MOUNT ULLA ó You don’t get extra credit for beating the good teams, even if you do it as West Rowan did Friday night ó in the third round of the 3A state playoffs.
Victories count just the same, whether it’s a season-opening romp against Central Cabarrus or a bit of a nail-biter like Friday’s nod over previously unbeaten Asheville with a fourth-round berth at stake.
“All we’re doing right now,” senior Chris Smith said in the clamorous West locker room, “is surviving every game. We know how it works ó if we win we move on. That’s what we’re all about.”
The Falcons have performed the required dance all season, trouncing opponents they were supposed to trounce. With the exception of a harder-than-expected Week 4 win at Salisbury, West has juked and jabbed and pounded away like a champion prizefighter, initiating 12 lesser opponents into the Bum of the Week Club.
But this game was different. This game came with the union label attached, a product of careful preparation, precise execution and sheer determination. Not to mention hard work.
“This game,” senior Jon Crucitti announced, “will be good for us in the long run. We needed a game like this. They made us sweat it out. They made us fight to maintain everything we’ve gained.”
The Falcons did it by defusing an Asheville offense that had averaged more than 39 points per game, limiting the Cougars to 236 total yards and a couple of second-half touchdowns. They did it without K.P. Parks busting any 60- or 70-yard runs. They did it with a blue-collar mindset, creating a chapter that was more prose than poetry.
“We just do what we do,” said Parks, who rushed for 196 yards, made four end zone appearances and played in the fourth quarter for the first time in a month. “Sometimes this is what it looks like. Nothing’s easy in the third round and fourth round of the playoffs. You’ve got to play a little tougher.”
Both teams did that. Listen to two-way Asheville lineman Jamil Hawes, one of two Cougars headed to the Shrine Bowl: “Everything we saw on film was true,” he said. “Their line was excellent. The running back was excellent. We fought our hearts out and still, we had our hands full.”
He can blame Parks and the escort service provided by West’s offensive line.
“That’s called winning in the trenches,” said West nose guard Eli Goodson, the senior who has spent many a practice crashing into Timmy Pangburn and his OL cohorts. “On both lines, you always have to go hard every play. If one person doesn’t, it makes everybody look bad.”
The Falcons never trailed, but it remained anybody’s game midway through the fourth quarter. When 6-foot-6 Asheville tight end Trevor Sawyer elevated over West’s defenders and wrapped his hands around a 5-yard touchdown pass, this was a 21-14 affair with 5:50 to play. “The only thing that slowed that kid down was the out-of-bounds line,” said Crucitti.
Fortunately, the Falcons had an answer ó and he was wearing No.2 in dark blue.
“Ain’t nobody else got one like him,” sophomore Maurice Warren said, motioning toward Parks. “We’ve got him ó and that’s how we survive.”
Parks was like a warm glass of milk. He made sure everyone got a good night’s sleep when he capped a game-clinching 55-yard drive with a short touchdown run in the closing moments.
“It’s a great feeling just getting to play in the fourth quarter,” Parks said while his teammates chanted ‘U-L-L-A’ and playfully circled the dressing room. “I guess we all showed that we can do it.”
So now comes the dawn of December, bringing with it a fourth-round game and a chance to return to the state championship match. Be assured, as Parks indicated, nothing comes easily this late in the season. Nothing comes without a fight, as Crucitti crowed.
“You’ve got to bring your ‘A’ game,” Smith said. “You’ve got to play with composure and character and all the effort you can.”