Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, January 21, 1993 TAG: 9301210477
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: S-10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By BOB TEITLEBAUM STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
NORTH CROSS FOOTBALL STARS BOOST SCHOOL'S HOOPS
Hal Johnson has been playing football for only two years, but the North Cross sophomore already has done a lot for the Raiders.This year he used his arm to propel North Cross to the State Private School Division I state championship game. While Johnson was playing AAU basketball two years ago with Montrice Smith, his mom talked with Smith's father and ended up getting Smith to return to North Cross, where he had gone to school through the fourth grade. Smith has been one of the Raiders' best defensive players for two years.
Since then, Smith has become one of Johnson's favorite receivers and blockers. Both were chosen as all-state football players for private schools this past fall. Johnson finished with 1,095 yards passing in nine regular-season football games.
Now they're making North Cross one of the state's top private school basketball teams. Going into last weekend, the Raiders were ranked fifth in the state.
The 6-foot-5 Johnson is averaging 7.9 points. The 6-foot Smith, the team's sixth man, is the Raiders' second-leading scorer with a 13.8 point average.
Johnson got a late start in football because he lives in Franklin County, which had no recreation program, but he played basketball. Smith has played both sports since he was 6 years old.
"Hal is just a good athlete. He's a hard worker who has put a lot of time into learning to play quarterback," said North Cross' Jim Muscaro, who coaches the football and basketball teams.
"Last summer, he spent a lot of time throwing [a football] to anyone who would catch it."
Johnson has been at North Cross since he was in kindergarten. His sister, Wray, scored more than 1,000 points for the girls' basketball team.
"My dad [Jim] played football at Virginia until he was injured. He always wanted to go out and throw," Johnson said.
In the past two years, Johnson had a growth spurt that helped his football progress, as did participation in a summer camp.
"Part of it's mental. A lot of football is mental, especially at quarterback," Johnson said. "Then my dad is such a fan that when we watched games at home, we'd break them down and talk about [the strategy]."
So which sport will Johnson choose?
"I don't think you can say he's better at football than basketball. His better basketball is in front of him," Muscaro said. "He has good speed and height that will help him at quarterback and by the time he graduates, he could be the best quarterback we've had out here."
Johnson can't say which sport is his favorite or which one will be his choice for after high school.
"It's not just the sports are so different, it's the atmosphere. I lean more toward football, but then we play a [basketball] game like the one against William Byrd [a one-point loss to a larger school] . . ." Johnson said.
Johnson says he won't test the waters at a public school because the main thing for him is the academics at North Cross.
Smith attended North Cross through the fourth grade and then switched to public school. He played basketball at Woodrow Wilson and football on the junior varsity at Patrick Henry before returning to North Cross last year as a freshman.
"My dad started talking to Hal's mom about my coming back to North Cross when they were watching us play AAU basketball," Smith said. "A lot of my friends went to Patrick Henry. It was hard to leave them, but it's best for me in the long run to be here."
Another star athlete made it easier for Smith to make the move.
"I saw Marcus [Cardwell, a running back and the basketball team's leading scorer] that summer and I decided to come. At least I knew him and a lot of guys like Hal."
Smith weighs 194 pounds now, trimmed down from 205 that he weighed during football. He plays the same role that Eric Walker did as a sophomore and as the basketball team's sixth man.
"Monty is good around the basketball, but he won't be an inside player in college unless he grows," Muscaro said. "He handles the basketball. He's kind of like Eric in that he's a scorer and he gives us a pickup."
Smith added, "I kind of like being sixth man because you get to see what the other team is doing and the mistakes they're making."
"It helps the team a lot to have a player like Montrice coming off the bench to give us a lift," said Johnson,.
Smith was the only North Cross player named to the Timesland Sizzlin' Sophomore football team. Johnson was beaten out by another 1,000-yard football slinger, Greg Shockley of Blacksburg.
"I was surprised when I got it over Hal," Smith said. "I thought he was a definite choice. I knew I had a good season, but I didn't think I'd get it."
Despite Smith's build, Muscaro says it's hard to tell about his future. "He's got good physical tools and he's a hard-nosed type of kid. Getting to play with [All-Timesland linebacker] Aaron Lange has made him a better football player."
Both players believe North Cross has a shot at the state basketball championship this year and the football title that eluded them this year. Muscaro's feelings are that the sophomore class is potentially North Cross' finest because of players like Johnson and Smith.