Friday, November 20, 2009
Cave Spring's two-sport standouts
Quentin Dill and Erik Jacobsen of Cave Spring are finding success on the court and the field.
JARED SOARES The Roanoke Times
Cave Spring's Quentin Dill (left) and Erik Jacobsen are teammates on the basketball court and the football field. The Knights play Graham tonight at 7:30 p.m.
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Cave Spring seniors Erik Jacobsen and Quentin Dill are eager to rejoin the Knights' basketball team.
But not too eager.
Right now the two returnees from Cave Spring's team that won the Group AA Division 3 championship last winter are hoping to assist the school's football team toward a similar goal.
Cave Spring (8-2) faces Graham at 7:30 tonight in a Region IV Division 3 semifinal at Dwight Bogle Stadium, where Jacobsen and Dill would like nothing better than to delay a return to the hardwood by keeping their football season alive.
Of course, a run all the way to the Division 3 state final Dec. 12 would mean Jacobsen, Dill and two other two-sport athletes -- Tyler Kemp and Michael Cole -- would miss Cave Spring's first three regular-season games.
"I'd get to miss the conditioning part of tryouts, so that's a good trade-off," Dill said.
Dill has done plenty of running this fall for Cave Spring, which is in the playoffs for the first time since 2005 after back-to-back 2-8 seasons.
Dill, who did not play football as a sophomore or as a junior, has 27 receptions for 411 yards and leads the Knights with four touchdown receptions, including a 71-yarder in Cave Spring's last game against Hidden Valley.
Last winter Dill started at point guard for most of the basketball season, then he approached head coach Billy Hicks about his desire to play football.
"I always ask kids two questions: Do you think you can help the team, and is your heart in it?" Hicks said. "If the answer to both is 'Yes,' then I say, 'You should play. You owe it to yourself to play.' "
The 5-foot-8, 147-pound Dill became a greater asset when Cave Spring football coach Tim Fulton changed offensive schemes from a double-wing with two tight ends to the spread formation that has produced 1,575 passing yards by junior quarterback Josh Woodrum.
"When you start looking at the athletes that we have, it's part of the reason we've gone to this shift," Fulton said. "There's a lot of kids that are basketball-player types that are around. So they fit in to what we're trying to do."
Jacobsen certainly fits that mold. The 6-foot-4, 188-pound senior leads the Knights with 35 receptions for 452 yards despite missing three games with a broken bone in his right foot suffered during a victory over Patrick Henry.
"I didn't think it was that bad at the time, but I couldn't really walk on it at halftime," Jacobsen said.
Jacobsen was a reserve forward on last year's basketball team, playing a key role in Cave Spring's state semifinal win over Liberty and hitting a 3-pointer in the overtime victory over Brunswick in the championship game.
Jacobsen was joined on the sidelines for one game by Dill, who suffered a shoulder injury when he was tackled by Stephen Barnette after catching a short pass in the Knights' 42-0 loss to Salem.
Hicks felt that hit all the way up at the top of Salem Stadium.
"I watch with one eye open. I usually sit with Quentin's dad or Erik's dad," Hicks said. "I was there the night in Salem when Quentin got hurt. I wasn't at the game where Erik got hurt, but his dad sent me a text."
Despite the possibility of injury on the field, Fulton and Hicks do not have the cattle rancher vs. sheep herder relationship that pervades some high school athletic programs when it comes to sharing.
"I'm not big on guys playing football for their senior year," Hicks said. "There's too much technique to learn. But guys need to play two sports, especially now. Our school is so small and the number of athletes is limited."
Besides, athletes often change their long-range goals as their bodies and talent develop.
"I used to consider myself a basketball player and a football player second," Jacobsen said. "But Coach Hicks knows I'm more of a football player now."
Now Jacobsen and Dill are four playoff victories away from needing to locate another ring finger.
"That would be a dream come true," Jacobsen said. "That would be awesome."
Dill was just happy to suit up for another winner.
"This season's been great," Dill said. "I couldn't have asked for anything more. It's been a lot more than I expected."
Van Acker out as Galax coach
Jared Van Acker submitted his resignation Tuesday as the head football coach at Galax, ending a three-year tenure.
Van Acker, an Illinois native and a former assistant at William Campbell, had a 10-30 record at Galax. He said he will finish the year as a teacher at Galax and attempt to find a coaching position elsewhere.
"I love Virginia, I'd like to find a coaching job in Virginia," Van Acker said. "If that doesn't work out, maybe I'll go back to Illinois. I don't know, maybe I'll try one of those states with great football tradition like Florida or Texas or California.
"It doesn't have to be a head coaching job. I'd be happy being an assistant."
Van Acker, who suffered chest pains late in the year that required a trip to the hospital, said his health is fine.
"I did that stress test and everything came out normal," he said.
Liberty postpones game with R.E. Lee
Liberty has postponed tonight's scheduled game against R.E. Lee-Staunton because of a wet field.
The game will be played at 7 p.m. Saturday, either at Liberty or at Amherst County.
Liberty coach Chris Watts said the Bermuda-grass surface has sustained heavy rain in the last month.
"It's horrible," Watts said. "The Bermuda is a good thing in some cases, but when it's dormant like it is now, it's like a saturated sponge. We haven't had a dry field in a month."
Watts said a decision will be made on the location of Saturday's game by 3 p.m. today.
"I want to play here bad," he said.
"We've got the home-field advantage."
