LANDIS — South Rowan coach Rick Vanhoy said he hasn’t seen a team that mixes in the run with its potent passing attack as well as East Mecklenburg.
But South senior Jay Phillips claims the Eagles haven’t played anyone that hits as hard as the Raiders.
And not just on defense.
South Rowan, the sixth seed in the West, travels to No. 3 seed East Mecklenburg today to face off in the second round of the state 4A playoffs.
The Raiders (8-4) are notorious for their defensive play, but the South offense hasn’t missed many beats without injured running back Henry Norman.
“They haven’t played anybody that runs like we do,” Phillips said. “We smash you in the mouth on both sides of the ball. We run hard, and I don’t think they can hold us down.”
South rushed 39 times for 182 yards in last week’s 27-8 win against McDowell, and Phillips led the attack with 11 carries for 62 yards and two touchdowns.
Vanhoy hopes to see his offense move the ball tonight like it did at the beginning of last week’s game.
Even though South didn’t score, it ran 5:08 off the clock on a 13-play, 66-yard march to the McDowell 14.
“We need to control the football,” Vanhoy said. “We need to be on the field.”
When the offense isn’t out there, the Raiders defense will surely be tested. East Meck (11-1) relies on both the arm and legs of quarterback Marshall Glenn.
The Eagles pass a lot, but the Raiders’ task will differ greatly from those they faced against teams such as North Rowan and West Forsyth earlier in the year.
The Cavs and Titans threw a combined 47 passes in losses to South in the regular season.
“North was developing its running game — we played them the first game — and West didn’t have much of a running game to speak of,” South coach Rick Vanhoy said.
“If (East Meck) just dropped back and threw it 50, 60 times a game, we’d be in pretty good shape. The problem is they run the ball as effectively as they throw it.”
The Raiders have made more than their share of big plays on defense, but more importantly, they haven’t allowed opposing offenses many of their own.
South has given up only one offensive touchdown of at least 30 yards since its open date on Oct. 5, a stretch spanning six games.
The Raiders gave up six such scores in their first six games, including three to North Rowan and two to A.L. Brown.
“The thing we have to do — we talked about it all week — is we don’t want to give up the big play,”Vanhoy said. “We want to make them hunt and peck all night.”
In that scenario, South’s linebackers and defensive backs could still act as predators looking to prey on any unsuspecting Eagle wideouts.
The Raiders are supposed to be the underdogs, but they’re not acting like it.
“Play five good games and you can win the state,”Phillips said. “Everybody’s got a shot, especially us.”
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