QB LEADS NITRO OVER RIPLEY
Publication: THE
Published: 09/27/1997
Page: P1B
Headline: QB LEADS NITRO OVER RIPLEY
Byline: JIM WORKMAN
RIPLEY - J.R. House made a spectacular return to the
high school football scene Friday night and spoiled Ripley's
Homecoming in the process, by leading visiting Nitro to a 44-10
victory over the Vikings.
House, a junior, completed
23-of-33 passes for 319 yards and five
touchdowns.
He returned to the
House was chosen
1996 and he won that year's Kennedy Award.
"House is House,' said
Nitro coach Robert Burdette.
"He looked
spectacular. But this was not just the J.R. House show.'
Indeed, House had plenty of
support from his Wildcat teammates.
Chris Martin, who had
started at QB for the Wildcats earlier in the
season, caught eight passes for 159 yards. Zack Collins had nine
receptions for 67 yards and Isaac Eastwood added five catches for 93
yards.
"We settled down after
the first series,' said House, "and the o
ffensive line protected great. I'm also fortunate to
have great
receivers. They're probably the best in the state.'
Behind the veteran
offensive line of Justin Valleau (senior), James
Cash (sophomore), Josh Raines (senior), Matt Brewer (junior) and Doug
Null (senior), Nitro back Collins was able to rush 21 times for 101
yards.
"Our offensive line
did a great job,' said Burdette, whose Wildcats
are ranked 12th in Class AAA in the latest state poll.
"They are what makes our offense go.'
After a scoreless first
quarter, 19th-ranked Ripley hit the scoreboard
first when Steve Shockey connected for a 26-yard
field goal. That
score gave the Vikings their only lead of the game at 3-0 with 5:33
left in the first half.
On the ensuing kickoff,
Nitro's Martin sparked life into the Wildcats
by taking Shockey's kick at his own 3 and sprinting
down the sideline
60 yards to give Nitro a first down at Ripley's 38.
Six plays later, House hit
Collins with an 11-yard TD pass to give the
Wildcats a 7-3 lead.
Nitro added another score
before the half as House found Martin from 4
yards out to give the Wildcats a 14-3 halftime lead.
Nitro exploded in the third
quarter and scored on a 38-yard House pass
to Eastwood. Nitro scored twice more in the third period as House
found Martin on TD strikes of 25 and 32 yards. The Wildcats led 37-3
after three quarters.
House left the game with
4:21 on the clock and turned the
quarterback's duties over to freshman Jason Ward. Ward had shared time
at QB with Martin in the first four games.
Ripley (2-3), managed a 17-yard
TD pass in the fourth quarter from
quarterback Jamie Stover to Erick Hudson.
Stover completed 6-of-10
passes for 83 yards.
Adam King, the Vikings'
featured back, was limited to 84 yards on 19
carries. Ripley totaled only 131 yards rushing in the contest.
Nitro closed Friday's
scoring when Eddie Casto ran it in from 2 yards
out.
"Ripley is a pretty
good team,' said Burdette.
"To come up here and
play the way we did is great. They had to be
ready for us after what happened last year.'
Last season, the Vikings
lost to Nitro after a controversial
fifth-down play kept the drive alive and allowed the Wildcats to score
the game-winning touchdown.