C&F Bank’s Athleteof the Week C& FBa nk AthleteoftheWeek

WRESTLING ALL-STAR

WHO: GAVINUTLEY

WHATHE DID:

PowhatanHighSchoolplayedhostto 13schoolsfortheArrowheadInvitational onJan.28andcameawaywithathird placefinishinthewrestlingtournament.

ThreePowhatanwrestlerswontheir weig ht class esinthrillingfas hion,including GavinUtley,whotookfirstplacehonorsin the138-poundbracket.

Utleyhadmultiplerematchesonhis waytoafirstplacemedal,butironically hadtotakeonsomeoneentirelyunfamiliar inthechampionshipinWilsonMemorial’s BraydenEstes.

Utleywonbypininhisfirstthree matchesandbeatAtlee’sBraytonCrews ina4-1decisionheadingintothefinalwith Estes,whoUtleycontrolledwithanearly takedownonthewaytoa4-0decisionwin. Inthesecondperiod,alatereversalgave Utleytheconfidencetomaintainthelead andholdoffEstes’last-ditchattemptsat stealingthechampion sh ipmed al

Legacy

From B1

Mitchell succeeded on all fronts, bringing back Dr. Robert Bass from Manassas, Butch Dandridge of Keysville, Gary Fralin and Rick “The Rock” Fleming of Chesterfield, Charlie Harper of Kitty Hawk, Gene Hatcher of Powhatan, Scott Hinchman from Charlottesville, Billy Hupp of Richmond, and manager Alan Stein from Shacklefords. The family of Davidson was also in attendance.

Not everyone was able to attend though. Players like Blane Wilton, Gary Beck, Chris Plummer, Kirk McNiel and Mark Harris were unable to make it for the ceremony, while both Brooks Moore and John Glisson passed away in 2015.

Hatcher, a senior on the championship team and a Powhatan local, was grateful to be with his former teammates. A Virginia Tech graduate and retired engineer with the Timmons Group, Hatcher suffered a near-fatal brain bleed in 2015 that put him in a coma for a day. Hatcher miraculously survived and says over 200 people came to visit him during his time in the hospital. Making slow but steady progress since then, Hatcher was able to walk to the center of the BSH court and cherish the moment along with his fellow Rebels.

Four speeches were made at the reception: one by Davidson’s son Scott, another by team MVP Scott Hinchman, then Billy Hupp and lastly Mitchell.

Hupp recalled matching up with Hinchman every day at practice, noting how the two constantly came to blows due to their physical styles of play and how those practices molded the team into a hard-working unit that could punish opponents as much as they could outclass them.

“Nobody beat him up like I beat him up,” Hupp joked. “All joking aside, when it was crunch time, he was the guy.”

Though every speech talked about the team and its accomplishments, every conversation seemed to direct course to the impact of Davidson and the profound influence he left on the student-athletes he coached.

You’d be hard-pressed to find a coach more influential in such a short amount of time as Davidson, who took over the team before the 1971-72 season. He was known as a leader that could turn great individuals into an even greater team, and a coach who emphasized endurance and demanded full effort in every practice drill to ensure his team was never out-hustled on the floor.

“What’s evident is coach Davidson was an instrumental part of everybody’s life,” Hinchman said. “The confidence he instilled in all of us with what he put us through and his leadership style created a winning culture. We expected to win.” robby Fletcher can be reached at rfletcher@powhatantoday.com.

After two more VAAC championships and another western region division title, Davidson left his position as coach and teacher in 1976, accepting a position as the school’s assistant headmaster.

Scott, who was 7 years old at the time of his father’s death, remembers the love his father had for his community and the work he did for the school. At the end of his speech, he gifted the game-used 1973 championship basketball to the school to place in its Hall of Fame.

Mitchell intends to continue the trend of honoring the great athletes of the school’s history, with plans to honor the 50th anniversary of the 1974 championship basketball team next year, tying the histories of the Knights and the Rebels together even more.

Swim

From B1 robby Fletcher can be reached at rfletcher@powhatantoday.com.

After getting some final laps in against talented opposition, the Hawks and the Indians now look ahead to regional play starting on Feb. 10, with both teams hoping to see their swimmers trek on through the later parts of the season with appearances in the state championship swim meet that’ll start on Feb. 18 at SwimRVA.