Cavs win thriller over Raiders in overtime; Salisbury cruises
Published 12:02 am Saturday, August 28, 2021
South’s Gabe Pozyck (20) reaches out to stop North Rowan’ s Amari McArthur (4). North Rowan Cavaliers varsity football team hosted the South Rowan Raiders in an early season epic overtime battle on Friday night. . JON C LAKEY / FOR THE SALISBURY POST. 8/27/21, Spencer,NC.
North Rowan’s Bryson Crisco (30) grabs South Running back Landon Richards (10) on Friday night. JON C LAKEY / FOR THE SALISBURY POST. 8/27/21, Spencer,NC.
North Rowan’s Amari McArthur (4) celebrates a touchdown with Emanuel Cantres (15). North Rowan Cavaliers varsity football team hosted the South Rowan Raiders in an early season epic overtime battle on Friday night. . JON C LAKEY / FOR THE SALISBURY POST. 8/27/21, Spencer,NC.
South Rowan coach Chris Walsh said, 'I couldn't be prouder of our young team." File photo by JON C LAKEY / FOR THE SALISBURY POST. 8/27/21, Spencer,NC.
South’s Bronson Hunt (2) breaks free and runs for a touchdown. North Rowan Cavaliers varsity football team hosted the South Rowan Raiders in an early season epic overtime battle on Friday night. . JON C LAKEY / FOR THE SALISBURY POST. 8/27/21, Spencer,NC.
Freshman quarterback Jermiah Alford (3) will seek to lead North Rowan past North Stanly on Friday night. JON C LAKEY / FOR THE SALISBURY POST. 8/27/21, Spencer,NC.
SPENCER — Sophomore running back Jae’mias Morrow scored on a 7-yard burst in overtime Friday night, helping North Rowan claim a 36-28 come-from-behind win over visiting South Rowan.
Morrow rushed for 157 yards and two touchdowns as North opened its season by erasing a 14-point, third-quarter deficit. South, a 14-0 winner in coach Chris Walsh’s debut last Friday, fell to 1-1 despite collecting 321 yards total offense.
“First we came out pouting,” said Morrow, who also scored on an 8-yard sweep that helped North tie the score with 5:12 remaining in the final period. “But in the second half, something changed. We picked up the pace.”
South, which rushed for 210 yards, squandered leads of 20-8 and 28-14. Junior Bronson Hunt returned the second-half kickoff 78 yards for a TD to give the Raiders a two-touchdown lead. A junior wideout, Hunt caught four passes from quarterback Jamie Klassette for 84 yards and scored on a 23-yard pitchout in the second quarter.
North’s defense was anchored by East Rowan transfer Roland Frost, a 6-foot-4, 303-pound tackle who finished with three sacks, two in the final quarter.
“North Rowan has had some great comebacks over the years,” Frost said. “North never gives up.”
Hornets roll 44-0 over Polk County
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 rushing touchdown, and then hit Jayden Gibson with a 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.
Wade Robins kicked four PATS, and the Hornets’ defense was as stifling as it’s expected to be.
Jalon Walker, a linebacker headed to Georgia, had three sacks.
“We gave up some yards on their first possession and they hit a good screen pass, but after that, our defensive line 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.”
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.
Loeblein passed for 232 yards, with Simpson collecting seven catches for 129 yards. Robinson had 124 yards on 13 carries.
Juan Arteaga kicked a field goal late in the first quarter to get West on the board.
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
In Kannapolis, the Wonders (2-0) rolled to a comfortable non-conference win against the Spartans 41-13 Friday night.
