Alumni and Friends of VMI:
Cyber Corps Numbers: 519
3rd Annual Memorial Mark Wilson 5K Run: For
those who have been Cyber Corps participants for a while, you'll
remember that a year or so ago we mentioned that Mark Wilson '88
was killed in a military training exercise. He left behind a wife
and small child. An annual 5K Run was begun as a means of raising
money for his child's future college expenses. More information
about the run, which is held in the Richmond area can be found
at: http://www.kreeganplunkett.com/vmi/markwilson.html
The First Cyber Baby (At Least the First We Mentioned to
the Cyber Corps): Pleased to announce that Cyber Corps
participant Ronald A. Robinson, Jr '87 and his wife Maggie were
blessed with the birth of their first child (Ronald A. Robinson,
III - class of 2020) on October 9. Congratulations to this Cyber
Family.
The Cyber Shirt: Some time ago I mentioned that
I was working on a design for a Cyber Corps shirt. Well it seems
that the prototype Cyber Corps polo shirt is close to being
ready. We'll try and have a picture of the shirt scanned for
everyone to review. Since the Cyber Corps logo incorporates the
VMI spider and since the spider is now trademarked, licensed, or
whatever they call it, I need to work out an arrangement with the
VMI Athletic Department before the shirts can be sold. I'll be
working on this. Stay tuned.
VMI Football:
Western Carolinas Hoover leaves Keydets in a
vacuum
W. CARO. 39 VMI 17
Sunday, November 1, 1998
BY VIC DORR JR.
Times-Dispatch Staff Writer
LEXINGTON -- Western Carolinas Catamounts used a Hoover to
sweep
Virginia Military Institutes beleaguered football team off
the surface
of Alumni Field.
Tailback Brad Hoover, as effective at slashing as he was at
bashing, rushed for 251 yards and scored five touchdowns
yesterday to lead Western Carolina to a 39-17 Southern Conference
victory over the Keydets.
Lead is the proper word. Hoover, who also caught
three passes for 40
yards, was the football equivalent of a cavalry commander on a
white
stallion. He produced 291 yards of total offense. VMIs team
produced
241.
We knew after watching the Morehead film -- a
reference to the
Keydets 41-38 loss last week --
that people sometimes have success running against
them, said Hoover.
Some of the coaches were reminding me about that. They
said, You know,
you might be able to do some damage.
Some damage? Hoover set Western Carolina single-game records for
rushing
yardage and touchdowns. He scored on runs of 1, 3, 17 and 6 yards
and
caught a 28-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Justin Cella. He
carried 33 times for a 7.6-yard average -- a performance that far
exceeded even his expectations.
I knew coming in that I needed 113 yards to reach 1,000 for
the
season, he said. Thats the number I was
shooting for: 113. Knowing
our game plan -- the Catamounts called three times as many
runs as
passes -- and considering how well our offensive line has
been playing,
I figured, Yeah, I ought to be able to do that.
Hoovers most remarkable number may have been this one: he
was trapped
behind the line of scrimmage only once, for a 1-yard loss, after
he and
backup quarterback Darren Miller failed to make a clean exchange
on a fourth-quarter handoff.
Hes a hard, tough runner -- thats the first
thing, said VMI defensive end Jordan Clark. The
second thing is: The guy can be pretty darned elusive when he
needs to
be.
The opening minutes of the first period spoke volumes. VMI (0-6,
1-8)
lost 12 yards on its first three snaps. Western scored in four
plays.
VMI threw an interception on its next possession. Western (4-3,
4-4)
scored in five plays.
Both of VMIs touchdown drives -- one in the third quarter
and another
in the fourth -- were sustained by multiple Western Carolina
penalties.
VMI gave up eight sacks and misfired on 11 of 14 third-down
conversions.
In general, Im afraid, it wasnt very good
football on our part, said
Keydets coach Ted Cain. We were inconsistent -- very
inconsistent -- in
every aspect of the game.
Cain is concerned about his clubs psychological health. VMI
was 0-11
last year and has now lost eight in a row after an opening-day
conquest
of Lenoir-Rhyne. It has been outscored
374-111 in those eight losses. The cumulative effect of so much
disappointment and frustration is beginning to take a toll.
Were going to have to dig extremely deep just to get
ready for [this
Saturdays game against] Appalachian State, said Cain.
