West Rowan and Scooter Sherrill have played football for three weeks. And in each of those three weeks, a new set of admirers emerged.

This week, it’s the North Rowan Cavaliers, who fell to the Falcons 29-22.

Sherrill’s cousin, Chris Sifford, was certainly impressed. And why not? He’s North’s defensive coordinator.

After watching West rumble for 466 yards of total offense, he was gushing praise toward Falcon coach Scott Young.

“Coach Young has done wonders with that team, looking at it from last year’s (3-8) team,” said Sifford, quite an athlete himself during his North Rowan playing days. “We came out flat and they jumped on us. We have no excuses.’’

Scooter Dalton and Jonathan Diggs each had 100-yard games against Sifford’s “Hit Squad.”

“The fullback is incredible. The tailback is incredible,” he said.

And what about the cousin named Sherrill?

“We’ve been going back and forth all week,” said Sifford. “I guess he got the upper (hand).”

If it looks like North Rowan quarterback Mario Sturdivant is improvising out on the field, he is.

Coach Roger Secreast allows his players to find their own identity on offense. In fact, he says he doesn’t call plays. He makes suggestions.

“Mario has a free hand in there,” explained Secreast. “He can change (the plays), I don’t care. We probably score more when he does what he wants.

“We give him suggestions. If it looks good, he does it. If he doesn’t, he does what he wants to. But that’s OK. You’ve got to do that in our offense.”

It’s obvious Sturdivant thrives in that scheme. He is currently leading the county in total offense and passing yardage.

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East quarterback Raymondo Brady, who has courageously tried to play on a gimpy knee this season, will undergo surgery soon to repair torn ligaments.

Brady tried to go on the knee on Friday in East’s 41-7 win over Mt. Pleasant, but lasted only a handful of plays.

Brady fumbled on his first series of downs. Then, on his second series, he went down for an extended period after crashing into a stack of Tigers on a scramble.

Brady, a junior who started East’s first two games, completed his only passing attempt.

Fortunately for East, its other top-level quarterback, sophomore Drew Davis, had an exceptional game Friday, and looks capable of holding down the job with Brady on the shelf.

Defensive back Caleb Kirk will serve as Davis’ backup.

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He also caught a TD pass and even threw a completion to fellow sophomore Nick Lefko.

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Blakeney, a recent transfer from Salisbury High, had a nice game against Mount. The sophomore is small (7-5, 140), but doesn’t shy away from contact.

“He had some big hits for us tonight,” said Safrit.

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Dillard’s first name, by the way, is Jennifer, and yes, she’s a girl.

Senior running back-wide receiver Justin Johnson was one reason Salisbury gave favored Concord a battle before falling 30-13.

Johnson, a 5-10, 170-pounder, was the No. 1 target for quarterback Terry Johnson, catching six passes for 97 yards, one of them a 25-yarder for a touchdown that pulled his team within 10-7 in the first half.

“Justin Johnson does everything for us,” said coach Raymond Daugherty. “He’s our leader in the clubhouse, in school and on the football field.

“He played corner, he returned kickoffs, he played split end, he played our inside slot, he played our middle slot, he played our running back, he played our single receiver. The only thing he didn’t do was carry the water out there at timeout.”

Defensively, Johnson had a touchdown-saving tackle and recovered a fumble.

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HOMECOMING: Salisbury’s game with South Rowan is big for Daugherty but he doesn’t know about the rest of his student body.

“There’s a lot of extra feeling for me,” said Daugherty, who used to cheer on South when his son played there and when he coached there. “But I don’t know how much there will be for the kids. I don’t think Salisbury has played South Rowan since 1972. As far as a natural rivalry, it’s not there for the Salisbury students. But it is for me.”

It was a breakout night for South quarterback Tim Cook. The 6-2 junior, who had completed a total of three passes in previous losses to East Rowan and West Rowan, connected on nine of 18 attempts for 145 yards and his first two touchdowns of the season.

“Tim was really on tonight,” Garrett said after the Raiders amassed 343 yards total offense. “You could just feel it. His passes were right where they were supposed to be and the receivers had no trouble picking the ball up.”

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DEFENSE RESTS: Defense remains the Raiders’ most-glaring weakness. They surrendered eight touchdowns and more than 500 yards to the high-powered Wonders.

“We are concerned,” said coach Rick Vanhoy, who team has yielded 130 points in three games. “A lot of this had to do with the athletes we were playing against. Kannapolis ran its offense well and executed well. They took everything we gave them.

“What we have to do,” he continued, “is take all the positive things we can from this game and build on them.”

Davie’s Thadd Johnson, an avid outdoorsman who missed the Mooresville game with a sore back, cherished his return to the lineup in the War Eagles’ 37-8 win over North Iredell more than any catfish or deer he’s ever brought home.

Playing like there was no tomorrow, the senior converted a fourth down on a 23-yard bullet from quarterback Drew Ridenhour, reviving a 10-play drive that led to a 7-0 lead.

Later, he made a spectacular, diving grab for 32 yards, helping the War Eagles score for the fifth time in seven possessions.

What a terrible position to be in.

North Stanly head coach Robert Harris has three speedsters in his backfield with quarterback Wes Herlocker and tailbacks O.J. Owens and Kamal Watkins. But who gets to carry the ball?

In the first half of Friday’s 49-20 loss at Albemarle, Owens didn’t have a single carry as Watkins gained 128 yards on 12 carries, including a 64-yard scoring dash.

Then it was Owens’ turn, and on his third carry of the second half he raced 65 yards for a score.

Owens finished with 85 yards on six touches, while Watkins had 150 on 20 carries.