Roaming the county getting ready for tonight. …I thought I’d roam over to Salisbury’s football practice earlier this week. What I found was coach Joe Pinyan in a very lighthearted, goofy mood.
“If you don’t know who to block,” he told one of his linemen, “block the ugliest one.”
Pinyan laughed out loud when the Hornets started howling like wolves.
Why so gleeful, Joe?
“We didn’t lose last Friday,” he chuckled.
Salisbury, Rowan County’s only undefeated team, is coming off a bye week. It has had 14 days of nothing but practice, but each day has produced a good practice.
Pinyan, who served as an assistant in the Shrine Bowl last year, found out then that kids who love to play make afternoons on the football field much more entertaining for the coaches.
“The kids are having fun,” said Pinyan, whose Hornets begin their Central Carolina Conference schedule tonight at Central Davidson. “Offensively, we’re doing more things than I ever dreamed we’d do. We have special plays for special individuals. We’re further along right now than I thought we’d be.”
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And then, the biggest laugh of all from Pinyan, the jokester. He talked about his no-back offense.
Wait a minute. Doesn’t Salisbury run the wishbone? Last time I checked, the triple option means you need a runner or two in the backfield, right?
Well, not really. The first offensive play for Salisbury in its last game, a 45-21 win over West Stanly, had no Hornet in the backfield. Dario Hamilton was flanked out wide.
When John Knox took the snap, Super Dario, who was in motion, took the ball and sprinted 38 yards.
“It’s all smoke and mirrors,” Pinyan laughed.
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If the past is any indication, Central Davidson coach Eugene Everhart would probably love to see Salisbury with a no-back offense.
He’d really like to see no Hamilton, who has ripped the heart out of the Spartans for three seasons:
– In 2005, a freshman named Dario ran only six times but averaged 25 yards per carry and scored two times in a 21-7 victory.
– In 2006, a sophomore named Dario raced 18 times for 250 yards and three scores in an 18-10 victory.
– In 2007, a junior named Dario carried 14 times for 149 yards and ended up in the end zone twice during a 48-6 shellacking.
Pinyan called Hamilton over during practice, cajoling him about other Hornets getting big pictures in the paper … and where was he?
He’ll be in Sheets Bottom tonight. And if Pinyan doesn’t give it to him over and over, then, we’ll question his sanity.
“I’ll let him run it at least once,” Pinyan grinned.
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The practice continued, and even when a Hornet lineman would mess up, Pinyan was there to nurture him, not yell at him.
“Last year, I didn’t think our offensive line played up to its ability,” he said. “Every day, those guys were getting tongue-lashed. Maybe I was guilty of it, too. So we’re trying to make practice more upbeat for them.”
Pointing to his assistants, Pinyan added, “I’m old enough to know if we have a bad day, these young guys need to do some of the hooting and hollering. It’s not like we’re backing down. We’re throwing a lot at these kids.”
Pinyan then added, “I wasn’t hired to lose games.”
So far, so good, Joe.
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Another reason for the festive practices: South Rowan, which lost to Salisbury in the season opener.
“When South beat Northwest Cabarrus (two weeks ago), we felt better about ourselves,” Pinyan said. “We’re thinking, ‘Well, we beat South … but we’re supposed to beat South. We’re Salisbury. We’re supposed to beat everybody in the county ó at least, that’s what everybody thinks.
“But for us to beat South and then South turns around and beats a quality team like Northwest Cabarrus, we’re thinking, ‘Hey, wait a minute, now. Maybe we are coming around here.’ ”
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Speaking of South, the Raiders have impressed a lot of people, despite their 1-3 record.
“I think South Rowan has as good a defensive front as anyone we’ve played against,” Pinyan said. “They should have beaten Statesville. They played A.L. Brown close until they started making mistakes.”
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South plays at home against West Iredell tonight.
Also at home are Scott Young and West Rowan, who take on Statesville in a first-place showdown, and East Rowan, which plays host to Mooresville, the other team tied for first at 2-0.
Upstart Carson will be going for a winning overall record (it’s 2-2 now) when the Cougars travel to Lake Norman.
Winless North Rowan is headed to Ledford and A.L. Brown is at home against Marvin Ridge.
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On the air tonight, the dynamic duo of Howard Platt and Wilson Cherry will broadcast West Rowan’s game from Mount Ulla on WSTP 1490 AM.
WSAT 1280 AM will have its compliment of announcers at all the games. And Carl Ford will be calling the South contest on WRNA 1140 AM.
Go watch a game tonight, folks. Please remember our two rules: Have some fun and be nice.
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Contact Ronnie Gallagher at 704-797-4287 or rgallagher@salisburypost.com.