The Daily News Leader du lieu suivant : Staunton, Virginia • 15

POETS Section Friday, September 8, 2000 Sports Editor Steve COx, 885-7281 Ext. 130 scoxmail.newsleader.com Fort Dim ky gsm Inside Today coach said. "We know what we do. That's running the ball and gang-tackling on defense. After that, we'll let the chips fall where they may." Waynesboro and Stuarts Draft both open Valley District play tonight.

The Little Giants (1-0) travel to Turner Ashby, while the Cougars (1-1) host the Broadway Gobblers. Buffalo Gap (0-2) looks to get in the win column when they travel to Parry McCluer to tangle with the Fighting Blues. Wilson (0-2) makes trip to northern Virginia for a Saturday matinee game with George Mason in Falls Church. belt, and an explosive quarterback in Joey Miller. On Fort's end, coach Dale Spitzer prepares to face a Lee team that may be the most athletic in the Valley.

"Lee's one of the top two team in the district if not the top team," the Fort coach said. "There's no one else with that speed and athleticism. They just have unmatched physical strength. Their kids have paid the price in the weight room. "They know they have a chance to be pretty good, and they have not let the chance slip by," Spitzer added.

Both teams off to 2-0 start By Chris Lassiter Sports Writer STAUNTON Now the games really count. Fort Defiance and Robert E. Lee, each 2-0 against non-district foes, square off tonight at Memorial Stadium in the Valley District opener for both squads. Lee and Fort have been impressive in their two non-district contests. The Leemen opened with a 49-20 win over Rockbridge followed by a 42-0 win over Western Albemarle.

The Indians won 35-14 Elsewhere, Riverheads made a successful debut in their season-opener, a 39-7 win over Stuarts Draft. They go for their second victory when the James River Knights come into to town for the Gladiators' home opener. "Last week, I thought we executed well," River-heads' coach Robert Casto said. "Our offensive line blocked well. The (running) backs ran hard, and the defense stepped up." According to Casto, the Gladiators' success lies in doing what they do, and doing it well.

"We're just going to play our style of football," the haven't played anyone as good as Fort, and they are always a tough game no matter what the record." But this season is even more special. The Leemen and Indians enter their rivalry with more than just pride on the line this season. "Both teams being undefeated certainly adds to the game. It will definitely add some more people in the stands," the Lee coach said. Tibbs knows that Fort is a much improved team over the one Lee beat 19-7 last season.

The young Indians have a year of experience under their Tonights Games Fort Defiance at Lee Broadway at Stuarts Draft Waynesboro at Turner Ashby Buffalo Gap at Parry McCluer James River at Riverheads in their home opener with Alleghany, and defeated county rival Buffalo Gap 41-7 on the road last week. "We've started off. really well, but we're getting ready to get in tougher competition," Lee coach David Tibbs said. "We ti 4 i iM-v-fe- The Associated Press Lee dominates Draft, Durrette lands at Bridgewater Notre Dame quarterback Arnaz Battle warms up. No.

1 Nebraska set to invade South Bend Details on page B5 1 jt' Ah The Associated Press Tiger Woods tiger struggles to 72, trails by seven strokes I k. hvjh xs 4 Defense shuts down Cougars By Steve Cox Sports Editor STAUNTON Robert E. Lee's victory over preseason favorite Stuarts Draft was a bit surprising. The way the Lee Ladies dominated the Cougars was shocking. Lee outscored Draft 20-9 in the second quarter to take a 31-20 half-time lead and the Cougars never got the lead into single digits in the second half as the Lee Ladies pulled away for a 62-41 Valley District victory.

"I don't know that a team I coached has ever played any better than that," Lee head coach Dan Bonner said. "The kids played great. -The effort was totally there. "Stuarts Draft is a very good team," Bonner continued. "They have players at every position who can score.

To hold that team to 41 points is a tremendous defensive effort." While the Lee defense was stifling, its offense was just as impressive. Please see BASKETBALL, page B4 More Hoops Waynesboro 69 Fort Defiance 65 (20T) Buffalo Gap 51 Parry McCluer 43 Riverheads 54 James River 45 Wilson 69 Bath County 17 Details on page B3 Details on page B3 63-41 ifc I 4 2 A.t-,, VI vim By Chris Lassiter Sports Writer BRIDGEWATER C.W Durrette and Bridgewater College seem like a perfect fit. Eagles' basketball coach Bill Leatherman certainly hopes so. Durrette 's former coach, Robert E. Lee legend Paul Hatcher, thinks so.

And his parents were instrumental in their son's choice to attend school at Bridgewater. Then there's Durrette. A 6-foot star point guard for the Leemen, Durrette doesn't hide the fact he had dreams of playing Division I basketball. His arrival on Bridgewater's campus has left the youngster with mixed emotions. It's a situation that Leatherman, a veteran Division III coach at Bridgewater, has seen before.

