"2008 Wonder Football Scrapbook"
South Piedmont Conference Champions
North Carolina State 3AA Runner Up
2008 Season Results
Kannapolis 48 Central Cabarrus 6
Kannapolis 28 South Rowan 7 Kannapolis 21 Mooresville 23 Kannapolis 34 Sun Valley 31 Kannapolis 28 Anson County 35 Kannapolis 23 Marvin Ridge 20 Kannapolis 45 Parkwood 21 Kannapolis 28 Piedmont 0 Kannapolis 21 Hickory Ridge 6 Kannapolis 52 Porter Ridge 0 Kannapolis 56 Concord 6 1st Kannapolis 42 Lake Norman 27 2nd Kannapolis 21 Marvin Ridge 13 3rd Kannapolis 28 Charlotte Catholic 27 4th Kannapolis 30 Kings Mountain 14 State Kannapolis 18 Dudley 34 |
2008 Athletic Program
Positions
Kannapolis-48 Central Cabarrus-6
CONCORD — Over the years, A.L. Brown has a history of getting off to slow starts. But the Wonders hope to use Friday night's 48-6 season-opening win over Central Cabarrus as a springboard to bigger and better things.
"This means a lot to us," senior wideout T.J. Johnson said. "If we can go undefeated through our non-conference games and win them like we did tonight, we can then take care of the conference games, then focus on the playoffs.
"That's our main focus this year — getting to the state (finals)."
Senior running back Jonathan Williams put up 101 yards and two third-quarter touchdowns for Brown (1-0), which led 33-0 at the half. Senior Jamill Lott threw for one score (to Johnson) and ran for another. Junior Antwoine Jordan and sophomore Martel Campbell each had one TD run, and Morgan McDaniel hit a 27-yard field goal and went 5-of-5 on PAT kicks.The win improved Brown's all-time record against the Vikings (0-1) to 20-0, and was the Wonders' most-lopsided season-opening victory since they thrashed Northwest Cabarrus 47-0 in 1988, former coach Bob Boswell's last season. But current Brown head coach Ron Massey said not to read anything into Friday night's final score, especially considering Central lost a number of players that would have made up this year's senior class with the opening of Hickory Ridge High School last year.
"It's a shame that Central has to go through this," Massey said. "Their senior class is going to be down, and they've got a lot of young kids out there. Glen (Cook, Central Cabarrus head coach) and his guys will find a way to keep those kids pulling along, and they'll get better as the year goes along.
"But we were definitely faster on the field, and definitely quicker than they were tonight. It showed, especially in the first half."
Significantly faster — on both sides of the ball. Even with senior back Artrele Louis still on the sidelines, the Wonders' offense — paced by Williams, Lott and Johnson — racked up 271 total yards (202 rushing, 69 passing). Meanwhile, Brown's defense held Central to minus-7 yards in the first half and 31 for the game, forced two turnovers and sacked Vikings quarterback D.J. Watson four times. Even the Wonders' special teams — in addition to McDaniel, whose field goal put Brown in the lead midway through the first quarter — got in on the act. They blocked or partially blocked three Central punts in the first half, and forced a safety on a bad snap in the end zone on another punt.
"We got the ball in scoring position on most of our series, either with the blocked kicks or our returns or the turnovers," Massey said. "That had a lot to do with it."
Of course, Brown's skill people helped too. Lott, making his debut as the Wonders' starting quarterback, scampered 23 yards for a TD midway through the first quarter to put Brown up 10-0. After a safety with less than a minute to go, he hit Johnson over the middle on a 28-yard scoring pass to put the Wonders up 19-0. Touchdown runs of 1 and 3 yards by Campbell — up from the JV squad for Friday's game — and Jordan, boosted Brown's lead. Williams then capped the night with TD runs of 6 and 41 yards in the third quarter.
"We went out and took control tonight," Lott said. "I feel pretty confident right now, especially with this team. Our goal this year is to win the championship — the state championship."
"This means a lot to us," senior wideout T.J. Johnson said. "If we can go undefeated through our non-conference games and win them like we did tonight, we can then take care of the conference games, then focus on the playoffs.
"That's our main focus this year — getting to the state (finals)."
Senior running back Jonathan Williams put up 101 yards and two third-quarter touchdowns for Brown (1-0), which led 33-0 at the half. Senior Jamill Lott threw for one score (to Johnson) and ran for another. Junior Antwoine Jordan and sophomore Martel Campbell each had one TD run, and Morgan McDaniel hit a 27-yard field goal and went 5-of-5 on PAT kicks.The win improved Brown's all-time record against the Vikings (0-1) to 20-0, and was the Wonders' most-lopsided season-opening victory since they thrashed Northwest Cabarrus 47-0 in 1988, former coach Bob Boswell's last season. But current Brown head coach Ron Massey said not to read anything into Friday night's final score, especially considering Central lost a number of players that would have made up this year's senior class with the opening of Hickory Ridge High School last year.
"It's a shame that Central has to go through this," Massey said. "Their senior class is going to be down, and they've got a lot of young kids out there. Glen (Cook, Central Cabarrus head coach) and his guys will find a way to keep those kids pulling along, and they'll get better as the year goes along.
"But we were definitely faster on the field, and definitely quicker than they were tonight. It showed, especially in the first half."
Significantly faster — on both sides of the ball. Even with senior back Artrele Louis still on the sidelines, the Wonders' offense — paced by Williams, Lott and Johnson — racked up 271 total yards (202 rushing, 69 passing). Meanwhile, Brown's defense held Central to minus-7 yards in the first half and 31 for the game, forced two turnovers and sacked Vikings quarterback D.J. Watson four times. Even the Wonders' special teams — in addition to McDaniel, whose field goal put Brown in the lead midway through the first quarter — got in on the act. They blocked or partially blocked three Central punts in the first half, and forced a safety on a bad snap in the end zone on another punt.
"We got the ball in scoring position on most of our series, either with the blocked kicks or our returns or the turnovers," Massey said. "That had a lot to do with it."
Of course, Brown's skill people helped too. Lott, making his debut as the Wonders' starting quarterback, scampered 23 yards for a TD midway through the first quarter to put Brown up 10-0. After a safety with less than a minute to go, he hit Johnson over the middle on a 28-yard scoring pass to put the Wonders up 19-0. Touchdown runs of 1 and 3 yards by Campbell — up from the JV squad for Friday's game — and Jordan, boosted Brown's lead. Williams then capped the night with TD runs of 6 and 41 yards in the third quarter.
"We went out and took control tonight," Lott said. "I feel pretty confident right now, especially with this team. Our goal this year is to win the championship — the state championship."
Central Cabarrus Gallery
Kannapolis-28 South Rowan-7
KANNAPOLIS - It wasn't pretty by any stretch of the imagination. But the way Ron Massey sees it, how you look doesn't matter as long as you come out on top.
"We didn't play well," A.L. Brown High's football coach said after his Wonders' hard-fought 28-7 nonconference victory over rival South Rowan Friday night at Memorial Stadium. We found a way to win, and a lot of times that's better than playing good and losing."
The Wonders were whistled for 10 penalties, fumbled four times, losing two, and never found the offensive rhythm that fueled a lopsided romp over Central Cabarrus in last week's season opener. Nevertheless, Kannapolis made enough plays to pull away and improve to 2-0 for the season. The Raiders fell to 0-2.
"Their defensive front is very good, and they whipped our tails in the first half," Massey said. "They did a lot of blitzing, but you know we come out and go three-and-out (on the first two series) and don't do a good job. Then we put our defense in a bad position. Fortunately they came through for us in that situation.
"Then we had a couple of series where we had penalties on two first down plays, we dropped a ball for a touchdown, we convert a fake punt and get a first down and fumble and things like that. Sometimes, you'll have nights like that. Hopefully, we'll get better from here."
Despite the sluggish start, the Wonders managed to grab a 7-0 lead on their third possession, driving 45 yards in seven plays with quarterback Jamill Lott covering the final 14 on brilliant individual effort that saw him elude a potential sack in the backfield, sprint around left end, then bull his way through two defenders at the goal line for the score. After stopping South on its next series, Kannapolis put together another impressive march to widen the gap to 14-0. Lott connected with tight end Zach Massey twice for 37 yards, and finished it off with a 12-yard strike to Coby Reid.
"He made good decisions," Massey said of Lott. "He threw some good balls. He's a double threat. That's kind of why we do what we're doing on offense."
In the third quarter, South let an early scoring opportunity slip away, an 11-play, six-minute march that ended on the Wonders' 30 when quarterback Blake Houston was sacked by Justin Carson on fourth down. In the end, that was the kind of night the Raiders endured. Six of their nine drives - two consisting of 12 and 11 plays - reached Wonders territory, yet they were only able to manage seven points.
"We just couldn't finish," said South coach Jason Rollins. "We moved the ball up and down the field at will. At times, we broke down, but we moved up and down the field in my opinion.
"We made some good plays, and we did things we had to do. We set them up for things, set them up for that big touchdown. Those are the things this offense does. But it's also supposed to score, and we weren't finishing that off."
Credit the Wonders' defense for that. Kannapolis forced a fumble and recorded eight sacks, two each by Dwayne Stroud, Dominique Phifer and Dana Moss. Moss also recovered a Raiders fumble.
"Our defense did a great job," Massey said. "We bottled them up. They had a couple of runs, but I thought we did a good job of not letting them get anything consistent going on the veer and traps and everything. I thought our defense played extremely well."
The Wonders' defense only had one lapse, coming early in the fourth quarter. Houston connected with B.J. Grant on a 63-yard bomb that pulled the Raiders within 14-7 with 10:21 left to play. The euphoria on South's sideline didn't last long. T.J. Johnson fielded the ensuing kickoff and raced 91 yards for a touchdown to put the Wonders in control again, a deflating blow for the Raiders' bid at a comeback.
"T.J. had a rough night fielding punts, then dropped a touchdown pass, but he came back and made a play for us," Massey said.
"It was like taking that bubble and kind of popping it," Rollins said of the game-clinching return. "Kannapolis is prone to taking a kickoff return back on us. They're good at what they do. They hit us on that one and it popped our bubble quick."
The Raiders never recovered. Antwoine Jordan found the end zone on a 6-yard run with 1:29 to play to set the final score. Johnathan Williams set up Jordan's TD with runs of 32, 8 and 38 yards. Williams finished with 98 yards on 13 carries, while Jordan and Lott each finished with 47. Lott was 8 of 11 passing for 112 yards.
"I don't know why they didn't keep blitzing us, but they didn't," Massey said. "Fortunately, we got some push on the offensive line and we broke a couple. I thought our backs did a good job, and our offensive line came through on that last drive."
