Prep football notebook: University coach still says nobody does it better than Nitro's Culbertson
Thursday, December 1, 2005
By Rick Ryan - The Charleston Gazette

University coach John Kelley must have felt like he opened a can of worms when he last week called Nitro’s Josh Culbertson “the best running back there’s probably ever been, period.’’

But now Kelley thinks he’s wriggled off the hook.

Culbertson lit up Kelley’s Hawks for 266 yards and four touchdowns last Friday during Nitro’s 50-23 victory in the Class AAA playoff semifinals. In the process, Culbertson broke the single-season state rushing record held by former Weir standout Quincy Wilson.

Earlier in the season, Culbertson broke Wilson’s career state rushing mark.

“All week, people [were] abusing me for saying Culbertson is the best I’ve ever seen, period,’’ Kelley said after the semifinal. “Well, if they don’t think he is, they should have come and watched what he did tonight. He’s the for-real deal, and they’ve got the ultimate complement in [receiver Chris] Fulmer.’’

Kelley said his past University teams had played against running backs like Wilson and Morgantown’s Chris Yura (who scored a state-record 50 TDs in 1998). Some observers brought up names like former Pineville flash and NFL All-Pro Curt Warner and South Charleston record-setter Robert Alexander, but Kelley stands by his statement.

University tried to play keep-away with the ball on offense so that Culbertson couldn’t inflict as much damage, but it didn’t seem to matter.

“The idea was to keep him off the field,’’ Kelley said, “but even if he was only on the field for 30 seconds, it seemed like he was going to run for a lot of yards.’’

Culbertson’s last two TDs against University, on runs of 31 and 21 yards, came 23 seconds apart in the third quarter, the second immediately following a Hawks turnover.

Turf toes

Culbertson really likes playing on artificial turf.

The 5-foot-9, 192-pound senior gained 458 yards on 44 carries for a 10.4-yard average and six touchdowns in two playoff victories on the Sportexe Momentum 51 surface that was installed this past summer at Laidley Field by the University of Charleston.

“I like running on turf,’’ said Culbertson. “It’s not mud, it’s solid footing and it’s all flat. You can cut and it’s easier to run on.’’

Saturday’s AAA title game will be played on a similar style of field turf, the Pro Grass synthetic surface at Wheeling Island Stadium.

In Friday’s win against No. 11 University, the Kennedy Award favorite seemed to explode through running lanes, requiring his offensive linemen to only hold their blocks for just a split second.

“He likes it a lot,’’ said Nitro coach Scott Tinsley. “It’s good footing and he relies on cuts to get into the open field. He hits the second gear like nobody I’ve seen, and the turf really helps that.’’

We meet again, sort of

The combatants in the Class AAA title game are the same as 1998, Nitro vs. Morgantown. But few of the same folks will be walking the sidelines at Island Stadium.

For Nitro, the only two holdovers are Tinsley, who was the Wildcats’ offensive coordinator in 1998, and assistant coach Chris Higginbotham, a senior receiver-defensive back on that squad.

Only Tinsley has remained with the program continuously since that first meeting, as Higginbotham left to attend college.

On the Mohigans’ sideline, just three assistant coaches from the championship game seven years ago return — John Bowers, now the team’s head coach, defensive coordinator Phil Luci and offensive line coach Tom Powers.

Weather or not

The game-day forecast paints a different picture than the last title-game meeting between Nitro and Morgantown.

Saturday’s forecast in Wheeling calls for partly cloudy skies and a high of 38 degrees. When the teams met in 1998, unseasonably warm temperatures were the rule, with sunshine and high in the low 60s

Of course, that nice weather on a then-grass field certainly didn’t hurt Nitro’s high-octane passing game led by J.R. House. Tinsley, however, doesn’t think his team needs another assist from Mother Nature to get the job done.

“The 50s would be nice,’’ he said, “but I think we’ll be ready whatever it is. If it’s bad, we’re OK with that. We don’t feel bad weather or good weather is necessarily to our advantage. Our kids have played in all different kinds of weather.

“It’s been really cold the last couple of games and we’ve had a lot of rain this year. We’re ready for whatever the weather brings. The only problem we might have is the noon kickoff. On Saturday, most of our kids aren’t getting out of bed that early, and now they’re playing a football game. We’re interested to see how they handle the time change.’’

Tinsley also hopes for another cold shower Saturday.

Even though Tinsley had experienced heart problems a year ago that forced him to miss a playoff game at Morgantown, his players doused him with an icy bucket of water Friday following the semifinal win over University with temperatures hovering in the low 20s. But he handled it well and is ready for another, if need be.

“I’ll take it,’’ Tinsley said, chuckling. “Hopefully, it’s a problem I have to deal with.’’

Busy breather

When Tinsley wants to give Culbertson a “break,’’ he calls a pass play.

Culbertson, though, doesn’t leave the game. He just stays in the backfield to block for quarterback Michael Scott.

“We usually protect with six,’’ Tinsley said. “We don’t send Josh Culbertson out [in pass patterns] a whole lot. He stays in and helps our pass protection. We don’t want to run him to death. He’s a very capable receiver, but pass plays are kind of his plays to take a break.’’

So blocking a blitzing defender is Tinsley’s idea of taking a break?

“He usually picks up a linebacker,’’ Tinsley said. “If he is picking up someone [to block], most times it’s someone his size. As strong as Josh is, he can usually handle those kind of kids.’’

To contact assistant sports editor Rick Ryan, use e-mail or call 348-5175. Tommy R. Atkinson contributed to this report.