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S. Rowan seals rivalry win

Sam Roberts / Independent Tribune

Carson's Shawn Warren carries against South Rowan.

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Donnie Biggers

Sports Correspondent

Published: October 4, 2008

CHINA GROVE - After a pair of heartbreaking losses, South Rowan coach Jason Rollins stopped short of calling Friday night's game a must-win.
But when it came down to crunch time, Rollins certainly played it that way in the Raiders' 15-6 North Piedmont 3A win over rival Carson at Carson High School.
Junior running back Deandre Harris capped a nine-play, 43-yard drive with a five-yard touchdown run and quarterback Blake Houston added a clinching PAT to give South (2-4 overall, 2-2 NPC) a 15-6 lead with 6:45 left to play.
The drive included a key fourth and four conversion from the Carson 39 when Harris took a pitch to the right and went for 12 yards.
"We were going to punt, then we sent the offense out and we just told them to be ready, no matter what (Carson) did, then they just kind of stood there and looked at us," said Rollins of a couple of timeouts before the key play. "But they got what they needed. But there were a lot of key pieces to that game. Carson is a very good team. I'm very impressed with what coach (Mark) Woody has done here in just three years."
For South that finish took some of the sting out of frustrating losses in consecutive weeks against Statesville and West Iredell.
But in spite of the two tough weeks, Rollins said he knew the Raiders would be ready.
"We weren't flat yet, but we needed a win," said Rollins. "I thought after a game last week that was all ours until a freak play, that our kids came back Monday really ready to work. That says a lot about our kids. They don't give up."
Carson (3-3, 2-2) actually took a quick lead when quarterback Ryan Jones found standout flanker Daniel Yates on a crossing pattern that turned into a 24-yard touchdown pass for a 6-0 Cougars lead on the game's first possession.
South, after Josh Floyd came up with the Raiders' second of three interceptions off Jones at the Carson 24, took a 7-6 halftime lead when Harris went off left tackle for a seven-yard touchdown run and Jacob Jester added the PAT with 1:53 left in the second quarter.
But even if Rollins' fourth-down gamble in the fourth quarter had failed, the Raider defense likely had the situation covered. After Carson covered 62 yards in its opening touchdown drive, the Cougars managed only 82 total yards the rest of the game as another big game by defensive end Caderreus Mason led the Raider defense.
"I think maybe we just came out with the jitters a little bit," said Mason, who had a sack of Jones and dropped Yates for a loss on consecutive plays on Carson's third possession. "But with this being a big rivalry we didn't let the crowd get to us and we just stayed in it and started to play Raiders defense."
An interception by B.J. Grant set up the clinching drive early in the fourth quarter.
That drive started the Harris show for the Raider offense. Starting with the key fourth down pickup, Harris would carry the ball on the Raiders' final 14 plays from scrimmage.
"Deandre is one of those kids who is a hard-nosed runner," said Rollins, who had the offense move into a power-I look for South's final two possessions. "When you know you have got to get three yards, he can get you three yards."
Harris finished the game with 22 carries for 103 yards.
Along with getting an interception in the first quarter from Dakota Walker, the combination of the secondary and the Raider rush on Jones held Yates to just one catch.