Deandre Harris had 53 yards rushing for the Raiders, while Houston was 6 of 11 passing for 141 yards.
"I don't think our kids gave up," Rollins said. "They tried to fight back. I thought they did a good job. I can't say enough about what our defense did. We had a couple of bad plays defensively, but overall I thought our defense did a good job."
"We didn't play well," A.L. Brown High's football coach said after his Wonders' hard-fought 28-7 nonconference victory over rival South Rowan Friday night at Memorial Stadium. We found a way to win, and a lot of times that's better than playing good and losing."
The Wonders were whistled for 10 penalties, fumbled four times, losing two, and never found the offensive rhythm that fueled a lopsided romp over Central Cabarrus in last week's season opener. Nevertheless, Kannapolis made enough plays to pull away and improve to 2-0 for the season. The Raiders fell to 0-2.
"Their defensive front is very good, and they whipped our tails in the first half," Massey said. "They did a lot of blitzing, but you know we come out and go three-and-out (on the first two series) and don't do a good job. Then we put our defense in a bad position. Fortunately they came through for us in that situation.
"Then we had a couple of series where we had penalties on two first down plays, we dropped a ball for a touchdown, we convert a fake punt and get a first down and fumble and things like that. Sometimes, you'll have nights like that. Hopefully, we'll get better from here."
Despite the sluggish start, the Wonders managed to grab a 7-0 lead on their third possession, driving 45 yards in seven plays with quarterback Jamill Lott covering the final 14 on brilliant individual effort that saw him elude a potential sack in the backfield, sprint around left end, then bull his way through two defenders at the goal line for the score. After stopping South on its next series, Kannapolis put together another impressive march to widen the gap to 14-0. Lott connected with tight end Zach Massey twice for 37 yards, and finished it off with a 12-yard strike to Coby Reid.
"He made good decisions," Massey said of Lott. "He threw some good balls. He's a double threat. That's kind of why we do what we're doing on offense."
In the third quarter, South let an early scoring opportunity slip away, an 11-play, six-minute march that ended on the Wonders' 30 when quarterback Blake Houston was sacked by Justin Carson on fourth down. In the end, that was the kind of night the Raiders endured. Six of their nine drives - two consisting of 12 and 11 plays - reached Wonders territory, yet they were only able to manage seven points.
"We just couldn't finish," said South coach Jason Rollins. "We moved the ball up and down the field at will. At times, we broke down, but we moved up and down the field in my opinion.
"We made some good plays, and we did things we had to do. We set them up for things, set them up for that big touchdown. Those are the things this offense does. But it's also supposed to score, and we weren't finishing that off."
Credit the Wonders' defense for that. Kannapolis forced a fumble and recorded eight sacks, two each by Dwayne Stroud, Dominique Phifer and Dana Moss. Moss also recovered a Raiders fumble.
"Our defense did a great job," Massey said. "We bottled them up. They had a couple of runs, but I thought we did a good job of not letting them get anything consistent going on the veer and traps and everything. I thought our defense played extremely well."
The Wonders' defense only had one lapse, coming early in the fourth quarter. Houston connected with B.J. Grant on a 63-yard bomb that pulled the Raiders within 14-7 with 10:21 left to play. The euphoria on South's sideline didn't last long. T.J. Johnson fielded the ensuing kickoff and raced 91 yards for a touchdown to put the Wonders in control again, a deflating blow for the Raiders' bid at a comeback.
"T.J. had a rough night fielding punts, then dropped a touchdown pass, but he came back and made a play for us," Massey said.
"It was like taking that bubble and kind of popping it," Rollins said of the game-clinching return. "Kannapolis is prone to taking a kickoff return back on us. They're good at what they do. They hit us on that one and it popped our bubble quick."
The Raiders never recovered. Antwoine Jordan found the end zone on a 6-yard run with 1:29 to play to set the final score. Johnathan Williams set up Jordan's TD with runs of 32, 8 and 38 yards. Williams finished with 98 yards on 13 carries, while Jordan and Lott each finished with 47. Lott was 8 of 11 passing for 112 yards.
"I don't know why they didn't keep blitzing us, but they didn't," Massey said. "Fortunately, we got some push on the offensive line and we broke a couple. I thought our backs did a good job, and our offensive line came through on that last drive."
Deandre Harris had 53 yards rushing for the Raiders, while Houston was 6 of 11 passing for 141 yards.
"I don't think our kids gave up," Rollins said. "They tried to fight back. I thought they did a good job. I can't say enough about what our defense did. We had a couple of bad plays defensively, but overall I thought our defense did a good job."
South Rowan Gallery
Kannapolis-21 Mooresville-23
MOORESVILLE — Everybody will remember one play as making a difference in Friday night's A.L. Brown-Mooresville matchup. But there were a few key plays on both sides of the ball that contributed to the Wonders' nail-biting, 23-21 loss to the Blue Devils.That one play — a 28-yard field-goal attempt that kicker Morgan McDaniel pulled wide right with 1:08 remaining — gave A.L. Brown (2-1) its first loss of the season and ended a three-game winning streak against Mooresville.
"I've got all the confidence in the world in Morgan," Wonders head coach Ron Massey said. "If we had to do it again, I'd do the same thing. ... He'll win some football games for us down the road. It was a great ballgame, with two good programs playing hard. We found out a little bit about ourselves. We just needed one more big play down there because I wanted us to have the opportunity to win the game."
And Brown, which last lost to the Blue Devils in 2003, had that opportunity, rallying from a two-touchdown deficit with nearly four minutes remaining in the first half. The Wonders struggled for most of the half, both in getting their offense in gear — Brown fumbled the ball twice on its first two possessions, the second of which led to a safety, and had just 71 rushing yards — and stopping Mooresville back Jjshaun Pinkston. Pinkston, who ran for 211 yards and two touchdowns last year in a 29-26 loss to A.L. Brown, picked up where he left off Friday night. He ripped through Brown's defense for 146 yards and three touchdowns — runs of 61, 7 and 39 yards, the last giving the Blue Devils a 23-7 lead with 4:14 left in the second quarter.
"We knew how good he was," Massey said. "We didn't do a good job in the first half of slowing him down, and we gave up some big plays. But I like the way we fought back. We were able to get some pressure on (the Blue Devils) in the second half, kept them from getting big plays and slowed Pinkston down a little bit."
Despite letting Pinkston run all over them for the second straight season, the Wonders put themselves back in the game thanks to Jamill Lott and Johnathan Williams. Lott ran for a career-best 104 yards and threw for 114 more and two touchdowns. He connected with Zach Massey on a 3-yard TD with 6.5 seconds left in the first half to cut Mooresville's lead to 23-14, then got the Wonders within two points when he found T.J. Johnson from 4 yards out with 10:10 left in the fourth quarter. Williams, meanwhile, added 96 yards rushing.
"(Lott) did a great job in the second half of running the offense," Massey said. "We had some communication problems in the first half, and we fumbled the ball on our first two snaps. They jumped on us early, but I'm proud of the way the kids responded. You just can't play a good team and do what we did offensively in the first quarter and expect to beat them."
"I've got all the confidence in the world in Morgan," Wonders head coach Ron Massey said. "If we had to do it again, I'd do the same thing. ... He'll win some football games for us down the road. It was a great ballgame, with two good programs playing hard. We found out a little bit about ourselves. We just needed one more big play down there because I wanted us to have the opportunity to win the game."
And Brown, which last lost to the Blue Devils in 2003, had that opportunity, rallying from a two-touchdown deficit with nearly four minutes remaining in the first half. The Wonders struggled for most of the half, both in getting their offense in gear — Brown fumbled the ball twice on its first two possessions, the second of which led to a safety, and had just 71 rushing yards — and stopping Mooresville back Jjshaun Pinkston. Pinkston, who ran for 211 yards and two touchdowns last year in a 29-26 loss to A.L. Brown, picked up where he left off Friday night. He ripped through Brown's defense for 146 yards and three touchdowns — runs of 61, 7 and 39 yards, the last giving the Blue Devils a 23-7 lead with 4:14 left in the second quarter.
"We knew how good he was," Massey said. "We didn't do a good job in the first half of slowing him down, and we gave up some big plays. But I like the way we fought back. We were able to get some pressure on (the Blue Devils) in the second half, kept them from getting big plays and slowed Pinkston down a little bit."
Despite letting Pinkston run all over them for the second straight season, the Wonders put themselves back in the game thanks to Jamill Lott and Johnathan Williams. Lott ran for a career-best 104 yards and threw for 114 more and two touchdowns. He connected with Zach Massey on a 3-yard TD with 6.5 seconds left in the first half to cut Mooresville's lead to 23-14, then got the Wonders within two points when he found T.J. Johnson from 4 yards out with 10:10 left in the fourth quarter. Williams, meanwhile, added 96 yards rushing.
"(Lott) did a great job in the second half of running the offense," Massey said. "We had some communication problems in the first half, and we fumbled the ball on our first two snaps. They jumped on us early, but I'm proud of the way the kids responded. You just can't play a good team and do what we did offensively in the first quarter and expect to beat them."
Mooresville Gallery
Kannapolis-34 Sun Valley-31
KANNAPOLIS - After Morgan McDaniel missed a late field goal last week against Mooresville, A.L. Brown head coach Ron Massey said McDaniel would "win some football games for us down the road." Little did Massey know how short that road would be. McDaniel booted a 22-yard field goal with 1:04 left in the fourth quarter to lift the Wonders to a wild 34-31 victory over Sun Valley in Friday night's key South Piedmont Conference opener.
"I felt awful last week and now coming back the very next week making it and doing everything I can to help the team out, it felt great," McDaniel said. They're definitely a conference champion contender so it feels good to get that first conference win against such a good team."
After a sluggish beginning, the two teams showed why they're among the SPC's best, going back and forth over the final three quarters. However, it was Kannapolis (3-1) which had the last critical offensive drive.
"We talked about it all week, that offensively we were going to have to outscore them because their offense is good," Massey said.
After Sun Valley (3-1) tied it at 31-31 with 7:43 left, the Wonders begin the game-winning 71-yard march to set up McDaniel.Quarterback Jamill Lott led the way, starting with a huge 11-yard scramble on third-and-9.
"I just can't say enough about how well Jamill is maturing and playing and getting better and just making plays for us," Massey said. "He keeps us alive on a lot of plays that sometimes might not be productive."
Lott ran for eight more yards and then hooked up with T.J. Johnson for a 31-yard reception to the Sun Valley 16 with four minutes left. Johnson outleaped a Spartan defender for the ball. The Wonders stalled after that and McDaniel came in on fourth-and-2 to kick, but Sun Valley jumped offsides, giving Kannapolis more downs and a chance to run more time off the clock. After three more plays, McDaniel came back on and split the uprights from the left hash for the game-winner. He had also kicked a 42-yarder in the third quarter.
