Salisbury Post Online:  Local news, weather, sports and more!
Serving historic Rowan County, North Carolina since 1905.

Alford preaches defense

BY MIKE LONDON
SALISBURY POST

“The High Point Central Bison. They think they are tough like Mike Tyson. But it’s the Cavs that are the real deal. Just like Evander Holyfield.”

OK, OK, so Longfellow and Lord Byron have nothing to worry about. Still, Alford’s ad-lib isn’t bad at all. It is, in fact, so good, that it inspires other Alford wannabes around the room.

“It’s 1-to-1, the series is tied. But on Friday night the Cavs won’t be denied,” chirps T.Y. Cole, the Cavs’ “All-State manager.”

Every Cav in sight is obviously in an upbeat mood, and the biggest reason for that might be the chipper attitude of Alford, who also happens to be the biggest person in the room.

Most of the Cavs have their nicknames scribbled in tape across their lockers.

There’s “Nard” and there’s “Nerd.” There’s “Fish” and there’s “Law Dog.” Located somewhere between the “Ice Cream Man” and “The Headbanger” is the stall of the “Reverend.”

The Reverend?

“The Reverend” is Alford, the Cavs’ only senior starter on defense and unquestionably the unit’s leader. In Spencer, Alford, No. 44 in your program, is the Minister of Defense.

“Brian, he’s a Reggie White-type guy,” says North defensive coordinator Chris Sifford, referring to the future Hall of Famer, who managed to mix strong religious convictions with some equally strong pass-rushes in an NFL career that lasted a dozen years.

“Brian’s the heart and soul for us,’’ says Sifford. “Most of our guys are the young and the restless. He’s that old face. He’s athletic and intelligent. Brings lots of energy, lots of aggressiveness. You know, if we named an MVP today, it would have to be him.”

But enough about football, how about a scouting report on Alford, the poet.

“Pretty good,” says Sifford, laughing. “I’ve been teaching English for four years and his work is as good as I’ve seen.

“Brian definitely has great ability in the Liberal Arts area,” continues Sifford. “Speaks well, writes well. His real talent, though, is music.”

Music?

“Music —that’s my life,” agrees Alford, who has played the drums since he was 4, and added the keyboards to his repertoire as a freshman.

“Just learned to play by ear,” says Alford. “It was awesome. I’ll major in music in college, no doubt.”

Alford says his goal beyond football (and he does have college football potential) is to some day own his own recording studio. He doesn’t hope to record the great rockers or rappers, however. Instead, his dream is to work with the world’s top gospel artists.

Which brings us back to that “Reverend” stuff.

Alford spends a lot of time at the Love Christian Center on Long St. in East Spencer. He laughs and says he has no choice in the matter. And he’s probably right.

His father, Joe, is a minister. So is his mom, Belinda. His brother, Joe Jr., is already a chaplain in the Air Force.

“If I’m not out of town, then I’m at church,” shrugs Brian.

The big question then is how does Brian transform himself from an angel on Sundays into a bad, bad young man on Friday nights.

“Church isn’t that much different than football,” Alford says after a few seconds of deliberation. “Because for me they are both very serious business.”

n

North coach Roger Secreast remembers when Alford arrived on the scene after his family moved to Rowan from Asheboro.

“First thing we noticed about him was the enthusiasm,” Secreast says. “Second thing was the intelligence. And he worked hard. He was a pretty good player when he got here. Then he got in the weight room and made himself strong. Then he became a really good player.”

Secreast agrees with Sifford that Alford is loaded down with admirable qualities.

“He’s got a good family — real good parents,” said Secreast. “They taught him that stuff that we all need to be taught. I can’t say a thing negative about Brian. He’s a leader and he leads other kids in a very positive way.”

n

Alford will have his work cut out when he leads the Cavs this Friday against a team that is every bit as awesome as Kannapolis, the state’s top 3A team. The Wonders whipped North 42-6.

“People say it’s going to be 65-0 Friday night” says Sifford. “All I can say is that somehow, someway, we have to find a way. North kids usually rise to the challenge.”

Alford will have to be smack in the middle of things, admits Sifford. Sifford says High Point Central’s great fullback, Rickey Haywood, is a “moose” and the “real deal.” He will counter by trying to place Alford in Haywood’s path as often as possible.

“Gonna turn that priest-slash-pitbull loose this Friday,” chuckles Sifford. “I’ll tell Brian it’s mano a mano, him and Haywood.”

“High Point and us has gotten to be a big rivalry,” says Alford. “They talk trash in basketball and football. Shoot, they talk trash in track season. All Ican say is let’s pound the pads. We can’t treat ‘em like they’re special. Just gotta put ‘em on their backs like anybody else.”

Warning: “The Reverend” has been known to practice what he preaches.