Common Sense’s picks were 4-2 last week with a miss on the guaranteed, lock-of-the-century, no-doubt-about-it, sure-thing Davie game.
Returning to the office last Friday night, I was greeted by a cheerful chunk of notebook paper that proclaimed: No kidding: Alexander Central 3, Davie 0.
It was the first regular-season shutout suffered by the War Eagles in 11 seasons. Not that I’m bitter about it.
I did retire briefly, as promised, but so many pats on the back came my way for the courageous and correct selection of South Rowan to break its long losing skid against Salisbury that I’m back at my desk brimming with confidence.
Other correct choices last week included East Rowan over North Rowan in a game declared by numerous neutral observers ó not me ó to be the worst high school game since leather helmets.
Common Sense also gave you A.L. Brown over Statesville and West Rowan over Central Cabarrus.
At Central Cabarrus, West’s K.P. Parks did so much running in the first half that a running clock was employed in the third quarter. Lightning was Central’s best friend and stopped that mismatch in the fourth quarter by TKO.
At halftime, it looked as if West might get 100.
If you’re curious, Salisbury’s 75-0 victory over North Stanly in 1995 remains the modern record for points scored in a game by a county team and the largest victory margin.
Notable blowouts from the old days include Boyden’s 95-0 derailing of Spencer in 1933 and J.C. Price’s 92-0 trouncing of Asheboro Training School in 1946.
In 1962, with Roy “Keymo” Keith running wild, Price’s Red Devils clobbered Concord Logan 82-0 and battered Burlington Jordan Sellars 80-0.
It might be in bad taste to mention A.L. Brown’s 97-0 Halloween victory against Northwest Cabarrus in 1998, so I won’t bring that up.
In another unusual opening-night development, Carson, energetically picked to win in this column, lost a game that lasted 25 hours.
It’s a loss with an asterisk. The Cougars had momentum and were ready to charge in for a tying TD and perhaps even a go-ahead PAT when lightning halted play Friday. Things went downhill swiftly once play resumed Saturday.
Tonight’s picks:S. Rowan 24, A.L. Brown 21
On paper, there’s no reason not to pick South in the game of the night.
South is home. South’s senior-stacked team has a big edge in experience. Brown’s starting quarterback is out. Brown usually wins this matchup based on team speed, but team speed may be a dead heat this time.
South has the athletes to win 10. If guys stay healthy, South can have its best season since Billy Idol and Tina Turner were the rage.
Still, Brown leads the series by an overwhelming 39-7-2, and that’s hard to ignore. Back Travis Riley and destructive defensive lineman Dominique Phifer are also hard to ignore.
South’s beaten Brown just once since 1994, and that was the 2003 overtime game. Maybe the Raiders are due to get it done and give coach Jason Rollins the biggest win of his career.
Carson 13, N. Rowan 0It should be tighter than last season’s Carson romp. North’s defense looks stout enough to win ballgames. The search for offense continues.
Salisbury 20, E. Rowan 7Coach Joe Pinyan’s Hornets generally rebound positively from adversity.
Believe it or not, the last season Salisbury dropped back-to-back games on the field was 2003.
Officially, Salisbury is working on a four-game losing streak dating back to 2008 ó forfeit losses to Ledford and North Rowan, a first-round playoff loss to Pisgah and last week’s setback to South Rowan.
Count on that streak ending tonight.
W. Rowan 41, NWC 14
Parks has 11 career TDs against the Trojans.
Northwest was impressive in its opener against Mooresville, leading 35-0 until its punt team gave up two scores in the last five minutes.
Amazingly enough, there are people out there thinking Northwest will win this one.
There are also people out there who think vinyl records and 8-tracks are about to make a comeback.
Northwest QB Jeremy Cannon is special, but West should light up its new scoreboard.
Page 28, Davie 20
Page put 54 points on the scoreboard last week, which, if my math is correct, is 54 more than Davie tallied.
That makes an 0-2 start very likely for the War Eagles, but more than any area team, Davie has confounded Common Sense.
Not that anyone has requested it, but Common Sense will offer an opinion on all the area league games once conference play begins.