Charleston Saturday Gazette

October 27, 2007 Huntington gets first win at Nitro’s expense

By Tommy R. Atkinson, Staff writer

Nitro’s roller-coaster season continued Friday night.

Huntington quarterback C.J. Crawford scored a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns and Nitro committed a couple of costly mistakes in the final few minutes as the Highlanders avoided a winless season with a 28-24 victory over the No. 14 Wildcats.

A crowd of about 1,200 attended the Mountain State Athletic Conference matchup on senior night at Underwood Field in Nitro.

Crawford masterfully executed a 13-play, 76-yard drive, capping it off with a 6-yard touchdown scamper to give Huntington its first lead of the game, a 28-24 advantage with 1:44 left.

Nitro (5-4) took over at its own 33 with 1:41 remaining, which is plenty of time for the Wildcats’ quick-strike offense. Michael Scott completed a 17-yard pass to Marcos Valentine at midfield, but Valentine was stripped of the ball and Huntington recovered with 1:34 left.

The Highlanders ran the ball on three straight plays to run time off the clock, with Nitro using its two remaining timeouts to preserve 40-some seconds. But the Wildcats were called for roughing the punter, handing the Highlanders (1-9) a first down and the victory.

First-year Highlanders coach Zach Wilson received his first dousing prior to the final kneel-down as his team avoided its first winless season since consolidation in the season finale.

“These kids played their butts off,’’ said Wilson. “All the credit goes to them. [They] showed a lot of heart. I have a hard time putting words around it.

“We were in so many situations where things could have gone one way or the other [and] our kids stepped up and made plays. [The win] is huge for the program. It gives us a chance to send the seniors out with a victory and gives us a chance to have momentum going into next season.’’

Nitro, which can still make the 16-team playoff field with a win at Princeton next week, has lost both of its games against Cabell County schools. Cabell Midland, which owned a 2-5 record at the time, knocked off the Wildcats 56-48 two weeks ago. Last week, Nitro blasted No. 8 Hurricane 48-13 on the road.

“[Huntington is] the most talented team we’ve played all year,’’ said Nitro coach Scott Tinsley. “How they’re 1-9, I’ve got no idea. I don’t know how they’re not competing for the state championship.

“I watched them in warm-ups, came in and told our guys, ‘We’re in trouble.’ We didn’t play that bad. They’re just a lot better football team than we are. We’re not even close to that. Sometimes we play good, but we’re not very good.’’

Crawford completed 21-of-28 passes for 242 yards with a pair of TDs and no interceptions. The 6-foot-2, 197-pound junior also added 81 yards and two more scores on the ground.

Michael Morton hauled in seven catches for 87 yards, including a 39-yard score with no time left on the clock in the second quarter that allowed Huntington to pull to 10-8 at halftime. Joey Christian added four receptions for 72 yards, including a 13-yard TD with 2:09 to go in the third quarter that closed the Highlanders’ gap to 17-15.

Scott passed for 259 yards on 20-of-34 accuracy with a pair of TDs and no picks. He was also the top ground gainer with 47 yards on eight carries. Brett McClanahan caught five passes for 114 yards.

Valentine had a 61-yard kickoff return to open the game and a 62-yard punt return on a first-quarter play that didn’t score.

To contact staff writer Tommy R. Atkinson, use e-mail or call 348-4811.