BY STEVE HUFFMAN
SALISBURY POST

MILLERS CREEK — On a wild, wet and woolly night, North Rowan rallied for an improbable 30-29 win over West Wilkes here Friday in the second round of the state 2A playoffs.

The Cavaliers were down 22-6 heading into the fourth quarter, and still trailed 29-22 with 1:25 to play after the Blackhawks blocked a punt and scored what appeared to be a game-winning touchdown.

But North quarterback Alfonzo Miller drove his team 79 yards in just four plays, connecting with Jerome Allison on a 26-yard touchdown toss that pulled the Cavaliers to within a point with 44 seconds remaining.

Then, with the game and North’s hopes of a state championship on the line, Miller calmly connected with a wide-open Lamar Geter for the go-ahead two-point conversion.

“We had to either win it or lose it right there,” said North coach Roger Secreast, speaking of his decision to try for the two-point conversion and a win rather than kicking for the tie. “I told the boys, ‘It’s do or die.’ “

Miller said he agreed with his coach’s decision.

“It was automatic,” he said of the Cavaliers’ decision to go for the two-point conversion. “We were going for the win.”

The drive marked a remarkable comeback for a North team that appeared dead in the water late in the third quarter.

After a first-half defensive struggle that left the Cavaliers (11-2) on top 6-0 at the break, West (11-2) exploded in the third quarter for three scores. The Blackhawks’ first tally came on an eight-play, 47-yard drive that followed a short Cavalier punt.

Within a span of less than four minutes, West scored two more times, each touchdown following a fumble by Miller.

From that 6-0 deficit, the Blackhawks rallied for a 22-6 lead and appeared to have the game well under control.

But the Cavaliers played back into the game, Miller hitting Tony Walker for a 17-yard touchdown and then connecting with Jeremiah Cauthen to cut the deficit to 22-14.

Following the block of a Blackhawk punt, the Cavaliers had to drive only 19 yards for the tying touchdown, Miller hitting Cauthen for that score. A pass from Miller to Jerome Allison notched the game.

But West did anything but roll over and die, Matthew Staley breaking loose for a 38 run as the Blackhawks drove inside the Cavaliers’ 5-yard line.

But there, Staley, who finished the night with 154 yards on 22 carries, made one of his few miscues, fumbling the wet football at the Cavaliers’ 1-yard line.

Miller connected with Allison and Walker to move the ball out to the 26, but the drive stalled there and Kevin Rutherford dropped back to punt.

A bad snap left Rutherford scrambling for the ball and a horde of Blackhawks blocked the kick, with Matthew Wolfe carrying in from two yards out for a 29-22 lead.

That’s when Miller stepped to the forefront, leading that last-minute drive.

“Never a doubt,” Miller said when asked if he thought his team could rally in the closing stages.

He finished 21-of-43 for 274 yards, connecting with six receivers on a night when a wet and slick ball was next to impossible to catch.

Contact Steve Huffman at 704-797-4247 or shuffman@salisburypost.com .