Wheeling Central Continues Winning Ways By Blasting Nitro
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WHEELING – The Maroon Knights are hitting their stride in a quest to repeat as state champions.
Wheeling Central rolled to its third successive gridiron win, blasting Nitro, 48-7, at Bishop Schmitt Field on the campus of Wheeling University on Friday night. In the process, Coach Mike Young's charges improved to 4-3 on the campaign, those three setbacks coming at the hands of very potent foes – Fort Frye, Ridgewood and Union Local.
Wheeling Central will return to action Friday, facing another acid test on the road against unbeaten Barnesville. The Class AAA Wildcats, meanwhile, fell to 2-5 on the season
"I thought we executed our game plan very well," Young noted. "We felt we could run the ball at times and pass it when we wanted to, and we did both. We also got excellent plays from our special teams.
"I want to give a lot of credit to our coordinators. They did an excellent job of preparing us for tonight," Wheeling Central's National Hall of Fame coach added. "I am proud of how well our kids handled themselves. They played very unselfishly and with a lot of camaraderie. It was a great way to celebrate Senior Night."
The Maroon Knights' latest triumph was fueled by a well-balanced offense, a suffocating defense and some big special team plays.
Wheeling Central accumulated nearly 400 yards of offense, 291 of which came on the ground.
Hard-running senior Dustin Sanner rambled for 104 yards and three touchdowns on just 11 carries. Promising freshman Wyatt Stephens gained 58 yards on only three carries, including a 46-yard scoring jaunt.
Senior quarterback Nico Kusic was his usual reliable self, completing 7-of-9 passes for 97 yards and one TD. Sure-handed classmate Levi Rine hauled in five of Kusic's tosses for 49 yards and a six-pointer.
The Wheeling Central attack was keyed by the efficient and oft-times dominating blocking of the O-line, featuring Olen Ames, Trent Lander, Dominic Paesani, Cooper Jones and Luca Benson.
While the Maroon Knights' offense was rolling, the defense caged the Wildcats. Nitro gained just 190 total yards.
Wheeling Central pilfered three Wildcat passes, two by senior standout Brady Ernest, including a pick-six from 25 yards out.
The special-teams play was highlighted by a pair of Clay Petry field goals, covering 23 and 41 yards, respectively.
Wheeling Central scored on the initial possession of the game, driving 60 yards on 11 plays, capped by Sanner's 3-yard TD run. Petry added the PAT.
The Maroon Knights forced a punt on Nitro's ensuing possession. Stephens returned the boot 30 yards to set up a 10-yard TD pass from Kusic to Rine.
And the rout was on.
Wheeling Central stretched its lead to 31-7 at halftime via TD runs from Stephens and Sanner to go along with a Petry field goal.
"I like the way we are playing now," Young said. "The kids are working hard and improving every day. It was nice to get everyone in the game tonight.
"We know Barnesville will be another big test. But it is something we are accustomed to. We have tackled a demanding schedule all season," he added. "But that is who we are. We will have a good week of practice getting ready for Barnesville. We will go there expecting to win."
The Maroon Knights entered the Nitro contest sitting eighth in the playoff standings.
Wheeling Central 48, Nitro 7
Nitro 0 7 0 0 – 7
Central 14 17 17 0 – 48
WC-Sanner 3 run. Petry kick
WC-Rine 10 pass from Kusic. Petry kick.
N-Bartram 5 pass from Boyd. Kitchen kick.
WC-Stephens 46 run. Petry kick.
WC-Sanner 11 run. Petry kick
WC-Petry 23 FG
WC-Sanner 46 run. Petry kick.
WC-Ernest 25 INT return. Petry kick.
WC-Petry 41 FG
RUSHING: Nitro 18-17 (Boyd 7-33, Meadows 11-37) Central 32-291-4tds (Sanner 11-104-3tds, Stephens 3-58-td, Wear 5-26, Czapp 1-9, Koroneos 5-35, KIuchinski 3-33, Zapp 1-6).
PASSING: Nitro 15-32-120-yards-1td-3 int (Boyd 13-24-55 yards-td-3 int, Meadows 2-8-65 yards) CENTRAL 8-10-1td-95 yards (Kusic 7-10-td-91 yards, Bordas 1-1-4 yards.
RECEIVING: Nitro 5-120-td (Bartram 4-56-td, Meadows 4-63, Foster 3-27) Central 8-10-95 yards-1td (Rine 5-49-td, Stephens 1-20, Ernest 1-22, Brown 1-4)
FIRST DOWNS: Nitro 11; Central 17
FUMBLES/LOST Nitro 1/1; Central 0/0
PENALTIES: Nitro 6-35; Central 3-15