MONROE— Now comes the hard part — getting those uniforms clean.West Rowan broke its three-game losing
streak with ease Friday night at Piedmont, scoring 24 first-quarter points against the
winless Panthers. The Falcons finished with a 38-0 triumph in the 3ASouth Piedmont
Conference battle played on a sloppy field that left some players, like center Daniel
Kluttz, wondering if they’d ever be clean again.
“I think I’ll take about
three showers tonight,”said Kluttz, who did all West’s dirty work on the
blocking schemes. “I got this dirty once in middle school, but that’s when we
dove in some mud puddles after the game.”
No matter how many straight games
West had lost, Friday’s visit to Piedmont (0-8 overall, 0-6 SPC) was a chance for the
Falcons (6-3, 3-3) to rest some injured starters and get ready for a playoff push that
welcomes Sun Valley and Central Cabarrus to Mt. Ulla in the closing weeks.
But just to make things
interesting, Piedmont played three soccer games on the field this week in the rain,
turning the green grass into a muddy mess that led to six fumbles, two blocked punts and
plenty of slips and slides on tackling attempts.
“It was
terrible,”Falcons senior running back Scooter Dalton said. “I think I was three
inches deep in mud. That’s the hardest game I’ve ever had to run in.”
Dalton —and the rest of head
coach Scott Young’s Falcons, for that matter — didn’t have many problems.
Scott Roby returned the opening kickoff to Piedmont’s 37-yard line and Dalton had
runs of 5 and 9 yards before West’s first and only pass of the night, a 6-yarder, put
the ball on the 17. Dalton broke free on the next play, and a botched extra-point kick
turned two-point run made it 8-0 at the 9:49 mark.
Piedmont went three-and-out on its
first series and had the punt blocked at the 14-yard line, where Dalton scored on
West’s first play for a 15-0 lead with 7:20 left in the first half.
The Panthers then ran one play and
fumbled at their own 25. Ben Hampton had a long run that just missed the end zone, a
situation he rectified on the next play from 1 yard out.
Still 5:19 left in the first
quarter, 21-0 West. The Falcons played as though trying to exorcise the demons from their
21-14 loss to Northwest Cabarrus, the 21—7 loss at Kannapolis and last week’s
surprise 21-16 decision against Concord.
“We’ve been
ready,”Dalton said. “We had to try to bounce back off of that (Northwest) loss.
Coach was stressing that anybody can be a loser, but it takes a winner to bounce back
after a loss.”
The Panthers continued their
mighty struggles when, on their next play from scrimmage, Donald Cuff lost the ball
fighting for extra yardage. A pile of West defenders sloshed for the loose ball and set up
the offense 37 yards away.
Junior fullback Nick Blankenship
ate up a large portion of that yardage with a long run to make it first-and-goal, but the
Falcons stumbled for the first time all night, fumbling the snap on the 1-yard line. West
settled for a Matt Russ field goal and a 24-0 first-quarter advantage.
Piedmont earned its first first
down early in the second quarter but was halted on downs just inside West territory. The
Falcons shot down the field behind 30 yards in penalties and a long Dalton run. But a
fumble on the goal line recovered by Brett Correll stymied that drive.
Piedmont again was stopped and
forced to punt, much to the liking of Luke Dreschler, who skidded in and blocked it.
Michael Ellison scored from 4 yards out to make it 31-0 with 4:21 left.
The Panthers held on to the ball
and managed to get the punt off on their next series. That defensive stand was highlighted
by West lineman Jason Fink charging in untouched and leveling unsuspecting QB Myrick
Parker. The 6-foot-3, 235-pound Fink literally planted the 5-10, 170-pound Parker into the
midfield mire, from which he was pulled before shakily making his way to the sideline.
Hampton added another long run to
his credit and set up Dalton’s third rushing TD of the night, this time from 4 yards
away. The scoring ended at 38-0 with Russ’ extra point with 48 seconds left in the
half.
Flags and fumbles made for a
second-half shutout that flew by. The Falcons lost all three of their fumbles, while
Piedmont dropped three and lost two.
“To not fumble more than we
did tonight was pretty good with the playing conditions,”Young said. “With the
field as muddy as it was, you’re going to have some.”
But more than the West mistakes,
Young credited DavidSmith’s Panthers for making sure the Falcons didn’t let the
score get out of hand.
“I think they played
hard,”Young said. “Those guys never quit, and we didn’t score a point on
them in the second half.”
n
NOTES: Dalton finished with 17
carries for 131 yards, more than the combined efforts of Piedmont’s five runners.
… In the muddy conditions, each quarterback completed one pass. West’s Jared
Barnette only threw one, though, while Parker finished 1-for-7, connecting on a
zero-yarder to Cuff. … West served as Piedmont’s Senior Night and Homecoming
opposition all rolled into one. The Panthers end their season on the road and are sure to
be eyeing next week’s matchup at winless Harding. |
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