Virginia teams top Maryland, advance to ACC finals
By Whitelaw Reid / wreid@dailyprogress.com | 978-7250
April 28, 2007

DURHAM, N.C. - A three-goal deficit and a feisty Maryland squad? It was no problem for Virginia lacrosse on Friday night.

The UVa men’s team beat Maryland, 11-10. Playing just a few miles down the road in Chapel Hill, the Virginia women defeated the Terrapins, 10-7.

With the comeback victories, both teams advanced to their respective ACC Tournament final on Sunday. The men will take on the Duke, while the women play North Carolina.

The men were led by Ben Rubeor’s three goals. Jack Riley and Steve Giannone added two each. Goalie Kip Turner had nine saves.

“It was a great lacrosse game, furious action end-to-end,” said Virginia coach Dom Starsia. “It was a game of spurts. I don’t think we played very smartly at the beginning of the game or very smartly in the last five minutes, but I thought we played hard throughout.

“I was proud of the effort overall. It was certainly a good win. To beat Maryland twice in the same season says a little something.”

The women, who received three goals apiece from Kate Breslin and Blair Weymouth, trailed Maryland, 7-4, midway through the second half but responded with six unanswered goals.

“We told them that we needed to work just a little bit harder and stay the course,” said Virginia coach Julie Myers, referring to a pep talk she gave her players just prior to the comeback. “We stayed composed and they began to unravel. Three of their key kids ended up getting yellow cards.”

With 11 minutes, 25 seconds left to play, Breslin tied the game at 7. Less than three minutes later, Weymouth scored to give Virginia (15-3) its first lead of the game.

Myers said her defensive unit, led by goalie Kendall McBrearty, was instrumental in holding the Terrapins’ offense scoreless down the stretch.

“She made huge saves at key times,” Myers said. “I think they were outstanding [saves] and came at critical moments.

“When your keeper’s making saves and you’re transitioning well and capitalizing at the other end, you really start believing that there’s nothing the team can’t do. They just rode the emotion.”

In the men’s game, it was Maryland that seemed to be playing with more emotion in the early going. The Terrapins took a quick 4-1 lead.

“We’re used to adversity and used to dealing with it,” Rubeor said. “I thought we came out with a lot of energy, but they got up on us because they’re a good team.”

Rubeor scored consecutive goals to make it 4-3 before giving Virginia a 6-5 lead with 6:47 to go in the half. UVa led 7-6 at the break.

“It says a lot about the character of our team,” said Virginia defender Ricky Smith, when asked about the squad not getting down following its slow start. “We had a chance to collapse, but we didn’t. We settled down.”

Virginia (12-2) came out strong to start the second half. Goals by Garrett Billings, Steve Giannone and Ryan Kelly gave the Cavaliers a commanding 10-6 lead.

Maryland (9-5) clawed to 11-10 with 1:21 remaining on a goal by Dan Groot. In the final minute, Turner stopped a game-tying shot attempt by Groot.

“I thought we gave them back some opportunities and did some things we didn’t need to do,” Starsia said. “They had two extra-man goals in the fourth quarter that really hurt us.

“But we’re certainly happy to get the win.”

On Sunday, both Virginia teams will be gunning for their second straight ACC championship.

“In a lot of ways - I don’t want to be melodramatic - it’s been a miracle season,” Starsia said. “Coming off last year with the emotion of all that and the change in personnel, the inexperience of this group … the fact we’ve been able to win is just startling to me.

“I don’t think there’s any sense that we’re playing that well, but we’re 12-2 and playing for the ACC Championship. Who would have thought?”

Ground balls

The Virginia men won 17 of 25 faceoffs and also had an edge in shots (41-39) and ground balls (42-36). … Late in the first half, Rubeor fell to the ground after his right kneecap popped out of place. Shockingly, he was able to walk off the field and return to the game. “The knee’s fine,” Rubeor said. “The kneecap has popped out a few times [this season]. It’s more of an initial-pain thing. It’s not really hindering my play.” … The Virginia women won 11 of 19 draws and edged the Terrapins in ground balls, 12-10. … Myers said controlling the tempo was a key to the win. “We wanted to keep it lower-scoring,” she said. “We wanted to slow the game down a little and not let Maryland have the ball as much as they like to have it. We stuck to the game plan and it worked exactly how we wanted it to.”

