NEW LONDON — North Rowan’s Cavaliers wrapped up at least a share of the 2A Central Carolina Conference football championship and a home game for the first round of the state playoffs with an impressive 41-0 victory over North Stanly here Friday night.

Coach Roger Secreast’s Cavaliers improved their CCC record to 5-0, leaving them one game ahead of Ledford and High Point Central, who are each 4-1. North can win the outright title by downing fourth-place East Davidson at home next Friday night. Even if the Cavaliers were to lose to East Davidson,North would still be the league’s No. 1 seed for the playoffs. Next week’s Ledford-High Point Central winner still has a chance to tie North for the top spot.

“It’s a great feeling,” said Secreast of clinching the co-championship and the home field for the playoff opener. “Next week we want to hopefully beat East Davidson so that we’ll have a good seed.”

North Rowan is 6-4 overall going into the final regular-season game, but the loss to 4A Scotland County in an endowment game will not count toward the Cavaliers’ record for seeding purposes. The Cavaliers can finish 7-3 for seeding.

The state playoff bracket will be made up of 32 2A teams — 16 in the West and 16 in the East. Secreast wants his team to have a high seed in the West.

“I think we should be somewhere from five to seven, depending on how it comes out in the other games, because a lot of other people are fighting for playoff positions,” explained Secreast.

North Rowan could have scored at will against coach Rick Lewis’ rebuilding Comets (1-9, 0-5), but Secreast made no attempt to run up the score. It was 35-0 at halftime, and Secreast played his reserves the whole second half.

One of those reserves, however, Aundray Russell, came through with the most exciting play of the night, a 91-yard kickoff return on the opening kickoff of the second half.

Quarterback Alfonzo Miller had his best passing game in four starting assignments for the winners and could have easily been near 300 yards had he played the whole game. He was 8-for-12 for 139 yards and three touchdowns.

“Those passes were automatics,” said Secreast, “because he saw what they (North Stanly) did in the secondary. North Stanly’s kids played hard, and they wouldn’t let us run the football. But, gosh, they let us throw the football.”

Miller, a star wide receiver until replacing injured Graham Hosch at QB and backup Lamar Geter were a combined 12-for-18 for 171 yards.

“Alfonzo can throw the football. It gave us a chance to let people see what he can do when he needs to. He did a pretty good job,” pointed out Secreast.

Miller hit wide receiver Dre Byrd for touchdown passes of 9 yards in the first quarter and 23 yards in the second period. Wide receiver Chris Phillips caught a 33-yard TD pass in the first quarter.

North Rowan had been going to power runner Marcus Lawing as a ball-carrier a lot since Hosch’s knee injury, but the Comets set their defense to stop the running game.

“We came into the game with the same basic game plan, but when they gave us some automatic reads, he (Miller) threw it, and it worked. He did what he’s been taught to do,” said Secreast.

“We have a philosophy: If they give you an automatic pass, take it anywhere, anytime. ... We’ve always done it, and we probably always will, because we believe in throwing the football,” said the North Rowan coach.

The Cavaliers finished with only 16 yards rushing with Lawing getting the only touchdown on the ground from 1 yard out.

The Cavaliers’ defense limited North Stanly to 4 total yards — 7 yards through the air and minus 3 on the ground. The rushing figure would not have been negative if the Comets had not lost 46 yards on two wild center snaps in punting situations early in the game.

The defense also struck for a touchdown with back Leonard Atkins picking off off a Robert Voorhees pass and running it back 46 yards for North Rowan’s fifth TD in the first half.

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NOTES: Secreast becomes only the second football coach in county history to post winning records in 10 straight regular seasons, all at North Rowan. Former Salisbury coach Pete Stout also did it from 1966 through 1975. ... Jhaun Taylor recovered a fumble for the Cavaliers. ... North Stanly’s Kelly Russell had a pass interception, while Brandon Carter recovered a fumble. ... The Comets close out their season at Lexington next Friday and must win to avoid finishing last in the standings.