By Dave Shaw

For the Salisbury Post

CHINA GROVE — There’s no need to start printing playoff tickets, but Carson’s football team has a healthy pulse after rallying for a homecoming night victory over Concord.

The Cougars scored a pair of second-half touchdowns Friday night — the last with 2:40 remaining — to earn an unexpected, 12-9 South Piedmont Conference triumph. The game ended in bizarre fashion when Carson took a safety as time expired, then survived a chaotic pooch-kick play from its own 20-yard line.

“I told the boys this is why you play the game,” winning coach Jonathan Lowe exhaled after Carson (2-4, 1-2) snapped a two-game losing streak. “We’ve had a lot of downs this year, right from the start, playing against a stacked deck. But the fight and the camaraderie that’s come from that has been incredible. That’s how we feel tonight.”

Concord (4-2, 2-2 SPC), a team that averaged more than 380 yards total offense through five games, was held to 171. The Spiders managed only one first down and 44 yards in the second half, when they failed to cross into Carson territory.

“We’ve been pretty good on defense all year,” Carson linebacker Tristin Clawson said, just moments after he sacked quarterback Keyon Phillips for a 6-yard loss with 1:06 to play. “Tonight was homecoming, so we focused on playing smart defense because defense wins ballgames.”

This one brimmed with clutch plays by Carson Aman, Jackson Earnhardt, Tristen McBride and Clawson. Aman ran out the game’s final 12 seconds by taking a snap and retreating 40 yards before zig-zagging into the end zone for a safety. Earnhardt had an interception with 16.7 seconds remaining in the first half, stalling a Concord drive at the Carson 27. McBride, an East-West all-star game invitee who played on both lines, was a dirty-work run-defender who forced Phillips and the high-octane Spiders out of their comfort zone. And Clawson recorded the last of Carson’s nine negative-yardage defensive plays.

The Spiders took a 7-0 halftime lead when Phillips (94 yards passing, 40 rushing) scored on a 9-yard run off left tackle midway through the second quarter. Carson trimmed its deficit to 7-6 when it took the second-half kickoff and marched 50 yards in six plays for a touchdown. The score came on a slant pass from backup QB Griffin Barber to senior wideout Trevor Vaughn. The Cougars took their first lead when Makani Guida skated in from 8 yards on a misdirection play with 2:40 on the clock.

“At least 3 yards apart. That was a really big hole,” Guida said after following a Ricky Galarza block. “It gave us a big win. We didn’t put our heads down at halftime. We just said, ‘Let’s go get this win,’ and we came back.”

That set the stage for Aman’s game-sealing scramble as the clock ticked to a close.

“There was a timeout, and someone yelled my name,” he said. “It’s like they drew it up right there on the sideline. They told me to just run the clock out, even if it meant running into our own end zone. I’m glad they gave me the opportunity.”

NOTES: There was also some unfortunate news for Carson. Starting quarterback Michael Guiton suffered a left shoulder injury when he was sacked late in the first half. Lowe said he will be evaluated by a doctor on Saturday. Guiton’s arm was in a sling when he was introduced as a Homecoming King finalist at halftime. That honor went to Ethen Flowers. Devyn Lee was crowned Homecoming Queen. … Barber, an untested sophomore, completed 6 of 8 passes for 39 yards and a TD. Senior Jay McGruder was the game’s top rusher with 69 yards on 15 carries. Included was a 43-yard burst up the middle on Carson’s first scoring drive. Its second, an 11-play, 67-yard march, consumed 6:21 of the fourth-quarter clock.

 

Concord          0     7     0     2 — 9

Carson            0     0     6     6 — 12

Con — Phillips 9 run (Stephens kick), 5:04 2nd

Car — Vaughn 3 pass from Barber (kick failed), 8:09 3rd

Car — Guida 8 run (pass failed), 2:40 4th

Con — Safety (ball run into end zone), 0:00 4th

Team Stats                      CONC                   CARS

First downs                         6                            7

Rushes-yards                  28-77                    33-22

Passing                             7-11-1                    7-13-1

Passing yards                    94                          49

Penalties                           8-75                     4-25

Punts                               4-26.3                   3-31.3

Fumbles-lost                    1-0                         2-1

Individual Stats

Rushing — Conc: Phillips 15-40; Ledbetter 10-27; Petroff 1-8; Garcia 1-2; Bishop 1-0. Cars: McGruder 15-69; Guida 8-15; Clawson 1-0; Barber 5-(minus 10); Guiton 3-(minus 12); Team 1-(minus 40).

Passing — Conc: Phillips 7-11-1, 94. Cars: Guiton 1-4-0, 10; Barber 6-8-0, 39; Vaughn 0-1-1.

Receiving — Conc: Crowder 4-76; Davis Jr. 2-10; Ledbetter 1-8. Cars: Vaughn 3-19; Hinson 2-19; McGruder 1-11; Dyer 1-0.