Last Friday’s games included the expected blowouts by Robinson over Carson and A.L. Brown over Cox Mill, as well as a pretty routine North Rowan win against Albemarle that wasn’t quite a romp.
The week also provided one of the best games of the year (West Rowan 45, NW Cabarrus 42), an ugly, let’s-find-a-way win by Salisbury over Concord and a surprisingly dominant win by South Rowan, which handled East Rowan more emphatically than anyone dreamed.
This is the final week of the regular season. The eight-classification NCHSAA world has been altered to the point that all six Rowan teams — yes, that includes 3-6 East and 3-6 Salisbury — know there will be playoff football in their future.
Undefeated A.L. Brown remains in the driver’s seat for the Greater Metro Conference crown, although the Wonders still have to beat an under-the-radar West Cabarrus team that has quietly won five of its six league games. West Cabarrus’ only GMC loss was to Hickory Ridge back in September. But that loss was 28-0, so the Wonders may not have a lot to worry about.
Mathematically, at least, West Rowan and North Rowan are still alive for conference championships, entering the final day of the regular season.
If Northwest Cabarrus shocks the world and beats Robinson, the Falcons (assuming they beat Salisbury) would tie Robinson and Northwest for first place. But don’t get your hopes up. The Massey Ratings give the Trojans only a 1-percent chance of stunning the mighty Bulldogs.
If North Stanly would happen to lose to a pretty good Union Academy team, North Rowan (assuming a victory on Friday) would tie the Comets for first place in the Yadkin Valley Conference. But the chances of that happening are rather slim. North Stanly is given a 98-percent win probability by the Massey Ratings against a Union Academy team that lost on the final play of the game to North Rowan.
Quite a few more romps are expected this week, although the Massey Ratings don’t see any of the local games as 100-percent win probabilities, sure-thing games.
West Rowan is given a 98-percent win probability against Salisbury. Also checking in as 98-percent favorites are A.L. Brown (over West Cabarrus) and North Rowan (over Mountain Island Charter).
The two games in which there appears to be some doubt and mixed opinions are in the bottom half of the SPC — South Rowan’s visit to Carson and East Rowan’s trip to Concord.
Despite being wrecked by Robinson last week, Carson usually beats South and is given a 79-percent win probability to bounce back strong at home against the Raiders.
East Rowan, mostly because of 60-plus years of brutal history against Concord, is rated an underdog even though the Spiders have yet to win a game in the SPC. Concord is given a 69-percent win probability by the Massey Ratings, or if you prefer, East is given a 31-percent chance of getting its fourth win.
• • •
East Rowan (3-6, 1-5 SPC) at Concord (1-8, 0-6 SPC)
Concord has been mostly awful, but the Spiders still had a chance in the fourth quarter against Salisbury last week and have enough athletes to be dangerous.
On paper, it’s a game the Mustangs can and should win, but Concord has the home field and is 40-3-1 against East in the history of the series.
East famously won at Concord in the 1969 WNCHSAA playoffs — legend has it that the ground shook when the much larger Spiders took the field — and the Mustangs also prevailed against the Spiders in 1979 and 2009.
The Massey Ratings project Concord as a 27-20 winner, but the Mustangs will count on back Jaxon Lyons (672 rushing yards) and linebacker Ashur Tesh (112 tackles) to lead a rare win in the series.
The Spiders won 28-13 in 2025.
East is 40th in the statewide RPI rankings for 5A, with 48 teams making the playoff brackets. Concord is 50th, but still could slide into the playoff picture with a victory.
• • •
South Rowan (5-4, 2-4 SPC) at Carson (4-5, 2-4 SPC)
South owns SPC wins against East Rowan and Concord, while Carson beat Concord and Salisbury.
Carson holds a 14-5 lead in the all-time series and rolled the Raiders 35-0 in 2025 with Rosean Perkins trampling South defenders for four TDs.
Perkins is still around and is still a force in the Carson backfield.
