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STEPHANIE KLEIN-DAVIS The Roanoke Times

Salem receiver Stephen Barnette is averaging 21.5 yards per catch on 32 receptions and has caught five touchdown passes.

STEPHANIE KLEIN-DAVIS The Roanoke Times

Salem's Stephen Barnette (right) is defended by Cave Spring's Reece Kemp.

Are you a River Ridge District football coach who has burned the midnight oil trying to find a way to defend Salem's Stephen Barnette?

Do the late nights watching the senior receiver flash across the video screen leave you bleary-eyed and sleep-deprived?

Blame Marshall University's women's basketball program.

If the Thundering Herd hadn't recruited Alix Barnette three years ago her younger brothers -- identical twins Stephen and Reggie -- might not be in Salem today.

The Barnette family was living in Chapel Hill, N.C., when they decided to move closer to the Marshall campus in Huntington, W.Va., so they could drive to Alix's home games.

In the spring of 2007, the Barnettes showed up in Salem.

"My eighth-grade year we had a lot of friends," Stephen Barnette said. "I remember Reggie saying to me a couple of times, 'Why do we have to move?' "

Plenty of Salem's opposing coaches are asking the same thing.

Stephen Barnette has developed into Timesland's most dangerous wideout. The 6-foot-3, 159-pounder is averaging 21.5 yards per catch on 32 receptions, five for touchdowns for the state's third-ranked Group AA team.

Barnette's combination of size, speed and hands makes him a marked man every week.

"He's one of the kids who can beat you with his size and beat you with his speed," Hidden Valley coach Scott Weaver said.

Barnette torched Cave Spring for 136 yards and two TDs -- in the first half. He had a 45-yard TD against Northside, and a 32-yard TD against Blacksburg. He has returned two interceptions for scores for the unbeaten Spartans.

"He knows how to attack the ball at the highest point," Salem coach Stephen Magenbauer said. "When you have a player like that, you have to give him an opportunity to make plays."

Barnette's statistics are more impressive because Salem's offensive scheme emphasizes the running game. This year, Barnette is one of several capable receivers at quarterback Adam McGarrell's disposal.

In last Friday's 28-0 win over Hidden Valley, McGarrell hit running back Daniel Dyer for a pair of TDs. Reggie Barnette, who missed some early games with a cracked shoulder blade, and Bud Tolliver also have breakaway athleticism.

"Salem has a very talented offensive line and they have a quarterback who can get the ball out there," Weaver said. "When you have those two things, it makes it tough on the defense."

Christiansburg is the only team that has limited Barnette to less than 50 yards receiving. Of course, Salem won that game 45-43 in triple overtime.

Colleagues are beating down Christiansburg coach Tim Cromer's door for the secret.

"Number one, It was kind of the way the game went. We dominated time of possession in the first half," Cromer said. "Number two, early they tried to throw his way a couple times and the wind was a factor. I think a couple of balls got blown out of bounds.

"Number three, it came down to pressure. Our corner told us they tried to run a hitch-and-go but we sacked the quarterback. I think we had three or four sacks that night."

Football coaches aren't the only people interested in shutting down Barnette.

He and his brother, who lived in Durham before moving to Chapel Hill, starred on Salem's Group AA Division 4 basketball runner-up team last winter.

"Moving up here, basketball was pretty much our whole life," said Barnette, who wears a mask to the protect broken nose he suffered in 2006. "When you're in the Raleigh-Durham area, that's all there is."

At least Barnette had heard of Roanoke, the hometown of former Duke basketball star J.J. Redick.

"When we lived in Durham, I was a huge Duke fan so I knew J.J. went to Cave Spring," he said.

Suddenly, football might be in Barnette's future. He said Virginia's coaching staff has invited him to attend the Cavaliers' Nov. 14 game against Boston College. Basketball at the next level also is a possibility.

"I've always played football, but I haven't really done as much as I have this year," Barnette said. "It's opened a lot of doors."

"When basketball is going on I'm pretty much going to be all basketball, but in the back of my mind I'm going to be saying, 'I've got to come up with a decision.' "