'WAR DOGS' BARK AS HUSKIES GET TO PLAYOFFS

Publication: CHARLESTON DAILY MAIL
Published: 10/31/1992
Page: P 1B
Headline: 'WAR DOGS' BARK AS HUSKIES GET TO PLAYOFFS
Byline: WILBUR JENKINS FOR THE DAILY MAIL

Let the playoffs begin for the folks from up Elk River.
The Herbert Hoover "War Dogs' were barking up a storm in the
Dog Pound after clinching their third Class AAA playoff berth with an
impressive 28-6 win over the Nitro Wildcats.
Behind junior running back Brent Burke and senior fullback Jason
Rollyson, who combined for 252 yards, the Huskies ran up 318 yards on
the ground.
Senior linebacker Tim Fizer took control of the defense with
nine solo tackles.
"I hope he (Burke) gets a little bigger,' said Hoover head
coach Joe Cowley. "He is going to be a good one in the near
future. You can bet on that.'
Burke finished with 24 carries and 165 yards and three
touchdowns. Rollyson added 87 yards on 16 carries.
Hoover burst onto the playoff scene back in 1977 when they lost
to West Fairmont in the Class AAA semifinals 20-14, finishing the
season at 10-1 under Cowley. In 1989, Hoover advanced to postseason
play and Wheeling Park ended the Huskies' season with a 30-21 defeat
in an 8-3 season.
"We really played well after the South Charleston victory,'
said Cowley of the loss three weeks ago. Three wins followed it.
"Our kids play hard and they don't quit. It was a confidence factor
.'
Hoover took control on the first series on a Burke run of six
yards for a touchdown with 6:40 left in the quarter. The Huskies
picked up four first downs on the way.
Nitro head coach Greg Cyrus speculated that Hoover could be one
of the upcoming teams in the Valley. "Hoover is a good team,' he
said.
Hoover, 7-3 and ranked 13th by the SSAC, took one play to
increase the lead to 14-0 on Burke's second touchdown of 29 yards
after a Nitro turnover with 21 seconds left.
"He's (Burke) not real fast but he's hard to tackle,' said
Cyrus. "The first half we didn't play well.'
The Wildcats managed only 141 total yards with 102 on the
ground and 39 in the air.
Burke's third touchdown, an 11-yard run in the second half upped
the lead to 21-0.
"They had a lot of young kids and we wanted to to just run
the ball and get first downs,' said Cowley.
"We were excited tonight,' said Burke. "We knew we could win
but we didn't want to make any mistakes so they could capitalize on
them.'
Burke said that the Hoover program is coming on strong and that
the team wanted to show fans it has the ability to win and is
ready to make the trip to the big dance.
The Huskies finished the scoring in the fourth quarter on a
beautiful touch pass from quarterback Jeff Kelley to tight end Bill
Day, who made a one-handed grab of 37 yards. That made it 28-0.
Nitro, finishing at 2-8, scored its lone touchdown on
quarterback Dan Taylor's two-yard run.
Cyrus said he is seriously thinking about not coming back next
season. He said the Wildcats showed no intensity for the game.
"It's a very discouraging season when you think you have a good
team but you don't,' he said. "We had a good start (2-0), but it
seemed like we quit halfway through.
"It's discouraging when you don't play hard. If they don't
want to do it, then they can do it without me. Unless the kids
want to come out and play, I won't come back.'