By Brian Meadows
sports@salisburypost.com
OLIN ń The upset victory that North Iredell flirted with on homecoming night Friday against East Rowan was denied.
Mustangs quarterback Jamey Blalock rushed for 81 yards and two touchdowns, including a 28-yarder with two minutes left to salt away a 21-9 win.
Mustangs coach Brian Hinson was thrilled to avoid a hiccup Friday against last-place North Iredell.
“We’ve found a way to win, and I guess that’s what we’ve been doing all year,” he said.
North Iredell, the last-place team in the North Piedmont Conference gave it a valiant try.
“We came to practice this week, worked hard, just couldn’t get it done out here as much as we wanted to,” North Iredell running back Matt Ramseur said.
The Raiders dipped to 1-9 (0-5 NPC) and finish the season at home next week against NPC champion and defending 3A state champion West Rowan.
Meanwhile, East Rowan (8-2, 4-1 NPC) set up a key showdown with South Rowan next week. The teams are tied for second place in the NPC.
North trimmed a 14-3 fourth-quarter deficit by six points when Ramseur capped a 13-play, 68-yard drive with his 2-yard TD run. Chris Van Hoose’s 35-yard pass to Ramseur on third down and 17 from the East 39 set up the score. He finished 5 of 11 passing for 100 yards.
The Raiders went for the two-point conversion to make it a three-point game, but Josh Rodriguez’s run up the middle was ruled no good near the goal line, leaving the score at 14-9 with 4:39 remaining.
East Rowan recovered the ensuing onside kick, and Blalock’s 28-yard scoring run with 2:02 left put the game out of reach.
“First time I’ve ever seen a quarterback sneak turn into about a 35-yard touchdown,” Hinson quipped.
East took a 7-0 lead on Blalock’s 41-yard TD run in the first quarter. Andrew May kicked the first of his three extra points.
North answered with Bradley Moore 30-yard field goal in the second quarter that made it 7-3 at the half. The Raiders settled for the field-goal attempt on fourth down and 1 from the East Rowan 11.
“We told the Coach to go for it, but it’s better safe than sorry,” Ramseur said.
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NOTES: A complete summary is upcoming