All Time Team
THE ALL KNIGHTS ROSTER as of 2015
A note on roster construction: As with any organization, the philosophies and strategies employed by Currituck Coaches has changed over time and this heavily guided how I structured the all time team.
With respect to offense: Historically, Currituck has been a run oriented team. In the early years, Coach Casey had a preference for split backs or bone formations. Coach Sapp attempted to install a I formation but in 1979 reverted to a wishbone, which was masterfully run in 1980. The early years of Coach Simpson featured a ground them out, workhorse style I/Power I look that was heavily dependent on one superior back. When that back did not materialize in 1987, Simpson adopted the bone, which he ran with one interruption until retirement. That exception, to a Pro I, was in 1996 and 1997 in order to exploit the talent of QB Jesse Jones. Between the fact the Knights two most successful teams were bone based, and the preponderance of years the bone was employed from 1976-2000, Currituck came to be heavily identified with the wishbone. Attempts to diversify the offense gained full steam in 2004 with the induction of Rich Dombroski as head coach. Coach D introduced the spread, with its number of Wide Receivers, to Barco. Of course in both the bone and the spread, Currituck has always depended on a gifted athlete at QB who has the ability to attack defenses with his legs as well as his arm. In 2008, the spread disappeared in favor of an I. Since the return of John Wheeler, Currituck's offense has been frequently in motion, as Knights teams have adopted to their own roster peculiarities in each respective season. 2009 saw more 2 back and spread tendencies, whereas 2010 saw the attempt of a flex offense. in late 2010, 2011 and early 2012, Currituck deployed a I or Power I, in much the same way was the Simpson team's of the mid-80s. When this style failed to produce results in 2012, the Knights reverted to a now more refined spread offense. During this varied changes, positions have become variable. A multitude of backs is common-place, as was the lack of WRs (nominally termed Split Ends in the early periods). Tight End have come and gone as need be, whereas today fullbacks are the odd position out. To account for the changes, I decided to have 12 offensive players, thereby retaining the penchant for 2 halfbacks and the new trend of many WRs, while allowing to depict both a TE and a FB on the roster.
With respect to defense: Currituck's defensive identity is actually quite constant. In the early days, the Knights unit, known was the "Wrecking Ball" employed a 5-3 look, with three down lineman and two standup defensive ends. In the 1980s glory years, Currituck commonly used a variant of the 4-4 but the OLBs were so tight to the line that it gave off a 6-2 look. Essentially, many times the 4-4 OLBs functioned as the aforementioned standup ends would, especially with respect to the run. By the mid to late 1990s, Currituck returned to a 5-3 look, which continued into the early 2000s. In the Rich Dombroski era and since, Currituck's primary defense, acquired from West Virginia University, has been a 3-5-3, which is similar to the 5-3 except the stand up DEs are actually full blown outside linebackers with great responsibilities in both the run and pass games. In listing players, earlier players who played this position are therefore labeled as Defensive Ends, whereas newer players can be found under linebacker. In order to balance the history, I went with a 4/4 split on the all time team.
I endeavored in my selections to be fair to all players, as there are many qualified, as well as to be as impartial and non biased as possible. In the end, I know there will be objections to certain picks, and I am open to commentary, criticism and alternative selections. The players within the team are not listed in any order if there are multiple players per position.
An updated version will be debuted after the 2024 season.
First Team
Offense:
WRs T G C G T TE
Dawkon Foreman '14 Kevin Norman '84 Dewayne Griffin '90 Chris Rivera '90 Reggie Leigh '90 William Powell '78 Steve Mullen '81
Corey Barrow '90
QB Charles Lee '90
FB Jeff Owens '91
HB Marquise Grizzle '12 Darrell Everette '90
Defense:
CB DE DT DT DE CB
Randy Joseph '05 Mike Miller '81 DJ Morey '99 Johnnie Sampson '82 Steve Mullen '81 Aubrey Patterson '80
LB LB LB LB
RIcky Etheridge '77 Julius Sampson '81 Sean Kelleher '08 Reggie Leigh '90
S
Walter Denby '85
Special Teams:
K: Daniel Hines '08
P: Steve Saunders '91
PR/KR: Juwan Harvey '12
Second Team
Offense:
WRs T G C G T TE
Ken Simmons '97 Russ Hampton '80 Troy Smith '12 Beau Moore '83 Kris McCoy '09 Bobby Bell '80 Randy Matusko '85
Walter Denby '85
QB Jesse Jones '98
FB Shane Gubbs '12
HB Mike Gallop '91 Ryland Lindsey '81
Defense:
CB DE DT DT DE CB
Juwan Harvey '12 Nigel Powell '14 William Powell '78 Bobby Bell '81 Mark Bell '89 Dawkon Foreman '14
LB LB LB LB
Mel Pollock '93 Jon Miller '97 Josh Garrett '14 Tc Haubold '09
S
Tyler Schuster '14
Special Teams:
K: Tim Hackett '82
P: Troy Smith '12
PR/KR: Antwan Woodley '09
Third Team
Offense:
WRs T G C G T TE
River Gwaltney '15 Alex Brown '08 DJ Morey '99 Don Williams '94 Michael Doherty '13 Austin Brown '12 Steve Saunders '90
Travis Saunders '86
QB Tyler Schuster '14
FB Willie Person '82
HB Ryan Patterson '85 Billy Powell '87
Defense:
CB DE DT DT DE CB
Charles Nichols '15 Richard LaBounty '85 TC Haubold '09 Bennie Lindsey '14 Kanyon Cole '14 Corey Barrow '90
LB LB LB LB
Charles Lee '90 Beau Moore '83 JJ Ferebee '93 Shea Kirkwood '08
S
Clay Cartwright '93
Special Teams:
K: Juwan Harvey '12
P: Mike Miller '81
PR/KR: Ryan Seymore '93
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The Best of Them All: HB Marquise Grizzle