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MOUNTULLA— West Rowan was unimpressive in its win. Salisbury was impressive in its loss.
And both coaches didn’t know whether to go home happy or mad.
In other words, West Rowan’s defense-dominating 7-6 victory Friday night was a typical first game of the season.
There were three fumbles and four interceptions. There were missed blocks and dropped passes.
“Offensively, we stunk it up,” said West coach Scott Young. “We’re 1-0 but it’s not a good 1-0.”
“Offensively, we let the defense down,” echoed Salisbury coach Raymond Daugherty.
So with little firepower in the scoreboard department, the defenses were left to entertain the throng that filled West’s stadium.
Even with an outstanding performance, West’s defense couldn’t catch a break.
In the first quarter alone, West forced Salisbury to punt three times and each time gave it right back.
The first miscue came when a Thomas Ludwig punt hit a West player.
The Falcon defense held and Ludwig’s punt was fumbled by Terris Sifford.
The Falcon defense held and Ludwig’s punt was fumbled by Brandon Bailey.
And of course, the defense held again.
“It was very, very frustrating for our guys,” said Young.
Luckily for West, it had a 7-0 lead by then. On West’s second possession, bullish Jonathan Diggs went around left end, broke a tackle by Boo Blount and was gone on a 68-yard jaunt. Matt Russ’ extra point had the West fans sitting back in their seats expecting a repeat of last season’s 53-0 shellacking. But it would not happen.
The Hornets finally cashed in after Bailey’s fumble. Dewayne Coward pounced on the ball at the West 20 and on third-and-10, Ken Drye went right up the middle for a score. Amber Wingerson’s extra point was blocked.
“I told the coaches that Drye would give us fits running the football,” said Young.
But absolutely no one thought Drye’ touchdown would be the last points scored.
By halftime, Drye had 78 yards on just 10 carries. He did the rest of his damage on defense, finishing with 12 tackles. He one-armed Diggs to the ground a couple of times and wrapped up runners with abandon.
“Kenny is a super football player,” said Daugherty. “We tried to give him a break. We’ve just got to run him enough in practice to play him the whole ballgame.”
By the end of the first half, Salisbury had run off 32 plays to 20 for West. Falcon quarterback Jared Barnette was 0-for-6 at intermission, leaving Young shaking his head.
“When you’re not catching the football and you’re not protecting the quarterback, you’re going to be one-dimensional. And we were very one-dimensional. All we could do is run the football. And with only 20 offensive snaps, you’re not going to put up any points.”
Salisbury wasn’t coming close either. Hornet quarterback Jerry Miller tried time and again to hit Markeice Daugherty on a fly pattern and just couldn’t make the connection, thanks to blanket coverage by Eric Weimer, who finished with two interceptions and Terris Sifford, who had another.
“You can’t complain about any of our defensive players,” Young said. “They were all fantastic.”
But if Young was frustrated with his first-half offense, he hadn’t seen anything yet.
West opened the third quarter with an impressive drive, going 53 yards on six plays, all on the ground. But when West stalled, Russ missed a 34-yard field goal.
A bad snap on Salisbury’s next possession had Ludwig diving on the ball at his own seven with Luke Drechsler draped all over him. West got to the one but Salisbury’s inspired defense held. A penalty knocked West back to the seven and Young opted for a field goal. Russ missed from 22 yards and the Hornet defense danced off the field.
“That’s the first goal line stand I’ve seen in three years,” Daugherty said. “I’m very proud of those guys.”
By this time, the West defenders, led by Weimer, J.D. Watkins, Brant Marlin and James Francis, had decided it was their game to win.
“With the offense having a little trouble, we had to step up,” said Weimer.
The defensive back picked off his second pass midway through the fourth period after the Hornets made it past midfield. Again, it was a long bomb to Daugherty.
“We worked on that play all week,” Weimer smiled, who added of his interceptions, “You get cold chills all over your body.”
The fourth and final pick by West came with a minute left. Ludwig replaced Miller, who left with cramps, and tossed a ball into the hands of linebacker S.J. Culbertson, who carried the ball to the 14. The Falcons then ran out the clock.
When it was over, the fans produced a loud ovation — for both teams.
“Salisbury played a great game,” Young said. “They played as hard as they possibly could.”
Daugherty looked as exhausted as his players. From Drye to Adrian Bost to Willie Hosch, they had proven something in defeat — mainly to themselves.
“Nobody respected us,” said Bost, a 6-2, 215-pound junior defender. “But we worked hard in the offseason to prove ourselves.”
“The scoreboard still says that we didn’t win this ballgame,” said a far-from-satisfied Daugherty. “But we’re not an 0-11 team and we’re going to prove that next week.”
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NOTES: Salisbury goes to Albemarle Friday while West heads to South Rowan. ... Diggs finished with a very quiet 132 yards on 17 carries and West finished with a very respectable 218 yards rushing. “We probably had good stats,” said Young, “but we couldn’t punch it in. We always had a crucial penalty.” ... Of Salisbury’s offense, Daugherty said, “We had several opportunities to score. But we either had a letdown up front or underthrew the football — all correctable mistakes.” ... Drye had only four yards rushing in the second half. ... Jamel Alexander was stopped cold, getting just 14 yards on 11 carries. ... Barnette, a good signal-caller, completed his first pass with 37 seconds left in the third quarter. ... Ben Hampton’s first run for West went for 28 yards .
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