November 12, 2007 Five make second round

SA-Nitro rematch highlights area quarterfinal games

By Rick Ryan, Assistant Sports Editor , Charleston Gazette

All in all, not a bad first week for Kanawha Valley schools in the state football playoffs.

Area teams went 5-3 in the opening round, including a game in which they were paired against each other, as Capital edged Riverside 28-21, yet again in overtime.

That included the two biggest upsets of the first round — at least by seeding — with No. 14 Buffalo knocking off No. 3 Gilbert 34-6 in Class A and No. 13 Nitro overwhelming No. 4 Robert C. Byrd 52-31 in AAA.

In fact, if Hurricane had held on to its fourth-quarter lead at East Fairmont Saturday afternoon, the Kanawha Valley would have been guaranteed a spot in the Class AAA finals at the Super Six in Wheeling because all four teams in the top half of the bracket would have been area schools. The Bees rallied to beat Hurricane 20-16.

That sets up four games of immediate interest this weekend — two on Friday and two on Saturday:

East Fairmont has selected to make its way to Laidley Field Friday night to take on top-ranked George Washington in the AAA quarterfinals. Kickoff is set for 7:30. Buffalo will wind its way up the Ohio River for a 7:30 Friday date at St. Marys in Class A. The No. 11 Blue Devils are the only other double-digit seed still alive in the postseason besides the Bison and Nitro. Capital will tackle No. 2 University at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Pony Lewis Field in Morgantown in AAA. Perhaps in a bit of gamesmanship, Nitro has chosen 7:30 Saturday as the playing time for its second showdown of the season with neighboring rival St. Albans. The lower-seeded teams in each game pick the date and kickoff time, while the higher seeds have the choice of home field.

In addition, Nitro has protested the playing condition of Crawford Field, SA’s home base and the scheduled site of the game. Fans may also have divided viewing loyalties for that game because West Virginia is scheduled to play Cincinnati in a televised game at 7:45 Saturday night.

Nitro (7-4) sort of did its old rival a favor Friday by eliminating RCB; otherwise, St. Albans would have been forced to travel to Clarksburg for this weekend’s game. Instead, it gets another home game (protest notwithstanding).

“Maybe they should give us a cut of the gate,’’ said Nitro coach Scott Tinsley with a chuckle.

St. Albans will have to do a better job of slowing Nitro’s high-flying passing game this time around if it wants to continue its advance.

When the teams met in the regular season on Oct. 5 at Underwood Field in Nitro, the Dragons (10-1) were saddled with their only loss — and in a big way — in a 58-14 Wildcats victory. Michael Scott threw for 383 yards and five touchdowns for Nitro that night, and SA lost stellar tailback Marcus Fox for the rest of the season with a knee injury.

Dragons coach Derek Christian doesn’t have mixed feelings about playing against the only team he hasn’t beaten this season.

“No, we’re just glad to be playing right now,’’ he said. “You’ve got to win to keep playing. It doesn’t matter who you play.’’

Likewise, Tinsley won’t let his players carry any overconfidence into the matchup.

“The first time doesn’t matter,’’ he said. “That’s how you’ve got to approach it. It doesn’t matter if we’re playing St. Albans or Capital or GW or whoever it is. This is the second round of the playoffs. It’s the most important game of the year so far.’’

Tinsley wasn’t sure of the status of his top running back, senior Mark Massey, who is battling a pulled muscle in his upper back. Massey managed only two carries for 8 yards against RCB before leaving the game.

“It’s still real painful,’’ Tinsley said of Massey’s injury. “He tried to gut it out [Friday night]. He got a couple carries and tried to play defense, but he couldn’t turn and run — and he’s a tough kid. He’s still real doubtful this week.’’

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