Modern Chevy Hoop-D-Do attracts over 350 teams in its sixth year I BY FELEC1A P. MCMILLAN ^Sgecial to The Chronicle C#;*' For the sixth year, Modern I J* jChevy has sponsored the largest '* 'jtassroots basketball tournament !* fir the Triad. It was held Oct. 4-5 > in downtown Winston-Salem. In '? spite of other events going on in the area, such as the Dixie Classic I't^Fair, the Vantage Golf !j*?Tournament and the Greensboro [?ICity Stage, the tournament man ? -aged to attract more thagr^50 teams of men, women, boys and girls to the Hoop D-Do. The tour ?{lament ran from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. >*?dn Saturday and from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday. Several down ; -town streets were blocked off to ; ' accommodate the ball players and ; their fans. Gene Blackwelder, local coor ; dinator, was pleased with the com ; munity support of this annual ; event. "This is another feel-good ? weekend that brings people of all ; ages and all races together for fun ? and fellowship," said Blackwelder. ? A large cross-section of the com munity participated in the tourna ment, evidenced by teams that registered as church groups, recre ation centers, friends, companies, newspapers, and other organiza tions. Each team is guaranteed to Chester Atkina (right) of Champion Magic, from Champion Product*, via* with Joff Catty of Pruhts Squad, of tho YMCA, for tpacm on tho court at ho wafh for a post. play at least three times, but those that do well continue to perform. Individuals also compete in special events such as the slam dunk contest. Winners receive Converse shoes. Outstanding team members also receive T-shirts from the tournament. Modern Chevrolet is the title sponsor of the event. Rob Fowler, vice presi dent of the company, thought the tournament would be an excellent way to build community. The ages of the participints range from 10 to 50, and the ability levels of the players range from "couch potato to top gun" according to Black welder. According to Ben Piggott, who had several teams playing from the William C. Sims Recreation Center, teams came from Greensboro, High Point, Raleigh and Winston-Salem. He noted that the players participate for dif ferent reasons. "Some of the players just want to exercise and show off their skill," said Piggott, "Others who are older and have earned their legendary status on the court may just want to get the sludge out for a day. Others want to just see other players compete." Piggott was pleased to see that each of the courts had a referee. This helped the games to move more smoothly. Albert Scales came out to watch his daughter Portia Jones play. An eighth-grader, Portia plays with an AAU team and shoots up to 22 points per game for Walkertown Middle School. The Sara Lee Corporation spon sored her team by paying their entrance fee. The team won their first game 16-1 at 9 a.m. on Saturday. They returned to meet the next team at 1:30 p.m. that evening. "I'm very proud of Portia, and 1 try to get her involved in activities that will encourage her to keep her grades up and focus her talents," Scales said. One thing he liked about the Hoop-D-Do is that "All day you know where your kids are, and they are in a safe environment." There were many interesting names among the teams listed on the players' schedule in the middle of the tournament space. Some of the unique titles were "All That and a Bag of Chips," "Team Corn Bread," "Supreme Court," "The Butter Babies," The Get Fresh Crew," "Silent Assassins," "Killer Bees," "Tru Soldiers;" Mac Daddys," "Lady Cats," "Nothing But Net," "Hood Girls," "Silver Aces," "The Four Who Could," and "4 Bad Knees." The tournament has been referred to as the Hoop-lt-Up. According to Blackwelder, Hoop D-Do Streetball Partners own many three-on-three tournaments around the country. The Nike company called it the Hoop-It Up, and any other shoe company involved refers to their tourna ment as the Hoop D-Do. i BURCHETTE from page B1 k* ? , about 35 percent of his passes, but he's proven that he has good speed and can run the foot ball," Stone said. "He's really had some big games running the football." One reason is the change in the Titans' offense. West got out of their traditional multi ple Pro-I formation to line up in the Split-back veer set. Another is the lack of a big-play receiver. Last year Burchette connected on 62 of 148 passes for 989 yards and 11 touchdowns. He al$o added 260 yards rushing to lead the Titans to.a State 4-A playoff berth. ; This season Burchette has struggled to put up the same numbers throwing the football. His best game thus far came against East Forsyth when he threw for 99 yards, completing ? five of 12 throws with a touchdown. "I think he's doing a good job," Stone said. m" Jo* Burehott? "Our receivers are young and as they get better he'll get better." But he's had a lot of success running the football. Against Carver Burchette rushed for more than 100 yards and scored two touch downs. He was sacked several times, however, and finished with a net total of 89 yards. He leads West Forsyth in touchdowns scored with six. Right now Burchette is waiting to decide which college he will attend next fall. He's on the recruiting list of a number of Division I programs. Stone said what makes Burchette so attrac tive is his size and agility. "He is a big kid who can play," Stone said. "The knock on him had been his speed, but he's shown that he can run the football and move around. "He has a huge arm," Stone added. "He can throw it with anyone. He has