"It meant a lot to me," McDaniel said of the confidence Massey and his teammates showed in him. "I was kind of low after missing that kick but everybody was saying nice stuff, saying you're going to be back on top, it meant a lot to me."
The Kannapolis defense then made it stand up, with Joshua Moss and Landon Morgan combining a big sack that essentially ended the Spartans' hopes. It was one of the few times after the first quarter that either offense was stopped. With quarterback Andy Capone throwing for 277 yards and completing passes to eight different receivers, Sun Valley piled up 24 first downs. But Kannapolis found ways to answer and was able to lead most of the way, starting with Josh Black's 76-yard interception return for a touchdown in the first quarter. Junior running back Antwoine Jordan then scored touchdowns on consecutive carries that gave the Wonders a 21-7 lead. He scored on a 17-yarder and then right after Sun Valley got on the board, he outran two Sun Valley defenders for an 80-yard score.
"It was a great run," Massey said. "He made a good cut to keep the pursuit from catching him and that was just a big boost for us after they had just scored."
But Sun Valley answered with two touchdowns in the last 2:03 of the half to climb within 21-19. The Spartans then took the second half kickoff and needed just four plays to take their first lead on a 43-yard touchdown pass from Capone to Dustin Cook. The Wonders scored two plays later as Colby Reid got behind the defense and hauled in a 57-yard touchdown from Lott to make. McDaniel's field goal then made it 31-25 with 15 seconds left in the third quarter.
"I thought we answered the bell," Massey said. "They had the momentum at half and then we kick off to them and we let them score pretty easy. But then us coming back and scoring and then we started getting a little pressure and making some plays and that's what we had to do."
Sun Valley then marched 80-yards on 12 plays, capped by a 17-yard Capone pass to tight end Steven Cole on a fourth-and-10 play. Mike Robinson came from the outside to block the extra-point – his second one of the game – to keep the score tied.
"We had a lot of players make big plays tonight," Massey said.
Lott rushed for 105 yards on 19 carries, while throwing for 121 yards. He also played on defense.
"Jamill had to play a lot of snaps tonight," Massey said. "We had talked about trying to make sure he was fresh in the fourth quarter. I don't know how fresh he was but he was able to make some plays for us."
Jordan had a team-high 116 yards and the two scores on just nine carries. Capone was 22 of 34 passing and B.J. Mosley was the Spartans' leading receiver with six catches for 74 yards. North Carolina commitment Ray-Ray Davis had four catches for 58 yards, all in the first half.
"I'm just happy for the kids," Massey said. "Last week was tough. I'm just proud of them. I didn't have any doubt they would respond."
The win was big for Kannapolis, but the Wonders have another challenge next week at Anson County.
"I felt awful last week and now coming back the very next week making it and doing everything I can to help the team out, it felt great," McDaniel said. They're definitely a conference champion contender so it feels good to get that first conference win against such a good team."
After a sluggish beginning, the two teams showed why they're among the SPC's best, going back and forth over the final three quarters. However, it was Kannapolis (3-1) which had the last critical offensive drive.
"We talked about it all week, that offensively we were going to have to outscore them because their offense is good," Massey said.
After Sun Valley (3-1) tied it at 31-31 with 7:43 left, the Wonders begin the game-winning 71-yard march to set up McDaniel.Quarterback Jamill Lott led the way, starting with a huge 11-yard scramble on third-and-9.
"I just can't say enough about how well Jamill is maturing and playing and getting better and just making plays for us," Massey said. "He keeps us alive on a lot of plays that sometimes might not be productive."
Lott ran for eight more yards and then hooked up with T.J. Johnson for a 31-yard reception to the Sun Valley 16 with four minutes left. Johnson outleaped a Spartan defender for the ball. The Wonders stalled after that and McDaniel came in on fourth-and-2 to kick, but Sun Valley jumped offsides, giving Kannapolis more downs and a chance to run more time off the clock. After three more plays, McDaniel came back on and split the uprights from the left hash for the game-winner. He had also kicked a 42-yarder in the third quarter.
"It meant a lot to me," McDaniel said of the confidence Massey and his teammates showed in him. "I was kind of low after missing that kick but everybody was saying nice stuff, saying you're going to be back on top, it meant a lot to me."
The Kannapolis defense then made it stand up, with Joshua Moss and Landon Morgan combining a big sack that essentially ended the Spartans' hopes. It was one of the few times after the first quarter that either offense was stopped. With quarterback Andy Capone throwing for 277 yards and completing passes to eight different receivers, Sun Valley piled up 24 first downs. But Kannapolis found ways to answer and was able to lead most of the way, starting with Josh Black's 76-yard interception return for a touchdown in the first quarter. Junior running back Antwoine Jordan then scored touchdowns on consecutive carries that gave the Wonders a 21-7 lead. He scored on a 17-yarder and then right after Sun Valley got on the board, he outran two Sun Valley defenders for an 80-yard score.
"It was a great run," Massey said. "He made a good cut to keep the pursuit from catching him and that was just a big boost for us after they had just scored."
But Sun Valley answered with two touchdowns in the last 2:03 of the half to climb within 21-19. The Spartans then took the second half kickoff and needed just four plays to take their first lead on a 43-yard touchdown pass from Capone to Dustin Cook. The Wonders scored two plays later as Colby Reid got behind the defense and hauled in a 57-yard touchdown from Lott to make. McDaniel's field goal then made it 31-25 with 15 seconds left in the third quarter.
"I thought we answered the bell," Massey said. "They had the momentum at half and then we kick off to them and we let them score pretty easy. But then us coming back and scoring and then we started getting a little pressure and making some plays and that's what we had to do."
Sun Valley then marched 80-yards on 12 plays, capped by a 17-yard Capone pass to tight end Steven Cole on a fourth-and-10 play. Mike Robinson came from the outside to block the extra-point – his second one of the game – to keep the score tied.
"We had a lot of players make big plays tonight," Massey said.
Lott rushed for 105 yards on 19 carries, while throwing for 121 yards. He also played on defense.
"Jamill had to play a lot of snaps tonight," Massey said. "We had talked about trying to make sure he was fresh in the fourth quarter. I don't know how fresh he was but he was able to make some plays for us."
Jordan had a team-high 116 yards and the two scores on just nine carries. Capone was 22 of 34 passing and B.J. Mosley was the Spartans' leading receiver with six catches for 74 yards. North Carolina commitment Ray-Ray Davis had four catches for 58 yards, all in the first half.
"I'm just happy for the kids," Massey said. "Last week was tough. I'm just proud of them. I didn't have any doubt they would respond."
The win was big for Kannapolis, but the Wonders have another challenge next week at Anson County.
Sun Valley Gallery
Kannapolis-28 Anson County-35
WADESBORO — A.L. Brown's coaching staff warned their players about Anson County. It took the first half of Friday's South Piedmont Conference contest for the Wonders to get the message and turn things around. Brown fought back from a four-touchdown deficit to the Bearcats in the second half, but the rally fell short in the final seconds in a 35-28 loss. Patrick Polk ran for 168 yards and three touchdowns for Anson County (2-3, 1-1), which also got two first-quarter defensive scores in racing to a 21-0 halftime lead. By the time Brown (3-2, 1-1) got its game on track, the Bearcats were ahead 28-0 and seemingly in control of the game.
"We just weren't ready to play in the first half, and that's my fault," A.L. Brown head coach Ron Massey said. "We told the kids how good they were. But they looked at them on tape against Parkwood, and they thought otherwise. We tried to tell them that they're a good football team."
Massey was referring to Anson County's game a week earlier — a 41-20 loss to Monroe Parkwood in which the Bearcats committed eight turnovers. But against the Wonders, Anson County turned the ball over just once — a second-quarter interception by Xavier Watson inside the red zone — while taking advantage of two early Brown turnovers. The first was Jamill Lott's first interception of the season and a 40-yard TD return by Leshaun Garris. The second was Lott's fumble at the Anson 16 that was picked up by D.J. Ellerbe and returned 84 yards for a score.
"I told the kids before we started that they had the speed to match us," Massey said. "That caught our kids off guard in the first half."
Polk, who did not play against Parkwood, took over after that. His 3-yard TD run with 1:13 remaining gave the Bearcats a 21-0 halftime lead, and his 32-yard scoring run with 6:19 left in the third quarter put Anson up 28-0. However, A.L. Brown seized the momentum with back-to-back scoring drives in the third quarter — scoring on Johnathan Williams' 3-yard TD run with 4:57 left and Lott's 13-yard TD pass to Zach Massey with 16 seconds remaining. Polk's third TD run of the game, a 6-yarder with 7:41 remaining in the fourth quarter, capped a 12-play, 80-yard drive — a drive that actually began when an 83-yard TD pass from Jordan Hildreth to Rasaun Rorie was called back on a penalty. But the Hildreth-to-Rorie connection would make two key plays during the drive, both on third-and-long — a 33-yard completion, in which Rorie wrestled the ball away from Brown defender Mike Robinson, and a 22-yarder to put the ball at the Brown 2.
However, Brown scored quickly. Lott ran in from the 1-yard line with 6:04 left, and Williams scored on an 8-yard TD run with 2:33 left to pull within 35-28. Then the Wonders stopped Anson on downs with 56 seconds left to get the ball back for one last gasp. Lott drove the Wonders to the Bearcats 25 with seven seconds left, but he was chased down and sacked by Anson's Greg Lomax on the game's final play.
"I'm proud of our kids for giving us a chance to win," Massey said. "We had a legitimate chance at the end, fighting back and not quitting. The kids could've given up when it was 21-0 at the half."
"We just weren't ready to play in the first half, and that's my fault," A.L. Brown head coach Ron Massey said. "We told the kids how good they were. But they looked at them on tape against Parkwood, and they thought otherwise. We tried to tell them that they're a good football team."
Massey was referring to Anson County's game a week earlier — a 41-20 loss to Monroe Parkwood in which the Bearcats committed eight turnovers. But against the Wonders, Anson County turned the ball over just once — a second-quarter interception by Xavier Watson inside the red zone — while taking advantage of two early Brown turnovers. The first was Jamill Lott's first interception of the season and a 40-yard TD return by Leshaun Garris. The second was Lott's fumble at the Anson 16 that was picked up by D.J. Ellerbe and returned 84 yards for a score.
"I told the kids before we started that they had the speed to match us," Massey said. "That caught our kids off guard in the first half."
