By Mike London
mlondon@salisburypost.com
MOUNT ULLA ó Members of the Mashore family have made their mark at North Rowan and Salisbury, but the latest Mashore leaves marks on receivers as a West Rowan Falcon.
Trey Mashore is No. 3, the strong safety, the junior so small he looks like he might be the one weak link on the state’s top 3A team when the film comes on.
But no such luck. While Mashore could fit inside mammoth offensive tackle Rodney Cline’s back pocket, he is also one of the state’s quickest players, a ballhawk and a hitter.
“Trey’s fast,” West coach Scott Young said. “And not just track fast. Fast on the football field.”
How big is he?
Even the 5-foot-7, 150-pound listing on the roster is a slight exaggeration. The reality is 5-6, 145.
“But he’s a striker,” Young said. “Pound for pound, one of the biggest hitters we’ve got.”
Mashore’s greatest hit? He has to think about it. Teammate Chris Smith, a 240-pound beast committed to Arkansas, reminds him about Romar Morris.
Morris, a jet who plays for Salisbury, was airborne when Mashore blasted him early this season.
“That was a good hit, but I’d never try to injure anyone,” Mashore said. “Romar’s a good guy.”
As a sophomore, Mashore took fifth in the state in the 60 meters at the 1A/2A/3A indoor meet. He’s a 6.5 guy who could become a state champ.
“Coach (Ralph) Ellis reminds me of that every day,” Mashore said.
Outdoors in the 100 meters, his best is 10.68. That blinding speed plays well in the defensive backfield and on special teams.
Mashore made a monster debut as a sophomore last season. Opening night at North, Mashore was excited about playing against cousin Cameron Mallett, also a speedster, and ran back a punt for a touchdown to start a 60-0 onslaught. Mashore also returned the second-half kickoff for six points.
A punt return TD and a kickoff return TD in the same game? Even K.P. Parks has never done that.
The next week, Mashore got popped on a return by Davie star Perry James, injured a leg and had a tough time working back into the lineup.
“Then Marco (Gupton) tears his ACL,” Young said. “That opened the door back up for Trey to get in there.”
Mashore was a force in West’s playoff run and pounced on a fumble during a one-sided triumph in the 3A state championship game.
“Those last few games may have looked easy, but they weren’t,” Mashore said. “It was just that we’d prepared so well with the film study we do.”
Mashore didn’t come back down to earth right away after winning that title, but September struggles with Davie (39-36) and Salisbury (14-7) were wakeup calls for a team even more talented than last year’s.
“We had the big heads and we got challenged,” Mashore said. “The offense bailed us out against Davie. The ‘D’ bailed out the offense against Salisbury. But we learned that everyone had their teammates’ back. Those two games boosted us back up to where we needed to be.”
Mashore has earned respect with his tackling and spirited kick returns, and he’s earned bragging rights at family gatherings with West’s continued success.
“I’m playing with a bunch of D-I guys like K.P. and Chris Smith here, and that’s something I’ll be able to tell everyone about someday,” Mashore said. “I do my best. I’ve tried to let the guys know they can depend on me to do my job.”