LIVING UP TO TOWN'S NAME NITRO
CONTINUES TO LIGHT UP THE SCOREBOARD
Publication: THE SUNDAY GAZETTE-MAIL
Published: 10/27/1996
Page: 10D
Headline: LIVING UP TO TOWN'S NAME NITRO CONTINUES TO LIGHT UP THE SCOREBOARD
Byline: RICK RYAN
SUNDAY GAZETTE-MAIL
It's obvious that Nitro is
ready for success this season - as
evidenced by its current 7-1 record, the best the school has seen in
25 years.
But is the rest of the
state ready for the Wildcats and their
high-flying brand of football?
Nitro probably wrapped up a
spot in the state Class AAA playoffs with
Friday night's 41-38 conquest of DuPont. The Wildcats entered the game
holding down the No. 6 spot in the ratings. Four of the teams ranked
ahead of them won on Friday and the other, Musselman,
was idle. In
addition, No. 8 Beckley and No. 9 University both suffered losses.
The Wildcats still
have two difficult tests on the schedule and both
are on the road - this week at Herbert Hoover (6-2) and Nov. 8 at Poca
(7-1).
But Friday's victory over
the Panthers helped squelch some of the
nagging notions about Nitro's methods.
First, that all you need to
defend against J.R. House and his band of
receivers are some athletes who can run the field with them. Just like
skill players along the lines of sprinters Jonathan Chic and Tremain
Straughter and respected football talents such as
Lewis Tose and David
Pates.
But all House did against
that crew was complete his final 17 passes,
including a 16-of-16 effort in the second half, finishing with 307
yards and three touchdowns. Nitro scored six TDs in
all.
By comparison, DuPont
yielded just four touchdowns to Capital, three
to
state-ranked teams.
The second misconception
about the Wildcats is that their no-huddle,
shotgun, spread-receiver attack will not fly in the face of foul
weather. As in cold. November
playoff cold.
But on a chilly Friday,
with a persistent light rain and on a muddy
field, House had his sixth game of 300 yards or more and broke the
state's regular season yardage mark of 2,374 yards. He now has 2,650.
Both coach and quarterback
aren't worried about continuing to run
their style of offense as the weather gets increasingly worse. After
all, the Bills have done it in
"We'll do what we do
best,' said coach Robert Burdette. "I'm a big
believer in that teams win by doing what they do best. We'll try to
convince ourselves not to worry about something we can't control,
which is the weather. You know how it is in
either good weather or it's awful.
"We're not going to
let a little dampness take the ball out of J.R.'s
hands. Really, we don't have any choice. What we've got to do is play
defense whether the sun's shining or whatever.'
House, who is four TD
passes shy of the regular-season record of 28,
likewise is undaunted in the face of Jack Frost.
"I don't think the
cold will bother us,' he said. "I think we'll
throw the ball just as well anytime, anywhere. One thing we'll have to
watch is injuries if we don't get warmed up before the game.'
And there is one other item
that appears to favor the Wildcats down
the stretch run and into the playoffs. Some of the state's stronger
teams have experienced trouble defending the pass.
Fifth-ranked Capital
couldn't hold onto a 21-7 fourth-quarter lead
against
the Wildcats to a 22-21 upset victory. And unbeaten No. 1 John
Marshall gave up 224 yards and three TDs passing to
East Bank as it
escaped Calvert Field with a one-point win.
So does this put Nitro in a
good position? "I think it does,'
Burdette said, "and I'll tell you why.
"We may not win
another game, but the problem we can pose for some
people is when they prepare for us. It's got to be tough for their
scout team to simulate our no-huddle offense when you don't have a guy
who can throw the ball like J.R.
"It's like if we
played a wing-T team and tried to get our defense
ready. You can't do it real well in just four days of practice. So I
think we can cause some people some problems - if we can protect [the
quarterback], that is. If we can't protect, then it's all out the
window.'