By Mike London
mike.london@salisburypost.com

SALISBURY — Salisbury’s defense allowed 16 touchdowns this season.

Salisbury QB Vance Honeycutt accounted for 30 touchdowns  — 19 rushing and 11 passing.

Think about that math for a minute.

“Thirty touchdowns in 11 games — that’s crazy,” Salisbury head coach Brian Hinson said.

Honeycutt had a fine regular season, but it was in the playoffs that he elevated himself to share Rowan County Offensive Player of the Year honors with East Rowan’s record-setting back Sammy Pinckney.

Honeycutt rushed for 469 yards in four playoff games, after rushing for 420 in the regular season. Eight of his rushing TDs came in the playoffs, including four in a state championship game that led to MVP honors.

“Ran for four and he also threw for one,” Hinson said. “It was one of the great championship-game performances, and I couldn’t be happier for him. He’s a tremendous leader, a tremendous athlete, a tremendous person. He was a huge part of our success, and I don’t know how we’re going to replace him.”

Honeycutt found the end zone with some regularity during the regular season, scoring three TDs against West Rowan and four against Ledford.

In the early games, Salisbury relied on Honeycutt turning broken plays into major gains with scrambles. But after a Week 4 loss to North Davidson, the Hornets made an adjustment, putting in designed running plays for Honeycutt to take advantage of his exceptional speed.

“We got him more involved in running the football and you’ve always got that extra blocker when the quarterback runs the ball,” Hinson said. “It led to some good things for us.”

While the Hornets were primarily a running team, Honeycutt also threw for 1,042 yards, while completing 55 percent of his throws. His biggest pass play was the 71-yard touchdown to Marcus Cook when Salisbury trailed North Davidson 21-14 in the fourth quarter of the regional final.

As far as his football career, Honeycutt went out on top in the state championship game.

He’s headed to UNC for baseball and has belted two homers for Salisbury so far this season.