Davie hosts North Rowan Friday
Published 11:04 am Thursday, September 8, 2016
Davie’s football team is trying to regroup from its first loss, and it has to face an undefeated team with a hobbled quarterback (Chris Reynolds) and a sidelined go-to receiver (Cooper Wall).
North Rowan, which visits War Eagle Stadium Friday night at 7:30, will be amped with a 3-0 record. The Cavaliers’ defense could make life difficult. They’re a 2-A opponent, but their speed is going to be a handful.
North’s Zion Debose is an Appalachian State commit, and he’s the reigning Central Carolina Conference Defensive Player of the Year. Lineman Steven Thurston is a player to watch at left guard and nose guard.
“The defensive line figures to be the backbone of our team,” North coach Ben Hampton told the Salisbury Post after the opening game. “They were stout.”
“Defensively, North is stinkin’ good,” East Rowan coach Kenneth McClamrock told the Post. “At a lot of places, North is as good as they were two years ago (when it went 11-3 and reached the third round of the playoffs).”
“North’s defensive front is really good,” Carson coach Joe Pinyan told the Post.
Here’s a look at North’s first three games:
• NR 28, East Rowan 14 – North had two scores called back, dropped two sure TDs and found itself trailing 14-10 in the third quarter. … Late in the third, it was third down when QB Corbin Smith tossed a 39-yard TD to Alonzo Sirleaf to give North a 19-14 lead. … Jaleel Webster rushed for 97 yards. … Chris Clodfelter, who was an All-Rowan County defensive back in ‘15, would have had a pick-six if not for a flag.
• NR 45, Carson 3 – Sophomore Jaden Perry had a 99-yard kickoff return. “When Perry touches the ball, he always has a chance to score,” Hampton said. … North did not allow a first down in the second half.
• NR 27, Statesville 23 – North overcame four turnovers. … The game-winning TD was a 4-yard swing pass from Smith to Desmond Gray with 30 seconds to go, completing a 78-yard drive. The key play during the drive was Dakerius Hoosier’s 46-yard reception to the Statesville 14. … The Greyhounds (1-1), who had two TDs called back, went from trailing 13-0 to leading 16-13. … Webster broke a 99-yard kickoff return to give North a 19-16 lead. “We feel like there’s a chance they’ll take it to the house every time they touch the ball,” Hampton said. … Although Smith threw two INTs, he completed 13 of 24 passes for 149 yards. … North trailed 23-20 with 10:33 left before coming back to win. “It was ugly the whole time,” Hampton said. “We sputtered on offense, but our defense played a heck of a first half and kept us in it. We put our defense in some bad positions and they came up big for us.”
The War Eagles are 2-1 after losing to Dudley. They trail the series 13-16-1, but they’ve won the last two meetings, including 35-32 in 2014 and 21-6 last year. This will be Little League Night. This is also the endowment game, meaning only NCHSAA passes will be accepted.
“They tell me their defense is pretty good,” Davie coach DeVore Holman said. “But it’s not about North Rowan for us. On Monday, we’re working on us. We’re trying to make sure we’re doing what we need to be doing. Our coaches are going to work hard to put our kids in the best position to be successful.”