By Mike London

mike.london@salisburypost.com

CONCORD — South Rowan seniors Brooks Overcash and Jadon Moore broke records on Friday, and they’ll always be able to remember they did it in a victory.

South Rowan’s 27-18 South Piedmont Conference triumph at Central Cabarrus was a surprisingly terrific game between hungry teams, with the Raiders fighting back after the Vikings dominated the early going.

Overcash, a three-year starter, came into the game needing 173 yards to break Nathan Lambert’s school career passing yardage record. Overcash kept things suspenseful, but he finished with 192 and surpassed the 3,000-yard milestone for his career, as well as Lambert, who had 3,014 yards.

Overcash’s 43-yard strike to Moore with 4:28 left in the game was a perfect throw and a massive play that meant records — and victory for the Raiders, who hadn’t tased victory since August.

Moore was a playmaker for the Raiders, coming down with two jump balls that Overcash sent his way to set up scoring runs by his teammates. Moore had six catches for 151 yards, one more yard than Adrian Parker racked up against Mount Tabor in 1994. That was a school single-game record that stood for 30 years.

Deacon Abernathy made a third-down stop that forced Central to punt on the game’s opening possession, but Overcash was sacked on a third-and-12, and the Raiders had to give the ball right back to the Vikings.

Central drove to score and took a 6-0 lead.

Central stopped South on a fourth-and-1 at midfield and looked to be on the verge of opening a two-touchdown lead, as the Vikings quickly had first-and-goal at the South 3. But Tristian Littlejohn made a game-turning effort,  the pivotal moment of the night, when he wrestled the ball away from the Vikings on a running play.

That play changed everything. South mounted a long drive, triggered by a run by Overcash, who moved the chains on a third-and-long scramble. Bryson Frieze, who pounded out 1 or 2 yards on 24 rugged carries, finished the march from the 6-yard-line, sprinting around the right side and diving into the end zone. Littlejohn’s PAT gave South a 7-6 lead.

Central immediately made another visit to the red zone, but again couldn’t finish. Central got as far as the South 11, but had a miscommunication in the backfield on a handoff, and South’s Trevon Sloan recovered the fumble.

Then South went 81 yards to score, with 34 coming on a super catch by Moore just inches from the Central goal line. Overcash got the TD on a sneak. Littlejohn’s PAT made it 14-6 with 2:20 left in the first half.

Overcash and Moore struck again in the third quarter, this time for a 42-yard completion to the Central 13. Owen Smith got the touchdown from short range, backing into the end zone, as he fought off a host of tacklers. The Raiders led 20-6 at that point, but the Vikings have some horses and got back into it on a long run with just 10 seconds left in the third quarter. South stopped a try for two and took a 20-12 lead to the last 12 minutes.

South linebacker Conner Richards knifed through blockers to stuff a critical, fourth-and-short play by Central as the clock moved under six minutes.

The historic Overcash-to-Moore connection took place not long after that, and Littlejohn’s third PAT made it 27-12.

Central scored on a pass play with two minutes left to get back to 27-18, but when the PAT try failed, the Raiders still owned a nine-point lead, and there are no nine-point plays.

After South recovered Central’s onside kick, the Raiders were able to run some clock. Central’s final snap was a desperate pass that fittingly ended up in the hands of Moore, who was playing free safety.

Orion Collins had an interception and made 11 tackles for South. Collins and Richards had two tackles for loss. Bryan Velasquez had a sack.

It was a big victory for South, which had allowed 40-plus points in losses to A.L. Brown, Northwest Cabarrus and West Rowan in recent weeks.

Concord is next for the Raiders.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Receiving yards — Adrian Parker 150 vs. Mt. Tabor 1994

 

CONCORD —

Receiving yards — Adrian Parker 150 vs. Mt. Tabor 1994