Polk, who did not play against Parkwood, took over after that. His 3-yard TD run with 1:13 remaining gave the Bearcats a 21-0 halftime lead, and his 32-yard scoring run with 6:19 left in the third quarter put Anson up 28-0. However, A.L. Brown seized the momentum with back-to-back scoring drives in the third quarter — scoring on Johnathan Williams' 3-yard TD run with 4:57 left and Lott's 13-yard TD pass to Zach Massey with 16 seconds remaining. Polk's third TD run of the game, a 6-yarder with 7:41 remaining in the fourth quarter, capped a 12-play, 80-yard drive — a drive that actually began when an 83-yard TD pass from Jordan Hildreth to Rasaun Rorie was called back on a penalty. But the Hildreth-to-Rorie connection would make two key plays during the drive, both on third-and-long — a 33-yard completion, in which Rorie wrestled the ball away from Brown defender Mike Robinson, and a 22-yarder to put the ball at the Brown 2.
However, Brown scored quickly. Lott ran in from the 1-yard line with 6:04 left, and Williams scored on an 8-yard TD run with 2:33 left to pull within 35-28. Then the Wonders stopped Anson on downs with 56 seconds left to get the ball back for one last gasp. Lott drove the Wonders to the Bearcats 25 with seven seconds left, but he was chased down and sacked by Anson's Greg Lomax on the game's final play.
"I'm proud of our kids for giving us a chance to win," Massey said. "We had a legitimate chance at the end, fighting back and not quitting. The kids could've given up when it was 21-0 at the half."
Kannapolis-23 Marvin Ridge-20
KANNAPOLIS — Jamill Lott knew A.L. Brown had played a terrible game against Marvin Ridge. Lott also knew his mistakes had played a role in putting the Wonders in a hole against the Mavericks on Monday night. So when Lott got a chance to make amends, he grabbed it with both hands, scampering in from 7 yards out in overtime to give Brown a 23-20 victory over Marvin Ridge.
"I was going to keep it all the way," said Lott, who led the Wonders with 93 rushing yards. "I had to make up for all of that."
He can also thank Brown's defense, which made a key stop at the goal line on Marvin Ridge's last possession of regulation that spelled the difference between going into overtime — and going into the locker room with a loss. The Mavericks, who had been unable to mount any sort of consistent drives most of the game, finally put one together. They drove 56 yards on 12 plays, and were on the Brown 4 with 1:51 left. But on the next play, Terrance Johnson knocked the ball out of MR fullback Dylan Williams' hands 2 yards from the goal line, with Joshua Moss diving on the loose ball in the end zone. Jordan Day's 24-yard field goal put Marvin Ridge ahead 20-17 in its overtime possession. But on Brown's second OT down, Lott faked to Antwoine Jordan heading left, then broke right and raced untouched into the end zone.
"It looks like our conference is going to be pretty competitive, top to bottom," Wonders head coach Ron Massey said. "It could be like this the rest of the season."
Jordan added 77 yards rushing and one touchdown for Brown (4-2, 2-1 South Piedmont Conference) — a 17-yard dash off left tackle in the fourth quarter that tied the game at 17-17 — and Morgan McDaniel hit a 30-yard field goal in the closing seconds of the first half that tied the score at 10-10. Johnathan Williams also ran in for a score, a 1-yard dive in the first quarter that put the Wonders ahead. But Williams apparently twisted his left ankle on the play and sat out the rest of the game. Brown trailed twice, going down 10-7 midway through the second quarter and 17-10 early in the third. While the Wonders' defense kept the Mavericks in check for most of the game — three first downs through the first three quarters — Marvin Ridge (2-3, 1-1) took advantage of a pair of Brown fumbles inside the 5 to set up two Dylan Williams TD runs.
"No, it wasn't pretty," Massey said. "We knew (Marvin Ridge) was a pretty good football team ... but we did some dumb things in the first half offensively."
Add to that a defensive stop the Mavericks made early in the second quarter, pulling Lott down for a safety for Marvin Ridge's first points of the game, and it was no wonder that the senior quarterback felt he owed his teammates big time.
"We just didn't execute," said Lott, who had two of the Wonders' three fumbles. "We had a lot of turnovers, we missed blocks and we weren't handling their pressure."
"I was going to keep it all the way," said Lott, who led the Wonders with 93 rushing yards. "I had to make up for all of that."
He can also thank Brown's defense, which made a key stop at the goal line on Marvin Ridge's last possession of regulation that spelled the difference between going into overtime — and going into the locker room with a loss. The Mavericks, who had been unable to mount any sort of consistent drives most of the game, finally put one together. They drove 56 yards on 12 plays, and were on the Brown 4 with 1:51 left. But on the next play, Terrance Johnson knocked the ball out of MR fullback Dylan Williams' hands 2 yards from the goal line, with Joshua Moss diving on the loose ball in the end zone. Jordan Day's 24-yard field goal put Marvin Ridge ahead 20-17 in its overtime possession. But on Brown's second OT down, Lott faked to Antwoine Jordan heading left, then broke right and raced untouched into the end zone.
"It looks like our conference is going to be pretty competitive, top to bottom," Wonders head coach Ron Massey said. "It could be like this the rest of the season."
Jordan added 77 yards rushing and one touchdown for Brown (4-2, 2-1 South Piedmont Conference) — a 17-yard dash off left tackle in the fourth quarter that tied the game at 17-17 — and Morgan McDaniel hit a 30-yard field goal in the closing seconds of the first half that tied the score at 10-10. Johnathan Williams also ran in for a score, a 1-yard dive in the first quarter that put the Wonders ahead. But Williams apparently twisted his left ankle on the play and sat out the rest of the game. Brown trailed twice, going down 10-7 midway through the second quarter and 17-10 early in the third. While the Wonders' defense kept the Mavericks in check for most of the game — three first downs through the first three quarters — Marvin Ridge (2-3, 1-1) took advantage of a pair of Brown fumbles inside the 5 to set up two Dylan Williams TD runs.
"No, it wasn't pretty," Massey said. "We knew (Marvin Ridge) was a pretty good football team ... but we did some dumb things in the first half offensively."
Add to that a defensive stop the Mavericks made early in the second quarter, pulling Lott down for a safety for Marvin Ridge's first points of the game, and it was no wonder that the senior quarterback felt he owed his teammates big time.
"We just didn't execute," said Lott, who had two of the Wonders' three fumbles. "We had a lot of turnovers, we missed blocks and we weren't handling their pressure."
Marvin Ridge Gallery
Kannapolis-45 Parkwood-21
MONROE - The Wonders wanted to create some turnovers. They achieved that goal against Parkwood, and then some.The Kannapolis defense scored 20 points Friday night in a 45-21 South Piedmont Conference win. The Wonders (5-2, 3-1) will go into their open week with a good feeling after building a 25-0 halftime lead despite playing their second game in five days. Linebacker Terrance Johnson scored twice in the win, on an interception return and a fumble return. Xavier Watson returned an interception for a score and the Wonders D caused a safety, too. That doesn't include another Kannapolis touchdown set up by a fumble recovery. The Wonders led only 3-0 after one quarter on the strength of Morgan McDaniel's 31-yard field goal. Then they got going. On the first play of the second quarter, a fumble recovery by Dominique Phifer at the Parkwood 23 set up Jamill Lott's 21-yard touchdown run for a 10-0 Kannapolis lead. Bobby Archie's hit caused the fumble. Parkwood (3-3, 1-2) stopped the Wonders at the one-inch line, keeping Lott from getting into the endzone. The Wonders quarterback suffered a hip injury on the play and did not return until the third quarter. But the Rebels had to punt from their 1 after three incomplete passes and the Wonders started from the Parkwood 30. That led to an 11-yard touchdown pass from Martel Campbell to Jacob Newman for a 16-0 lead. Johnson, who missed the early part of the Wonders' season while recovering from surgery, kept the momentum, intercepting a pass and returning it 16 yards for a 23-0 lead.
"I feel like I'm back 100 percent," Johnson said. "That's my first time scoring a defensive touchdown." It's good to see him flying around in there," said Kannapolis coach Ron Massey.
The defense struck again when Mark Goodjohn's tackle caused the ball to pop loose and roll into the endzone, where Parkwood recovered for a safety and 25-0 margin with 1:48 left in the half. After Parkwood drove for a touchdown to start the second half, Lott's 35-yard pass to Colby Reid set up a 3-yard touchdown throw from Lott to T.J. Johnson. The Rebels scored on the first play of the fourth quarter to cut the gap to 32-14. But when Chris Moore's tackle caused another Parkwood fumble, Terrance Johnson returned it 33 yards for a score. Then Watson took an interception back 27 yards for a 45-14 cushion. It was Parkwood's fifth turnover.
"We hadn't got a lot of turnovers on defense," Massey said. "I thought tonight we made up for it."
Parkwood, which handed Anson its only SPC loss to date, scored its final touchdown with 10.3 seconds left. The Rebels managed only one first down in the first half. The Wonders gained excellent field position in the first half on strong punt returns by T.J. Johnson. While there are pluses and minuses to having an open week at this point in the season, Massey said it could be beneficial.
"This is a good time for us," Massey said. "We can get some people healthy. Hopefully we'll get Cameron Gulledge back and Johnathan Williams missed tonight."
Williams, a running back, was injured Monday in the win over Marvin Ridge.
"I feel like I'm back 100 percent," Johnson said. "That's my first time scoring a defensive touchdown." It's good to see him flying around in there," said Kannapolis coach Ron Massey.
The defense struck again when Mark Goodjohn's tackle caused the ball to pop loose and roll into the endzone, where Parkwood recovered for a safety and 25-0 margin with 1:48 left in the half. After Parkwood drove for a touchdown to start the second half, Lott's 35-yard pass to Colby Reid set up a 3-yard touchdown throw from Lott to T.J. Johnson. The Rebels scored on the first play of the fourth quarter to cut the gap to 32-14. But when Chris Moore's tackle caused another Parkwood fumble, Terrance Johnson returned it 33 yards for a score. Then Watson took an interception back 27 yards for a 45-14 cushion. It was Parkwood's fifth turnover.
"We hadn't got a lot of turnovers on defense," Massey said. "I thought tonight we made up for it."
Parkwood, which handed Anson its only SPC loss to date, scored its final touchdown with 10.3 seconds left. The Rebels managed only one first down in the first half. The Wonders gained excellent field position in the first half on strong punt returns by T.J. Johnson. While there are pluses and minuses to having an open week at this point in the season, Massey said it could be beneficial.
"This is a good time for us," Massey said. "We can get some people healthy. Hopefully we'll get Cameron Gulledge back and Johnathan Williams missed tonight."
Williams, a running back, was injured Monday in the win over Marvin Ridge.
