By Tony Bazen
sports@salisburypost.com
STATESVILLE ó Where were you when the lights went out?
West Iredell had just scored with 1:10 left in the first half to trim South Rowan’s lead to 14-6 when the stadium went completely black Friday.
“Just like that, darkness,” South coach Jason Rollins said. “Every time we play West Iredell, something crazy happens.”
After the initial confusion, during which a number of people in the large crowd at Warrior Warfield screamed, many took out their cell phones and tried to use them to provide a little light to pierce the darkness.
The darkness occurred suddenly when several transformers in the area exploded. Repairs forced the postponement of the game to 2 p.m. today.
Early in the game, it was South Rowan’s defense that was lights out.
South struck quickly in the first quarter when West quarterback Sayer Robinson’s lateral pass was off the mark and Raiders defensive back Donte Henderson scooped it up and sprinted 30 yards to give the Raiders a 7-0 lead with only three minutes gone.
A Warriors’ gamble backfired late in the first quarter.
With fourth-and-1 from his own 31, Warriors coach Mark Weycker rolled the dice and came up empty. The Raiders stopped Robinson on a keeper and took over on downs.
South quarterback Blake Houston later completed a 26-yard pass to Trey House to give the Raiders a first-and-goal from the 1.
D’Andre Harris rumbled in from there to give South a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter.
Midway through the quarter, West caught a break when South fumbled in Warrior territory.
With new life, the Warriors went on an impressive 12-play, 64-yard drive highlighted by a key third-down scramble by Robinson and a 26-yard run by L.J. Harper.
On third-and-goal from the 10, Robinson lofted a pass to Vincent Davidson, who outjumped the South cornerback for the touchdown.
Then came the power outage.
The game will continue today with West Iredell kicking off and 1:10 remaining in the second quarter.
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NOTE: Rollins said the teams contacted Statesville to see if they could finish the game there, but the field was not playable.