J.R. DOES IT HIS WAY AT AWARDS
BANQUET
Publication: THE
Published: 05/03/1999
Page: P1B
Headline: J.R. DOES IT HIS WAY AT AWARDS BANQUET
Byline: MITCH VINGLE
SPORTS EDITOR
J.R. House certainly can
play football.
And the former Nitro High
standout definitely can play baseball.
On Sunday evening, however,
sports fans finally found a weakness of
the state's 1999 amateur athlete of the year.
Singing.
Yet, despite butchering
Frank Sinatra's "My Way,' House still cleaned
house at the 53rd annual Victory Awards Dinner at the
Before a crowd of more than
400, House accepted both the Hardman Award
(amateur athlete) and Kennedy Award (high school football player of
the year) as well as first-team all-state honors.
"I accept [the
Kennedy] for the entire Nitro community,' said House.
The quarterback then
pointed out the Wildcats won the Class AAA
championship via a passing attack.
"It's like the Frank
Sinatra song in a plural form,' said House with
a smile. "We did it our way.'
House, who shared the
Kennedy with Weir's Quincy Wilson, is only the
fourth two-time winner of that award. (DuPont's Danny Williams,
Charleston
others.) He was the first high school Hardman Award winner in 20
years.
"That was a huge
surprise,' said House, who flew in from
where he is attending school. "If a
down and wrote a script, it wouldn't have come close to the Cinderella
story of the Nitro Wildcats, the smallest Class AAA school
in the
state.
"I do solemnly swear
to represent
glorified way.'
House is awaiting the major
league baseball draft in June before
deciding whether to play football or baseball or both.
Wilson, who led Weir to the
Class AA title, thanked House for pushing
him every week.
"But I'd look and see
J.R. throwing for 600 yards a game,' said
this week.
group of Herd coaches and fund-raisers sunned last week, to accept the
College Coach of the Year award. It was Pruett's third straight.
"This means a lot to
me, a person from
"I'm not even from
athlete and state college athlete, I appreciate the rare opportunity
to come home, coach and get paid for it.'
Pruett pointed out - to
applause - he had 39
his 1998 Motor City Bowl roster.
Florida-bound Brett Nelson,
who attends St. Albans High, picked up his
Evans Award as the high school basketball player of the year. ("You
have to forgive Brett if he doesn't know how to act,' said the
Gazette's Rick Ryan, who presented the award. "He's
probably never
appeared before a crowd so small.')
Nelson thanked, among
others, SAHS coach Tex Williams.
"He not only allowed
me to play with freedom,' said Nelson, "but
discipline, which will help me later in life.'
Perhaps the most
inspirational acceptance speech was made by Elkins
high jumper Nathan Fields, who won the McCoy Award as the trackperson
of the year.
"Last year, May 29, I
had just cleared 7-foot-2,' said Fields. "A guy
informed me the national record of the year was 7-3.
"So I took my first
shot at 7-3 and missed. I prayed and prayed and
prayed. I missed again. I prayed again and thought of everything the
Lord had given me. Then I jumped 7-3. I never thought that one jump
would change my life.'
Fields, who said he
expected to attend the
went on to accept a scholarship to the
The other awards handed out
went to Ravenswood's Luke Salmons (Hunt,
football lineman of the year), Wheeling Park's KeTara
Lee (Thom, girls
basketball player of the year), Wirt's Mike Miller (Dutton,
wrestler
of the year), Moorefield's Alan Fiddler (High School Coach of the
Year), Parkersburg Catholic's Ryan Life and Nitro's Chris Martin
(Harrison Kennedy Scholarships), Parkersburg's Eric Grimm (Sam Huff,
football defensive player of the year), Fairmont Senior's John Gouzd
(High School Baseball Player of the Year) and the Gazette's Dave
Hickman (Morehouse Award, distinguished service to West Virginia
Sports Writers Association).
The first-team all-state
football and basketball players, as well as
championship coaches, were also
honored.