By Marny Hendrick
sports@salisburypost.com
MOUNT ULLA – It should have been a tough bounce-back game for the West Rowan Falcons but in the end the highly touted Reidsville Rams never stood a chance.
Coming off a stinging conference loss to county rival East Rowan last week, the Falcons pounded the state’s sixth ranked 2AA team 35-6 with a punishing ground game and a stifling defense.
“It was a rough week around here all last week, to say the least, “Falcon head coach Scott Young said. “That loss bothered our kids, bothered our staff and bothered our community.”
Reidsville came to Mt. Ulla at 6-1 wth a high-powered offense and an impressive legacy that includes 18 state titles. Like West, it held the state’s longest unbeaten streak at one time with 55 in a row.
On this Friday however, the Rams had to settle for ordinary as they conceded their running game totally and had only moderate success with their passing game behind dual-threat quarterback Devonte Williams.
“We knew we would have to throw the ball to have any success,” veteran Rams Coach Jimmy Teague said, “We had some success but certainly not enough.”
The lack of success by the Rams can be credited to the Falcons’ swarming defense that produced four sacks, 13 tackles for loss, and fumble recoveries by Bubba McLaughin and Matthew Choi. Big tackle Teoz Mauney notched three of the sacks. The icing on the cake came late in the first half when a high pass by Williams was intercepted by Falcon linebacker Logan Stoodley and returned 22 yards for a touchdown and a 22-0 lead.
West (6-2) was equally dominating on the offensive side, especially running backs Daisean Reddick and Desmond Jackson. Reddick ran for 138 yards and touchdowns of 35 and 53 yards. Jackson added 63 yards on 15 carries. Fullback Cody Eggers had a solid night picking up key yards up the middle. He added a 5-yard TD run late in the third period on fourth-and-1, thanks primarly to a massive hole created by linemen Brandon Hansen and Jonathan Ruiz.
Quarterback Tyler Stamp had a solid night as well and set the tone with a 14-yard scoring run on the opening drive of the night.
“I think we were not just a one-sided team tonight, “Young noted. “Our kicking game was good, our offense was good, and our defense was really good.”
The only dignity Reidsville was able to salvage was keeping its streak of 212 games without being shut out intact. It took a miracle of sorts after Harrison Baucom boomed a punt that backed the Rams up to their own 3 in the fourth quarter.
On third-and-10, however, the Rams showed their explosive nature as Williams hit a speedy David Barham down the left side for 85 yards. Barham then made a diving catch from 12 yards out on the next play to get the visitors on the scoreboard at 28-6.
Any hopes the Rams had of a true rally were soon crushed by a 53-yard scoring burst by Reddick on a counter play with 7:13 left to play.
“I thought I was going to get hit, but the coaches always tell me to keep pushing and keep pushing, “Reddick said. “That is what I did and was able to score.” He was also quick to praise his offensive line that enabled him to have his big night on the ground.
“Our guys really ran the ball well, but we still need to get better in our passing game,” Coach Young said. “We just need to get better overall.”
West will probably feel better next Friday as well, as the Falcons have a homecoming date with winless North Iredell in NPC action.