Time: 7:30 p.m.
Records: Salisbury 1-0, North Rowan 0-1
Series: Salisbury leads 25-19-2
Last meeting: Hornets beat the Cavaliers 33-15 in a midseason matchup in 2010
Streak: Salisbury has won seven straight meetings with North on the field, although the Hornets had to forfeit their 52-8 romp in 2008. North triumphed 16-13 in 2003 at Ludwig Stadium.
Last week: Salisbury cruised past East Rowan 51-0; North had a solid defensive effort in a 16-6 loss to Carson that was much tighter than recent Carson-North matchups.
Next week: Salisbury is home against West Rowan, while North will visit East Rowan
Game notes: The Hornets have taken over this fierce rivalry in recent seasons, and that trend isn’t expected to change.
Salisbury’s backfield — veteran stud Dominique Dismuke and new starters Brian Bauk, Justin Ruffin and Max Allen — looked devastating last week as the Hornets rushed for 372 yards against East. Left guard Parker McKeithan is a potential monster.
Salisbury also dominated defensively last week, with nose Jared Hardin, tackle Scott Givens and linebacker Clint Comadoll disrupting.
Salisbury coach Joe Pinyan is seeking his 80th career win. He’s 6-2 (including a forfeit loss) vs. the Cavs.
North has to find a way to generate some offense against a very experienced SHS defense that returns eight starters from last season’s 2AA state champions.
North had less than 100 yards of net offense against Carson, getting its only points when Jalen Cook recovered a blocked punt. North did force four turnovers against Carson and will need to repeat that to have a shot tonight.