Common Sense says a neat piece of county history will unfold when East Rowan plays host to West Rowan tonight.
Twenty years ago, East’s W.A. Cline coached a burly guard who wore No. 76.
No. 76 ó Scott Young ó didn’t seem like a great bet in 1988 to impact county football history, but he definitely has.
Young is now in his 11th year as head coach at West Rowan. When he goes back to East tonight, he’ll be seeking his 95th career win.
If he gets No. 95 ó and he’ll get it unless a flying saucer lands on the 50-yard line and abducts K.P. Parks ó he’ll tie Cline for fifth place on the county’s all-time wins list.
And what better place to do it than Granite Quarry.
Ed Bowles, who assisted Cline when Young was playing, now assists Young. That’s pretty neat too.
Pointing out the career record for Young (94-37) doesn’t mean he’s a greater coach than Cline (95-86-3 in 17 seasons at East), but it does mean he’s among the greatest in county history. Young has built a solid program, organized a stable coaching staff and created an atmosphere in which everyone from Parks right down to the jayvee backups expects to win.
Young’s teams have dominated the county (27 straight wins) and the NPC (31 out of 32).
Young’s had great players and currently coaches one of the greatest ever, but that doesn’t mean winning at West Rowan is automatic.
Far from it. West was 147-240-12 under 13 different coaches before Young took the reins.
Now West is 241-277-12. Give Young four more years and West will be at .500 and he’ll be the winningest Rowan coach in the modern era.
The all-time coach in Rowan history for both longevity and success is Spencer W. Lancaster, who piloted the J.C. Price Red Devils for 291/2 seasons before integration.
It’s not possible to break down Lancaster’s record game by game yet, but research continues because he should be in North Carolina’s Hall of Fame.
Lancaster’s record is listed at 183-50-15, and there’s no reason to doubt it. The Red Devils were a dominant program from 1936-1952.
Only nine coaches, including Lancaster, Cline and Young, are credited with winning records while coaching in Rowan 10 or more seasons.
Boyden’s Bill Ludwig (129-67-11) coached 21 seasons in a career that started in 1935, resumed again after World War II and lasted until 1958.
Modern record-holder Larry Thomason (125-69) coached North from 1969-87.
Roger Secreast (115-72) won 108 games in 14 years at North and seven in two seasons at Salisbury.
Pete Stout (83-20-10) coached Boyden and Salisbury teams for 10 seasons from 1966-75 and never lost to a county rival.
Reid Bradshaw (78-48-3) and his successor Larry Deal (73-58) put in a dozen successful seasons each at South.
Keep an eye on Salisbury coach Joe Pinyan. Now in his sixth season, he’s 55-17 in his first 72 games. Young, who was 3-8 his first year, was 43-29 in his first 72.
The picks were 12-4 last week for a shaky season total of 56-18. Davie games remain a mystery without any clues, and did Lake Norman really beat Mooresville or did we just dream that?
The picks:West 35, East 7People ask what would happen if East’s undefeated 1969 team played the 2008 Falcons.
I honestly believe West would win 70-0.
Of course, those East guys are in their 50s now, and they’ve lost a step or two.
Lake Norman 17, South 14It’s anybody’s game, but it’s hard to pick the Raiders on the road where they are 2-12 the past three seasons.
Carson 20, N. Iredell 13Should be the Cougars’ fourth victory, and a winning season is still possible.
Providence Grove 13, North 6
We’ve picked North twice. We promise not to jinx the Cavs again.
Salisbury 28, Lexington 21
It’s a scary game for the Hornets, but we’ll keep riding their hot streak.
A.L. Brown 48, Piedmont 0
It’s that time of year when the Wonders get serious.
Davie 28, Mount Tabor 24
Common Sense has missed four Davie games, so this is probably the kiss of death.
W. Iredell 24, NW Cabarrus 14Warriors have too much offense.
Mooresville 29, Statesville 14The loser in this battle for second is out of the NPC race because there’s no way West Rowan is going to lose twice.
CCC: Ledford 20, W. Davidson 14; Central Davidson 14, East Davidson 10
SPC: Anson 42, Concord 20; Parkwood 23, Hickory Ridge 17; Marvin Ridge 24, Porter Ridge 7
CPC: West Forsyth 35, North Forsyth 14; R.J. Reynolds 20, North Davidson 10.