Published: December 30, 2008 11:50 pm      

Memories from 2008 include Beaver-Graham, Pocahontas’ last stand and Bears in Richmond

BLUEFIELD — Too much happened in 2008 to narrow it down to 10. Below are a few more moments, in no particular order, that can’t be forgotten.

•Virginia Tech softball: Former Tazewell star Whitney Davis helped the Hokies to the Women’s College World Series, hitting a home run in a win over Michigan that sent Virginia Tech to Oklahoma City. Angela Tincher had an even bigger role, earning national player of the year honors, compiling a 38-10 record as a senior, along 679 strikeouts and an ERA of 0.63.

•Give the ‘Eers a Hug: In Bob Huggins first season at his alma mater, Huggins led West Virginia to a 26-11 record and an appearance in the NCAA’s Sweet Sixteen, dropping a 79-75 overtime decision to Xavier.

In the last four years, West Virginia has won the NIT title in 2007, and have reached the NCAA regional semifinals twice, and the regional finals once.

The future promises to only get better. Huggins brought in one of the nation’s top recruiting classes, led by Devin Eubanks.

•Snubbed by the NCAAs: The Virginia Tech men’s basketball team took out their frustrations at not being selected for the NCAA Tournament by reaching the NIT quarterfinals, losing to Mississippi at Cassell Coliseum.

Virginia Tech was led by high-flying Deron Washington, who made at least one ESPN SportsCenter highlight in each game.

The Hokies played with a slew of freshmen, all of whom are back. Virginia Tech is 8-4 with its ACC opener slated for Sunday night at Duke. They’ll also host archrival Virginia on Jan. 10.

•Game, set, match: Bluefield’s Chad Brady won his second straight Class A/AA state singles championship last May in Charleston.

Brady, a senior, who will try to make it three in a row in 2009, also combined with Cory Warner to win consecutive doubles championships.

•Doors closed: Pocahontas High School closed its doors for good after last school year. The Indians didn’t go out without a fight. The boys basketball team broke long losing skids in both the Mountain Empire District and also won a Region IV game. The softball team played the final sporting event in school history.

•From MCA to ACC’s leading scorer: Virginia Tech’s Brittany Cook led the ACC in scoring last season. The Mercer Christian product was poised for a solid senior campaign when she suffered a season-ending knee injury, the second time that has happened during his career with the Hokies.

Cook, whose father, Rick, died last fall, said she plans to appeal the NCAA for a sixth year of eligibility.

•No bowling again: It’s almost hard not to qualify in this bowl-saturated world of college football, but Marshall managed to do it for a fourth straight year.

Marshall started the season at 3-1, but won just once in its final seven games to finish at 4-8. The Thundering Herd is 16-31 in four seasons under head coach Mark Snyder.

The Herd, which has Graham alumni Robert Henry and T.J. Carper on its roster, last reached the postseason in 2004, losing to Cincinnati in Fort Worth Bowl.

•High-scoring Rams: The Bluefield College Rams are looking for a third straight trip to the NAIA Nationals. The Rams, favored to win the Appalachian Athletic Conference, are 9-4 this season, winning six straight before Christmas.

Meanwhile, the Lady Rams, who have struggled mightily in recent years, are 8-7 on the season under new head coach Steve Hardin.

•Boo ‘Hoos: The doldrums returned for Virginia football, which had a four-game win streak during the season, but finished 5-7.

Virginia head coach Al Groh, under fire all season for an offense that has been ranked among the worst in America for several years, fired his son, Mike, who was the offensive coordinator for the Cavaliers.

It was the second time in three years that Virginia set at home during the bowl season.

•Love good at BSC: The sports teams continue to struggle at Bluefield State, but there was a bright spot in 2007.

The Bluefield State tennis team, under the direction of new coach Louie Belt, placed two men (Andy Sarver, Dusan Zivkovic) and a woman (Yelena Fadina) on the All-WVIAC teams, a first in school history.

•Rags calls if quits: Long-time Giles football coach Steve Ragsdale stepped down after more than 30 years with the Spartans, leading Giles to three championships during his career. Jeff Williams stepped into his shoes and led Giles back to the Region C playoffs.

