Staff report

COLUMBUS — Polk County is always strong, but was no match for Salisbury on Friday.

The Hornets, 2AA champs last spring, opened the fall with an impressive 44-0 road victory, as new QB Mike Geter, a sophomore, accounted for five touchdowns.

“Polk County won a Week 1 game and we didn’t get to play, and you usually make your biggest jump between your first and second games,” Salisbury head coach Brian Hinson said. “So we were very concerned about that. But our kids played well. For a first game, they played really well.”

The Hornets have high hopes that Geter will provide the same sort of dual-threat QB that Vance Honeycutt did in the spring, and the youngster didn’t disappoint. He started the Salisbury avalanche with a 3-yard rushing touchdown, and then hit Jayden Gibson with an 11-yard TD pass. After Salisbury tacked on its second 2-point conversion, it was 16-0.

Geter got loose for another touchdown on the ground and passed to Deuce Walker for a back-breaking TD late in the second quarter for a 30-0 halftime cushion.

Geter’s third rushing TD made it 37-0.

JyMikaah Wells got the last Salisbury TD late in the third quarter to start a running clock against a team that reached a 1A regional final in the spring and has many of its standouts back.

Geter was 6-for-7 passing for 136 yards. Marcus Cook ran for 86 yards on four carries. Deuce Walker had three catches for 76 yards.

Wade Robins kicked four PATS, and the Hornets’ defense was as stifling as it’s expected to be.

Polk County got inside the Salisbury 30 twice in the first quarter, but wasn’t able to score.

Jalon Walker, a linebacker headed to Georgia, had three sacks for the Hornets.

“We gave up some yards on their opening drive and they had a good play with a screen pass, but then our defensive line settled in and controlled the line of scrimmage,” Hinson said. “They’ve got a very good running back, but once we got up big, it took him out of the game some and they had to throw it more than they wanted to.”

It was only the third time Polk County (1-1) has been shut out at home in the past 20 seasons.

 

DAVIE COUNTY 56, WEST ROWAN 30

MOUNT ULLA — Davie’s Zymere Hudson ran back the opening kickoff for a touchdown, and West Rowan spent the rest of Friday night playing catch-up.

Davie had a 14-0 lead after just 33 seconds and enjoyed three one-play “drives” in the first half, with its quick receivers turning short passes into big plays.

The War Eagles (1-0) were never stopped for very long. Tate Carney had three rushing TDs, while Alex Summers threw four TD passes, three to Zaharee Maddox and one to Hudson.

Davie’s last score came on a 57-yard run by Markell Summers.

West (0-1) made a couple of runs to keep it respectable, scoring on a Noah Loeblein to Peter Simpson pass late in the first half and on an 80-yard run by Akin Robinson early in the second  half to get back within 28-17.

With the Falcons down 42-17, Loeblein threw TD passes to Ben Sweet and Simpson to make it a 42-30 game, but the War Eagles simply went back to work offensively.

Juan Arteaga kicked a field goal late in the first quarter to get West on the board.

Loeblein passed for 232 yards. Simpson had seven catches.

 

NORTH STANLY 28, EAST ROWAN 6

NEW LONDON — East Rowan put together a powerful 96-yard drive in the second quarter, and Josh Roman-Soto capped it with a rushing TD with 47 seconds left in the half.

That touchdown made it a 7-6 game, but East (0-1) didn’t convert on the tying PAT and still trailed at the break.

North Stanly’s defense gradually took control of the game in the third quarter and the physical Comets (1-1) pulled away with two fourth-quarter touchdowns.

 

A.L. BROWN 41, SUN VALLEY 13

KANNAPOLIS — The Wonders (2-0) rolled to a comfortable non-conference 41-13 win against the Spartans.

Jalen Johnson scored three touchdowns in the second quarter as the Wonders pulled away to a 27-7 halftime lead.

Joey Vanover threw for 200-plus yards, mostly to Johnson, who had six receptions.

Sophomore Xavier Chambers, who scored three TDs in the Wonders’ opener, added two more in Week 2.