MCCLANAHAN RUNS, PASSES, CATCHES AS
POCA TOPS NITRO
Publication:
Published: 09/17/1994
Page: P
Headline: MCCLANAHAN RUNS, PASSES, CATCHES AS POCA TOPS NITRO
Byline: DOUG SMOCK
By DOUG SMOCK DAILY MAIL SPORTSWRITER
POCA _ Quarterback Chris McClanahan may have completed his
transition from a rookie to a seasoned senior.
McClanahan, who became Poca's new starting
quarterback after not
even playing football since middle school, shined Friday night at O
.O. White Stadium as the Dots thumped neighboring Nitro, 31-0. Both
teams are 3-1.
It seems the 5-foot-8, 158-pound McClanahan's top
priority is
pitching the ball to tailback Jimmy Cook and watching him rumble.
But while Cook rushed for 145 yards on 23 carries, McClanahan might
have inflicted more damage as the Dots took a 17-0 halftime lead and
cruised.
McClanahan had three crucial long runs, including a 28-yard
touchdown run. He also completed three of four passes for 47 yards
and even caught a 25-yard pass in Coach Bob Lemley's
repertoire of
gadget plays.
"He's really quick, very, very quick,' Nitro coach Greg Cyrus
said. "I thought he hurt us. I was afraid of (Charlie) Hartley and
Cook, but (McClanahan) hurt us.'
Lemley felt his quarterbck
came of age. "He popped through some
holes where there wasn't much hole there,' Lemley
said.
McClanahan and the Dots broke the game open in the second
quarter. Following the first of five Nitro turnovers, Hartley took a
pitchout, stopped and threw to Heath Null for a 3-yard touchdown and
a 7-0 lead.
After B.J. Roberts nailed Nitro's Nathan Casdorph on
fourth-and-one on the Poca 38, McClanahan and Aaron
Paxton reeled off
runs of 18 and 13 yards, respectively. Then McClanahan eluded one
tackler in the backfield en route to his 28-yard score.
On Poca's next possession, McClanahan reeled off a
20-yard run
on third down, advancing to the Nitro 30. On third-and-seven from the
27, he tossed a long lateral to Chad Harless and went
out to catch
a 25-yard pass from Harless to the 2.
McClanahan lost 13 yards on the next two plays and was called
for intentional grounding to boot, but got the Dots back to the 2 on
an 18-yard pass to Harless. That set up a 19-yard
field goal by Seth
Lyle, who has been nearly automatic on extra points this season.
Nitro hardly resembled a 3-0 team, as it lost to Poca
for the
third straight year. The Dots' domination was stunning, as they
outgained the Wildcats 403 to 65, topped them
in first downs 20-4 and
ran more plays from scrimmage, 60-34.
Anything that could happen wrong for Cyrus' team did. The
Wildcats started the second half with two straight fumbles, losing
the second one at their own 15. Other disasters included an 11-yard
bloop punt and a 21-yard loss on an errant punt snap.
"The kids weren't physical, and that's my fault,' Cyrus said
. "We tried to ease back on practice to keep the kids from getting
hurt. They had been banged up a little. I know better than that.
Needless to say, he'll pick up the pace. "And any 11 left
standing next Friday will play,' he said.
Cyrus said his team could take a lesson from Poca in
playing
hard. On the field, McClanahan noticed the difference.
"I didn't see the fire in their eyes that we had in our eyes,'
McClanahan said. "I don't know if it was their 3-0 record or what
. They just didn't have the fire.'
Bobby Carter, Jason Boggs and other Dot linemen on both sides of
the ball won lots of praise in the Poca locker room.
"They (Nitro)
have good size on their team,' Lemley said. "I
thought we wore
them down. I thought we came off the ball and neutralized them, kept
them from penetrating.'
As Lemley prepares for next Friday's big Cardinal
Conference
battle at East Bank, he might have a big headache. Paxton, a
195-pound fullback-nose guard, injured his knee early in the fourth
quarter and was taken to a hospital. His status was not known Friday
night.
Who would fill Paxton's shoes? "That's a good question,'
Lemley said.