By Nick Bowton
nbowton@salisburypost.com
South Rowan controlled the clock, outgained Salisbury on offense and looked every bit as good as the Hornets for three quarters Friday night.
All of those positives, however, followed a first quarter in which South gave up two touchdowns on Salisbury’s first eight plays. The Raiders rallied, but Salisbury held on for a 16-14 victory in the season-opener for both teams at Ludwig Stadium.
“That first drive was key to set the tempo, and it kind of put them back on their heels and gave our kids ó our kids need some confidence right now,” said Salisbury coach Joe Pinyan, whose team scored on the second play from scrimmage. “They’re so young and inexperienced, they need something to jump up there and show them how good they can be.
“That first drive did that.”
Salisbury’s second drive helped too.
After Dario Hamilton opened the game with a 47-yard run and Isaiah Whitaker scored on the next play, South accumulated four first downs on its opening drive.
But Martin Hosch-Cathcart ended that drive with an interception at the Hornets’ 2-yard line, and Salisbury pushed its lead to 13-0 when A.J. Ford scooped a fumble, bounced to the left side and outran a handful of Raiders for an 80-yard touchdown.
“You watch the first five minutes, and it’s almost like it was all nerves and excitement,” South coach Jason Rollins said. “You think about it: You base your concept off controlling the clock offensively and moving the ball down the field and scoring, and then the defense can three-and-out, you’re OK.
“But those two bad situations defensively shot us in the foot, and next thing you know you’re down 13-0.”
Two years ago, South Rowan might have let 13-0 turn into 31-0. But the Raiders, led by junior quarterback Blake Houston, weren’t out of this game until Hamilton got Salisbury one final first down to let the Hornets run out the clock.
Houston, who started at quarterback as a sophomore, completed 8 of 16 passes for 103 yards and rushed 20 times for 121 yards. He covered about every inch of the field evading sacks, switching directions and just causing Salisbury headaches in general.
“We need to work on getting better contain on the quarterback,” said Salisbury defensive lineman Kiontae Rankin, who’s 6-foot-4, 385 pounds. “He’s fast. My ankle’s sore from chasing him. He’s a pretty good quarterback.”
Pinyan went a little farther than “pretty good” with his assessment, comparing Houston to West Rowan star and Division I prospect K.P. Parks.
“The Houston kid is unbelievable,” Pinyan said. “Just unbelievable. I can’t give you words for him. Tonight, I thought he was as good a football player as K.P. Parks is. That’s a compliment to him because K.P. is a great player.”
As well as Houston played Friday, he did throw two interceptions. Salisbury had trouble with turnovers, as well, losing three fumbles in the first half.But the Hornets held onto the ball when they needed to in the second half, running out the clock after South got within 16-14 on Houston’s 12-yard pass to Quan Glaspy and DeAndre Harris’ two-point conversion run.”I don’t care how many times we fumble it ó we’re gonna keep giving it back to them,” Pinyan said. “They’re starting for a reason.
“We all made some mistakes, but bottom line is you get a win and just keep going from there.”