Parkwood Gallery
Kannapolis-28 Piedmont-0
KANNAPOLIS — The conditions at Memorial Stadium called for winning ugly — and ugly, Jamill Lott can do. A.L. Brown's senior quarterback used a just-add-water recipe Friday night to chill visiting Piedmont 28-0.
"The ball was slippery and it was cold out there," Lott said in the toasty Brown locker room, moments after the Wonders (6-2, 4-1 SPC) gained their third straight win. "I had to adjust and adapt to the environment. I mean, it was windy and the rain came down constantly."
Lott and his teammates discovered they're pretty good mudders, finding enough traction to rush for a season-high 261 yards. And defensively, they held Piedmont (0-9, 0-6) to 22 yards and no first downs in the decisive first half.
"Coach (Ron Massey) told us to just keep our feet under us," said defensive end Bobby Archie, who made a big-league sack in the fourth quarter. "If you can grip the ground, you can go for it."
Brown got it going almost immediately. Before taking his first snap, Lott returned a Piedmont punt 54 yards for the game's first touchdown, a breakout play that looked more like a swivel down the red carpet.
"That's just putting an athlete back there and turning him loose," Massey chuckled. "When we look at the tape I'm sure we'll see some good blocks. But we're just blessed with a good athlete."
Lott — who scampered for 108 yards on 10 carries — was so good he also scored the Wonders' second TD, this one on a 10-yard run off right tackle midway through the opening period.
"I have to give it to my O-line and my running backs for opening holes for me," he said. "They're the ones who got me there."
Brown stretched its lead to 21-0 with 2:20 remaining in the first quarter. A short-field drive that began on the Piedmont 29-yard line — courtesy of Landon Morgan's fumble recovery — closed when sophomore running back Travis Riley skirted in from 2 yards out. A key completion on the nine-play drive was Lott's 14-yard spiral to tight end Zach Massey. The second quarter featured more dominance. Lott directed a seven-play, 49-yard touchdown drive and handed off to Antwoine Jordan for a 2-yard score with 9:43 remaining in the half. Piedmont finally showed a pulse in the second half, penetrating as deep as the Brown 7-yard line late in the third period. The Panthers used a halfback-option pass to gain 45 yards, but eventually missed a field goal attempt and never again escaped their own territory.
"They started doing some trick plays and fancy stuff," Brown linebacker Chris Moore said. "They faked that sweep, we bit on it too hard and the running back threw the long ball."
Afterward, most of the Wonders proved just as elusive, scurrying up a paved hill and back to the comfort of their locker room.
"It was just too cold," said Moore. "When you play like this in the rain, it's kind of fun. But when it's over, the fun's over too."
"The ball was slippery and it was cold out there," Lott said in the toasty Brown locker room, moments after the Wonders (6-2, 4-1 SPC) gained their third straight win. "I had to adjust and adapt to the environment. I mean, it was windy and the rain came down constantly."
Lott and his teammates discovered they're pretty good mudders, finding enough traction to rush for a season-high 261 yards. And defensively, they held Piedmont (0-9, 0-6) to 22 yards and no first downs in the decisive first half.
"Coach (Ron Massey) told us to just keep our feet under us," said defensive end Bobby Archie, who made a big-league sack in the fourth quarter. "If you can grip the ground, you can go for it."
Brown got it going almost immediately. Before taking his first snap, Lott returned a Piedmont punt 54 yards for the game's first touchdown, a breakout play that looked more like a swivel down the red carpet.
"That's just putting an athlete back there and turning him loose," Massey chuckled. "When we look at the tape I'm sure we'll see some good blocks. But we're just blessed with a good athlete."
Lott — who scampered for 108 yards on 10 carries — was so good he also scored the Wonders' second TD, this one on a 10-yard run off right tackle midway through the opening period.
"I have to give it to my O-line and my running backs for opening holes for me," he said. "They're the ones who got me there."
Brown stretched its lead to 21-0 with 2:20 remaining in the first quarter. A short-field drive that began on the Piedmont 29-yard line — courtesy of Landon Morgan's fumble recovery — closed when sophomore running back Travis Riley skirted in from 2 yards out. A key completion on the nine-play drive was Lott's 14-yard spiral to tight end Zach Massey. The second quarter featured more dominance. Lott directed a seven-play, 49-yard touchdown drive and handed off to Antwoine Jordan for a 2-yard score with 9:43 remaining in the half. Piedmont finally showed a pulse in the second half, penetrating as deep as the Brown 7-yard line late in the third period. The Panthers used a halfback-option pass to gain 45 yards, but eventually missed a field goal attempt and never again escaped their own territory.
"They started doing some trick plays and fancy stuff," Brown linebacker Chris Moore said. "They faked that sweep, we bit on it too hard and the running back threw the long ball."
Afterward, most of the Wonders proved just as elusive, scurrying up a paved hill and back to the comfort of their locker room.
"It was just too cold," said Moore. "When you play like this in the rain, it's kind of fun. But when it's over, the fun's over too."
Kannapolis-21 Hickory Ridge-6
HARRISBURG — Jamill Lott looked toward the sideline when someone yelled his name, but the audible call didn't come from an A.L. Brown coach. Wide receiver T.J. Johnson, uncovered to Lott's left, wanted the Wonders to switch out of a running play. Lott connected with Johnson for a third-quarter touchdown that gave A.L. Brown breathing room in a 21-6 win at Hickory Ridge on Friday night.The Wonders, who remain a half-game behind first-place Anson County in the SPC standings, held only an eight-point lead over the Ragin' Bulls (4-6, 1-6) after quarterback Brett Lilly threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to John Martinez with 7:39 remaining in the third quarter. A.L. Brown (7-2, 5-1) was facing a second-and-8 from Hickory Ridge's 42-yard line on the next series when Johnson alerted Lott to the defensive mix-up. Instead of looking to block, an isolated Johnson ran a go route and caught Lott's pinpoint pass in stride.
"I couldn't believe they left me open like that," Johnson said. "I was thinking to myself, 'Is somebody going to come out?' I hurried up and talked to Jamill before they lined up, knowing I was out there by myself. Coach (Ron) Massey seemed to be happy about it, but he probably wouldn't have been if I had dropped it since I changed the play. It's the hard ones that's easy to catch and the easy ones that are hard."
Johnson's three catches accounted for 115 of Lott's 134 passing yards, but A.L. Brown gained only 65 yards on the ground. The Wonders limited Hickory Ridge's offense to 107 yards, including minus-29 rushing. Billy Simiton blocked an early field-goal attempt, Josh Black intercepted a tipped pass, Desmond Gray recovered a fumble and Dwayne Stroud knocked the ball loose on his third sack of the night.
"It was a good game to win because we knew we'd get their best shot," Massey said. "Offensively we keep making penalties, laying the ball on the ground, doing stuff we shouldn't be doing this time of year. I'm frustrated about that, but we did make some plays when we had to. The defense did a great job not letting them have big plays."
A.L. Brown took over at the Bulls' 42 after Gray's fumble recovery, and Johnathan Williams rushed for 27 yards on first down. Travis Riley scored from the 1 on the first snap of the second quarter. Hickory Ridge advanced to its 44 on the next possession, and a snap over the punter's head on fourth down enabled the Wonders to begin their next drive at the 13. Lott reached the end zone on a 9-yard keeper. The teams combined for 119 yards of offense in the opening half.
"It wasn't a pretty game," Lott said, "but we did what we had to do to pull it out."
"I couldn't believe they left me open like that," Johnson said. "I was thinking to myself, 'Is somebody going to come out?' I hurried up and talked to Jamill before they lined up, knowing I was out there by myself. Coach (Ron) Massey seemed to be happy about it, but he probably wouldn't have been if I had dropped it since I changed the play. It's the hard ones that's easy to catch and the easy ones that are hard."
Johnson's three catches accounted for 115 of Lott's 134 passing yards, but A.L. Brown gained only 65 yards on the ground. The Wonders limited Hickory Ridge's offense to 107 yards, including minus-29 rushing. Billy Simiton blocked an early field-goal attempt, Josh Black intercepted a tipped pass, Desmond Gray recovered a fumble and Dwayne Stroud knocked the ball loose on his third sack of the night.
"It was a good game to win because we knew we'd get their best shot," Massey said. "Offensively we keep making penalties, laying the ball on the ground, doing stuff we shouldn't be doing this time of year. I'm frustrated about that, but we did make some plays when we had to. The defense did a great job not letting them have big plays."
A.L. Brown took over at the Bulls' 42 after Gray's fumble recovery, and Johnathan Williams rushed for 27 yards on first down. Travis Riley scored from the 1 on the first snap of the second quarter. Hickory Ridge advanced to its 44 on the next possession, and a snap over the punter's head on fourth down enabled the Wonders to begin their next drive at the 13. Lott reached the end zone on a 9-yard keeper. The teams combined for 119 yards of offense in the opening half.
"It wasn't a pretty game," Lott said, "but we did what we had to do to pull it out."
Kannapolis-52 Porter Ridge-0
KANNAPOLIS — A.L. Brown struggled both offensively and defensively in a victory against Hickory Ridge last week. The Wonders had no such problems Friday night, steamrolling Porter Ridge 52-0 at Memorial Stadium. Brown (8-2, 6-1) has now won five consecutive games to move into a tie with Anson County atop the SPC standings.
"We started talking about this way back when we lost to Anson County (on Sept. 19)," Wonders coach Ron Massey said. "What we really needed to do was win the rest of them, and we'd wind up with playoff games at home. That's why we needed to take care of business tonight."
Jamill Lott threw for two touchdowns and ran for one score. The Wonders scored on their first five possessions en route to a 42-0 halftime lead.
"Everything was clicking," said Lott, who threw for 96 yards and ran for 70 more. "Everything was going well. We made some adjustments this week so we didn't do what we did last week. We had to execute and keep on driving."
Lott put the Wonders in the lead with his 21-yard TD run, then followed that with second-quarter touchdown passes of 66 yards to Colby Reid and 9 yards to T.J. Johnson. Brown also got scoring runs of 29 yards from Travis Riley and 34 yards from Antwoine Jordan. Morgan McDaniel provided a boost in the kicking game, as he made a 20-yard field goal and went 7-for-7 on extra points. The A.L. Brown defense also got in on the act, recovering four fumbles and returning two of them for touchdowns — a 28-yard return by Chris Moore and a 70-yarder by lineman Dwayne Stroud, who stripped Porter Ridge quarterback Devin Martin of the ball and lumbered untouched for Brown's final score.
"We've probably got the highest-scoring defense in the state," Massey quipped.
