Staff report

SPENCER — Hibriten lived up to its billing as one of the top teams in the West and defeated North Rowan 43-0 at Eagle Stadium on Friday.

Ranked sixth in 2A by MaxPreps, Hibriten had crunched its first two foes by even larger margins.

Hibriten was a late add to North’s schedule on Monday after Albemarle was sidelined by a COVID situation. Hibriten was available because its scheduled opponent, Fred T. Foard, was in COVID quarantine.

North moved the ball to the Hibriten 25 on its first possession before being stopped on downs, and the Cavaliers also halted Hibriten’s first offensive possession.

It was scoreless for nine minutes, but the visiting Panthers broke the ice on defense with a 35-yard pick-six.

Rushing TDs by Daren Perry (11 yards) and Cedrick Shuford (49 yards) in a span of two minutes in the second quarter gave the visitors a 21-0 halftime lead.

Perry had another rushing TD and Hibriten scored through the air for a 34-0 lead after three quarters.

Hibriten tacked on a safety and Coby Wilson scored a touchdown with 6:14 remaining to trigger a running clock.

It was the first home game for North Rowan, which had whipped Yadkin Valley Conference foes North Moore and South Stanly in its first two outings.

North Rowan came into the game ranked 14th in 1A by MaxPreps.

In the big picture, playing a team of Hibriten’s caliber, should help the Cavaliers as they move forward.