Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, November 25, 1993 TAG: 9311260108
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: NRV-5 EDITION: HOLIDAY
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
When Deena Mitchell hit a game-winning shot as the final horn sounded, the Staunton River students surged onto the floor to congratulate the squad that had given the school its first state tournament berth in a team sport. The scariest part was that Mitchell, mobbed by well-wishers, was on the floor with people piled on top of her.
The crowd pushed past Bob Ashwell, Staunton River's principal, who had been standing in front of the student section the entire game to try to control the crowd.
What happened was reminiscent of the end of the Michigan-Wisconsin football game on Oct. 3 in Madison, Wis. The finish of that game was marred by injuries to students who charged the field to celebrate the Badgers' 13-10 victory.
Ashwell called an assembly of his students Friday morning.
"We dealt on the positives of enthusiasm, but we want to channel our school spirit in a fashion that shows support without losing all rational thought," Ashwell said.
Ashwell has been sitting with his students since the girls' team became more successful and began picking up fan support.
"Our kids have done a really nice job of rooting for the team without getting out of hand, but the emotion of the moment just overruled thought," he said. "Everyone rushes the floor and we were fortunate no one was hurt.
"Our students understand what is expected of them, and they would not intentionally do anything to cause a problem. We're all savoring the victory, but we're cognizant of what our responsibilities are."
At the Region III championship game Saturday night, the crowd remained seated at the end while cheering for the Golden Eagles in their upset of Lord Botetourt. It was a positive note for the school, adding to all the good things that have happened because of the success of the team this fall.
\ MONEY SHOT: Deena Mitchell didn't realize it, but her winning basket was enough to help Region III schools gain some much needed income. Just call it the $1,500 shot.
Except for football and boys' basketball, most regional tournaments are - at best - break-even propositions. Mitchell's shot assured Region III of having a full gym for Saturday night's championship game against Lord Botetourt. That meant a profit.
With a paid crowd of 1,000 at $3 a head, that's about $3,000 for the region. If Martinsville had won, the crowd probably would have been half that size. That additional money will allow more students to enjoy athletics.
\ SCHEDULING CHANGES: Two years ago, Lord Botetourt scheduled Group A Craig County, among other schools, to help turn its football program around. It was a bad move because it was a mismatch in terms of numbers. One school has 119 students (Craig County) and another has 656 students (Lord Botetourt), according to figures submitted to the Virginia High School League for classification purposes.
Renewing the contract for two years was a worse move.
First, Lord Botetourt accomplished its goal of turning the program around by going 6-4 this year and winning a Blue Ridge District game. The Cavaliers, in Group AA, shouldn't have to schedule a Group A team such as Craig County that has lost 18 consecutive games.
"We have upgraded our schedule by dropping Lynchburg Christian and picking up Christiansburg. We'll continue to upgrade each year as we build a stronger football team," said Jim Sledd, Botetourt's principal.
Andy Ward, the Cavaliers' first-year coach, said he opposed playing Craig County but was overruled by the administration.
From Craig County's standpoint, scheduling Lord Botetourt is an even bigger mistake. Roanoke Catholic, a private school that is more on par with the Rockets than Lord Botetourt, has begged to play Craig County in football.
John Cooke, Catholic's athletic director, said Craig County turned down the Celtics because the Rockets wanted to schedule games against West Virginia teams and get Virginia High School League rating points used to determine wild-card playoff teams.
It's odd that Craig County should be worrying about making the playoffs. The Rockets need to start winning a few games first, and playing Lord Botetourt doesn't seem like the best way to do that.
Northside, on the other hand, used common sense in changing its schedule. The Vikings, tired of serving as Group AAA Pulaski County's whipping team, dropped the Cougars. They also dropped Group AA power Magna Vista. In their place, Northside picked up Carroll County and Spotswood, two Group AA teams it has a more realistic chance of beating.
Had Northside played that schedule this year and won the games against Carroll County and Spotswood, the Vikings - and not Salem - would have made the Group AA Division 4 playoffs.
Magna Vista, rated No. 1 among Group AA schools in the final regular-season poll, picked up Group AAA Patrick Henry. The Patriots will play perennial Group AA powers Salem and Magna Vista the next two years.
This means the end of two games a year between Patrick Henry and William Fleming. The Colonels, who would have liked to continue playing PH twice, have picked up Group AAA Petersburg to replace the non-district game.
TAYLOR'S VISITS: Patrick Henry quarterback Shannon Taylor has quite an array of college visits planned. Taylor says he's taking paid visits to Virginia, North Carolina, Syracuse, Miami and Notre Dame. If he goes on all those trips, he'll probably rank as Roanoke's most highly recruited high school football player ever.
SWITCHING SCHOOLS: Dontel Arrington, the 1989 Timesland Sizzlin' Sophomore of the Year at William Fleming, will enroll at Hiwassee Junior College in Madisonville, Tenn., in January and resume his basketball career next season.
Arrington played for one year at Hagerstown (Md.) Junior College and sat out the 1992-93 season because of an auto accident.
Arrington averaged 10 points and seven assists in 1991-92 for Hagerstown. He has talked with several Division I schools and hopes to sign with one after the 1994-95 season.
REMATCH: Credit Charlie Morgan with a flair for promotion.
Laurel Park is one of seven boys' basketball teams joining Salem for the Spartans' first Christmas tournament with Morgan as coach. Salem and Laurel Park are two of the top teams in the tournament, which begins Dec. 28 at the Salem Civic Center, but Morgan has scheduled his club to play the Lancers in the first round as the feature game on opening night.
Usually, the hosts schedule an easy first-round game. Morgan recalled last season that the teams went four overtimes before Laurel Park beat Salem 80-77 for a berth in the Group AA state tournament.
It was one of the classics of the season, and Morgan hopes fans will remember that and come to the first night of the tournament.
by CNB