LANDIS— It’s not like Henry Norman can complain.
All the South Rowan junior did Friday night was rush for 176 yards on eight carries. He even scored a touchdown in the Raiders’ 34-6 victory over East Rowan.
But on another pair of long runs, with nothing but green grass in front of him, a stunned Norman came crashing to the ground thanks to Mustang Matt Baker.
Norman’s second-quarter dash of 78 yards ended at the 5-yard line thanks to the quick defensive back. Baker pulled the same trick in the third quarter, halting Norman’s 52-yard scamper at the 15.
“I was thinking that I was there and then I felt somebody jump on my back,”said a slightly chagrined Norman, who didn’t realize Baker was the culprit on both tackles. “I guess I got a little too over-confident.”
It’s not as though Norman needed the 20 extra yards. His big night accounted for nearly half of South’s 363 yards on the ground, its highest total of the season, and a few of the Raiders’ 20 first downs.
“Holes were opening everywhere,”Norman said. “The line did a really good job tonight. Everybody just stepped up.”
Senior Brent Dendy, who added 64 yards on 11 carries, finished off Norman’s first run, scoring from 5 yards out to give South a 14-0 lead with 8:32 remaining in the second quarter.
Dendy scored again from 1 yard out late in the first half to close the book on South’s dominating effort at 21-0. The Raider defense intercepted East QB Drew Davis three times in the half and limited the Mustangs (1-2) to 34 yards of total offense.
Of East’s three first downs in the first half, two came off South (3-0) penalties. A last-ditch scoring drive at the end of the half died when Brad Lanning intercepted a pass at the goal line and nearly returned it 100 yards. Davis, the last man back, made the tackle near midfield.
As it did in the first two weeks, the Raider defense delivered shot after shot to shut down the tricky East offense.
“We expect those kids to play that way,”South head coach Rick Vanhoy said. “We want those guys to be the most aggressive of the four units on the field — our offense, our defense, their offense, their defense. So far they’re done that.”
Thanks to the dominating South defense, the Mustangs had to pay a price on both sides of the ball: quick East possessions led to long South drives.
“The defense played fairly well for being out there 80 percent of the game,”East head coach Tom Eanes said.
Baker agreed.
“The defense was out there a long time and we wore down,”the senior said. “They kept moving the ball, getting positive yardage. We were exhausted.”
South opened the second half in style on Norman’s 52-yarder, but Baker’s tackle saved the day this time. Two plays after the long run, South quarterback Andrew Morgan lost the football on a run up the middle and Mustang Josh Harbinson pounced on his second loose ball of the night.
On the Raiders’ next possession, East’s defense again nearly held, forcing a fourth-and-four from its own 37-yard line. But Morgan came up with South’s first completion of the night when senior Robert Ware stepped in front of one-on-one coverage for the quick hitter and raced 23 yards. One play later, South linemen Andrew Moyer and William Van Wieren opened a truck-sized hole for Norman, who finally got that TD. His 14-yarder made it 28-0.
South’s final touchdown came after four strong runs from David Ritchie (11 carries for 65 yards) and Dendy, setting up another quick pass. This time, Morgan hit Justin Pinyan from 11 yards out for a 34-0 lead.
“I thought for the first time this year both sides of the football played real well,”Vanhoy said. “To not have to be biting your finger nails at the end of the game, we’ll take that.”
The Mustangs finally put together a drive in the fourth quarter, with Davis plunging into the end zone from 1 yard out with 49 seconds left in the game.
Aside from two first-half defensive stops that limited South to a pair of field goals, the lone touchdown was one of few bright spots for East.
“They’re a lot better than we are right now. They deserve all the credit,”Eanes said. “We’ve got a lot of work to do.”
That’s because, as Baker showed twice, defensive backs making touchdown-saving tackles isn’t going to work many nights.
“They had some big plays, we made a couple mistakes,”Baker said. “Unfortunately I had to go and run 50 yards and drag him down.”
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