Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, November 30, 1995 TAG: 9511300060
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: DOUG DOUGHTY LENGTH: Long
Edsall suffered a torn patellar tendon Monday night while calling a game between visiting Winthrop and North Carolina State. He underwent surgery Tuesday at Roanoke Memorial Hospital.
``I'm 38 years old, I've played sports and been active my whole life and I've never been hurt - at least not like this,'' said Edsall, convalescing at home after his release Wednesday morning.
Preliminary reports indicated Edsall was injured while trying to untangle the net, ``but I don't know where that came from,'' he said. ``The net was hung up, but I wasn't anywhere near the basket.
``I was running down the court, making the switch from trail to lead official, when I planted my foot and my knee just gave way. According to the doctor, tearing the patellar tendon is one of the hardest things to do.''
Edsall, keeper of a Roanoke officiating flame that was lit by Paul Housman, Dan Wooldridge and others, will be unable to run for three weeks and has had to give up 60-plusassignments.
``Between Duke and Lenny [Wirtz, who retired], that's 70 games we've had to make up,'' said Fred Barakat, the ACC's supervisor of officials. ``We've released some of our officials to work some dates for other conferences; now, we've got to call and get them back.''
TECH RECRUITING: Tony Joe, named first-team All-American after leading the National Junior College Athletic Association in interceptions, is the most prominent of Virginia Tech's latest football recruits.
Joe and William Flowers, a 6-foot-4, 255-pound defensive end from Hutchinson (Kan.) Junior College, will enroll at Tech for the second semester and will count against the Hokies' scholarship limit for this past season.
Joe, a 6-foot-1, 180-pound cornerback, had nine interceptions this past season for Hudson Valley (N.Y.) Community College. He has been timed in 4.35 seconds for 40 yards and consistently runs a 4.4.
Joe, originally from Elmira, N.Y., committed to Tech after canceling trips to Texas A&M and Clemson. He visited Clemson, Boston College and Syracuse out of high school, but did not qualify for an NCAA Division I grant at the time.
Flowers originally signed with Louisiana Tech, where his chief claim to fame as a freshman was sacking Heisman Trophy candidate Jay Barker of Alabama. Flowers became unhappy and transferred to Hutchinson, where he had 52 tackles, four for losses, and recovered three fumbles.
One of Flowers' teammates at Hutchinson was Tech-bound receiver Walter Ford. Ford had 50 receptions for 702 yards and three touchdowns, and also scored on a kickoff return, a punt return and a run from scrimmage.
OTHER RECRUITING: Virginia Tech has offered a scholarship to West Springfield running back Damone Boone, who rushed for a state-record 500 yards and five touchdowns against Annandale.
Boone rushed for 2,635 yards and 30 touchdowns for the season, including a 422-yard game against Hayfield. Maryland and Virginia also rank high on his list of potential college choices.
Georgia Tech has received an oral commitment from 6-3, 205 quarterback Quincy Carter from Decatur, Ga., a preseason All-American who was rated No. 3 by SuperPrep magazine among ``athletes.''
Charles Berry, one of the top prospects in North Carolina, picked North Carolina State over North Carolina and Duke after the Wolfpack committed to using him at quarterback. Berry, a 6-3, 195-pounder, completed more than 70 percent of his passes at Northern Durham High School.
IN THE ACC: Wake Forest thought it had an opponent with a similar outlook when it scheduled its opening game of the 1996 football season. That was before Northwestern went 10-1, the reverse of the Deacons' 1-10 season.
North Carolina running back Leon Johnson has not ruled out the possibility that he will forgo his final season of college eligibility and turn pro. Johnson rushed for 963 yards and set a UNC record with 54 receptions but did not make first- or second-team All-ACC.
Virginia junior Tiki Barber from Roanoke is one of eight finalists for the Doak Walker Award, which goes to the nation's top running back. Barber led the ACC in all-purpose yardage, finished second in rushing and had an ACC-high 16 touchdowns.
RUTGERS SEARCH: Among the names being mentioned as possible successors to ousted Rutgers football coach Doug Graber are Kansas coach and New Jersey native Glen Mason, Connecticut coach Skip Holtz and Penn State offensive coordinator Fran Gantner.
EX-PATRIOT HONORED: Liz Wedemeyer, a senior midfielder on the women's soccer team at UNC Greensboro, was named first-team All-Big South Conference and made the all-tournament team.
Wedemeyer, from Patrick Henry High School, had four goals and 15 assists in her career. UNCG won the regular season for the third year in a row and was expected to receive an NCAA Tournament bid before losing to UNC Asheville 1-0 in the Big South final.
LOCAL UPDATE: Mark Mast, a freshman from Northside High School, is wrestling at 126 pounds for Longwood. Mast won three of five matches in the season-opening Pembroke (Ga.) State invitational.
NON-REVENUE: Virginia has signed the nation's No. 2-ranked junior golfer, James Driscoll, from Watertown, Conn. He will be joined by former Eastern Interscholastic champ Gene Williams from Beeville, Texas, and Woodberry Forest School in Orange County.
Eric Thompson, a Group AAA wrestling champion last season at Hampton High School, has committed to Virginia Tech. Thompson had a 31-0 record as a junior.
by CNB