MOUNT ULLA — It was September, and West Rowan’s football team had just held on — like drowning sailors clinging to chunks of driftwood in a hurricane —to beat North Rowan in Spencer.
West quarterback Tyler Stamp, who signed with Wingate on Wednesday, had experienced a dismal throwing game — 34 passing yards, two completions in 10 attempts — and headed out of the North locker room with his head sinking toward his chest.
West coach Scott Young yelled at him, and not in an unfriendly way.
“Stamp, what’s the only stat that matters?” Young barked. “The only stat.”
“Wins and losses,” Stamp replied quietly. “Wins and losses.”
West watched its long streaks in the county and the North Piedmont Conference crumble during the 2012 season, and you can argue that part of the reason was that Stamp, who would have been an outstanding receiver, was only a pretty good quarterback.
But you also can argue that a major part of the reason West managed to go 10-3 was that Stamp was a pretty good quarterback. He accounted for 18 touchdowns with 1,061 passing yards and 432 rushing yards.
Stamp helped West extend its streak of at least 10 wins to nine straight seasons, and that was maybe the most important streak of all.
Wins and losses. Only stat that matters.
So how does Stamp feel about having his quarterback days in the rearview mirror?
“Relieved,” he said with a grin.
You can say Stamp was a one-year project at quarterback, but that’s inaccurate. Actually, he had just a month or so to get ready to face Mooresville on opening night, and Davie right after that.
“I was hearing rumors, and then Coach Young told me in June that I was going to have to play quarterback,” Stamp said. “It was OK with me, but one of the first things I asked him was how that would affect recruiting. Would it help me or hinder me?”
Young was honest with Stamp.

“Some of both,” he told him.
While college coaches didn’t get to see film of Stamp catching passes, they did get to see that he was versatile and that he was one heck of an athlete.
A 4.6 runner at 6-foot-2, 185 pounds, Stamp showed not just speed and courage at QB, but tough-mindedness and the ability to come back from a bad play with a good one.
“Stamp made the ultimate sacrifice for us as far as personal stats,” Young said. “He took a personal hit to put the team above himself, and the fact that we went 10-3 with a one-year QB speaks volumes of him. He did a remarkable job.”
Quarterbacks always get too much credit or too much blame, and Stamp had to mature a lot as a senior to handle the rough patches that were speed bumps between shining moments.
Stamp was the key guy in West’s win against Salisbury, and his scoring dash on the last play of the first half was the pivotal moment of that game.
Stamp also was the hero in a 21-17 playoff win against Northeast Guilford, breaking a 42-yard scoring sprint with just 1:14 showing on the clock.
“He is so tall, so athletic and has such good speed,” Young said. “He’s going to be a good receiver for Wingate.”
West assistant Durwood Bynum came over to give Stamp, who was sporting a Wingate blue-and-gold bow tie, a hug.
“Proud of my quarterback,” Bynum said. “Could have been of the best receivers in the state, but he sacrificed for us.”
Stamp is ready to catch passes for the Bulldogs, but he doesn’t regret his time at QB.
“Coach Young told me to always put the team first and everything would work out,” Stamp said.

wingate one of the first couple d2 schools
went down there and really felt att home with it
kohls blue and gold match bow tie
all-npc

it was starting to slow down for me end of the season
good times tough ties to get here