By Tom Bragg, For Lootpress.com
Nitro High football had been a perennial doormat for most of the previous decade prior to 2023’s breakout season for the Wildcats.
Last year went well for Nitro, with a 7-4 overall record, return to the state playoffs and a record-breaking offense, but there were some spots on the schedule where the Wildcats struggled. They won their first two games easily, but then wilted in their first real test – a 42-7 loss at Herbert Hoover.
This year the idea is for head coach Boom McKinney’s squad to take the next step. Like 2023, Nitro rolled to wins in its first two games and on Friday the Wildcats host Kanawha County and Cardinal Conference rival Herbert Hoover (2-0) with an opportunity for a marquee win against a very good football team in front of them.
“Our defense has definitely improved since last year,” McKinney said. “Our linebacking corps is much better. Our D-line is even better than last year. Our secondary was certainly our strength last year, and we’re pretty solid all the way around.
“The big thing that has gotten us so far this year is too many penalties on both sides of the ball. We’ve had our fair share on defense and you’ve just got to cut down on those types of mistakes against high-caliber teams like Hoover.”
Nitro quarterback Josh Moody has been among the most productive players in the state so far this season. In two games, Moody has completed 46 of 57 pass attempts for 647 yards and eight touchdowns. Last week in a 35-6 Battle of the Bridge win against St. Albans, the senior connected on 20 of 24 pass attempts for 230 yards and two scores.
Senior Eli Littlejohn leads the Wildcats’ ground attack and has the hands to make catches coming out of the backfield, while junior receiver Malachi Thompson, listed at 6-foot-4 and 190 pounds, has four touchdown receptions and is averaging more than 100 receiving yards per game so far.
“I know [Nitro] is the most talented team, but it could be the best team overall we’ve played in the regular season since I’ve been here,” Herbert Hoover coach Joey Fields said. “They are really, really good. They’re big, they’re fast. They have guys who can do a lot, and I know they’re very motivated to have a good season.”
Hoover has a pretty good quarterback of its own in senior Dane Hatfield, who eclipsed 9,000 total yards for his career in last week’s 35-19 win against Winfield. Hatfield and junior Blake Fisher each have run for more than 100 yards in both of the Huskies’ first two games.
“My brother told me at halftime [of the Independence game] that it’s not a bad idea to hand No. 1 [Fisher] the ball,” Fields said. “So that’s what we just started doing. You can’t think plays, you’ve got to think players. You’ve got to get your best players the ball regardless of the situation, and that’s what we’re trying to do with him and Dane. He has made some big, explosive runs.”
McKinney said he knows his team will have its hands full trying to stop Hoover’s potent running game on Friday.
“Dane Hatfield has been around and been a good player for them forever,” McKinney said. “Blake Fisher has turned into a heck of a running back. He’s a multiple threat and they move him all over the place. We’ve got to keep an eye on those two guys, and they’ve got a couple of younger kids that are starting to make some noise.”
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Poca is off to its first 2-0 start since the 2021 season, with a chance to keep its unbeaten streak rolling this week against Putnam County rival Buffalo (1-1).
The Dots made the move to leave the Cardinal Conference for the Little Kanawha Conference this offseason, so the schedule to this point has included unfamiliar foes in Liberty (Raleigh) and Midland Trail prior to Friday’s meeting with their old rivals from just down the road.
Senior Preston Bonnett had a breakout season in 2023 and is off to a solid start again in 2024, leading Poca with 118 rushing yards per game and three total touchdowns. Junior quarterback Kam McBride has been good too, throwing four total touchdown passes in the Dots’ two wins.
Buffalo, which was one of the programs that actually bumped up in classification in the latest realignment to Class AA, opened its season with a 20-14 win at home against Montcalm, but was on the bad end of a 53-14 loss last week on the road at Clay County.
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Other Kanawha, Putnam and Boone games on the Week 3 schedule:
Hurricane (1-1) at Parkersburg (1-1)
Riverside (0-2) at Capital (0-1)
St. Albans (0-2) at Huntington (1-1)
Cabell Midland (0-1) at George Washington (2-0)
Morgantown (1-1) at South Charleston (0-2)
Sissonville (0-2) at Scott (0-1)
Chapmanville (1-1) at Winfield (1-1)
Van (0-2) at Hurley, Va. (0-2)
Sherman (1-1) at Pocahontas County (0-2) – Saturday
