I never thought the largest crowd I’d see for a football game at Salem Stadium would be a jayvee game!
The new Roanoke College football team took the field for the first time Sunday and it was a huge success. A large crowd watched the Maroon club team beat the Hampden-Sydney jayvees, 34-27, on an absolutely beautiful day.
I was looking forward to the game, the first since the school abandoned football during World War II. I’d seen a couple practices but I had no idea what to expect on Sunday. The players had no spring practice, as almost all of them were still in high school in the spring, and preseason practice didn’t begin until August 15.
As far as the crowd, I was hoping to see the home side half full. There was no admission charge, but the game was on the first Sunday of NFL football and, after all, the Maroons were playing the Hampden-Sydney jayvees.
Boy was I surprised. I arrived at Salem Stadium about 45 minutes before the game so I could take some photos of the tailgaters. What a scene!! The parking lot was packed, and not just because the Red Sox had a 1 pm game across the way. Cars were parked on the grass on both sides of Texas Street and the parking lots for the businesses where the Lutheran Home property used to be were filling up fast.
I took a quick stroll through the parking lot and it was absolutely a college football atmosphere, with lots of food and drink and people passing the football and playing cornhole, most all clad in the maroon of Roanoke College. My first thoughts were that this was pretty cool.
By the time the game began the home side of Salem Stadium was full and I knew there were lots more fans still in the parking lot. Soon both sides were full and the hill with the big “S” behind the end zone was filling up as well.
“I have been in front of many crowds but none better than what I experienced yesterday,” said Salem head coach Bryan Stinespring, who was an assistant for Frank Beamer teams at Virginia Tech. “The support we received from our students, parents and this awesome community was absolutely amazing. I will never forget bringing our team out of the locker room and seeing the crowd in the stadium. I literally stopped in my tracks and said ‘Wow’!”
Me too. Never in my 40 years of covering games at Salem Stadium have I seen such a crowd. I was at the Salem-Graham game when both teams were undefeated and the ’91 championship game on a beautiful afternoon when the Spartans played Spotsylvania. I remember the Stagg Bowl when Bridgewater was in the game and any number of Willis White vs Joel Hicks coached games when the Salem-Pulaski rivalry was the big thing in the valley. Glenvar won a state championship at Salem Stadium.
“We had a huge crowd but I think that crowd Sunday was bigger,” said Glenvar coach Kevin Clifford, who was one of the estimated 6,000 or so at the RC game. “I’m really happy for the players and community.”
Old Dominion Athletic Conference commissioner Brad Bankston was at the game to check out the newest member of the conference football wars. The Maroons will be a varsity team in 2025 and play a complete ODAC schedule.
“I figured they would have a good crowd to welcome them back to the gridiron but I had no idea they would play that game in front of one of largest crowds in Salem Stadium history,” said Bankston. “I had reflections of the 2001 Stagg Bowl when Bridgewater played Mount Union for the NCAA Division III Championship. Kudos to the Roanoke athletics staff who worked to make the first game such a success. We look forward to their inaugural ODAC game in 2025.”
The new band was playing and the new sideline cheerleaders were cheering as the team took the field. Then the game began and the Maroons had the ball first. On their first play since World War II they had a penalty for having 12 men on the field. Then they moved back five more yards on another penalty and I’m thinking, ‘the last thing we need is a clown show with this many people here to watch.’
But that didn’t happen. The Maroons settled down and the fans were treated to a very entertaining football game. Neither team led by more than a touchdown and Roanoke rallied to pull out an exciting win. The Maroons had to hold Hampden-Sydney on the Tigers’ final drive and sealed it with an interception on fourth down and less than a minute to play.
The Maroons now have two weeks to sharpen their swords for the next game, which will be against the Shenandoah Jayvees in Winchester on September 22nd. Then it’s another two weeks before an away game against the Bridgewater Jayvees. The next home game is against Fork Union Military Academy on October 20 at Salem Stadium and the Maroons finish up their five game schedule at home against the George Mason University club team on November 3rd.
After last Sunday, I expect many of those in attendance will be coming back and wishing it was sooner rather than later. It was a beautiful day and a great atmosphere. I understand Stinespring had quite a few recruits at the game, and what a great show for them to see!
“I want to thank the Salem community and surrounding areas for coming out to support the Roanoke College football team,” said RC athletic director Curtis Campbell. “The turnout was amazing, the game was entertaining and I thought our young men performed extremely well given they’ve only practiced a few weeks. Hat’s off to Bryan and the coaching staff for a job well done!”
