CAPITAL PULLS AWAY FROM NITRO 41-14
Publication: THE
Published: 10/23/1999
Page: P1B
Headline: CAPITAL PULLS AWAY FROM NITRO 41-14
Byline: RICK RYAN
Something strange happened in the fourth quarter of Capital's game on
Friday against Nitro. Coach Moe Townson isn't quite
sure what it was,
but he was sure glad to see it.
The Cougars bunched four
touchdowns into the final quarter to break
open a tie game and downed the Wildcats 41-14 in a battle of ranked
Class AAA teams at Laidley Field. An estimated crowd
of 2,000
attended.
Senior fullback Darrion Scott, a leading contender for the Kennedy
Award as the state's top player, rushed for 150 yards on just 15
carries and scored a pair of fourth-quarter TDs for
Capital.
Nitro (5-4, No. 15) led
14-7 at halftime and was still locked in a
14-all tie with the Cougars (7-1, No. 4) at the end of three quarters.
Then the Wildcats
turned the ball over three of the next four times
they touched it, leading to two Capital TDs and what
ultimately turned
into a one-sided game. Nitro, the defending Class AAA champion, had
played mistake-free football the first three quarters.
"I don't know what
happened,' Townson said. "They
started turning the
ball over to us and we kept moving it on them.'
The play that started it
all for Capital came on the first snap of the
fourth quarter. Tied at 14, Nitro faced a third-and-10 from the
Cougars' 40 and quarterback Jason Ward lobbed a long pass in the
direction of 6-foot-4 Jeff Clark.
But defensive back Jimmy
Lawson stepped in front of Ward at the 4,
picked off the pass and returned it to his 34. On the next play, Scott
burst off left tackle for 57 yards to the Nitro 9, setting up a 1-yard
scoring leap by Tyronne
Robinson for a 21-14 Capital lead.
Lawson credited the play to
his familiarity with Ward, who started at
quarterback for Capital last year before transferring back to Nitro.
"I knew he was going
deep,' Lawson said. "I know how Jason Ward
throws the ball. He threw it to me all the time last year. I adjusted
like I was the receiver and caught it.
"That interception
turned the ballgame around, I think. After that, we
kept getting turnover after turnover.'
Nitro coach Robert
"Little' Burdette also thought Lawson's pick
changed the complexion of the game.
"That was a really
good play he made in the corner,' Burdette said.
"He was cheating that way, but he made a real athletic play and was
able to stay in bounds.'
Nothing went right for the Wildcats
after that and everything went
right for Capital.
After Robinson's TD, Tim
Adkins of Capital intercepted a Derek Midkiff
pass and returned it to the Nitro 14. Capital would miss a 24-yard
field goal try, but quickly got the ball back when Scott and Tony
Davis stuffed Wildcats fullback Chuck Pauley on a fourth-and-1 call
from the Nitro 29.
Two plays later, Scott
rumbled into the end zone from 28 yards out to
make it 28-14. Steve Jones would fumble on the ensuing kickoff and
Danny Miller recovered for Capital at the Nitro 18. Two plays later,
Scott was standing in the end zone again after a 7-yard TD run.
Capital would tack on a
35-yard TD pass from John Grow to Shawn Dyess
with 1:44 left for the final margin. That came one play after Nitro
was stopped shy on another fourth-and-1.
"Our philosophy has
always been that if you can't get a yard when you
need it, you're in trouble,' Burdette said. "The
fourth quarter kind
of got away from us. As the game went on, we had trouble with them up
front.
"We did play well, but
we're not interested in just coming close. We
told our kids all last year that four quarters is a
long time when
you're playing a real good football team.'
Nitro had gained its 14-7
halftime lead on a 16-yard scoring run by
Creamer and a 1-yard run by Pauley. Creamer finished with 72 yards on
24 carries.
"They were getting the
ball and nickel- and dime-ing us all night,'
Townson said. "And they
were putting it in the end zone. But we
expected about what we got. I really felt they were trying to shorten
the game to be in it in the fourth quarter. That's a good game plan.'
Ward completed 8-of-19
passes for 103 yards for Nitro, while Midkiff
hit on 3-of-6 for 27 yards. Each threw an interception.
seven passes for 75 yards.
Robinson gave a boost to
the Capital running game by carrying 17 times
for 66 yards and two TDs. He had 52 yards in the
first half, but the
Cougars shifted the focus of their ground game to Scott in second
half. Scott ran for 135 of his 150 yards following the halftime break,
which is when Townson spoke his mind to his team.
"I was mad,' Townson said. "It's the first
time I've been mad all
year.'
Capital's first possession
of the third quarter covered 64 yards in a
dozen plays, with Grow finding tight end Brett Stutler
with a 4-yard
TD toss.
The first three quarters
featured several long drives - Nitro had
scoring drives of nine and 15 plays. Each of Capital's went 12 plays.
But in the final period, Capital scored on four of the 12 plays it
ran. There was just one punt in the game.