Some will have to dig deeper than others. Clark, a senior
tri-captain,
put in a full days work despite sharp pain in his lower
back. Why not
call in sick and let someone else take a beating?
Its like I told the guys after [yesterdays]
game, said Clark. When
times are tough like they are now, when youre really down,
when it
seems like everybodys a critic, when youre looking
for answers and it
seems like you cant find any, theres only one place
you can look for
support and know youre going to find it: the guy next to
you.
Right now, thats the only answer: Were all in
this together. Weve
got to stick together. Weve got to be there for each other.
Weve got
to believe in each other.
VMI Soccer: At this point in the season, VMI's
soccer team stands at 1-12-1.
Southern Conference Basketball Tournament Location:
Seems that the 1999 tournament will be the last for the Southern
Conference in the Greensboro Coliseum.
Those vying for the site of future tournaments include the Bi-Lo
Center in Greenville, S.C., the North Charleston (S.C.) Coliseum,
the Charlotte Coliseum and the Asheville Civic Center. A decision
should be made by early December.
Preason Basketball Rankings (Men's Basketball): The Southern
Conference conducts preseason polls of its coaches and media. The
composite rankings:
On the men's side, Davidson (193 points) is the pick to win the
North
Division, beating out Appalachian (173), East Tennessee State
(125), VMI
(97), UNCG (71) and Western Carolina (51). Charleston (200) has
control
of the South and is followed by Chattanooga (173), Furman (112),
Georgia
Southern (95), Wofford (83) and The Citadel (51).
Looks like the Keydets should be fairly competitive in roundball.
You May Have Noticed A New Name: In reviewing
the above rankings you'll notice that Charleston is not only
listed, but is picked to control the South division of the
Southern Conference. The following article provides a little
insight.
Cougars not planning Southern hospitality
10-29-98
By ROB DANIELS
The Southern Conference has imported a beast to terrorize the
block, but
the longtime residents are smart enough not to run away screaming
and
begging for help. In this case, the beast is the help.
The College of Charleston, which ruled the Trans America Athletic
Conference the way Castro squashes Cuba, is the Southern's newest
member
and potentially its most important one. Right away. The Cougars
have
their top six players back from a 24-6 team that gave eventual
Final
Four participant Stanford a game in the first round of the NCAA
tournament. They are expected to win their new league and -- more
importantly -- to bring it credibility.
Charleston is ranked in several national preseason polls, and the
timing
of its arrival is perfect for a league that fell precipitously
last
year. While hoping for an NIT bid, Appalachian State coach Buzz
Peterson
knew his chances were shot when the selection committee started
talking
about his league's standing in the Rating Percentage Index chart,
which
Peterson was told had fallen from 18th to 24th in one year.
"That's what the NIT people kept telling me," said
Peterson, whose team
was 21-8. "I really think the College of Charleston coming
in is going
to make it better."
The Cougars went 80-6 in their TAAC play, and they've got a
witty,
inventive leader in John Kresse, whose winning percentage of .797
is
third among active coaches.
This is clearly a perfect match for a school that craved
stability like
none other. Of the school's first 14 coaches, 11 stayed one or
two years
and got out. Not Kresse, whose wife is the college's admissions
director
and who has the place to himself. No football, no pros, nothing
else.
"Instead of taking prospects to a football game, I take them
to the
beach. In October," he said.
The best reasonable scenario for the conference is to have
Charleston
boost its RPI with a win over Georgia and a second-round game --
win or
loss -- against North Carolina in the Preseason NIT. Let the
Bulldogs
run rampant over the league, secure an automatic NCAA bid and
then lose
the conference final. Having two members in the NCAAs would make
everybody happy.
"It will make everybody rise to the challenge," VMI's
Bart Bellairs
said. "This league needs to get two in the NCAA and one in
the NIT."
Kresse isn't boasting -- "I know it's going to tarnish my
record," he
joked -- but he also knows the Cougars should make the tournament
one
way or another. He also seems eager to have membership in a
legitimate
league, something the TAAC has never been called. And it doesn't
hurt to
have a conference rival, The Citadel, less than a mile away.
"Their cadets march onto our campus on Friday and Saturday
nights and
steal our coeds," he joked. "Now, it's warfare."
Hey, that's it for this week.
Yours in the Spirit,
RB Lane '75
Last Updated: October 11, 2009
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