GENS BOUNCE BACK FROM ONLY DEFEAT
Publication:
Published: 10/18/1986
Page: P2B
Headline: GENS BOUNCE BACK FROM ONLY DEFEAT
Byline: DAVID FENWICK
NITRO _
not-so-welcome visitor come to town Friday night.
The welcome guest was
coach Don Nehlen, who showed up for the second half
and watched the
action from the stadium press box between autograph requests.
The not-so-welcome visitor was Stonewall Jackson who rolled into
town and blanked the Wildcats 22-0.
The Generals improved their record to 5-1-1, but what really.
pleased Stonewall head coach Moe Townson
was the way his team bounced
back from last week's 18-6 loss to
"The team was emotionally down and this win should help us get
back on track,' said Townson. "We went into
tonight's game with
plans of running our basic offense which we did fairly well. Nitro
has been playing it's opponents tough and we knew it
would take a
good effort to beat them.'
Stonewall's first big effort came midway through the
second.
quarter when quarterback J.R. Kinney appeared to be
dropping back for
a pass and then sprinted to the left corner of the end zone on
a four-yard touchdown run. John Yiannis kicked the
extra point to
give the Generals a 7-0 halftime lead.
Stonewall kept its momentum alive by scoring on the initial
drive of the second half. Halfback Kevin Lee plunged in from
one-yard out with 5:08 left in the third quarter to cap off a
12-play, 55-yard drive. Lee carried the ball eight times during the
drive for 31 yards.
Yiannis kicked a 27-yard field goal which gave the
Generals a
16-0 lead in the fourth quarter with 10:39 to play. Stonewall's
final score came with 1:47 remaining when Lee broke loose on a
37-yard run. Lee's trip to the end zone came on a quarterback option
from Eddie Merrill. The 5-9 junior carried the ball to the 25-yard
line before pitching to Lee, who went the rest of the way.
Air time was plentiful for both teams as 36 passes were thrown
. Kinney connected on 5 of 13 attempts for 46 yards and Nitro
completed 8 of 20 attempts. Scott Dixon, who started for the
Wildcats, completed one pass for 12 yards. Jimbo
early in the second quarter and found his mark on 7 of 14 passes
for 63 yards. David Wells was on the receiving end of four of
Stonewall's passes for 49 yards.
The Generals were also aided by a balanced ground game that saw
running backs Kevin Lee and Jeff Coles combine for 155 yards. Lee
rushed 16 times for 83 yards and Coles carried 17 times for 72 yards
In the turnover column, each team came up with one
interception
. For Stonewall, Wells picked off an errant Nitro pass midway
through the third quarter and for the Wildcats Todd Martin
intercepted a Kinney pass on the two-yard line to stop a threatening
first quarter drive.
Nitro head coach Pat Vance was pleased with the Wildcats'
defensive effort, but was concered about not being
able to move the
ball on offense.
"Our defense played well tonight, but they were on the field
for most of the ballgame,' he said. "The offense had trouble
moving the ball and they just wore us down eventually.'
Stonewall, 5-1-1, will host
will travel to DuPont.