By Eric Lusk
Sports Editor
elusk@elkintribune.com

RONDA — When East Wilkes coach Monty Chipman saw how Surry Central was stacking its defense to stop Aaron Bauguess, he figured Bauguess’ backfield mate, Jesse White, would be the main beneficiary.

White did have a solid performance Friday night in Dobson, averaging better than 10 yards a carry and scoring a touchdown.

But it was senior quarterback Micah Bryan who stole the show in the Cardinals’ 50-28 non-conference triumph. Invoking Tim Tebow references, the 6-foot-2 southpaw engineered one of the most prolific rushing performances by a quarterback in Tri-County football history.

Bryan piled up 283 yards on the ground and scored six touchdowns. Five of his six TD scampers covered at least 14 yards. The three longest went 81, 48 and 36 yards.

The only thing that stopped him Friday night, it seemed, was the final whistle ending the game.

“We were just in awe of Micah and watching him,” said East Wilkes assistant Bradley Hayes, who has the enviable task of coaching the quarterbacks this season. “Most of the time, when you’re coaching, you get caught up in the coaching part of the game. You don’t really get to watch it. But I did Friday night, and I just had a great time.”

Technically speaking, Bryan is a first-year starter at quarterback. But he’s not entirely unfamiliar with the position.

He played quarterback from fifth- through eighth-grade in East Wilkes’ Sertoma football program.

He took some direct snaps from the shotgun formation as a sophomore in high school, and there was talk of moving him to quarterback, at least part of the time, last fall.

But then Bauguess, coming off a 2,000-yard rushing season in 2007, suffered a mid-August knee injury, keeping him out for the year. Chipman decided it best to use Bryan at halfback, where he accounted for more than 1,500 all-purpose yards.

Bryan beat out junior Steven Gregory (last year’s JV starter) for the quarterback job this season, but that doesn’t mean you still won’t see Bryan in other positions. In the season opener against West Davidson, he caught a two-point conversion pass from Gregory in the second half.

But make no mistake, Bryan is relishing his new role under center.

“I like it a whole lot more than tailback because I can lead more, be more vocal,” Bryan said before taking the field for practice Monday.

Surry Central burst out to a 14-0 lead against the Cardinals on Friday night. That created a sense of urgency on the East Wilkes sidelines, and Bryan began working his magic. Touchdown runs of 36 and 4 yards helped tie the game at 14. He then scored on a 17-yard gallop to give East the lead for good.

The Cardinals led 25-14 at the half, but Surry Central pulled within 25-22 in the third quarter when Wade Dawson scored and quarterback Dave Wilmoth ran for a two-point conversion.

Enter Bryan again, the momentum killer. He answered the Eagles with an 81-yard touchdown jaunt. White then scored from 34 yards away, and Bryan added another touchdown on a 14-yard run to push the lead back out to 43-22 heading into the final quarter.

“They were just keying on Bauguess a lot and gave the ball to me,” Bryan said. “I just tried to make something happen. I couldn’t have done it without all those big hogs up there in front of me. I’ve already said thanks to them and all that. It’s pretty cool.”

Bryan scored five touchdowns in a game last season against Alleghany, but bested his own career best by one with his final touchdown in the fourth quarter Friday, a 48-yard dash to the end zone.

“I’ve never done that before and I’ve never had that many yards before either,” Bryan said. “But I wasn’t really worried about my stats. I was just trying to do what it took to win.”

Bryan has designs on playing baseball at the college level, giving a verbal commitment to East Carolina University’s diamond program this summer. But his performances on the gridiron thus far are sure to attract college football coaches interested in a hard-nosed, multi-faceted athlete.

East Wilkes has a solid quarterbacking tradition, with Luke Samples and Robbie Monday among the more notable in recent history. Bryan looks ready to add to that lore in a big way.

“It’s just the intangibles that stand out to me,” Hayes said. “He can come to the sidelines and calm the coaches down and let us know what’s going on out on the field. He’s just a true leader and that’s the stuff you can’t coach.

“Once he gets in the situation where he was in Friday night, where he was forced to do something, he‘s a gamer. He lives for that stuff, so he took over. Everyone else jumped on his back and rode him in.”

Bryan really hasn’t had the chance to showcase his arm yet. The Cardinals were content to keep the ball on the ground most of the time against West Davidson and Surry Central, chewing up 798 rushing yards in all.

But Bryan has the potential to develop into a solid passer as well, Hayes said. That will come with experience during the season. He’s a pitcher in baseball, so arm strength shouldn’t be a problem.

“The actual physical throwing of the ball is perfect but he’s got to get his reads down a little more,” Hayes said. “He hasn’t seen defenses and stuff, but his running is definitely something he can go to pretty quickly if the pass isn’t there or if the pocket breaks down.

“We’re not scared at all for him to get outside the pocket. It makes it easier with the option, too. He’s a threat to all defenses.”

East Wilkes’ early season success is what a lot of prognosticators expected out of the Cardinals last year. Chipman’s team was coming off an impressive showing in the 2007 playoffs, which included a trip to the 1A state quarterfinals for the first time in school history, and had most of its core players back.

But injuries, starting with Bauguess’ on the first day of contract drills, derailed things pretty quickly. East Wilkes started 1-3 and eventually ended up 2-10 for the season, with three games won on the field forfeited because of eligibility issues.

The waiting has made the winning all the sweeter.

“It’s awesome. Everyone is excited,” Bryan said. “Every day at four o’clock we come in here (to the field house) for film sessions. They are way more serious now. We’re more serious about this than it ever has been since I’ve been here.”

If the injuries stay away, East Wilkes could have one of the more potent offenses in 1A football. Bauguess rushed for 184 yards and three touchdowns in the season opener (hence the attention he got from Surry Central’s defense). White has 76 rushing yards and two scores in two games. Caleb Shoupe rushed for 52 yards against West Davidson.

Receiver Trendon Harris caught three passes for 76 yards in the opener and returned a kickoff 86 yards for a touchdown.

“We’re blessed with the backfield that we’ve got because of the speed,” Hayes said. “And they are smart football kids, too. When they take away one threat we’ve always got another one we can turn to. Micah is a smart kid. We just called his number (Friday) and we knew that we were safe putting the ball in his hands.”

Gregory has been a trooper about Bryan taking over the offense, even though he was a successful JV quarterback last season. He plays wideout and handles all the kicking chores. He booted a field goal against Surry Central to help pad the lead.

“Steven is a great passer but Micah is more of a threat running the ball,” Chipman said. “That’s the way we wanted to go. But if Micah had to come out, I would definitely have no worries about putting Steven in at quarterback. That’s a good situation to have. And they work together and support each other.”

The Cardinals should be favored to move to 3-0 this week, facing North Stokes at home. The Cards beat the Vikes 36-8 last year, though that was one of the games that had to be forfeited. North Stokes is 1-1 so far this season, beating Alleghany and losing to Patrick County.

Provided East Wilkes takes care of business this week, a huge game looms next Friday, Sept. 11 against visiting Elkin. The Buckin’ Elks also are 2-0 right now and will have this Friday off.

East Wilkes nearly beat Elkin last season, but the Elks rallied for a one-point overtime triumph.

“I think we’ve already sent out two statements,” Bryan said of his team’s play thus far. “We’re going to try to be 3-0 when we go into that game.”