THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, August 31, 1995 TAG: 9508310553
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ROBIN BRINKLEY, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 128 lines
As South Hampton Roads' public high schools open the football season tonight, here are 10 questions and answers that will make you the expert on your block:
1. Who will make the playoffs?
In Division 6 it will be Indian River, Green Run, Tallwood and Kempsville. Kempsville's schedule, with three of the toughest games near the end, gives the rebuilding Chiefs time to develop and the edge for the last wildcard spot. In Division 5 it will be Deep Creek, Hampton, Phoebus and Lake Taylor. The Titans will win a frenzied four-team Eastern District race. Western Branch again will be the best team not to get in.
Among private schools, Atlantic Shores will make it back to the state playoffs as an independent. Norfolk Academy, the TCIS favorite, won't participate in a playoff that lasts longer than one week. The current format lasts two weeks.
2. Who are the leading contenders for the Abe Goldblatt Award, presented to the The Virginian-Pilot All-Tidewater player of the year?
The front-runners are Deep Creek fullback Deon Dyer and Indian River quarterback and safety James Boyd. Dyer is the best player on the area's top-ranked team. Boyd is the first guy you would pick if you were starting a team.
Completing the top five: Tallwood tailback TaRon Anderson is only a sophomore, but with his talent and five cushy defenses on the schedule he could threaten Lamonte Still's area single-season rushing record of 2,036 yards; Granby quarterback Anthony King is uncommonly quick and wears the Penn State stamp of approval; Green Run's Plaxico Burress might be the only player capable of dominating a game at wide receiver and safety.
3. Which players have the biggest shoes to fill?
Green Run's Eddie Cuffee and Kempsville's Zeb Clark. Cuffee steps in for All-Tidewater quarterback Glenwood Ferebee, a four-year starter and the all-time Beach District passing leader. Cuffee is only expected to lead the Stallions to a perfect record and the state championship. He is bigger and stronger than Ferebee and probably up to the task. Clark takes over for All-Tidewater player of the year Mike Pishioneri, whose consistency and durability perfectly fit the Chiefs' needs. Clark is taller and faster than Pishioneri, but it was a bad sign that he missed the Chiefs' first scrimmage with an injury.
4. Chesapeake teams are enjoying unprecedented success, led by Indian River and Deep Creek. Yet neither school can match Great Bridge in enrollment or tradition. Why aren't the Wildcats sharing in the wealth?
Great Bridge has won or shared 10 Southeastern District titles, more than any other team. But the Wildcats are 18-33 in the '90s, and another losing season looms. The most frequently cited reason for the Wildcats' decline is a lack of team speed. The high school game has changed with a greater emphasis on speed and passing and Great Bridge hasn't had a great quarterback since Tommy Rhodes in the '60s. Mike Cuddyer, a junior who already has started 15 games, could be the guy to lead the Wildcats back. But he'd better hurry. Great Bridge will lose its one big advantage, superior numbers, next year when Hickory High opens.
5. Will Kellam win a game?
The Knights have lost 25 in a row and only once last year came within three touchdowns of an opponent, against Ocean Lakes. The Knights won't beat the Dolphins this year, but they might beat Cox. New Falcons coach Reggie Garrett wasn't hired until July and had to scramble to put together a staff. The big game is Sept. 22 at Cox.
6. Are there any girls playing football, and where are Sasha Young and Nicole Frey?
No girls are playing this season. Young, who broke the South Hampton Roads gender barrier at Great Bridge in 1992, is a sophomore at Virginia Tech, where she played intramural basketball last winter. Young kicked two field goals, one in the playoffs, and scored 25 points in her one season. Frey, who last season played at Kempsville, is a freshman at North Carolina and a member of the field hockey team. She kicked four field goals, three in the playoffs, and scored 34 points.
7. Who has the biggest home field advantage?
There are few fields left in Hampton Roads with mystique. Darling Stadium in Hampton probably comes the closest. It is the most attractive stadium, with its brick facade and iron gate. The turf is good and the spacious press box was built to accommodate television. The Crabbers have a huge loyal following, and when they paint the stands red, it's intimidating.
The best atmosphere in South Hampton Roads used to be a Norcom game at Lawrence Stadium. The tired, old cement stands were held together by whitewash. The restrooms were woefully inadequate and there was little seating on the visitors' side.
But cram 5,000 fans in there on a Friday night, 4,900 of whom knew each other by nickname, strut out the most entertaining band and field the best team over the past five years - 50-8, one state title - and it wasn't a game, but a cultural treasure. When Lawrence was demolished this summer, Portsmouth lost a part of its identity. Norcom and Wilson will share Churchland's Stadium for the next two or three years. One hopes the new stadium planned for Norcom will honor the Greyhounds' glorious tradition.
8. What is the status of the stadiums planned for Lake Taylor and Booker T. Washington?
The city of Norfolk will interview architectural and engineering firms beginning next week and hopes to have both stadiums ready for the 1996 season.
9. How much longer will First Colonial's Frank Webster and Norcom's Joe Langston continue to coach?
Neither man will say, but both have incurred serious health problems in the past two years and aren't likely to coach much longer. Webster, 60, reportedly promised his sophomores last season that he would see them graduate and hopefully win a state title. That gives him two more years. Webster has been a head coach since 1961, and his 251 career victories are second most in state history. Clintwood's Ralph Cummings holds the record with 267. Langston, 53, has hinted at retirement for two years and said this summer he would step down as soon as he was confident in his successor. Many people expect that to be assistant coach Robert Jackson, who returned to Norcom this fall after a stint at Tallwood. Langston (142-74-4) has won more games than any coach in Portsmouth history. In case you're wondering, Webster and Langston have met only once. First Colonial won, 16-15, in the 1982 region semifinals.
10. Will Nansemond River and Lakeland be competitive in the Southeastern District next year?
Nansemond River has been to the Division 4 state playoffs two years in a row and should be able to compete immediately. Churchland scrimmages Nansemond River every year and Truckers coach Ken Taylor says the Warriors should at least break even. Lakeland, a .500 team in Group AA, will struggle for a while. The biggest impact will be felt in basketball, where Nansemond River will contend right away and Lakeland will more than hold its own. ILLUSTRATION: FILE PHOTO
[Color Photo]
Deep Creek fullback Deon Dyer is regarded as one of the top five
contenders for All-Tidewater player of the year.
by CNB