Long time Salem football fans will remember when Cave Spring was a thorn in the Spartans’ side.
In fact, when Willis White came to town in 1983 he liked to tell the story about how Salem Sports Foundation members told him, “I don’t care what else you do as long as you beat Cave Spring.” Well, the worm has turned and then some.
Last Friday at Bogle Stadium the Spartans beat Cave Spring for the 17th consecutive time. The 45-13 Salem win kept alive a streak that goes back to 2001, when the Knights last beat Salem by a 10-3 score. In the following 17 years Salem has outscored the Knights by a total of 624-138.
“I’m excited to be a part of it,” said Salem coach Stephen Magenbauer, who is 15-0 against the Knights. “We were coming off a bye and you always worry the team might come out a little flat. But we played a clean game with few penalties and no turnovers. We ran the ball well. I’m really proud of our offensive line.”
Magenbauer serves as his own offensive line coach, so he’s up close and personal with the “Mules” every day in practice. Last Friday at Bogel they pulled the wagon for 392 rushing yards as they dominated the line of scrimmage. The only negative of the night was an injury to standout guard Da’Jon Cardwell, who is listed as questionable for this week. Isaiah Persinger carried the bulk of the load for Salem, rushing 24 times for 223 yards and five touchdowns.
He had TD runs of 31, 4 and 3 yards in the first half, then added 26 and 27 yard TD jaunts after intermission as Salem pulled away. Bobby Pinello had the other touchdown on a three yard run and Hunter Grepiotis was perfect on six extra point kicks, adding a 29 yard field goal in the fourth quarter.
In addition to Persinger, Zavione Wood had 67 rushing yards on 12 carries and Pinello had 55 tough yards on 10 attempts. Freshman Cameron Leftwich got in the game in the second half and ran eight times for 36 yards while Landon Guthrie had four carries for 14. Jack Gladden was seven for 15 passing for 75 yards, with two completions to Avery Close for 30 yards. E’zchan Kasey had two catches and Jorden McDonald, Persinger and Pinello had one each. On defense Shawn Collins had five tackles to lead the team and Anthony Haupt had three tackles for losses. Salem held Cave Spring to 181 yards overall and just 71 yards rushing. Salem had 21 first downs to 10 for the Knights. Now 5-3, the Spartans have won three in a row as they head back to Bogle this Friday to take on Hidden Valley in another River Ridge District game.
The Titans are 2-6 after losing to undefeated Blacksburg last week, 26-7, but Magenbauer won’t be taking them lightly. “They throw it a whole lot, like an NFL team,” he said. “It will be important for us to keep pressure on them.” In the early games the secondary was a concern for the Spartans, but the young talent in the defensive backfield continues to improve. “We have a lot of young guys back there but youth is never an excuse with us,” said Magenbauer.
“We expect them to play well.” Salem is now sixth in the Region 4 D rankings and from all indications the Spartans have clinched a spot in the playoffs. Now, it’s just a matter of where they finish and whom they play. Salem’s jayvee team will host Hidden Valley tonight. The Salem jayvees remained undefeated with a 40-0 win over Cave Spring at Salem Stadium last week
