NO REALTOR CAN KEEP UP WITH HOUSE
Publication: THE
Published: 09/24/1997
Page: P1B
Headline: NO REALTOR CAN KEEP UP WITH HOUSE
Byline: MITCH VINGLE
When word emerged that Kennedy Award winner J.R. House was back at
Nitro High, I had to check the Wildcats' schedule.
There's no way, I thought,
Ripley football coach Frank Marino could be
that unlucky.
Last year the Vikings had
Nitro beat when, in a furious finish, the
Wildcats were given an extra down. (House's father, Rodger, just
happened to be manning the chains.) Ripley lost - both the game and an
appeal.
Now, believe it or not,
Marino's team will be the first to face House
after his return from
Just
another piece to the wacky House puzzle. In the words of the
Grateful Dead, what a long, strange trip this has been. And the
quarterback is still just a junior.
"It is crazy,' said
House on Tuesday before enrolling at Nitro. "We
thought we were going to stay in
and baseball. But ol' Rog
here had to come back for business. And mom
has lots of family here.'
"You never can tell
what we might be doing,' said the father. "At
noon yesterday we were on the phone with the [Nitro] school, asking
about arrangements.'
The father says since Labor
Day his
has slowed. And he needed to tend to his car dealerships in the
Valley.
"Business-wise,' said
the elder House, "I found I really needed to be
here.'
The father said the move
was not made because of the QB's play.
"He was doing
phenomenal,' said Rodger.
"Everything was going
OK,' said J.R. "Our offense was doing OK. I
mean, I was leading central
The QB had thrown for 629
yards and five touchdowns in a run-and-shoot
offense. His Seabreeze team, though, was 1-2.
So whether he transferred
for athletic purposes or not we'll never
know. The father has done everything by the book. The family will
reside in Nitro. He says the transfer was for business reasons.
If the
SSAC wants to challenge the transfer on rule 7.4 which tries to
"prevent school-hopping or shopping around for school or athletic
programs which may suit an individual personal interest,' well, lots
of luck. Again,
the SSAC would have to prove intent. And unless
Johnnie Cochran is free, they won't have a prayer.
So high school fans should
just enjoy that he's back.
"I had a premonition
about this,' said Ripley's Marino. "I felt on
the bus ride back from
it's going to be, let it be against the best And this
kid's the
[Michael] Jordan of West Virginia football.'
In case you're keeping
track, House has received seven letters from
envelopes. Correspondence has also arrived from
(Nothing, said the elder House, has made its way from WVU.)
The quarterback went for
unofficial visits to the Arizona State-Miami
game (as a guest of the Hurricanes) and to the Tennessee-Florida game
(as a guest of the Gators).
And how are those at Nitro
responding?
"Everyone's excited
here,' said Wildcats assistant Scott Tinsley.
"What I hear now is 'Let's go win a state championship.'"
There are, by the way, two
players House would be displacing at NHS.
One is Chris Martin, who started at QB in the last game. Martin,
however, was House's favorite receiver last season and has to be
thrilled at his buddy's return. That's because if Martin, who was
second-team all-state last season, has a college future, it is at
receiver.
Meanwhile,
Jason Ward, who was Nitro's QB the first three games, is a
ninth-grader. A 14-year-old ninth-grader.
"We had talked the
week before last of taking some pressure off
Jason,' said Tinsley. "He was comfortable with
Chris starting and
then coming in on passing downs. And he's fine with J.R. coming back.
"I told Jason he would
learn so much from J.R. And I joked that then
it would be his turn to win the Kennedy. He said he'd be ready.'
House, of course, isn't
expecting to win the Kennedy this year.
("That,' said the father, "hasn't even been given a thought.')
"I just want to see,'
said the quarterback, "if we can go and win a
couple state championships.'
Note the word
"couple.' Which may mean the end of the long, strange
trip.
Right, Rodger?
Rodger?
"Hell, I don't know,'
said the elder House with a laugh, "Let's just
say we'll probably be here.
"I mean, I thought we
were going to stay in
From here the hope is the
QB sticks around, so we can watch his
progress. He's a fine kid and an excellent player.
One more move, though, and
the family will have to change its name.
From
House to Mobile Home.