GRIDIRON ACTION, WEATHER HOT


Publication: THE CHARLESTON GAZETTE
Published: 08/15/1997
Page: P1B
Headline: GRIDIRON ACTION, WEATHER HOT
Byline: RICK RYAN

 

ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR

Things are heating up at area high school football preseason camps.
And we're not talking just about the weather.

Nitro

No, the Wildcats will not completely overhaul their offense without
Kennedy Award winner J.R. House, who has moved to Florida.

The quarterback duties will likely fall to one of two juniors, either
Chris Martin or Chris Higginbotham. House threw for 3,641 yards and 31
touchdowns last year.

"It's the same offense,' said Nitro coach Robert Burdette. "It's the
offense we ran when Scott Tinsley and I coached together at [West
Virginia
] State.

"It's a little difficult because we like to throw it - and you're
asking a lot of a kid to drop back and throw as often as we did.
Everyone's not as talented as the guy we had, but with the passes
we're throwing [now], the kids are doing real well with them. I think
it's safe to say they're making pretty good decisions.'

The Wildcats trek to Tolsia for a 6 p.m. scrimmage on Monday. "We're
going to throw there,' Burdette said, "just to see if we can do it.'

On Aug. 22, Princeton visits Nitro for a scrimmage.