Horton Prove He's One Of The Best

BY MIKE LONDON
SALISBURY POST

CHARLOTTE - Sports editor Ronnie Gallagher and I got East Rowan's Adam Horton and A.L. Brown's Nick Maddox together last August at the Salisbury YMCA to pose for a cover photograph for the Post's football edition.

We figured Horton and Maddox were the right people for the job, since they were projected to be the two top seniors in the Post's coverage area.

A good job is exactly what they did.

Well, actually, a good jab is exactly what they did. They strapped on boxing gloves and snarled menacingly as Post cameraman John C. Lakey shot pictures of them from a dozen angles. They were convincing enough actors that Maddox's mother, Pat, grew worried that the 230-pound Horton might slug her 190-pound son - ending Nick's promising career prematurely.

"Don't you hit him, Adam!" she warned, at least a dozen times.

But there wasn't much danger in that. It was obvious how much respect the pair had for one another.

They got along wonderfully, telling stories about their middle school days when their battles took place on the basketball court, not the gridiron.

Horton was impressively polite to Mrs. Maddox and he and Nick exchanged phone numbers.

When the Maddoxes, strangers to Salisbury, decided they wanted to eat dinner at a restaurant here before driving back to Kannapolis, Horton graciously offered to be their guide. "Follow me," he said.

And he's a very easy fellow to follow in his white jeep with the "Pray4Sno" license tag.

Before they left, though, I said, "Won't it be great if you guys play on the same team later this year? You know, in the Shrine Bowl."

"That would be nice," said Mrs Maddox. Then they were on their way.

As it turned out that was my only correct prediction of 1998 (the Panthers aren't going to win the Super Bowl it appears). Because shortly after Horton and Maddox finished their prep football bouts with a 2-2 split, both were named to represent North Carolina in the Shrine Bowl - along with Maddox's teammate Nick Gill.

And wouldn't you know it, their first joint venture as teammates was a winning one. Horton ruled on defense and Maddox made the game-turning play for the Tar Heel offense.

Gill was not a big factor, playing some safety on passing downs and racing downfield on kickoff coverage, but just as his A.L. Brown coach Bruce Hardin predicted last month, he did make the initial hit the first time North Carolina kicked off.

But it was Horton and Maddox that did this area especially proud Saturday afternoon as the 62nd Shrine Bowl unfolded at Memorial Stadium. In fact, North Carolina's 38-20 win came largely because of their efforts.

Horton was everywhere on defense (see related story), battering so many ball carriers that he was named North Carolina's defensive MVP. He caused a fumble and was the primary tackler on at least a dozen plays.

Maddox, curiously, touched the ball only three times in the first half, scoring on a 12-yard run the first time his number was called.

South Carolina dominated the game for a long stretch after Maddox's score. Sandlapper running back Derek Watson ran wild (33 carries, 275 yards) as South Carolina built a 17-7 lead early in the third quarter.

But with 13:04 left in third, A.C. Reynolds' Bobby Poss, head coach of the North Carolina team, suddenly remembered he had Maddox in uniform.

That realization led to a run that may be Maddox's greatest ever - especially when you consider the caliber of opposition.

Maddox started right, but there was no hole. Instead, there were three sizeable Sandlappers waiting for him with open arms. But Maddox stopped dead, stutter-stepped, shifted gears and darted back to the left. He broke a tackle and suddenly was running free. No one could catch him as he went 60 yards for a touchdown - a score he punctuated with a celebratory somersault into the end zone.

"They had him! They had him!" screamed more than one press box scribe, as Maddox broke loose.

"How could they let him get away?"

Those who have seen Maddox perform miracles in the past, however, simply turned and stared at the uninitiated and smiled.

After Maddox's second TD, North Carolina still trailed 17-14, but from that point it played inspired football. The Tar Heels tied the game on a field goal five minutes later. Then after Horton forced a Sandlapper fumble, the Tar Heels took the lead for keeps on C.J. Leak's 26-yard TD pass to Sam Aiken.

Aiken was named North Carolina's offensive MVP for his 135 yards on six receptions, and he did have a great game. But everyone in Memorial Stadium knew whose play had changed the course of the contest. South Carolina never recovered from Maddox's dash, playing the rest of the day in a daze.

In some respects it was a disappointing final high school game for Maddox. His two TDs and 102 yards on 10 carries paled beside the stats from some of his legendary performances.

I'm proud to say I saw many of them, including his varsity debut on a muddy night at Forest Hills back in 1995 when he was a 160-pound freshman kick returner. And I was proud to be there for his last one yesterday.

Maddox went out with class, just as he came in with class.

Surrounded by a mob of reporters after the game, all of whom wanted to know if he was frustrated over carrying the ball just 10 times, Maddox shrugged.

"Hey, it's an all-star game," he said. "Everyone wants to play and everyone should play. I'm just glad we won."

Mike London covers high school sports for the Post.