Charleston Gazette, November 18, 2007

SA wins shootout over Nitro

Last-second field goal sends Dragons to AAA semifinals

In a game that featured explosive offenses that produced 14 touchdowns, St. Albans’ playoff hopes rested on the right foot of junior kicker Tyler Hizer.

After several timeouts, Hizer banged through a 28-yard field goal as time expired to send the fifth-seeded Red Dragons past No. 13 Nitro 52-49 in the Class AAA quarterfinals Saturday night. A crowd of about 4,000 attended at Crawford Field in St. Albans.

SA (11-1) will play host to No. 8 East Fairmont in next week’s semifinals. The date and time will be determined today by East Fairmont. The Bees, who won their first playoff game in school history last week, upset top-ranked George Washington 14-3 Friday night.

The Red Dragons avenged their only loss of the season, a 58-14 setback to Nitro six weeks ago at Underwood Field. SA lost standout tailback Marcus Fox to a knee injury that night.

Saturday, after Nitro knotted the game at 49-all on senior quarterback Michael Scott’s 11-yard TD run with 4:46 left in the game, the Wildcats attempted an onside kick. SA freshman Tyree Cantley came up with the ball at the Red Dragons’ 47-yard line.

SA’s winning drive took 11 plays and featured a pair of fourth-and-1 conversions to set up Hizer’s winning boot. Red Dragons senior tailback Gabe King turned in a 4-yard run on fourth-and-1 at the Nitro 44-yard line, and senior quarterback T.J. Feazelle’s 5-yard sneak up the gut against a tired Wildcats’ defense on fourth-and-1 from the Nitro 20.

After a 3-yard run on first down by sophomore tailback Marcus Guy, St. Albans coach Derek Christian called timeout with 4.6 seconds to go to set up the field goal attempt. When the two teams lined up, Nitro coach Scott Tinsley used a timeout to try and ice Hizer, but it didn’t work. Hizer, who was perfect on all seven extra-point attempts, kicked the 28-yarder straight through as time ran out.

Hizer ran to the SA sideline with his fists clenched in the air as teammates mobbed him on the field.

“There was pressure definitely when [Nitro] called the second timeout,’’ said Hizer. “I kept saying to myself there’s nothing to it. It’s just like practice.

“I knew it was a win-win situation for us even if I missed it, because we were going into overtime. And we haven’t lost in overtime this year. Their defense was getting tired and they wouldn’t have been able to stop us if we went into overtime.’’

SA did exactly what Christian had hoped for as the Red Dragons continually pounded Nitro with the backfield tandem of Guy and King to the tune of 456 yards on 62 carries.

Guy finished with 270 yards on 32 totes for an 8.4-yard average and a TD, while King turned in 103 yards on 19 tries with four scores. Feazelle, who only completed 2-of-7 passes for 13 yards, added 65 yards on eight carries and a pair of scores.

“That can wear down a defense,’’ said Christian. “We knew [Nitro] is a big-play offense and they got big plays, but we turned around and finally caught up with them. It was like a heavyweight fight. We just got the last punch in.’’

In the first 70 meetings that have occurred between Nitro and St. Albans since 1931, this was the first playoff matchup. The Red Dragons now lead the all-time series 45-24-2.

It was also the first time Christian and Tinsley were on the same field during the playoffs since 1979, when Tinsley was the quarterback and Christian play fullback at St. Albans. The Red Dragons lost to Bridgeport 20-7 in the Class AAA state title game.

Saturday’s game featured 925 yards of total offense and a combined seven touchdowns in the third quarter.

Nitro knotted the game at 49-all with 4:46 left in the fourth quarter on Scott’s 11-yard scoring run. The 11-play drive, which covered 73 yards, featured a pass interference penalty on SA on third-and-20 that kept the Wildcats’ alive.

Scott completed 21-of-29 passes for 407 yards with four TDs and an interception. Senior wideout Brett McClanahan hauled in eight passes for 158 yards with a TD, and sophomore receiver Andrew Frazier added five catches for 113 yards and a TD. Senior wide receiver Marcos Valentine had three receptions for 92 yards and a score.

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