DUPONT UNHAPPY WITH SITE
Publication: THE
Published: 11/17/1997
Page: P1D
Headline: DUPONT UNHAPPY WITH SITE
Byline: RICK RYAN
ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR
Nitro knows that DuPont
stands in the way of its quest to reach the
semifinals of the state football playoffs.
But the Wildcats
don't know just where and when that confrontation
will take place. Yet.
On Sunday, DuPont lodged an
official protest to playing the Class AAA
quarterfinal game at muddy Crawford Field in St. Albans and the state
Secondary School Activities Commission will send a three-person crew
to inspect the site today.
If the protest is
disallowed, then third-ranked Nitro (9-1) and
sixth-ranked DuPont (9-2) will clash at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Crawford
Field. If the protest is upheld, then the two teams will likely meet
at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Laidley Field.
DuPont athletic director
Jim Fout was asked what the SSAC inspectors'
decision will hinge on.
"It depends if they
have any common sense or not,' Fout said. "We'll
find out. It makes more sense to play [at Laidley],
especially if it's
available.'
Laidley would not be open for a Friday
night contest, since No. 4
Capital (9-2) and No. 5 Parkersburg (9-2) are set to stage a rematch
there that evening. The Cougars lost to the Big Reds 21-14 at Stadium
Field in
The Nitro-DuPont game is
another rematch. The Wildcats downed the
Panthers 36-23 at Belle on Oct. 24. In that game, Nitro quarterback
J.R. House completed 38-of-56 passes for 412 yards and three
touchdowns and also ran for two scores.
It's no secret that Nitro,
with its high-octane passing attack,
wouldn't mind playing its postseason games on surer footing than
what's available at Crawford Field. School officials originally wanted
to schedule their home playoff games at Laidley,
since Nitro's own
Underwood Field wasn't an approved Class AAA site.
But the SSAC balked at that
proposal, forcing Nitro to play at
Crawford, the closest approved playoff site.
"We just thought we'd
ask,' said coach Robert Burdette at the time.
"We'll play wherever they tell us.'
Burdette was asked his
opinion of the playing field at Crawford
following the Wildcats' 41-14 opening-round win over Oak Hill on
Saturday.
"It was a whole lot
better than I thought it was going to be,' he
said. "I dropped by earlier in the week and it
had standing water on
it. Whoever worked on it did a good job. They made it as playable as
they can make it.'
Butch Powell, assistant
executive secretary of the SSAC, attended the
first half of Saturday's Nitro-Oak Hill game and also gave the field a
thumbs-up.
"The condition of the
field is good. It's had no bearing on the
game,' he said before departing.
The rematch factor stands
to make each of these quarterfinal games
more interesting. Nitro's already had a sneak preview of how DuPont
will defend its passing game, which has averaged 384 yards and 4 1/2
touchdowns since House's return from
"We know how they're
going to play us,' said Nitro receiver Chris
Martin.
So do the Wildcats
change anything?
"No. We do what we
do,' he said. "And they'll try to stop us.'
Burdette admitted that the
two teams "know a lot about each other. I'm
sure they'll do what they do best and we'll do what we always do.
"Whoever's better on
the field will decide it,' Burdette said. "I
hope a lot of people show up.'
Laidley, with its ample parking and seating
areas, would certainly be
able to handle a larger crowd than Crawford Field. A paid attendance
of 1,709 was announced at the Nitro-Oak Hill game in
---