By Mike London

mike.london@salisburypost.com

SPENCER — Most Fridays, North Rowan senior Donald Horton is just one of those guys doing his job on the defensive side of the ball and not getting noticed unless something goes wrong.

But last Friday, No. 8 had a chance to make a game-changing play — and he made it. He was equal to the task. The moment wasn’t too big for him.

“Sometimes the biggest play of the game comes at the end, sometimes it’s in the middle, but sometimes it’s early,” North head coach Josh Sophia said. “It was the first quarter, but to my mind Donald made the biggest play of Friday’s game. No question about it.”

North led at TW Andrews 6-0, but it figured to be a challenging night. TW Andrews was undefeated. The Cavaliers were on the road, bruised and battered and short-handed after deflating home losses to Forest Hills and Anson.

“We’ve been playing teams with bigger numbers and we got beat up some,” Sophia explained. “We’ve got quite a few guys out, but we should get them all back.”

Horton was playing outside linebacker, not a spot he’s always in. Sometimes he’s a safety. Sometimes he’s a corner. It depends on whose healthy and who’s playing well.  He may have found himself a permanent home now at outside linebacker.

Horton saw the play of the game coming like it was unfolding in slow motion because he’d seen TW Andrews run it on film. A man goes in motion to draw the attention of the defense, but then a quick, short pass goes to a receiver on the other side, in space in the flat. If the wideout can make the first tackler miss, that short flip can create a big play.

“I knew exactly what was coming,” Horton said. “I’d seen then run it. Then my instincts took over.”

The pass never got to its intended target. Horton retreated a step, as if he was dropping back into coverage, but then he darted quickly toward the line of scrimmage, and the element of surprise paid dividends. The pass struck Horton’s upraised right hand. He juggled the ball for just an instant, but then he brought it down and secured it in both hands.

“Not an easy interception,” Sophia said. “Jumped the route perfectly and then tipped it to himself.”

Once he possessed the ball, Horton spied a convoy of eager blockers in front of him, ready to escort him down the right sideline.

“I got great blocks from my teammates,” Horton said. “I only had to break one tackle, and I was able to run through the quarterback around the 20.”

Horton’s pick-six was officially 41 yards. After North added the PAT, it was 13-0, and a snowball had started to roll straight downhill at High Point’s historic Simeon Stadium.

North would lead 41-0 before TW Andrews recovered and started to fight back. The Red Raiders were able to make it respectable — a 55-36 final score — but North never lost control after the pick-six.

“Huge play, scoring on defense gives you a lot of energy,” Sophia said. “Those first 20 minutes we played about as well as I’ve seen a team play, and Horton’s interception return had a lot to do with that. We won a game at Anson last year that turned around our season. Maybe this is the road game that does that for us this year.”

After the back-to-back home losses to Forest Hills and Anson, the Cavaliers knew the game at TW Andrews would be more critical than the normal non-conference game. A 2-2 record feels a lot different than 1-3, and the Cavaliers desperately wanted to be 2-2 entering Central Carolina Conference play.

“This game was everything to us,” Horton said. “We really needed to win and we really wanted to win. We trusted our coaches, did what they asked us to do, and we came home with the win.”

Horton describes himself as more of an in-the-house guy than outside-the-house. He plays baseball in the spring and he likes to make music.

On the football field, a young man who is nicknamed “Skud” by his teammates has done a little bit of everything for.

“The great thing about Horton is that even when there were times when he didn’t play as much as he wanted to play, he never complained and did his best to make a difference on special teams,” Sophia said. “As a senior, he’s been everything you want a senior to be, playing wherever he’s needed.”

Horton says playing safety and corner are natural for him. Learning to play outside linebacker and being physical against the run has been a bigger  challenge, but he’s accepted it. He had six tackles (four solos) at TW Andrews in addition to the game-changing interception.

Horton made his first varsity interception in a 2023 playoff game against Elkin. His first interception of his senior season is one he’ll never forget.

Eight years ago, Horton’s uncle, Chris Clodfelter, an all-county defensive back made a 71-yard interception return for a touchdown against Statesville. It was a dynamic, first-quarter pick that propelled the Cavaliers to a 27-23 win over the Greyhounds.

Sometimes, history repeats.