 

In NFL circles, Cavs well-liked
By Jay Jenkins / jjenkins@dailyprogress.com | 978-7250
April 28, 2007

Positioned like a fly on the wall, Al Groh overheard some comments two weeks ago that had his ears perking up.

While the main focus for Virginia’s football coach remained on the spring game that was moments from kicking off, Groh flashed a smile during a simple conversation between Houston Texans running back Wali Lundy and Jason Snelling, who hopes to follow in his former teammate’s footsteps.

“Wali was telling Jason Snelling to get ready and that what is done in practice at Virginia is exactly what you are going to see in training camp,” Groh recounted. “Wali told him that he would be ready and lots of other players would not.

“That was really a nice thing to hear.”

Groh’s excitement did not lead to his second-ever chest bump. He hears that self-gratifying compliment all the time from players who traded in their Cavalier duds for a hefty paycheck.

In a way, Lundy just joined a long list of former Cavaliers sharing and voicing the belief that Virginia’s NFL-like approach to practice remains meaningful.

It certainly helped Snelling sleep easier.

“I played with Wali Lundy, so I know how hard he worked and I take what he says for gold,” Snelling said. “Wali did it last year as a rookie and he made me realize what I can expect going into the league. We have been doing it for five years with Coach Groh and I know it kind of gives us an edge to have been around that NFL mentality and that NFL schedule.”

More opinions may follow - a small collection of former Virginia players, including Snelling, await their professional football fate this weekend as the 72nd NFL Draft gets underway today and runs through Sunday.

Should Virginia have a player selected, it would keep a streak alive - the Cavaliers have had at least one player selected in the draft every year since 1984 and 18 have been selected in the past five years. In the ACC, only Miami (40), Florida State (31) and Virginia Tech (26) have had more selections since 2002.

“I guess for me, I would say that it confirms that we did what we set out to do when we got here,” said Groh, sporting a 37-26 record during that span. “The talent pool needed to be replenished … and a lot of people worked hard and diligently to do that and for the league to confirm that is a nice thing to see.”

Encouraging draft stats indeed, but another question looms: Can Virginia be considered one of the nation’s best football factories?

Mike Toliver, a sports agent at Global Management Group, said Virginia’s reputation is well known in the league. Having represented five former Virginia players, he has seen one common theme.

“Coach Groh, with his NFL background, runs that program a certain way and you know, if nothing else, that from a discipline standpoint and how they approach the game that the players are going to be ready for the next level,” said Toliver, whose client list includes Antwoine Womack (1997-2001) and hopeful draftees such as Tony Franklin, Michael Johnson and Deyon Williams.

“One of the toughest things is how NFL teams approach the game. When you are in college and you have a couple of bad practices, the coach is still going to play you. But when you get to the NFL and you have a couple of bad practices, you might not dress out for five weeks. Somebody might have your job.

“And the UVa guys don’t approach the game like that; they know better than that.”

With exception to on-field and recruiting results, it serves as the ultimate compliment to Virginia’s coaching staff.

“That is certainly the goal and we like to hear guys say that,” Groh said. “One thing that we have been able to say to scouts and the personnel people when they come around is ‘You will have to determine what you think of the player’s ability and who should be on your team, but we feel very confident that players that come out of Virginia will know how to compete and they will know how to work and they will be a good team guy.’”

Despite the rave reviews about how Groh, a journeyman in the NFL as a coach, and Virginia prepare its players for life after textbooks, not every player picked the school with professional football in mind.

“Back then when I picked Virginia, it was kind of crazy,” said Williams, who finished his career ranked 15th in program history in receptions (95) and receiving yards (1,237). “For me, it was about football, but at the same time, I didn’t care about football. To be honest with you, I didn’t care about the draft.

“I care about my life after the draft and what I want to do after football. That is the big issue. This stuff is exciting but the NFL doesn’t last long so you always have to have something on your mind that you want to do after football. That’s why getting my degree from Virginia was a big, big part of my goal.”

Former Virginia cornerback Marcus Hamilton agrees.

“I thought about making it to the next level,” he said, “but I didn’t think about picking Virginia as though it was going to help propel me to the next level.”

Those sentiments are fine with Groh. Having witnessed how short careers can be and having graduated from Virginia in 1967, the coach directly knows the benefit of the school’s academic reputation.

With that in mind, Groh’s recruiting formula remains consistent.

“Look at the tape, look at the transcript, look in their eyes, connect the dots and you will know who this person is,” Groh said. “I think if you do that, you have a pretty good chance at success with the player and the player has a pretty good chance of reaching his full potential.”

