Wednesday, July 01, 2009
High School Notebook: Bruins pick Henderson
Roger Henderson's bio illustrates a varied background.
Henderson has been a boys varsity head basketball coach.
He's been a girls head coach.
He's been a boys and girls assistant.
He currently serves as an ordained minister and a high school algebra teacher.
Add another job to the Henderson file: head girls basketball coach at Blacksburg High School.
Henderson, a girls assistant at Blacksburg for the past three seasons, has been elevated to the top job with the Bruins.
He replaces Mickey McGuigan, who resigned following the 2008-09 season after 20 years at Blacksburg that included three VHSL Group AA championships.
"It was good working with Mickey for three years," Henderson said. "He loved those kids, always trying to do what's best. He was in it for them. Sometimes I tended to get lost in X's and O's. He really helped me with that."
Henderson was the boys head coach at Roanoke Catholic for two seasons, leaving the coaching profession for a sales job until he took over the girls program at Giles in 2001. He spent four seasons as a boys assistant at Christiansburg before joining McGuigan's staff at Blacksburg.
The Bruins finished 19-9 last year and reached the Group AA Division 4 quarterfinals.
If all of Blacksburg's returning players are still in the program this winter and Henderson can convince some former players to return to the fold, the Bruins could more than match last year's success despite a JV team that went winless.
"Next year's team is set up to be strong," Henderson said. "We've got to work on building our numbers."
Raiders' Brown headed to JUCO
Sid Brown, who helped North Cross win the VIS Division 1 football title as a first-team All-Timesland wide receiver, has bypassed his final season with the Raiders and will enroll this week at Northeast Mississippi Community College in Booneville, Miss.
North Cross coach Lee Johnson said Brown was "released" from North Cross in early May and acquired a GED in early June. Johnson said Brown will leave Saturday for Northeast Mississippi, where he will redshirt his first season with hopes of playing in 2010.
The 6-foot-1, 192-pound Brown played football as a junior at Christiansburg in 2007, then transferred to North Cross and was reclassified as a junior in 2008. He caught 43 passes for 908 yards and 15 touchdowns last fall for the Raiders.
Blacksburg claims 6th Wachovia Cup
Blacksburg has won the VHSL's Group AA Wachovia Cup for the sixth time in one of the closest finishes since the award was established in 1990.
The Bruins edged runner-up Jamestown 385-37712, while Western Albemarle was third with 36212 points and Hidden Valley was fourth with 34212.
The Wachovia Cup is emblematic of the top overall sports program in each of the VHSL's three classifications. Points are awarded for placing among the top eight schools in state competition on a 50-45-40-35-30-25-20-15 basis.
Blacksburg rode the strength of its powerhouse track and field, and cross country programs to its second championship in the last three years.
The Bruins received 50 points for Group AA championships in girls outdoor track, girls indoor track and girls cross country, along with state titles in golf and boys soccer.
Blacksburg also scored in boys cross country (45), boys indoor track (35), boys outdoor track (30) and wrestling (25).
Cave Spring and Salem tied for ninth in the Group AA Cup standings, giving the River Ridge District four schools in the top 10.
In Group A, George Mason edged 2008 champion Radford 360-330 to win the Cup for the first time since 1996. Mason, which defeated Radford in both Group A soccer finals, outscored the Bobcats 235-195 during the spring to move into the top spot.
Glenvar finished in a three-way tie for sixth place with 185 points.
Frank Cox of Virginia Beach won the Group AAA Cup 360-300 over Deep Run. William Fleming's runner-up finish in boys basketball earned the Colonels a tie for 50th place.
HV's Turner, Earhart land walk-on berths
Hidden Valley football players David Turner and Chad Earhart will be invited walk-ons this fall at the Division I-AA level.
Turner, a four-year starter who is the school's career rushing leader, will walk on at VMI. Earhart, a three-year starter at defensive back, is headed to James Madison.
Earhart is among a number of Timesland players who have been selected for the VHSCA East-West all-star game next week in Hampton.
