Senior quarterback Riley Myers threw for 241 yards in the 42-35 loss to Carson, including 227 in the second half, when he had nine straight completions.
Myers also rushed for 69 yards and broke the school total-offense record for a single game with 310 yards. The previous mark was set by quarterback Derrick Parker, who had 304 against East Davidson in 2006.
Had Salisbury gotten the ball one more time, Myers also would’ve had a chance to break the school record for passing yards in a game. That mark has stood at the run-oriented school since 1991 when Brian Pollard threw for 267 yards against Central Cabarrus.
Will Steinman had three catches for 99 yards, Ryan Jones had three for 77, and Antwond Glenn had five for 49. All three had a touchdown catch as the Hornets rallied.
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Willie Clark had 130 rushing yards, the strongest game of his career. Clark’s previous high was 117 against West Davidson in 2013.
The game Qwan Rhyne had against South Iredell is well documented by now. He was so close to getting football’s version of the cycle; touchdowns on offense, defense and special teams.
That kickoff return was a great run. He got the ball at the nine and took off right up the middle. It was wide open. Past midfield, there was nothing but green between him and the end zone.
He said he thought at that moment, “Touchdown.”
The mood was dampened when he was taken down at the South Iredell 2.
“I was a little upset,” Rhyne said.
It was quite the varsity debut for Rhyne, who began the 2011 season on the Raiders’ JV squad but declined to play the next two seasons.
“Of course, you know, he didn’t play last year, but we’re so glad he’s back and being part of this,” South Rowan head coach Jason Rollins said. “You can tell the difference. He’s so much older and more mature and just excited about being out there.
“He brings a lot of spirit to our team too.”
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NUMBERS GAME: The Raiders won where it counts — on the scoreboard — while getting outgained and outplayed on offense.
Here is a look at the last two meetings between the Vikings and the Raiders.
South Iredell beat South Rowan by 35 points in the 2013 season opener. The Raiders ran for 79 yards and passed for 178 that night in Troutman. They ended the game with nine points.
South Rowan beat South Iredell by 10 points in the 2014 season opener. The Raiders were held to just 36 yards rushing and 21 yards passing. They scored 31 points, with 24 points of that being generated by the offense.
While the insurance business has given us khakis-clad Jake — from State Farm, North Rowan’s always creative public address man has answered with Jake — from North Rowan.
As in, “That sack was by Jake…from North Rowan.” The Jake in Spencer is Jake Pritchard, a junior defensive end. Pritchard logged 2.5 sacks in Friday’s 43-21 win against East Rowan. Shane Parker doesn’t have a nickname yet, but he had two sacks. Wesley Jefferies shared a sack with Pritchard and had another solo. Zion Debose, a sophomore, had an impressive sack to raise North Rowan’s total for the opener to seven sacks.
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DEMOCRATIC RUSH: North Rowan’s punt rush team wreaked havoc on Friday, with four different guys getting a hand or a body on a punt.
Jaleel Hitchens, Kenyaun Coney, Paris Hillie and Debose were credited with blocks. Two punts were stuffed completely, while two of the blocks were partials that wobbled downfield for 15 yards or so.
Coney recovered one blocked punt for a touchdown and nearly scored a second touchdown.
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HOLLYWOOD: Actor Omar Sharif, who starred in “Lawrence of Arabia” and “Doctor Zhivago,” should be a card-carrying member of the Big Green Nation. Besides having a Shareef on the roster, North Rowan also boasts an Omar. Linebacker Omar Lipscomb had a team-high five tackles on Friday.
While East Rowan took its lumps in Friday’s 43-21 loss to the Cavaliers, it also got in some licks.
Besides running the opening kickoff back for a 95-yard touchdown, defensive back Max Wall forced two fumbles.
Willie McCree, another defensive back, also had a forced fumble.
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GOOD NEWS: East Rowan junior Dakota Hartsell intercepted a pass against North Rowan but was injured later in the game.
He was transported from the East Rowan sideline to a hospital immediately after the game. Administrators can’t provide details about injuries these days, but he’s expected to return in a few weeks.
While Carson had to hang on to beat Salisbury 42-35, the Cougars’ defense dominated the game early and allowed Carson to take a 28-0 halftime lead. It was a trio of new faces that made its share of big plays.
In the first quarter, defensive lineman Alex Lyles had a back-to-back plays on which he had a sack and a blocked punt.
Jacob McCurry and Austin “Big Bird” Russ had fumble recoveries, while Armoni Hogue had a pick-six.
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JOE DOES WHAT JOE DOES: Carson had 412 rushing yards and zero passing yards against Salisbury.
That’s not out of character for a team coached by Joe Pinyan.
Brandon Sloop had two runs of more than 30 yards on his way to 217 rushing yards and the second-biggest game of his career on Friday. He had 245 rushing yards against South Rowan as a sophomore.
Good defense, especially stop-the-run defense, was a constant during West Rowan’s lengthy run as a county, conference and state power.
Mooresville, however, shredded the Falcons for 501 yards, including 356 on the ground, in smacking the Falcons 49-21 on opening night. It was the most points the Falcons have allowed on opening night since Mooresville rolled the Falcons 58-7 to kick off the 1990 season.
West Rowan has opened with 4A Mooresville the last four seasons and has dropped three.
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BRIGHT SPOT: Harrison Baucom was expected to shine for West Rowan’s offense this season — and he did. The former quarterback scored two touchdowns, rushed for 114 yards on 20 carries, and kicked three PATs.
Give 3A South Piedmont Conference Concord credit for playing exciting games. The last two for the Spiders have validated the game-of-inches cliches.
In last year’s 3A state championship matchup, Concord quarterback Keenan Black was stopped inside the 1-yard line on the final play as the Spiders lost to three-time champ Havelock 21-13.
In last Friday’s Battle of the Bell in the 2014 season-opener, the Spiders stopped the Wonders inside the 1 on the last snap to hold on to a 20-14 victory.
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BELLYACHE: The Wonders lost the rivalry game for the third straight year. It’s the first time that’s happened since the Spiders won four straight from 1974-1977.
Davie’s 45-40 victory against Page was fueled by a career game by quarterback Parker Correll, who hit on a bunch of home run-plays early. Davie led 31-0 at one point.
Page focused on stopping Davie’s running game. So Davie passed for 331 yards.
Eight War Eagles caught a pass, with Brandon Lankford (3 catches, 113 yards) and Ben Ellis (4 catches, 96 yards) leading the way.

Adam Houston, Mike London, Marny Hendrick and Brian Pitts contributed to the notebook.