 

Thompson's gem overshadowed in 14-run explosion by Virginia
By Jay Jenkins / jjenkins@dailyprogress.com | 978-7250
April 28, 2007

Jacob Thompson caught himself enjoying what he termed a “selfish” thought.

En route to hurling yet another sparkling gem on the mound at Davenport Field on Friday, Virginia’s ace pitcher noticed that his strikeout total was lacking.

Thompson, however, laughed off the moment of reflection, regained his focus and cruised to a complete-game, four-hit victory in a 14-0 rout over Maryland (23-22, 7-15 ACC).

“I got a little upset in the first three or four innings because I had only one strikeout, but I knew I had to just keep my team in it,” said Thompson, after improving to 10-0 on the season. “I knew the strikeouts would come and if they didn’t, oh well.”

Thompson, who lowered his ERA to 1.38, managed six strikeouts and pushed his streak of innings pitched without an earned run to 27.2 at home, had his performance overshadowed by the 17 hits and the ample run support he received from his teammates.

It could not have come a better time - No. 3 Virginia (35-10, 14-7 ACC) was sporting its first losing streak of the season, a minor two-game skid, following a 7-6 loss to James Madison in 14 innings on Wednesday.

Virginia catcher Beau Seabury, who made the final out on a deep fly ball against the Dukes less than 48 hours prior, gave Thompson all the offense he needed with a solo homer off Maryland starter Kevin Biringer (3 IP, 4 H, 3 ER) in the second inning.

“That should have been Beau’s third home run in three at-bats,” Thompson said, “because he hit some balls really well late against JMU.”

After scoring two more runs off Biringer (3-9) in the third, Virginia roughed up Maryland reliever Ian Schwalenberg in the fourth and fifth inning.

The Cavaliers plated four runs in the fourth, a frame keyed by a two-run double by Brandon Marsh (4 for 5, 6 RBI).

Leading 7-0 entering the fifth, Virginia promptly chased Schwalenberg (1.2 IP, 8 H, 10 ER) from the contest with a lengthy two-out rally that included another two-run double from Marsh and a two-run single from Sean Doolittle.

As Thompson continued to work effectively (he retired 10 of the last 11 batters he faced), Virginia added a lone run in the eighth on Patrick Wingfield’s third homer of the season.

“For whatever reason, our guys came out charged up and really focused,” O’Connor said. “I don’t recall the last time that we had a Friday game in the league like that.”

Nine different players registered a hit for Virginia, including designated hitter Jeremy Farrell, who was making his third start since returning from an arm injury. Farrell finished 4 for 5, upping his average to .451 on the season.

“I knew it was a matter of time before Jeremy got into a groove,” O’Connor said. “He hasn’t swung the bat like he did tonight since he came back, and it was great to see.

“I would have loved to have seen him get that fifth hit because you don’t see that too often in college baseball.”

Virginia and Maryland are set to tangle again today at 7 p.m.

 

Building UVa athletics
By Jerry Ratcliffe / jratcliffe@dailyprogress.com | 978-7251
April 28, 2007

Editor’s note: This is the first of a three-part series on the life and times of Charlottesville’s Gene Corrigan, who will be inducted into the state of Virginia’s Sports Hall of Fame tonight in Portsmouth.

During the last 50 years, Gene Corrigan’s fingerprints are all over intercollegiate sports as an athlete, a coach, director of athletics, conference commissioner, NCAA president and finally as a knowledgeable consultant.

Nowhere has his impact been felt more than in Charlottesville where he was first a coach, but later became the man that changed the path for University of Virginia athletics as a bold, progressive athletic director.

He hired Terry Holland, hired Debbie Ryan, hired Bruce Arena - all destined for halls of fame of their own. He started the women’s athletic program at UVa and authored one of the most important papers ever penned at a history-rich university that knows something about important penmanship: The Corrigan Report.

When he was hired away from Washington and Lee in 1971 to become Virginia’s athletic director, Corrigan wasn’t blindly walking in. Years before, he had simultaneously served as the Cavaliers’ lacrosse coach (replacing Bob Sandell), soccer coach, freshman basketball coach, was also the varsity’s only assistant basketball coach and main

recruiter, plus taught three physical education classes a day. Oh yeah, he also sold insurance in his spare time.

So, he kind of knew what he was getting into. Virginia was one of the worst athletic programs in the ACC. It had little money budgeted for sports and little support.

