varsity.roanoke.com

ERIC BRADY The Roanoke Times

Northside linebacker Nick Sigmon has 110 solo tackles, including 17 for loss, heading into the Vikings' state title game with Bruton on Saturday.

varsity.roanoke.com

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Nick Sigmon once fancied himself as a baseball prospect as a right-handed pitcher.

His fastball was so difficult to handle that his youth-league teammates gave him a familiar nickname.

"He was the 'Big Unit' back then," long-time friend Trent Cundiff said. "He brought the heat. He'd hit three people and strike the next three out."

Sigmon is still hitting people, just not from the pitcher's mound.

The 6-foot-2, 235-pound senior linebacker is the leading tackler on Northside's football team and a major reason why the Vikings are playing for the school's first state championship Saturday in the Group AA Division 3 final against Bruton at Virginia Tech's Lane Stadium.

Sigmon has 110 solo tackles including a team-high 17 for loss, production good enough to earn him co-Region III defensive player of the year honors for the 11-2 Vikings.

While Sigmon has helped transform Northside from a 2-8 team in 2007 to a state finalist, he's also undergone his own metamorphosis.

Quiet and somewhat aloof in Northside's hallways and classrooms during his early school years, Sigmon has allowed his personality to come out in 2009.

"When he was younger he used to be real quiet, but once he got into high school he came out of his shell," said Cundiff, a Northside teammate. "He usually is one of those guys that talks with his pads, but this year he's kind of emerged as his own kind of character on the field."

When Sigmon puts on a green Northside jersey and helmet and steps on the field, something changes.

"He turns into 'The Hulk,' a warrior," fellow Northside senior Philip Scott said.

Even 6-foot-4, 340-pound senior lineman Cameron Carter knows to cast a wary eye in Sigmon's direction.

"Off the field, Nick's like one of those kids that will just be laughing and having fun," Carter said. "On the field he is what he is, an animal. He gets after it, 24/7. I noticed when Nick became that beast last year."

Northside coach Burt Torrence saw the transformation before his eyes in 2008 when the Vikings finished 6-6 after reaching the second round of the Region III Division 3 playoffs.

"For a couple of years, I never saw him walk with a girl at school, I never saw him show any emotion on the field," Torrence said.

"About midway through the season he hit a kid from Hidden Valley over here and he got up and pumped his arm or something. His dad was standing about 15 or 20 feet from play along the fence line. He asked me after the game,' What did you do to get Nick to show some emotion?' "

Sigmon says the answer is simple.

"Going into high school, you're like the baby again," Sigmon said. "My freshman and sophomore years I never talked much. I just tried to do my job. I hadn't really earned anything yet."

Sigmon, who also starts at right guard, has given an oral commitment to Liberty University, where Saturday's championship game originally was scheduled before Liberty decided to embark on renovations to Williams Stadium immediately after its season concluded.

Sigmon might be the only player on Northside's team slightly miffed about the move to the 66,233-seat facility at Virginia Tech.

"I thought it would be pretty sweet to play my last high school game on the field where I'll be playing in college," Sigmon said. "I think it will be a neat experience just looking around and being the center of attention in such a big stadium."

The Northside middle linebacker certainly will be in the cross hairs of Bruton's offensive game plan. His 110 solo hits almost double any other Viking's total.

While Sigmon has two interceptions this season, there's not much flashy about his approach.

"He's an old throwback player," Torrence said. "He plays our scheme like we ask him to. He takes care of his responsibility and relies on his teammates to take care of their responsibility. He's not a kid who's out there trying to make all the plays, trying to do someone else's job."

Northside, like most teams that reach late stages of the postseason, limits full-speed contact in practice. That rule has applied to Sigmon for much of the year, particularly with the lengthy injury list the Vikings had in September.

"He doesn't want to hit a guy on our team," said Cundiff, who also is a starting offensive lineman. "The only time I've seen him hit somebody is when they're kind of talking to him or challenging him, or when a coach gets mad at him. Then he's going to lay 'em out. On the other team, he definitely lays the wood to everybody.

"We used to call him the 'Big Unit.' He's the 'Sigmo Express' now. He just comes through."

Scott, who has rushed for 2,232 yards this year, has a conditional offer from James Madison if he can qualify academically. He's already begun thinking about a potential college matchup against Sigmon, throwing a move to make the big linebacker miss.

"That's the plan," Scott said.

Northside's one-time quiet man has some words for that.

"I'm looking for a good crosstown rivalry," Sigmon said. "I told him, 'You'd better be running outside, because it's not happening up the middle. I'll put it to you.' "