DATE: Friday, November 14, 1997             TAG: 9711130268

SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON   PAGE: 12   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: Lee Tolliver, Sports Editor 

                                            LENGTH:   77 lines

CONGRATULATIONS KELLAM! WHAT AN INCREDIBLE TURNAROUND

Talk about an incredible turnaround.

Kellam High football. District champions and in the playoffs. Sure, the Knights had to share the title with First Colonial and Tallwood, but there's nothing wrong with that. Especially after the drought experienced since 1984.

And the Knights are on tonight's Eastern Region Division 6 playoff schedule.

Congratulations Kellam. It sure is good to see the program back on top after struggling for so long.

And here's to coach Chris Worst, a guy with the heart and determination to stick with it through all the bull he had to put up with from parents and spectators.

The kids deserve the vast majority of credit for all the hard work and fine play that got them where they are this week, but maybe it was because of the way they saw their coach continuing to work hard through all of the problems.

Whatever the case, it's been a remarkable season for Kellam, which is seeded fourth in the region tournament.

Unfortunately, all that is likely to end tonight, because undefeated opponent Western Branch is one heck of a team. The Bruins, who have missed the playoffs despite having plenty of talent the past couple of years, had something to prove this fall and they will likely succeed.

But no matter what happens, all this has been good for Kellam. More kids will come out for football next year because of the turnaround.

Green Run also slipped into the playoffs - as the No. 4 seed in Division 5. And like Kellam, the Stallions face insurmountable odds - taking on Hampton, the two-time defending state champion. The Crabbers of course, feature one of the top players in the country in quarterback Ronald Curry.

But, hey, at least Green Run made the playoffs.

Then there is Tallwood, probably the district's best chance of getting to a region final. The Lions, the No. 2 seed in Division 6, are not exciting. But they win. They attack you and attack you until you cave in.

Unfortunately, Tallwood faces Peninsula power Kecoughtan. The Warriors' only loss of the year was to Hampton.

So there's all of our playoff action, but there's one thing left to say: I feel bad for First Colonial.

The Patriots aren't going to the playoffs despite tying for the district title with two teams that are playoff bound. And they beat both of those teams in the regular season. It doesn't seem fair somehow. But that's how the VHSL power rating and the Division 5 and Division 6 pairings work out sometimes.

Here's my playoff predictions:

Tallwood 14, Kecoughtan 13: The Lions provide the Beach District with its only chance of making it to an Eastern Region final. But it's going to be tougher than tough. In South Hampton Roads, the Lions are ranked third in both total offense and in points scored, and second in total defense. They are seventh in scoring defense, but allow just 10.9 points a game. Funny thing is, Tallwood does all that without an real superstars - only two players are in the area's leading offensive statistics.

Western Branch 35, Kellam 10: The Bruins are the top-ranked team in South Hampton Roads and are ranked No. 4 in the state Group AAA poll. They are first in both total offense and scoring offense and are giving up just 6 points an outing. The Knights will make defense easy for Western Branch, as Kellam has no real offense to speak of. But defensively, Kellam yields only 10.2 points a game - giving up plenty of yards, but not breaking often in the red zone. It's doubtful that Kellam's dream season will continue after tonight, but the team should enjoy the fact that this has been the best season since 1984.

Hampton 42, Green Run 14: Green Run is a talented football team, but so is Ronald Curry - the Crabbers' Mr. Everything talent. The Stallions will have to play the best football game they have in years simply to stay in this game.

Last week: 4-1.

Best pick: First Colonial 14, Kellam 6. First Colonial won 18-13.

Worst pick: Ocean Lakes 35, Princess Anne 10. Princess Anne won 7-6.

Overall: 35-20 (.636). ILLUSTRATION: Photo by L. TODD SPENCER

Kellam players on the sidelines react to a touchdown that put the

Knights ahead of First Colonial last week.

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