The Cabarrus County teams aren’t taking kindly to South Piedmont Conference newcomers.
Right now, West Rowan, Carson, East Rowan and South Rowan might feel like freshman undergoing some ribbing from the seniors.
Case in point, Carson’s 25-22 loss to Northwest Cabarrus last week came with the Cougars outrushing NWC 326-80.
“It’s certainly a game we feel like we should have won,” Carson coach Joe Pinyan said. “We told our kids the loss means nothing. We still have to beat Hickory Ridge.”
The game caused a four-way tie for third place in the SPC between Hickory Ridge, Carson, West and NWC.
After a 3A championship game appearance last season, Concord’s undefeated and the Spiders have everyone caught in their web. West probably gave Concord its toughest game, leading as late as the fourth quarter, in last week’s defeat. West is no stranger to Concord, having faced the Spiders the last three postseasons. West, who’s won at least 10 games for the past nine seasons, will have to go deep into the playoffs to match that mark again.
“I knew it’d be a tougher league top to bottom,” West coach Scott Young said. “Every week, even the jayvee games are battles.”
Both Carson and West face HR in the season’s final two weeks. Concord can wrap up the conference title with a win tonight against NWC. Second-place Central Cabarrus heads to East Rowan, who needs an upset badly to keep its playoff hopes alive.
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The Central Carolina Conference picture isn’t as cloudy. Top-ranked North Rowan and Thomasville do battle tonight at Cushwa Stadium in what’s practically the conference title game. Both are unbeaten in league play
On paper the Cavaliers (9-0) are a clear favorite, but as Salisbury can attest to, Cushwa can serve as a sort of Bermuda Triangle for Rowan teams. Two years ago Thomasville beat the Hornets on a 80-yard touchdown pass with 22 seconds left. To add insult to injury, Pinyan, then the Salisbury coach, found out during the game that his mother was hurt after falling down the stadium aisle.
Nonetheless, North’s had no missteps so far, needing no training wheels for its ride back into the 2A world. The Cavs have outscored their CCC opponents 132-32
Quarterback Jareke Chambers holding the county lead in total offense. Chambers, the favorite for county offensive player of the year, had 165 yards rushing and a 80-yard kickoff return for a touchdown while warding off sickness last week.
Historically, North and Thomasville have been a big local rivalry and it looks be rekindled in the coming years.
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Howard Platt and Wilson Cherry will call the West Rowan/Cox Mill game on WSTP-1490.