Area athletes update …
Romar Morris and John Knox, a duo that set school records during Salisbury’s 2AA state championship season in 2010, had dazzling days on Saturday.
Morris set a personal record for postgame interviews after UNC’s 39-34 loss to Louisville on Saturday. Morris was the focal point of the Tar Heels’ comeback from a 29-0 deficit to the brink of victory.
Morris, the ACC Receiver of the Week, finished with five catches for 149 yards, including touchdowns of 44 and 50 yards. His 44-yard TD after a reception on a wheel route finally got the Tar Heels on the board, and his blocked punt was the play that turned momentum UNC’s way. Morris, who also returned a punt and a kickoff, amassed 202 all-purpose yards.
Darien Rankin (Salisbury) had one tackle for the Tar Heels.
Knox didn’t have any 99-yard scoring plays this week, but he turned in another strong outing for a 3-0 team. Knox, who got the call last week when Charleston’s starting QB Maurice Leak went down with a sprained ankle, was 13-for-21 passing for 162 yards against Concord and he rushed for 93 yards.
Knox’s day included a 46-yard run and a 58-yard completion.
South Carolina State’s Javon Hargrave (North Rowan) got to play in front of nearly 44,000 people at Arizona. S.C. State took it on the chin, but Hargrave did make three tackles.
Domonique Noble (West Rowan) made a special-teams tackle for Georgia Tech in the Yellow Jackets’ romp against Virginia.
Virginia got in a hole and didn’t do much on the ground against the Jackets. K.P. Parks (West) rushed 13 times for a team-high 53 yards. He also caught three passes for 34 yards.
Jon Crucitti (West) rushed three times for 30 yards and returned a punt 19 yards for Army in a 41-40 loss to Northern Illinois. Army plays at Wake Forest Saturday.
Chris Smith (West) made three tackles for Arkansas but tackles by the Razorbacks were few and far between in a 52-0 loss to Alabama.
Shaun Warren (Carson) ran back three kickoffs for 59 yards for Western Carolina in a SoCon loss to Wofford. He rushed once for 2 yards and caught a pass for 7.
UNC Pembroke won a 49-35 shootout with Wingate in one of Saturday’s more entertaining Division II games.Local standouts Josh Patch (East Rowan) and Cadarreus Mason (South Rowan) were among the game’s defensive stalwarts.
Patch, a starting defensive tackle, was credited with nine tackles for the Bulldogs. He was in on two sacks and also had a QB hurry.
Mason starts at middle linebacker for UNC Pembroke. He also made nine tackles. Plus, he intercepted a pass, broke up a pass and had a QB hurry.
Ben DeCelle (East) had a productive receiving day for UNCP. He made six catches for 53 yards.
As always, Joseph So (Salisbury) started at center for Wingate.
Quentin Sifford (West) had a tackle for West Liberty in a win against West Virginia Wesleyan.
Lenoir-Rhyne’s Ike Whitaker (Salisbury) had seven carries for 27 yards in a SAC loss to Carson-Newman. Zach Long (Davie) made two tackles for L-R.
In Catawba’s loss at Newberry, B.J. Sherrill threw for 237 yards and three TDs and rushed for 13 yards and a score.
Wade Moore (West) was limited to 13 rushing yards on six carries against Newberry. Trey Mashore (West) returned a punt 14 yards. Fullback Marco Gupton (West) started for the Indians, and Tim Pangburn (West) saw action on the offensive line.
In the Division III world, Guilford’s 45-35 win against Averett was the biggest news locally.
Guilford freshman Adam Smith (Davie) is enjoying the transition from quarterback to receiver. The East-West All-Star had seven catches for 73 yards and caught a 13-yard scoring pass. For Averett, cornerback Zack Grkman made five tackles and broke up a pass, and freshman linebacker T.J. Smith made two tackles.
Hobie Proctor (West) kicked off three times for Averett.
Speaking of former West Rowan kickers, Matt Turchin was outstanding in Emory & Henry’s win against Methodist.
Turchin kicked field goals of 30 and 37 and was 4-for-4 on PATS. He also averaged 60.4 yards on seven kickoffs.