New school means more spots available

By Shane Mettlen

Published: July 30, 2008

Eastern View High School isn’t even officially open for business yet with students enjoying the waning days of summer vacation, but having a second high school in Culpeper is already providing more opportunities for county’s kids.

EVHS opened football practice Monday 115 players trying out. That’s five more than tried out for the Culpeper County High School program last year when CCHS had double the enrollment of the two high schools this year. The Blue Devils open practice today and if CCHS coach Greg Martz has anywhere near as many players show up for his camp it will make for a very impressive county-wide showing.

With twice as many spots available on varsity and junior varsity rosters this fall it’s looking like nearly twice as many kids are seeing an opportunity to play. Eastern View coach Greg Hatfield said he wasn’t planning on making any cuts to his roster and if he had known just how many would come out he would have pushed for a freshman team at EVHS.

The outstanding football turnout might be a result of Culpeper Football Association becoming one of the biggest youth football organizations in Virginia. A tremendous feeder program can only have a positive effect on the varsity programs. But it might also be a good sign for some fledgling sports programs that haven’t had high numbers in the past at CCHS.

Some parents and supporters have wondered aloud how Culpeper could field two high school programs in sports such as volleyball and swimming, where CCHS has struggled at times to fill out its roster. Even lacrosse, a sport that has seen a surge in popularity in Culpeper in the past few years had just enough players for a varsity and junior varsity team at CCHS with few players failing to make the cut.

If the early returns on football are any indication though, the county’s kids are recognizing the fact that a new school means more extracurricular opportunities.

SOAP BOX SUCCESS: Despite the fact that the past two years the two largest local Soap Box Derbies in the nation belonged to Fredericksburg and Culpeper, until this year drivers from this area hadn’t made a huge impact on the national scene.

Brandon Feagan bucked the trend when he won the Masters Rally division at the All-American Soap Box Derby in Ohio on Sunday and his Culpeper-area counterpart Hunter Chapman V took third in the Super Stock Rally. Feagan’s victory was the first time a racer from Culpeper or Fredericksburg had won an event in Akron, outside of Fredericksburg’s Scott Reed winning the Masters Rally in 2006.

The only other driver from the area to win a trophy at the All-American Derby was Jennifer Reed of Fredericksburg, who took third in the stock division in 2004.

Feagan actually joins rare company in Virginia. He’s just the third Virginian in the 71-year history of the event ever to win a race a Soap Box world championship along with Reed and Waynesboro’s Mark Stephens, who won the Stock division in 1997.