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Show L Today-- "" - Baseball .. Scoreboard Business ....... Weather ...... SHORTS: B3 .. L. S B7-- 9 BIO EDITOR: DICK HARMON Donyell Marshall Is officially a Jazzman. B2 Dl THE DAILY HERALD (wwwJfaikTheHoald.com) 344-Z54-7 FRIDAY. AUGUST 18, 2000 OflCo 71 Farewell surprises players 1 Dick Harmon Edwards' exit announcement typical, classy By SCOTT BELL The Daily Herald 1 No drum roll. No band-N- o tears. No expectations of any kind of a "grandiose exit. He was just surprised so many . people showed up in the room under Cougar Stadium to hear him announce his retirement as BYLTs head football coach after this, his 29th, season. That was how LaVell Edwards' moment came Thursday just after lunch. He was in total control. He mastered what many would consider a classic moment to fall ' apart. Still cameras flashed, TV cameras rolled and his wife, Patti, and longtime secretary Shirley Johnson dabbed at their eyes.But the veteran coach calmly announced he would end his coaching career without emotion or a display of pride. "I told Patti I dreamt last night I , had this press conference and no one showed up," Edwards said. It was simply LaVell. He'd come from five miles up the street. Then coached at Granite High. But though he'd been National Coach of the Year and helped the Cougars to a mythical national championship, he was the same guv who'd played in the orchards of" Orem. Simple. Sweet. Direct and without fanfare. It was the same way he'd handled players and staff members during his storied tenure on campus. Something everyone came to expect along with the wins, the conference champi-- 1 - onships and bowl appearances. The morning started with Coach Edwards telling his secretary he was going to retire and announce it that morning. t He then gathered his staff and cued them in. Next came the team captains before an 8:30 a.m. meeting. Then he told all his players. "This is something I've thought about for some time. I'm retiring at the end of the season," he told the players. "I worried about the timing, whether to do it now or at the end of the season. I hope it's the right, decision to tell you now," Edwards said in what he called his toughest moment. Players sat there stunned. Then silence. came stone-colThen Edwards again. Trainer George Curtis will now talk about the meals you're eating." Silence. Curtis then stumbled forward, wondering how he'd follow up. "You guys need to eat better. Get more carbohydrates," he started. The business of football churned L . - two-a-days- ," DAN LUNDThe Daily Herald coach LaVell Edwards, who announced Thursday morning that he'll retire at the end of the season, is framed by two players as he watches the offense perform during a scrimmage that same evening. Still In the middle of It: BYU Peers rank Edwards among best chest-beatin- g r )- - PROVO Setema Gali, Jared Lee, Margin Hooks and Kalani Sitake thought they were on the way to just another meeting. BYlFs team captains were called into a session with coach LaVell Edwards and his assistants early Thursday morning. When they went in, it was business as usual. When they came out, the world had changed. Edwards was retiring. "I thought we were going to talk about Florida Gali State or said Thursday. "It shocked me, like a blindside hit." Edwards broke the news to his captains after informing his staff and assistants. "He congratulated us on being captains, and then he said, This is going to be " my last year,' Gali said. "When he said that, my heart kind of dropped. "I was shocked. I couldn't find words. I mean, what do you do when one of the greatest coaches ever says it's his last year?" After filling in his capwent tains, Edwards directly into a meeting with the entire team before Thursday morning's prac tice session. ' "I was thinking, "Man, you guys are in for a sur" prise,' Lee said. "We have a lot of team meetings where we talk about working hard and staying focused. When (Edwards) said it would be his last year, everyone was like, Wow, what's next?' "It was awfully strange. It's something you're not used to being a part of. An era was ending and LaVell was there telling us about it. It was like, Tm unworthy to be here.' You think of all the great players who have come through here, and we were the first to hear about it." Edwards has mentioned several times this preseason how much he likes this By DOROTHY KNOELL and DARNELL DICKSON W WINNING friends, and college football will miss both of them. I know I will miss them." South Carolina coach Lou Holtz, who coached ACTIVE COACHES The Daily Herald fINS) PROVO LaVelltown? Edwardsville? If BYU coach LaVell Edwards' peers have anything to say about it, those names eould loom large in Utah Valley over the next several years. "I know one thing, they ought to put a great, big statue of LaVell up in -- that town, saying, "This is one of the best men, ever,' said UNLV coach John Robinson, upon learning " that had Edwards announced he would retire at the end of this season. New Wyoming coach Vic Koenning agreed. Koenning, who experi- enced his first game coaching against Edwards last season as an assistant to coach Dana said Dimel's staff, Edwards was something extra special. "He has my total admiration," Koenning said. then-Cowbo- Yre. Coach $J?liaRecord Percent .790 34 Joe Patern M06m 34 Bobby Bo' --JL r.55-.2YU V 28 LaVell E dv 23 John Coo r Ohta State! 