ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, December 17, 1995 TAG: 9512170005
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM STAFF WRITER
STEVE ISAACS MADE the right decision when he took over the Chargers' program.
Because Steve Isaacs couldn't tell a friend no, he put himself in position to win a state football championship and become Timesland's 1995 coach of the year.
Isaacs came to Bath County during one of the saddest moments in the school's history. He took over in 1990 after Carl Williams, who had built a strong program, died of cancer.
All this took place after the Chargers had lost to Appalachia in a 1989 semifinal when Bath County was sure it had a state champion. A muddy field slowed a speedy Chargers team led by Tim and Chris Williams, denying Carl Williams a title as he was battling terminal illness.
This year, Isaacs, who was Carl Williams' choice as his successor, took Bath County to the Group A Division 1 title. To do it, he had to make a key midseason change and help his team recover from two defeats.
Carl Williams and Isaacs coached together in Webster, W.Va. When Williams moved to Hot Springs, Isaacs took over as head coach at Webster, then moved to Buffalo Gap.
In the winter of 1990, Isaacs got a call from Williams.
``I thought I was going over to Hot Springs to shoot the breeze with Carl and didn't realize I was being interviewed'' for his job, Isaacs said. ``I was hired as Carl's assistant with the understanding that if something happened [to him], I'd take over.''
Isaacs knew he was giving up a head coach's position, but ``how can you tell a friend no under those circumstances?'' he asked.
Isaacs kept the single-wing offense Williams taught his players. When Bath County eased past four foes in the playoffs to win a state title this year, Carl Williams was recalled once more in Hot Springs, bringing back memories of where it all started.
``Carl's name came up quite often,'' Isaacs said. ``More often than not, I brought it up. This team remembers. They were youngsters standing on the hill [overlooking the field] during the Appalachia game. If ever there was a game that went down in infamy around Hot Springs, that was it. They were one step away from a state championship.''
Still, this was Isaacs' team. He made the right move at the right time to snap the Chargers out of a midseason slump after back-to-back losses to Stuarts Draft and Riverheads.
``Ivan Franklin started at fullback and got kind of stale,'' the coach said. ``We needed a wingback, so we moved Ivan there and Stuart Alexander to fullback. [Franklin is] a good passer, and we threw the ball more. We became more of a perimeter team instead of running through the tackles.''
The move of Franklin to wingback freed Jamie Carroll, another back, to make the yards to become Region C's offensive player of the year.
Isaacs' Bath County team regrouped and rolled past James River and Parry McCluer to clinch the No.1 playoff spot in Region C, then began knocking off playoff opponents, capped by a 30-20 victory over perennial state power Strasburg.
Isaacs' Bath County teams had never won a playoff game until this season. The Chargers were 8-1 his first year, but lost 60-0 to a Parry McCluer team considered one of the best in the state. The past two years, Bath County lost to Narrows in the opening round.
``This is a dream season,'' Isaacs said. ``After we won the state [title at Alleghany High School], we had a 45-minute drive back to the school. We had a motorcade with 122 cars in the convoy. I didn't even know there were 122 cars in Bath County.''
There were a number of other Timesland football coaches who did fine jobs this year, but two deserve special mention.
Fieldale-Collinsville's Richard Savedge, who was so disillusioned he once quit, then reconsidered, led the Cavaliers to the Piedmont District title and a berth in the Region III Division 3 title game before losing to William Campbell. He won despite the fact Fieldale-Collinsville is a Group A-size school playing against many larger schools in the Piedmont.
Liberty's Mike Scharnus, in his fourth year, guided the Minutemen to a 9-2 record, the best in the school's history. Liberty also made the playoffs for the first time and during the regular season beat Amherst County, which won the Group AA Division 4 championship.
LENGTH: Medium: 80 linesby CNB