Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, December 11, 1993                   TAG: 9312110031
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV-4   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: RAY COX STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

A LOT AT STAKE FOR CENTRAL AGAINST GILES

But for Central High of Lunenburg, the trophy is not any mere winning streak. The Chargers are playing for history, not to mention their fifth state title in 14 years - and second-straight - when they invade Giles High today for the Group A Division 2 championship game.

"Our kids are looking at this as a great opportunity," Central coach Chippie Chappell said. "Even in the years that we won back-to-back state championships [1986 and 1987], we didn't win 28 games. We had a tie in those years, before they had the tie-breaker system. So this would be the best two-year record in school history."

Central knows something about winning streaks. Back in the '80s, Chappell's Chargers won 39-straight before Dennis Vaught's Lexington team beat them in the 1987 title game in what was one of the biggest upsets in Virginia High School League history.

If Giles wins today, it would be a stretch to consider it an upset. The Spartans, too, are 13-0 and will be playing their third-straight undefeated team. Giles has shut out two of the three teams it's met in the playoffs.

Giles went undefeated and won the state in AA in 1980, but Central bows to no school when it comes to recent football tradition. The Chargers have been to the finals 10 times in 14 years and won in 1980, 1986, 1987 and 1992.

As usual, Giles' single-wing offense poses an enormous problem because Central, like most schools, never sees the set.

"Our kids have never seen an offense like Giles runs, but Goochland and Powhatan [both of whom the Chargers beat] run the double-wing, which is similar," Chappell said. "Our players have never seen a team that had line splits like Sussex Central did last week, so it's not as though they haven't had to face a lot of different looks."

Lunenburg edged Sussex 13-12 in the rain last week while holding the Tigers to 244 yards total offense.

Chappell kind of likes the idea of taking on the single-wing.

"We run an outdated offense, too," he said.

Central fancies the T-formation, which receded into the mists of history long about the same time that Bronko Nagurski cold-cocked his last would-be tackler.

Central can run that baby, too. You never know who's going to hurt you. Maybe it'll be fullback Roger Gayles (70 carries, 683 yards, nine touchdowns in the regular season), or halfback Terrell Wilkerson (79-585, 10 TD's, 12 catches, 186 yards, four TD's), or halfback Michael Hurt (19 catches, over 800 all-purpose yards, 16 TD's).

Or maybe it'll be quarterback Sidney Chappell, the coach's boy and a two-year starter who's gone 17-for-35 for 288 yards and three TD's during the playoffs.

This is a veteran club, too. Eighteen seniors hold down 21 of 22 positions.

"Should be a great game," Chappell said. "They usually are when you get this far."