West Rowan’s K.P. Parks opens his junior season with 4,257 career yards. North Rowan gets its chance to stop him tonight. Photo by Sean Meyers, for the Salisbury Post.

By Ronnie Gallagher

rgallagher@salisburypost.com

Roaming the county getting ready for tonight ...

Tasker Fleming, welcome to Rowan County football.

And greeting you tonight in Mount Ulla with a handshake, a smile — and probably 200 yards rushing — is K.P. Parks.

I'm not guaranteeing 200 yards from Parks when West Rowan plays host to North Rowan on Opening Night 2008. That's just the number of yards the junior has averaged per game for Scott Young's Falcons during his first two seasons.

Fleming, in his first season at North after coming over from North Davidson to replace Avery Cutshaw, knows all about Parks, though. And Fleming knows he couldn't have a more rude introduction.

"We lost to them last year 53-6, so obviously we didn't do a good job," Fleming said.

Parks finished the 2007 opener with 207 yards.

"I don't know if you stop a player of that caliber," Fleming said. "It's a tough challenge."

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While Fleming hasn't had a face-to-face encounter with Parks, four other coaches in Rowan County have.

All were asked to help Fleming. Tell him how to stop Parks:

- "Oh my, that's a good question," laughed Carson coach Mark Woody.

- "Run the other way," chuckled South coach Jason Rollins.

- "You pull a Tonya Harding-Nancy Kerrigan thing," joked East's Brian Hinson.

- "Tell K.P. the game's on Saturday, not Friday," Salisbury coach Joe Pinyan said.

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Rollins was asked if the Raiders stopped Parks last year.

"Uh ... no," was his reply.

Parks averaged 10 yards per carry against the Raiders, finishing with 206 and scooting into the end zone three times.

"He ran over us," Rollins admitted. "He's the real deal. He's a manimal."

East Rowan gave up 219 yards to Parks.

"I guess we have to put 15 on the field," Hinson sighed. "K.P.'s a gifted football player, no doubt about that."

Carson actually held Parks to his lowest total of the year — 100 yards. Of course, he only played a half due to an injury.

"He can tote it," Woody said.

Rollins said Fleming had already asked him about ways to stop Parks.

"I told him when he finds out to call me," Rollins laughed.

"While he's at it, tell him to give me a call, too," Woody said.

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Salisbury played West when Parks was a freshman, but the teams didn't hook up last year, and they won't play this season.

They will play in 2009.

"I hope he goes out a year early," Pinyan said.

What would Pinyan tell Fleming?

"I'd try to play Russian Roulette first," he said.

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There will be no more questions about whether we call Parks "K.P." or "Kevin."

We asked him point-blank.

It's K.P.

"I call him K.P., too," said Young, who added that all of the recruiting mail that comes in is addressed to "K.P. Parks."

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Other area openers include South at Salisbury, Watauga at Davie County and A.L. Brown at Central Cabarrus.

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The most intriguing matchup pits improved South against talented-but-rebuilding Salisbury.

"South is a two-touchdown favorite, that's what I hear," Pinyan said. "But one thing's for sure. We're always going to show up."

Yeah, Pinyan's always going to show up with a good team. And Rollins knows it. He has a talented junior class and his Raiders are much improved because most of them played as sophomores. But South goes up against Salisbury's famed wishbone. Rollins said they won't see anything like that the rest of the year.

"You don't have to run a lot of plays in that offense," Rollins said. "But you still have to stop it."

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Pinyan is like the other coaches in welcoming Fleming to the county.

"I admire him coming in this late and putting things together," the Hornet leader said. "But that's a tough chore having to battle K.P. in your first game."

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On the air tonight, the dynamic duo of Howard Platt and Wilson Cherry will be carrying the West-North game on WSTP 1490-AM.

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WSAT 1280-AM will be doing something a little different this season. Instead of covering one game, it will try to give its listeners something from every one.

Each school will have a reporter. Every 15 minutes tonight, they will check in with updates.

"It's a new concept," said WSAT's Buddy Poole.

Glenn Taylor will be Salisbury's main man. Jeff Vail has East. Tony Queen has North. Terry Osborne and Jerry Johnson will share reporting duties at West.

If any of the games are close near the end, WSAT will allow the reporter to do some play-by-play.

WSAT will also cut in on Carl Ford and WRNA for South broadcasts and also go down to Kannapolis for A.L. Brown cut-ins.

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Every Friday, you can expect us to roam the county, write about a legend and use some common sense to pick the games. It's high school football, so we're going to have fun with it.

Why don't you?

Go watch a game tonight, folks. And remember, be nice.

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Contact Ronnie Gallagher at 704-797-4287 or rgallagher@salisburypost.com.

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