The Wonders' defense also sacked quarterbacks Martin and Ray Stanifer six times and generally made life miserable for the Pirates (3-7, 2-5), who finished with minus-2 rushing yards in the first half and 26 for the game. With the annual "Battle for the Bell" game against cross-town rival Concord coming up next week, Brown — a 45-25 winner in last year's game — sent notice that it intends to keep the bell in Kannapolis for another year. And Lott isn't ready to settle for just winning the Bell game for the second straight year and the ninth time in the last 11 seasons.
"We're ready for them," Lott said. "We want to keep the bell. We want to win that game, get the first seed from winning the conference championship, play at home throughout the state playoffs and go all the way to the state (finals). That's our goal."
"We started talking about this way back when we lost to Anson County (on Sept. 19)," Wonders coach Ron Massey said. "What we really needed to do was win the rest of them, and we'd wind up with playoff games at home. That's why we needed to take care of business tonight."
Jamill Lott threw for two touchdowns and ran for one score. The Wonders scored on their first five possessions en route to a 42-0 halftime lead.
"Everything was clicking," said Lott, who threw for 96 yards and ran for 70 more. "Everything was going well. We made some adjustments this week so we didn't do what we did last week. We had to execute and keep on driving."
Lott put the Wonders in the lead with his 21-yard TD run, then followed that with second-quarter touchdown passes of 66 yards to Colby Reid and 9 yards to T.J. Johnson. Brown also got scoring runs of 29 yards from Travis Riley and 34 yards from Antwoine Jordan. Morgan McDaniel provided a boost in the kicking game, as he made a 20-yard field goal and went 7-for-7 on extra points. The A.L. Brown defense also got in on the act, recovering four fumbles and returning two of them for touchdowns — a 28-yard return by Chris Moore and a 70-yarder by lineman Dwayne Stroud, who stripped Porter Ridge quarterback Devin Martin of the ball and lumbered untouched for Brown's final score.
"We've probably got the highest-scoring defense in the state," Massey quipped.
The Wonders' defense also sacked quarterbacks Martin and Ray Stanifer six times and generally made life miserable for the Pirates (3-7, 2-5), who finished with minus-2 rushing yards in the first half and 26 for the game. With the annual "Battle for the Bell" game against cross-town rival Concord coming up next week, Brown — a 45-25 winner in last year's game — sent notice that it intends to keep the bell in Kannapolis for another year. And Lott isn't ready to settle for just winning the Bell game for the second straight year and the ninth time in the last 11 seasons.
"We're ready for them," Lott said. "We want to keep the bell. We want to win that game, get the first seed from winning the conference championship, play at home throughout the state playoffs and go all the way to the state (finals). That's our goal."
Porter Ridge Gallery
Kannapolis-56 Concord-6
CONCORD - Upsets can certainly happen, especially in rivalry games. But the underdog almost always needs a good start. A.L. Brown certainly made sure that didn't happen for Concord Friday night. With touchdowns on three of their first five offensive plays, the Wonders never gave the undermanned Spiders a chance, rolling to a 56-6 rout in the most lopsided game in the history of the storied rivalry. Jamill Lott accounted for five touchdowns as Kannapolis (9-2, 7-1) retained the Bell and also claimed at least a share of another South Piedmont Conference championship.
"It was a great team effort and a great win for us," Kannapolis head coach Ron Massey said. "It gets us at least a tie for the conference championship and hopefully a good seed for the playoffs. I'm just glad we were able to come out and play real well tonight."
For Concord (3-7, 2-6), it's likely the end of a disappointing season. The Spiders will probably be left out of the playoffs for the first time since 1995.
"They're that much better than us," Concord coach E.Z. Smith said. "They're faster, they were more aggressive, they're a super football team. I told Ron after the game, 'Good luck, and represent our conference in the state playoffs,' because that's what this is about. You play the game. When it's over with, you move on and you wish your opponent good luck."
The Spiders started with tailback Roger Smith at quarterback, but the Wonders' defense wasn't fooled, stuffing Smith for a couple of losses in the first four plays.
"We worked on it this week and talked about it on defense," Massey said of Smith playing quarterback. "We were prepared for it."
Josh Black then intercepted a Smith pass and, on the next play, Lott threw to T.J. Johnson in the end zone for a 23-yard touchdown.
"We knew they were going to run man coverage and we were going to throw the ball early and we were able to beat them," Massey said.
The Wonders needed just two plays to score their next two touchdowns. Lott threw to Colby Reid for a 42-yard score and then ran untouched for a 39-yard touchdown to make it 21-0 with 2:37 left in the first quarter. Both of those scores followed short Concord punts. The longest of the Wonders' first three scoring drives was 41 yards.
"Every time we got an opportunity offensively we took advantage of it and that's what you've got to do to be a good football team," Massey said.
Concord got its only score of the came on a 9-yard pass from Ben Brill to William Propst which capped a long drive and made it 21-6. But the Wonders answered right away. Johnathan Williams ran for 24 yards and Lott ran for 29 to set up a 1-yard scoring run by Travis Riley. After an interception by Chris Moore on Concord's next possession, Williams ran off tackle for an 8-yard touchdown to make it 35-6. The Wonders scored 28 points off Spiders' turnovers in the game. In the second half, Lott added a 41-yard touchdown run and threw to Zach Massey for a 14-yard score – his third passing touchdown of the game. An 11-yard scoring run by Riley early in the fourth quarter finally capped the scoring. Lott ran for 128 yards on just six carries, while completing 5 of 10 passes for 93 yards. Antwoine Jordan added 68 yards on eight carries as the Wonders totaled 245 rushing yards.
"I thought all our backs ran hard, the offensive line did a great job protecting," Massey said. "The defense got takeaways and held Roger in check a little bit. Our kids were really focused all week. Our seniors did a great job."
Especially considering very difficult circumstances on Friday. A.L. Brown graduates Kevin Cano and Jamie Gill died after being shot in Charlotte earlier in the day. Cano was a defensive lineman for the Wonders two years ago.
"It was a hard day for them," Massey said of his current players. "We brought the seniors in and told them they were the leaders of the school and they had to handle it. Our hearts go out to the families. I'm very proud of the way they handled themselves, though."
Smith rushed for 164 yards on 39 carries, with 106 in the second half.
Concord still leads the series 38-36, with four ties.
"It was a great team effort and a great win for us," Kannapolis head coach Ron Massey said. "It gets us at least a tie for the conference championship and hopefully a good seed for the playoffs. I'm just glad we were able to come out and play real well tonight."
For Concord (3-7, 2-6), it's likely the end of a disappointing season. The Spiders will probably be left out of the playoffs for the first time since 1995.
"They're that much better than us," Concord coach E.Z. Smith said. "They're faster, they were more aggressive, they're a super football team. I told Ron after the game, 'Good luck, and represent our conference in the state playoffs,' because that's what this is about. You play the game. When it's over with, you move on and you wish your opponent good luck."
The Spiders started with tailback Roger Smith at quarterback, but the Wonders' defense wasn't fooled, stuffing Smith for a couple of losses in the first four plays.
"We worked on it this week and talked about it on defense," Massey said of Smith playing quarterback. "We were prepared for it."
Josh Black then intercepted a Smith pass and, on the next play, Lott threw to T.J. Johnson in the end zone for a 23-yard touchdown.
"We knew they were going to run man coverage and we were going to throw the ball early and we were able to beat them," Massey said.
The Wonders needed just two plays to score their next two touchdowns. Lott threw to Colby Reid for a 42-yard score and then ran untouched for a 39-yard touchdown to make it 21-0 with 2:37 left in the first quarter. Both of those scores followed short Concord punts. The longest of the Wonders' first three scoring drives was 41 yards.
"Every time we got an opportunity offensively we took advantage of it and that's what you've got to do to be a good football team," Massey said.
Concord got its only score of the came on a 9-yard pass from Ben Brill to William Propst which capped a long drive and made it 21-6. But the Wonders answered right away. Johnathan Williams ran for 24 yards and Lott ran for 29 to set up a 1-yard scoring run by Travis Riley. After an interception by Chris Moore on Concord's next possession, Williams ran off tackle for an 8-yard touchdown to make it 35-6. The Wonders scored 28 points off Spiders' turnovers in the game. In the second half, Lott added a 41-yard touchdown run and threw to Zach Massey for a 14-yard score – his third passing touchdown of the game. An 11-yard scoring run by Riley early in the fourth quarter finally capped the scoring. Lott ran for 128 yards on just six carries, while completing 5 of 10 passes for 93 yards. Antwoine Jordan added 68 yards on eight carries as the Wonders totaled 245 rushing yards.
"I thought all our backs ran hard, the offensive line did a great job protecting," Massey said. "The defense got takeaways and held Roger in check a little bit. Our kids were really focused all week. Our seniors did a great job."
Especially considering very difficult circumstances on Friday. A.L. Brown graduates Kevin Cano and Jamie Gill died after being shot in Charlotte earlier in the day. Cano was a defensive lineman for the Wonders two years ago.
"It was a hard day for them," Massey said of his current players. "We brought the seniors in and told them they were the leaders of the school and they had to handle it. Our hearts go out to the families. I'm very proud of the way they handled themselves, though."
Smith rushed for 164 yards on 39 carries, with 106 in the second half.
Concord still leads the series 38-36, with four ties.
Concord Gallery
"Playoffs"
Kannapolis-42 Lake Norman-27
KANNAPOLIS — Ron Massey is more of an Xs and Os guy than a screamer, but his loudest and best halftime speech of the season produced A.L. Brown's strongest drive of 2008. The chastised and motivated Wonders charged out of the locker room and marched down the field after the second-half kickoff to take control of a 3AA first-round playoff test against Lake Norman.
"The first time all year we've done that," Massey said with a sheepish grin. "But, well, I'd better not repeat what I said to 'em."
Fourth-seeded Brown dominated the 13th-seeded Wildcats in the third quarter, eventually built a four-TD lead and claimed a 42-27 victory at chilly Memorial Stadium. Jamill Lott threw for 207 yards and four touchdowns and was Brown's leading rusher with 71 yards. He had scampers of 26 and 32 yards in the second half.
"They had a lot of guys in the box, but once we were able to run the ball some, it set up the pass." Lott said. "The line gave me time. The receivers ran great routes."
No one expected 69 points to be scored. Brown (10-2) had been yielding 11 points a game, while Lake Norman (7-5) was giving up 12. The Wildcats held Mooresville to seven points and limited West Rowan to 10 points in regulation.
"We thought we had a good plan, but that's a very athletic quarterback and he has excellent receivers," Lake Norman coach Scott Sherrill said. "Their drive to start the second half laid the groundwork and forced our hand."
