The three games span three classifications and every one takes place outside the borders of Rowan County.
But there hasn’t been a Friday night with implications so meaningful to this area through the first nine weeks of the 2001 football season.
Six teams, four with local connections, take the field tonight with a combined 18 conference wins between them.
And not a single loss.
“Everybody’s starting to get things laid out as far as the conference goes,” Davie County coach Doug Illing said. “The games get bigger and bigger each week.”
It’s tougher to find a trio of games more important than the ones that will take place tonight.
Illing’s War Eagles host South Rowan in a battle of Central Piedmont 4A
unbeatens. A.L. Brown travels to Mooresville with first place in the North Piedmont 3A on the line. And North Rowan leaves for Ledford with the hopes of returning as the only team in the Central Carolina 2A with a 5-0 league mark
“Down to the end of the season, it’s big games now,”Ledford coach Gil Maxwell said. “That’s what it’s about.”
Davie County (7-1, 2-0) has dominated opponents this season with a stingy defense that allows only 91.2 rushing yards a game. South Rowan (5-3, 2-0), led by Henry Norman, averages 226.1 rushing yards a contest.
“He doesn’t do it by himself,”Illing said. “They’ve got a great offense. It will be a big challenge for our defense, but I think our defense will be ready for the challenge.”
North Davidson (8-0, 2-0 in the CPC) is still in the mix, as well.It hosts struggling West Forsyth tonight and travels to South and Davie to finish out the regular season.
“The winner (tonight) has an edge with two tough games left to play,”Illing said. “But two out of the three teams playing should set the stage one step further.”
A.L. Brown (5-3, 3-0) and Mooresville (7-1, 3-0) meet for the first time since 1967. The Wonders got off to a 1-3 start, but they turned it around in time for the games that matter most.
“Credit the kids and assistant coaches, they fought back,” A.L. Brown coach Ron Massey said. “They hung in there, improved each week, and now we have the opportunity to play in a big ballgame.”
North (7-1, 4-0) and Ledford(6-2, 4-0) are both two games ahead of three teams that share third place in the
CCC.
Ledford can claim to know first-hand just how dangerous Alfonzo Miller is at quarterback. Miller made his debut behind center against the Panthers last season and hasn’t looked back since.
“After our ballgame, we knew he’d be successful,”Maxwell said. “We got frustrated that we couldn’t catch him, and teams after us have had the same problems.”
The Panthers will have a tough time catching the Cavaliers in the conference race if they lose tonight.
“The winner will have a good grip on becoming a conference champion,”Maxwell said. “The loser is still in good shape for a playoff berth. It’s not a do-or-die situation.”
Those will come in the Fridays that follow, but this week is still pretty special.
“This is exciting for teams, it’s not how you play in late August and September,” Illing said. “It’s how you play in October and November.”
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