•Wrestling in Mercer: For the first time in school history, wrestling is now part of the athletic programs at Bluefield and PikeView high schools.

The program, pushed into fruition by former judge John Frazier, has returned to Princeton, which it had been about three decades ago.

•Greens know golf: Garland Green, now a Virginia Tech golfer and formerly at Tazewell High School, won the Pocahontas Amateur, while his father, Charles Green III, was named the VSGA’s top senior amateur, winning the Virginia State Golf Association’s Senior Amateur Championship.

Carol Green, who played at James Madison, participated on the Duramed FUTURES Tour in 2008, finishing as high as 14th and earning more than $3,500.

•Tornado rising: Richlands football won its fifth straight Southwest District and Region IV titles, and also made a fifth straight appearance in state semifinals, dropping a decision to Brookville...Richlands also advance to the Region IV baseball semifinals, led by pitcher Jordan Barnett.

•Prep golf still strong: High school golf continues to be strong in the region, led by Chandler Beavers, who helped Princeton to the state golf tournament for a fourth straight year. Graham’s Hunter O’Neal and Richlands’ Nathan Ashworth also advanced to the state tournament in Virginia.

•Division I signees: Richlands’ Austin Fuller spent this fall as a redshirt freshman at Virginia Tech. Bluefield’s Dexter Moore is currently seeing lots of playing time as a freshman at Coastal Carolina. Former Beaver Ansel Ponder recently gave a verbal commitment to play college football at Western Michigan.

•Big Creek back to the playoffs. A trio of Johnsons — Cody, Devon and Austin — led the Owls to a 7-3 record and their first postseason appearance since 1997, the same year that Big Creek finished second to Morefield in the Class A championship game.

•Bear sighting in Richmond: The Bland County Lady Bears took advantage of the new VHSL playoff format and advanced to the Group A, Division 1 state semifinals, a first for a program that once set a record for longest losing streak.

•All-American: Princeton senior Jeremy Chambers led Princeton a 17-5 record and an appearance in the state quarterfinals.

Chambers had an amazing senior campaign, so amazing he was selected as an All-American by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America and Adidas. Chambers had 40 goals and 19 assists this season for the Tigers.

•Volleyball feats: James Monroe advanced to the state tournament for the first time in school history, and didn’t stop until they got the finals. The Mavericks lost in the finals. Montcalm, in its first season with a team, also advanced to the Class A tournament in Charleston.

•Bowling against a legend: Bluefield resident Al Brooks won the George Pappas Open in Gastonia, N.C. this fall, defeating the PBA Hall of Famer in the process.

•Mavs still kicking: A new coach, a new offensive philosophy, an entirely new offensive line and its best player slowed all season by injuries.

That didn’t slow down James Monroe. The Mavericks went 9-4, losing to Magnolia in the Class AA semifinals, one year after advancing to the title game for the first time in school history.

•Bulldog turnaround: One year after a 1-9 campaign, the Tazewell football team improved to 9-3, reaching the Region IV finals before dropping an overtime heartbreaker to Richlands. Many of the athletes from Pocahontas transferred to Tazewell and play huge roles in their success.

T.J. Rasnick recovered from a bout with cancer to play abig part of Tazewell’s turnaround season.

•Heisman visit: The Heisman Trophy, which was presented earlier this month of Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford, paid a visit to the area. Local residents were able to go see the actual trophy while it spent a day at Cole Nissan in Green Valley.

•Calling the game: Princeton resident Mike Eades, a long-time college basketball referee, was able to call the ACC championship game for the first time in his career.

•The game: Graham vs. Bluefield. The G-Men won 25-23. Or did they? While Graham left with the win, many feel that Will Cole scored on the game’s final play that would have given the Beavers the win.

In one of the more controversial finishes in series’ history, the final seconds of this game added another chapter to one of the top rivalries in America.

•In memorial: Rick Cook, Morgan Campbell and Vic Nystrom.

All three were prominent coaches in the area, and all left us much too soon.

There’s much more that happened in 2008, but hopefully you get the hint.

It was a year to remember.

—Contact Brian Woodson

at bwoodson@bdtonline.com