Staff report

GRANITE QUARRY — It was a forgettable Labor Day Monday for East Rowan football, as the Mustangs took a 42-0 non-conference loss against North Stanly.

It was 32-0 at halftime.

East’s defense fought hard, especially in the second half, but the Comets (2-0) kicked a field goal to make it a running-clock game — a 42-point lead is the magic number — for the final minutes.

The athlete who had the memorable night was North Stanly sophomore Nathan Helms. He made two pick-sixes and also caught a touchdown pass from Charlie Shaver.

Both of Helms’ interception returns for touchdowns came early and gave North Stanly a 19-0 first-quarter lead.

Jaden Little had well over 100 rushing yards for the Comets, as the offensive workhorse. He scored three touchdowns.

East, which lost quarterback Will Klingler to an injury in the first quarter, was never able to mount any kind of offensive threat.

Klingler was replaced by Kaleb Whiteous. When Whiteous got banged up, freshman Julian Cauble called the signals.

East was 7-for-26 passing for 38 yards, with four interceptions.

The Mustangs had negative yardage for their 16 rushing attempts.

Sam Blackwelder had two catches for 21 yards.

Defensively, East got 11 tackles from Jayden Peters. Krys Hernandez and Luke Eller made six tackles each. Jaden Reid had two tackles for loss. Ashur Tech forced a fumble.

East will look to bounce back against Salisbury (1-1) on Friday. The Mustangs will be at home for the third straight week. WSAT will broadcast the game.

The Comets, who whipped Anson on opening night, will take on Western Alamance next.