Staff report

WELCOME — Jackson Deal scored South Rowan’s only touchdown on Friday, and even that success didn’t last long.

North Davidson’s Jamarien Dalton returned the ensuing squibbed kickoff 70 yards for a touchdown to cap a 54-7 Central Carolina Conference win over the Raiders.

North Davidson (4-1, 4-0) stayed tied for first with Oak Grove, which edged Ledford 28-26.

It was about as one-sided as it gets in the first half.  With about nine minutes to go in the first half, South had run six offensive plays, and the Black Knights had scored five touchdowns.

North Davidson marched to score on its first possession. Tedric Jenkins’ TD pass to Reid Nisley triggered a perfect storm for the home team, which was celebrating homecoming.

Alex Naylor’s pick-six on South’s first offensive snap made it 13-0.

Then North Davidson surprised the Raiders and executed on a perfect onside kick.

Travarius Moore and Jaylin Walser added rushing touchdowns before the first quarter was in the books, and it was 27-0.

Another Walser scoring run and a Jenkins-to-Dalton touchdown pass bumped the lead to 40-0 at halftime.

J’Mir McNeair scored on the ground for a 47-0 lead with 7:55 left in the third quarter. The rest of the game was played with a running clock.

North Davidson didn’t throw a pass in the second half and reserves poured into the game.

South possessed the ball most of the second half and outgained the Black Knights after halftime.

In the fourth quarter, Deal made a leaping catch of a Nathan Chrismon pass for a 40-yard gain that moved the Raiders to the Black Knights’ 7-yard line.

Deal bolted up the middle on the next play to score South’s TD with 3:42 left to play. Alex Fike’s PAT made it 47-7 before Dalton headed to the house on the kickoff. He found a wall of blockers as he sprinted toward the home sideline, dodged several Raiders and hurdled others on his way to the end zone.

North racked up 280 yards of offense in the first half —130 passing and 150 rushing.

Chrismon threw for 89 yards, with 71 coming on two big completions, and was intercepted twice. He had exciting scrambles of 19, 11 and 10 yards, but sacks left him with a modest net rushing of 39 yards.

Deal banged out steady 5-yard runs and gained 73 yards on 13 carries. He had one 18-yard gallop.

South (2-3, 2-2) has games remaining with Central Davidson and Salisbury.