Nitro pulls off big upset

Derek Taylor, Sportswriter, The Charleston Daily Mail, Saturday November 10, 2007

CLARKSBURG -- Once Robert C. Byrd showed up, the last remaining undefeated

Class AAA team's first-round playoff game against Nitro was actually kind of interesting.

It's too bad the Eagles waited until trailing 35-7 at halftime to make an appearance.

Nitro used 460 yards passing from Michael Scott, 15 receptions and 327 yards receiving from Marcos Valentine and five first-half Byrd turnovers to rout the hosts 52-31 on Friday.

Still, as both Nitro Coach Scott Tinsley and his Byrd counterpart Bryan Fisher talked through the week leading up to an anticipated offensive showdown, defense was the key.

"I thought our defense came up real big, except for the one long run, in the first half," said Tinsley, whose team will play rival St. Albans in the quarterfinals next week. "We did well against a very, very talented offense."

Nitro opened the scoring with 5:15 left in the first quarter when Scott hooked up with Valentine for the first of five touchdown connections between the two pass terminals.

The first of Byrd's miscues came quickly afterward.

All-state receiver Jordan Griffin fumbled his ensuing kickoff return at the Nitro 47. Two plays later Scott scored on a 7-yard run to help push the lead to 14-0.

"We get a short field and we feel like we ought to score," said Tinsley. "We came up short a couple times because penalties were a big bugaboo for us tonight."

Scott had a fantastic night, completing 20-of-29 passes for five touchdowns

while not throwing an interception. He picked off two passes by Byrd quarterback Cody Gilmore, both in the first half.

Byrd's only score in the first half came on a 44-yard run by junior tailback Zach Losh. Losh was one of the few bright spots for the Eagle offense, as he finished with 106 yards rushing.

"We wanted to make sure that Griffin didn't beat us," said Tinsley. "We wanted to make sure that if they got to us, it was going to be with someone other than

him."

Griffin was held in check throughout, though he scored on a late run and on a juggling reception, both in the fourth quarter.

"We worked all week on defending him and that passing game," said Scott. "We wanted to do anything we could to shut them down."