Heavily favored Concord held off Salisbury 30-13 in a non-conference contest that was a defensive duel in the first half.

Salisbury, which got outscored 95-0 in its first two losses to West Rowan and Albemarle, trailed the Spiders 10-7 at halftime.

Concord, coached by E.Z. Smith, also came into the game 0-2 with upset losses to Lincolnton and Monroe. The Spiders finally got a win, but had to work hard for it.

“If we had played the second half like we played the first half, we would have won it,” said linebacker Ken Drye, who set the tempo for the Hornets when he made a jarring tackle of Concord’s Tyrone Barrier for a 5-yard loss on the opening kickoff.

Drye and teammates T.J. Hosch, Stephen Blanton, Darren Lasco and John Bost Jr. continued to hold down the Spiders’ offense most of the first half.

Drye, who had another tackle for a 6-yard Concord loss, said, “The defensive linemen kept their linemen off me most of the game, and I just got to the ball and contained.”

“We knew we had it at halftime. We had the game. We lost the momentum with that opening kickoff, and we just couldn’t get it back,” said versatile Justin Johnson, who had a spectacular game both offensively and defensively.

The senior tried to catch a low kick on Concord’s second-half kickoff, but it bounced away from him into the hands of the Spiders’ Blaine Troutman.

Concord scored four plays later on a 21-yard pass from quarterback Jamel Jackson to wide flanker Marcus Black. It was 17-7 after Drew Walters’ extra-point kick.

“We win this game if I don’t fumble on the kickoff,” said a dejected Johnson, who did everything he could to help his team pull off an upset. “We had a couple of lapses that cost us the game. We’re a pretty good team. We just need one win.”

Justin Johnson, nicknamed J.J., played wide receiver most of the time on offense and caught seven passes for 97 yards and a touchdown from quarterback Terry Johnson (no relation). He also returned kicks and played well in the secondary.

“Nobody feels worse about it than him,” said coach Raymond Daugherty of Justin’s fumble to start the second half. “That mistake did not cost us the football game at all. What cost us the football game were mental errors and dropped balls (on pass plays) . ... The two big plays that set up both touchdowns were both made by Justin Johnson. He can’t fault himself for one kickoff.”

Daugherty was referring to Justin Johnson’s fumble recovery at the Concord 27 after a hit by Drye caused a fumble in the first half and to Justin Johnson’s 47-yard reception from quarterback Terry Johnson late in the game.

Terry Johnson, playing his second game ever at quarterback, completed nine of 26 passes for 113 yards, including a 25-yarder to Justin Johnson for Salisbury’s first TD, but a lot of his incompletions were dropped after receivers got behind the Concord secondary. The quarterback scored himself on a 19-yard run late in the contest.

“I don’t believe in moral victories, but this is another step in the right direction,” said Daugherty, who is in his first year as head coach of the Hornets. “The problem is we’re taking baby steps, and we need to lengthen our stride a little bit. I was pretty pleased. We played the best first half that we’ve played all year, and we are starting to look like a football team. I think we’re starting to come together. ... I said we were going to be a pretty good football team by the end of the year, and we are.”

Concord broke a scoreless tie late in the first period when Jackson and tailback Josh Lott teamed up for a 50-yard pass play that set up a 21-yard TD run by tailback MackJohnson on a reverse play. John Deberry’s block of the only Salisbury defender in Johnson’s path paved the way for the score.

It was 10-0 after Walters’ 31-yard field goal in the second period.

The Johnson-to-Johnson passing combination for a 25-yard TD got Salisbury on the scoreboard with 2:55 left in the half, then Patrick May added the conversion to pull the Hornets with 10-7.

Jackson’s scoring pass to Black early in the third period made it 17-7, then the Spiders added two more touchdowns — a 9-yard run by fullback Lawrence Harris and a 2-yard run by Jackson. Walters’ third conversion of the night made it 30-7 with 10:41 to play.