PREP FOOTBALL NOTEBOOK NITRO LOOKS FOR FINISHING TOUCH

Publication: THE CHARLESTON GAZETTE
Published: 09/06/2001
Page: 5B
Headline: PREP FOOTBALL NOTEBOOK NITRO LOOKS FOR FINISHING TOUCH
Byline: RICK RYAN

rickryan@wvgazette.com

Some coaches save the motivational talks for halftime. But you can't blame Nitro for playing that card a little earlier in the ballgame. Like a month.

Last year, the Wildcats held the lead in all 10 of their games, but lost four and just missed gaining a Class AAA playoff berth. Their failure, in large part, came when they started out the season 0-3 - despite leading at halftime in all three games.

One of those games was Nitro's opener against George Washington, a team the Wildcats meet again on Friday at Laidley Field. But you won't catch Nitro coach Robert "Little" Burdette harping on the fact his team failed to hold onto last year's lead against GW.

"We talked about that more during two-a-days [practices] in August than we do now," Burdette said. "We haven't talked about that in a while. During August, we really stress that during conditioning drills. We tell them that if we come out of the chute losing like we did last year, we'll be out of the playoffs."

But before you give the Wildcats bonus points - for having last year's sorrows motivate this year's conditioning - Burdette said it wasn't really intended as strategy.

"When you're wearing T-shirts and shorts the first few days [of practice], there's not a whole lot else you can do," he said. "That's the time we talk about being ahead in all 10 games and finding a way to lose four of them. We feel like we came into the season in pretty good shape.

"But those things were last year and it's entirely different this year. We led at halftime last week [against Hurricane] and won, so I guess that's over. I just know we don't want to get into their heads a whole lot at halftime."