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| Titan John Stamper races away from an East Rowan defender. |
The 48 minutes of football was little more than a glorified scrimmage for the Titan varsity.
Providing sufficient opponent fodder for a homecoming environment, the East Mustangs battled hard but were no match for a West team that has steamrolled its way to a 4-0 start in Central Piedmont Conference play. The resulting 41-0 Titan victory was a predictable outcome for a game that lined up a high caliber 4-A host against a slumping soon-to-be 3-A opponent. East will drop to the 3-A level next fall.
The win also proved to be a stepping stone in West’s quest for a CPC crown. A victory over visiting South Rowan this Friday night would enable the Titans to grab at least a share of the regular season title. Wins over South this week and Davie County next week would give them the CPC championship outright.
“They all (conference games) count the same so this was a very important win for us,” mentioned Titan head coach Chip Petree. “I give a tremendous amount of credit to Dave McConnell and Jared Eure (the offensive and defensive coordinators respectively) for having our guys prepared. Games like this can be dangerous if you’re not 100 percent focused.”
That same degree of concentration will be needed once again this Friday. South has won just two games this season and has struggled at West in recent years. Add in the fact that the annual West-Davie showdown is just one week away and you have a recipe for disaster — if the Titans become distracted.
“I can assure you that we are focused solely on South Rowan,” Petree noted. “They have two outstanding running backs who are gamebreakers and, as always, they are very well coached. They have always played us tough, regardless of their record.”
East, on the other hand, was anything but tough for the Titans. West amassed 443 yards of total offense while holding the Mustangs to just 115.
Individually, quarterback Maurice Hughes used excellent pass protection to complete 6 of 7 throws for 224 yards and three touchdowns.
Andrew Bodenheimer finished with two touchdowns and 84 receiving yards while Travaughn Long had three catches for 85 yards and one score.
On the ground, Brad Brower carried the ball nine times for 66 yards and two touchdowns. Jeff Gonza ran for 58 yards on 12 carries. West is now 7-2 overall.