By Mike London

mike.london@salisburypost.com

Shutouts are reasonably scarce in high school football.
West Rowan, for instance, hasn’t been shut out in its last 171 games. The Falcons haven’t left a stadium with a zero on their side of the scoreboard since Mooresville administered a 35-0 spanking in 2002.
But in the four games Rowan County teams were involved in last Friday, two offenses fired blanks.
Salisbury was shut out 33-0, on the road by East Rowan, while South Rowan was shut out, 67-0, at home by A.L. Brown.
East hadn’t shut out anyone since it silenced Salisbury, 32-0, in 2013. That was a season when the Hornets were a shutout waiting to happen. They were blanked five times that year, but at least they weren’t shut out five weeks in a row like the 1942 and 1963 Boyden squads.
The most recent shutout for Salisbury’s defense was a 59-0 romp against West Davidson in 2011.
East has scored in every game since a 30-0 loss to Statesville that ended the 2011 season. The Mustangs have scored in their last 41 outings.
South was shut out twice last year and has been shut out six times since the last time it shut someone out. The most recent shutout for South’s defense was a 63-0 mauling of North Iredell in 2009.
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West Rowan likes shutouts because it’s always on the right side of them.
West’s defense has accounted for an astounding 35 shutouts since the Falcons’ offense took that whitewashing from Mooresville 13 seasons ago.
In 2010 alone, West’s ‘D’ posted six shutouts, including three in a row. The Falcons also produced shutouts three straight weeks in 2012.
It should be noted that West’s offense was nearly blanked twice last season, but it managed to push across fourth-quarter TDs in losses to Concord and Crest. The TD against Crest came with 1:18 left on the clock.
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North Rowan has managed to put points in the board in its last 44 contests. The last time the Cavaliers were shut out was in a 51-0 beating by Albemarle in 2011.
The most recent shutouts for North’s defense came in a flurry of three straight late in the 2013 season when North blanked handed out zeroes to Thomasville, Salisbury and playoff opponent Surry Central.
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Carson’s offense hasn’t been shut out since a 42-0 loss to West Rowan in 2012.
On the other hand, the Cougars haven’t shut out anyone since they skunked county rivals North and East in 2010. Carson’s defense has gone 53 games without a shutout.
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The most recent shutout for Davie’s defense was a 50-0 pasting of Parkland in 2013.
The most recent shutdown of Davie’s offense came in a very unlikely venue — the 2010 4A state championship game. Durham Hillside performed a 40-0 tapdance on the War Eagles, but since then, Davie has scored in 50 straight contests.
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A.L. Brown
When the Wonders shut out South last Friday, it marked the first shutout in the series since 2006.
The Wonders had one shutout last season — a 55-0 romp against Robinson.
The Wonders were shut out in 2004 by Eastern Randolph, but after that, they scored in every game for nearly a decade before they lost 13-0, to Hough in 2013.
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The picks were 3-1 last week and are 7-1 for the season. The miss was Carson’s victory at North Rowan. North did some things better than Carson, but when you lose the turnover battle 5-1, you’ll also lose the game.
There’s a clear-cut favorite in all five games involving teams in the coverage area tonight, and I’ll stick with them. East, North and Salisbury have a chance, but things have to bounce their way.
West Rowan and South Rowan are off tonight.

Statesville 28, North Rowan 21
The schools split tremendous games the last two seasons. This one should be no slouch.
Carson 31, Salisbury 14
Carson linebacker Ryan Bearden said this week that any team with the athletes Salisbury has must be respected. He’s right, but look at it this way: Carson beat North. North beat East. East beat Salisbury 33-0. Carson should win.
Concord 27, East Rowan 20
Athletically, the Mustangs may match up better with Concord than they have in the last 40 years or so. Still, it’s tough to pick against Concord. The Spiders have owned this series forever (38-3-1) and they’ve owned the SPC the last two seasons.
A.L. Brown 54, NW Cabarrus 7
The schools haven’t played since the Wonders won, 49-20, in 2012. Unless something amazing happens, this will be the first 3-0 start for the Wonders since 2012.
Dudley 42, Davie 10
It will be a challenge for Davie to extend its 50-game scoring streak. Dudley is one of the state’s best and has won 27 straight on the field. If Davie wins, coach Devore Holman will be on a Wheaties box.