By Mike London

mike.london@salisburypost.com

SALISBURY — The state playoffs can bring out the best in athletes.

Fans may have forgotten that the biggest rushing night in Salisbury High football history actually took place in a playoff game.

That was in 2011. A first round 2A game,  Carver vs. Salisbury at Ludwig Stadium.

Salisbury rushed for 533 yards that night and basically needed every inch to beat the Carver Yellow Jackets 24-17.

That 2011 Salisbury backfield, one year removed from the state championship team, no longer had icons such as Romar Morris and John Knox, but still boasted a magnificent backfield.

Dominique Dismuke (136 carries, 1,141 yards), Justin Ruffin (128 carries, 1,138 yards) and Max Allen (130 carries, 1,128 yards) turned in nearly identical seasons for coach Joe Pinyan as a true three-headed monster. Quarterback Brian Bauk ran the show and ran for 919 yards, including 191 in one game.

It was Allen who broke loose, broke bad and broke records on that November night against Carver — 17 carries for 294 yards, including a 50-yard scoring dash in the third quarter.

While the Hornets out-rushed Carver 533 yards to 58, they had no passing yardage and still had to hang on for victory in the fourth quarter.

It’s a good time to talk about Carver, as the Winston-Salem school also figures prominently in West Rowan playoff history.

The Falcons beat Carver 20-16 in the third round of the 2008 playoffs, one of the biggest victories in program history, as that was the night the Falcons finally got over that third-round hurdle. Those were some of coach Scott Young’s finest hours. West’s comeback against Carver featured a touchdown pass thrown by receiver Jon Crucitti to Brantley Horton — that was Army throwing to Navy, as it turned out — and a wild dash for a touchdown by Austin Greenwood on a faked punt.

The rest is history. The Falcons — K.P. Parks, Chris Smith, B.J. Sherrill, Domonique Noble and that whole cast of memorable characters — never looked back after they got past Carver. The Falcons would win three straight 3A championships.

More history is sure to be made this Friday. We’re just not sure yet who will make it or where they’ll make it.

We do know Carver will be returning to Rowan County to play the North Rowan Cavaliers in Spencer, so maybe it will happen there.

West Rowan (vs. Franklin) and Salisbury (vs. Brevard) also will be at home in the first round.

Carson (at Asheville Erwin), A.L. Brown (at Asheville A.C. Reynolds) and Davie (at top-seeded Grimsley) hit the road.

East Rowan and South Rowan are done, but it should be mentioned that South’s sophomore quarterback Brooks Overcash threw for 589  yards the last two weeks of the season. He had the biggest passing  games in school history back-to-back against East Rowan and Carson.

3A: No. 26 Carson (5-5) at No. 7 Erwin (5-5)

The game of the night, according to the Massey ratings will be in Asheville.

The Erwin Warriors are a seven-point favorite. Carson is given a 41-percent win probability.

Erwin is good but is not a typical No. 7 seed. It was a fourth-place team in its league, but it was the best 3A in a split 3A/4A conference. Erwin was seeded as a conference champ, so Carson has a chance.

Michael Guiton will be back at quarterback after missing the South Rowan game. He’s thrown for 1,232 yards and 10 TDs.

Emory Taylor will be back at receiver after filling in for Guiton. Carson’s receiving corps features strong seasons by Taylor (35 catches, 535 yards, 6 TDs), Jay Howard (31 catches, 573 yards, 6 TDs) and CJ Guida (21 catches, 377 yards, 3 TDs).

While the other Rowan teams will be up against running teams tonight, Carson faces a passer.

Erwin’s 6-foot-3, 215-pound quarterback Iggy Welch (AKA Big Rig Igg) has thrown for 1,662 yards and 18 touchdowns and he’s got a 6-foot-3 receiver in Ty Johnson to throw to.

3A: No. 18 Franklin (6-4) at No. 15 West Rowan (8-2)

West is favored by two touchdowns and has a win probability of 79 percent.

The Falcons smacked the Franklin Panthers in the 2000 and 2008 state playoffs.

