Staff report

CHARLOTTE — Things went well for West Rowan’s football team for about four minutes on Friday, but West Charlotte owned the last 44.

The Lions battered West Rowan 60-3  in a second-round 3A playoff game, ending the Falcons’ season at 7-5.

Eighth-seeded West Charlotte (9-2) moves on to a road game in Asheville against top-seeded Erwin.

West Charlotte sophomore QB Jamouri Nichols threw for 236 yards and two TDs. West Charlotte scored on every possession except when it ran out of time at the end of the half and the game.

It turned out to be the most lopsided playoff loss in West Rowan history, but the Falcons, playing without standout Evan Kennedy, didn’t collapse immediately. The first half was competitive.

West Charlotte doesn’t kick deep, and West Rowan was able to return the opening kickoff to the WR 40 for good field position.

After a lot of motion and shifting, Jaylen Neely had a 20-yard run to West Charlotte’s 40 on the Falcons’ first snap.

On a fourth-and-10 play from the 40, Brant Graham completed a 15-yard pass over the middle to Brennon Stevenson, and the Falcons were in field goal range. The Lions stopped them at the 20, but Carter Durant’s 37-yard field goal was true, and elated Falcons practically flew off the field. They were 36-point underdogs and they had a 3-0 lead a little over four minutes into the contest.

That lead lasted only a few seconds. On West Charlotte’s first play from scrimmage, the Lions rolled 72 yards to score on a double-reverse. A 2-point conversion made it 8-3.

West Rowan was stopped quickly on its second possession, and Durant’s punt was blocked, not smothered, but redirected almost straight up. West Charlotte was able to start its second drive on West Rowan’s 33. The Falcons didn’t allow that TD without a fight, but they finally did yield it, and it was 14-3 with 3:37 left in the first quarter.

Stopped again on offense, West Rowan punted again.

The Falcons’ defense had a chance to get a stop, but on third-and-7, a leaping reception moved the chains for the Lions, as the first quarter ended.

Then the second quarter began with the Falcons being beaten deep on a 51-yard pass play, and it was 20-3.

West Rowan had a super chance to score on its next possession after a series of penalties moved the ball to the West Charlotte 13. But the Lions got a sack to move the Falcons back. West Rowan opted for a 34-yard field goal try with about seven minutes left in the half, but three Lions broke through to reject it. That’s where it really started to get away from the Falcons. West Charlotte drove to score with 3:56 left in the half, and added a 2-point conversion for 28-3. That was the score at the break.

Things got worse for West Rowan immediately after the second-half kickoff. West Charlotte scored on its first play, a run of 60 yards, finding the sideline and just roaring past Falcons.

West Rowan’s offense moved the ball to the West Charlotte 49, but was stopped on fourth down. The Lions quickly scored again with 8:42 left in the third quarter, and it was 44-3.

West Rowan was going for it on fourth down, there wasn’t any reason not to, as the Falcons clearly couldn’t stop the Lions. West Charlotte got a stop at the West Rowan 41 and quickly punched in another touchdown and another 2-point conversion. Now it was 52-3, with 2:50 left in the third, That touchdown triggered a running clock.

West Charlotte added a rub-it-in touchdown on a long pass with 8:17 left. That TD and the Lions’ sixth 2-point conversion made it 60-3.

Neely did his best in his last game, with Kennedy out and with West Rowan’s passing game not much of a factor with four completions for 36 yards.

Unofficially, Neely ran 30 times for 84 yards and topped 1,000 yards for the season. He took some shots from big guys, but he kept getting up. He was spilled in the backfield for several negative runs, but he also had runs of 20, 17 and 12, and he even took a faked punt 11 yards for a first down.  West’s offensive line battled. Graham threw 13 times and was only sacked once.