GW PREPARING FOR UNCONVENTIONAL
OPPONENT PREP FOOTBALL NOTEBOOK
Publication: THE
Published: 09/13/2002
Page: 5B
Headline: GW PREPARING FOR UNCONVENTIONAL OPPONENT PREP FOOTBALL NOTEBOOK
Byline: RICK RYAN
rickryan@wvgazette.com
The problem with playing Nitro, opposing coaches will tell you, is not only the
Wildcats' knack of moving the ball and scoring, but the manner in which they do
it.
George Washington (1-1) becomes the latest team to tackle that challenge when
it squares off with Nitro at 7:30 tonight at Underwood Field.
The Wildcats (2-0), who averaged 29.2 points last season despite winning
just three games, have bumped that figure up to 38.5 points this year. They do
it with coach Scott Tinsley's balanced, diversified offense that causes almost
everyone fits.
"They're not a conventional team," said GW coach Steve Edwards Jr.
"[Tinsley] does a lot of things from a lot of formations. They throw the
football and run it equally well. They keep you off balance. That poses a
problem, not only for us, but anybody. It evidently posed a problem for their
previous two [opponents]."
Nitro has rolled up an average of 378 offensive yards in wins over Herbert
Hoover (39-36) and Hurricane (38-12), with 151.5 yards coming on the ground and
226.5 in the air.
Senior tailback Chris McGhee has run for 280 yards and five touchdowns, while
senior quarterback Derek Midkiff has thrown for 453
yards and four TDs. Sometimes Midkiff
lines up in the no-huddle shotgun formation and sometimes takes a direct snap
from center.
"I get headaches every time we play Nitro," said Hurricane coach Gary
Eggleton, "because of the things you have to
defend."
GW may actually be in a better position to defense Nitro's high-octane offense.
One of the things Edwards has lauded as a team
strength since preseason drills is his defensive secondary. That includes
players who double as receivers such as Marty Barnes, Shannon Edwards, Jamie
Adkins and Patrick McMullen (currently sidelined with a knee injury).
"[Tinsley] has some good athletes - and we've got a few, too," Steve
Edwards said. "It could come down to conditioning. If Derek's sharp and
throwing the ball well and they're catching it well, we'll just have to deal
with it and see if we can slow them down a little bit, to see if we can defense
that.
"What we're trying to do is not give them things to exploit us [with], or
pinpoint us in any way. Kids are kids. If you hit a few big plays on a kid,
he's losing confidence. If you do that against Nitro, they'll go for the
jugular."
The Patriots won last year's game 65-22 as Cortez Lacy rushed for 172 yards and
four TDs, and Doug Foster passed for 181 yards and
two more scores.