Charleston Gazette

October 05, 2007

Home at last, Nitro faces unbeaten SA

By Rick Ryan
Assistant Sports Editor

Now that Nitro can finally get back to playing on its home field, the Wildcats would also like to get back to playing winning football. Their playoff hopes demand it.

Nitro makes its season debut at renovated Underwood Field tonight when it squares off with unbeaten arch rival St. Albans in a matchup of state-ranked squads. Kickoff is set for 7:30.

SA (6-0) enters the game ranked No. 2 in Class AA, 15 spots ahead of Nitro (3-2), which fell five places following last week’s 42-36 loss to Capital.

The bleachers, lights and press box at Nitro are finally ready, meaning the Wildcats will miss out on just one home game. The new digs couldn’t have come at a better time, because they’re in the midst of the toughest portion of their schedule, with upcoming games against Cabell Midland and Hurricane.

“When we looked at it at the beginning of the year, we knew this four-game stretch was going to be really difficult for us,’’ said Nitro coach Scott Tinsley. “We thought if we could go .500 in that stretch, it would be really good for us.’’

The Wildcats won’t get much sympathy from SA, their cross-river rival who beat them last year 21-13, holding quarterback Michael Scott to a season-low 131 yards passing. This year, Scott has already thrown for 1,762 yards and 21 touchdowns.

“I don’t know if we have anything on them,’’ said Red Dragons coach Derek Christian. “You’ve just got to hope [Scott’s] having an off night. He must have had an off night last year.’’

With the recent proliferation of spread offenses in the Kanawha Valley, Christian doesn’t think playing Nitro is as unusual from the standpoint of defensive preparation as it used to be. SA has already faced wide-open attacks from Ripley and South Charleston.

“They’re just a spread offense,’’ Christian said of Nitro. “It’s almost become basic football anymore. It’s not like nobody else does it. Everybody runs the spread now. We’re one of the few teams that don’t.

“But they put [Scott] back there so deep, it’s hard to get back there and get pressure on him. He starts out 7 yards [deep in the shotgun] and ends up at 11. When you get time back there, your routes can become longer and extended, and you can find the holes in the zone a lot better. If you’re playing man, you give them the chance to run and get open, too. And he’s got such a good arm and two good weapons to get the ball to.’’

Seniors Brett McClanahan (32 catches, 758 yards, seven TDs) and Marcos Valentine (32-709-11) sport similar numbers and challenge defenses to take the home run ball away from both sides of the field.

“We hope we can have a few sustained drives and not turn the ball over, and try to take some time off the clock,’’ Christian said. “If you drive down the field for five minutes and end up fumbling, you don’t get anything out of it, and it’s all for naught because they can strike, and can do so from anywhere at any time.’’

The Dragons have the right offense to grind their way downfield. Behind tailback Marcus Fox (1,257 yards, 18 TDs), they average 297.5 yards per game on the ground. SA returned five of its six starters up front from tackle to tight end.

“Their offensive line has done a tremendous job in every game opening up holes for a very talented tailback,’’ Tinsley said. “But when you talk about their offensive line, someone who doesn’t get noticed very often is their fullback, Gabe King. He’s kind of a part of that offensive line, too, and does a nice job.’’

In games when opponents have success running the ball (the Wildcats allow an average of 246 yards rushing), Nitro sometimes abandons its now-traditional stand-up defensive formation and puts linemen in down stances.

“We’re back and forth a little bit with it,’’ Tinsley said. “We’ve tried to [show] both looks every game we play so the people blocking see both [approaches]. But we’ve got to stay in there and get in their way, or their [offensive line] is going to drive us until the whistle.’’

One area in which SA admittedly needs to improve is passing the ball. T.J. Feazelle, who threw for 1,111 yards and seven TDs a year ago, has just 407 yards and one TD so far.

“We need to get better passing the ball,’’ Christian said. “Obviously, you’ll need to depend on the pass at some point in time, and we need to get better at that. But there’s a lot of football left.’’

To contact assistant sports editor Rick Ryan, use e-mail or call 348-5175.