Wildcat Trio was set to leave West Virginia

By Mitch Vingle
Sports Editor
NITRO HIGH SCHOOL almost lost its quarterback.
And its assistant football coach.
And head football coach.
And girls basketball coach.
And softball coach.

All were bundled and, apparently, set to head south. But one ruling made Monday night kept all in the Mountain State.
When the SSAC Board of Directors granted Nitro QB Michael Scott a waiver to play his senior season, his father, Mike,
an assistant coach, set down his luggage. Michael set his down.

So too did Wildcats coach Scott Tinsley, who appeared ready to travel with the Scotts. Tinsley coaches Nitro football,

girls basketball and softball.
“I know there were rumors that Michael was ineligible and that we were leaving,’’ Tinsley said Tuesday. “But now we’re
all tied into Nitro for another year.’’

Tinsley confirmed the “rumors’’ were true. The Wildcat Trio was indeed shopping. The three were trying to establish Plan B if Michael Scott’s SSAC appeal fell through. (See story, left.) But the athlete was given a waiver to play a fourth year of high school ball.

“We had three really good offers though,’’ Tinsley said.

One was in Norfolk, Va. The QB could have played there and the coaches had job offers. Ditto Bloomington, Ind. One of the high school staffs in that city had visited Tinsley and company. And then there was the opportunity to go to Waccamaw High in Pawleys Island, S.C. Former Nitro head football coach

Robert “Little’’ Burdette is in charge there.
“That was probably the best deal,’’ Tinsley said. “I’m still having a hard time turning that down.’’
For the athlete, the opportunity to play a fourth year — and possibly improve his scholarship stock — was the goal. Of

course, father Mike would follow his son.

As for Tinsley, well, he’s been known to bond with his quarterbacks. Recognized as an offensive whiz, the coach almost went to West Virginia with ex-Wildcat standout J.R. House as a package deal. Part of the deal-breaker there, though, and what pushes him from here is his college degree. His West Virginia Board

of Regents degree doesn’t allow him to teach here as a substitute. (Tinsley said that’s not the case in South Carolina and Indiana.) So he’s making ends meet here via the three coaching jobs and a part-time job selling cars at Crown Pontiac.

“Right now I’ve got [summer practice] for all three sports going at once,’’ said the coach. “It’s hard to sell a car with all

that going on.’’ Tinsley has certainly been controversial in his time at Nitro. But even his critics have to admit he’s innovative. His spread offense with House was unheard of in West Virginia high school ball. And now he’s making a name for his