West’s Kendrick Cornelius closes in on Carson’s Rosean Perkins.

Brian Wilhite photo.

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Jacob Rockwell catches a pass from Griffin Barber for Carson’s TD.

Brian Wilhite photo.

 

By Mike London

mike.london@salisburypost.com

MOUNT ULLA — West Rowan’s football stadium has been a haunted house for Carson for many years, and that didn’t change on Friday.

West had an open week to recover from a 66-0 beating from Mooresville and used it effectively. With quarterback Brant Graham able to return to action after a shoulder scare, the Falcons led all the way and smacked Carson 33-7 in the South Piedmont Conference opener for both teams.

Carson (2-2, 0-1) has never won in Mount Ulla and still owns only one victory in a long series with West Rowan. A Joe Pinyan-coached team pulled off a win in  China Grove in 2013.

The difference in the two programs has usually been in the trenches. That proved to be the case again in the latest meeting.

“Their offensive line dominated and their defensive line dominated,” Carson head coach Jonathan Lowe said. “And we couldn’t tackle them.”

West got powerful games from its dynamic offensive players.

Graham was 18-for-34 for 238 yards and two TDs, with no interceptions.

Evan Kennedy hauled in both of Graham’s touchdown passes and racked up 10 catches for 156 yards. Jaylen Neely had 19 carries for 96 yards and two TDs. Kennedy added 48 rushing yards and had a score on the ground.

West lost Cooper Martin, who was expected to be a big part of the ground attack, to a season-ending injury on opening night.

West (2-2, 1-0) got up 21-0 on the Cougars very early and never looked back. Graham connected with Kennedy for a 58-yard, tackle-breaking touchdown to open the scoring.

“We certainly got the start we were after,” West head coach Louis Kraft said. “Defensively, we played lights out all night. Offensively, we lost a little bit of focus after we raced out early, but we won the turnover battle.”

West got interceptions from Cameron Martin and Avion Casey.

Carson fought back to 21-7 on a 20-yard scoring pass from Griffin Barber to Jacob Rockwell, but the Falcons answered that score for 27-7.

West’s defense was able to bring down Xavier Phillips at the 1-yard line on the last play of the first half and took a 20-point lead to halftime.

Carson, which had 130 passing yards and 96 rushing yards, made a strong bid to score to open the second half, but was stopped at the West 10-yard line. A penalty for an ineligible receiver downfield nullified what would’ve been a first-and-goal situation for the Cougars.

“There were a lot of missed opportunities after we made it into the red zone,” Lowe said. “We just didn’t convert when we had chances to get back in it. We had some penalties that shouldn’t happen.”

West pushed the lead to 33-7 with a 15-yard touchdown catch by Kennedy.

Carson gets Robinson, which has looked like the SPC’s strongest team, next. West Rowan  plays South Rowan next, another program the Falcons haven’t lost to in a long time.