Graham Hosch absorbed a couple of hard hits on the football field Friday night.

None of them, however, measured up to the parting shots delivered by family and friends before kickoff.

Three generations of Hosches spent the hours leading up to North Rowan’s conference and county clash with Salisbury talking trash, cheering the Hornets — and getting one woman ready to watch three of her grandsons decide the outcome on the field.

Graham Hosch, North Rowan’s star quarterback, had his grandmother and the rest of the family in an uncomfortable position. Almost everyone hails from Salisbury High, including senior football players T.J. andWillie Hosch — Graham’s cousins.

Their grandmother, Mae Hosch Holland, had never seen them play before. Her perfect night would include success for all three of them, with one stipulation.

“I want Graham to get 300 yards and Salisbury to win,”she said. “It’s impossible, but it’d be good.”

For the first time in three games, Graham didn’t throw for 300 yards, and his 162-yard effort against the Hornets actually was his lowest output of the season.

To make matters worse, North won easily, 34-7!

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Graham’s trash talk sounded the most self-assured, and with good reason. Salisbury hasn’t beaten its 2ACentral Carolina Conference rival since 1995.

The prospects didn’t look good for Friday, either. Graham had thrown for 1,180 yards entering the fifth game of his senior season, and he wasn’t going to let little matters like a cousin on the defensive line (T.J.) and another in the secondary (Willie) rattle him.

Not for all the trash-talking in the world.

“He’s gonna throw me a couple,”Willie said. “If this guy picks on me, I’m gonna make some picks off of him.”

Graham laughed at the idea, but Willie came through. He grabbed a pair of interceptions, and runbacks of 20 and 43 yards put Salisbury in golden scoring position before turnovers the other way gave the ball back to Graham.

T.J.’s job proved tougher — get into the pocket and stop the fleet-footed quarterback before he takes off running. The nose guard wasn’t sure if he’d be able to make any plays on Graham, and as it turned out, he didn’t.

“You’ve just got to try to go get him,”he said. “It’s fun.”

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The three cousins haven’t played together very often. Their last moment of glory on the field together came as freshmen, when they played QB, running back and line for Salisbury’s junior varsity squad.

Graham gets all the good-natured grief from the family because he transferred to North.

“They want to see us together, but Ijust wasn’t doing right at Salisbury,” he said. “I still treat them like family, except on the field.”

And the family still treats Graham like family, except, well, before the North-Salisbury game.

“You can hit him, but don’t hurt him!” someone yelled to T.J.

Graham just smiled.

He also laughed when the other two football-playing members of the family, younger cousins Martin Hosch-Cathcart and Barry Hawkins, started talking about their football futures.

Martin, a fourth-grader who plays on the Rowan Youth Football League’s Salisbury Hornets, bounced around the house in his No. 20 YFL jersey, the same number worn by Willie.

He boasted of the 145 yards rushing he had in a game this year before breaking his foot, then added emphatically that he has no plans to become a quarterback.

“I wanna be like them — except that one!” he said with a laugh, pointing to the only Cavalier in the room.

Barry, a seventh-grader at Knox, is built more along the lines of T.J. and plays offensive and defensive tackle.

“I like watching him hit people,”he says simply, gesturing to T.J.

Before too long, the promise of things to come on a rainy Friday night turns to cries of, “Hurry up! You don’t want to be late!”

With that, the two Hornets and one Cavalier head out for North’s easy win. The rest of the family checks on the umbrellas and rain coats in anticipation of the big night and a grandmother offers one last worried thought for the Hornets.

“Graham’s gonna have a good night,”she says. “He plays good every night.

“But I’m proud of all of them.”