to be Norcom assistant coach Robert Jackson.
Anderson can't count on Superintendent Richard D. Trumble for support.
``As much as we regret the circumstances in this young man's life,'' Trumble said, ``I don't feel it's fair to our athletes who have worked hard to maintain that GPA, who have done exactly what the School Board wanted them to do.''
VERY HEAVYWEIGHTS: Don't look for Richard Simmons at a Tallwood practice. The Lions boast three 300-pound starters on the offensive line and none plans on skipping any meals.
The Big Cats - right guard Lamar Stevens (6-0, 325), right tackle Sherwin Joseph (6-0, 330) and left tackle Brandon Langhorn (6-0, 340) - are just healthy, growing kids, according to coach Ken Barto.
Barto said he thought about asking them to trim down.
``But they are such big kids, it's almost impossible with the growth spurt they've hit,'' Barto said. ``They'll never get under 300.''
The Big Cats aren't the only area players for whom 300 sounds suspiciously like starvation. In fact, they can't even claim to be the biggest in South Hampton Roads.
The Golden Buffet Trophy belongs to Ocean Lakes' 6-foot, 360-pound senior Sonie Owens, who could hardly move when he was cut from the First Colonial JV as a freshman. But through determination, he has made himself into a starter for the Dolphins.
Then, there is Norcom freshman Keyante Franklin, 6-7, 334.
``He's limited in the things he can do,'' coach Joe Langston says. ``But he's going to play.''
BACK TO THE FUTURE: The Virginia High School League and Khedive Shrine Temple have talked about reviving the Oyster Bowl next year. In one scenario, the Oyster Bowl would host one or both Group AAA state championship games, perhaps at William and Mary.
The Oyster Bowl was played at Foreman Field every year but one from 1946 to 1995. The first game featured Granby and Clifton, N.J., in the only high school matchup.
The increasing costs of bringing in college teams caused the Shriners to drop sponsorship of the game in February.
``I've gotten a lot of positive feedback,'' VHSL executive director Ken Tilley says.
A high school Oyster Bowl would have special meaning for Tilley, whose mother, Patricia, performed with the Granby drill team at the first Oyster Bowl.
FORWARDING ADDRESS: He still isn't used to orange, but Billy Morrow is loving his new job as Maury's defensive coordinator. Morrow spent 27 seasons at Lake Taylor, including 13 as head coach.
The veteran Lake Taylor staff began breaking up last winter when Bert Harrell moved up to an administrative post and Andy Anderson retired. So when Maury coach Bob Pannenbacker approached Morrow about a move, his interest was greater than it might have been.
Morrow says initial reaction to the switch was shock.
``When you stay with one program as long as I was at Lake Taylor your name becomes synonymous with the place,'' he says.
The move became official when Morrow changed the license plates from LTCOACH to 67PAK-FB in honor of his playing days at North Carolina State. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
LAWRENCE JACKSON/The Virginian-Pilot
Tallwood linemen Sherwin Joseph (330 pounds), Lamar Stevens (325
pounds) and Brandon Langhorn (340 pounds), left to right, are known
as The Big Cats, for obvious reasons. by CNB