South counters with the rushing tandem of Jamantay Cox and Nic Woolf. The Raiders had Woolf last season, but they didn’t have Cox, who has been one of the county’s top players. Cox has supplied 1,126 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns and has produced better than 7 yards per carry. Cox is also a key defender at inside linebacker. Owen Smith, a tough-guy fullback/inside linebacker will be a key player on both sides of the ball for the Raiders.
Both teams are run-heavy to the extreme, but both young QBs (Carson’s Carson Pethel and South’s Brooks Hunter) are capable of making a game-changing throw in the passing game.
South is 20th in the statewide 4A RPI rankings, while Carson is 31st in 5A.
• • •
Mountain Island Charter (7-2, 4-2 YVC) at North Rowan (7-2, 5-1 YVC)
Mountain Island Charter, decked out in uniforms with an unusual blue/green color scheme, will make its first ever trip from Mount Holly to Spencer.
North Rowan won 30-21 on the road in 2025 in the first meeting of the programs, but it was a pretty tough ballgame.
The Mountain Island Charter Raptors have lost to North Stanly and to Union Academy in the YVC. North Rowan’s losses have been to North Stanly in the league and to 5A West Rowan outside the league.
North Rowan is eighth in the statewide 2A rankings and would be certain to get a first-round bye in the 2A West playoff bracket with a win. Mountain Island Charter is 16th in the statewide 2A rankings.
North Rowan has been well-balanced with quarterback Mike Alford, receivers Dyaon Norman-Jackson and Khi Walker and young running back Brandon Clodfelter having special offensive seasons.
The Massey Ratings project a 42-10 North Rowan victory, but, on paper, it looks to be a closer game than that.
North Rowan already has held its Senior Night, but the Cavaliers have Hall of Fame ceremonies planned for this week.
• • •
West Cabarrus (5-4, 5-1 GMC) at A.L. Brown (9-0, 6-0 GMC)
Justin Hardin is coaching the best A.L. Brown team in a long time.
West Cabarrus owns a four-game winning streak and is in position to forge a three-way tie for the Greater Metro Conference title, although it would be hard to find anyone who honestly believes the Wolverines can challenge the surging Wonders.
The Massey Ratings score projection is A.L. Brown 46, West Cabarrus 14.
Besides losing to Hickory Ridge in a league game, the Wolverines fell to three tough teams outside the conference in the early going — Lake Norman, Robinson and Northwest Cabarrus.
A.L. Brown’s Lemar Grier has been a freight train of a running back, while the defense has been terrific, piling up quarterback pressures and tackles for loss.
The Wonders also are well above average on special teams and at throwing the ball, so there are no apparent weaknesses.
The Wonders lead the all-time series 4-2 and won 20-10 in 2025. West Cabarrus won in 2024.
A.L. Brown is ninth in the statewide 7A RPI rankings. At least three of the teams currently ranked ahead of the Wonders will be in the 7A East bracket, so the Wonders are sure things for a first-round playoff bye as long as they take care of business against West Cabarrus.
West Cabarrus is 24th in the statewide 7A RPI rankings.
• • •
West Rowan (7-2, 5-1 SPC) at Salisbury (3-6, 3-3 SPC)
Not that long ago, it appeared that Salisbury might go 0-10, but coach Clayton Trivett and the young Hornets have righted the ship.
With hard-fought wins against East Rowan, South Rowan and Concord, the Hornets have charged to a 3-3 record in the SPC and are in fourth place.
Salisbury, which smashed the Falcons in the 2020 COVID season that was delayed until the spring of 2021, are the last team in Rowan County to beat West. The Falcons are currently riding a 26-game county winning streak.
The Massey Ratings score projection is for a 47-14 West victory.
That could happen, as West back Devaunh White has been unstoppable of late.
West’s defense has been penetrated for 40-plus points by Robinson and Northwest Cabarrus in recent weeks, so there are some questions on that side of the ball, but the Hornets don’t have that sort of firepower.
Two-way standout Isaiah Foxx leads the Hornets.
West leads the all-time series 23-15 and rolled 49-7 in 2025.
