By Tom Bragg, For Lootpress.com
WINFIELD, W.Va. – Nitro came into Friday’s Class AA Cardinal Conference clash at Winfield needing to keep its momentum rolling if the Wildcats wanted to keep pace with the pack in the race for a spot in the state playoffs.
The host Generals did not cooperate with that plan.
Winfield scored twice before the Wildcats ran an offensive play and never looked back on its way to a 41-13 win on a soggy evening by the banks of the Kanawha River against Nitro.
“We’re continuing to get better each week and our kids are practicing hard,” Winfield head coach Eddie Smolder said. “They’re healthy and they’re gelling. Our seniors are really stepping up, coming into their own and playing like they are capable. They believe in the process, and the process we put them through is extremely demanding and hard. They handled it the right way and have parents who support that. It’s a whole program effort.”
Jayce Miller got the scoring started for the Generals (7-1) on their opening drive, plowing through multiple arm tackles for a 40-yard touchdown run. Nitro was stripped on the following kickoff, and two plays later K-Juan Pearson found some room to run for a 13-yard touchdown to put Winfield ahead 14-0 with more than eight minutes remaining in the opening quarter.
Once Nitro had the opportunity to run some plays it did not get much better for the Wildcats (5-3). Junior quarterback Josh Moody was sacked twice during a quick three-and-out on Nitro first possession, and the Wildcats did not record a positive yard of offense until a three-yard run by Eli Littlejohn on the final play of the first quarter. Four plays later Moody threw his first of two interceptions on the evening, with Winfield then driving to take a 20-0 lead early in the second quarter on a six-yard run by quarterback Easton Pinkerton.
“We shot ourselves in the foot,” Nitro head coach Boom McKinney said. “We had a few turnovers early in the game and did a poor job of tackling. We had a great week at practice and we were ready to go, but we made mental mistakes. We played on the same field in the same weather so I’m not going to make any excuses – they were the better team tonight.”
Moody was intercepted again in the second quarter, this time by Pinkerton near the goal line, and again the Generals turned a turnover into points. Winfield started the drive at its own two-yard line with 6:21 remaining in the half and took almost the rest of the quarter to work its way 98 yards and take a 26-0 lead on a short pass from Pinkerton to Toby Laughery with 54 seconds to play in the half.
Nitro, however, wasn’t ready to put its tail between its legs and limp into the locker room. Moody, who had been under relentless pressure from the Winfield defensive front all evening, finally found time in the pocket and hit receiver Amellio Miller deep down the sideline for a 42-yard touchdown pass with one second remaining in the second quarter.
It was one of the few times Moody wasn’t running for his life with several guys in green uniforms in close pursuit. The Nitro quarterback completed just 15 of his 38 pass attempts on Friday for 208 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.
“We didn’t want to turn it into a 7 on 7 game,” Smolder said. “[Moody] has got a good arm and has really fast receivers, so we knew we had to play coverage at times when they didn’t expect it and bring pressure at times to make him move his feet and get him out of the pocket. We did a good job of that tonight.”
If the Wildcats hoped to carry some of the momentum for their touchdown just before the break, it quickly evaporated with two false start penalties before they could actually run a play in the third quarter.
Miller would add two more short touchdowns in the second half for the Generals, but while Nitro did cut into the large Winfield lead with a 13-yard touchdown pass from Moody to Eli Littlejohn late in the third quarter, the Wildcats were never really much of a threat down the stretch.
“We just couldn’t get it going on offense” McKinney said. “We had some penalties and just couldn’t move the ball. I thought we could do a little better tonight, even in these conditions. They had a good game plan and I think if we didn’t get so many turnovers early it might have been a different story.”
For Winfield, Pearson led the Generals with 102 rushing yards on 11 carries while Miller ran for 81 yards on 11 carries and found the end zone three times. Pinkerton carried the ball 16 times for 84 yards to go with his one rushing touchdown in the win.
Nitro has a chance to get back in the win column next week and give its playoff chances a shot in the arm against winless rival Sissonville, while Winfield will prepare for one of the games of the year in Class AA as the Generals make the trip to Boone County to take on unbeaten Scott.
“We’re going to enjoy this one this weekend, heal up, and come back ready to work on Monday,” Smolder said.
N 0 7 6 0 – 13
W 14 12 8 7 – 41
Scoring
First quarter
W – Jayce Miller 40 run (Aiden Hernandez kick)
W – K-Juan Pearson 13 run (Hernandez kick)
Second quarter
W – Easton Pinkerton 6 run (extra point failed)
W – Toby Laughery 6 pass from Pinkerton (2-point failed)
N – Amellio Miller 41 pass from Josh Moody (Maddox Cole kick)
Third quarter
W – Miller 2 run (Pinkerton to Laughery)
N – Eli Littlejohn 14 pass from Moody (2-point failed)
Fourth quarter
W – Miller 2 run (Hernandez kick)
Statistics
Passing: (N) Moody 15-38-2-2-208; (W) Pinkerton 6-11-1-0-55.
Rushing: (N) Littlejohn 10-13, Moody 2-6, Charles Cantrell 1-2; (W) Pinkerton 16-84-1, Pearson 11-102-1, Jay. Miller 11-80-3, Gannon Boggs 7-67, Matthew Dailey 4-36, Jar. Miller 2-12, Blake Withrow 1-2, Christopher Radcliffe 1-(-2).
Receiving: (N) Littlejohn 6-69-1, Miller 5-132-1, Malachi Thompson 3-12, Chris Hall 1-6, Cantrell 1-2; (W) Laughery 2-11-1, Jay. Miller 2-7, Hernandez 1-33, Pearson 1-4.
