By Ronnie Gallagher
rgallagher@salisburypost.com
MOUNT ULLA ó Tim Mashore has told his son how North Rowan used to beat West Rowan in football when he was a star Cavalier.
Well, those days are over thanks to, oddly enough, Mashore’s son.
Trey Mashore returned a punt 35 yards for one touchdown and took a kickoff back 83 yards for another score as West Rowan ripped apart his father’s alma mater 60-0 in the season opener Friday.
“He was proud of me,” said the 5-foot-6 sophomore. “He always motivates me to do my best. He told me to keep working harder.”
With all of the firepower West possesses this season, it was surprising to see a sophomore charge up the crowd. Instead of No. 2 (running back K.P. Parks), the fans were cheering No. 3.
“He’s a good football player and a good kid,” West coach Scott Young said. “He’s a yes-sir, no-sir kind of kid. We can win with kids like that.”
To show the abundance of talent in Mount Ulla, Young admitted Mashore wasn’t even expected to run back kicks.
But when one of the return men had trouble handling the kicks, Young said, “We thought we’d try Trey.”
Good move.
West had played eight minutes without a score when Mashore fielded a North punt near the sideline at the Cav 34.
Young knew it would be difficult to catch up to the wall of blockers since Mashore was so close to the sidelines.
But the slippery Mashore stopped on a dime, retreated back across the field and picked up two bone-jarring blocks. He was gone.”
“When I got back to the sidelines,” Mashore said, “my teammates said they were going, ‘No, no, no,’ then ‘Yeah.’ ”
Mashore credited Matt Bishop for that touchdown. He creamed a Cav with a block that sprung the play.
“I loved it,” Mashore said. “I loved it. If he hadn’t gotten that block, I wouldn’t have scored.”
Young said the game changed immediately.
“(Bishop’s) hit jump-started us emotionally and (Mashore’s) points broke the scoring drought.”
It was already 43-0 at halftime but there was no letup. Mashore took the second-half kickoff all the way. It wasn’t as flashy as the punt return but it was still seven points.
“That’s just him doing what he has been coached to do,” Young said. “He caught the ball, ran to the wedge and sprinted to the goal line. He really never got touched.”
Mashore agreed, saying, “Our blockers did a great job of building the wedge. It just opened up. I did it from there.”
Mashore didn’t have much time to talk to Dad afterward. He was with friends watching the highlights on TV.
“One friend kept rewinding it and rewinding it,” Mashore said. “He was showing it to everybody. I got a couple of calls the next day.”
He should get used to adulation, if his varsity debut is any indication. The track star has become the latest in a long line of Falcon stars.
“It’s nice knowing you’re a part of a tradition of winning,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of conference championships. We’ve got to keep it moving.”
Mashore said all this with an ear-to-ear grin.
“He’s always wearing a pleasant smile,” Young said.
It’s the same smile that hasn’t left his face ó or his father’s ó since Friday night.