|
Oops, the Salisbury football team did it again.
Just a week after snapping a 16-game losing streak with a headline-grabbing win at Albemarle, the Hornets registered a stop-the-presses shocker Friday night when they edged visiting Concord, 18-14.
“We just beat the no. 6 team in the (Charlotte Observer) Sweet 16,” coach Raymond Daugherty beamed. “We finally beat a good football team so they can’t say ‘Don’t overlook Salisbury’ anymore. We’re here and we’re here to stay.”
Rather suddenly, Daugherty and his 2-1 squad are impossible to ignore. The Hornets seem to be fueled by their past failures, not frustrated by them.
“A lot of people were doubting us,” quarterback Jerry Miller said after his 5-yard touchdown pass to flanker Markeice Daugherty with 1:04 to play spelled the difference. “They said we lucked out last week, and we lucked out against West Rowan. We had to show them that it wasn’t luck at all.”
Instead, the Hornets were propelled by a defense that forced five Concord (2-1) turnovers, blocked a crucial punt with 80 seconds to play and produced a pair of first-quarter touchdowns.
“Our defense surely won this football game,” said Daugherty, the second-year coach. “But, when we had to have it in the end, we reached down inside and we did the job. And that’s what’s important. And that’s what they’re gonna remember from this game.”
Much more forgettable was an offense that was shackled by Concord’s suffocating defense. Salisbury had only two first downs and 90 yards total offense, and ran all of 12 plays from scrimmage in the first half.
“We really weren’t on our game offensively at the beginning,” said defensive end Justin West. “But when it was time to make the plays, those guys came through.”
West made the game’s first pivotal play at the 15-second mark when he interecepted a game-opening pass from quarterback Jared John and returned it 35 yards for a touchdown.
“(Defensive) Coach Eury called the blitz right away, just to kind of make a statement,” said Hornets linebacker Steve Blanton. “Just because we were playing Concord, it doesn’t mean we’re gonna lay down for them.”
Salisbury built a 12-0 lead late in the first period when teammate Ken Drye dislodged the ball from tailback Josh Lott. Blanton scooped up the fumble and raced 30 yards into the end zone, then reacted like a kid bounding down the stairs on Christmas morning.
“I got lucky,” he said. “Drye made the hit, I picked it up and it was off to the races.”
It left losing coach E.Z. Smith struggling to recogniz his own team. “We made enough mistakes to last a lifetime,” he said. “Too many fumbles, too many penalties. Every time we made a big play, we got a penalty or had it called back. That’s not us.”
Yet the Spiders soldiered on and finally got on the scoreboard late in the third quarter. John completed a 7-play, 62-yard scoring by lobbing a 39-yard TD pass to Richard Howard, who fought off three Salisbury defenders for the ball.
Two possessions later, Concord took a 14-12 lead when running back Michael Harding scored on a 3-yard burst with 5:35 remaining. Moments earlier, Harding’s 44-yard run down the right sideline compounded by a personal foul penalty had given the visitors a first-and-goal on the Salisbury 4.
The game’s momentum swung back to the Hornets with 1:20 to play, when Salisbury’s Omari Holmes blocked a Concord punt and teammate Willie Hosch recoved on the Spiders 11-yard line.
“We loaded the right side,” said Blanton. “We were definitely going after it and we got it.”
Following a QB-keeper that gained six, Miller stepped to the line and immediately signaled Daugherty to expect a pass. He then executed a perfect timing pattern on the right side of the end zone. “Right before that in the huddle I talked to the lineman,” said Miller. “I said, ‘Take your time and block who you’re supposed to block. Markeice and I will take care of the rest.”
It was West who placed an exclamation point on the victory when he sacked John for an 8-yard loss with half a minute left, his fourth tackle for a loss.
“What’s important is we didn’t give up when we got down in the fourth quarter,” said Blanton. “We kept our focus right to the end.”
|
Today's News