By Mike London

mike.london@salisburypost.com

Rowan County football teams took the next step toward the regular season with full-scale scrimmages on Friday. Teams essentially played a half of live football.

Carson
Carson competed in a jamboree at Mooresville.
The Cougars scored three times against Hickory St. Stephens, while allowing one touchdown.
“We could’ve played better on defense,” Carson coach Joe Pinyan said. “But offensively, we did really well. We had the ball four times and scored three times. We put ourselves in bad position with a fumbled snap on the other possession.”
Brandon Huneycutt caught a long pass from quarterback Owen White to set up a touchdown.
“We ran 24 plays and had seven or eight completions,” Pinyan said with a laugh. “For us, that’s pretty good.”
White, a sophomore, Austin Lear and Jay Wilkerson scored touchdowns for the Cougars.
Carson doesn’t play in Week 1. The Cougars open at North Rowan on Aug. 28.

North Rowan
North took on Waxhaw Cuthbertson in a jamboree hosted by Mint Hill Rocky River.
Cuthbertson QB Austin Kendall is committed to Oklahoma, so it was a great test for a North defense that has seven returning starters. Cuthbertson scored two touchdowns.
“After a rough first series, we settled in, got after it and played well defensively,” coach Ben Hampton said.
Hampton said Damian Ellis had a pick-six for the Cavaliers.
Offensively, North struggled to move the ball against a team expected to be one of the toughest in 2A and failed to produce any points.
“We didn’t win the battles upfront on offense and we didn’t execute,” Hampton said. “There are a lot of things we have to work hard to correct.”
North Rowan opens at East Rowan next Friday.

South Rowan
South scrimmaged against West Iredell in the Mooresville jamboree and made progress.
Coach Daniel Yow said Austin Chrismon scored a touchdown for the Raiders, while Brennan Lambert kicked a 53-yard field goal.
“We’re getting there, but the secondary wasn’t as sharp as I hoped it would be,” Yow said. “We gave up two touchdowns and we’ve got some things to work on.”
South opens next Friday at Salisbury.