After a short while, Corrigan became frustrated and spent much of the summer writing a report that he would hand to UVa president Frank Hereford in August, a plan that could help put a greater emphasis on making the school’s athletic program more competitive in the ACC.

“I told him, ‘Please read this over the weekend ... you might want to fire me on Monday,’” said Corrigan, who retired to Charlottesville in 1997.

In the report, the AD had written that Virginia’s athletic programs had become stagnant, but had potential to be very good. The school had a foreign language admissions requirement that had cost them scores of quality student-athletes.

“There were other things, a lot financial, a lot attitudinal within the university,” Corrigan remembered. “[Hereford] read the whole thing and called me to his office. I thought maybe he’d give me a ticket to the next town.

“But he had all his vice presidents there and wanted all of them to read the report and for everyone there to figure a way to help,” said Corrigan. “That was the most amazing thing that a president would take the ball and run with it like that. We didn’t change a lot, but what I saw was huge. It was the beginning to a road map for success.”

It took a while to get things turned around in football, but Bill Gibson had the basketball program going in the right direction, followed by Holland, who would lead the Cavaliers to greater heights, as would Ryan in women’s basketball and Arena in soccer.

Holland was a key hire. Gibson had brought in Barry Parkhill, who earned All-America status and made UVa competitive in the ACC. These were the first signs that athletic success could happen in Charlottesville. Parkhill also began to fill University Hall, creating unprecedented interest and a financial boost.

Gibson soon left for South Florida and Corrigan had to find the right man to build off that success. After a month, he had narrowed his list to three: Holland, whom he had never met, from Davidson; Tom Davis from Lafayette, which had beaten UVa in the NIT; and Larry Brown (yes, THAT Larry Brown), who was then head coach of the ABA’s Carolina Cougars.

“[Brown] called me up and said, ‘Coach (he always and still calls Corrigan, ‘Coach’), there’s only two great jobs in America ... North Carolina and Virginia and I’m your man.”

Corrigan had Holland coming in that Saturday, Brown on Sunday and Davis on Monday. It never went past Saturday.

Holland met Corrigan and then-UVa president Edgar Shannon at The Lawn. After an impressive meeting for both sides, Corrigan and Holland stood on The Lawn and Corrigan asked Holland if he wanted the job. Holland said yes.

“I said, ‘OK, it’s yours,’” Corrigan said.

“Just like that?” Holland replied.

“I said, ‘Just like that,’” Corrigan noted.

The rest is history.

Ryan was assistant basketball coach to part-time coach Dan Bonner. Her fire and energy were evident and after Bonner decided to give up the job and join the radio network, Corrigan couldn’t find anyone else just right for the job.

Assistant ADs Jim West and Barbara Kelley, who had started the women’s program, urged Corrigan to hire Ryan. There was just one problem. She was Corrigan’s niece.

Hereford wanted to know what was the hold-up on hiring a coach and Corrigan explained the situation.

“He said, ‘What’s her last name?’” Corrigan recalled, to which he replied, “Ryan.”

‘“Well, it’s not Corrigan, so go ahead and hire her,’” Hereford told his AD.

Holland and Ryan went on to become the school’s winningest coaches, claiming several ACC titles and five combined Final Fours.

Corrigan knew a little about coaching soccer and lacrosse (he had coached UVa to the 1972 national title without a scholarship player), so when Arena (a grad assistant at Cornell) showed up for an interview in what Corrigan remembers as “the ugliest suit I had ever seen (it was yellow, double-knit),” the AD overlooked the fashion.

After the interview, Corrigan asked West what he thought and West agreed, ‘”this kid’s good.’” Arena was hired to coach both sports, just as Corrigan once had.

“Who would have ever known?” Corrigan said of Arena’s future success, which included creating a college soccer dynasty at UVa before becoming head coach of the U.S. national team for two World Cups.

Football wasn’t as easy. As soon as he agreed to become Virginia’s AD, Corrigan determined that it was time to make a change and relieve coach George Blackburn of his duties.

“When I look back on my career, I think if there was anything maybe I would not have done, it would have been [firing Blackburn],” Corrigan said.

Attracting football coaches to Virginia wasn’t easy. He called Bo Schembechler at Michigan and asked for help. Bo recommended assistant Jim Young, who had coached the Wolverines in the Rose Bowl when Schembechler suffered a heart attack.

