It took Salisbury’s Boo Blount seven years to return to the football field, but he’s making up for lost time.

Blount, the Hornets’ senior defensive back, set up two touchdowns with a fumble recovery and a pass interception in Salisbury’s 62-8 romp at North Stanly last Friday night.

“I played my fifth-grade year in the Rowan Youth FootballLeague. I played receiver and a little bit of defensive back,” said Blount.

Basketball has been Blount’s No. 1 sport through middle school and high school, and he played soccer his freshman year.

“All summer I was debating whether to play football or not.I almost got talked into playing soccer,” said the 5-foot-8, 150-pounder. “I saw coach Daugherty at a barbecue restaurant during the week (prior to the first practice). He asked me to come out on Saturday to see how I liked it.”

Blount tried it, liked it and earned a starting spot at free safety.

“The first day I had a great time.I knew I was going to stick with it. I’ve had a great time. Everybody feels like we could have done better — should have done better. It’s good to get a few wins after the last two seasons,” said Blount.

Salisbury is 3-6 overall with two games to play after going 1-10 in 1998 and 0-11 last season. TheHornets are 14 points away from being 6-3.

“Boo’s done a real good job for us in the secondary,” said Daugherty. “He’s been a very pleasant surprise. We were glad to have him. He’s a very smart young man. He gives us 100 percent all the team, and he’s got a lot of leadership qualities.”

Daugherty said it was obvious early in preseason practice that Blount would make a good free safety.

“He sees the whole field, and he understands the game fairly well,” said the coach.

“It’s been kind of weird getting used to it (free safety), but I get more adjusted to it every game,I think,” said Blount.

Salisbury went to North Stanly expecting to win its first Central Carolina Conference game of the season, but Blount and his defensive teammates helped turn it into a runaway early.

First it was outside linebacker Omari Holmes who charged in to block a punt that was recovered by back Dwayne Coward in the end zone.

Salisbury led 14-0 when Blount recovered a fumble at the North Stanly 34-yard line early in the second quarter. Running back Ken Drye, also a defensive leader, ran for the Hornets’ third TD on the next play. It was 21-0.

“On the fumble recovery, I just saw the guy(Comets’ Jeremy Kendall) coming through the hole.He was bobbling it a little bit. I just started coming up on it. Somebody on the line knocked it loose, and I fell on it,” said Blount.

“He’s got to be attacking the football to make that fumble recovery where did,” said Daugherty. “Boo plays free safety, and the fumble was at the line of scrimmage.”

Later in the first half, Drye deflected a Comets’ pass into the hands of lineman PrestonJones at the North Stanly 20. Four plays later, it was 35-0.

Blount then intercepted a North Stanly pass and ran it back 35 yards to the Comets’ 25. It was 42-0 seconds later.

“I just read the quarterback, basically,” said Blount, who has two interceptions for the season. “When I saw him turn to the left, I broke on it.”

Drye gave the Hornets a 49-0 halftime lead when he intercepted a North Stanly pass and ran it back 70 yards for his team’s seventh TD.

“Our defense has played very well all year,” said Daugherty. “We’ve got standbys — Kenny Drye and Steven Blanton — that are two very good linebackers that we knew would play well, but we’ve got new people that have been pleasant surprises.

“Omari Holmes is a young man playing here for the first time. He moved back to Salisbury from Maryland the middle of last year. He’s played very well for us and has been a big surprise. Joseph Walker, a junior linebacker who is playing football for the first time, has grown tremendously this year. Nate Seymour is a sophomore that has played well for us at linebacker and probably started about half the games.”

Salisbury’s defense has held five opponents to 14 points or less, but four other teams have scored 27 or more. Two of those — High Point Central and North Rowan — are expected to make the state 2A playoffs.

“We’ve given up some points lately because of where we’ve given other teams the football. Our defense is not a defense that can stop you three plays and out all the time,” explained Daugherty. “We need a little room in order to stop you. If we can make you take the football and have to go 80 yards, then we’re OK. The defense is probably about 300 percent better than last year. That’s a reason we’ve won more. We hope to continue to improve it, and, as we do, we’re going to win more games.”

“I think we’re starting to jell,” said Blount. “We’re playing good ball now.”

The Hornets host East Davidson tonight, then close out the season at home against Ledford next Friday.