Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Ex-Hokie coaches Franklin Co. foe; Scott sets mark
varsity.roanoke.com
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Virginia Tech fans should recognize the head coach of Franklin County's opponent in Friday's second-round game in the Northwest Region Division 6 football playoffs.
It's Battlefield's Mark Cox, who played quarterback for Tech from 1981-85 under Bill Dooley and was the team's leading passer in both the 1983 and 1984 seasons.
Cox, an Annandale native, and classmate Todd Greenwood split time at quarterback during their coinciding careers.
Cox passed for 1,188 yards in 1983, which at the time was the fourth-highest single-season total in Tech history. He finished his four years ranked No. 3 on Tech's career passing yardage and total offense lists and helped lead the Hokies to the 1984 Independence Bowl.
Battlefield (10-0) has a 29-game regular-season winning streak under Cox, who started the varsity program at the Haymarket school in 2005.
Battlefield's leading receiver -- Jeff Beathard -- is the grandson of former Washington Redskins general manager Bobby Beathard.
The Bobcats have yet to win a playoff game, however. Battlefield lost to Osbourn 22-10 in the first round last year and fell to Woodbridge 20-17 in 2007.
Franklin County won its first playoff game in school history Saturday with a 37-35 victory over Colonial Forge on a last-second, 35-yard field goal by Colby Boone.
The Eagles (9-2) have tied a school record for wins in one year set by the 2005 team.
Northside's Scott has school record
Senior running back Philip Scott has set a new single-season rushing record at Northside with 1,720 yards heading into Friday night's Region III Division 3 playoff game at home against Brookville.
Northside officials said this week that Scott has broken the old record set by Karim Thompson, who graduated in 1995 and went on to play linebacker at the University of Pittsburgh.
Scott, who skipped football as a junior after playing as a sophomore for Northside, is averaging 8.3 yards per carry and has scored a team-high 20 touchdowns.
Rematches highlight second-round schedule
Seven VHSL games involving Timesland schools this weekend will be rematches of regular-season games.
In all seven cases, the higher seeded playoff team won the regular-season game.
Cave Spring's Region IV Division 3 game Friday at home against Graham is a rematch of the Knights' 55-12 win in Bluefield on Sept. 4.
Saturday's game at Dwight Bogle Stadium is the second game this year between River Ridge District rivals Christiansburg and Hidden Valley. The Titans won the first game 28-21 in Christiansburg on Oct. 16.
Marion will play Southwest District foe Richlands in Region IV Division 3 for the second time after losing the first matchup 27-7 on Oct. 9
Radford is visiting George Wythe for the second time this year. Wythe won the first game 21-19 on Sept. 11, coming back from a 19-0 halftime deficit.
Fort Chiswell's trip to Chilhowie in the other Region C Division 2 semifinal is a rematch of Chilhowie's 6-0 win on Sept. 18, the Pioneers' only loss this year.
Bath County will play at Eastern Montgomery for the second time this year. The Mustangs outraced the Chargers 53-27 in the season opener Aug. 28.
Rural Retreat's goes on the road to Damascus for the second time in the other Region C Division 1 semifinal after losing 41-8 on Oct. 16.