“I talked to Young and when he heard about our academics he said, ‘You can’t do it there,’” Corrigan said. “He asked if we could get the same guys in school as Maryland and Carolina, and I said no. Then he said, ‘I can’t take your job.’”

He hired Don Lawrence, then UVa alum Sonny Randle, then Dick Bestwick, all who couldn’t turn it around. Bad timing prevented Corrigan from landing Vanderbilt’s Steve Sloan and Navy’s George Welsh, who would eventually come after Corrigan departed to Notre Dame to take on the next challenge of his career.

Coming Sunday: Corrigan under the Golden Dome.

 

Terps thwarted in semifinal, 11-10
By Adi Joseph
Special to The Sun
Originally published April 28, 2007

DURHAM, N.C. // The Maryland men's lacrosse team refused to leave Durham quietly last night.

No. 3 Virginia knocked the No. 7 Terps out of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament with an 11-10 win, marking the Cavaliers' fourth consecutive victory over their ACC rival. Maryland coach Dave Cottle said before the semifinal that his team could not allow the Cavaliers to score 10 goals, and the high-scoring game did not seem to favor the Terps.

"I just never felt comfortable," Cottle said. "Even when we were scoring, we just never felt comfortable."

Senior goalie Harry Alford returned with nine saves for the Terps. But Maryland may find itself without another senior defensive leader after All-ACC defender Ray Megill went down in the first period and never returned.

The Terps hung close, with Virginia leading 7-6 in the first half. Then, after falling behind by four with only 10:05 remaining in regulation, the Terps battled back yet again. Terps sophomore midfielder Dan Groot scored two of his career-high four goals in the rally, which put the game at 11-10 with 1:11 remaining, and an extra man for Maryland after a foul on Virginia attackman Ben Rubeor.

But Groot took the final shot for the Terps, a stick save by goalie Kip Turner, and Maryland's hopes were crushed. Even in the close loss, the Terps attempted to stay positive.

"It's demoralizing. It hurts," Maryland senior defender Steve Whittenberg said. "But losing is losing, and we've got to go on to the next game."

The Terps started Alford for the first time all season. Alford had played the second half of the Terps' 14-10 win over Penn last Saturday, and he allowed 11 goals.

But the Terps may now have to deal with another injury to a senior defensive leader. Megill suffered an injury in the first quarter on a foul by Rubeor, whom Megill was guarding. Rubeor notched three goals and two assists.

Still, defeating a rival on a grand stage is a good win regardless of score, and Virginia coach Dom Starsia knows the importance of the win, as the Cavaliers prepare to face Duke, which beat North Carolina, 13-9.

"It was a second good win - you beat Maryland twice in the same season, that says a little something," Starsia said. "We're pleased to come away [with a win] even at 11-10."

• No. 2 Duke 13, No. 10 North Carolina 9 // Backed by an outstanding all-around performance from senior attackman Matt Danowski, who had two goals and four assists, the Blue Devils' offense looked spectacular. The Tar Heels allowed Duke to slip away in a big fourth quarter, during which the Blue Devils scored five times.
 

If Long goes to baseball, then what?
Running back Whaley was No. 2 among juniors
By Doug Doughty

Not a word of disagreement was heard when The Roanoke Times’ list of the state’s top juniors was headed by offensive lineman Kyle Long from St. Anne’s-Belfield in Charlottesville.

Long’s pedigree, as the son of NFL hall-of-famer Howie Long, is unimpeachable. And, any questions about the level of competition at St. Anne’s-Belfield was erased by the collegiate performance of Virginia’s defensive lineman Chris Long, Kyle’s older brother.

But, now comes word that Kyle Long is likely to concentrate on baseball in college and that a commitment to Florida State might be imminent. If that is the case, it’s not readily apparent who the new No. 1 would be.

Greg Roberts, a walking Virginia Tech billboard who now operates a motorized billboard service, met me for lunch today with a copy of The Commonwealth Board’s pre-May evaluation period Top 35.

I couldn’t begin to tell you who or what The Commonwealth Board is, but it wasn’t a a bad list. The top two players were offensive lineman Vincent (actually Vinston) Painter from Maury High School in Norfolk at No. 1 and Long at No. 2.

“You’d never do that,” somebody at the SEC Roundtable said. “You don’t like offensive linemen.”

He was right. I’ve pretty much sworn off offensive lineman in favor of skilled-position players on the Top 5. Tight ends, too. Part of the attraction with Kyle Long was his name recognition. Howie Long’s son. Kyle Long’s brother. He must be a player.