The Wildcats stack the box and dare people to beat them through the air, and Lott was up to the task. On his first scoring pass, he stepped past an onrushing defender and hit T. J. Johnson on the right sideline. Johnson cut back three times to elude tacklers and scored the first of his two touchdowns. After Lott lofted a perfect pass to Colby Reid for a 30-yard TD, strong safety Xavier Watson returned an interception 64 yards to set up a 9-yard scoring run by Travis Riley. Morgan McDaniel's PAT gave the Wonders (10-2) a 21-0 lead midway through the second quarter. The Wildcats looked finished, but they weren't. A 40-yard run by Jeff Hager provided juice, and Lake Norman drove for its first score with 3:31 left in the half. A fumble recovery by Matthew Cox put the Wildcats in business again, and quarterback Chris Blanton, who was 20-for-32 for 189 yards, hit Kevin Gradert for a touchdown three seconds before halftime to cut the Wonders' lead to 21-14. That momentum turn gave Massey a chance to raise his voice a bit.
"We really caught it at halftime for the way we were letting them move the ball," linebacker Terrance Johnson said. "We knew we had to come out and make a statement in the third quarter."
Brown did. T.J. Johnson's kickoff return to the Brown 45 provided field position, and Lott steered a scoring drive that he finished with a 15-yard pass to Zach Massey. Brown's defense forced punts on Lake Norman's two possessions, and the Wonders' offense produced 14 efficient points. Brown scored on a sustained drive for a 35-14 edge before Lott's 62-yard TD pass to T.J. Johnson put the game away.
"When the brackets came out, I thought we got as tough a draw as anyone," Ron Massey said. "Lake Norman is a very good team with a little more speed than we expected. We were fortunate we were able to mix it up on offense, and Jamill had a great night throwing the football."
"The first time all year we've done that," Massey said with a sheepish grin. "But, well, I'd better not repeat what I said to 'em."
Fourth-seeded Brown dominated the 13th-seeded Wildcats in the third quarter, eventually built a four-TD lead and claimed a 42-27 victory at chilly Memorial Stadium. Jamill Lott threw for 207 yards and four touchdowns and was Brown's leading rusher with 71 yards. He had scampers of 26 and 32 yards in the second half.
"They had a lot of guys in the box, but once we were able to run the ball some, it set up the pass." Lott said. "The line gave me time. The receivers ran great routes."
No one expected 69 points to be scored. Brown (10-2) had been yielding 11 points a game, while Lake Norman (7-5) was giving up 12. The Wildcats held Mooresville to seven points and limited West Rowan to 10 points in regulation.
"We thought we had a good plan, but that's a very athletic quarterback and he has excellent receivers," Lake Norman coach Scott Sherrill said. "Their drive to start the second half laid the groundwork and forced our hand."
The Wildcats stack the box and dare people to beat them through the air, and Lott was up to the task. On his first scoring pass, he stepped past an onrushing defender and hit T. J. Johnson on the right sideline. Johnson cut back three times to elude tacklers and scored the first of his two touchdowns. After Lott lofted a perfect pass to Colby Reid for a 30-yard TD, strong safety Xavier Watson returned an interception 64 yards to set up a 9-yard scoring run by Travis Riley. Morgan McDaniel's PAT gave the Wonders (10-2) a 21-0 lead midway through the second quarter. The Wildcats looked finished, but they weren't. A 40-yard run by Jeff Hager provided juice, and Lake Norman drove for its first score with 3:31 left in the half. A fumble recovery by Matthew Cox put the Wildcats in business again, and quarterback Chris Blanton, who was 20-for-32 for 189 yards, hit Kevin Gradert for a touchdown three seconds before halftime to cut the Wonders' lead to 21-14. That momentum turn gave Massey a chance to raise his voice a bit.
"We really caught it at halftime for the way we were letting them move the ball," linebacker Terrance Johnson said. "We knew we had to come out and make a statement in the third quarter."
Brown did. T.J. Johnson's kickoff return to the Brown 45 provided field position, and Lott steered a scoring drive that he finished with a 15-yard pass to Zach Massey. Brown's defense forced punts on Lake Norman's two possessions, and the Wonders' offense produced 14 efficient points. Brown scored on a sustained drive for a 35-14 edge before Lott's 62-yard TD pass to T.J. Johnson put the game away.
"When the brackets came out, I thought we got as tough a draw as anyone," Ron Massey said. "Lake Norman is a very good team with a little more speed than we expected. We were fortunate we were able to mix it up on offense, and Jamill had a great night throwing the football."
Kannapolis-21 Marvin Ridge-13
KANNAPOLIS — At this time of the season, A.L. Brown head coach Ron Massey doesn't care about stats or who does what during the game. All he cares about is the final score — as long as the Wonders come out on top. In that instance, Massey was certainly satisfied with Brown's 21-13 victory over Marvin Ridge in the second round of the state 3AA playoffs on Friday night. Yet Massey also came away with a strange sense of deja vu — not unusual, considering Friday's game was a virtual repeat of what happened the last time the Wonders played the Mavericks.
"Yeah, it certainly was," Massey said. "But it's playoff time. I know a lot of our fans are going to say that it looked like we didn't do this or do that, but it doesn't matter. We're playing next week, and that's all that matters."
Friday's win was Brown's eighth consecutive win, and sends the fourth-seeded Wonders (11-2) on to a third-round playoff matchup against No. 1 Catholic (11-2) in Charlotte next week. The Cougars — a 34-13 winner over eighth-seeded Asheville Erwin on Friday — have long been a thorn in the side of the Wonders. The last three years, it's been Catholic that has ended Brown's season come playoff time. However, the Wonders aren't worrying about next week right about now, considering that their playoff run almost ended Friday night. Marvin Ridge (7-6) nearly beat Brown during a regular-season game two months earlier, going ahead twice by taking advantage of Wonders miscues before falling 23-20 in overtime. Friday night, the same thing happened — the 12th-seeded Mavericks pulled ahead twice in the first half by taking advantage of Brown's mistakes. A fake punt in the first quarter set up Marvin Ridge's first score, a 1-yard Seth Boyce keeper, and a Jamill Lott fumble deep in Wonders territory in the second quarter led to Boyce's 8-yard TD pass to Mike Yerry with less than a minute to play for a 13-7 halftime lead.
"We've played real well the last couple weeks, but we didn't play as well offensively this week," Massey said. "A lot of the credit goes to them. We weren't sharp ... but we came from behind at halftime and that's all that matters, because we get to play another week."
And the Wonders can once again thank Lott for the comeback, and their defense for preserving it. Lott threw for 125 of his 162 passing yards in the second half, including two key completions — a 56-yard strike to Colby Reid, followed by a 27-yard TD catch by T.J. Johnson that put Brown up 14-13 with 2:31 left in the third quarter.
"Colby ran the route to perfection," said Lott, who celebrated his 18th birthday by completing 10-of-17 attempts, with two interceptions. "And when T.J. caught that (TD) pass, it opened things up from there."
Marvin Ridge had a chance to regain the lead, taking advantage of a partially-blocked punt to move to the Wonders 15. But a false-start penalty — the Mavericks' first of the game — pushed them back, and Jordan Daly was short on a 37-yard field goal attempt with 7:16 left in the game. Brown's defense then came up with two big interceptions — by Xavier Watson and Quin Gill — the second of which set up Travis Riley's 1-yard insurance TD with 58.6 seconds remaining.
"We shot ourselves in the foot with penalties, turnovers and things like that in the first half," Massey said. "But it's all about winning in the playoffs — that's all that matters. I don't care what the score is or how good you play if you win and advance, and to get the opportunity to play again. That's all we can ask for."
"Yeah, it certainly was," Massey said. "But it's playoff time. I know a lot of our fans are going to say that it looked like we didn't do this or do that, but it doesn't matter. We're playing next week, and that's all that matters."
Friday's win was Brown's eighth consecutive win, and sends the fourth-seeded Wonders (11-2) on to a third-round playoff matchup against No. 1 Catholic (11-2) in Charlotte next week. The Cougars — a 34-13 winner over eighth-seeded Asheville Erwin on Friday — have long been a thorn in the side of the Wonders. The last three years, it's been Catholic that has ended Brown's season come playoff time. However, the Wonders aren't worrying about next week right about now, considering that their playoff run almost ended Friday night. Marvin Ridge (7-6) nearly beat Brown during a regular-season game two months earlier, going ahead twice by taking advantage of Wonders miscues before falling 23-20 in overtime. Friday night, the same thing happened — the 12th-seeded Mavericks pulled ahead twice in the first half by taking advantage of Brown's mistakes. A fake punt in the first quarter set up Marvin Ridge's first score, a 1-yard Seth Boyce keeper, and a Jamill Lott fumble deep in Wonders territory in the second quarter led to Boyce's 8-yard TD pass to Mike Yerry with less than a minute to play for a 13-7 halftime lead.
"We've played real well the last couple weeks, but we didn't play as well offensively this week," Massey said. "A lot of the credit goes to them. We weren't sharp ... but we came from behind at halftime and that's all that matters, because we get to play another week."
And the Wonders can once again thank Lott for the comeback, and their defense for preserving it. Lott threw for 125 of his 162 passing yards in the second half, including two key completions — a 56-yard strike to Colby Reid, followed by a 27-yard TD catch by T.J. Johnson that put Brown up 14-13 with 2:31 left in the third quarter.
"Colby ran the route to perfection," said Lott, who celebrated his 18th birthday by completing 10-of-17 attempts, with two interceptions. "And when T.J. caught that (TD) pass, it opened things up from there."
Marvin Ridge had a chance to regain the lead, taking advantage of a partially-blocked punt to move to the Wonders 15. But a false-start penalty — the Mavericks' first of the game — pushed them back, and Jordan Daly was short on a 37-yard field goal attempt with 7:16 left in the game. Brown's defense then came up with two big interceptions — by Xavier Watson and Quin Gill — the second of which set up Travis Riley's 1-yard insurance TD with 58.6 seconds remaining.
"We shot ourselves in the foot with penalties, turnovers and things like that in the first half," Massey said. "But it's all about winning in the playoffs — that's all that matters. I don't care what the score is or how good you play if you win and advance, and to get the opportunity to play again. That's all we can ask for."
Marvin Ridge Gallery
Kannapolis-28 Charlotte Catholic-27
CHARLOTTE — Jamill Lott is the first to admit that the last three seasons have been frustrating ones for A.L. Brown. Not because of the way the Wonders have played, but because of the team that's stood in their way during the playoffs. That made Brown's 28-27 upset victory over Charlotte Catholic in the third round of the 3AA playoffs on Friday night that much more important. Not only does the win send the fourth-seeded Wonders (12-2) to the regional finals for the first time since 2005, it ends three consecutive years of playoff losses at the hands of the Cougars.
