Nitro offense passes muster

Derek Taylor
Daily Mail Sportswriter

Monday October 08, 2007

Nitro's passing attack was hitting on all cylinders in its 58-14 win against St. Albans on Friday. Michael Scott passed for 382 yards, completing 22-of-30 throws and connecting for five touchdowns.

However, the air circus wasn't the only thing in peak condition for the Wildcats.

Senior running back Mark Massey rushed for a career-high 138 yards on 13 carries, giving Nitro the sought-after balance on offense while significantly improving the Wildcats' playoff chances.

Nitro Coach Scott Tinsley said that Massey's effort, like many elements of the blowout, were carry-overs from the Wildcats' 42-35 loss at Capital a week earlier.

"I thought he showed last week, though I'm not exactly sure what he gained against Capital, but he ran pretty well against a team that had just been giving up about 35 yards a game on the ground," Tinsley said. "He's really starting to learn how to be a running back."

Massey has rushed for 446 yards and five touchdowns on 65 carries. He scored on runs of 24 and 48 yards against the Red Dragons and also caught a 4-yard touchdown pass and tacked on a pair of 2-point conversions.

While Massey had his best game in a Nitro uniform, Tinsley also lauded the performance of his defense. The Dragons finished with 244 total yards to Nitro's 552.

"The focus has really been on defense this week," said Tinsley after the Wildcats outgained St. Albans 447 yards to 161 in the first half. "I think it carries over from the second half of the game last week when we just gave up one touchdown to a very talented Capital team, and we just preached all week that we had to start this game like we finished the game last week.

"Our kids responded and came out ready to go."