Monday, July 28, 2008
High school football, 2008: Ten to watch
The Roanoke Times I File 2007
Former Pulaski coach Joel Hicks will have the playing surface named in his honor on Sept. 12.
The Roanoke Times I File 2007
Jeff Williams takes over as head coach at Giles, succeeding Steve Ragsdale (above).
varsity.roanoke.com
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Ah, July. The lazy, hazy days of swim meets, picnics, baseball games, golf outings and of course…high school football practice.
That’s right. Your watch hasn’t stopped. Your computer hasn’t crashed. Your BlackBerry isn’t broken.
The 2008 high school football season in Timesland begins today: July 28.
Most Timesland teams report for drills today with the rest opening practice by Aug. 4. The first game for many is Aug. 22.
Ready or not, here are 10 story lines to look for in 2008…after you take off those flip-flops and put down that glass of lemonade.
1. Field trips
Blacksburg hopes to christen a new Bill Brown Stadium, this one on the campus of the new Blacksburg Middle School on Prices Fork Road.
Bruins athletic director Jack Hencke said the grass surface is ready and the 3,000-seat bleachers are in place but some work still needs to be completed on a paved walking path from the parking lot, the construction of a support building and the installation of fencing to circle the facility.
Blacksburg's scheduled home opener is Aug. 29 against Giles.
Hencke said rain over an extended number of days could force a change in plans. The AD said he would consider playing games in the old Bill Brown Stadium downtown or moving the season opener to Giles, where the Bruins lost 46-43 in a state record-tying six overtimes last year.
"Barring rain, they could be putting up the last few feet of fence the day we open," he said.
Hencke said future plans call for the installation of artificial turf. He said a $1.2 million fund-raising program already has generated $910,000 in donations and pledges for future improvements.
Also, Franklin County has changed over to Bermuda grass at Cy Dillon Stadium, forcing the Eagles to play their season opener against E.C. Glass on Saturday, Aug. 30 at Ferrum College at 4 p.m.
2. Two Hokies
There will be even more interest in Virginia Tech football in the New River Valley than usual in the next few years. Two Timesland seniors -- Giles place-kicker Cody Journell and Pulaski County running back Nubian Peak have made oral commitments to join the Hokies' 2009 recruiting class.
Journell kicked eight field goals in 2007 including a 54-yarder in the season opener against Blacksburg.
Peak rushed for 1,412 yards and 15 touchdowns in 11 games as a junior for Pulaski County with a season-high 248 yards in a victory over Christiansburg.
Bassett offensive lineman Andrew Miller also will join the Hokies football program but will spend his first year on a wrestling scholarship.
3. Two Highfills
William Byrd will once again have two Jeff Highfills on the field this fall.
Jeff Highfill Sr., who has won 141 games in 27 seasons as Byrd's head coach, will be rejoined by his son, Jeff Jr., in the younger Highfill's first year on the coaching staff.
Jeff Highfill Jr. was an All-Timesland performer for Byrd, graduating in 2004. He went on to become a starting quarterback at Bridgewater and in 2007 was a semifinalist for the Draddy Award, described as college football's equivalent of the "academic Heisman."
The younger Highfill will coach Byrd's quarterbacks, outside linebackers and man the booth on Friday nights.
4. A pair of pillars
Former Timesland coaches Jim Hickam of Northside and Joel Hicks of Pulaski County will have the playing surfaces at their respective schools named in their honor during early-season games.
Hickam, who won 184 games during a 32-year head-coaching tenure that ended in 2005, will be honored Sept. 5 when Northside hosts Cave Spring.
Hicks, who won 210 games in 24 years and led Pulaski to the 1992 Group AAA Division 6 championship, will have the playing surface at Kenneth J. Dobson Stadium named for him Sept. 12 when the Cougars play Patrick Henry.
The Pulaski ceremony originally was scheduled for the Aug. 22 season opener against Northside.
5. Flunked the final
Timesland schools enter 2008 looking to start a new streak.
The 2007 season marked the first time since 1990 that a Timesland school did not reach a VHSL or VIS state championship game.
Salem (Group AA Division 4), George Wythe (Group A Division 2) and Bath County (Group A Division 1) all were derailed last fall in semifinal games.
6. Old Kentucky home?
Grayson County's football team will play a game this year within two hours of Lexington -- the one in Kentucky, that is.
Grayson had to make three changes to its 2008 schedule in the middle of the two-year cycle. The Blue Devils lost two games with Alleghany (N.C.) and Ashe County (N.C.) when North Carolina altered the start of its season. Grayson's third opening came when former Mountain Empire District school Pocahontas closed.
As a result, Grayson wound up with a four-hour Oct. 3 road trip to Hazard (Ky.) and a Halloween night home game against Harlan County (Ky.). The other new opponent is the Aug. 29 season opener against North Stokes (N.C.).
7. Winging it
Don't expect Giles to abandon its famed single-wing offense now that former assistant Jeff Williams has succeeded the retired Steve Ragsdale as the Spartans' head coach.
Williams, a 1984 Giles graduate, pledges no drastic changes in the first year of his administration.
A former walk-on at Virginia Tech, the 43-year-old Williams might not have an easy time walking in the footsteps of Ragsdale, who led Giles to three state titles and two runner-up finishes in 29 years.
Giles is 60-8 in the Three Rivers District since the formation of the league in 1994 and has a 24-game regular-season winning streak within the district.
Elsewhere, former William Byrd assistant Rick Witt replaced David Rocco at Staunton River, ex-Bassett assistant Joe Favero is at Magna Vista, and Mike Briscoe has taken over at Marion.
8. Many happy returns
Timesland offensive players of the year usually graduate soon after receiving the award.
The 2007 honoree -- Bassett quarterback Boo Woods -- returns for his senior year after amassing 31 touchdowns and 2,275 yards of total offense in leading the Bengals to a 10-0 regular season.
Seven other first-team All-Timesland players return in 2008: Peak, Miller, Hidden Valley wide receiver Matt Aiken, William Byrd lineman Robert Collins, Rockbridge County lineman Dylan Walsh, Pulaski County lineman Josh Miller and Byrd linebacker Tyler Snow.
9. Taking snaps in Salem
Salem has used a different senior quarterback in all four of Stephen Magenbauer's seasons as the head coach at his alma mater: Matt Shawver (2004), Keith Gaines (2005), Mark Hanabury (2006) and Nick Leftwich (2007).
The Spartans, who open practice Wednesday, will have another new starter at quarterback in 2008 and if it turns out to be another senior, look for Derrick Hickman, who was a wide receiver and defensive back in 2007.
Something's working under Magenbauer, who has a 50-3 record with two Group AA Division 4 championships since replacing Willis White.
10. Go west, young men?
Virginia's loss is Virginia Tech's gain, even when it comes to the VHSL playoffs.
After a one-year stay at UVa's Scott Stadium, the VHSL has moved its two Group AAA football championship games to Tech's Lane Stadium.
Even though only seven Group AAA schools are located west of Richmond, the VHSL is banking on a much better financial return from Tech than from UVa.
All six VHSL championship games -- scheduled for Dec. 6 -- will be played within an hour of Roanoke. The two Group AA games are at Liberty University and the Group A finals will return for a second year to Salem Stadium.
