By Dave Shaw
For the Salisbury Post

SALISBURY — When a running back like Jamal Rule is cooking, you keep feeding him the ball.

The Salisbury junior made a glutton of himself Friday night at Ludwig Stadium, where he rushed for a career-best 340 yards and scored six touchdowns — sparking the Hornets to a 55-14 CCC win against North Rowan that clinched their third straight conference championship.

“We’ve been saying it all year — this kid is really special,” second-year coach Clayton Trivett said after Salisbury (10-0, 6-0 CCC) racked up 561 yards total offense and relegated the Cavs (8-2, 5-1) to a second-place finish. “We’ve been trying to keep him healthy, trying to keep him fresh all season. That’s going to help us in the playoffs because he’s fresh and ready to go. He was moving tonight.”

Rule, a chiseled 175-pounder, had the kind of performance Player of the Year awards are made for. He was limited to 77 yards and a pair of TDs in the first half before exploding for 263 and four more house calls in the second. Among them were a 70-yard touchdown run that put SHS up 34-14 midway through the third quarter and a 58-yard romp into the end zone early in the final period.

“I have these little chats with my dad before we go inside at halftime,” he said after boosting his season totals to 2,161 yards rushing and 31 touchdowns. “He tells me what he sees and I tell him what I see. Tonight he said North was blitzing a lot, so I’d have to make my first move quicker. In the second half, I showed what I can do.”

Rule was aided and abetted by an offensive line that shielded quarterback Mike Geter (116 yards passing, 97 rushing, 2 TDs) with Kong-like ferocity and created running lanes wide enough to drive the team bus through.

“They did what was needed,” Geter said before listing each blocker the way fourth-graders recite multiplication tables. “They kept me protected. They kept Rule protected and they made sure I was getting the ball out on time.”

North, which last won a conference title in 2019, never led but made an early 14-0 deficit disappear. Quarterback Jeremiah Alford (113 yards passing) capped an 87-yard scoring drive when he busted a 38-yard TD run on a quarterback-draw play with 35.1 seconds remaining in the first quarter.  Two possessions later — following a blocked punt and fumble recovery by teammate Tsion Kelly — he squeezed in from the 1 to tie the score. Salisbury reclaimed the lead when Rule angled into left corner on an 11-yard run just before halftime.

“Salisbury just took it to us in the second half,” losing coach Josh Sophia said after North’s seven-game winning streak was snapped.. “They’re a good team and Rule was just ridiculous. We couldn’t stop him. He runs angry — a downhill runner with speed. He wore us out.”

North running back Jaemias Morrow gained 138 yards on 22 carries, but never reached the end zone. The Cavs’ five second-half possessions produced a punt, an interception and three turnovers-on-downs. But if this game belonged to one player, it was Rule.

“He’s an explosive runnier,” teammate Deuce Walker said after the Hornets earned their 15th consecutive conference win. “You can’t tackle him with your arms. You have to put pads on him.”

Both teams open post-season play next week when the state playoffs kick off. Seedings should be announced Saturday.

 

North Rowan      7      7     0     0 — 14

Salisbury            14     7    20    14 — 55

SAL — Rule 7 run (Webb kick), 10:14 1st

SAL — Geter 48 run (Webb kick), 9:05 1st

NR — Alford 38 run (Montes-Medrano kick), 0:36 1st

NR — Alford 1 run (Montes-Medrano kick), 4:45 2nd

SAL — Rule 11 run (Webb kick), 1:04 2nd

SAL — Rule 28 run (Webb kick), 9:07 3rd

SAL — Rule 70 run (pass failed), 5:55 3rd

SAL — Geter 20 run (Webb kick), 1:04 3rd

SAL — Rule 58 run (Webb kick), 11:41 4th

SAL — Rule 5 run (Webb kick), 4:28 4th

Team Stats                          NR                          SAL

First downs                          13                            14

Rushes-yards                 40-204                   36-445

Passing                             7-19-1                      5-12-1

Passing yards                    113                           116

Penalties                          10-64                       9-75

Punts                                4-32.5                     1-40

Fumbles-lost                     2-2                          1-0

Individual Stats

Rushing — NR: Morrow 22-138; Miller 6-35; J.Alford 9-33; Kelly 2-5; M.Alford 1-(minus 7). SAL: Rule 28-340; Geter 6-97; Walker 2-8.

Passing — NR: J.Alford 7-19-1, 113. SAL: Geter 5-12-1, 116.

Receiving — NR: Alexander 3-59; Best 1-25; Montes-Medrano 1-21; Morrow 1-11; Kelly 1-(minus 3). SAL: Walker 2-49; Johnson 1-41; House 1-25; Rule 1-1.