The Falcons put a wrap on their season by scoring five second-half touchdowns and gaining a heart-stopping 40-34 South Piedmont Conference victory over visiting Central Cabarrus.

“We had to overcome a bunch of stuff and we did,” head coach Scott Young said after West (5-3, 8-3 overall) treated its delirious home crowd to a wild, season-ending win. “I’m proud of what we started here. This was big. These boys have been looking for something like this for a long time.”

West secured the win when Scooter Dalton fought off three defenders and grabbed an 18-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Jared Barnette with 15.8 seconds to play. It capped a dramatic comeback that saw the Falcons score the game’s last 25 points.

“I knew as soon as he threw it, it was do-or-die,” said Dalton, who rushed for 151 yards and caught four spirals for another 60. “I figured it was just time to put the walk to the talk.”

Central Cabarrus (5-3, 6-5 overall) was walking tall in the first half, when it mounted a 21-0 lead. Meanwhile West was limited to 98 yards total offense and twice lost the ball on fumbles. Perhaps Young’s halftime blitz in the West locker room contributed to the about-face.

“I just told the truth, in my opinion,” he explained. “And sometimes the truth isn’t the nicest thing to hear. But they heard it and responded to it.”

They heard it loud and clear. “We heard every bit of what he said,” said Dalton. “He definitely woke us up.”

The alarm sounded bright and early in the third quarter. West took the second-half kickoff and marched 75 yards in seven plays for its first touchdown, Dalton’s 4-yard scoot over left tackle.

Following an interception by teammate S.J. Culbertson deep in Central territory, the Falcons struck again. This time Dalton took a pitchout and sprinted 17 yards down the left sideline for a score.

“When they scored 21 points in the first half, we looked at ourselves and said, ‘Hey, we’re better than this,’” said lineman Jason Fink. “That wasn’t West Rowan. But we got inspired in the second half and did what we had to do.”

They had to overcome a 34-15 deficit after Central quarterback Clayton Russell lofted a 24-yard touchdown pass to Michael Ricks late in the third quarter.

“We were all mad at each other,” said West linebacker Brant Marlin. “We started bickering, and that’s something we hadn’t done all year. Eventually we got it together and that made a huge difference.”

The healing process began with 1:18 remaining in the third period, when Dalton busted a 47-yard run to the Central 19. Two snaps later Jonathan Diggs raced 12 yards for a TD on a draw play.

Trailing 34-23 entering the fourth quarter, West used a 27-yard punt return by Justin Davis to set up its next score. A key play came on fourth-and-10 from the Vikings’ 26, when Barnette connected with Dalton on a 20-yarder. Only 8:11 remained when freshman Matt Russ kicked a 28-yard field goal to pull West within eight points. “We have a lot of weapons on offense,” said Fink. “We’re very diverse. There are a lot of guys who can beat you.”

Diggs, who rushed for 119 yards on only eight carries, did his part when he rumbled 68 yards for a touchdown with 2:50 to play. And though a two-point conversion attempt failed, the Falcons were within 34-32.

Three significant plays were still to come. The first was a clutch fumble recovery by West’s James Francis on the Central 30 with 1:30 on the clock. Next came Barnette’s thread-the-needle TD pass to Dalton for the lead. And finally, there was Fink’s game-ending 12-yard sack that provided a well-deserved exclamation point.