NITRO'S HOUSE, MARTIN LEAD KANAWHA CONTINGENT

Publication: THE SUNDAY GAZETTE-MAIL
Published: 12/21/1997
Page: P1D
Headline: NITRO'S HOUSE, MARTIN LEAD KANAWHA CONTINGENT
Byline: NOT AVAIALBLE

FROM STAFF, WIRE REPORTS

Two junior players who helped Nitro accomplish one of its finest
seasons ever and piled up some impressive records along the way have
been named to the Class AAA all-state football team.

Quarterback J.R. House and wide receiver Chris Martin are two of seven
Kanawha Valley athletes to earn first-team honors on the squad, which
was selected by the West Virginia Sportswriters Association.

House, last year's Kennedy Award winner as a sophomore, completed 68
percent of his throws this season and passed for 2,643 yards and 33
touchdowns in just seven games, five in the regular season after
returning from Florida.

He broke his own state single-game passing yardage record with 471
against Herbert Hoover and is poised to challenge Tim Couch's all-time
high school yardage mark next fall.

In 10 games this season at Nitro and Seabreeze High in Daytona Beach,
Fla., House threw for 3,272 yards and 38 TDs. For his career, House
has thrown for 8,928 yards and 80 TDs.

Couch's national career records at Hyden Leslie County (Ky.) are
12,104 yards and 133 TDs.

Martin, House's favorite target, was selected as an end on the first
team after leading the Wildcats with 74 catches for 1,309 yards and 17
touchdowns.

He set a state single-game record for receiving yards with 307 on 14
catches against 1996 state champion John Marshall, including four TDs.
In two playoff games, Martin landed 20 passes for 288 yards and four
TDs.

That pass-catch tandem helped Nitro post a 9-2 record, including an
8-1 regular season mark and the third seed in the playoff ratings. The
Wildcats registered their first-ever playoff win with a 41-14 conquest
of Oak Hill in the opening round.

In the offensive backfield is another pair of Kanawha Valley athletes,
Tremain Straughter of DuPont and Clyde Tyler of Capital. Straughter, a
junior, rushed for 2,025 yards and 27 TDs in 13 games, including 592
yards and seven TDs in three playoff contests.

His career-high of 258 yards came in a 24-19 playoff semifinal loss in
the mud at North Marion. Straughter also scored all three Panther TDs
in that game.

Tyler led Capital with 1,462 yards and an 8.0 yards per carry average
in his senior season. He also scored 18 touchdowns.

State champion North Marion placed three players on the first team,
including all-state defensive captain Ben Collins. The 5-foot-11,
180-pound senior was a three-year starter at middle linebacker and led
the Huskies to a 16-6 win over Parkersburg in the state championship
game in Wheeling.

Collins also started at quarterback and led North Marion in both
passing and rushing yardage.

Also named to the first team from North Marion are seniors Todd
Anderson (end) and Mike Glover (defensive line). Anderson, one of
three first-team repeat selections, had 63 catches on the year for
1,142 yards and 16 touchdowns.

Morgantown, which finished the regular season at No. 1 in the state
rankings and as the only unbeaten AAA team, also had three
first-teamers, led by all-state offensive captain Chris Yura.

A 6-0, 180-pound junior, Yura rushed for 1,949 yards and 36 touchdowns
during the regular season and topped the 2,000-yard plateau in the
Mohigans' upset loss to Ripley in the opening round of the playoffs.

Also named to the first team from Morgantown were seniors Josh Kelly,
a 6-6, 270-pound senior offensive lineman and Dave Mullett, a 6-4,
205, defensive lineman.

Parkersburg, the state runner-up, had the most first-team selections
with four. Named to the all-state offense were senior Judd Uhl, a
three-year starter at tackle and junior Nick Swisher, who was selected
as a utility player.

Swisher rushed for 962 yards, led the Big Reds in pass receptions,
played strong safety on defense and tied a state playoff record with
three field goals in a first-round win over Greenbrier East.

Parkersburg's first-team selections on defense were senior linebacker
Matt Ward (team leader in tackles) and free safety Eric Grimm (seven
interceptions), who doubled as the team's quarterback.

Joining Uhl on the offensive line were four more seniors: Wheeling
Park's Geno Ochap, Morgantown's Josh Kelly, Point Pleasant's Mike
Jeffers and Capital's Ryan Edmonds.

Jeffers made 41 straight starts at center over his final four seasons
at Point Pleasant.

Wheeling Park's Brian Schehl, a senior, kicked eight field goals,
including a 44-yarder and was named first-team place-kicker.

On defense, St. Albans' Jason Rader joined Glover and Mullett on the
first-team line. Rader had 13 sacks among his 111 tackles. As a wide
receiver, Rader caught 48 passes for 730 yards and eight TDs.

Joining Collins and Ward at linebacker were Ripley's Eddie Smolder,
Greenbrier East's Chad McClintic and Brooke's Jeremy Roberts.

Oak Hill's William Jackson and Cabell Midland's Ben Poe were named
with Grimm to the all-state secondary.

Poe was also a force on offense, rushing for 1,882 yards and 25 TDs.
In his last two seasons, Poe gained 3,031 yards and 38 TDs on the
ground, averaging 8.7 yards per carry.

Princeton's Eric Testa was the first-team punter.