Derek Taylor
Daily Mail Sportswriter
Wednesday August 29, 2007
BRETT McClanahan is among a small handful of
prep basketball players being looked at as a leading contender for boys player of the year honors.
McClanahan,
The 6-foot-4 wide receiver caught eight
passes for 210 yards (officially 178 yards) and a touchdown in the Wildcats'
truly wild 48-33 win at rival Poca. One grab covered
56 yards, and McClanahan's presence only heightened the threat of fellow wideout Marcos Valentine. Valentine, an All-Stater selection last year, caught seven passes for 237
yards (officially 236) and three touchdowns from quarterback Michael Scott.
The difference, of course, between
Valentine's gaudy yardage and that of McClanahan is that Valentine has been
playing within the Nitro football system for years. McClanahan was lacing up
his chinstrap in a game that mattered for the first time.
That fact was apparent primarily in the first
half, as Poca built a 19-14 lead after two quarters.
McClanahan lost two fumbles, one of which led to a Poca
touchdown. The other assuredly took six points away from the Wildcats, as
McClanahan coughed up the ball inside the Dots 1.
McClanahan's coach, Scott Tinsley, said that
while the turnovers were certainly untimely, he was nonetheless impressed with
his new receiver's debut. Nitro had made clear its intention of using the
newbie, as Scott threw deep to him on a fly during the Wildcats' first play
from scrimmage. The pass was overthrown by about 3 yards, but the tone had been
set.
"This is a kid who's never played
football before in his life," Tinsley said. "We expected things like
the fumbles to happen. It's unfortunate when they happened, but it's something
he is going to get used to."
Tinsley said the important thing to note
about the plays in question was the context.
"Those were both plays that he gained a
lot of yardage on," said Tinsley, "and he'd made big gains before the
fumbles. So I think a lot of what happened was that he wasn't expecting the
hits after the big gains. That's something he'll get more accustomed to, and
it's something that we'll continue to work on with him."
Poca's opportunistic defense was as much to credit for
causing the turnovers as McClanahan's lack of experience, Tinsley said.
"They hit hard and kept coming, and
didn't give up on plays regardless of how many yards we were gaining,"
said Tinsley.
McClanahan will likely take some extra hits
in practice and possibly get whacked around with some heavy padding in the next
two weeks.
Nitro is off this Friday before returning to
action at George Washington on Sept. 2 (actually Sept. 7th). Tinsley
said McClanahan and his team will have to be prepared for even more stern defense than it faced against the Dots.
"(Coach) Steve Edwards does a great job
with their defense," Tinsley said. "They're always tough, and his
dad, Steve Sr., is on the staff and calls the offense for them and they're
tough to face. We're going to have to toughen up and be ready for them."
The Patriots pass defense held Capital's
highly touted air attack to fewer than 100 yards in a season-opening 21-7 win
last Thursday.
The extra week of practice will do McClanahan
and the Wildcats a strong measure of good. Tinsley said not only does he hope
to cure the turnover bug that bit the team early on last week, but he also
wants to work to shore up the Nitro defense. The Dots gained more than 300
yards rushing in the losing effort.
It's difficult to estimate what will become of the defense. Nitro has enjoyed successful seasons by outscoring its opponents in shootouts. As McClanahan becomes more battle-tested, the odds of teams being able to keep up with the Wildcats will become as slender as Scott, Valentine and himself.