By Mike London
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Fourth in a series of reports on high school football…

SALISBURY – Will Salisbury still be Salisbury?

This will be one of the most exciting stories for the Rowan County football team this season.

Over the past two seasons, every page has been ripped out of Salisbury’s career and season stat book and completely revamped courtesy of the fearsome quartet of JyMikaah Wells (Class of 2023), Mike Geter (2024), Deuce Walker (2024) and Jamal Rule.

In three seasons as quarterback, Geter broke school records for most offense, passing yards and touchdown passes. Walker raised the bar at SHS for most pass catches, receiving yards and touchdown catches. Wells broke program records for most rushing yards and touchdowns before passing the baton to Rule, who followed him last fall and shined by breaking school records for most rushing yards and touchdowns in a season.

Geter and Walker were both named Rowan County Athletes of the Year. They were special athletes and teenagers who acted like men. They motivated their teammates. They frustrated their opponents. When Geter and Walker received their diplomas last spring, Salisbury head coach Clayton Trivett knew an era was ending, but he wasn’t worried. After all, he still had Rule to build a team around.

Then Rule left the team in June, transferred to Charlotte Christian and was also reclassified to the class of 2026, so Charlotte Christian’s opponents will have two tough seasons ahead of them trying to deal with him.

Rule was the focal point of Salisbury’s offense and the state’s best runner, carrying the ball 274 times in 2023 and averaging 10 yards per carry…yes, 10 yards per carry.

Rule’s incredible performance, his yardage and his 39 touchdowns will be challenging, to say the least, for the coaches and teammates he left behind.

Trivett is confident the Hornets, who went 12-1 last year and were again Central Carolina Conference champions, can rise to the challenge. He’s excited about this season, even though the Hornets, who are always in the crosshairs, are also down 10 defensive players.

Salisbury was an underwhelming team a year ago until losing to Shelby in the third round of the 2A playoffs. Statistically, the Hornets were one of the most dominant teams in county history. Despite a number of time-crunch victories, they averaged 45 points per game and allowed 9.5.

North Rowan was good. Salisbury beat North 55-14, so the Hornets were really good.

Trivett believes that the total dominance of 2022 and 2023 can now be a positive factor.

“The last two years, most of our games have gotten so out of hand that our reserve players have had a lot of play,” Trivett said. “So we have a lot of guys who have never started but have been on the field a lot more than regular reserve players. Those guys have also had a lot of play in practices with teams that have made the playoffs. We still have a lot of good players in the program. I think people look at Salisbury and think we need to rebuild now, and I hope they continue to think that because we know better.”

The replacement plan calls for Hank Webb to be the new quarterback. Webb is a slender athlete who also plays basketball and baseball. During his high school career, he was primarily a receiver (he caught seven touchdowns), but he also served as Geter’s backup and took many snaps when the clock was running.

Webb is also a punter and kicker and receives college offers for those specializations.

“Hank has a strong arm,” Trivett said. “He’s not as fast as Geter, but he’s smart and a crafty athlete.”

Hez Krider, who got a lot of cleanup time a year ago after the Hornets pulverized teams, moves into a starting position. Krider was no slouch. He had 40 carries for 282 yards and three TDs in 2023.

“Great kid, hard working and had a really nice summer,” Trivett said.

Jamantay Cox and Jay’lin Johnson will also be used. Johnson, who has running speed, is also one of the slot receivers. Johnson had two TD runs and one TD catch last year.

Other receivers include Macari House, Long, Josh Allen, Evan Koontz, Jaylyn Smith, Bennie Howard, Arel Long and David Shankle. House caught 17 balls for 220 yards and one touchdown pass last season. Koontz had six catches.

Trivett, who was an offensive lineman at Catawba, likes the Hornets’ offensive line. They are well-stocked there with seven starters at five positions. Sophomore Hunter Franklin will likely be center. Tackles are Bo Brincefield, Josh Burns and Tonydale Pagan. Guards are Isaiah Blackwell and Malik Williams. Landon Tucker can play center or guard.

Trivett points out that the Salisbury Jayvees have only lost one game in the last four years, so the program is loaded with talent and depth and has guys just waiting for their chance to start on defense.

Ny’Gel Eliott has played quite a bit. He and A’Marion Pruitt will be used as center backs to shut down the play. Syerre Walker is expected to start at the important position of nose guard.

The defensive ends include Cox, Keial Matthews and Ayvalon Cruse.

The inside linebacker team includes Emmanuel Asare, Inagi Rustin-Godfrey and Samarion Collins.

Da’Rrius Jefferies will be a player to keep an eye on as a “Hornet,” a combination of outside linebacker and safety.

Safety Bennie Howard is one of the most recognizable names on this season’s roster, as he was an interception waiting to happen last fall. Howard had eight interceptions and was a state leader in that category despite not being a starter. That’s one of the highest interception numbers in school history.

“Bennie played 30 percent of the snaps,” Trivett said.

Torian Brown, the only returning starter from last season’s knockout defense, and Zahir Brown are expected to serve as cornerbacks.

Bryce Dalton, a standout basketball player, is making his comeback to football and has been part of all of the Hornets’ summer activities. He could be the difference-maker.

“We’ve been trying to get him here for some time,” Trivett said.

Dalton is a safety. Ephraim Williams and Brooklyn Jones-Casey are also in the safety mix.

Jackson Sparger, a backup receiver and safety, is the long snapper.

Jason Moore is the new offensive coordinator. He was hired after Darius Robinson took over as head coach at Berry Academy in Charlotte. Wesley Jackson returns as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. Also returning to the coaching staff are Tay Little (defensive backs), Matthew Hogrefe and Jeff Burton (defensive line), Garrison Jones (offensive line), Ryan Watts (receivers) and Bennie Raindrop (running backs).

Although most of the names in the starting lineup are new and some of the familiar faces are taking on different roles, the Hornets are confident of another successful season. There are schools that have almost forgotten how to win. The Hornets have almost forgotten how to lose. They haven’t had a losing season since 2016 and have a 56-8 record over the last five seasons.

“I think that helps us a lot,” Trivett said. “Our guys have been successful and their expectations are high.”