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Sniff the Wind—Football Is In the AirBy MAC RUTHERFORDStar Sports WriterIt may seem strange considering the heat wave that is gripping the East Coast, but football is in the air.Can anyone think football with temperature readings of 90 plus?Listen to this. Handley will travel to James Wood for their annua! clash on Sept. 5, less than a month away.The first signs that football was in the air started drifting into the sports department in the form of mail. It came from the Redskins, Virginia Tech, James Madison. It came in the form of schedules, releases on players and just notices that things were getting under way.The fans became fully aware of it last Saturday when Green Bay and San Diego played in the Hal! of Fame game.If you still don’t believe it take a little time Monday and drop by James Wood, Handley, Warren County or Clarke County. High school football practice in Virginia gets underway Monday.Everywhere you turn there is the beginning of the excitement that football generates.No where is football generating more excitment than at the University of Virginia.The Cavaliers will be going for their second straight winning season, something that has not happened very often at Mr. Jefferson’s University.Last season the Wahoos were 6-5 and the feeling is they could do even better this time around. Coach Dick Bestwick will have 39 lettermen including 16 starters returning fromlast year.The one stumbling block for the Cavaliers may be the schedule. This year Virginia will not play Richmond, VM1 and James Madison, easy wins last year. Instead the 'Hoos will play Tennessee, Rutgers and West Virginia.Another reason for excitment at Virginia is the ‘New’ Scott Stadium will be completed and ready. Last year the Cavaliers played in a stadium that was only half a stadium. The upper decks were only half completed.“We will have a big time football stadium for the first time this season. In the past Virginia has not had a stadium that could be called big time, now we do,” said Virginia sports information director Doug Elgin.This will be Elgin's first year in that post at Virgina. For the past three years he served as SID at Lafayette.Elgin replaces Todd Turner. Turner has been promoted to Sports Promotions Director.“We’re gearing up sports promotions at Virginia. We are becoming more successful at both the gate and on the field,” Elgin said,The changes of gate success will increase by 12,000 new seats at Scott Stadium this season. The stadium will now seat 36,578.Virginia will play its first game in the ‘New’ stadium on Sept. 13 against Navy.If you’re still not convinced that football is in the air, tune in to WMAL tonight at 8 p.m. and listen to the Redskins play the Baltimore Colts atBaltimore’s Memorial Stadium It will be the first pre-season game for both teams.A tape of the game will be shown on channel 7 on Sunday at 8 p.m. Calling the plays for the TV telecast will be Tim Brant and former Redskin Ron McDole.THIS AND THAT ABOUT EVERYTHING:....West Virginia is ranked 48th among major colleges in winning percentage for the 1970s with a record of 58-52 for a percentage of .527.....Senior Mountaineer defensive back, Fulton Walker was Uth in the nation in punt returns last year with an average of 9.6 yards a return.....The Washington Capitals will open their preseason Sept. 22 against i--the Minnesota North Stars in Stockholm, Sweden.....Former Cavalier, Grant Hudson has returned to the St. Louis Cardinals of the NFL after as absence of three days. The 280 pound offensive tackle was fined $1,500 for being AWOL.....The Washington Bullets will open their quest for a 13th straight playoff appearnce Oct, 10 when they play the Pistons in Detroit’s Silver-dome. The first Bullet home game at the Capital Centre will be Oct. 11 against the Philadelphia 76ers.... George Stoddart, one of the greatest fans of the Washington Redskins , has started talking about his heroes already. His big question now is, Just how well do the Redskins get fed during training camp?” .u-
Newspaper Details
Winchester Star
Winchester, Virginia, US
Sat, Aug 09, 1980
Page 24
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MD, USA 11 Nov 2024
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