By Tom Bragg, For Lootpress.com
Gallery by Craig Allison
NITRO, W.Va – The new look Nitro experiment got off to a rocky start to open the 2023 season Friday, but the Wildcats quickly found a rhythm and the rout was on.
Junior quarterback Josh Moody threw for more than 400 yards to go with eight touchdowns as Nitro blasted visiting Poca 56-6 in a battle of Class AA Cardinal Conference rivals.
Nitro (1-0), however, was not at its best early in the game. The first snap of the opening drive went past Moody, appearing in his first game with Nitro after transferring from nearby Class A Buffalo, as the Wildcats were eventually forced to punt. Poca answered with a 12-play, 44-yard drive capped by a short Preston Bennett touchdown ahead 6-0 (the extra point attempt failed).
The Wildcats fumbled on their next possession with Poca junior Rome Bragg recovering the ball, but after collecting a fumble recovery of their own the Nitro offense seemed to find a new gear. Moody found 6-foot-4 sophomore receiver Malachi Thompson, a Sissonville transfer, down the sideline for a 17-yard touchdown to get Nitro on the scoreboard and tie the game at 6-6 after the Wildcats’ extra point attempt was wide right.
“[Poca] is one of our biggest rivals, if not our biggest rival, so it was to be expected,” Nitro head coach Boom McKinney said after the game. “They’ve been excited and they were talking it up. I wasn’t surprised with a little bit of rust [early] in an actual game, but hey, they fixed it in the second quarter and we started rolling.
Junior running back Eli Littlejohn, a St. Albans transfer, did much of the heavy lifting on the next Nitro possession, with runs of 19 and 35 yards on the drive before catching a four-yard touchdown pass from Moody to put the Wildcats ahead for good at 13-6.
Poca fumbled again, this time after driving into Nitro territory, and one play later Moody went deep down the sideline to Thompson again – this time for a 51-yard touchdown followed by a successful two-point attempt to make it 21-6 just before halftime.
The Dots fortunes did not improve in the second half, as Poca fumbled for the third time in the contest on the opening drive of the third quarter. Nitro added touchdown passes by Moody to St. Albans transfer Nudy Hall and Littlejohn to take a 35-6 lead into the fourth quarter.
Moody and Thompson hooked up for a 64-yard touchdown early in the final period, followed by Amellio Miller (a South Charleston transfer) and 6-foot-4 junior receiver Ashton Crouch each catching touchdowns from Moody to close out the scoring on Friday.
“They’re really, really good,” Poca coach Seth Ramsey said of Nitro. “If they stay healthy, they’re a semifinal football team. We did a lot of things in the first half that hurt us. We put some good drives together, but pre-snap penalties, post-snap penalties. We just couldn’t get over the hump.”
The Nitro quarterback completed 25 of 32 pass attempts for 420 yards and eight touchdowns along with one interception. Thompson was the Wildcats’ leading receiver with four catches for 155 yards and three touchdowns while Miller had six catches for 102 yards and a touchdown. Littlejohn ran four times for 65 yards and caught five passes for 50 yards and two touchdowns.
“[Moody] is amazing,” McKinney said. “You’re going to see more of that. He puts in a lot of work and we’ve got a great staff that pushes these kids. I couldn’t be prouder of them.
“We’ve got some athletes and we spread them around. [Moody] has a lot of weapons to get the ball to.”
For Poca, Bonnett led all players with 120 rushing yards (with one touchdown) on 21 attempts. Sophomore quarterback Peyton Cook, making the first start of his high school football career, went 7 of 13 for 96 yards with one interception.
Nitro looks to continue its winning ways with another rivalry showdown set for next week with a trip to Class AAA St. Albans for the annual Battle of the Bridge. Poca, meanwhile, returns home to O.O. White Stadium in Putnam County next week to host Cardinal Conference foe Chapmanville.
P 6 0 0 0 – 6
N 0 21 14 21 – 56
First quarter
P – Preston Bonnett 1 run (kick failed)
Second quarter
N – Malachi Thompson 17 pass from Josh Moody (kick failed)
N – Eli Littlejohn 4 pass from Moody (Maddox Cole kick)
N – Thompson 51 pass from Moody (2pt successful)
Third quarter
N – Nudy Hall 36 pass from Moody (Cole kick)
N – Littlejohn 1 pass from Moody (Cole kick)
Fourth quarter
N – Thompson 64 pass from Moody (Cole kick)
N – Amellio Miller 28 pass from Moody (Cole kick)
N – Ashton Crouch 27 pass from Moody (Cole kick)
Stats
Rushing: (P) Bennett 21-120-1, Brad Jones 16-21, Jack McClanahan 1-(-4), Peyton Cook 3-(-7); (N) Littlejohn 4-65, Moody 2-11.
Passing: (P) Cook 7-13-96-0-1, Bennett 0-1-0-0-0; (N) Moody 23-32-420-8-1
Receiving: (P) McClanahan 4-73, Bonnett 3-23; (N) Miller 6-102-1, Littlejohn 5-50-1, Thompson 4-155-3, Crouch 3-29-1, Charles Cantrell 2-10, Hall 1-36-1, Michael Wines 1-19.
