The
Locker Room
November
14, 2001
|
Week Twelve by Ardent Cougar
Friday, November 16 - William Byrd Terriers (Region III Semifinal, Home): Series:
PC leads 1-0.
Final
Region III District Standings
After a very welcome week off, which the Cougars used to rest and heal, an apparently healthy enough PC team hosts William Byrd in a rematch of last month's blowout in Vinton. Expect the Terriers to play better this time, whatever the result. Last week, they gave Blacksburg all they could handle, jumping out to a 14-0 lead, and still leading 14-8 at the break. The outcome was in doubt until the very end of the game, when a late Byrd drive fell short, the Indians prevailing 29-22. This
chart will give you an idea of what Byrd's season has been like:
This is one "streaky" team. The Terriers barely beat Alleghany, fell to Single-A Glenvar, and lost three home BRD games, getting totally blown out in two of them. However, they have a victory over Northside to their credit, and marched into Salem Stadium, dominating the Spartans in shocking fashion, 42-21. RB Marcus English is the main threat to watch out for, and backfield mate Jerome Mann is also quite capable. Sophomore QB Jeff Highfill (the coach's son) has some success passing. Defensively,
this team gives up as many points as it scores. In the first meeting,
the Cougars ran through Byrd with ease. I think the Terriers will
play a tougher game, but I also have no indication that they have been
able to make any defensive adjustments, which would allow them to slow
down the PC 'machine' very much.
The Webmaster contributes the following research, regarding Region III playoff teams: William Byrd hasn't won a playoff game since the VHSL split into three classifications in 1970; they are 0-4. Their last playoff game was a 19-7 first round loss to Amherst in 1999. Salem has not lost a playoff game since the 1997 region final loss to Heritage; 12 in a row, and 17 of their last 18 playoff games. Salem's last road playoff loss was a 55-19 Region III Final loss to Amherst in 1994; 5 road playoff wins in a row. Salem has never lost to a Blue Ridge team in the playoffs; 5-0 (4 of those 5 coming over Northside). The Spartans are in postseason play for the 16th consecutive year. Blacksburg's last playoff win came as a member of the New River District, a 35-28 win over Richlands in the 1994 Region IV Division 4 final. Blacksburg won the only playoff meeting with Salem 26-14, in the 1989 Division 4 state semi-final, and went on to win the Division 4 state title. (Team ratings in parentheses are Gilliam's Ratings for Division 4, not official VHSL ratings.) Division 4
Region Semifinals:
Region
III Semifinals:
Region
IV Semifinals:
Region
I Semifinals:
Region
II Semifinals:
State
Semifinal Matchups:
Division
4 State Championship:
.
It was another year to keep a watch on the Cougar Record Book. Jeremy Porter (1,486 yards) and Josh Calfee (1,358 yards) achieved the second and third best rushing seasons in PC history. Josh (who also owns the 4th and 5th best season performances) ended his stellar regular season career with a record 4,429 yards, well ahead of the former record holder, Doug Hendricks, who held the record for a dozen seasons, before Josh broke it near the end of last year. Ironically, he accomplished this while being the team's rushing leader during only one campaign, the injury plagued 1999 season. Calfee also owns career records for Rushing TDs, Total Yards, and Points Scored. Alan Wheeling returned a pair of punts for scores, tying a record, this being last accomplished by Rodney Landreth (now a key part of Coach Hicks' staff) back in 1985. John Hedge broke Shayne Graham's record for consecutive PATs, and B.C. Clark's record for extra points in a single game. Team wise, the records (held by the Nationally Ranked 1993 Team) for points scored in both a game, and a season, fell. Also rewritten were the marks for victory margin (56-0 over Christiansburg), and first downs (28 against Petersburg, who made the AAA Division 5 Playoffs). The rushing yards record of 2000 survived by a margin of 289 yards, but the average per carry was higher in 2001. Once again, the fact that the starters did not play much during the 3rd and 4th quarters because of all of the blowouts, is the only real explanation as to why the record is intact. The stress on discipline once again paid off handsomely, as PC managed 18 takeaways, against only 3 turnovers. To give an of idea of the significance of keeping the pigskin, Blacksburg turned the ball over 7 times against Salem, more than twice the number of ours for the whole season. The Indians coughed it up 3 times against us, equaling our total for 10 games. Guess
who won those contests?
Previous 2001 Articles: FTB
Week One
|