Plus, he already had football offers from just about everybody. According to rivals.com, that list includes Florida, Florida State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State, Southern Cal, Virginia and Virginia Tech.

His only baseball offer is from Florida State.

There’s nothing to indicate that Florida State isn’t sincere in its offer or that Long isn’t sincere in his statements that he’s leaning toward baseball and that he would not play both sports in college.

On the other hand, I can tell you what everybody is thinking: that Florida State is hoping he’ll get on campus, change his mind – not necessarily about baseball but about playing both sports – and end up becoming the Seminoles’ next great offensive lineman. That would be Bobby Bowden’s best chance at getting him.

But, let’s say Long sticks with his current preference of baseball, for which the early signing period is in November. You can’t very well make him the No. 1 football recruit at that point, so who would it be?

I tried to go back and look at the Top 25 package from last December but it has disappeared from roanoke.com (replaced by The Roanoke Times “Dream 18,” produced by workaholic golf writer Randy King). That was followed by a trip to the file cabinet, which revealed running back Kevin Whaley from Salem High School in Virginia Beach as the No. 2 junior in the state. Painter was No. 3, followed by Westfield quarterback Mike Glennon and running back Ryan Williams from Stonewall Jackson.

Glennon’s older brother, Sean, was rated the No. 1 junior in Virginia in 2002, but many analysts feel his younger and taller brother has more of an upside. As a senior, Sean Glennon was fourth on a Roanoke Times Top 5 that included No. 1 Olu Hall, No. 2 Eddie Royal, No. 3 Chris Long and No. 5 Kent Hicks.

Hall could become one of the all-time busts at No. 1, although he returned to Virginia’s roster this spring and still has three years of eligibility after requiring a postgraduate year at Hargrave Military Academy. He has a chance to have a better career than Hicks, who signed with Maryland, was allowed to enroll at Tech and never played for the Hokies before transferring to Liberty.

Love him or hate him, Sean Glennon’s status as the starting quarterback for Virginia Tech validates him as a Top 5 pick and that’s why his brother merits similar consideration. So does quarterback E.J. Manual from Bayside High School in Virginia Beach.

At least three players from Tidewater have a case for the new No. 1 prospect in the state – Painter, Whaley and Manual – and there might be 10 ACC-caliber players from the south side of Hampton Roads alone.

A NOTE FROM VIRGINIA PREPS editor Zirkle Blakey reminds me that a list of the state’s top 100 football prospects and their college choices has not been updated recently.

The number of players who remain unaccounted for would suggest that this year’s top 100 list was not as accurate as last year’s, when every prospect had at least a preliminary destination. As of Friday, this year’s list of uncommitted players numbered close to 25.

Northern Neck “correspondent” Randy Kelley should be thanked for pointing out that King William running back Marcus Temple is headed to Hargrave Military Academy. Temple, rated the state’s No. 74 prospect by The Roanoke Times, rushed for more than 4,000 yards in his King William career.

Although he is not listed on VMI’s website, Richlands High School offensive tackle Derek McKnight signed a football letter-of-intent with the Keydets. McKnight, one of six Blue Tornado seniors to announce college football plans, was 94th on The Roanoke Times list.

The state’s 98th-rated prospect, Benedictine tight end Kevin Estes, has signed to play Division I basketball for Hartford. Estes is the younger brother of former UVa tight end Patrick Estes, who was moved to offensive tackle after he was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers.

Cave Spring tight end Jeff Wardach, rated No. 92 by The Roanoke Times, was talking to Fork Union before he was admitted to Virginia Tech as an invited football walk-on. Fork Union coach John Shuman said Friday that he doesn’t know where Wardach stands.

Shuman also said that Virginia coach Al Groh was expected at Fork Union on Friday to talk with Marcus Dowtin, a junior running back for Mickey Sullivan’s undergraduate team. Eddie George and Chris Perry both came out of Sullivan’s program.

IN AN E-MAIL EXCHANGE this week, Groh preached restraint on the topic of Andrew Pearman, the short-time UVa wide receiver whose family has indicated he plans to return to the Cavaliers’ program.

Cavaliers’ sports information director Jim Daves said Pearman will not be added to the UVa roster until Daves gets a go-ahead from the school’s compliance office. Since Pearman left school in the fall without completing the semester, some paperwork will be required before his eligibility is restored.