OAK HILL COACH PRAISES HOUSE RED
DEVILS WARY OF NITRO'S SUPERCHARGED PASSING ATTACK
Publication:
Published: 11/10/1997
Page: P1B
Headline: OAK HILL COACH PRAISES HOUSE RED DEVILS WARY OF NITRO'S SUPERCHARGED
PASSING ATTACK
Byline: TOM ALUISE
When Jim Martin views film of Nitro's first four games of 1997, it's
like an oldtimer gazing nostalgically at grainy
black-and-white reels
of better days.
It's a feel-good experience
for the
coach.
Then Martin pops in tapes
of the Wildcats' last five games.
He might as well be a
hypochondriac watching full-color video of gall
bladder surgery.
That's the difference a
House makes.
Nitro's Kennedy
Award-winning quarterback, J.R. House, does not appear
in Wildcat footage until the season's fifth game, his first contest
back after returning from
Martin, though, will
continue to watch the pre-House films.
"I'll look at them in
case he happens to get the flu,' the Red
Devils' first-year coach said Sunday evening. "I
don't think I'll have
such luck though.'
Martin must find a way to
slow down House and Nitro's high-powered
passing attack before the teams meet in a first-round Class AAA
playoff contest on Saturday.
"Buddy, I don't think
it's possible,' Martin said. "I just watched
him and he's a fine athlete. And he's got some athletes to go with
him.'
Kickoff is set for 1:30
p.m. at
(8-1) finished third in the final Secondary School Activities
Commission ratings. Oak Hill (7-3) is No. 14.
The Red Devils are making
their first postseason football appearance
since the early 1950s.
This week in practice
they'll look like an Arena League team as they
prepare for House, who's piled up 1,945 yards and 22 touchdowns
through the air in only five games.
"We're going to play a
lot of seven-on-seven and try to simulate what
they do,' Martin said. "Of course, we don't have
anyone with a cannon
like House. He's got a real quick release and the ball gets out there
fast.
"But we'll have to
give it a try and give our guys an idea of what
they're going to see.
"He's got good feet
and he gets out of trouble. His offensive line
really does a great job for him. And his receivers find the open spots
when he starts to scramble.
"It's tough to defend
when you see it once a year. But it will be fun
trying.'
Oak Hill's best athletes
are its defensive backs: 5-foot-11, 165-pound
cornerback William Jackson; 6-1, 175-pound cornerback Eddie Logan;
5-10, 185-pound strong safety Ricky Penn; and 5-7, 155-pound free
safety Andre Thomas.
Penn is a senior and the
rest juniors.
"We've got some pretty
good skill people back there but they haven't
played against anybody like this,' Martin said.
"Hopefully they're
some of the better defensive backs (Nitro) has
faced,' Martin said. "But no one has thrown a lot
against us.'
Thomas starts at QB and is still
learning. He didn't play football as
a sophomore. Thomas has rushed for close to 500 yards and thrown for
roughly 300 and three TDs. Logan
is his top receiver.
Jackson, the younger
brother of former Oak Hill basketball standout
Cornelius Jackson, has rushed for 1,016 yards and 13 TDs
from his
tailback spot. He runs behind an offensive line that averages only
about 200 pounds across.
ankle injury. Oak Hill also features 6-0, 240-pound sophomore fullback
Brian Cunningham.
"I'm hoping by Friday
he'll (Jackson) be close to 100 percent,' said
Martin, who took Midland Trail to the playoffs six times before taking
over at Oak Hill.
The Red Devils' victories
this season have come over
(27-21, OT), Princeton (26-17),
(35-14), PikeView (35-14), Valley (36-14) and
Greenbrier East (27-15).
They have lost to
(24-12).