By Mike London

mike.london@salisburypost.com

SPENCER — A doctor assured Jasper Neely’s mother that he would be a young giant, that he would grow to be at least 6-foot-5.

For a while, the physician’s prediction appeared to be on target. In elementary school, Neely was the tall kid. Even after he started middle school, he was among the tallest.

But Neely peaked early on the growth chart. As a senior at North Rowan, he stands 5-foot-10, not much above average height for a male human, and short for a lineman.

He never dreamed he’d read Jasper Neely and undersized in the same paragraph, but life is what it is.

“Well, I’m 17 ,” said Neely, who hasn’t abandoned hope that his doctor will prove to be genius. “We’ll see what happens in the next five years. It’s all good. Being an undersized lineman has made me work really hard for the goal of a college scholarship.”

Neely is good-natured, which is fortunate, because he’s packed 265 pounds of mostly muscle on that 5-10-frame. He could hurt people, but instead he helps little old ladies to cross streets safely. He spends Friday nights blocking opponents and occasionally tackling them.

North (5-2) boasts the county’s leading passer, receiver and rusher, so some credit has to go to Neely, who wears the No. 51 jersey and takes care of business at right guard.

“With Jasper at right guard and KaMahri Feamster at right tackle, we feel like we can just about always run right with some success,” North head coach Josh Sophia said.

In North’s most recent game, a 60-6 homecoming walloping of East Davidson, the Cavaliers produced two 100-yard rushers in KJ Oglesby and Jo Jo Tarver. Two in one game is highly unusual.

“Our offensive line coach (Steven Thurston) promised a pizza party for the o-line if we ever had two,” Neely reported cheerfully.

A lot of things have changed over the years when it comes to high school football, but offensive linemen can still be motivated by their desire for pizza and fellowship.

Offensive linemen also enjoy pancakes — of the opposition.

“I thought my play of the East Davidson game was a double-team block along with our center (Silas Sophia),” Neely said. “We drove a kid back pretty far.”

Neely is being modest. The kid had to buy a ticket to get back in the stadium.

Neely’s favorite game, he says, was the one at High Point against TW Andrews. It was considered a tossup game, but North played perfect football about 20 minutes and took a 41-0 lead.

“That was a very good game for the offensive line,” Neely said. “We ran it well and we threw it well that night.”

Neely has an appreciation for his North teammates of the present but also for the teams of the past. His cousin, Jim Herndon, played during the highly successful Joe Nixon coaching days at North. Herndon was a team player. He was a defensive starter who sacrificed and made a transition to the offensive line as a senior after the whole line graduated. He learned to play right guard.

“That was 10 years ago when he played right guard,” Neely said. “I respect all that he did. I want to carry on the family legacy.”

Like Herndon, Neely has excelled, at times, on defense. North uses him on that side of the ball at nose guard.

“He’s really good at the nose, but we try to limit him, try to rest him when we’re on defense,” Sophia said. “The offensive line is where we need him the most. He’s good on pulls, at blocking in space. He’s just a very good lineman, maybe our best all-round lineman. He’s improved a lot from last season and he was pretty good last season.”

The Cavaliers have been in their open week.

“This has been a good week,” Neely said. “I’ve been able to watch a lot of film as we prepare for West Davidson and I’ve been able to let my body heal a little bit.”

An exciting finish will see the Cavaliers taking on CCC contenders West Davidson, Lexington and Salisbury in the final three games of the regular season.

Those finishing games are the type of games in which the Cavaliers may have to use Neely more on defense.

He’ll be ready for the extra action.

“The goal is to play hard and to finish on every single play,” Neely said. “We have to keep that same motor running no matter who we’re playing.”