varsity.roanoke.com

robert.anderson@roanoke.com 981-3123

The so-called clash of the titans turned out to be the crash of the Titans.

Salem's Tony Spradlin was more concerned about another collision.

Spradlin's younger brother Nick, a sophomore on Salem's squad, escaped injury along with two other Spartans players in an automobile wreck Friday afternoon.

Once Spradlin learned his brother was OK, he did his part to lead Salem to a 42-10 homecoming victory over Hidden Valley by catching six passes for 92 yards and a touchdown.

"He should have been at the field house getting ready for the game but he decided to go to McDonald's or somewhere with his friends," Spradlin said. "He just made a bad decision. Thank God he's all right.

"I was worried about him at first. My mom came and told me everything was all right and that my brother was lucky to be alive."

Salem (6-1, 1-1) kept its season alive, recovering from a jarring collision on the opening kickoff when return man Andre Hairston was blasted by a wave of Hidden Valley tacklers, losing a fumble at the Spartans' 22-yard line.

Hidden Valley took a quick 3-0 lead on a 20-yard field goal by Kyle Curbow as Hairston was still shaking the cobwebs.

"I didn't even see [the ball]," Hairston said. "It was laying right there on the turf."

Hairston made up for the miscue by shaking Hidden Valley tacklers the rest of the night. The 5-foot-9, 195-pound senior, still bothered by a month-old ankle sprain ankle, broke a 29-yard touchdown run on his second carry of the night for a 14-10 lead midway through the second quarter.

Hairston added a 34-yard TD on Salem's next possession and added a 19-yard scoring run to open the third quarter as the Spartans built a 28-10 lead.

"I'm about 60 or 70 percent," Hairston said. "It takes time, but I'm able to play. I'm playing on heart. That's all I'm doing."

Salem's heart was tested this week after the Spartans blew a 35-14 halftime lead and lost 36-35 to Christiansburg a week ago.

"We just had to recognize we can be beat," Hairston said. "If we let down, we can be beat. If we play Salem football, nobody can beat us."

Hidden Valley (5-2, 1-1) appeared to have the game plan and the momentum from last week's shocking 31-6 win at Pulaski County to do the job.

The Titans opened the game in a shotgun formation. After Salem answered Curbow's field goal, Hidden Valley drove 53 yards for Jimmy King's 1-yard run and a 10-7 lead.

Salem coach Stephen Magenbauer knew Hidden Valley's personnel after two years in charge of the Titans program. However, what he saw from first-year coach J.R. Edwards looked more like the scheme William Byrd used to move to the ball on the Spartans earlier this season.

"We thought they might give us some looks that Byrd did," Magenbauer said. "They did a real good job of finding where they wanted to attack us and attack us in those areas."

Hidden Valley self-destructed in the third quarter, also losing standout receiver Judd Carte to a shoulder injury.

Josiah Goins fumbled the second-half kickoff and Salem's Mark Hanabury recovered at the Titans' 35, leading to Hairston's third TD.

On the next series, Hidden Valley quarterback Tyler Coyer lost a snap and Salem took over on the Titans' 5. Salem quarterback Matt Shawver hit Bryan Webb for a 6-yard TD and the rout was on.

Shawver finished 7-of-12 for 136 yards and two TDs, hitting Spradlin for a 12-yard score in the first quarter.

Salem's offensive line kept Shawver's jersey clean all night with excellent pass blocking.

"Shawver's a fantastic quarterback," Edwards said. "They spread your four wide, and you've got to put people out there to cover 'em. With what's left, you have to try to put your hands on Shawver."

Hidden Valley 3 7 0 0 - 10

Salem 7 14 14 7 - 42

HV - FG Curbow 20

Sal - Spradlin 12 pass from Shawver (Hall kick)

HV - King 2 run (Curbow kick)

Sal - Hairston 29 run (Hall kick)

Sal - Hairston 34 run (Hall kick)

Sal - Hairston 19 run (Hall kick)

Sal - Webb 6 pass from Shawver (Hall kick)

Sal - Daniels 2 run (Hall kick)

Team statistics

HV Sal

First downs 7 14

Yards rushing 115 102

Passes C-A-I 4-12-0 7-13-2

Yards passing 40 136

Penalties-yards 8-62 2-15

Fumbles-lost 4-1 4-2

Punts-average 5-29 0-0

Individual statistics

RUSHING - Hidden Valley, King 9-38, Coyer 18-37, Carte 6-19, Ray 3-13, Greenway 2-8. Salem, Hairston 7-93, Daniels 13-45, Smith 7-6, Shawver 1-0, Hanabury 2-(-14), Team 1-(28).

PASSING - Hidden Valley, Coyer 4-12-0-40. Salem, Shawver 7-12-2-136, Hairston 0-1-0-0.

RECEIVING - Hidden Valley, Carte 2-12, Bush 1-16, King 1-12. Salem, Spradlin 6-92, Smith 1-44.