DATE: Friday, October 31, 1997              TAG: 9710310849

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY ROBIN BRINKLEY, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: NORFOLK                           LENGTH:   82 lines

IT'S ALL IN THE FAMILYRONYELL WHITAKER MIRRORS HIS UNCLE'S QUICKNESS, BUT HAS HIS OWN UNIQUE MOVES, TOO.

If people look at Lake Taylor's Ronyell Whitaker and see a reflection of his famous uncle Sweetpea, that's OK.

The quick feet. The quick hands. The quick head. They are all family traits, Ronyell says.

But when Ronyell looks at himself, he sees . . . his mother.

``She likes to run, she likes to dance, she's steadily moving,'' he said.

Steadily moving is the perfect description of Whitaker, a star running back who often seems to be going in two directions at once.

How else do you explain some of his runs?

With Lake Taylor trailing Maury 13-7 last week, Commodores coach Gene Boley ordered a squib kick. The ball got a little too much air under it, however, and Whitaker picked it up at the 20.

``He weaved in and out and before you knew it, he broke out and outran everybody,'' Boley said.

The 80-yard touchdown return and ensuing extra point put Lake Taylor in front 14-13.

But that was only the appetizer. On the Titans' next possession, the king of shake and bake served up a main course that would make Barry Sanders and Julia Child proud.

Whitaker took a handoff on a draw play and did his best imitation of a man trying to escape from a burning building.

Whitaker reversed field two or three times, Lake Taylor coach Dan Newell said, broke either seven or nine tackles, depending on which coach you talk to, and dragged a final defender several yards before going down, as much from exhaustion as the physical force exerted against him.

The 65-yard run moved the ball to the Maury 9. Three carries later Whitaker scored his third touchdown of the game to make it 20-13.

``The nail in the coffin,'' Newell called it. Or perhaps the fork in the pork.

Opposing coaches can't wait until Whitaker is done. That could be Nov. 7, when Lake Taylor closes out the regular season against Booker T. Washington - or longer if the Titans qualify for the playoffs.

Lake Taylor enters tonight's game against Norcom at 6-2, 4-1 in the Eastern District, tied with Booker T. and Churchland for first place.

Whitaker, a four-year starter, has never been to the playoffs. The Titans were 6-4 in 1994, 4-6 in 1995 and 2-8 in 1996.

``We've surprised a lot of people, and it's been a great feeling,'' Whitaker said. ``We don't want anything less than the playoffs.''

That's about all that's left for him to accomplish.

Whitaker achieved his major goal in August when he accepted a scholarship offer from Virginia Tech, although Virginia still calls regularly, he said.

He's got a drawer full of honors, including two All-Tidewater selections as a defensive back.

He's a statistician's nightmare, piling up huge numbers on both sides of the ball and on special teams. Whitaker has rushed for 3,332 yards, ninth on the Group AAA South Hampton Roads career list.

One of the players he passed this season was former Titan Dink Hodges, a cousin. Family traits, you know.

Whitaker also has caught 28 passes for 402 yards and scored 41 touchdowns. He's returned four interceptions, three kickoffs and two punts for TDs.

That's the side of Whitaker most fans see, but there is another one. While he's shared in the largesse of Sweetpea's fortune, he has until recently worked Saturdays at a doughnut shop on Hampton Boulevard.

Whitaker is a sharp dresser; Tuesday he wore black Tommy Hilfiger slacks and a yellow Nautica pullover top. Clothes don't make the man, but they can burnish his image.

Whitaker's image off the field is one of polite regard. But like any great athlete, a passion burns deep inside him.

From passion comes compassion, and when teammate Darrell Hodge was killed this month in a bicycle accident, Whitaker wore Hodge's No. 16 in the next game to honor him.

``He came to school, made decent grades, played football. What more could a parent ask for?'' Whitaker said.

For the Whitakers, just that and to keep moving. ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo

L. TODD SPENCER

Ronyell Whitaker has rushed for 3,332 yards in his Lake Taylor High

career. KEYWORDS: PROFILE

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