played baseball a long time and was all-conference in baseball. He didn't come out for football until late, but he's an all-around athlete. He's a three-sport player and you just don't find a whole lot of them anymore." Lewisville Titans take 14-12 win over Vikings' flag team Perry Hopkins scored two touchdowns to lead the Tiny Vikings flag team, but they missed both conversions and Lewisville took a 14-12 victory. The Vikings fell to 1-4 with the loss. But Coach Edward Blackburn said he was proud of his team's effort. "It was a good effort," Blackburn said. "We'll try harder next week." ? yiyiMftg linebacker and I ? IIVIIlwJ jon Butler and ? from page Bl Eric Jones at defensive back, t That trio has also anchored the Vikings' offense. "Crowell had just a huge football game against I West last week," Buie said. "He's the one that carries l> our defense." Jones and Butler also have been carrying a big *? load on defense. But the two have made more of an * impact on offense. "Jones has been consistent at quarterback," Buie * said. "West couldn't handle him and he came through v with some big plays. . v "Butler has been a tremendous surprise on v offense," Buie added. "We knew he could do a lot to ? help us on offense, but he's also been giving us some *; big plays at tailback." ;? The offensive line, the biggest cause of concern * going into the season has rounded into a solid unit. "From Day 1 we knew we'd be better when the offensive line came together," Buie said. "They are still learning, but when they who who to block we're real tough to stop." The one area that North has struggled has been on its special teams. The Vikings have allowed a punt to be returned for a touchdown and had a punt blocked this season, both rarities under Buie. "That is only the second punt that we've had blocked in the six years that 1 have been here," Buie said. "We spend an awful lot of time on our special teams and things like that don't normally happen. And I can't ever remember another punt being returned for a touchdown. Our punt coverage and kickoff coverage haven't been what we like. Hopefully, we've gotten that corrected." If they have, Buie said he expects to put together a strong battle against Page. "We're still very young, but we're maturing," Buie said. "I think we'll be ready to play. But if the kids continue to give a great effort, I don't care what the score will be at the end." ??_? mj? i : : : : : ? | DUNLAP *, from page B1 ??; bright-eyed freshman. I- "I think I have learned a lot more about the men ?? tal aspects of football," he said. "Then I was just V reacting to what happens. It was just about all Ij instincts." Under Coach Alex Mebane, who served as the I' defensive coordinator for Reynolds during Dunlap's freshman season before becoming the head coach ^ last year, Dunlap said he has become more of a stu i; dent of the game. can show them a lot better than I can tell them." Mebane said Dunlap is the anchor for his defen sive unit. "Rodmond is definitely the guy that we expect to set the tone for our defense," Mebane said. "He's a veteran with a lot of experience under his belt. When he's playing well that usually means that our entire defense is playing well." A big game by Dunlap on Friday night and the Demons will have a chance to shut down Brown and the Spartans attack. If there are a lot of big hits, you expect Dunlap to be somewhere in the vicinity. "That's what it takes to be sue- r J? c&sful at this level," Dunlap said. ['? "You have to watch a lot tapes of }?> teams and really know what's *'* going on to do your job." Dunlap's experience has been a 'j key to the Demons' success this .'J season. That extends beyond the > playing Held. "A lot of the players on the ^-*team kind of look up to me ^because they know that I have v been on the varsity for two years," v.Dunlap said. "Although most of C;them are the same age or older )' 'titan I am, they know that I have \ been in a lot of games on the var sity. They look for me to set the ? .example sometimes." That can be a difficult chal jl- lenge for a player who doesn't have ?*an outgoing personality like ^;thinlap. Really I try to do my talking v^p the field," he said. "I think I | ?28 I5g5??T5S1 All Vinyl Replacement Wlndowa Dnal Rum- Low E Olaaa- Argon Ges Welded Mainframe A Welded Saahea Tllt-ln Saahee For Baay Cleanlng ___ FREE B8TIMATE Wmm NO OBLIGATION jjjjj WL \B/ 0 International Barber Co. 331 S.W. Green Street ? Winston-Salem, NC 27101 Grand Opening & Friday, October 17,1997 -5 9:00 am - 6:00 pm Tuesday - Saturday Lehrman Bess-Licensed Barber ' ^ 910-722-0940 ^ Apply fof 9 Car loan - over the Jj Phone!? KglllR?l ?????m ygj [WEEK WITHOUT | ^ ywca HBEB3SB38I r ' , Imagine 7 Days I 168 Hours 10,080 Minutes 604,800 Seconds WITHOUT VIOLENCE IN OUR COMMUNITY Join the YWCA Observance Oct. 19-25 featuring * A Day of Remembrance and Candlelight Vigil Sunday, Oct. 19, 6:30 Grace Park in honor of those in the community lost to acts of violence. * "Blow the Whistle on Crimes Against Women," Wednesday, Oct. 22, noon at Sawtooth Plaza, Satellite sites also at Cleveland Avenue Christian Church. Today's Women Wellness Center, the Winston-Salem Police Department. * "My Way, Your Way-OUR Way-Seeking Alternatives to Racism and Hate," Friday, Oct. 24, noon at the YWCA, an important community discussion led by Dr. Nat Irvin, Winston-Salem Journal columnist and president of Future Focus. Coll the YWCA at 722-5138 for more information or to find out how you, your group or organization can participate in this important effortI