DATE: Friday, April 4, 1997                 TAG: 9704020141

SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS     PAGE: 10   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY LEE TOLLIVER, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:  103 lines

WIN OVER MAURY PUTS TRUCKERS IN COMPETITION FOR THE LONG HAUL BUT WHILE THE TALK IS ABOUT MAURY AND CHURCHLAND, GRANBY HAS TAKEN THE LEAD.

There's a new kid in this Eastern District boys soccer town, and he's aiming to take over.

Last year's Southeastern runner-up Churchland joined the Eastern this year with the restructuring of the two districts. The Truckers laid claim to their interests early, beating defending champion Maury in the season opener.

``They always give us a game, and that one set the tone for the season,'' Commodores coach Mohsin Bouziane said. ``They're the team to beat.''

But while talk has been of Maury and Churchland battling things out for the title, Granby has quietly slipped into an early lead in the district.

Heading into the Easter break, the Comets were 3-0-1 - while Churchland was 2-0-1 and Maury was 2-1. Norview and Wilson were also 2-1.

While it is far too early to tell, it appears that the new look to the district could be a good one for competition.

Following is a look at Eastern District boys soccer teams:

BOOKER T.

Last year's record: 0-12

Key performers: Juan Alvarez, Jr., halfback; Joseph Raymundo, So., halfback; Kendrick Byrd, Sr., keeper; Robert Cofield, Jr., fullback; Oscar Operio, Jr., forward; Duwyne Williams, Jr., midfielder

Outlook: The Bookers are confident of improvement over last year's winless season and have several returning all-district honorable mention team members to help with the process. Unfortunately, BTW's first three games were against three of the top teams in the district. Coach George Womick, however, said that when his team meets the other non-contenders, it will be time for a change.

CHURCHLAND

Last year's record: 7-5-1 (Southeastern tournament runner-up)

Key performers: Landon Moore, Sr., midfielder; Stevie Hughes, Jr., midfielder; Stowe Buntz, Sr., defender; Ian Fagan, So., defender; John Powers, Jr., defender; Jackson Bright, Jr., defender

Outlook: With five returning starters back from last year's Eastern Region playoff team, the Truckers are looking to take their new district by storm. So far, that's been the case. This team will be hard to score on, as most of the emphasis has been placed on the defense. But scoring will be a huge question, as the entire starting lineup has less than 15 career goals combined.

GRANBY

Last year's record: 7-6-1 (Eastern runner-up)

Key performers: Phillip Shea, Sr., keeper; Joe Tumminelli, Sr., midfielder; Benjie Flores, Jr., midfielder; Frank Vasquez, Sr., defender; Eric Bates, So., midfielder; Jason Jackson, Sr., midfielder

Outlook: The Comets have six returning starters including a couple All-Tidewater players Tumminelli and Flores. But overall, first-year coach Patrick McStay sees this as being a down year - as few in his lineup are year-round soccer players. Even so, Granby is off to a pretty good start.

LAKE TAYLOR

Last year's record: 4-6-4

Key performers: Jeremy Timmons, Sr., sweeper; James Renn, Jr., midfielder; David Stonum, Sr., midfielder; Colin Davis, So., midfielder; James Wagoner, Sr., midfielder; Sean Harkias, So., stopper; Brad Bailey, Jr., keeper

Outlook: With only three starters back, the Titans will probably struggle again. Timmons has good speed and Renn was last year's assist leader. Wagoner will be expected to make things happen on offense.

MAURY

Last year's record: 10-3-2 (Eastern champion)

Key performers: Michael Glover, Jr., fullback; Parker Consual, Sr., midfielder; Hank Morton, Sr., midfielder, Rob Swanson, Coy David, Akili Echols

Outlook: The Commodores sport five seniors who have started since their freshman year and all but three starters are back. Glover, Consaul and Morton are the nucleus of the team, but Davis has taken an early lead in the scoring department with three goals in three games. The team got a rude kickstart with a season-opening loss to Churchland, but expect Maury to bounce back strong.

NORVIEW

Last year's record: 5-10

Key performers: Willie Richards, Jr., keeper/midfielder; Joey Riveria, Sr., midfielder; Corry Gilmer, Sr., sweeper; David Jauke, Sr., defender; James Edwards, Sr., keeper/forward; Jeff Halbauer, Jr., midfielder

Outlook: With a lineup of young and inexperienced players, making an improvement over last year could be extremely difficult - especially with a pair of strong new teams in the league. Coach Danny Dail says many of the starters are in great shape and they'll have to be - seeing little resting time due to a weak bench.

WILSON

Last year's record: 2-13-2

Key performers: Rob Campbell, Sr., midfielder; Josh Young, Jr., stopper; Josh Laskbrook, So., forward; Ade Patton, Sr., sweeper; Jeremiah Lawrence, So., forward; David Mick, So., midfielder; Brad Coles, Jr., keeper

Outlook: The Presidents are off to a good start in their new district and that will help a relatively young team get its feet wet with good experiences. Five returning starters will help keep things on track and the more this team wins, the harder it will be to beat. ILLUSTRATION: File photo

Ade Patton, a senior at Wilson High School, is a sweeper for the

Presidents. The team is off to a good start in a new district. KEYWORDS: EASTERN DISTRICT SOCCER

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