Two of South Rowan’s three captains were hospitalized Friday night.
Cornerback Ricky Childers and linebacker Jay Phillips were dehydrated and suffered muscle cramps after losing fluids during the Raiders’ 47-19 win over North Rowan.
“Those two have very low body fat, so the fluid they were losing was coming straight from their muscles,” explained South coach Rick Vanhoy.
Childers and Phillips were back at practice on Monday, apparently none the worse for wear.
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INJURY: South defensive lineman Josh Miller was the only Raider injured badly enough Friday that he won’t play this week against Salisbury. Miller badly dislocated his thumb while assisting on a tackle. Estimates are he’ll be out four weeks.
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THE BIG GUY: South coach Rick Vanhoy once coached a player similar to his current 427-pound offensive behemoth Brad Mulkey.
In 1987, when Vanhoy was an assistant at Lee County High in Sanford, a freshman named Derek McKiver showed up for the first day of practice in the summer heat.
“McKiver weighed 380 or maybe 390, but at that size what’s 20 pounds more or less?” said Vanhoy.
In those days, school didn’t start until late August, so Lee County had two practices a day in the early part of the month. The consensus of the coaches was that McKiver wouldn’t return for a second day.
When he did return on the second day, they were just as confident he wouldn’t come back for the third.
They were wrong again.
As it turned out, McKiver kept coming back. He missed one day in four years — when his grandfather died.
And the huge kid gradually became a player. By the time McKiver was a senior and Lee County needed a crucial touchdown against Scotland County, the play was run behind McKiver. As Vanhoy remembers it, the big guy nearly drove one side of the Scotland defensive line through the end zone.
“McKiver didn’t look the part, but he was a player,” said Vanhoy. “I learned a lot from that experience because Mulkey’s the same way. He does everything you ask. He doesn’t miss a day of practice and in the summer he’s in the weight room every day.”
And will he someday make a block as crucial as McKiver’s?
“Brad’s going to get that chance,” said Vanhoy.
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LOSING GROUND:Mulkey said he and teammate William Van Wieren wage a constant battle for the school’s weightlifting records but adds that he’s started to slip behind his 255-pound teammate.
“William’s got a weightlifting class this semester and I don’t,” said Mulkey. “He’s making some big jumps.”
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THE FUTURE: Both Vanhoy and South offensive line coach Larry Deal feel that Mulkey has next-level potential.
So does Mulkey.
“If I can get my weight down to around 350 pounds by my birthday (March 18) and if I do the job in the classroom (he said his current GPA is 3.8), I know I’ll get a chance to play somewhere,” he said.
Mulkey’s a little leery of that college conditioning, though.
“My friend Brett Lloyd (one of last year’s offensive linemen at South) is walking on at Catawba and he’s told me some stories,” said a wide-eyed Mulkey. “He says they run a mile in equipment before practice. He said that’s not even part of the conditioning. It’s just a warmup.”
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SWEEPS WEEK: Anytime South handles North, it can at least start daydreaming about one of those satisfying county sweeps.
South, which went 4-0 in county contests last season, boasts a five-game county winning streak heading into Friday’s game at Salisbury.
The last county team to beat South was North, 29-13 in the middle of the ’99 season.
The fact that North Rowan lost at South Rowan wasn’t all that surprising, but the margin certainly was.
The Cavs hadn’t been beaten by so many points by a county rival since Salisbury dusted North 56-6 in 1989.
This was South’s most one-sided win ever over the Cavs. The previous largest margin was by 24-7 in 2000.
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POSITIVE SPIN: Despite Friday’s lopsided loss, North coach Roger Secreast was in reasonably good spirits after the game.
“We’ve obviously got a ways to go,” said Secreast, “but this loss should help us. It showed us maybe we all have to work a little harder.”
Last season, Ben Hampton hopped all over the field for the Falcons. He lined up at tailback, fullback, slot receiver, wide out, tight end — and even started a game at QBwhen Jared Barnette was injured.
This year, Hampton was set to be the starting signal-caller, but the West coaches are trying to utilize his speed and strength in as many ways as possible. Friday night at South Iredell, Hampton completed 9-of-17 passes for 164 yards and ran eight times either on the option or quarterback draw.
Hampton also got seven carries at tailback when Gary Scott took a turn under center. As a running back, Hampton gained 27 yards. He had eight rushes for 21 yards as the QB.
“That was the plan coming in,”Hampton said. “Coach has the confidence in me to want the ball in my hands. Gary’s coming on in practice and if he can free me up to play tailback that’d be even better.”
Mustang Cal Hayes Jr. surpassed the 1,500-yard rushing mark for his career on Friday and upped his career receiving yardage to 900. Hayes’ three touchdowns gave him 30 for his career.
Hayes’ longtime teammate, QB Drew Davis, continues to make progress on a quietly spectacular career that should see him surpass the 2,000-yard plateau for total offense. Davis has been credited with 1,691 yards (1,396 passing and 295 rushing).
West’s Horatio Everhart boosted his career receiving yardage to 800 in Friday’s loss and is still averaging well over 20 yards per catch for his career.
North’s Alfonzo Miller continues to assault the record books in what may prove to be the most versatile career in county history. Miller is closing in on a rare — possibly unique — triple, as he’ll soon be a member of the 1,000-yard club in career passing, rushing and receiving.
The elusive senior reached the 1,000-yard mark for passing in Friday’s loss and has accumulated over 1,800 receiving yards. He has 741 yards rushing.
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