Staff report

CONCORD — Progress sometimes comes by the inch, rather than by the yard, and East Rowan’s football team moved the dial forward a few inches on Friday.

“I believe we did improve some,” East head coach Brian Flynn said. “We were able to move the ball — at times. We sustained some drives. Our quarterback play was better. Guys made some plays. The defense forced a turnover and Concord had to settle for some field goal attempts.”

The bottom line was a 45-0 loss at Bailey Stadium to Concord, the latest in long string off losses to the Spiders, a program the Mustangs have beaten only three times in their history.

But if there’s a positive 45-0, this was one of them. The clock runs continuously in the second half if there’s a 42-point differential, and Concord had to work some to get the running clock for the final five minutes or so.

“Football still comes down to two basic things — blocking and tackling — and those are things we’re not doing well,” Flynn said. “But we’re going to keep coaching and our players are going to keep grinding.”

Sophomore linebacker Jayden Peters stood out for East with 13 tackles. Krys Hernandez, Ryan Robinson and Ashur Tesh were credited with six tackles each.

Caleb Shugart recovered two fumbles.

Will Klingler completed nine passes. Sam Blackwelder, who also did the punting, accounted for most of the damage through the air with three catches for 81 yards.

Next for the Mustangs (0-4, 0-1) is one of the tougher assignments of the season, a home meeting with a Northwest Cabarrus team that won 45-0 against South Rowan on Friday.

Concord (2-2, 1-1) will be favored to win its next game at Central Cabarrus.