Publication: THE
Published: 09/16/1995
Page: P4C
Headline:
Byline: JIM WORKMAN
The St. Albans Red Dragons
dealt
rival Nitro a bruising 45-10 defeat in the annual "
Bridge' at
The Dragons rolled up 353 total yards, 285 of which came on the
ground.
The battle also featured Nitro freshman quarterback J.R. House,
who threw 41 passes, completing 16 for 189 yards and a TD.
House, who attended junior high in the
transferring to Nitro, attracted plenty of Red Dragon attention.
And how did St. Albans coach Stan Smith feel about the loss of a
"I don't like to lose
played for
a decision his family made, and I don't disagree with their right to
make that decision,' said Smith.
. Teddy King scored from the 1 for the first Red Dragon score.
George Booker added a 40-yard run, and Chris Moss returned a punt 64
yards for a 19-0 lead.
Nitro's Jeremy Young nailed a 30-yard field goal with 10:01 left
in the second quarter for the Wildcats' first score.
King scored again for the Dragons on a 5-yard run with 7:46 left
in the first half. King finished with 72 yards on 13 carries.
The Dragon defense also rose to the occasion. Linebacker Rodney
Johnson sacked House in the end zone for a safety, and the Dragons
stuffed the Wildcat rushing attack, holding Nitro to 6 rushing yards
Booker grabbed a 30-yard pass from Vance McCracken and took it
in for a Dragon TD to push the lead to 35-3 at the half.
House's first pass of the second half was picked off by Booker,
setting up a 33-yard field goal by John Wehrle.
Undaunted, House returned the favor, driving the Cats downfield
and hitting Jason Redman for a 41-yard TD with 7:20 remaining in the
third period.
The Dragons finished the evening's scoring in the fourth quarter
when reserve running back Antoine Harris, a junior, ran in from 8
yards away.
"We didn't play well in the second half,' said Smith. "But
we hope to get it together by next week.'