Marty Gordon
Hurricane Florence scored a touchdown on Virginia Tech, and even pulled out a safety when East Carolina had no real choice but to cancel their game with the Hokies.
Yes, the lives of those players, coaches and ECU fans are more important than a football game.
Tech Athletic Director Whit Babcock has been criticized almost everywhere for not making a quicker decision. In his and the university’s best interest, he was right to wait until mid-week, but ECU was also right in saying they had to make a decision on Monday when they closed down the North Carolina school.
There simply is no real winner or loser in the decision. Other schools had to make similar decisions.
Let’s all regroup. Living here in Blacksburg, we don’t know what its like to go through a hurricane along the coast. We are protected thanks to the Blue Ridge Mountains and have been lucky over the years not to deal with what those at ECU have seen over and over.
They knew it could be bad, and forecasters probably convinced them it would be worse. The storm is not as bad as they thought, but we must heed the warnings instead of waiting for it to happen.
Now, what do we do? I don’t think the ECU game would determine the Hokies season. As ticket holders out there, I know people are upset. But let’s think about what we would want to be done as human beings. The right decision was made, so let’s live with it
Tech can do one of two things—forget rescheduling the ECU game or look to someone else to fill the void. It might be too late for both. But there is a possibility just down the road in North Carolina.
A game with Virginia Tech can boost the image of any school, and I have perfect one north of Charlotte—Davidson, who is trying to fill its FBS schedule with Division III schools.
They are now 3-0 and have caught sports writers’ attention with last week’s basketball game—sorry I meant football game. Davidson downed Guilford 91-61. The team rolled to 57 points at halftime with524 yards on offense.
They play in the Football Championship Subdivision, the same as JMU, ODU and Liberty. Thursday, Davidson set NCAA records for total yards (964) and rushing yards (685) in a game, averaging 15.5 yards each play on the night, with eight of their 13 touchdowns accounting for more than 50 yards.
Former GW-Danville QB Hunter Byrnes plays for Davidson, and head coach Scott Abell got his start at Liberty High School and led Amherst High School to three state championships before taking over the program at W&L. He moved to Davidson last season.
The school has only managed to fill nine games on their schedule and probably would jump at the opportunity to play the Hokies.
Make the phone call Whit and let’s see what could be worked out. Davidson is a better opponent than ODU and William & Mary, and Hokie fans would get another game in Blacksburg.
Other news
A note on a former local player: Xavier Kane is making a name for himself at Blue Ridge Academy near Harrisonburg. The former Christiansburg High School quarterback lit up Hargrave Military Academy last week when he threw for 300-plus yards and rushed for another 241. James Madison and others have shown interest in the 6’1 signal caller.
A sneak peek at VT men’s basketball roster: The roster includes two walk-ons (Tyrese Radford and Brendan Palmer).
Radford is a 6’2, 180-pound point guard from Baton Rouge, La. Memphis, Louisiana-Lafayette, Murray State and Nicholls State had offered scholarships.
Palmer is a 6’5, 190-pound point guard. He played at Calvary Baptist (N.C.) Day School near Winston-Salem.
Ty Outlaw will also be back after fighting off two seasons of injuries. The team includes nine players out of 13 listed at guards.
The Virginia Tech hockey team will open play September 21 and 22 in their new home at the Lancelot Hockey Center, 1110 Vinyard Road, Vinton.
Their season will stretch through February.
In addition to the games against Richmond & UNC-Charlotte, the home schedule includes tilts with Virginia, Penn State-Harrisburg, Stevenson, James Madison, UNC, NC State, Delaware, Rowan, George Washington, West Virginia and Liberty.
Visit www.virginiatechicehockey.com for details on both home and away games and updated information on the Hokies.
The Hokies finished the 2017-18 season with a record of 16-9 and ranked in the top 20 in the American Collegiate Hockey Association’s Southeast Region.
Radford University’s club hockey team also plays at the Lancelot.
