NITRO MAKES TWO-QB SYSTEM WORK
Publication: THE
Published: 10/15/1999
Page: P5B
Headline: NITRO MAKES TWO-QB SYSTEM WORK
Byline: RICK RYAN
If it's good enough for Bobby Bowden, Steve Spurrier
and John Cooper,
then it's good enough for
Like those esteemed college
coaches, who typically like to shuttle two
quarterbacks into their lineups, the Wildcats are employing a two-man
rotation under center this season. Following a slow start, the move
appears to have paid off.
Junior Jason Ward began the
year as Nitro's starter, but freshman
Derek Midkiff earned himself
a look early and is now sharing time
equally with Ward.
Scott Tinsley, Nitro's
offensive coordinator, said it hasn't been a
case of neither QB winning the job. Rather, he said, each of them has
proved capable.
"Both of them deserve
a chance,' Tinsley said. "I think that's really
relieved the pressure on both of them. Now they can relax and play the
position and not be looking over their shoulder, wondering if one is
going to beat the other one out. Now they know both will play and
they've been practicing hard. It's worked out real well.'
Ward has shrugged off a
3-for-24 start for 21 yards and four picks in
his first two games. He's now hit on 25-of-67 throws for 569 yards and
seven touchdowns with five interceptions. Midkiff has
completed
39-of-58 for 455 yards and five scores with two picks.
Combined, they've passed
for 1,024 yards and a dozen TDs with seven
interceptions. In the last five games, Ward and Midkiff
have teamed up
to average 198.4 yards. Over the last three games, they've been
intercepted just once.
Two weeks ago, in a 43-24
win over Herbert Hoover, each passed for two
TDs and
more than 100 yards (Ward 224, Midkiff 102).
"I think one of the
good things it provides us,' Tinsley said, "is
that if something happens - if one of them gets hurt - we have another
one ready. Whereas, in the past few years, if anything happened to our
quarterback, I'm not sure what we'd have done.'
Tinsley said that, in most
cases, the QBs are rotated each series.
"We flip a coin on
Monday to see who goes first [the next game],'
Tinsley said. "It doesn't matter to us who
starts. As the game goes
along, you may get into situations where you need to do one thing
versus another - and one of them may stay in two or three series in a
row.'
Each end of the tandem
brings a little something different to the
huddle.
"Obviously, Jason has
a little stronger arm,' Tinsley said of the
6-foot-1, 210-pound Ward. "So he can stretch the
field a little more
than what Derek [5-8, 160] can. And Derek is a little better
ball-handler. He does a better job making fakes on play-action. It's a
little change of pace with the different quarterbacks but, basically,
it's the same offense.'
With the situation under
center decided, Nitro (5-2) has rebounded to
win three straight games and four of its last five, rising to No. 14
in the Class AAA playoff ratings.
"It sure hasn't
created any controversy here,' Tinsley said. "The
team is very comfortable with the situation. As a matter of fact, it's
brought the team closer together.'
Winfield: win and in
It's do-or-die time again
for Winfield.
Last year, the Generals
entered their final game needing a win to pull
out a Class AA playoff berth. However, they lost 7-0 to Scott to
finish 6-4 and 19th, three spots out of the postseason.
This year, Winfield stands
5-2 and is tied for 15th in the ratings.
But in order to protect their status, the Generals must likely win two
of their last three games. And that figures to be a diffcult
task,
with Cardinal Conference rivals Poca (4-2) and Wayne
(4-3) coming up.
"We knew we were
approaching the meat part of our schedule,' said
Winfield coach Bruce McGrew. "We believe we can
get in the postseason
with two wins, but the tough part is that we're facing two conference
teams that are playing as well as they are. Poca's
lost two in a row,
but keep in mind who they were beat by.'
Poca was 4-0 before losses at Spring
Valley (7-0, No. 4 in Class AAA)
and at
after going 0-3 against teams that are currently 18-2.
So again, playoff and
conference hopes will be on the line for the
Generals at season's end.
"I think, if anything,
the kids who played for us last year know what
they're holding in the palm of their hands,' McGrew said.
"Last year,
one touchdown kept us from going [to the playoffs]. I told our kids
that, starting last week, every game will determine whether we'll be
going or not.'
Winfield, a powerhouse in
the 1980s with two state titles, has shown
steady improvement since snapping a 26-game losing streak (1994-97).
The Generals were 5-5 in '97, McGrew's first season, and 6-4 last
year.
"The upperclassmen who
have been with us have come from the bottom to
the top,' McGrew said. "I guess you could call it
an advantage,
knowing that they've come close before and that something's got to be
done different this year.'
Quick kicks
- Hurricane is making a
playoff push (No. 18 in Class AAA) despite
being minus-12 in turnover differential.
- Nitro running backs Chris
Creamer and Chuck Pauley combine to
average 6.7 yards per carry, but just 6.8 per
reception.