East Rowan’s turnaround against Salisbury marked the second-largest, one-year swing in school history.
Salisbury rolled East 51-0 in 2011. Yet, last Friday, East beat the Hornets 20-14.
Apparently there were thousands of readers who anticipated that event.
Common Sense did not.
The only bigger reversal of fortune from one season to the next in East football history occurred in 2004.
East was smashed 62-0 by A.L. Brown in 2003, but a year later, the Mustangs shocked the world — and the Wonders — 21-20.
What about the rest of the county programs you ask? Have they ever turned horrible losses into wins just a year later.
In a word, yes.
n North has had two notable reversals of sorrowful setbacks.
North was annihilated by Mooresville 50-7 in 1974, but the Cavaliers bounced back to beat the Blue Devils 29-6 in 1975. Taking it one step further, North crushed Mooresville 57-0 in 1976 for a swing of exactly 100 points in a two-year span.
In more recent times, North lost 52-14 to High Point Central in 1999 but avenged that brutal loss with a stirring 36-31 win in 2000.
n Probably the largest turnarounds in South Rowan history all came back-to-back-to-back late in the 1999 regular season.
South was thrashed by CPC foes West Forsyth (42-0), R.J. Reynolds (42-10) and Mount Tabor (56-7) to conclude the 1998 season, but a year later, the Raiders upset all three rivals to surge right into the 4A playoffs.
South also has turned around some one-sided losses to A.L. Brown. South was blitzed by the Wonders 34-0 in 1967 and 35-0 in 1980, but in both instances, South won the next meeting.
n West hasn’t had any sand kicked in its face lately and hasn’t lost by a monstrous margin to anyone since it fell to Nick Maddox and A.L. Brown 54-6 in 1998.
The biggest one-year reversal in West history appears to have come in 2002-03. West lost to Mooresville 35-0 in 2002, but it beat the Blue Devils in 2003.
n Salisbury lost to North Rowan 49-6 in 1994, but the Hornets’ mighty 1995 team beat the Cavaliers by 22.
Way back, Pete’s Stout’s teams also performed a famous turnaround.
Thomasville routed Stout’s club 46-0 in 1968.
Stout didn’t forget.
The Hall of Famer’s next club beat the Bulldogs in 1969, but the real payback came in a 1973 playoff game — to the tune of 52-0.
n Carson’s biggest bounce-back in a year’s time came against Salisbury.
The Cougars were swamped by the Hornets 50-6 in 2009, but Carson won 42-27 when the teams met in 2010. That game probably still ranks as the most impressive in school history.
One thing we learned from digging into the record book is that teams don’t get immediate payback for 51-point beatings very often.
It appears that in his debut as East’s coach, Misenheimer performed a reversal second in magnitude in county history only to the monumental miracle performed by East coach Will Orbin against the Wonders in 2004.
East is presented with the opportunity to top last week’s reversal tonight. In 2011, Concord beat East 58-0.
The picks were so bad last week, that the less said the better. Heartfelt apologies for lack of faith go out not only to East, but to North Rowan, Davie and Central Cabarrus.
Common Sense figured South Rowan-Central as a tossup, but Central tossed South like a salad.
Nearly picked North over Carson, but the picture in the football edition of hungry Carson linemen devouring a football inspired Common Sense to lean the wrong way.
But no more excuses. It’s time to bounce back in a week with many tough picks.
Concord 35, East 14
We’ll be thrilled if East does it again, but the odds say it won’t happen two weeks in a row on the road.
A.L. Brown 56, South 21
This matchup was 63-12 last season, so the Raiders have a chance for the biggest reversal in school history.
We said a chance. Not a good chance.
Davie 21, West 10
West’s defense is fine. But the offense is a work in progress, and Davie may be a top-10 4A team.
Salisbury 21, North 14
Sure, North could win, but SHS coach Joe Pinyan is 89-34. That means his teams don’t drop two straight often.
NW Cabarrus 24, Carson 21
Carson has never beaten the Trojans, although there’s a first time for everything.