By Mike London

mike.london@salisburypost.com

NORWOOD — One of South Rowan’s best plays of Friday night turned into the most disastrous one.

“It was that kind of night,” South head coach Chris Walsh said. “Just that kind of night.”

The pivotal play came in the second quarter and began with Jason Brown making a super interception for the Raiders, an over-the-shoulder grab  at the South Rowan 25.

Then Brown found blockers and charged up the South Stanly sideline. He was darting and dodging would-be tacklers, cutting back again and again, as he made his way east and west across the field. Unfortunately, as he neared the South Rowan sideline, at the South Stanly 45, Brown encountered South Stanly running back I’key Holt. Holt didn’t try to tackle Brown. Instead, he went for the ball and jerked it away.

Then he headed in the other direction like he was the anchor man on the 4×100. There were no Raiders in sight, and South Stanly owned an unusual touchdown.

Interception — South Rowan. Touchdown — South Stanly. A wild double turnover that keyed a surprising 27-19 South Stanly victory.

South Rowan was favored to get to 2-0 for the first time since 2009, but it didn’t happen. South Rowan made key mistakes, and a South Stanly team that broke a 12-game losing streak, proved better than expected.

“They had stud defensive ends, a lot of fast kids, a good group of athletes,” Walsh said. “Our guys fought the entire game, but football is a funny game. It was South Stanly’s night.”

South Stanly nearly housed the opening kickoff and only had to move 21 yards after that long return to take a 6-0 lead.

South Rowan’s first possession was stopped at the South Stanly 33.

South Rowan’s second possession ended with a snap issue on a punt. South Stanly took over at the South Rowan 5, got the easy TD and tacked on a 2-point conversion to lead 14-0.

An interception by Zion Jackson finally gave South Rowan a little momentum, and Brooks Overcash hit Jadon Moore for a 75-yard scoring play to make it 14-7.

South Rowan appeared to be on the way back at that point, but next came that weird play with the “fumble return” touchdown, and the Bulls took a 21-7 lead at the half.

“We were still OK at the half,” Walsh said. “Everyone was still locked in and mentally ready to battle in the second half.”

They battles, but it got worse for the Raiders before it got better.

The first possession of the second half was critical, and South Rowan’s offense went three and out.

Then a little bubble pass by South Stanly was transformed into a 37-yard TD by receiver Josiah Holt, who surprised the Raiders with his speed. He blew by everyone, the Bulls owned a 27-7 lead, and the Raiders had a lot of catching up to do.

The Raiders tried. They moved 71 yards for a third-quarter score, with Moore making a tumbling catch in the end zone of a 33-yard pass by Overcash to cut the deficit to 27-13.

South Rowan’s defense stuffed a fourth-and-inches gamble by the Bulls late in the third quarter deep in their own territory, but as the third quarter turned into the fourth, South Rowan was stopped on downs near the South Stanly 1-yard line.

South Rowan’s defense got another stop, but so did South Stanly’s.

Another South Rowan stop provided a short field for the offense, and this time the Raiders cashed in. Overcash threw his third TD pass, with Dalton Young making a fine catch in the corner of the end zone to get South Rowan within 27-19. The PAT attempt was blocked.

There was still plenty of time for South Rowan to score again and go for two. The Raiders kicked off deep, but never got the ball back.

South Stanly exhausted the rest of the clock with a determined drive that carried from the South Stanly 27 to the South Rowan 5. When South Stanly got a first down at the South Rowan 5, it was officially over, and the victorious Bulls took a knee on the final snap to set off a Gatorade bath celebration.

Overcash threw for 200 yards. Moore had four catches for 136 yards. Landon Richards made hard-nosed runs to carry the Raiders’ ground game.

“And while the scoreboard may not show it, our defense played tough,” Walsh said. “But they’ve got some dudes at South Stanly, and we knew it would be a fight.”

After an open week, South Rowan (1-1) will take on A.L. Brown (1-1) at home.

South Stanly (1-1) will look to keep its momentum going next week at Lexington (1-1).