| Two games into its ‘99 season,
Salisbury’s football team remains long on potential and short on dependability.
The Hornets illustrated as much
Friday night at Ludwig Stadium, where they suffered a 42-0 nonconference loss to visiting
Albemarle.
``We did a lot more good things
tonight than we did last Friday,’’ first-year coach Raymond Daugherty said after
Salisbury was blown out for the second straight week. ``We’re not happy with the
loss, but I’ll tell you this: we’re starting to come on as a football
team.’’
There is good reason to believe
him. True, Salisbury is still searching for its first points of the season, but it did
advance to the Albemarle 12-yard line late in the fourth period before first-time
quarterback Terry Johnson threw his third interception. And it did collect eight first
downs ~ four times as many as it gained in a 53-0 loss to West Rowan a week ago.
``Right now we have no major
problems,’’ said Johnson, a converted tight end who sat out last season with an
injury. ``There are some little things going wrong, some minor things. But it’s gonna
happen. It’s just a matter of getting everybody on one accord.’’
Albemarle (2-0) certainly played
in harmony. The Bulldogs drove for touchdowns on six of their first 11 possessions and
picked apart Salisbury’s porous defense for 286 yards rushing. They had three plays
that gained at least 50 yards, including sophomore T.A. McClendon’s 90-yard TD run on
the last play of the first half.
``That’s just good
blocking,’’ smiled winning coach Jack Gaster.
``We tried to use our speed
outside and thought they’d be in a prevent defense there, but they weren’t. They
guessed wrong and we blocked. Shoot, I could run like that if I got good
blocking.’’
Albemarle took a 7-0 lead before
the game was three minutes old, then extended it to 14-0 as the second quarter began. The
Dogs’ set it up when Eddie Wall raced 65 yards down the right sideline, only to be
shoulder-tackled by Salisbury’s Dewayne Coward at the six. One snap later he reached
the end zone on a pitch-out from quarterback Bryce Kimrey.
``The defense took a
break,’’ said Hornets’ linebacker Kenneth Drye. ``Basically, we just laid
down on certain plays and that’s what hurt us.’’
The guests needed only six plays
to move 26 yards and build a 21-0 edge with 3:25 remaining in the first half. Two
possessions later they took over on their own 10-yard line with 10.6 seconds on the clock.
On first down Kimrey handed off to McClendon, who knifed his way around Salisbury’s
defensive front and accelerated down the right sideline for a touchdown.
``That was my fault,’’
acknowledged Drye, who had a fumble recovery and an interception. ``I waited too late to
call a shift. Our coverage was supposed to be to the weak side, but by the time I called
it they had already snapped the ball.’’
Albemarle added a pair of
third-quarter scores ~ one on McClendon’s third TD and another when Kimrey lofted a
50-yard pass to Miller Morgan as the period expired. Salisbury’s most-impressive
drive came in the waning moments, when Johnson hit receiver Steve Blanton for a 23-yard
pickup to the Albemarle 12 with 2:53 left. The rally fizzled when Johnson’s
third-and-10 delivery was snagged by an Albemarle defender in the end zone.
``We can’t have the mental
lapses we had tonight,’’ said Daugherty. ``We still have kids who play hard for
two or three plays and then take a play off. You can’t do that because you never know
what play is going to be the biggest play of the game.’’
n
NOTES: Despite its statistical
improvement, Salisbury’s offense remains grounded. The Hornets went three-and-out on
five of their seven first-half possessions, forcing senior Patrick May to punt six
times...Johnson completed six of 14 passes for 61 yards and credited his entire offensive
line. Most impressed was Gaster. ``Quarterbacks that are running backs give us a real
problem,’’ he said. ``His ability to run and throw makes him a constant
threat.’’
Opening week quarterback Justin
Johnson took a few lumps as a tailback but managed an exciting 44-yard kick return in the
second quarter...Salisbury visits Concord next Friday. |
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