Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, August 15, 1993 TAG: 9308160306
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B11 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Chase's late-night talk show makes its debut on the Fox network (WJPR-WVFT Channels 21/27) this fall, and it will serve as the lead-in for the station's tape-delayed high school football broadcasts.
The Chase show will push the high school games back to 11:30 p.m., a half-hour later than in the past seven years of tape-delayed broadcasts.
This year's football schedule is made up mostly of high-profile rivalries. The series opens with a preseason special Sept. 3, followed Sept. 10 by Pulaski County at E.C. Glass.
The first game is just a sample of how good the schedule will be if all the teams live up to preseason billing. Pulaski County won the Group AAA Division 6 state championship in 1992, and Glass was the Group AAA Division 5 state runner-up.
Both squads figure to be at the top of the rankings and again will be good bets to make the playoffs.
Other big rivalries include Brookville-Jefferson Forest on Oct. 1, Blacksburg-Radford on Oct. 8, Salem-Pulaski County on Oct. 15, Northside-Lord Botetourt on Oct. 22, Rustburg-Brookville on Oct. 29, Cave Spring-Salem on Nov. 5 and Patrick Henry-Fleming on Nov. 12.
"We feel this is the greatest schedule we've had, and it will have the greatest audience success. All the feedback we've heard from the coaches has been what a great schedule this is," said Robb Gray, WJPR's station manager.
Gray says his station obtained a special exemption from Fox to carry the Chase show a half-hour early.
"They understand our commitment to high school football and arranged that we could get an earlier feed," Gray said. "It works out as a win-win situation for us with Chevy as a lead-in."
Dave Ross, the station's sports director, again will handle play-by-play. Former Fleming football coach Don Lee provides color commentary.
For the first time in the series, a third announcer will be used on the field. Curtis Burchett, who is in sales for the station, will be a sideline commentator.
"We wanted to come up with the best possible lineup in as many areas as we could," Ross said. "It was impossible to get some schools on. We'd love to use 30 different schools."
In past years, the station has carried Heritage-E.C. Glass, the big rivalry in the Lynchburg area. This year, it chose to go with PH-William Fleming, Roanoke's big rivalry, for the first time as a season-ending game.
This also will be the first appearances for the Brookville-Jefferson Forest, Northside-Lord Botetourt and Pulaski County-E.C. Glass games.
While Sept. 17's Glenvar-William Byrd game isn't a natural rivalry, it does match two Roanoke County schools in what could become a popular game.
The only game that is not a traditional or natural rivalry is on Sept. 24, when Heritage takes on Cave Spring.
\ ON RADIO: An older high school series is being broadcast as Jim Carroll of WROV (1240 AM) begins his 30th year of high school sports coverage.
The WROV series is not tied into a regular schedule. It picks a game at the start of each week and extends through the playoffs as long as Roanoke teams remain in postseason play.
Carroll and crew kick off their season with the Patrick Henry-William Fleming non-district football game Sept. 10 at Victory Stadium.
\ EARLY GAMES: While the football season doesn't shift into high gear until Sept. 3, two games are scheduled for the weekend of Aug. 27-28.
Carroll County becomes the first Timesland team to see action when the Cavaliers go to Grundy for a non-district game Aug. 27.
On Aug. 28, Roanoke Catholic plays Kenston Forest at 2 p.m. at Victory Stadium.
This will be the second year for Catholic coach John Cooke, who last year at this time had only 13 players and wasn't able to hold two-a-day practices.
This season the Celtics have 21 players and have had two-a-days. After losing its first six games last year, Catholic finished with two victories and hope for continued improvement.
One of the reasons for optimism is junior Beau King. Last year, King played fullback, running back and cornerback as a 5-foot-7, 145-pound sophomore. This fall, he will be at offensive-defensive guard weighing in at 207 pounds.
"I've never known a kid to gain that much weight from one season to the next," said Cooke, a veteran of 30 years of coaching. "He [King] went to work and was obsessed with it. He won a weightlifting contest three weeks ago in the heavyweight division against players from Lord Botetourt, Cave Spring, James River and William Fleming. He can probably bench press 300 pounds."
Cooke said King noticed his team was in need of linemen and volunteered to move to the forward wall to help the Celtics.
\ WILLIAM BYRD HOLDS ON: Jaclyn Banks, the outstanding freshman center from William Byrd's Group AA runner-up girls' basketball team of a season ago, has decided to remain a Terrier.
This spring, Banks' family moved into the Cave Spring school zone, leaving her with a choice of which Roanoke County school to attend.
After a summer of decision, Banks decided to continue at William Byrd, where she teamed with her sister, senior Sherry Banks, who was the Timesland player of the year for 1992-93.
"I wanted to stay with my friends and follow my sister's footsteps at Byrd," said Jaclyn Banks, who has grown an inch and is officially 6-1. "Coach [Richard] Thrasher called me last week and asked if I had made my decision. When I told him I was staying at Byrd, he said, `That's good.' "
Jaclyn Banks is one of several young players on the Byrd squad that is expected to be a state power once it finds a guard to take over for Sherry Banks, who will be a freshman at Virginia Tech.
\ RECOVERED: Longtime James River coach John Shotwell has recovered from surgery and will return as part-time golf and softball coach for the Knights.
Shotwell, the boys' basketball coach until he retired before the 1992-93 season to run a bed-and-breakfast in Buchanan, is expected to be at full speed by September.
\ HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL ON TV WJPR CHANNELS 21/27
SCHEDULE (All games air at 11:30 p.m.) Sept. 3 Preseason special Sept. 10 Pulaski County at E.C. Glass Sept. 17 Glenvar at William Byrd Sept. 24 Heritage at Cave Spring Oct. 1 Brookville at Jefferson Forest Oct. 8 Blacksburg at Radford Oct. 15 Salem at Pulaski County Oct. 22 Northside at Lord Botetourt Oct. 29 Rustburg at Brookville Nov. 5 Cave Spring at Salem Nov. 12 Patrick Henry at William Fleming
by CNB