By Bob Hertzel
MORGANTOWN — Turns out West Virginia wasn’t ignorant of the rules when it was called for an illegal formation on consecutive kickoffs against Cincinnati on Friday night.
Instead, Coach Bill Stewart said Saturday he was deliberately trying to break them … and get away with it.
You will recall the Mountaineers were penalized on consecutive kickoffs for putting two players in motion and moving them from one side of the kicker to the other, leaving them with less than four players on that side of the field, which is demanded in the rules.
“It happened under my instruction,” Stewart said. “I told them to get a little jump on that for [kick returner] Mardy Gilyard. We tried it and got caught with our hand in the cookie jar. I then told them to do it again because they won’t call it a second time.”
Gilyard is one of the nation’s premier return men and he hurt WVU last year, bringing the opening kickoff back 100 yards for a touchdown.
“What happened is we got a little jump and made a nice play, but it came back. That’s OK,” Stewart said. “I tried to load the box on him and we just got past the kicker a little too much. It was something I instructed them to do, but they said you need to stay back a little bit.”
While Stewart’s trickery was caught, he noted that it really didn’t affect the game.
“After that they had three plays, minus seven yards, had the ball for 1:38 and punted to us,” he said. “We got the ball and went five plays and punted it back and changed field position. They got the ball, missed a field goal and we got the ball and scored to lead 14-7.
“That kick with the two penalties had no part in any way, shape or form on the game. I just tried to use a little sandlot on coverage and got caught.”
Whatever happened to blocking and tackling?
o o o o o
One thing is for sure. We were right about Patrick White around these parts. Class act. This e-mail from the Miami Herald after the Dolphins played the Patriots on Veterans Day only reinforces it:
Hello,
I am a longtime New England Patriots Season Ticketholder who attended this past Sunday’s game against the Miami Dolphins. The Patriots held a pregame Veterans Day ceremony honoring veterans from the greater New England area. I am not a veteran but greatly appreciate the men and woman who dedicate their lives to protecting our country.
As the National Anthem came to a close I told my son to watch to see which of the Patriot players approached the veterans being honored to thank them for their service. Unfortunately, the Patriots disappointed me. Not one of them acknowledged these men and woman.
As the veterans left the field one Miami Dolphin, Pat White, jogged over to them and shook every one of their hands. It was the highlight of the game for me to see there is at least one player in the NFL that understands what these people have given up for us.
If possible please forward this email to Mr. White thanking him for setting a fine example for my 13 year old son.
Sincerely,
Chris Diehl
o o o o o
Former West Virginia basketball legend Kevin Pittsnogle hasn’t given up his NBA dreams. He drove cross country this week to workout with the Albuquerque Thunderbirds of the NBA Developmental League.
A half hour into his first workout he injured his back and reported on Facebook he could hardly walk. Pittsnogle said at first that it was spasms but now is saying that it could be a disc problem and he will undergo tests.
E-mail Bob Hertzel at bhertzel@hotmail.com.
