varsity.roanoke.com

Dinosaurs once roamed the earth.

There was also an era in Timesland football when Magicians mystified, Shakers sprinkled and Steers stampeded.

The area's great school nicknames of the past are gone like the Jurassic Era.

The Jefferson Magicians, the Saltville Shakers, the Rich Valley Steers -- all just fossilized memories of glory days gone by.

Today's Timesland's nicknames are a dull and boring lot.

No uniqueness lies with Cavaliers (Lord Botetourt, Carroll County, Jefferson Forest) or Eagles (Franklin County, Auburn).

Where's the real color in Blue Demons (Christiansburg), Maroon Tide (Galax), Blue Devils (Grayson County), Scarlet Hurricane (Marion), Green Wave (Narrows), Fighting Blues (Parry McCluer), Golden Eagles (Staunton River) or Maroons (George Wythe)?

Some older Blacksburg alumni still insist on calling the school's teams "Indians," even though Montgomery County changed it to "Bruins" several years ago. Still waiting for political correctness are Rural Retreat (Indians), Chilhowie (Warriors), Magna Vista (Warriors) and Carlisle (Chiefs).

Liberty's "Minutemen" has some virtues. The nickname is historical, unique throughout the state and it fits with the school. But what's the use if the school's girls teams have to go by "Minettes?"

Craig County's "Rockets" passes muster, but the only rocket science in this part of the world that I know of was made famous by ex-Northside coach Jim Hickam's brother -- Homer -- in the movie "October Sky."

Alliterative combinations -- Bassett Bengals, Bland County Bears, Salem Spartans -- roll off the tongue. But really, is there anything spartan about the Salem football program?

The next locality that opens a new school has a chance to come up with something really creative like some of these actual schools and their nicknames:

The Mars Area (S.D.) Fightin' Planets, the Poca (W.Va.) Dots, the Rocky Ford (Colo.) Meloneers, the Teutopolis (Ill.) Wooden Shoes, the Bray-Doyle (Okla.) Donkeys or the Maryville (Mo.) Spoofhounds.

So go out tonight and root for your Knights (Cave Spring, James River) and cheer your teams as they fight like cats (Patrick County Cougars) and dogs (William Byrd Terriers).

But just think what could have been.

SALEM 17, Christiansburg 14. Salem owns a 19-game River Ridge District winning streak since its 36-35 loss at Christiansburg in 2004.

BLACKSBURG 24, Cave Spring 20. At 4-1, Blacksburg might have already exceeded some expectations this fall.

PULASKI COUNTY 24, Hidden Valley 14. The Titans have crushed Pulaski in their last two trips to Dublin, but the Cougars appear to be rolling now.

EASTERN MONTGOMERY 33, Auburn 19. With Division 1 teams Holston (7-0), Narrows (5-1) and Bland County (4-1) looking good, the 3-2 Mustangs could use another win or two.

FLOYD COUNTY 34, Glenvar 12. Where the Buffaloes have roamed. Floyd hasn't played a home game since Sept. 5.

RADFORD 27, Giles 21. This could prove to be an elimination game for the loser in terms of a Region C wild-card berth.

WILLIAM FLEMING 30, Franklin County 20. Fleming won the first meeting 37-15 and it wasn't really that close.

HALIFAX COUNTY 22, Patrick Henry 13. Both teams have had two weeks to prepare for their Western Valley opener in South Boston.

PATRICK COUNTY 26, William Byrd 24. Timesland's No. 1 and No. 2 scorers and rushers -- Patrick's John Harris and Byrd's Derrick Palmer -- will be on display.

ROCKBRIDGE COUNTY 27, Spotswood 13. Rockbridge seems headed for a Southern Valley District title showdown in two weeks with R.E. Lee-Staunton.

ROANOKE CATHOLIC 49, Montcalm, W.Va. 7. The Celtics play their first home game of the season, but it has been moved to Monday night.

SOUTHAMPTON ACADEMY 28, Carlisle 14. The three teams Carlisle has beaten have combined for two victories, and Southampton is 4-2.

NORTH CROSS 56, Fishburne Military 7. Suddenly, North Cross has a schedule crammed with outmatched opponents who don't belong on the same field.

BASSETT 24, Tunstall 7. One more loss and Bassett could be feeling a draft from being left out of the Region IV playoff picture.

MARTINSVILLE 29, Magna Vista 15. Martinsville has three straight road games before closing at home against Bassett and Patrick County.

AMHERST COUNTY 28, Jefferson Forest 7. The Lancers have been flying under the radar since a 24-21 opening loss to Brookville.

BROOKVILLE 30, Liberty 14. Tough stretch coming up. The Minutemen have Amherst County next week and Jefferson Forest in the regular-season finale.

CARROLL COUNTY 20, Marion 13. Carroll County has reached the .500 plateau after an 0-3 start.

HERITAGE 27, Staunton River 14. Heritage enters Saturday's game on a five-game losing streak. Staunton River's is longer than that.

CHILHOWIE 33, PH-Glade Spring 14. Chilhowie is one of seven Group A teams statewide without a loss.

GEORGE WYTHE 28, Holston 21. Holston is one of two remaining teams on Wythe's schedule that is unbeaten.

RURAL RETREAT 25, Northwood 12. Former Rural Retreat mayor Doug Humphrey -- a Hampden-Sydney graduate -- might see both his favorite teams win this weekend.

GALAX 32, Grayson County 21. By the time Grayson County plays another home game, the Blue Devils will forget what home looks like.

BATH COUNTY 21, Craig County 6. Bath could become the lone Pioneer District team to reach the .500 mark with a win.

JAMES RIVER 40, Covington 7. All Pioneer District games are must-wins for the Knights if they want to make the playoffs.

RUSTBURG 32, Alleghany 18. Rustburg has speed to burn as evidenced by nearly 400 yards rushing in a win over Hidden Valley.

JAMES MONROE, W.Va. 36, Narrows 26. Narrows is 5-1 but this is always a tough test for the Green Wave.

FORT CHISWELL 37, Gilbert, W.Va. 14. Talk about rivalries. Gilbert once boasted of a big one between the Hatfields and McCoys.

BLAND COUNTY 30, Van, W.Va. 25. Van blew it when they named their sports teams the Bulldogs instead of the Halens.

Last week: 20-5 .800

Overall: 128-37 .776