As the team cleared the field following the final game of the season, "Hey! Davis!" rang out across the field. Assistant coach Cy Weaver walked up to Melisa and gave her a bear hug, capping a 10-year teacher-coach/student-athlete relationship. Weaver, who has coached Melisa in one way or another since her second grade physical education class, was one of Melisa's strongest supporters when she decided to give football a shot.
Charlottesville head coach Garwin DeBerry (top left) was enthusiastic about Melisa's presence on the team. Although he regularly used Melisa to test the team for kick off returns and various kicking drills, DeBerry limited Melisa's game activity to Point After Touchdowns (PAT's) and field goal attempts. DeBerry was concerned about the physical danger Melisa could have faced against opposing teams on kickoffs.
Initially, the team was standoffish toward Melisa, but grew to accept her presence as she proved she belonged, leading Melisa to joke that she had about 60 big brothers. Teammate Rayshad Brown (top right) became Melisa's holder of choice. Back up kicker Cecil Fischer often watched from the side as Melisa practiced field goals with Brown, after Fischer was removed from the holder position.
Melisa's story developed a twist midway through the season when she was elected the fall homecoming queen. As Anna Purfoy helps Melisa with her crown at the dance the next night (bottom left), teammates would walk up and tease, "That thing [the sash] fits a lot better without your shoulderpads!"
Although Melisa was the first girl to play high school football in Central Virginia, and one of only a few football girls nationwide to be crowned homecoming queen, she maintains she just an ordinary teenager. Relaxing before reporting to the final team meeting (bottom right), Melisa slumps back into the couch in a downstairs den, flipping between a favorite movie, "Robin Hood: Men in Tights", MTV, and talk shows. |
