WHAT YOU NEED NOW - CONTENT UPDATED THROUGH THE DAY
July 31, 2005
HIGHLANDER TRADITION
Midnight Madness Features Grid Practice Under the Stars, Girls Soccer State
Champs in Gym
By Grant Traylor
Huntington News Network Sportswriter
Huntington, WV (HNN) - The first seconds of August will be welcomed by
sirens, whistles and shouts as the first available time to open football
practice in West Virginia takes place.
Most teams have been dormant since November, including the Huntington
Highlanders, who lost in the first round of last year's playoffs to
Bridgeport.
Now, the hungry Highlanders are counting down to the time when they can
erase the memories of being upset by the Indians.
That time is set for 12:01 a.m. Monday morning, Aug. 1, 2005.
Huntington opens with Midnight Madness, which is quickly becoming an annual
fixture in the regime of head coach Richard Williams.
Williams and his coaching staff leads the team through conditioning as
Huntington fans fill the track area and bleachers to catch the first glimpse
of the squad.
This year, Huntington not only opens with the first official practice of the
2005 football season; they also open the regular season up at Laidley Field
on August 25 against MSAC rival Capital.
Therefore, getting an early start to the practice season is equally
important to the Highlanders, who are looking to make noise in the 2005
postseason.
The squad will have to overcome the losses of Marquis Martin, Ricky Phillips
and Gordy Newsome. All three players have moved on to play collegiate
football with Phillips and Martin going to Division I schools.
Phillips will go to Division I-A member West Virginia University while
Martin will play at the Division I-AA level with Eastern Kentucky.
While Huntington's football team is looking for leaders to take over, the
Huntington girls soccer team will also open its season at 12:01 a.m. in the
Highlander Gym.
Head coach Bob Hogsett will look for his second straight West Virginia state
championship and it appears that the squad is the frontrunner leading into
the season.
Huntington only lost three players from the 2004 squad that finished ranked
#19 in the nation. Back to lead the team is Aly Shattls, who will play at
South Carolina once her high school career ends this season.
For Shattls and the rest of the Highlander seniors, they hope that their
high school career ends the same way their junior season ended: hoisting a
state championship trophy.
Stay tuned to www.HuntingtonNews.net for coverage of Midnight Madness at
Huntington High School this weekend.
