DUPONT WINS A WILD ONE 49-40
Publication: THE SUNDAY GAZETTE-MAIL
Published: 11/23/1997
Page: P1D
Headline: DUPONT WINS A WILD ONE 49-40
Byline: TOMMY R. ATKINSON
FOR THE SUNDAY GAZETTE-MAIL
DuPont coach Dick Whitman
is best known for his low-key demeanor and
conservative play-calling.
Whitman may have changed
all that after deciding to take a gamble on
fourth down in the fourth quarter as DuPont downed Nitro 49-40 in a
wild shootout Saturday afternoon.
A paid crowd of 2,381
attended the Class AAA quarterfinal prep playoff
game under overcast skies at Laidley Field.
DuPont and Nitro combined
for 89 points, breaking the Class AAA
playoff record of 76 set by Capital and Nitro last year, according to
Don Harmon, who keeps track of the Secondary School Activities
Commission playoff records. The 89 total points scored by two teams
also sets an all-class record.
Nitro junior quarterback
J.R. House threw for six touchdowns, breaking
his own playoff record of five he set against Oak Hill last week.
DuPont (10-2), which is
seeded sixth, will travel to face
second-seeded
Rachel next week. The date and kickoff time will be decided today.
Third-seeded Nitro finished
the season with a 9-2 record.
The Panthers faced the
Huskies in a preseason scrimmage earlier in the
season.
"That's where we're
at, and that's what we have to do next week,'
Whitman said of playing
DuPont was clinging to a
43-40 lead and faced a game-deciding
decision: Punt to the high-octane Nitro offense and take your chances
or try to keep possession and control your own destiny.
Whitman chose the latter
and rolled the dice on fourth-and-2 with the
ball resting at the Panthers 43.
"The best defense was
for our offense to be on the field,' Whitman
said. "Just lay it on the line and see what
happens. It's playoff
time.'
The DuPont coach put the
ball in the hands of junior running back
Tremain Straughter, who
eluded a would-be tackler in the backfield and
dived for a 2-yard gain and the first down.
"I think it was a real
gutsy call on his part,' Nitro coach Robert
Burdette said. "When you have as good a player as
House back there,
you pull the trigger. When you have as good a running back as
Straughter, you've got to run the ball.'
DuPont converted another
fourth down play at the Nitro 4 before
Straughter ended the drive with a 1-yard touchdown
plunge for a 49-40
lead with 1:28 remaining in the game.
The drive consumed 8:20 on
15 plays covering 65 yards and essentially
ended the Wildcats' hopes for a comeback.
"That was a good high
school football game,' Burdette said. "In big
games, big players make big plays. I don't know which team had more
guys make big plays. Kids had fun on both sides.'
Nitro beat DuPont 36-23 on
Oct. 24. The Panthers held a 23-14 lead
late in the third quarter, but turned the ball over on five
consecutive drives enabling the Wildcats to score 22 points for the
win.
"The first game, we
committed five turnovers,' Whitman said, "this
game, I think we had one. They scored 40 points. Anytime the other
team scores 40 points and [you] win, you have to be a happy camper.'
Straughter finished the game with 155 yards on
19 carries with three
touchdowns. One of his TD runs came on a 48-yard punt return.
Straughter amassed 310 all-purpose yards. Senior
fullback Lewis Tose
added 65 yards on 10 rushes with a TD for DuPont.
"Tremain
is a good back,' Whitman said. "I thought our
offensive line
did a real nice job for us. We knew we had to outscore them [Nitro].'
"We played a great
game,' Tose said. "In
the playoffs is when it
counts. If you pick it up in the postseason, no telling how far you'll
go. I want one of those rings. This is my last year, why not make
it a
good one?'
Junior quarterback Matt
Hill gained 58 yards on seven carries and
completed 3-of-6 passes for 58 yards with two TDs and
an interception
for the Panthers. One of Matt Hill's scoring tosses went to his twin
brother, Michael, for 16 yards.
For Nitro, junior
quarterback J.R. House completed 27-of-39 passes for
339 yards and six TDs, but was intercepted twice.
Junior wide receiver Chris
Martin hauled in 12 passes for 99 yards for
the Wildcats, two short of tying the playoff record for receptions set
by teammate Zack Collins (14) also against Oak Hill. Wide receiver
Jeff Clark added 121 yards on four catches and senior wide receiver
Chad Lovejoy caught five passes for 58 yards.
It didn't take long for
Nitro to get its offense warmed up as House
tossed a 29-yard TD to Martin with 8:23 remaining in the first
quarter. DuPont answered with Matt Hill's 16-yard scoring strike to
Mike Hill to cut the deficit to 7-6.
Straughter gave the Panthers a 14-7 lead with
a 48-yard punt return
with 48 seconds left in the opening period.
from House tied the score at 14-all for the Wildcats with 24 seconds
left in the first quarter.
Tose scampered 9 yards to open the
second quarter and give DuPont a
22-14 lead with 4:57 remaining. Not to be outdone, House connected
with Collins on an 11-yarder to pull to 22-20 at halftime.
"It's an interesting
offense,' Whitman said of Nitro. "There's nobody
in the country that runs that offense better.'
The third quarter featured
four lead changes as the game see-sawed
back and forth.
House hit Lovejoy with a
14-yard pass to regain the lead for Nitro at
26-22. Matt Hill tossed a 27-yarder to Kenny Wright as DuPont
reclaimed the lead at 30-26 with 7:07 left in the third.
The Wildcats took
the lead again on House's 5-yard toss to Collins for
a short-lived 33-30 advantage. Straughter came to
DuPont's rescue,
bursting through the line and running 54 yards with 3:09 left in the
period as the Panthers regained the lead for good at 36-33.
With the Panthers clinging
to a three-point lead, David Pates
intercepted House and dashed 38 yards for a TD with 2:55 remaining in
the third to extend the margin to 43-33, the biggest lead by any team
in the game.
"They were giving us
four or five man fronts, dropping eight,' House
said of the DuPont defense. "I made a bad read.'
The Wildcats didn't
give up, however, and stormed back with House's
3-yard strike to Martin to pull to 43-40 with 9:50 left in the fourth
quarter before the Panthers' time-consuming drive.
Melvin Smith intercepted
House to end Nitro's last-ditch drive with
1:05 remaining in the game.