Chapmanville's Elijah Pridemore (33) breaks free for a 62-yard touchdown as the first half clock expires in the Tigers 44-43 win over Nitro at Underwood Field (Photo courtesy of Holly Eldridge/Holly Eldridge Photography).
Bill Lusk | WVOW Sports
NITRO There is an old sports adage that says you play for the tie at home and go for the win on the road.
That statement couldn’t have held any truer Friday night when Chapmanville trailed Nitro by seven points with five seconds showing on the fourth quarter clock and the Tigers with the ball at the Wildcats 2-yard line.
Following a timeout, quarterback Robert Cook lined up under center took the snap and handed off to running back Jeremy Collins, who followed his blockers into the endzone for a 2-yard touchdown as time expired to bring Chapmanville within one, 43-42, with the extra point to come.
Chapmanville coach Zach Belcher had a decision to make. Kick the extra point and send the game to overtime or go for two and the win on the road.
At first it seemed that the Tigers were contempt to play for overtime, sending kicker Jonathan Ferrell out to kick the extra point, however, Belcher sent out his offense and as they broke the hurdle Nitro called a timeout to set its defense.
Following the timeout, Cook took the snap and outraced the Nitro defense for the game winning two-point conversion giving co-No. 15 Chapmanville a 44-43 victory over the 13th-ranked Wildcats in a battle of Class AA ranked schools at Underwood Field.
Nitro took the lead on a 54-yard pass from quarterback Josh Moody to wide receiver Malachi Thompson with 1:20 remaining following Maddox Cole’s extra point to give the Wildcats a seven-point advantage, 43-36.
Prior to that score, the Wildcats tied it at 36 when Moody scored from 1-yard out and then found Thompson in the endzone for the two-point conversion with 7:55 to play in the fourth quarter.
Moody completed 15 of 27 passes for 273 yards and three touchdowns while Thompson hauled in six receptions for 181 yards and two touchdowns.
The game tying touchdown came after Cook scored from 23-yards out that gave Chapmanville a 36-28 lead following Ferrell’s extra point with 11:07 to play.
Cook finished the evening completing 8 of 15 passes for 185 yards and ran for 72 yards on 12 carries and one touchdown.
Austin Adkins caught four passes for 149 yards. Adkins hauled in a 61-yard reception on the Tigers game winning drive that set the Tigers up at the Wildcats 12-yard line.
Nitro led 7-0 after Xiomar Henry recovered a Cook fumble in the endzone following a sack with 1:14 to play in the opening quarter.
The Tigers tied it at 7 when Collins scored from 1-yard out with 10:04 to play in the second quarter.
Nitro answered with a 64-yard pass from Moody to Thompson to take a 14-7 lead with 9:01 before halftime before Chapmanville answered with a 2-yard touchdown run from Adkins to tie it at 14 with 5:27 remaining.
Eli Littlejohn gave Nitro a 20-14 lead with his 1-yard touchdown run with 0:51 remaining, however, Elijah Pridemore broke through the line for a 62-yard touchdown run breaking three tackles on his way to the endzone as time expired.
The Tigers lined up for the extra point, but the Tigers pulled off a little trickery as Brayden Strange fired a pass to Quinton Wagner in the endzone for a successful two-point conversion a 22-20 lead at halftime.
Pridemore ran for 148 yards and one touchdown on 11 carries while Collins carried the ball nine times for 51 yards and two touchdowns.
Adkins scored on a 2-yard run to give Chapmanville a 29-20 lead with 1:44 to play in the third quarter before Nitro answered 40 seconds later with a Moody 25-yard touchdown to Nudy Hall and a two-point conversion pass from Moody to Thompson to trim the deficit to 29-28 with 1:04 to play in the third.
Chapmanville outgained Nitro 478-428 in total yards, rushed for 293 yards compared to the Wildcats 155 yards and had 27 first downs, which was four more than Nitro’s 23.
Penalties were a big issue for both teams as Nitro was penalized 13 times for 120 yards and Chapmanville was flagged 10 times for 85 yards.
Littlejohn rushed for 99 yards on 14 attempts for Nitro, who has lost two straight games after starting the season with two wins and is now 2-2 on the year.
Chapmanville won for the third time in four games to start the season and remains unbeaten against Nitro in eight all-time meetings.
Both schools will be back action this coming Friday night as Nitro travels to Wayne while Chapmanville host Boone County rival Scott at Barker Stadium.