From staff reports
As pleased as coach Joe Pinyan was with Salisbury’s performance in a 64-7 road win against Providence Grove, he was even more thrilled by the fan support.
“We had a good crowd,” he said. “It was almost like playing at home.”
Pinyan said his team was grateful the community followed the Hornets to Randolph County. The Hornets needed a lift, he said, after the NCHSAA forced the school to forfeit four games due to an ineligible player.
“Our fans were as rowdy as they’ve ever been,” Pinyan said. “It was a great atmosphere for our kids.”
Pinyan said the Hornets were very serious.
“We had a lot going on during the week, and we told them to just go out there and be businesslike,” he said. “We didn’t want a lot of laughing and cutting up. We told them, ‘Let’s just do our job.’ ”
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SPEED MERCHANT: Romar Morris certainly did his, speeding by opponents as if they were standing still. He scored on a 96-yard kickoff return and added a 61-yard touchdown on a reverse.
“The reverse was impressive,” Pinyan said. “He got to the outside, and there were two guys waiting on him. He outran them. He made a couple of guys miss. One guy had a shot at him on the 25. Romar gave him a head fake, and the guy crumbled right there in the dirt.”
Just another day at the office for Morris.
“He was Mr. Excitement again,” Pinyan said.
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MILESTONE: Freshman Dominique Dismuke scored his first varsity touchdown ó and the last of the game ó on a 20-yard run. He can give some of the credit to senior Dario Hamilton.
“Right before the play, you see Dario whisper in Dominique’s ear,” Pinyan said. “He told him, ‘It’s not going to be open where they called it. Just follow me.’ ”
Hamilton was happy to give the freshman a shot at the end zone. Hamilton and A.J. Ford had already scored three times apiece, and each had more than 100 yards rushing.
“We weren’t trying to score at the end,” Pinyan said. “We limited ourselves to two plays and ran the same two plays the entire fourth quarter. We basically had a jayvee team out there.”
Ike Whitaker also had more than 100 yards on the ground as Salisbury ran for 468 as a team.
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DEE-FENSE: The Salisbury defense shut out Providence Grove (its score came on an interception return). Kiontae Rankin led the way with seven tackles, four assists and a tackle for a loss. Tory Turner had three hits for losses.
“Rankin keeps surprising people with his ability to move around the field,” Pinyan said of his 420-pound defensive lineman.
Junior K.P. Parks racked up the first 2,000-yard rushing season in county history in 2007, when he finished with 2,536 yards. He now owns the second 2,000-yard season as well.
Parks carried 24 times for 225 yards in a 33-6 victory against Mooresville and now has 2,099 yards on the season.
Parks, who brings an awesome combination of strength, quickness and vision to the table, has gained 6,356 yards in his career.
Parks scored four TDs against the Blue Devils and scored in a variety of ways. He ran over people, he ran away from people and he made people miss with cuts.
Parks has scored 89 touchdowns in his career.
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YOUNG LIFE: West coach Scott Young probably will reach 100 victories before Parks reaches 100 TDs.
If West beats Franklin on Friday and wins its second-round matchup with the Parkwood-Statesville winner, Young will have an even 100 in just 11 seasons.
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HORTON HURT: Senior receiver Brantley Horton broke a hand in the Mooresville game and will likely miss West’s first-round game.
Horton, who plays American Legion baseball for Mooresville, had three catches for 68 yards while competing against many of his friends.
“He actually caught two passes after he broke it,” Young said.
Horton is second in the county with 38 receptions. He leads the county with 721 receiving yards and 10 touchdown catches.
He spent his junior year as West’s quarterback, but he’s put up impressive receiving numbers his sophomore and senior years. Horton’s career numbers are 55 catches for 1,042 yards and 15 TD catches.
Lamont Savage, Horatio Everhart, Donald Gray and Chavis Cowan are the only other Falcons to surpass 1,000 receiving yards.
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SACK MAN: NCPreps.com listed West junior Chris Smith as the state leader in sacks with 20 heading into the last week of the regular season, and he pulled down Mooresville’s Nathan Abraham for a 13-yard loss Friday.
“I’ve got to credit my teammates,” Smith said. “They’re getting pressure and forcing quarterbacks to roll my way.”
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SAFETY FIRST: West strong safety Marco Gupton (86 tackles) showed up to play against Mooresville seven days after tearing an ACL, but the Falcons may be able to give him this Friday off to adjust to the brace.
West should be able to handle Franklin (5-6) relatively easily.
“This has been a humbling experience,” said Gupton, whose grades and work ethic make him a college prospect. “It was different being on the sidelines, but if my role now is to be mostly a cheerleader, then I’ll do the best I can for my teammates.”
South Rowan plays at South Point on Friday in the first round of the 3A playoffs.
South Rowan hasn’t played South Point since 1971, when the Red Raiders had legendary back Scott Crawford and tied Salisbury 14-14 in the WNCHSAA championship game.
South Rowan and South Point had a four-year series from 1968-1971 with each school winning twice.
South Rowan’s Mark Baldwin rushed for 200 yards in a victory against South Point in 1968. It was a school record that lasted until 1981.
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WAITING TO EXHALE: South quarterback Blake Houston ran for 103 yards against Salisbury on opening night, a performance that left Pinyan gushing.
But Houston didn’t have another monster rushing game until last Friday, when South buried North Iredell 52-0. Houston had 110 yards on 10 carries.
“Blake had a great game because our fullbacks blocked great on the option,” South coach Jason Rollins said.
Jacob Baker and Josh Suber were the primary fullbacks. They were subbing for sophomore Steve Sexton, who tore an ACL a week earlier against West Rowan. Sexton rushed for 302 yards this season.
