Prep Football Playoffs: West Rowan 20, Carver 16

Published 12:00 am Friday, November 28, 2008

By Mike London
mlondon@salisburypost.com
MOUNT ULLA ó Trailing Winston-Salem Carver with 5:16 remaining, West Rowan faced fourth-and-4 at midfield. Bundled-up, blue-clad fans moaned as the Falcons set up in punt formation.
It appeared coach Scott Young would play it conservatively and put his faith in his defense, but he was thinking outside the box. He put his faith instead in Austin Greenwood, the up-man on the punt team.
Greenwood caught the snap on a fake punt. He sprinted to his right ó and into the history books.
Greenwood’s wild 50-yard run down the near sideline to score the deciding touchdown is the play fans will always remember. It produced a 20-16 West victory and arguably the biggest win in the school’s 50 years of football.
“I was just trying not to fall down,” Greenwood said. “That was way too big a play to go down on.”
When he took off, Greenwood, a free safety who was West’s backup tailback in 2007, put the pain from a swollen knee and a shoulder stinger out of his mind and did his best impression of K.P. Parks.
Greenwood broke a tackle for the first down, then hurdled a Yellow Jacket to make it a big gainer. Still not satisfied, he was thinking touchdown. He got it by putting a move on Carver’s return man and diving for the end zone.
With each stride Greenwood took down the sideline, a new wave of West fans rose from bleacher seats to will him forward.
After the TD, Greenwood made a fourth-down interception to stop fourth-seeded Carver (11-3). He also made a special-teams tackle that may have saved a touchdown.
“Now that play was scary,” Greenwood said.
The top-seeded Falcons (13-1) won their 12th straight, tied the school and county record for wins in a season and reached the 3A West final.Young, his staff and his team finally got over a third-round hump that has been the only negative in a decade of local dominance. West will play host to No. 2 seed South Point (13-1) next week.
“We’re battered, we’re injured and we were down 10 to a great team, but we showed character and persevered,” Young said. “I’m numb, and I’m speechless.”
Carver controlled the action early, and its swift defense limited Parks, who didn’t practice all week because of a sprained ankle, to 92 yards on 27 carries.
West had chances to make two big plays in the passing game early. It didn’t make them and dug a 10-0 hole.
“We got a lead, but West Rowan’s kids were prepared, they believe in what they do, and they kept fighting,” Carver coach Brent David said. “We knew they had a good defense, and they threw it better than we expected. Offense, defense, special teams. They put that whole puzzle together tonight, and that’s what you’ve got to have.”
Sherrill made what David called a “backbreaker play” with West mired at its 23 in the second quarter, on the ropes and facing third-and-6. Under a heavy rush, Sherrill avoided tacklers, found the sideline and turned the corner for a 7-yard gain. That scramble ignited an 81-yard drive that cut West’s deficit to 10-7 at halftime.
Young agreed it was the play that “got us going.”
“The pocket broke down,” Sherrill said. “Just made a decision that I had to try to get something with my legs.”
Carver converted a fourth-and-4 to key a 79-yard drive late in the third quarter for a 16-7 lead, but the Falcons got a quick, easy six when Jon Crucitti took a handoff on a reverse and pulled up to throw. Carver was fooled, and Brantley Horton was 20 yards behind everyone. Crucitti got the ball to him, and Matt Turchin’s PAT made it 16-14.
West defensive lineman Mackel Gaither then delivered a huge tackle on a fourth-and-3 play after Carver had pushed to the West 35 with eight minutes left.
That gave the ball back to West’s offense. The Falcons used five plays to advance to the 50. From there, Greenwood made his huge play.
Young lost his voice in that hectic fourth quarter, but his team didn’t lose the game.
“As well as Carver played tonight, neither team deserved to lose this ballgame,” Young said. “But we’ve lost some before that our guys didn’t deserve to lose.”