South claims 24-7 victory over North Rowan

BY DAVID SHAW
SALISBURY POST

LANDIS— Homecoming queen Clarissa Broadway wasn't the only one who sparkled Friday night at South Rowan High School.

The Raiders declared themselves "County Champions" after they outshone visiting North Rowan, completing a four-game sweep of county rivals.

"It's a mythical title," coach Rick Vanhoy said after South garnished its season with a 24-7 win.
"Officially, there's no such thing. But unoffocially, we're county champs. That's something these boys can be proud of for the rest of their lives."

South (5-2) closed its nonconference season with a surprisingly one-sided victory, its first over North (2-4) since 1974. The Raiders did it with a quick-reacting defense that intercepted two Graham Hosch passes and held the guests to three first downs in the second half.

"We got whipped," North coach Roger Secreast deadpanned after the Cavs suffered their fourth loss in the past five games. "They beat us physically and they outplayed us. It was their night."

Hosch, the county's leading passer, had 16 completions for 141 yards, but none longer than a 21-yard spiral to James House late in the third quarter.

"We shut him down," boasted Ricky Childers, a junior defensive back. "We made him throw the short stuff and then made quick tackles. There were no yards after the catch. Then you could tell he got frustrated."

It was all part of a lesson plan the Raiders followed to perfection.

"The defensive coaches came up with a great game plan and our defensive kids did a great job executing it," said Vanhoy. "Basically, it was not to get over-anxious. We gave them the short passes and then got people to the football immediately. A lot of North's yards this year have come after the catch. We didn't give them anything like they're used to getting."

South was able to ground North's lethal air attack, limiting Andre Byrd and Chris Phillips — two of the Cavs' F-14s in shoulder pads — to one catch apiece. The other speedster, Alfonso Miller, made 10 grabs, but none that gained more than 12 yards.

"They call them the 'Air Squad' or something like that," said South lineman Brent Sheets. "But we forced them to play the game on the ground. They made their catches, but they weren't going anywhere."

Teammate Keith Garrett helped the Raiders go out in front on their first possession. The senior tailback, who punctured North's defense for 116 yards on 21 carries, bulldozed into the end zone on a 10-yard run just 3:06 into the game. It was a far cry from his miserable showing in last Saturday's 12-0 loss at Northwest Cabarrus.

"We all tried to put last week behind us," he said.
"That ain't gonna happen again. People may not recognize us as a powerhouse team, but we're not here to play around. We're here to win games."

That had to wait until after North took a 7-6 halftime lead. Hosch, who has passed for nearly 1,500 yards this season, engineered an 11-play, 55-yard drive capped by Marcus Lawing's 1-yard TD burst early in the second period. Hosch completed four passes on the drive, the longest a 13-yard sideliner to Marcus Reddick. "(Hosch) was out-of-sync," Secreast explained.

South took command of the game in the third quarter, when Garrett caught a 26-yard touchdown pass from Childers and teammate Robbie Basinger kicked a 29-yard field goal for a 15-7 Raider advantage.

"Still," noted Vanhoy, "they were only one play away from tying the game."

Vanhoy's fears were dashed late in the third quarter when South defender Anthony Rhyne intercepted a pass and returned it 58 yards for a game-clinching touchdown.

"I saw (Hosch) get flushed out of the pocket by Randy Rigsby," Rhyne described. "So I followed him to the right side. It's hard for a quarterback to throw on the run like that, and he just left it a little short. After that I saw lots of daylight and took it."

Each of North's three final-period possessions ended in despair: Hosch threw incomplete on fourth-and-2 from the South 18 with 10:42 to play; four minutes later he was sacked for a seven-yard loss by Jimmy Probst on fourth-and-7 from the South 39; and finally, he was picked off near midfield by Marion Chambers with 15 seconds remaining.

"It's been a long time," Childers said after the Raiders earned their first county sweep in 36 years. "We've sort of been the joke of the county the past few years. But this, this will make teams take us seriously, especially going into the conference."