The key guy for Franklin is Ty Handley,  a physical 6-foot-2, 210-pound tailback. He head-butts people, punishes people and runs over people, and he’s also got some good speed once he finds daylight. He’s had five 100-yard games. He ran all over TC Roberson last week and Roberson is a 4A team that made the playoffs.

Franklin’s passing game hasn’t been stellar, so if the Falcons can contain the run, they should be fine.

The Falcons will miss explosive Evan Kennedy in the playoffs, but Lucas Graham (1,912 passing yards, 16 TDs) has produced some huge games and Adrian Stockton (41 catches, 833 yards) has turned in the county’s finest receiving season. Landon Jacobs has 643 rushing yards despite missing some games. West is stout on the offensive line and on defense.

2A: No. 27 Brevard (5-5) at No. 6 Salisbury (9-1)

Salisbury has won nine in a row and is a three-TD favorite with an 86-percent win probability.

Brevard QB Colt Swicegood doesn’t have huge numbers, but he’s been efficient — 55-percent completion rate and only two interceptions.

A committee of backs has gotten the carries. The Blue Devils rely mostly on their ground game.

Brevard comes in off a solid win against a respected Polk County program, but gave up 209 yards and four TDs to Polk County Shrine Bowler Angus Weaver.

That may mean trouble against Salisbury’s JyMikaah Wells, who has been unstoppable the last five weeks behind an improving offensive line. Wells has scored 24 touchdowns in that span. He’s up to 1,639 rushing yards for the season and is only the third back in county history to surpass 5,000 rushing yards for his career.

Mike Geter doesn’t have massive yardage totals as the director of a run-first team, but he’s thrown 13 TD passes and has run for 11 scores.

Jamal Rule, who filled in when Wells was injured, has contributed 616 rushing yards. Deuce Walker has 22 catches for 478 yards and six TDs.

Hank Webb is an important guy as the kicker/punter/backup QB and he’s caught three TD passes.

1A: (20) Carver (3-7) at (13) North Rowan (6-4)

Carver beat North Rowan in the 2015 playoffs, but the Cavaliers are expected to have the easiest game Friday night of the Rowan teams.

Carver isn’t the athletic force it was a decade ago. North is favored by five TDs and has a 95-percent win probability.

Carver does have two good backs, although both are on the small side. Senior Reginald Dubose has rushed for 917 yards. Freshman Antonio Samuels has rushed for 613 and has big-play capabilities.

Jaemias Morrow has had quite a season for the Cavaliers, scoring touchdowns on offense, defense and special teams.

He’s rushed for 1,251 yards and 19 TDs and he has a county-leading eight 2-point conversions.

Sophomore QB Jeremiah Alford has turned in a 2,000-yard season with 800 rushing yards and 1,246 passing yards. He has 11 rushing TDs and has thrown 14 TD passes.

Amari McArthur leads the receivers. He’s made 39 catches for 551 yards and eight scores.

Tsion Kelly has had a big season on defense and special teams, blocking kicks and coming up with turnovers.

4A: (32) Davie (4-6) at (1) Grimsley (10-0)

The War Eagles will be 24-point underdogs against the Grimsley Whirlies in Greensboro. Davie is given an 18-percent win probability, an 18-percent chance to shock the world.

Davie will count on the pass-catch combo of Ty Miller and Brodie Smith.

Grimsley’s lefty QB Ryan Stephens is a classic, dual-threat guy with solid rushing numbers and a 65-percent completion percentage.

He’s got 6-foot-3 bookends for wideouts, and the balanced Whirlies have gotten a lot of rushing yards and 14 TDs from Mitchell Sommers.

4A: (26) A.L. Brown
(6-4) at (7) A.C. Reynolds (9-1)

The Wonders have been handed a tough assignment against a conference champ. They’ll be 18-point underdogs in Asheville. The win probability for the Wonders is 22 percent.

For what it’s worth, the Wonders’ most recent state title (1997) kicked off with a road trip to Asheville.

The Rockets of A.C. Reynolds have gotten an impressively efficient season from QB Hayden Craig. He completes 74 percent of his passes. He’s thrown 14 TD passes and one — that’s right, one — interception.

Max Guest is the workhorse for the Rockets’ offense. He’s got 1,378 rushing yards and he’s put the ball in the end zone 24 times this season.