Staff report

High school roundup …

THOMASVILLE — Make it 14 straight wins for Salisbury’s football team dating back to last season.

JyMikaah Wells scored three rushing touchdowns, Salisbury’s defense controlled the line of scrimmage, and the Hornets had little trouble with East Davidson in a game that was moved up to Thursday night.

The Hornets led 21-0 at halftime and steadily pulled away for a 49-0 Central Carolina Conference victory.

Salisbury made it 42-0 with 6:29 when left to play when Wells scored from 10 yards out. The remainder of the game was played with a running clock.

When East Davidson opted to go for it on fourth-and-long late in the game, the Hornets got a sack and took over at the East Davidson 11. Salisbury reserves punched in the final touchdown.

Mike Geter was 12-for-17 passing for 172 yards and added 81 rushing yards on 10 carries. He lost about half of a 94-yard touchdown romp to a penalty. He had a rushing TD and a passing TD.

The biggest offensive play for the Hornets came early when they faced a fourth down at the East Davidson 34 after a series of mishaps. Geter threw a strike to Deuce Walker in the end zone for a 6-0 lead.

Wells, who had 114 yards on 20 carries, scored on a pitch with 8:26 left in the second quarter. Wade Robins kicked the first of his five PATs for 13-0.

Salisbury executed late in the first half on a drive against the clock and scored with 29 seconds left. They moved the ball mostly with Geter’s accurate passing over the middle. Wells bulled in from the 1 for the touchdown. The Hornets tacked on a 2-pooint coversion for 21-0.

The Hornets (7-0, 4-0) scored on their opening drive of the second half. Geter finished it with a 6-yard run for a 28-0 edge.

As the third quarter ended, East Davidson was driving at the Salisbury 37, but on the first snap of the fourth quarter, Salisbury DB Savion Freeman scooped up a loose ball and headed for a   touchdown and a 35-0 lead.

After Wells scored, Robins’ PAT made it 42-0 for a running clock.

Jamal Rule got the last TD for the Hornets on  an 11-yard run.

Deuce Walker had six catches for 84 yards.

Jayden Gibson made an interception that was a result of Jalon Walker’s crunching hit on the quarterback.

The shutout was the fifth of the season for the Hornets. East Davidson (3-4, 1-2) had been averaging 25 point per game with a solid running attack, but was limited to 86 net rushing yards and had no passing yards.

The Hornets play at Lexington on Oct. 15 and finish the regular season at home against North Rowan on Oct. 29.

Salisbury head coach Brian Hinson was inducted into the Catawba Sports Hall of Fame on Friday night.

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KANNAPOLIS — Carson fought down to the final minute but lost to Northwest Cabarrus 36-30 in Friday’s South Piedmont Conference game.

Alex Walker threw a 55-yard touchdown pass to Tru Sierra for the deciding TD for the Trojans (4-4, 3-1) with 1:58 remaining.

The teams generated lots of excitement, especially in the second half of a muddy homecoming game.

Carson started on its 15-yard line on its last possession. The Cougars (1-5, 0-3) were stopped on downs near midfield with 25 seconds left.

Walker threw a fourth-down TD pass to Tevin Tucker for a 7-0 Northwest lead, but Carson was able to answer. Jay Howard returned the kickoff past midfield. Carter Dowd put the ball in the end zone to finish a scoring drive.

Nzai Coleman scored on the ground for Northwest for a 13-7 lead.

Carson quarterback Hunter Burris, a cornerback last season, was playing both ways and made an interception in the end zone for the Cougars late in the half to keep the deficit at 13-7.

Coleman’s second rushing TD, a 15-yard burst, pushed the Trojans’ lead to 20-7, but the Cougars responded with an 82-yard drive for 20-14. Burris got the touchdown from the 8-yard line.

Coleman scored again with 3:25 left in the third quarter, with the Trojans running the ball more than usual due to field conditions. That made it 27-14.

It was 30-14 after Noah Houston kicked a 30-yard field goal for NWC with 11 minutes left, but that’s when Carson made a charge.

Howard returned the ensuing kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown. Dowd pounded in a 2-point conversion, and Carson’s deficit was quickly chopped to 30-22.

Keegan Barger forced a fumble that was recovered by Dowd, and the Cougars were back in business right away. Dowd broke a run of 47 yards to get Carson close, and then had a touchdown plunge. Burris threw to Trevor Vaughn for a 2-point conversion and a 30-all tie.

