MOORESVILLE — Mooresville’s Blue Devils offered proof Friday night that time of possession may the the most overrated thing in sports since Damien Wilkins.
Time was definitely not on visiting East Rowan’s side in a 33-12 loss to the swift Moors (6-1, 2-0). East controlled the ball and controlled the clock the whole first half, but never came close to grabbing control of this 3A North Piedmont Conference contest.
Mooresville had the ball in its hands for just six plays and 140 seconds of the first quarter, but still led 14-0.
By halftime, coach Mike Carter’s Blue Devils had a 20-0 lead that was as secure as Fort Knox, even though they’d had the pigskin for less than five minutes and their foes had possessed it for more than 19.
“East occupied the clock, did what they had to do and did a very nice job of running their triple option,” praised Carter.
East’s early possessions weren’t things of beauty, but they were reasonably effective. Basically, it was workhorse Jacob Moore up the middle for 3 behind his hard-working offensive line, then Moore up the middle for 4 more, and then finally Moore up the middle for 3 and a first down.
Before the night was done, Moore had gotten the call 21 times, despite hobbling on a bum leg.
“We were so banged up coming in it was unbelievable,” said East coach Tom
Eanes. “Considering we were up against Mooresville and considering how beat up we were, I’m not unhappy at all with 33-12. I’m proud as heck of the guys that we survived it.”
Besides Moore, Eanes’ walking wounded included key offensive linemen Morgan Shelton and Adam Shepherd. Several other Mustangs weren’t available at all.
East (2-5, 1-2) also lost starting quarterback Drew Davis late in the second quarter. Davis was running for his life, uncorked a pass downfield, then landed awkwardly — and painfully — on his shoulder.
“Drew, he went right back in there,” said Eanes. “But he was hurting. We had to get him out.”
And with Davis done, so was East’s triple option attack.
Eanes turned to cornerback Jesse Parnell for a few series at QB, then moved running back Cal Hayes under center.
Hayes, as always, amazed, even though Eanes said he hadn’t taken a snap since preseason scrimmages. From his new vantage point, the talented Hayes broke fourth-quarter scoring runs of 69 yards (inside) and 8 yards (outside) to avert a shutout.
“Davis was good, but when they had Hayes back there, they were really dangerous,” sighed Carter.
“When Davis got hurt, we told our guys to put pressure on their new QB,” said Mooresville defensive coordinator Joe
Pinyan. “But it was Cal, and all of a sudden, he was gone.”
Mooresville showed it was ready to play right from the opening kickoff, as John Holly roared downfield to deck East return man Travis
Siegle.
East kept the ball for a spell on that first possession, but eventually had to punt. And that spelled trouble just three plays later.
On third-and-3 from the Mooresville 44, Lonnell Dunn spun out of a tackle at the line of scrimmage, then blew by a quartet of Mustangs for an easy touchdown.
East then kept the ball for another lengthy stretch, but Josh Donaldson intercepted Davis.
It took 61 seconds for the Moors to strike again. Quarterback Patrick Marsh fooled the Mustangs with a fake handoff, then spotted tight end Clay Ledford running free in the East secondary. That 52-yard scoring play made it 14-0.
East then kept the ball for what seemed like an eternity. It battled a tough Devil defense and a rash of five offensive penalties to penetrate to the Mooresville 25. But on fourth-and-13, Davis’ pass to Hayes in the end zone was broken up.
East got its first stop on Mooresville’s next possession when Matt Baker came up with a juggling interception. But Baker’s spectacular pick was a double-edged sword — it handed the ball to the Mustang offense on its own 2.
From there, disaster struck quickly as Davis fumbled a snap and Mooresville’s Michael Peters pounced on it. Chris Winford scored on the next play and the Devils’ lead was stretched to 20-0 at the half.
Mooresville put the game on ice when it took the second-half kickoff and scored effortlessly for a 27-0 lead. The key play on the drive was an electrifying 41-yard burst by a wheeling, whirling Winford.
Mooresville coaches insist that Dunn (five carries, 73 yards) is a touch quicker than Winford (11, 128), who, in turn, is faster than the average speeding bullet. So it’s easy to see just what sort of great team speed East was up against.
“All I know is their No. 7 (Winford) was in a different world,” said Eanes. “Every time you blinked, he was another five yards downfield.”
Effort never wavered for either team, but once it was 27-0, things got sloppier than a college freshman’s dorm room.
Mooresville put the ball on the ground an alarming amount and a Mustang was usually there to grab it. Noted wrestler Hunter Land went to the mat and dug out a fumble that set up Hayes’ second score.
“The second half, we just weren’t sharp,” said Carter. “But give East some credit for that. They never stopped playing hard.”
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Contact Mike London at 704-797-4259 or mlondon@salisburypost.com
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