By Mike London
mlondon@salisburypost.com
West Rowan’s Chris Smith and Salisbury’s Pierre Jimenez, who have winning smiles and huge numbers in common, share this year’s Rowan County Defensive Player of the Year award.
Unless you’ve been stranded with Gilligan and The Skipper the past four months, you know about Smith, the NPC Defensive Player of the Year.
Chiseled, quick and smart at 6-foot-3, 225 pounds, Smith handled the quarterback-chasing and interviews for a dynamite defense.West buried South Point’s hyped running attack in a 3A semifinal and stifled West Craven’s vaunted passing attack in the championship game. Smith’s talent and tenacity were a key part of West’s ability to roadblock any sort of offense.
It doesn’t seem fair to mention that Smith is only a junior. There are offensive coordinators who will retire when they read that.
At 5-11, 210 pounds, Jimenez isn’t the physical specimen Smith is, but the senior was the best defender on a team that was 10-0 when West was 9-1.
The middle linebacker for the Hornets is always a player, and Jimenez upheld a proud tradition. He was an emotional leader in huge wins, and he was a stand-up guy when things fell apart in November with paperwork forfeits and a first-round playoff loss a long way from Ludwig Stadium.
The record book says Salisbury officially finished 7-5, but the Hornets, as anyone who saw the Lexington game can verify, were a special team. They weren’t anywhere near as awesome as West in the trenches, but they were even faster and equally exciting.n
The Hornets were clinging to a 13-6 lead against South Rowan on opening night when Jimenez read QB Blake Houston’s eyes and picked off a pass at Salisbury’s 10.
A week later, Jimenez made a pivotal interception against East Rowan. That’s when Salisbury coaches stopped worrying about him.
Against Ledford, Jimenez had two fumble recoveries and an interception. By then, coaches were just enjoying the show.
“We were concerned at first Pierre couldn’t do it,” Salisbury coach Joe Pinyan said. “His junior year, he was the young linebacker, and we lined him up right or left depending on the particular gameplan we were trying to execute. This year we put him in the middle where we’d had all those great players. He did the job, really understood the position.”
In the middle, Jimenez saw the whole field and figured out the big picture. He was a different player than the one who lined up outside. He proved a worthy successor to Don Ambers and Harry Howard, a pair of county players of the year, and to immediate predecessor Brandon Clodfelter.
“I kind of just liked it in the middle more,” Jimenez said. “When you’re in the middle, you feel like you’re the leader of the defense.”
Salisbury’s defense wasn’t a shutdown unit like West’s. It was a rubber band that stretched and stretched and finally snapped back at offenses to keep them out of the end zone.
Salisbury allowed 200-plus rushing yards six times, but only two opponents scored more than 18 points.
“We knew we couldn’t let teams get TDs,” Jimenez said. “When they’d get to the red zone, we were like, ‘OK, it’s time to make a play.’ ”
Jimenez often made it, and his stats were impressive. He had 73 first hits, plus 67 assists. He accumulated six sacks, 12 tackles for loss, four forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries and three interceptions.
“Those numbers are what two or three guys do,” Pinyan said. “But no one game stood out for Pierre. He did it in all of ’em.”
As much as the tackles and takeaways, Pinyan will remember Jimenez’s positive energy.
“I enjoyed coaching him as much as I have anyone,” Pinyan said. “We’d get all over him at practice, and he’d just keep right on smiling.”
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Smith didn’t play football as a West freshman because his parents wanted him to adjust to schoolwork before he tried athletics. That tells you something about his background and upbringing.
His first athletic appearances at West were with Mike Gurley’s basketball team as a freshman power forward whose shooting range wasn’t much longer than his enormous feet.
But when he got his hands on a rebound, it was his, even as a 14-year-old. Smith smiled frequently, and Gurley referred to him as “Hercules” as often as Chris.
Smith reported for football as a sophomore, and it was obvious from the first minute of the first game that he could be a terror on the gridiron. His future clearly was in football.
He’s had lots of ups and a few downs since, but he’s always kept moving in the right direction. Some Fridays, he totally dominates with his strength and explosiveness. At all times, opponents worry about him and must account for him.
“Chris is still a work in progress, but the unlimited athletic ability and potential upside make him a D-I kid,” West coach Scott Young said. “He’s gotten a lot better in a short time, and he’ll continue to get better. He’s just starting to take off.”
Smith, among the state leaders with more than 20 sacks, kept producing them in the playoffs and championship game. He had 84 tackles and destroyed 18 running plays behind the line of scrimmage.
“My teammates and I worked since March for that championship,” Smith said. “I just played my responsibilities, so I have to give all the credit to my teammates and coaches for keeping it going.”
Smith had some early games in which he wasn’t a major factor. Against Northwest Cabarrus, he was nearly invisible.
“We actually benched him a few times because he was missing assignments,” Young said. “But by the end of the season my staff had special instructions that Chris was not coming off that field. He got hurt a little in the playoffs and wanted to know if he was coming out. We told him to get back in there, and he did.”
Smith revealed he banged up a knee and shoulder during the playoff run, but he figured he was still in better shape than more seriously wounded teammates, so he persevered.
“When you get to the playoffs, you’ll play through anything,” Smith said.
There’s a good chance Smith will commit to a college before next season. His goals now are to have fun playing basketball on West’s best team in years and to keep getting bigger.
“That weight room is my second family,” he said.