Prep football: West-Carson preview

Published 12:00 am Thursday, October 8, 2009

nTime: 7:30 p.m.
nRecords: Carson 4-3, 1-1 NPC; West Rowan 7-0, 2-0 NPC
nSeries: West leads 3-0
nLast meeting: West rolled 48-0 in 2008
nStreaks: West has won 21 straight overall, 31 straight county games and 37 of 38 NPC games
nFact of interest: Carson has never scored against West. So far it’s been 48-0, 20-0, 48-0
nLast week: Carson lost to East Rowan 29-26; West Rowan whipped West Iredell 32-0
nNext week: Carson is home against North Iredell; West Rowan is home against Statesville
nGame notes: Can Carson score against West for the first time? Carson averages a solid 27.7 points a game, but it’s probably still 50-50.
West has put up 20 shutouts in the last six seasons and owns three this year, including consecutive shutouts of NPC foes South Rowan and West Iredell. West could break a school record with a third straight shutout. The Falcons have posted back-to-back blankings many times, but never three in a row. Linemen Chris Smith, Eli Goodson and Mackel Gaither will lead the charge.
Carson will bring the county’s No. 2 rusher and scorer in junior Shaun “Bush” Warren. Running behind linemen such as Tyler Christy, Warren already owns a school-record 1,269 yards on 185 carries and has scored 16 TDs. The Cougars have some balance, with QB Zack Gragg throwing for 653 yards, six TDs and only one pick.
West is equally powerful, with K.P. Parks carrying 186 times (one more than Warren) for 1,552 yards and 23 TDs. QB B.J. Sherrill is the county’s leading passer with 884 yards.
Both West’s Jon Crucitti and Carson’s Cody Clanton have already topped 500 receiving yards
ó Mike London