HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL OFFICIALLY UNDER WAY

By Ted Allen

Published: July 28, 2008

Three new high school football coaches in the Seminole and one in the Dogwood ran their first practices Monday morning, beating the afternoon heat.

But there is no doubt the heat is on again for area teams, with practices starting in July for the first time and seasons kicking off earlier than ever on Aug. 22.

Cecil Phillips, who coached the past four seasons at Group AAA King’s Fork, takes the reins at two-time defending Group AA state champion Amherst from Scott Abell, who accepted the offensive coordinator position at Washington & Lee University this past spring.

Two of Abell’s former assistants have taken the helm at other area schools — former defensive coordinator Jon Berlin at Rustburg and Ben Martin at Appomattox.

“It’s very exciting to be able to run your own program and … teach these kids what I’ve learned the last 10 years,” said Martin, who served as the Lancers’ offensive line coach and will install their offensive and defensive systems at Appomattox, where he is the third head coach in the past four seasons.

“This is the fourth system they’ve learned in the last four years,” Martin said. “They’ve had a lot of change but they’ve responded well to it.”

Another Amherst coach, defensive coordinator Herman Calloway, is now the offensive and special teams coordinator at Heritage, where offensive line coach Jeff Pultz retired after 27 years with the Pioneers.

The area’s fourth new head coach is Staunton River’s Rick Witt, who transfers from nearby William Byrd. He was eager to get started.

“We’ve been in the weight room since Feb. 14 and it’s refreshing to get out on the field and put things together, get kids in new positions and get some energy out here,” he said, noting the team graduated 19 seniors.

Witt hopes to turn around a team that hasn’t had a winning season since the late 1990s.

“The staff is excited, the kids are excited,” he said. “We live in the now. We can’t do anything about yesterday. This is our last year in the Seminole District and we want to go out with a bang.”

Phillips moved his family to Madison Heights a short time after a series of powerful tornadoes touched down eight blocks behind his neighborhood in Suffolk in late April. Then he walked into a tumultuous situation at Amherst, where former players, including quarterback Peter Rose, were charged with drug possession and distribution in May.

After participating in a team camp with his staff and 44 Amherst players from July 13 to 15 at JMU, Phillips and the Lancers took the turf Monday for a 9 a.m. workout, seeking to build on a tradition of success while putting the off-the-field troubles behind them.

“We’ve moved forward,” he said. “We don’t talk about that. Last year’s seniors were the Class of (2008). Looking at the seniors on this year’s team, we’re asking them, ‘What’s your legacy going to be? What are you going to be remembered for?’”

He said the 2006 and 2007 state championship seasons give him and his staff a solid foundation to build upon, but also place pressure on the Lancers to perform.

“The expectations are high,” Phillips said. “Amherst’s been playing excellent football for a long time and we want to keep the program moving in that same direction.”

Over the past two months in the weight room, the players have made a positive impression on him, and vice versa.

“These kids have a tremendous work ethic,” he said. “I’m really pleased with the way the kids came out and practiced today. There is a lot of stuff that’s new.”

“They’re pushing us pretty hard,” added Anthony Rose, the junior brother of Peter, who graduated this past spring, and 2006 running back Jonathan Rose, now at JMU.

He is contending with sophomore Kirby Anderson to be Peter’s successor at quarterback and said his brother’s legal problems haven’t been a distraction.

“I’ve used it as motivation,” he said.

He started at quarterback on JV as a freshman and practiced as a backup to his brother and Anthony Fletcher, who’s also no longer on the team, last fall.

This summer, Rose went to a quarterback camp at Virginia and joined Anderson at another at Christopher Newport University.

“Anthony is a very gifted athlete and he has a smart head on his shoulders, too,” Phillips said.

Phillips is implementing a Wing-T offense that he used at King’s Fork, William Campbell as an assistant from 1994-96 and in Georgia with former Jefferson Forest coach Bob Christmas.

Rose said the Wing-T will force the quarterback to handle the ball even more than before, while maintaining a balance between the rushing and passing games.

“Most of the time, I’ll be rolling out,” he said. “Last year, (he) just stayed in the pocket.”

Phillips expects the transition to be smooth from the triple-option threat mastered by Abell.

“The team lost a lot of skill kids they need to replace, but have the entire offensive line back (except Josh Madison and Rayne Delong) and the offensive line sets the tone, especially with the Wing-T,” he said.