MOUNT ULLA ó There are a handful of reasons why the fall’s most amazing story keeps getting better.
But there’s only one that explains how West Rowan stifled South Point on Friday night and ascended into the 3A state championship game.
Quite simply, the Falcons were better without the ball than with it.
“This game was all about discipline,” chiseled defensive end Chris Smith said. “That option they run is very hard to defend. We were told all week to concentrate, stay focused and take care of our own responsibilities. We knew if did that, we’d beat them.”
West didn’t merely beat the visiting Red Raiders from Belmont. It beat them like a Salvation Army drum, turning their vaunted, gun-the-engine offense into a slow ride in the family station wagon.
“They were flying to the ball,” said South Point junior Aaron Crumbley, the fullback with 38 touchdowns and 1,700-plus rushing yards before kickoff. “And that’s how you have to do it. You keep your head in the game and stay disciplined, no matter what.”
Bear in mind this was a South Point team that averaged 42 points and 400 yards per game through the season’s first 14. Last night it managed seven points and 125 yards.
“I didn’t expect it to be like this,” said defensive back Austin Greenwood, the late-season hero who returned a blocked punt for a pivotal touchdown just before halftime. “After that first offensive series they had, I thought we were in for it.”
South Point may have had an early 7-0 lead, but it didn’t have David Hunt on its sideline. He was across the field, calling defensive shots for the Falcons. And for the umpteenth time, the revered West assistant coach picked up on something that may have made all the difference.
“Their offensive line has dominated people all year,” Hunt said. “They do that by blowing you off the football.”
That’s exactly what happened on South Point’s first possession ó a five-play, 68-yard touchdown drive that silenced, at least for the moment, the overflow crowd that rimmed the field.
“At that point,” Smith said, “any little thing we could take, we had to take. And anything they gave us we had to take as well.”
That’s when Hunt rolled up his sleeves and got busy. He came up with a simple-yet-effective way to defend South Point’s triple-option threat.
“After that first drive, after we settled down, that’s when we realized we could play with them,” Hunt said. “But we understood we needed to make a change.”
This one involved moving each of West’s four defensive linemen a step backward.
“Just a foot or a foot-and-a-half,” Hunt said. “Everything was happening too fast on that first drive. Moving back gave us more time to react. We didn’t start out that way, but it’s something we worked on in practice ó just in case we needed it.”
That’s called learning from your mistakes, and this time it proved decisive. South Point was held to 57 yards and three first downs the rest of the way. Dipped-in-grease quarterback Desmond Lowery didn’t complete a pass and scampered for only 20 yards after the first quarter. And Crumbley was ultimately a non-factor, grinding his way for all of 55 yards.
“Their coach told me after the game (that) he lost sleep worrying about me this week,” Crumbley said. “But I have to say, they were prepared for us. They got to me and got to the ball real quick.”
Meanwhile, the Falcons fired up their offense ó then poured it on like clam sauce on a plate of linguini.
“We played defense with our offense,” said K.P. Parks, the tailback who never met pain he couldn’t play through. “We kept on poundin’ it and poundin’ it and running time off the clock.”
When it finally expired, the Falcons had watched their fourth postseason adversary fall ó and they were still standing.
“We’re part of West history now,” crowed Dominique Noble, the sophomore whose punt block preceded Greenwood’s second-quarter score. “It feels like a privilege.”
It should.
West’s evolution into a state championship team is nearly complete ó thanks to a defense that wouldn’t take ‘No’ for an answer.
“There’s only one goal left,” head coach Scott Young told the Falcons afterward. “That’s to finish it. Let’s go up there and come back with some rings.”
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Contact David Shaw at dshaw@salisburypost.com.