Publication:
Published: 09/10/1994
Page: P
Headline: NOT AVAILABLE
Byline: WILBUR JENKINS
THINGS GOING WILDCATS' WAY
Luck smiled on the Nitro Wildcats Friday night at Laidley
Field
Nitro principal Paul McClanahan won a pot-luck drawing.
Head coach Greg Cyrus successfully downed a warm pepperoni roll
without getting indigestion.
And defensive back Brian Clark fell on what could have been a
winning touchdown for George Washington, as he recovered a Brian
Critchfield fumble in the end zone to hold off those
pesky Patriots,
10-7.
Nitro took the lead for good on a 26-yard Jimmy Hall field goal
at the 7:26 mark of the third quarter.
"We just got lucky tonight,' understated
rolled out and touched one of their players and I just fell on it.
We should have played a little better tonight.'
"Last year, we would have done what GW did to us,' said Cyrus
. "We snatched victory from the jaws of defeat, it seemed like.'
Surprisingly enough, the Patriots took a 7-0 lead on their first
series on a Critchfield 5-yard run.
"We looked liked a football team tonight,' said GW head coach
Moe Townson, whose Patriots lost their 16th straight.
"It's
encouraging, we've gotten better.'
Critchfield finished with 107 yards rushing on 16
grueling
carries. His longest carry was 19 yards.
"They surprised the kids but not the coaches,' said Cyrus
about GW. "Critchfield is one of the better
runners I've seen. They
have seven or eight good players.'
The Wildcats knotted the score with 2:14 left in the second
quarter when reserve running back Robbie Withrow
bulled his way into
the end zone from the 3.
Even with GW outgaining the Wildcats 197-183
in total offense,
the Wildcat defense managed to pull off the big play for the third
consecutive week.
"We have five or six players that have started for us for three
years,' said Cyrus, whose best record since taking over at Nitro is
5-5.
Top rusher for the 3-0 'Cats was Ryan Blake with 102 yards on 15
carries.
Townson's Patriots threatened on their first
possession of the
second half, getting as close as the Nitro 31 before stalling on
downs.
"One thing that has been a plus for us has been the
conditioning,' Townson said. "Playing with eleven
and twelve
players will be one of our top priorities.'
Next week the 0-2 Patriots play at Herbert Hoover, a convincing
35-12 win over
rival Poca.-