"C.W.'s a very talented player," the coach said. "He had higher aspirations, and if he was 6-foot-3, he'd be in Division I right now. C.W.'s good enough, that's the best way I know to say it." While Durrette battles with disappointment on one hand, he also acknowledges there are benefits to attending Bridgewater on the other. An honor student with a 3.5 GPA in high school, Durrette loves the fact that Bridgewater has a reputable business program. He has taken a liking to his new teammates, and Lee classmates Pede Garr and Chip Shaner live in the same dormitory.

"If I need something, my parents can always bring it up," Durrette said about the 20-minute drive between school and home. "I can always get a ride home, and my family can 1 'tr XS Major Leagues Galarraga drops appeal ATLANTA Atlanta Braves first baseman Andres Galarraga began serving a three-game suspension Thursday night for charging the. mound and fighting with Colorado's John Wasdin. Galarraga initially appealed his suspension and fine, saying hisractions Aug. 22 were justified because Wasdin challenged him to fight as the Braves star walked to first.

More baseball, next page rv' 7yri fix scooped up the ball and raced into the end zone untouched from 9 yards out. Things didn't get much better for East Carolina's offense. Late in the opening quarter, David Garrard was intercepted after he was hit at the Pirates' 17. Thirty-five seconds later, Andre' Kendrick bolted in from 14 yards and the rout was on. Despite leading 17-0, Kendrick's run was Virginia Tech's first offensive first down.

The Hokies added a 7-yard scoring run from Jar-rett Ferguson before the special teams took over again. The Pirates finally got off a decent punt, but Andre Davis returned it 87 yards, faking out Herlocker on his final move, for a 31-0 lead. i 1 I The Daily News Leader C.W. Durrette come see me play." Durrette also brings a different style of guard to the Eagles' program. He's a tenacious one-on-one defender, and a lightning-quick penetrator on offense.

A skilled ball-handler with great leadership skills, Durrette should fit in nicely with the three sharp shooters in the Bridgewater backcourt. "I think C.W. has a chance to be a truer point guard than we have now," Leatherman said. "(Matt) Stevens is more of a two-guard, and Brett (Childers) and Justin (Bourne) are both combination guards. I think his defensive quickness may be his best aspect." Hatcher, who coached Durrette for two years varsity, thinks his former leader will be an excellent addition to the Eagles.

Both Lee and Bridgewater run structured programs, and both Leatherman and Hatcher have been very successful with them. "C.W.'s an excellent player," Hatcher said. "Structured offenses still give him a chance to do what he does well, and I think he'll fit in well." Please see DURRETTE, page B4 Mark MillerThe Daily News Leader Stuarts Draft's Jessie Bridge is double-teamed In the lane by Lee's Krlsten Sorrell (40) and Fairland Ferguson. 1 I I Hokies stroll past East Carolina 9 jSydn Days Until Opening Ceremony: 7. Olympic Update: Nigerian 400-meter runner Hyginus Ahugo was killed when struck by a car in Sydney while running for a bus to return to the Olympic village.

March To The Medals: C.J. Hunter, the 1999 world shot put champion and husband of Marion Jones, has undergone kriee surgery that leaves him doubtful for the Olympics. Carrying The Torch: A day fifter skiing down a snow-covered slope at Thredbo and being held briefly by former South African president Nelson Mandela, the torch followed a route from Cooma to Bega ith a stop in the former whaling port of Eden. 3 Olympic Footnote: NBC has sold a record $900 million in commercial time on its Sydney Olympics coverage and expects to make a small profit. The Associated Press back.

Virginia Tech blocked 63 kicks in the '90s under Beamer and got one punt and a field goal against a reeling East Carolina team that had practiced hard all week in an attempt to protect punter Wes Herlocker. But Herlocker wasn't to blame for a pair of disastrous punt attempts three minutes apart that gave the Hokies a quick 10-0 lead in the first quarter and helped turn the game around. Herlocker was dropped at the East Carolina 35 after the ball came skidding back to him from snapper Ryan Luckadoo. That miscue resulted in a 46-yard field goal by Carter Warley. The next snap from Luckadoo was high, and Wayne Ward burst through to block the kick.

Cory Bird The Associated Press GREENVILLE, N.C. Like so many times in Frank Beamer's career, special teams made No. 10 Virginia Tech special Thursday night. The Hokies (2-0) blocked two kicks, disrupted another one deep in East Carolina territory and had an 87-yard punt return in the first half en route to a 45-28 victory over the Pirates. Michael Vick barely broke a sweat in the opening 30 minutes, completing five passes for 56 yards.

But Virginia Tech still managed a 31-0 lead in beating the Pirates (1-1) for the fifth straight time since 1993. Vick finished with 106 yards passing and 13 yards rushing, but the Hokies didn't need a big game from their star quarter The Associated Press Virginia Tech quarterback Michael Vick looks downfield during Thursday's game against East Carolina..