NITRO WHACKS WINFIELD 52-6
Publication: THE
Published: 08/31/1996
Page: P1C
Headline: NITRO WHACKS WINFIELD 52-6
Byline: JIM WORKMAN
Nitro finished last
season's disappointing season on an up note. The
improving Wildcats knocked off the unbeaten Poca
Dots in the last
week, the defending Class AA champion no less.
On Friday night the Wildcats
picked up where they left off last year
by demolishing the visiting Winfield Generals 52-6 at Nitro's
Underwood Field.
Coach Robert "Little'
Burdette made his coaching debut for the
Wildcats. Burdette, an assistant at Nitro the past two seasons, took
over when Greg Cyrus resigned to take the Mountain State Athletic
Conference commissioner duties.
Everyone must be familiar
with the J.R. House aerial circus by now,
even though House is only a sophomore quarterback for Nitro. House,
who threw for more than 2,000 yards as a freshman last season, riddled
the Generals defense for three quarters before giving way to a backup.
House completed 25 of 34
passes for 410 yards and four touchdowns
Friday night.
But to say that Nitro is
one dimensional would be a mistake.
"We have improved
defensively over last year,' said Burdette. "This
is a better team now.'
The Wildcats defense
held Winfield to only 19 net yards rushing, and
gave up only one long pass play.
Winfield scored on a
64-yard touchdown pass to Mark Walker from
quarterback Jon Bowman in the third quarter.
Nitro's kicking game is
also solid, with sophomore Barry Dickerson
handling the chores. Dickerson hit all seven point-after attempts with
authority, and added a 42-yard field goal for the Cats.
"I'd like to think we
have as good a kicker as anyone,' Burdette
said.
Nitro may even have
improved offensively. The Wildcats didn't score
over 30 points last season, and passed that mark at halftime, holding
a 31-0 edge over the Generals.
Zack Collins, a 6-foot,
180-pound sophomore running back, caught nine
passes for 120 yards with one TD rushing and one TD receiving, while
Chris Martin, a 5-foot-8, 141-pound sophomore, added eight catches for
190 yards and two TDs to pace Nitro.
Nitro employed nine
different receivers in the contest. Backup
quarterback Chris Higginbotham completed six of 11 passes late in the
game for the Cats.
Winfield plays host to
face Hurricane.