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Hounds go down swinging against Falcons
Bruce Matlock
Statesville junior running back Keyon Harris tries to elude the grasp of West Rowan defender Marco Gupton during Friday’s 3A state playoff game. The Greyhounds’ season came to an end with a 27-14 defeat.
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Published: November 22, 2008
MT. ULLA - Statesville football coach Randall Gusler patted a few of his players on the back, then shared a warm embrace with senior quarterback T.J. McCombs.
Statesville's season drew to a close Friday night in the second round of the 3A state playoffs. The eighth-seeded Greyhounds put forth a valiant effort, but No. 1 West Rowan foiled their upset bid and prevailed 27-14.
"I think our kids showed a lot of heart and character," said Gusler, whose team was drubbed 41-7 by West Rowan earlier this season. "The thing they had more than anything was Greyhound pride."
West Rowan running back Kevin Parks rushed for 136 of his 176 yards in the second half, and he finished with two touchdowns. B.J. Sherrill completed 8 of 12 passes for 126 yards and a TD, and the Falcons (12-1) advanced to the third round.
Sherrill's 1-yard TD plunge with 5 minutes, 44 seconds left in the fourth quarter capped an 11-play, 73-yard scoring drive to put the game away.
Parks pounded out 61 yards on that crucial drive, which answered McCombs' 1-yard TD run that drew Statesville (9-4) within 21-14 early in the fourth.
Statesville fell behind 14-0 with 3:40 left in the first quarter when Sherrill hooked up with Jon Crucitti for a 39-yard TD pass.
All of a sudden the game started to look a lot like the teams' first meeting.
"We got in the hole early, but we were able to get back into the ballgame," Gusler said.
The Greyhounds answered just before halftime when Darryl Epps hauled in McCombs' 32-yard TD pass on fourth and 19.
"It was just a three-step drop, and let him go up and make a play," said McCombs, who completed 6 of 10 passes for 89 yards. "He has been doing that for us for two seasons now."
The Falcons were able to build some breathing room when Parks scored from 1 yard out on the opening drive of the second half to make it 21-7.
West Rowan held on from there, despite a challenge from Statesville.
"I think we played hard the whole game, especially against a good-caliber team," McCombs said.
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