Carson then surprised Northwest with an onside kick, made the recovery and had all the momentum and an opportunity to take the lead, but Carson was stopped short of the chains on a fourth-and-2 play from the Northwest 33.

Not long after that, Walker and Sierra teamed up for the big pass play that snapped the tie.

Walker completed 16 passes for 186 yards and two TDs. Coleman piled up 147 rushing yards on 24 carries. Sierra had 10 catches.

Dowd had 126 rushing yards for Carson, while Burris had 84 rushing yards and 46 passing yards.

Carson has an unusual Wednesday home game next week against East Rowan. The jayvee teams will play on Tuesday at East.

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CONCORD — East Rowan had a chance late in the game for the first time this season, but Central Cabarrus held on for a 13-7 South Piedmont Conference victory on Friday.

East’s defense played an inspired game, holding the Vikings to 75 yards of offense after halftime, and the Mustangs got explosive plays  from Tijon Everhart and Evan Porter.

Central racked up 170 yards of balanced offense in the first half, but was denied by East three times in the red zone. On the most emphatic stop, Dominick Dale forced a fumble with a sack, and Josh Roman-Soto recovered.

The Vikings (2-4, 2-1) finally broke through on a 32-yard field goal by Andrew Roller with 1:25 left in the second quarter.

East didn’t have any offensive success until the final minute of the half, but a long run by QB Aiden Schenck and his shovel pass to Everhart for another big gain got the Mustangs moving. East missed a 25-yard field goal on the last play of the half when the kick struck the upright.

The Mustangs grabbed a 7-3 edge with 5:13 left in the third quarter. They only had to drive 19 yards to score after Everhart made a dazzling punt return. Everhart got the TD on a short burst, Cole Eagle kicked the PAT, and East owned the lead.

Central struck back with its own long punt return, and after an East personal foul, followed by a face mask penalty, Central scored its only TD with 10:08 left to play on Brenden Fulcher’s 10-yard pass to Jaykwon Diaz-Cruz. He made a physical catch in the right corner of the end zone. Roller added the PAT,

Down 10-7 with 7:40 on the clock, the Mustangs went for it on fourth-and-short at the East 43, but Emerson Baker made the stop for the Vikings.

An East interception was wiped out by another flag, and the Vikings advanced the ball as far as the East 2. On fourth-and-goal, the Vikings took the chip-shot field goal with 4:35 remaining. Roller nailed it, and it was 13-7.

On the ensuing kickoff, Porter broke loose. He appeared headed for an electrifying, game-winning touchdown, but Central’s Christian Reid caught him and made a game-saving TD at the Central 7-yard line.

Facing third down from the 6, East suffered a disastrous play. A shotgun snap sailed past Schenck and bounded around. Schenck got to the ball first, but he was being hit as he tried to dump the ball to Everhart. Everhart was tackled for a loss of 22 yards. One desperate incompletion later, East was finished.

Central got one first down and ran out the clock.

East is 0-6, 0-3, while the Vikings are 2-4, 2-1.

The Mustangs play at Carson on Wednesday.

•••

CONCORD — Concord flattened South Rowan 43-0 on Friday to stay undefeated in the South Piedmont Conference.

The game was played on the turf field at West Cabarrus.

Concord (4-2, 4-0) got two rushing TDs apiece from Antonio Jackson and Kevius Phillips. Zach Jenkins had a scoring run. The Spiders got their final touchdown on special teams on a blocked punt.

It was only 8-0 after the first quarter, but the Spiders’ lead swelled to 30-0 at halftime.

Phillips broke a 63-yard run early in the second half to put away the Raiders (1-7, 0-4), who have dropped their last seven.

•••

The Davie at Mount Tabor Central Piedmont Conference game was postponed to Monday.

•••

KANNAPOLIS — West Cabarrus beat A.L. Brown 19-18  in a heart-pounding struggle in Friday’s Greater Metro Conference game.

The Wonders led 12-0 at halftime, but the Wolverines swung momentum in the third quarter with two quick scores and got the decisive points on a field goal with nine minutes left.

West Cabarrus (3-4, 2-2) stopped A.L. Brown at the 1-yard line late in the contest.

It was the fourth straight loss — all in conference — for the Wonders (3-4, 0-4), who have encountered their roughest stretch since the 1970s.