184406 317-83-- 3 30 27- " Georgg h; JIVYtx l5-- a SoTfc Car? Lou Holtz Don Nehl Grl 1 IVITRL they'll continue to have it, but he's what everybody sees. He's an icon in the profession. "If they're not crazy over there, they'll name everything they can after him." Not that Edwards needs to have things named after him to be respected and remembered. When news of Edwards' announcement went national, praise for the man who turned BYU into a national power poured in. Penn State coach Joe . I8gri2&4 myijrtir "He IS BYU football. I know they had it (football) before him, and 7 VZB-4Jr- Dame, echoed those .723 .693 .690 3 27 against Edwards when Holtz was at Notre "LaVell Edwards is a class individual, and an outstanding coach who has been a real credit to the game of football, to .OJ.U .591 Paterno, who is the active coach in college football, has had his battles with Edwards on the field. The Nittany Lions beat the Cougars in an epic Holiday Bowl in 1989, then split a e series in win-ninge- st 50-3- 9 home-and-hom- 1991-92- sen- timents. . Brigham Young University and to society," Holtz said. "You hate to see a legend like that leave the game, but I'm just thankful to say that I'm in the same profession as LaVell Edwards." Fishei DeBerry of Ajr Force said he would miss his yearly contest with Edwards. The Falcons and Cougars staged many memorable battles during DeBerry's tenure at Colorado Springs, although Air Force has won just two of those 14 retirement announce- ' games. DeBerry said he ment. "There isn't anyone was glad to get one more I respect more in coachshot at an Edwards-Se- e He and ing than LaVell. PEERS, B4 (wife) Patti are good But their friendship goes a lot further back. "LaVell is one of the giants in our profession, as a coach and a person," when said Paterno informed of Edwards' See PLAYERS, B4 d on. A few hours later, Edwards spoke to a gathering of Utah County lawyers at lunch. Then he met the press. He stood and answered ques- tions. He sat in a soft chair and got interviewed. One after another, like an endless train, the questions came. The answers followed. His voice never wavered. He knew what to say and how to say it.. Something others would bungle, handled like his this team did the Miami Hurricanes in ld 1990. Once the press had their way and he'd taken his wife home, he went back to the office to prepare for the final scrimmage of fall drills. With defending national champion Florida State looming in just over a week, it was time for work, not memories. "I believe this won't be a distraction," he said. Edwards has never been a dis- -' traction. Even as the' main show. : 1 Dick Harmon, executive sports editor, can be reached at 344-254- 7 ordharmonheraldextra.com. PG tops list in prep rankings Gallery grabbers By DARNELL DICKSON THE DAILY HERALD The Daily Herald We had a lot of fun with our first crack at a Top Five football poll last year. We wanted people to talk about it) and we heard plenty of feedback. Some of which we can't repeat in mixed . 1. Pleasant Grove company. So we've .decided to bring The Daily Herald Valley Top 5 back for 2000. Tonight, Pleasant Grove kicks off the 2000 season agaihst Mountain View, one of 21 "endowment games around the state. Teams are allowed one extra game this season if they split the gate receipts with the Utah High School Activities Association. Elsewhere in the valley, Carbon is at Payson, Juab hosts Canyon View, North Sanpete travels to Lehi, Wasatch is at Cedar City and Manti will play at Richfield. Based on returning talent, Pleasant Grove earns top billing in our first Daily Herald Valley Top 5. , Head coach Bill Mikelson must find a replacement for playmaking quarterback Kris McCoy, and kickerreceiver Mark Rowan was an unsung hero. But P.G. brings back one of (he area's scariest defenses, led by linebackers Bridger Anderson (6-- 215) and Colt Sampson (6-- 200). Mikelson lost every starter from his 1998 squad and still advanced to the state super-charge- d 2, 4, 2. 3. 4. 5. Timpview Lone Peak Mountain View f Timpanogos Other teams to watch: Orem, i V!-.- ' yv-v- V Provo, Lehi. o quarterfinals last season. This year he has more talent and should be right in the thick of the Region 6 race. Not far behind is our No. 2 team, Timpview. Key losses at quarterback (BYU recruit Dan Southwick) and offensive line will be a big concern for coach Chad Van Orden. But Timpview is loaded elsewhere. end Bryant Atkinson Tight r on both opponent-wrecke(6-is an 230) sides of the ball, while receiver Dane Church was a Daily Herald selection as a junior, catching 58 passes for 1,090 yards and 13 touchdowns. Who will play quarterback? Mike 9 n 0 end-defensi- 3, All-Vall- See PREPS, BIO DAVE MARTINThe Associated Press and Jack Nicklaus (from left to right) walk from the first tee during at the PGA Vijay Singh, Tiger Woods and the majority or tne attention ' round. See story, BIO. the lead arter one . |