CLICHE HOLDS TRUE FOR NITRO
Publication:
Published: 10/12/1996
Page: P1B
Headline: CLICHE HOLDS TRUE FOR NITRO
Byline: MICHAEL DAILEY
FOR THE DAILY MAIL
You've heard it before and
you'll probably hear it again.
The team that controls the
line of scrimmage usually wins the game.
Friday's game between the
Nitro Wildcats and the Man Hillbillies did
nothing to disprove the theory.
Nitro's revamped offensive
line opened gaping holes and provided
flawless pass protection in the Wildcats' 41-26 victory over the
Hillbillies at Nitro's Underwood Field.
Not bad for an offensive
line that was in disarray just days ago.
On Tuesday, senior
offensive lineman Jim Fields sustained a broken
foot in practice. The problem was he didn't tell anyone until
Wednesday, leaving Nitro's coaching staff just over a day to find a
replacement.
Enter reserve lineman Jay
Johnson and starting center Justin Valleau.
Valleau, the Wildcats' starting center,
moved to Fields' vacated
tackle spot while Johnson took over as starting center.
The result
were good.
"I can't say enough
about our offensive line," said first-year Nitro
Coach Robert "Little" Burdette. "I don't think that anybody got
beat
all night long."
Nitro sophomore quarterback
J.R. House, who connected on 28 of 34
passes for 329 yards and 4 touchdowns, agreed with Burdette's
assessment.
"I only got hit one
time tonight." said House. "Our offensive line was
flawless. Jay Johnson came in and did a great job. We didn't have
one bad snap."
Nitro's offensive line play
gave Man Coach Tootie Carter fits.
The veteran coach struggled
to find a way to shut down a Wildcat
offense that amassed 477 yards.
"We wanted to pound on
him (House) a little bit, but we just couldn't
get to him." said Carter. "He gets rid of the ball so quickly and our
defensive front just couldn't get any pressure on him at all."
Early on, it appeared that
neither defense had even showed up.
Each team scored on its
first three possessions of the game.
Nitro struck first when
sophomore Zack Collins (18 carries, 123 yards)
capped a nine-play, 83-yard opening drive with a 1-yard plung
giving
the Wildcats a 7-0 lead.
Man answered on its first
play from scrimmage when junior
Nitro added first-half
scoring strikes of 9- and 11-yards from House
to Robbie Sigman, while Man countered with an 8-yard
TD run by Orlando
King (18 carries, 133-yards) and a 1-yard keeper by quarterback Dustin
Mitchell.
A blocked extra point
attempt gave the Wildcats a 21-20 halftime lead.
Nitro's defense would fare
much better in the second half.
Man was able to score just
once (a 1-yard keeper by Mitchell) in the
second half, thanks in part to halftime defensive adjustments made by
the Wildcats' coaching staff.
"I have to give credit
to our coaching staff," said Burdette. "They
made some defensive line adjustments during halftime and they (Man)
weren't as effective in the second half."
Perhaps the game's biggest
play came late in the third quarter.
Man trailed 27-26, when
Mitchell coughed up the football on a botched
handoff attempt to
ball leading to a 36-yard scoring strike from House to Chad Lovejoy
extending the Wildcats' lead to 34-26.
"The fumble killed
us," said Carter. "We had momemtum and the
play was
wide open. It had 6 written all over it. Instead of us punching it
in, they do. It just killed us."
Nitro closed out the
scoring with a 1-yard plung from Collins with
2:59 left to play.
Nitro improves to 5-1 and
will travel to Scott on Friday. Man falls
to 3-3 and will host