2002

The thrill

Lebanon battled last years state

champs and district rivals to a tough 10-0 loss and look to

avenge upon that this season.Despite the presence of the

defending state champions - George Wythe - district coaches have

voted the Pioneers as their preseason choice to take the

district. Several skill position players return for

Lebanon, and the defense should be stronger and 'nastier' than

last seasons. A first game test against Honaker

might provide insight on just how good Lebanon will be this

season. On offense McCoy and Miller will battle for the QB

spot. There is depth at runningback with Billy Hughes,

Channing, Marchant, and Thayer White. On defense, Pepper

Yates stepped in last season as a soph when Colby Jordan broke

his leg, and should return to anchor the line. There is lots of

depth and quality at LB, with athletes like Bodnmer, Farmer,

Gilmer, Crabtree, Lambert and others waiting to give opposing

offenses fits.

Wythe **2002 Division 2 State Champions** Head Coach:

Donnie Pruitt. Despite being hit hard by graduation, the

Maroons will return a competitive team in an effort to defend

their district, regional and state championship season of a year

ago. Key on the offense will be running back Robert

Barcliff, mentioned among the top returning players in the

state. Another top returning player will be first team all state

member Jared Horton, a standout on both the offensive and

defensive lines. Second team all district choice Bill

Gravely returns to provide additional talent up front for

Barcliff to run behind.

Chilhowie head football coach, Larry Russell indicated to us

that despite his team being small in stature, it will be

quick. He told us: "We have hard workers but lost

receivers and running backs from last year, our defense will

have to carry us until our offense matures". On

offense most of the line and teams QB (Jason Hash) returns, and

on defense Coach Russell says he has a group that is quick to

the ball and "loves to hit". Key names on defense will

be Seth Chester (DB), Justin Vennison (LB) and Daniel Bise (LB).

Rural Retreat: Key returning players

for RR are Ward and Johnson at RB, Rhea at QB and Kincer at

WR. On defense look for Hodges. Delp and DeBord at LB, and

along the line Halsey and Musser.

John Battle's football coach, Mike Posey tells us that he

will have a young team this season. "We should improve

greatly from last season, as we have a good nucleous of juniors

and seniors returning with a mixture of sophomores that should

produce several more wins." Posey told VirginiaPreps. On

offense the Trojans will feature Jeremy Humphrey at QB, who had

over 1,200 yards passing and 9 TD passes. Also running back Tony

Ingle is a prospect at 6'1" and 170 pounds - having rushed

for over 600 yards and 5 TDs last season. At wide receiver

Drew Lester returns. On defense, Coach Posey will ask

Ingle to go both ways and play a key role at linebacker.

Another standout on defense should be Jeremiah Spell at DE.