UNSTOPPABLE STOTTS SIZZLES RIPLEY
RUNNING BACK EXPLODES FOR HUGE NIGHT AGAINST NITRO
Publication:
Published: 09/15/2001
Page: P1B
Headline: UNSTOPPABLE STOTTS SIZZLES RIPLEY RUNNING BACK EXPLODES FOR HUGE
NIGHT AGAINST NITRO
Byline: JASON MARTIN
DAILY MAIL SPORTSWRITER
After Ripley High's Brock Stotts sprinted untouched for much of his
record-setting 388 rushing yards and seven touchdowns, Nitro's defense
was left with this lingering thought:
It could have been worse.
Stotts had a 78-yard scoring run called back on a
clip in the second
quarter of the Vikings' 43-29 victory at Underwood Field.
"All night ... all night," Ripley Coach Frank Marino said. "They
couldn't stop him, so I kept feeding him."
On Friday, Stotts carried 28 times for 388 yards and
six touchdowns,
shattering the Mountain State Athletic Conference rushing record. That
mark was previously held by Herbert Hoover's Brent Burke, who rushed
for 315 yards against old Huntington High in 1993.
Before kickoff, Nitro High sponsored a ceremony in which all 1,500
fans, both bands and all players joined hands in ovals on the field
for a moment of silence and the national anthem in honor of the
victims of this week's terrorist attacks.
That was the only time all night the Wildcats kept Stotts
standing
still.
He scored on runs of (in order) 47, 5, 6, 75, 80 and 2 yards. He added
a 77-yard kickoff return touchdown in the second quarter and a 20-yard
reception for 485 all-purpose yards.
"This is the most fun time I've ever had in my life," he said.
The clipping penalty cost Stotts only 29 rushing
yards, since he
gained 49 on the drive anyway. That would have put him at 417 yards
and within reasonable distance of Jeff Swisher's state record of 448
yards for Sistersville in 1986 against Frontier, Ohio.
"That's the best performance by a back I've ever seen," Nitro Coach
"Little" Burdette said. "That's the game of a lifetime."
Burdette speaks from experience. He also watched his team give up 171
yards to George Washington's Cortez Lacy and 253 yards to
Lane
"One time, we literally had five or six guys who had Stotts
stopped
but didn't knock him down," Burdette said. "I'm really concerned and
I
don't know the answer.
"Every game, the other team hands off and scores on the first play of
drives and nobody touches the guy - nobody."
Needless to say, form tackling is an issue for Nitro (1-3), which is
allowing 45 points and 319 rushing yards per game.
Take out a 56-yard effort from pass-happy Hurricane, and the Wildcats
are allowing 407 rushing yards in their three losses.
"We don't have 11 guys out who really want to tackle somebody,"
Burdette said. "I can't teach courage. I can't do it."
Stotts earned most of his yardage - and all of his
long touchdowns -
on simple trap plays up the gut of the Nitro defense, running behind
the leveling blocking of pulling guard Josh Anderson.
"The offensive line gets all the credit," said Stotts,
like any good
back. "The line made huge holes and I had nothing to do but run
through them."
A 6-foot-1, 190-pound senior captain, Stotts had only
five career wins
coming into this season. Ripley was only 2-8 last year, the worst of
Marino's long tenure at the school, but has bolted to a 3-1 start
behind offensive weapons that also include receiver Jeff McCoy (three
catches, 65 yards) and quarterback Corey Isner
(5-of-9, 100 yards).
"It's been two bad years for us," Marino said, "but we're
back."
Still, Ripley wasn't assured of victory as Nitro kept battling back
with its own yard-gobbling offense. Quarterback Derek Midkiff
was
20-of-40 for 292 yards, and hit Jon Lowe nine times for 140 yards and
two scores. Tailback Chris McGhee ran 29 times for 144 yards.
"For most of it, I didn't think we'd get out with a win," Marino
said.
That was until Stotts broke off consecutive
fourth-quarter scoring
runs of 75 and 80 yards spaced about two minutes apart, the second set
up by McCoy's interception of Midkiff in the end
zone.
Now the MSAC's leading rusher with 873 yards, Stotts' leadership has
had as much say as his running ability, which is saying a lot. He has
the necessary speed, unequaled balance and heads-up agility that churn
short runs into long first downs.
"It's in the work he does, and it's in his eyes," Marino said.
"He has
the eyes of a great running back."
Rolling up 230 yards after halftime, the game's only late surprise
came when Ripley's Hamilton Rake made the Vikings' third and final
interception of Midkiff.
That gave Ripley the ball at its own 47 with time for one more play.
Most expected Marino to give Stotts a crack at 400.
Instead, he had
the quarterback keep it and fall down.
Nitro - and calculators - sighed in relief.