ALBEMARLE — The streak is dead, and it died in convincing fashion here Friday night.
Salisbury’s Hornets overwhelmed Albemarle in the second half and captured an impressive 27-13 non-conference high school football victory.
The win for coach Raymond Daugherty’s Hornets was the school’s first since 1998. Salisbury had lost 16 straight contests over three seasons, including a 7-6 squeaker to West Rowan in the Hornets’ season opener.
There were several firsts for the Hornets — the first win of the millennium; the first field goal in county history by a female, Amber Wingerson; Daugherty’s first win as head coach at Salisbury; versatile Ken Drye’s first 100-yard rushing game; and new quarterback Jerry Miller’s first offensive explosion.
Wingerson made county history by kicking a 22-yard second-quarter field goal to give her team a 9-7 halftime lead.
“That’s great,” said the junior when informed of the historic feat.
Daugherty thought it was special, too.
“I thought that was great, giving us the lead at halftime,” said the coach. “Listen, Amber’s O.K. This is only her second football game, only her second game in pads. We’ve got confidence. She’s going to get better. We had confidence in her, and the team had confidence in her.”
Salisbury lost the lead briefly in the third quarter, when the Bulldogs went up 13-9, then the Hornets dominated the rest of the way, outscoring coach Jack Gaster’s Bulldogs 18-0.
Drye, a star senior linebacker who has seen some offensive duty the past two years, scored all three second-half touchdowns, the first one on a 15-yard pass from Miller and the next two on runs of 44 and 37 yards. He ran for 128 yards in the second half and finished with 134 yards on 13 carries.
Drye, who had numerous big plays on defense, was asked which he enjoyed the most last night, offense or defense.
“The whole team play,” he responded. “At first we looked a little rugged. I think we were a little tight. We came out the second half and everybody played hard. The offensive line came alive.”
Salisbury had almost 400 yards total offense behind that line, anchored by 316-pound center T.J. Johnson, before losing yardage while running out the clock late in the game. The Hornets had 197 yards on the ground and 161 through the air for a 358 total.
Drye said of his 134-yard effort, “It feels great. My offensive line, they did their job.”
Miller, playing in only his second varsity game, had over 200 yards total offense until his team’s final possession.He went to his knee three straight times, then backpedaled and lost 27 yards in the final seconds. He still finished with 170 total yards, getting 161 with 7-for-19 passing for two touchdowns.
“With the offensive line I’ve got, we can go to the playoffs,” said Miller, who was a jayvee quarterback at North Rowan as a sophomore, but didn’t play varsity ball last year because of academic ineligibility.He’s in his first year at Salisbury.
The Hornets’ offense was almost unstoppable after halftime, getting touchdowns on three of the first five possessions before running out the clock.
“The second half, we came in saying the score was 0-0. That way we could come back with the same intensity we had in the first half. They just turned it up one more notch,” said Miller.
Salisbury’s offense, which included no turnovers, was solid, but the defense was also a big factor, limiting Albemarle to four first downs in the second half and holding star Bulldog running back T.A.McClendon to 48 yards on 20 carries.
End Justin West and linebacker Steven Blanton had fumble recoveries, linebacker Nate Seymour and back Boo Blount intercepted passes, and Drye led the way as Albemarle backs were thrown for losses 11 times.
“I felt like we were on top of our game,” said West. “We came out to play right, and we did. At halftime, I felt like we weren’t playing up to our potential, but we came out the second half and showed some heart.”
As for McClendon, who was bothered by a strained hamstring muscle, West said, “We knew if we kept him going east and west, we’d be all right. That’s what we did.”
McClendon, a junior who rushed for over 4,000 yards in his first two seasons, had only two scrimmage runs of 10 or more yards, but did break loose for a 65-yard kickoff return late in the third quarter. Albemarle missed a short field goal after his long run.
“Albemarle’s got a good football team,” said Daugherty, whose last previous head coaching victory came at West Rowan in 1985. “What happened to them last week (42-8 loss to West Wilkes) was a fluke. I think they showed that tonight.”
As for his own team, the Salisbury coach said, “We’re good defensively, but the offense is coming. When the offense gets there, we’re going to be tough to handle. I’m very pleased for the kids, and I’m pleased for the school. Now these kids can walk the hallway Monday morning with their head held high the way they should have a couple of times in the last couple of years.”
Daugherty, however, was quick to point out that the celebrating won’t last long.
“It’s only one. I told the kids they could enjoy this until Monday morning. When we get back to school, the coaches are interested in Concord,” he said.
Salisbury played at Concord last year, falling 30-13. They’ll host the Spiders, a perennial power, next Friday night.
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