ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, December 11, 1995 TAG: 9512110116
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-5 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: COVINGTON
SOURCE: RAY COX STAFF WRITER
Was it the shoes?
Footwear was not the sole reason Bath County beat Strasburg 30-20 in the Group A, Division 1 football championship Sunday on the frigid and windswept Alleghany High field by the Jackson River, but Chargers coach Steve Isaacs said the shoes had something to do with it.
``The smartest coaching move we made all day was to put our running backs in tennis shoes at halftime,'' he said. ``That really opened up our offense in the second half.''
Slipping and sliding on a field frozen hard as a hockey rink, the Chargers followed the lead of Rams' running back sensation Frankie Shoemaker and traded in cleats for flat-soled athletic shoes.
``Everybody who brought shoes with them changed,'' Isaacs said. ``A few of them were wearing cowboy boots. They had to keep on their cleats.''
Shoemaker started the game in basketball shoes, one of the reasons he managed 239 yards rushing and three touchdowns in his last high school game.
``He was wearing those shoes and able to make his cuts while we were slipping,'' Bath County linebacker Matt Williams said.
Bath County outscored the Rams 22-8 in the second half. The Chargers had 148 of their 254 rushing yards after the break. Wingback Brandon Woodard had all 80 of his yards, including scoring jaunts of 15 and 50 yards, in the second half.
Whether the temperature was a factor or not was open for debate.
Said Williams: ``If there ever was a day for hell to freeze over, that was it.'' Added teammate Stewart Alexander: ``I'm never going outside again.''
LENGTH: Short : 38 linesby CNB