Gallagher column: East teams face challenge tonight

Published 12:00 am Thursday, January 19, 2012

Roaming the county getting ready for tonight …
East Rowan at Carson will be the feature doubleheader in the Post tomorrow. When two schools in the county meet, you can bet Jon. C. Lakey’s camera will be there.
This is a big, big game for East’s boys. The Mustangs haven’t won since the Moir Christmas Classic, dropping contests to South Rowan and Statesville. At 4-2 in the North Piedmont Conference and 9-7 overall, Trey Ledbetter’s team will be ready to get back on track.
Carson is in last place at (5-12, 1-5) with a young team.
And the East-Carson girls game?
A couple of weeks ago, this was expected to be a laugher. East was 1-11 after 12 games. Carson was 12-0.
Then, Danielle Porter’s team rediscovered itself. The Mustangs have won four straight.
And they didn’t just win. They pounded opponents by 17, 24, 14 and 28.
Does that mean anything going into tonight?
Stay tuned.

The overall record (10-7) says this has not been the usual West Rowan basketball season for Mike Gurley’s Falcon boys.
The NPC record (5-1), however, says this is the usual West Rowan basketball season.
The Falcons are tied for first place with Statesville heading into tonight’s only first-place showdown involving a county team. West travels to face the Greyhounds (11-3, 5-1) for outright possession of the top spot.
These two teams have created quite a rivalry over the past few years. Statesville won the regular season in 2011 but West beat Sonny Schofield’s team for the tournament championship.
West defeated Statesville in the first meeting this time around, the Greyhounds are hurting. They’ve battled injuries throughout the season. Josh Gaither injured his ankle in the first West matchup. Nick Schofield and Jarod Gill are battling knee problems.
West is going for its third win in a row after starting the season 0-3.

Who else is in first place?
• The Carson girls, of course. They have already been mentioned but Brooke Misenheimer’s team (15-1, 6-0) has cemented itself as the favorite to win the NPC.
• North Rowan’s boys, of course. The Cavaliers (13-2, 8-0) face off against Yadkin Valley 1A Conference foe West Montgomery at home, a team they decimated 68-36 earlier in the year.
• The Salisbury girls, of course. The Hornets (13-2, 2-0), travel to East Davidson. The Golden Eagles are no pushovers. They are one of four teams in the Central Carolina 2A Conference (Thomasville and Central Davidson are the others) with at least 10 wins.

The other county doubleheader has South Rowan playing West Iredell.

On the air tonight …
Hall of Famer Howard Platt and The Coach, Bob Parker, will call the North Rowan boys game on WSTP 1490 AM.
Go to a game tonight, folks. And be nice.

Contact Ronnie Gallagher at 704-797-4287 or rgallagher@salisburypost.com.