BY RONNIE GALLAGHER
SALISBURY POST

Realignment has placed eight new schools in the three conferences in the Post coverage area. The schools will be profiled on Fridays.

TROUTMAN — Driving down Highway 115 on an average weekday is pretty much like driving down any of the 1,000 or so rural roads in North Carolina. Not much traffic.

Just country. And plenty of it.

When you hit the main street of Troutman, you realize it is like most small towns in North Carolina. Not much traffic.

But there is food. And plenty of it.

“We probably have more restaurants per capita than Charlotte,” chuckles South Iredell football coach Kent Millsaps. “I think there’s 10 right down the road here.”

And like any rural area, there’s a high school that’s the hub of the area. Here, it’s South Iredell, which is smack dab between Troutman and Barium Springs.

Until this year, South Iredell always had an identity.

It has produced wrestling icon Bill Mayhew, a coaching legend with almost 600 wins, two inductions into wrestling halls of fame and an appearance in Sports Illustrated’s Faces in the Crowd. There was Ann Ellis, who once scored 60 points in a game. Tyrone Westmoreland set the all-time career rushing record in the state in the early 90s (it has since been broken). And in the 70s, Jack Campbell was the best male basketball player of his time.

But everyone is kind of confused about the identity now. South is 4A, but could easily be classified as 3A or even 2A within a matter of months.

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Realignment moved the Vikings from the 3A Foothills Conference, chock full of Iredell neighbors, to the 4A Central Piedmont, where they will travel to places like Winston-Salem, China Grove and Welcome.

Are the coaches happy about it? Some are. Some aren’t.

Baseball coach Bobby Deal says he isn’t scared of the competition in 4A but adds, “You might want to go talk to the boys basketball coach because he’s got to play the two-time defending state champion (in Reynolds.)”

But the coaches seem happy that a new school, Lake Norman High, will open next year.

Construction of the school actually began before realignment. But the lines weren’t drawn in time so the NCHSAA wouldn’t hear South Iredell’s case.

“We thought we’d be 3A and move into West Rowan’s league,”said Millsaps. “Now, we’re playing schools 50, 60 miles away. We’ll be lacking funds and lacking in making money in the conference.

“Next year, Lake Norman will open and we’ll apply for hardship.”

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You want hardship? Kids attend South from as far away as the Mecklenburg County line to Cleveland on the Rowan County boundary.

“It’s a big community,” admits Millsaps, who has been at South since 1990 and head football coach since 1996. “A lot of parents work in Charlotte. You’ve got freshmen and sophomores with no license so it is a complete headache as far as carpooling these kids here.

“It’s hard to have a true fan base. West Iredell has been down in football but it has a great following because of local support and tightness, geographically-speaking. Schools like West Rowan and South Rowan are like that too. So we’re looking forward to the new school. Lake Norman will have a good fan base and South Iredell will have a good fan base.”

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Rowan fans can look for South to be strong in wrestling and soccer. Since Jeff Cummings took over the boys soccer program, the Vikings are 38-6-2. And of course, everyone knows Mayhew, who has 570 victories in wrestling. Although he’s not in the classroom any longer, he still coaches the sport.

“He has had open heart surgery but none of the kids want to wrestle him,” laughed athletic director Don Sparks. “He‘ll wear them out.”

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Tonight is when curious West Rowan fans will visit South for the season opener and the first thing they’ll notice is that the visiting side has a better view of the game. There are 50 yards of grass between the home bleachers and the field.

“The guy who built it (in 1966) based it on an old horse rink,” marvels Millsaps. “He left a big grassy area so the horses could run.If you sit on the top level of bleachers and walk it off, you’re about 40 yards away. I’ve actually tried to get them to switch the home and visitor’s side.”

Before the game, fans may want to take in supper at a place like Melba’s Red Light Cafe (remember, there are plenty of restaurants to choose from) and after the game, fans may want to fight their way into the teenage hangout, The Kat’s Patch.

Enjoy the leisurely drive now because Sparks says those days will soon be over.

“Growth here has gone absolutely crazy,” said the former star football player at Emory &Henry.

Enough growth to make South Iredell a 4A school this year.

But next year? It could be 3A. Or 2A. No one is really sure.

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Contact Ronnie Gallagher at 704-797-4256 or rgallagher@salisburypost.com .