Prep Football Preview: Lake Norman at West Rowan
Published 12:00 am Friday, October 24, 2008
* Time: 7:30 p.m.
* Records: Lake Norman 5-3, 3-3 NPC; West Rowan 7-1, 6-0 NPC
* Series: West Rowan leads 6-0
* Last meeting: West battered the Wildcats 35-0 in 2007
* Last week: Lake Norman lost to South Rowan 7-3; West set records in a 69-0 victory against East Rowan
* Next week: West is at South Rowan; Lake Norman is home against North Iredell
* Game notes: Lake Norman is pretty good this season, but itís been an amazingly one-sided series. West beat the Wildcats 58-19 in 2006, and that was actually a breakthrough for Lake Norman. Itís the only game in which it has ever scratched against the Falcons.
West has outscored the Wildcats 230-19 in the six-game series.
Lake Norman has done a fine job containing West standout K.P. Parks. Parks had 15 carries for 131 yards and one TD as a freshman and 19 carries for 133 yards and two TDs last season. Thatís human.
Lake Normanís Dirqual Ellis (No. 44) has been tough for anyone to block this season, but West figures to find a way to spring Parks.
Parksí updated career numbers are 5,707 rushing yards and 80 TDs.
Lake Norman has been hard to predict. It lost to Carson but beat Mooresville.
It may not matter. West wins NPC games routinely. Itís taken 11 straight in the league and 31 of 32.
Westís defense, which includes Nate Dulin and Dylan Andrews, has been pretty incredible. Four shutouts and no team has rushed for more than 55 yards against the Falcons.
West is also throwing the ball well, with quarterback B.J. Sherrill, Jonathan Hill, Jon Crucitti and Brantley Horton providing a quality quartet. Horton has seven TD catches this season and 12 in his two years as a receiver.