J.R. HOUSE CAPTURES KENNEDY AWARD
Publication: THE SUNDAY GAZETTE-MAIL
Published: 12/29/1996
Page: P1D
Headline: J.R. HOUSE CAPTURES KENNEDY AWARD
Byline: RICK RYAN
SUNDAY GAZETTE-MAIL
In recent years, some of
left the state to further their careers. Names like Curt Warner, Mark
Cline and Bimbo Coles.
You can add J.R. House to
that list, too. But unlike the others, House
made his move while still in high school.
The Nitro quarterback, who
recently moved to
the state, but he also left his mark. House, 6-foot and 175-pounds,
shattered several state prep football records this season while
leading the Wildcats to their first playoff berth in 36 years.
For those efforts, he has
been named the winner of the 48th Kennedy
Award as the top high school football player in
"I think he's very
deserving,' said Robert Burdette, Nitro's
first-year head coach. "He did a lot of things
that obviously hadn't
been done before.'
House is the first player
from Nitro and the first sophomore to ever
receiver the Kennedy Award, which began in 1947. Voting is conducted
by members of the West Virginia Sports Writers Association.
And he is just the second
the honor, joining DuPont's Randy Moss following the 1994 season.
It was a season chock full
of records and landmarks for House and his
Nitro team. Among them were passing yards in a season (3,641) and a
single game (463 against Herbert Hoover) and touchdown passes with 31.
Twenty-eight of those scoring tosses came in the regular season to
equal the existing state mark.
The Wildcats were
7-3 during the regular season - their most wins
since a 9-1 mark in 1971 - and earned the No. 15 seed in the Class AAA
playoff ratings.
"I think we surprised
some people with how well we did,' House said.
"Making it to the playoffs was a big deal for us. It was one of our
main goals and we accomplished it. It was great to get the Nitro
program to take a step forward again.'
It was evident early in his
varsity career that House wasn't your
typical high school quarterback. In 1995 he threw for 2,015 yards and
11 touchdowns, becoming the first freshman in
pass for 2,000 yards in a season.
And with the installation
of Burdette as the head coach and Scott
Tinsley as the offensive coordinator, Nitro unleashed a wide-open
attack that dealt much of the responsibility of calling plays to
House.
The Wildcats spread
four or five receivers over the field and went
almost exclusively with a no-huddle offense from shotgun formation the
entire game.
House routinely attempted
as many as 50 passes per game. He had four
games with at least 400 yards through the air and another four games
of 300 yards.
"You can be coaching a
long time and not run across one like J.R.,'
Tinsley said. "He has that God-given knack for
picking up and
understanding the game very quickly. He's accomplished a lot in the 15
months since I met him.
"Anytime you're
coaching, you have to decide what your best qualities
are and build around that. We have some skilled kids who can go and
catch it and some people who could pass block, but none of that would
be possible without someone back there pulling the trigger like J.R.'
Nitro's approach led to
several entertaining games and high-scoring
shootouts. The Wildcats were 4-0 in games decided by a touchdown or
less, edging George Washington 28-26, Ripley 20-18, Scott 38-35 and
DuPont 41-38.
They also defeated Man
41-26 and lost to Hoover 45-20 and were
eliminated by Capital 56-20 in the first round of the playoffs. In
that contest, House hit on 37 of 61 passes for 379 yards and three TDs
- all figures representing state playoff records for non-championship
games.
"J.R. talents and
knowledge of the game allowed us to do a lot of
things we wouldn't have been able to do without him,' Burdette said.
"The no-huddle offense isn't complicated, yet it is if you're the guy
back there with the ball making all the reads.
"He's a special
talent. He had a game against Man where he completed
31 of 35 passes. When I was coaching at [
guys going to the air [at practice] who couldn't complete 31 of 35. It
was a special night by a special guy.'
By all accounts, the
17-year-old House stands alone as a unique
player. But you'll never catch him singling himself out. Even
now.
"This is one award
that's really about a team concept,' House said.
"It's not an individual award, even though one individual gets it. I'm
receiving it because of our system and what we're trying to do on
offense.
"We had a great
coaching staff and all the players involved did a
great job with the blocking schemes and running routes to get open.'
House's recent move to
his special talents even more. He's currently playing basketball for
Seabreeze High and plans to compete on the school's
baseball team this
spring, but
in May. Scrimmage games are held at the end of the month.
Rumors persist that House
may return to the
football again. True to form, he sidestepped the issue like an
oncoming pass rush.
"My family and I
aren't sure what our plans are,' House said in a
telephone interview from his new home. "The
football and everything
went great at Nitro. I'm enjoying everything here and it's hard to
tell what will happen.'
Does the fact he plans to
play spring football in
that House has gone south for good?
"I'm really basing the
decision on how that goes,' he said, "and how
I like it down here.'
Even if he's coached his
last game with House, Burdette is satisfied
with what Nitro was able to accomplish and by having House earn the
Kennedy Award.
"I think that other
than a state championship, it's probably the best
thing that can happen to us,' Burdette said. "It's
exciting for me
because this is my first year as head coach. I'm 35 and I may coach
another 25 years and never have another Kennedy winner.'
Tinsley agreed. "If
he's not back next year, we'll have to find some
other type of offense,' he said, "because a kid like him in high
school doesn't come along often.'
Finishing second in the
voting for the award was
fullback-linebacker Yubrenal Isabelle, a senior who
is considered by
many scouting services as the state's top college prospect. Capital's
Ricky Sherrod, a speedy two-way back, was third.
"We think he's the
best player in the state,' Capital coach Roger
Jefferson said of Sherrod. "We always thought
that. You saw what
happened when he went out of the state championship game.'
Sherrod scored a pair of TDs for the Cougars in their 29-22 loss to
John Marshall in the Class AAA title contest. The Monarchs broke off a
52-yard scoring run for the game-winner after Sherrod left his post in
the Cougars' secondary with an ankle injury.
Linsly junior running back Ed Drummond was
fourth in the voting,
followed by versatile Josh McMillen of
Brian Harman of Liberty Harrison.
The Kennedy Award will be
presented during the Victory Awards Dinner,
which is tentatively set for May 3 in