GRANITE QUARRY -- East Rowan's football team is officially 2-0 for the first time since the Yates-to-Yarbrough championship season of 1969.

East also won its first two games on the field in 1970 with the "Y boys" but had to forfeit the opener to South Rowan.

East won 27-14 on Friday, beating North Rowan for the first time since 1991. The Mustangs broke a 13-game losing streak to the school that's been their major nemesis. The reason East is never 2-0 is North. Even the good East teams in the late 1990s lost to North.

"It's like we've been saving up for this night for 16 years," East defensive lineman Alex Lawson said. "North was way better than advertised. Their quarterback (Cameron Wood) is fast and he can throw it. But we earned this win, even more than we earned one against Salisbury last week."

The fans who packed the home side of East's stadium will remember Wayne Parker's three interceptions, Kenny Barnes' two field goals and booming punts and 15-year-old tailback Thomas Lowe's game-clinching 69-yard dash that had fans standing, crying, screaming and doing their best to propel a tiring Lowe the last few yards with their lungs.

A play that shouldn't be forgotten is the fourth-down stop Lawson and linebacker Aaron Trexler made with East leading 21-14 early in the fourth quarter.

An interception by Rodney Smith gave the Cavaliers the opportunity to tie the score, and North faced fourth-and-1 at the East 33. Wood stuck the ball in the belly of 195-pound back O'Bryan Graham, who had been grinding decent yardage. But Graham immediately hit a red stone wall wearing No. 66 -- Lawson.

"Cam probably shoulda pulled it and tried to get to the edge, but he was cramping and didn't know if he could get out there," North coach Avery Cutshaw said. "So we tried to punch it up in there."

Lawson read the dive play, and threw his 215 pounds into Graham with some fury.

"He's a big back and had been running good all night," Lawson said. "I knew I had to bring it, and I wrapped up like I've been taught. Then here comes Trexler from the side, and he took care of business."

Graham lost 3 yards.

North got the ball back again in East territory when Anthony Imes pounced on a backwards pass that bounced around, but East's defense rose up for another stop. North lost yardage on a run, tossed two incompletions and punted back to the Mustangs.

"Our defense won it," East coach Brian Hinson said. "The first half Wood was cooking out in the backfield, coulda been grilling hot dogs back there. You give him that kind of time, he'll pick you apart. But we were able to pick up the pressure in the second half and hurry him some, and our DBs had a great second half."

After its second dramatic defensive stand of the fourth quarter, East's offensive line took charge. Lowe banged out a first down on three carries. On the fourth play of the drive he blasted through a big hole for his 69-yard backbreaker with 5:19 left to play.

"Offensive line said, 'Let's pound it, we've got to score now,' " Lowe said. "They opened it up, and I hit it."

East scored first when quarterback Shawn Eagle found Trey Holmes on a middle screen, and Holmes accelerated past everyone for a 53-yard touchdown. Parker had a key block on the play.

Wood (177 passing yards) had a terrific first half despite numerous drops, running for a score and passing to Bryson Gaymon for a TD that gave the Cavaliers a 14-10 lead.

Barnes kicked his second field goal on the last play of the first half to cut the deficit to 14-13 and change momentum.

East's fired-up defense took charge right away in the second half. North had just one first down after halftime until Wood hit Gaymon for 52 yards in the final minute.

"Our defense was on the field the whole second half, and it's hard to win with your defense on the field," Cutshaw said. "We just couldn't move the chains often enough."

Holmes' pick of a third-and-20 pass and his runback to the North 3 l set up East's go-ahead TD in the third quarter. Eagle scored on a third-down sneak from the 1, then threw to Ben DeCelle for a two-point conversion and a 21-14 lead.

"Beating North means a lot," Holmes said. "We're trying to make a statement in the county -- one game at a time."

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Contact Mike London at 704-797-4259 or mlondon@salisburypost.com.