NITRO SIMPLY ROLLS OVER
Publication:
Published: 01/01/1999
Page: P3B
Headline: NITRO SIMPLY ROLLS OVER
Byline: JOHN WITHROW
FOR THE DAILY MAIL
Even without Clarence
Joyner, the Nitro Wildcats and their
high-powered offense never missed a beat.
Nitro piled up 598 total
yards in its 52-8 romp over
Nitro.
Wildcat running back Chris
Creamer led the attack, churning out 105 of
his 241 yards in the first half. Creamer's output, coupled
with 193
yards passing by three quarterbacks, helped Nitro continue its push
for back-to-back state titles.
"This was a momentum
game for us,' said Nitro Coach Robert "Little'
Burdette, whose team, rated 15th in Class AAA, improved to 5-2. "We
have two tough road games coming up (
was a good game to build the confidence we need to get into the
playoffs."
Joyner is not only one of
Nitro's top receivers but a starter on
defense as well. Still, the Wildcats seemed to do OK without the
senior on defense.
"Our defense played a
superb football game,' Burdette said. "They
just shut down two of the best skilled players in the state, in
Logan's (QB) Billy Manuel and (tailback) Walter Elmore.'
Manuel completed 5-of-16
passes for 49 yards, while Elmore gained only
43 yards on 10 carries.
Creamer, meanwhile,
credited his offensive line for the huge holes it
provided.
"I give a lot of
credit to our offensive line,' he said. "We
finally
had all of our starters back and I think it really showed.'
Not only did it show in the
running game, it showed in the Wildcat
passing attack as well. At times, Nitro's QB had all day to throw the
football.
Junior Jason Ward led the
way, completing 5-of-10 passes for 116 yards
and a score. Freshman Derek Midkiff hit on 9-of-11
attempts for 75
yards.
Senior Jeff Clark caught
six passes for 123 yards and a
TD.