East pounds Salisbury 34-6

GRANITE QUARRY— Cal Hayes Jr. finally started acting like a standout running back for East Rowan.

But not before getting in a few final games of catch with Mustang baseball teammate Drew Davis on opening night.

Hayes caught two first-half touchdown passes from Davis and ran for a TD in the second half to lead East past Salisbury 34-6.

Hayes hauled in short passes from Davis and turned them into 31- and 65-yard scores.He also finished with 118 yards rushing on 13 carries.

“You can score from anywhere on the field when you have him in the backfield,”Davis said.

Hayes’ second TD catch of the night gave the Mustangs a comfortable 18-point cushion going into halftime.

East got the ball at their own 35 with 53 seconds left in the half, and the Mustangs needed only one play to score.

Davis hit Hayes over the middle with a 10-yard pass. Hayes bobbled and caught the ball on the run, and while in stride, spun right to avoid the Salisbury safety. From there, Hayes sprinted the final 55 yards untouched.

“Very seldom do you get those kind of young men,” East coach Tom Eanes said of Hayes, who also averaged 40.2 yards on five punts.

“You can just about say anything and he’ll do it. You can put Cal anywhere and he’s got a chance.”

Hayes was held to 45 rushing yards on eight carries in the first half, but he reverted back to his old method of punishment in the fourth quarter.

With the Mustangs leading 20-0, Hayes took an inside handoff, bounced left and ran 66 yards down the sideline for his third touchdown of the game.

“I was just waiting for one,”Hayes said. “I knew it would open up some time. It usually opens up.”

Davis was the runner finding holes in the Salisbury defense early on.

He ran three times for 52 yards on the Mustangs opening drive, finishing it off with a 1-yard score with 8:55 left in the first quarter.

Davis finished the game with nine carries for 60 yards and completed 4-of-8 passes for 108 yards.

Salisbury entered the game less certain about its quarterback situation, and the Hornets alternated between Chris Geter and Tommy Ludwig throughout most of the game.

Geter started and played the first two series before Ludwig came in and took the snaps for two series himself.

The Hornets were held to minus-9 yards of total offense and two first downs in the first half.

Salisbury got a late touchdown on a 45-yard run by Josh Rivera, but new coach Mike Peavey was not pleased with his team’s effort.

The Hornets committed 13 penalties for 125 yards and lost three fumbles.

“We aren’t close,” Peavey said. “We don’t know how to do fundamental things like line up correctly. We’re a long, long, long way off.”

The Mustangs, thanks to Hayes, appear to be hitting their stride already.

“I was just getting back used to things, I haven’t played football for a whole year,”Hayes said. “I’m just getting back into the zone.”

Contact Bret Strelow at 704-797-4258 or bstrelow@salisburypost.com .