The prep football notebook …

The numbers were staggering to see Friday night: the Salisbury Hornet offense accounted for 90 yards the whole game, had two first downs — and won 18-14 over a talented Concord squad.

Hornets head coach Raymond Daugherty praised his defense for holding the Spiders in check and doing the bulk of the scoring. Justin West’s 35-yard interception return and Stephen Blanton’s 30-yard fumble return accounted for the first 12 points.

West and Daugherty said much of the credit for the defensive effort went to coordinator Dan Pike, who left Concord with Glen Padgett three years ago to join the Hornet coaching staff. When Padgett left after just one season and Daugherty came on, Pike stayed.

“Coach Pike coached at Concord and knew a lot about Coach(E.Z.) Smith and what he likes to do,”West said. “We practiced really hard all week, and when Concord came in, we knew exactly what to expect.”

n

TURNINGITUP:Salisbury’s defensive turnaround has been nothing short of miraculous this year. Last year, West, Albemarle and Concord battered the Hornets for 872 yards and 125 points in the season’s first three games. This year, it’s been 709 yards and only 34 points.

n

not this time: Salisbury held second-half leads in two games last season but went on to lose both of them en route to an 0-11 campaign.

In both wins this year, the Hornets trailed briefly in the second half before coming back to win. Concord actually took the lead with just 5 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter before the Hornets rallied.

“We could have turned into old Salisbury right there,”West said. “We were really pleased with the way the defense picked it up and how the offense came through when we needed it to. It was just meant to be.”

n

DROUGHT:The Hornets’ win over Concord deserves all the attention it’s getting because Smith’s Spiders deserve their billing as a “perennial power.”

Concord is still ranked in the Associated Press’ 3A poll this week even after Friday’s upset.

Concord has earned its gaudy reputation. It plays in the same league with A.L. Brown (at least until next year’s realignment), but has still made the 3A state playoffs 11 times in the past 12 years. The one year Concord missed out (‘95), it was unbeaten until the last regular-season game. That’s when the Wonders beat them in the mud and rain to end their season at 10-1 in one of those weird years in which the old five-team SPC had only one playoff spot.

Speaking of old times, Salisbury had not beaten a Concord squad since 1988, when a Gus Andrews-coached team nipped the Spiders 13-12 on its way to a 10-2 mark. Concord had whipped Salisbury in the last seven meetings, with none of the matchups closer than 15 points.

n

FASTSTART:The Hornets are 2-0 the past two weeks after a 1-27 dry spell that began the sixth week of ‘97. With just two more wins this season, Salisbury can match its four-year win total from ‘96-’99.

Until Friday, Salisbury hadn’t been over the break-even mark since ‘95, when it won its first 12 games for Conrad Green and finished 12-1.

The big challenge ahead for Daugherty is getting some conference wins. Salisbury is 1-17 in the CCC the past three years.

The guy who used to throw the passes was catching them for East Rowan on Friday night in the Mustangs’ 40-32 win over Mount Pleasant.

With the emergence of Drew Davis at quarterback, coach Tommy Eanes asked Raymondo Brady to switch to receiver and running back.

“Raymondo did it for the team,” Eanes said.

The move paid off in every way. Davis did an outstanding job leading the Hambone offense. Brady scored on a 15-yard touchdown pass on fourth down and also got to run the ball a couple of times.

n

NEWKICKER: Eanes was extremely happy with his kicker Friday: Matt Shelton, who was filling in for injured starter Hunter Kepley.

Shelton, a soccer player, came in to kick his first extra point early in the game and made it — barely.

“We had to grease that goalpost to get it over,” Eanes chuckled.

But Shelton did a good job, especially after East took a 40-32 lead with 2:54 left. He sent the kickoff into the end zone for a touchback.

n

the defense rests: How much is the Mustangs’ rebuilding defense struggling? East has allowed 1,014 rushing yards in three games.

Against the same three foes last season — North, South and Mount Pleasant — the Mustangs yielded just 318 ground yards. That’s more than triple.

n

REMEMBER ME? There was a familiar face coaching the Mount Pleasant Tigers: Michael Johns, who started his career at East as an assistant under Jeff Safrit.

One of the best statistical races in the county is shaping up to be North vs. the other four teams in passing yardage.

Right now, “rest of the county” leads 562-512, but then again North’s only played two games, while everyone else has played three.

East still hasn’t reached 100 yards passing, while South and West have just eased over that mark. Meanwhile, North’s new QBGraham Hosch is averaging 256 yards per game through the air.

n

GONNAFLYNOW:In another statistical oddity, North’s all-county receiver Dre Byrd is the No. 4 receiver on his own team after two games.

Byrd hasn’t exactly been silent — seven catches for 75 yards — but he trails teammates Chris Phillips, Marcus Reddick and Alfonzo Miller in yardage and is yet to catch a TD pass.

Expect that to change very soon.

THROWINGDOWN: North’s secondary has only allowed 42 passing yards in two games.

Unfortunately, teams haven’t had to throw all that much, because the Cavs have allowed 227 rushing yards per contest.

West back Jonathan Diggs isn’t averaging 10 yards per carry like he did last year, but after Friday’s 182-yard effort, he’s up to 6 yards per pop.

Coach Scott Young promised in the preseason that Diggs would be a workhorse and so far he has been exactly that.

Diggs already has 58 carries. Half of them came Friday in West’s 20-7 win over the Cavaliers, as Young employed Diggs for 29 clock-killing carries to keep the ball out of Hosch’s hot hands.

Diggs didn’t get his 58th carry last season until Game 10 at Sun Valley.

The Wonders continue on the greatest run in school history. They’ve won 40 of their last 43.

They’ve come out on top in 26 consecutive regular-season contests. They won their first two this season after posting unbeaten regular seasons in ‘98 and ‘99, and winning their last two regular-season games in ‘97.

The Wonders start league play Friday at Sun Valley, riding a string of 18 straight conference wins since a 28-21 home loss to East Rowan in October of ‘97.

Green Dragon Drew Snider got a big reward for a big Friday night: 1A Player of the Week honors from the Associated Press.

Snider carried the ball 32 times for 224 yards and two touchdowns in his team’s 27-14 victory over Elkin.