CAN HOOVER RALLY AGAINST NITRO
AGAIN?
Publication: THE
Published: 10/31/1997
Page: P1B
Headline: CAN HOOVER RALLY AGAINST NITRO AGAIN?
Byline: RICK RYAN
Herbert Hoover, it would appear, holds the secret to beating Nitro and
J.R. House.
Let them build a big lead
early in the game.
That formula seems to fly
in the face of conventional logic, but it's
worked for the Huskies the past two seasons.
21-6 deficit to earn a 35-28 victory over the Wildcats in 1995. Last
year, the Huskies trailed Nitro 20-7 at halftime, but stormed back
with 38 straight points for a 45-20 win.
Such strategy may or may
not come in handy when the two teams square
off at Underwood Field tonight in a battle of state-ranked Class AAA
squads. Nitro (7-1), ranked fourth, concludes its regular season
against the 20th-ranked Huskies (4-4).
Last year's game was also
noteworthy because House set a state record
for passing yards with 463. He completed 29-of-51 attempts and threw
for three touchdowns with three interceptions.
But if House lights up the
Huskies for big numbers again tonight,
don't count on an instant replay, said
"We don't have that kind
of team this year,' Cowley said. "The last
couple years, we had a go-to guy [Adam Samples] we could go to and he
made some plays for us. This year, we haven't been able to do that.
"The last three weeks,
we've been stressing ball control. Keep it and
make first downs and run off 10-, 12-play drives. It worked well for
us last week.'
The Huskies boarded a 24-12
win at Oak Hill a week ago that vaulted
them back into contention for their sixth straight playoff appearance.
"I can't say enough
about
Burdette. "We consider ourselves the underdog
against them, regardless
of records. It's my fourth year here and we haven't beaten them yet;
we've won only one against them in the last 10 years. Until we do beat
them, I consider them the favorite in this series.
"And since they still
have a chance to get in [the playoffs], we
expect them to come out and play their best.'
To harbor any chance of
beating Nitro,
Wildcats offense from rolling up both the yards and the points they've
posted since House returned from
In those four games, House
has thrown for 1,474 yards and 16
touchdowns while rushing for three more himself. With
House under
center, Nitro is averaging 37.3 points per game.
"If he gets ahead,
it's hard to come back,' Cowley said. "We didn't
do a good job in the first half last year and they ran it up and down
the field. In the second half, we got to him a little bit and
intercepted it a couple times.'
Burdette credits
coaching staff.
"They're tremendous in
doing that,' Burdette said. "It's a credit to
them.
"The challenge is
there for our kids to play four quarters instead of
two. Sure we got a state record last year, but when you go from your
20 to their 20 and don't get in [the end zone], it's nothing but
entertainment for the crowd.'
Nitro's improved running
game, which has enabled the Wildcats to
whittle off time while protecting leads, may be without junior Zack
Collins, the team's top rusher.
Collins injured an ankle in
last week's 36-23 win at DuPont. He hasn't
practiced and Burdette lists him as questionable.
In Collins' stead, senior
co-captain Isaac Eastwood stepped in and ran
10 times for 55 yards and caught nine passes for 95 yards. But
Eastwood, who had played receiver much of the season, fumbled twice.
"We didn't lose faith
in him,' Burdette said. "We've worked with him
in practice this week, having him carry the ball in the proper arm.
And our kids [playing defense] tried to hack the ball out of his
hands.'
Hoover has gotten mileage
out of running backs Chad Wehrle (573 yards,
six TDs), Bo Weese (352
yards, two TDs) and Ryan Stevens (224 yards,
one TD) and quarterback Nic Porta,
who's thrown for 645 yards and five
scores.
Cowley said his team's past
successes versus Nitro could give his
players a mental edge.
"I hope so,' he said.
"We certainly know we
can play with them. And I'll certainly be
disappointed if we don't play with them Friday night.
"I don't look for a
close game. It's either going to be one way or the
other. If [House] gets cranked up and rolling, it's hard to stop - I
don't care what you do defensively. But so are we if our offense gets
cranked up.'