HURRICANE'S RUNNING OFFSETS NITRO
PASSING
Publication: THE
Published: 09/02/1995
Page: P1C
Headline: HURRICANE'S RUNNING OFFSETS NITRO PASSING
Byline: MIKE WHITEFORD
The best course of action against an opponent's passing attack
is a ground game that consumes time and yields big yardage.
It helps, of course, to intercept a few of those passes.
The Hurricane Redskins followed the plan to precision, rushing
for 294 yards and intercepting three passes to defeat the Nitro
Wildcats, 27-14, Friday night at Nitro's Underwood Field. Each team
is 1-1.
Hurricane quarterback Brian Bennett kept the Nitro defense
off-balance by hitting 5-of-11 passes _ several of them to keep
drives alive _ for 125 yards. Bennett also rushed nine times for 42
yards, including the Redskins' first two touchdowns on runs of 2 and
3 yards as Hurricane built a 14-0 halftime lead.
All the while, the Redskins survived a 23-of-39 passing
performance by J.R. House, Nitro's freshman quarterback. Throwing 23
times in the second half, House finished the night with 267 yards,
including a 28-yard TD toss to Ryan Blake, who broke a deluge of
tackles along the way. Blake also scored on a 10-yard run.
"I told our kids they would probably throw 25 to 30 times,'
said Hurricane coach Gary Eggleton. "I said
they'll complete some
passes, but we'll get three, four or five (interceptions) ourselves
.'
Picking off passes were Hurricane's Clinton Shrewsbury, Jeff
Johnson and Eric Eggleton.
And Hurricane's advantage on the line of scrimmage, Eggleton
added, gave the Redskins a boost in the running game.
"We didn't think Nitro was real strong on the line,' the coach
added. "We had to run some because we knew they were going to throw
the ball, and the more we could keep the ball away from them, the
better chance we had.'
Nitro coach Greg Cyrus agreed. "We thought we would be better
(on the line),' he said. "Or maybe we didn't execute. That
surprised us a little bit. Their line played well.'
Hurricane's Travis Carrier rushed 16 times for 85 yards,
including a 5-yard touchdown run. Mike Mundell gained
70 yards on
nine carries, and Ken Nance added 68 yards on seven tries. Lief
Walroth scored on a 4-yard run with 5:34 left in the
game, giving the
Redskins a 27-7 lead.
"We did a good job running the ball,' said Eggleton.
"We
spread them out, and they had to worry about our passing attack. And
when they spread out, they left the run open.'
In addition to its 267 yards through the air, Nitro rushed for
111 yards. Blake picked up 100 of those yards on 13 carries. And by
recovering a couple of second-half fumbles, the Wildcats kept their
hopes alive.
"We did a great job of going up and down the field,' said
Cyrus. "Our kids played so hard, and they didn't quit. They played
with a lot of enthusiasm, and they thought they had a chance to win
right to the end.'
After halting Nitro's first drive of the game, Hurricane moved
97 yards to score on Bennett's 2-yard run. Bennett's 16-yard pass to
Jeff Johnson on fourth-and-seven moved the ball to the Nitro 20.
"I had plenty of time to throw the ball,' said Bennett, a
6-foot-2, 200-pound senior. "I don't think I got sacked once.'