While West’s B.J. Sherrill has established himself as the county’s top passing quarterback, Houston leads county QBs in rushing with 423 yards. Salisbury’s John Knox has 348.
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MILESTONE: South junior Deandre Harris needs 19 rushing yards Friday to reach 1,000 for the season.
Carson’s football team was filled with young players when the school came into existence in 2006.
The Cougars collected the first three wins in program history this season with a roster featuring 23 seniors.
Linebacker John Mullis, who hopes to play at the small-college level, reflected on the opportunity to help a new school start from scratch.
“I’ll get to play again, but Carson is where it all happened for me,” said Mullis, who had 124 tackles going into the season finale. “It’s where I developed and where it all started. It’s going to be sad to put behind me.”
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KEEPING TRACK: Senior wideout Travis Hayes entered the finale with 973 career receiving yards, and he remained stuck on that total in the final minute of the Cougars’ 42-14 loss to West Iredell.
“We knew it,” Carson coach Mark Woody admitted.
Hayes was the intended target on two or three passes in the first 47 minutes, but Carson couldn’t connect. West Iredell sacked quarterback Ryan Jones with 13.5 seconds left, and the Cougars called timeout to set up a play on third-and-18 from their own 15.
Jones fired a long pass down the left sideline, and Hayes ran under the ball. He took a big hit but held on for a 47-yard reception with 3.9 seconds left.
“I’m really happy for him,” Woody said. “He’s been with us since the 10th grade and gotten the bumps and bruises along the way. In terms of trying to build the program, he’s been right there for us.”
Senior Lathan Charleston ended his career in style with touchdown catches in each of the Cavaliers’ last two games to lift his career total to 14.
Charleston didn’t have a big senior season, but he ranks 12th all-time in the county with 81 career receptions. He amassed 1,238 receiving yards in his career to rank 16th in county history.Senior Ben DeCelle finished his career with 88 catches for 1,196 yards.
DeCelle ranks second in school history in receptions behind Johnny Yarbrough and third in receiving yardage behind Yarbrough and Nick Heard.
DeCelle’s 49 catches this season were the most ever by a Mustang in a regular season.
Tony Walker made 63 catches for North during the 2002 regular season and holds the county record.
A.L. Brown’s defense has been rugged since linebacker Terrance Johnson returned at midseason, and the Wonders’ offense is peaking at the right time.
Brown has put back-to-back 50s on the scoreboard for the first time since 2001.
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A LOTT OF YARDS: Senior quarterback Jamill Lott, who has Southern Conference offers as an athlete, could achieve a rare double-double by rushingand passing for 1,000 yards this season.
“That would be something that would solidify his credentials,” said his father, defensive backs coach James Lott.
Lott rushed for 128 yards on six carries in a 56-6 burial of Concord to lift his season total to 803 yards. He’s thrown for 1,127.
Lott has accounted for 24 TDs. He’s thrown for 13, rushed for 10 and returned a punt for a 54-yard score.
He’ll be up against a tough defense Friday when Lake Norman visits Memorial Stadium.
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WE KNOW YOU: Lake Norman coach Scott Sherrill has guided team’s against Ron Massey’s Wonders before.
Both schools were in the NPC and faced each other in 2003 and 2004.
Brown won 35-0 and 23-7.
Joe Watson is only a sophomore, but he appears headed for record-breaking status.
His 11th touchdown catch of the year in a 28-9 win against North Davidson tied him for the school record with Josh Eder and Jonathan Mayfield. He is 12th in the state in receiving with 890 yards on 37 catches.
Quarterback Zach Illing is sixth in the state in passing yards (2,431).
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THE FOOT: Kicker Michael Rowe, who is 38-for-41 on extra points, has shattered the career school record of 124. That’s 32 more than second-place David Wooldridge.
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WINNING PROGRAM: From 1956 through 1997, Davie had only seven-win seasons seven times.
Doug Illing arrived as head coach in 1998. The War Eagles have won at least seven games in nine of his 11 years, including eight straight.
Some sad news out of Canton, where Salisbury is headed for its first-round game.
Pisgah radio announcer Randy Pitts, 48, died last Friday night after calling the Black Bears’ shutout of Smoky Mountain.
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WRONG DIRECTION: Fans give West Rowan and Salisbury heck for recent playoff setbacks, but Forestview’s Jaguars have taken postseason struggles to another level.
Forestview, a 10-year-old school in Gastonia and a potential second-round opponent for A.L. Brown, is 0-7 in the playoffs.
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SPC VS. NPC: There are lots of interesting SPC-NPC matchups in the first round of the 3A playoffs, including Lake Norman at A.L. Brown, Parkwood at Statesville and Sun Valley at Mooresville.
Mooresville coach Barclay Marsh said his Blue Devils “will line up against anyone, but they need to get that bounce back in their step.”
Mooresville took a second-half thrashing from West Rowan after playing the Falcons tough in the first half.
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CROSS TRAINING: While fewer and fewer Rowan male athletes are playing both baseball and football, Mooresville has a roster full of baseball standouts on its football team. Among them are Abraham, Dylan West and Aaron Meadows.
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THINK PINK: West Rowan’s tough defense “held” Mooresville’s Jjshaun Pinkston to 125 yards, but it was by far the best any opposing back has done against West this season.
The Falcons entered Friday allowing a meager 24 rushing yards per game.
“Pinkston is good,” West defensive lineman Kenderic Dunlap said. “Tough to tackle and very strong legs for a guy who’s not that big. He keeps his legs driving.”
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Ronnie Gallagher, Mike London, Bret Strelow and Brian Pitts contributed to the notebook.