TYRO — So how is North Rowan quarterback Alexis Archie doing since coming back from a broken arm earlier this season?…just fine thanks. And so is the rest of his team.
Archie, the junior lefty shredded West Davidson for 361 yards passing and four touchdowns Friday night, spoiling the Green Dragon’s homecoming with a 53-12 win. Archie added a rushing touchdown as well to lead a dominating offensive attack that settled the game by halftime.
The state’s top ranked 2A team also got a stellar performance from halfback Jareke Chambers who surpassed 1000 yards for the season with 128 yards on the ground and three scores. North stayed perfect at 2-0 in the Central Carolina Conference, 8-0 overall. West Davidson fell to 0-2 in the CCC, 4-4 overall.
“Everything went very smooth tonight,” Archie stated, “ We came in with a game plan and we executed it. We are playing very good now but there is always room for improvement.”
Archie, who missed five games with his arm injury, came back last week and played well but he truly hit his stride against the Dragons. He was a near perfect 10-14 for 258 yards and three TD’s in the first half , two to Cameron Sifford and one to Darrell Taylor. He then capped the effort with an 89 yard bomb to Taylor early in the third period to make the score 46-6.
His 361 yard effort is the fourth best all-time passing mark for the county and the school.
Chambers, who became a dual threat quarterback in Archie’s absence, returned to his running duties in a big way with his own offensive outburst. He was happy to surpass 1000 yards (now 1,122) and gave credit to his offensive line.
“ It feels great and I am truly blessed”, the junior runner said,” But I want to thank my offensive line, Nick Leverette, Caleb Anderson, the Rabon twins and Josh Cozart for being so strong up front.”
The Cavalier defense was stout as well, holding the Dragons to 162 yards total offense and withstanding an aerial assault from quarterback Graham Shoaf. He came in with 1105 yards for the season but managed just 110 yards on 7 for 26 with one interception by Kausan Coney.
West Davidson got on the board in the second quarter on a short run by Kyle Smith but didn’t scratch again until the final play of the game on a 40 yard heave from Shoaf to Justin Bennett.
The defining moment of the game came in the second quarter when North struck for two touchdowns in two minutes. Archie hit Taylor from 32 yards out then North’s Xavier Robinson pounced on a muffed kick-off ball. Four plays later Chambers took a direct snap to power in from the one, making the score 32-6.
“I am really proud of our guys,” Cav Coach Joe Nixon stated. “We prepared well this week and we played like we wanted to tonight.” He had special praise for Archie and Cowan for their efforts but felt all phases of the game were strong. “We really want to be a balanced team.”
West Davidson’s defensive coordinator Brian Billings, a Rowan resident and South grad stated North was as good as advertised. “We told our guys that the outcome of this game didn’t dictate what kind of team we are,” he said. “We just have to keep getting better and that’s our focus going forward.”
North returns home next Friday to face East Davidson.