photo by Brian Abbey

Salem hangs on to upend Wayne Memorial on 'Senior Night', 27-21

  Perseverance and pride paid off for Salem's football team Friday night against Wayne Memorial.

  The Rocks overcame a practice week plagued by injury and illness to cage the Zebras, 27-21, on Senior Night.

  "It was nice to be able to put it all together for the first time this season," said senior linebacker Ethan Walsh, who was a 15-tackle wrecking ball on defense. "We finally said, 'Let's stop thinking about (the winless record) so much, go out and have fun and play football."

  Seniors played a pivotal role in the Rocks' first win of 2010.

  Quarterback Drew Thompson, a converted wide receiver, threw a pair of touchdowns to spearhead the offense.

  Thompson's TD targets were Brian Auquier, who hauled in an 18-yard scoring pass; and junior Ryan Jankowski.

  Junior running back Marcus Houston continued his stellar season, picking up 131 yards on 20 carries, two of which were TD runs (17 and 4 yards).

  Walsh got plenty of help on the defensive side of the ball from seniors Omar Kandah (eight tackles) and Tommy Rodriguez (eight tackles).

  Auquier also picked off a pass.

  Salem broke open a 7-7 game with three straight touchdowns before holding off a late Zebra rally.

  Salem will close its season Friday night against Canton. The opening kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

  Ed Wright can be reached at (734) 453-1980 or info@plymouthcantonsports.com.

Brian Auquier scored the Rocks' first touchdown. (PlymouthPictures.com)

Marcus Houston picked off this Wayne pass. (PlymouthPictures.com)

Salem linebacker Jack Vida went horizontal to make this tackle. (PlymouthPictures.com)

Ethan Walsh makes one of his 15 tackles. (PlymouthPictures.com)

Matt Morton breaks free after hauling in a pass. (PlymouthPictures.com)

Nick Troher takes a couple Zebras for a ride. (PlymouthPictures.com)

Tommy Rodriguez goes all out to make this tackle. (PlymouthPictures.com)