Jeremiah Alford, senior year.

Jacqui Smith Watson photo.

Jeremiah Alford throws a TD pass to Mike Alford.

Jacqui Smith Watson photo.

 

By Mike London

mike.london@salisburypost.com

SPENCER — Records continue to fall for North Rowan senior quarterback Jeremiah Alford — and more are going to be toppled.

Alford threw seven touchdown passes (a county record) in last Friday’s 55-13 win at South Davidson, and that seventh TD pass was the 75th of is four-year career, breaking the county mark that Samuel Wyrick set at East Rowan 10 seasons ago.

“You go into a game thinking about winning the game, not about breaking individual records,” North head coach Josh Sophia said. “But then the opportunity was there and we realized we had a chance to get that career touchdown record out of the way for Jeremiah, and we  said, “OK, let’s do this.’ We weren’t going to throw the ball down the field with a big lead at that point in the game, but we ran our jet sweep, which is a short pass for us, and Jeremiah was able to throw it to his brother (Michael) for the record.”

Alford has never been one to worry about the numbers, except the ones on the scoreboard. That’s the thing about him that has impressed Sophia the most. Alford has kept a level head throughout the hoopla about setting records, hoopla that would have swelled most noggins. He has just gone about the business of trying to win ball games for the Cavaliers, who are 3-2 and 1-0 in the 1A/2A Central Carolina Conference.

“Jeremiah is the kind of kid that you want to break records, the kind of kid that deserves to break records, a leader, a very high-character kid,” Sophia said. “Right now, school and county records aren’t that important for him. But 10 years from now, 20 years from now, he’s going to be look back on all of it and be very proud of what he accomplished in high school.”

Alford agreed with that assessment. The records are something that makes his family and school proud, and he’ll look back on all of them with satisfaction and smiles after his playing career ends, but now is not the time to dwell on stat sheets.

“My dad (Brian) keeps up with all the stats and sometimes he’ll let me know how many more I need to break this record or reach this milestone,” Alford said. “Records aren’t something I think about at all, but when we did have the chance to break the career touchdown record at South Davidson, it was nice to be able to share that moment with my brother.”

North got a big boost in the South Davidson game from the return to health of top-notch receiver A’son Best, who caught three of Alford’s seven TD tosses. North may have the deepest group of receivers it’s had during Alford’s time at quarterback. Emari Russell, who transferred from Central Cabarrus, leads Rowan County in receiving yardage.

“We knew this summer our receiving corps was going to be in great shape and that Emari was going to be an important addition,” Alford said. “He’s very talented.”

If it seems like Alford has been around forever, that’s because he has been. He was announced as the starting varsity quarterback prior to his freshman season. That doesn’t happen very often. Former North head coach Nygel Pearson made that momentous announcement in August 2021.

“The running joke in the CCC and Rowan County is that Jeremiah has been quarterbacking North for eight years now,” Sophia said. “But he’s actually a pretty young senior. He turned 17 not long ago.”

When Alford debuted for the Cavaliers, COVID-19 issues were still lingering. North’s opener was canceled. When the Cavaliers took on South Rowan to get their 2021 season started on Aug. 27, North had six starters quarantined, as well as the cheerleaders and the pep band.

That was a frantic game. North trailed the Raiders by two touchdowns after South’s Bronson Hunt returned the second-half kickoff all the way. But Alford rallied the Cavaliers, who eventually survived 36-28 in overtime. Alford threw the first interception of his career that night, but he also had his first rushing TD and his first two touchdown passes. Amari McArthur caught the first one on his fingertips, an 80-yard play. Kemon O’Kelly caught the second one.

Alford has never looked back. The South Davidson game was his 43rd as North’s starting quarterback. There have been 29 wins and 14 losses. He has quarterbacked six playoff victories, and North’s three playoff losses have come against elite 1A programs — Robbinsville twice and Mount Airy.

“One of the things that a lot of people may not realize is that as good as he is as a quarterback, he is almost as important for us on defense as an inside linebacker,” Sophia said. “He’s smart, he’s tough and he’s physical. He got banged up (a hyper-extended left elbow) in our game with Forest Hills, so we haven’t played him on defense the last two games, but he hasn’t missed any snaps at quarterback. We plan to have him back in there at linebacker when we play Thomasville on Monday, and he’s excited about that.”

There haven’t been many linebacker/quarterbacks in county history, but Alford is an unusual athlete.

“I enjoy playing linebacker,” he said. “The toughest challenge is going out there to play defense after throwing an interception or having a bad play at quarterback. You’ve got to get past that mentally very quickly. You can’t be thinking about the interception you threw when it’s time to play defense.”

Alford has been spectacular at quarterback, at times, as in the recent 55-36 win at TW Andrews in which he threw for 350 yards, one of the top 10 passing yardage games in county history. But mostly he’s been steady and durable and has built his legacy on his consistent numbers over the years.

His consistency has led to staggering career totals. At the halfway point of his final regular season, Alford owns 6,306 career passing yards. That’s third all-time in the county, and it’s a record that won’t stand more than another week or two. Wyrick threw for 6,525 yards in three varsity seasons. Mario Sturdivant, who has held the North Rowan and county records for career passing yards since 1999, threw for 6,556 yards in three varsity seasons.

Alford has 1,002 passing yards this season to lead the county, so he projects to get another 1,000 in the regular season. There will be playoff games after that. He figures to wind up with at least 7,500 passing yards and he could push 8,000.

Packing about 210 rugged pounds on a 5-foot-10 frame, Alford also runs like a punishing fullback. He has pounded for 2,530 yards on the ground (that puts him in the top 40 all-time in the county) and 39 TDs in his career, plus a pile of 2-point conversions.

Combining his passing and rushing numbers, Alford has accounted for 114 touchdowns and 8,816 yards of total offense, the second-highest total in county history. The only athlete who put up more career yards is West Rowan tailback KP Parks, who racked up an incredible 10,915 yards on the ground in four varsity seasons.

So there are more records out there for Alford, and records, even KP Parks records, are made to be broken.

Alford won’t lose sleep worrying about it. He’s just going to play the games and enjoy his time in high school. He’s a solid student, but he’s not sure about where he’ll be suiting up next fall. He doesn’t know if he’ll be a quarterback, linebacker or maybe even a running back in college. He’ll listen to all offers and will seek the best fit for his future.

“I’d say that’s all up in the air right now,” Alford said. “We’ll see what happens after the season. Right now my focus is on North Rowan winning a lot more football games.”