By Tom Bragg, For Lootpress.com
NITRO, W.Va. – Last season, Nitro emerged from a long hibernation and established itself as a postseason contender in the old Class AA.
This season, the Wildcats want to take the next step in the new-look Class AAA and host a playoff game at Underwood Field for the first time since. So far, that plan appears to be on track thanks in no small part to the contributions of quarterback Josh Moody.
The Wildcats, ranked No. 7 in this week’s Class AAA WVSSAC Playoff Ratings with a 6-1 record, took the next step towards their goal last week with a 61-7 win against visiting Lincoln County — and as has become the norm at Nitro, Moody had a big game.
The senior signal-caller completed 17 of 26 pass attempts for 256 yards through the air and four touchdowns in the win. For his efforts, Moody has been named the Lootpress Kanawha Valley Player of the Week. The award is presented by The Law Offices of Brandon S. Steele.
“[Moody] could be Player of the Week any week with his stats,” Nitro head coach Boom McKinney said. “He’s not a big rah-rah guy. He’s so mellow, and I think that’s part of what makes him such a good quarterback. He’s real calm under pressure, he doesn’t panic. He pretty much knows what he’s going to do with the football before the plays develops and he reads defenses real well – and he’s much better at post-snap reads this year.”
Moody’s 2,046 passing yards so far in 2024 are the most by any player in West Virginia according to MaxPreps, and he ranks third in the state for total yards at 2,126 behind Hurricane’s Noah Vellaithambi and Clay County’s Noah Collins. For his career, Moody is just shy of 8,300 passing yards and currently sits at 96 touchdown passes.
“We’ve got several weapons for him to get the ball to,” McKinney said. “Pre-snap he has a good idea of where he’s going with it and he gets the ball in their hands. We told him last year, ‘Just get it out to them. You get all the yardage whether you throw it two yards or 50 yards, you still get all the yards after the catch,’ and he has understood that a little better this year. He lets those athletes do a lot of the work for him.”
The Wildcats are off this week before returning to action next Friday at home against Winfield.
Herbert Hoover receiver Sam Kee, who caught four passes for 87 yards and two touchdowns in the Huskies’ 49-0 rout of Wayne, won the Community Choice fan vote with more than 81 percent of the 2,586 votes cast coming in for him. Kee advances to the Community Choice poll at the end of the regular season, with the winner of that poll awarded a $500 scholarship from the Lootpress Foundation.
Player of the Week winners
Week 1: Dane Hatfield, Herbert Hoover
Week 2: Noah Vellaithambi, Hurricane
Week 3: David Robinson, Capital
Week 4: Sai’Vyon Brown, George Washington
Week 5: Malakhi Hope, Riverside
Week 6: Blake Fisher, Herbert Hoover
Week 7: Josh Moody, Nitro
Community Choice
Week 1: Kam McBride, Poca
Week 2: Blake Fisher, Herbert Hoover
Week 3: Spencer Jones, Poca
Week 4: Peyton Grigsby, Capital
Week 5: Talon Harrison, Herbert Hoover
Week 6: A.J. Gregory, Hurricane
Week 7: Sam Kee, Herbert Hoover