"We had to win this game," said Lott, who had been on the sidelines or on the field in all three of Brown's previous losses. "The seniors had to get this one. We weren't going to let this one get away from us."
It was Lott who did most of the damage against the top-seeded Cougars (11-3). He ran for 112 yards and two touchdowns and threw for 154 yards and two more scores, including a 37-yarder to Colby Reid with 10.5 seconds remaining.There were other big plays — Billy Simiton came up with a key block on the extra point after Catholic's final touchdown, and kicker Morgan McDaniel's fourth PAT provided the winning margin.
"The thing I'll remember about this game was our kids believed they would win," A.L. Brown coach Ron Massey said. "Even when it didn't look good and we left our defense stuck out there, they came up with some stops. ... And Colby came up with that play."
With time winding down, Reid made the key catch on a slant pattern. He shook off one tackler, then outran two more defenders to the end zone to tie the score at 27-all. McDaniel's extra point put the Wonders in the lead.
"Everybody was going to the right, so I was alone over the middle," Reid said after making his sixth touchdown catch of the season. "I was thinking touchdown — nothing else. This means so much — this is probably bigger than the Concord game right now. But truly, this is nothing but another stop on the road to the championship."
The Wonders nearly got run off that road Friday night thanks to turnovers. While Brown's defense forced three, Catholic picked off Lott three times. It turned two of those interceptions into touchdowns. The last of those came early in the fourth quarter, when Joe Felts turned an in-the-grasp screen pass from Danny Reyes into a 21-yard touchdown to put the Cougars ahead 27-21 with 11:15 left. Simiton raced in from kicker Jesse Roy's left and made a clean block.
"This was big," Simiton said. "This was for everybody who's ever suited up and played against them. We've gotten closer each year, but Coach said this was our year, we just had to believe."
The Cougars — who had advanced to the state finals each of the last three years and won the title in 2005 — fought back to tie the score twice and led twice behind Felts, Reyes and running back Johnny O'Boyle. Felts ran for 69 yards and two scores, and Reyes threw for 154 yards and one touchdown. O'Boyle did most of the damage, running for 106 yards and one touchdown on just nine carries and catching three passes for 101 yards. The defense gave Brown extra chances, forcing three-and-outs on the next two possessions after Catholic's final touchdown and eventually putting the ball back in Lott's hands with 1:09 remaining. Brown was back in the lead less than a minute later and on its way to the next round, where it will face second-seeded Kings Mountain (11-3).
"This is a special night, and I hope it's one our community and fans will be proud of," Massey said. "We're going to enjoy this one — just a couple hours for me, but I want the kids to enjoy this one for a while."
"We had to win this game," said Lott, who had been on the sidelines or on the field in all three of Brown's previous losses. "The seniors had to get this one. We weren't going to let this one get away from us."
It was Lott who did most of the damage against the top-seeded Cougars (11-3). He ran for 112 yards and two touchdowns and threw for 154 yards and two more scores, including a 37-yarder to Colby Reid with 10.5 seconds remaining.There were other big plays — Billy Simiton came up with a key block on the extra point after Catholic's final touchdown, and kicker Morgan McDaniel's fourth PAT provided the winning margin.
"The thing I'll remember about this game was our kids believed they would win," A.L. Brown coach Ron Massey said. "Even when it didn't look good and we left our defense stuck out there, they came up with some stops. ... And Colby came up with that play."
With time winding down, Reid made the key catch on a slant pattern. He shook off one tackler, then outran two more defenders to the end zone to tie the score at 27-all. McDaniel's extra point put the Wonders in the lead.
"Everybody was going to the right, so I was alone over the middle," Reid said after making his sixth touchdown catch of the season. "I was thinking touchdown — nothing else. This means so much — this is probably bigger than the Concord game right now. But truly, this is nothing but another stop on the road to the championship."
The Wonders nearly got run off that road Friday night thanks to turnovers. While Brown's defense forced three, Catholic picked off Lott three times. It turned two of those interceptions into touchdowns. The last of those came early in the fourth quarter, when Joe Felts turned an in-the-grasp screen pass from Danny Reyes into a 21-yard touchdown to put the Cougars ahead 27-21 with 11:15 left. Simiton raced in from kicker Jesse Roy's left and made a clean block.
"This was big," Simiton said. "This was for everybody who's ever suited up and played against them. We've gotten closer each year, but Coach said this was our year, we just had to believe."
The Cougars — who had advanced to the state finals each of the last three years and won the title in 2005 — fought back to tie the score twice and led twice behind Felts, Reyes and running back Johnny O'Boyle. Felts ran for 69 yards and two scores, and Reyes threw for 154 yards and one touchdown. O'Boyle did most of the damage, running for 106 yards and one touchdown on just nine carries and catching three passes for 101 yards. The defense gave Brown extra chances, forcing three-and-outs on the next two possessions after Catholic's final touchdown and eventually putting the ball back in Lott's hands with 1:09 remaining. Brown was back in the lead less than a minute later and on its way to the next round, where it will face second-seeded Kings Mountain (11-3).
"This is a special night, and I hope it's one our community and fans will be proud of," Massey said. "We're going to enjoy this one — just a couple hours for me, but I want the kids to enjoy this one for a while."
Charlotte Catholic Gallery
Kannapolis-30 Kings Mountain-14
KINGS MOUNTAIN — At the start of the season, A.L. Brown's coaches believed they had the players to make a run for the state championship. On Friday night, the Wonders officially became title contenders, winning their first regional championship in 11 years with a 30-14 victory against Kings Mountain. Brown, the No. 4 seed in the 3AA West bracket, will play in the state final for the fifth time in school history. The Wonders (13-2) will face Greensboro Dudley (15-0) next weekend in Winston-Salem."It's a great feeling for our kids to get the experience of playing for a state championship," said Wonders head coach Ron Massey, who coached Kings Mountain from 1995-99.
"I don't think we played the best game we've played this year, but the kids were resilient — they did what we had to do to win, and when you're in the playoffs, that's all that matters."
Eastern champ Dudley, which will play A.L. Brown at 4:30 p.m. next Saturday at BB&T Field, was a 52-7 winner over Northeast Guilford on Friday. Brown advanced thanks to its defense, which kept the second-seeded Mountaineers' offensive punch of quarterback Michael Roberts and running back Joe Chambers in check. While Kings Mountain (11-4) managed to open with a 91/2-minute, 21-play drive — capped by Roberts' 14-yard TD pass to Devon Thompson — its offense struggled at times throughout the rest of the game.
"They started off like they had been throughout the playoffs — running time off the clock," Massey said. "But after that, our defense just played outstanding."
Roberts had a big game a week earlier in a 56-55 slugfest win over Anson County, throwing for 295 yards and four TDs and running for 160 more and two scores. Against the Wonders, Roberts was held to 123 yards passing and one TD as well as 31 yards rushing and one score. Chambers, who ran for 1,317 yards and 18 TDs this season, managed just 22 yards. In all, Brown's defense held Kings Mountain to 180 yards of total offense, sacked Roberts three times and even forced him into an interception for the first time in two months.
"That was a tremendous play," Massey said of Billy Simiton's pick, which set up the first of three second-quarter touchdowns for Brown. "That gave us great field position. Our defense played lights out — we didn't let Roberts escape, which we were so worried about and worked so hard to contain him."
With Kings Mountain's big-play threats contained, that opened the door for the Wonders' own skill players to do their thing. Quarterback Jamill Lott threw for one touchdown and ran for a second during the second quarter, with Travis Riley also adding a touchdown run as Brown pulled ahead 21-7 at the half. After Riley's 1-yard run helped tie the game at 7-7 early in the second quarter, Lott put Brown ahead to stay on a 12-yard TD run with 4:40 remaining. Then, with time ticking away, Lott found T.J. Johnson in the corner of the end zone for an 8-yard TD pass with 3.3 seconds left in the half.
"He's a great receiver," Lott said. "I know he can catch the ball anywhere I throw it. He did what he had to do to come down with it."
The Mountaineers managed to cut the Wonders' lead to 21-14 early in the fourth quarter on Roberts' 1-yard run. Brown responded with a pair of scoring drives — capped by Morgan McDaniel's 20-yard field goal and Antwoine Jordan's 14-yard TD run — and a pair of fourth-down stops."This is a great feeling," Lott said. "We had no doubts — no doubts at all — that we could do it. ... We've played a lot of good teams this year, but we knew that if we played our hearts out, we could do it.
"We always believed we could do this ... but it was our defense that helped us tonight. You know what they say — offense wins games, but defense wins championships."
"I don't think we played the best game we've played this year, but the kids were resilient — they did what we had to do to win, and when you're in the playoffs, that's all that matters."
Eastern champ Dudley, which will play A.L. Brown at 4:30 p.m. next Saturday at BB&T Field, was a 52-7 winner over Northeast Guilford on Friday. Brown advanced thanks to its defense, which kept the second-seeded Mountaineers' offensive punch of quarterback Michael Roberts and running back Joe Chambers in check. While Kings Mountain (11-4) managed to open with a 91/2-minute, 21-play drive — capped by Roberts' 14-yard TD pass to Devon Thompson — its offense struggled at times throughout the rest of the game.
"They started off like they had been throughout the playoffs — running time off the clock," Massey said. "But after that, our defense just played outstanding."
Roberts had a big game a week earlier in a 56-55 slugfest win over Anson County, throwing for 295 yards and four TDs and running for 160 more and two scores. Against the Wonders, Roberts was held to 123 yards passing and one TD as well as 31 yards rushing and one score. Chambers, who ran for 1,317 yards and 18 TDs this season, managed just 22 yards. In all, Brown's defense held Kings Mountain to 180 yards of total offense, sacked Roberts three times and even forced him into an interception for the first time in two months.
"That was a tremendous play," Massey said of Billy Simiton's pick, which set up the first of three second-quarter touchdowns for Brown. "That gave us great field position. Our defense played lights out — we didn't let Roberts escape, which we were so worried about and worked so hard to contain him."
With Kings Mountain's big-play threats contained, that opened the door for the Wonders' own skill players to do their thing. Quarterback Jamill Lott threw for one touchdown and ran for a second during the second quarter, with Travis Riley also adding a touchdown run as Brown pulled ahead 21-7 at the half. After Riley's 1-yard run helped tie the game at 7-7 early in the second quarter, Lott put Brown ahead to stay on a 12-yard TD run with 4:40 remaining. Then, with time ticking away, Lott found T.J. Johnson in the corner of the end zone for an 8-yard TD pass with 3.3 seconds left in the half.
"He's a great receiver," Lott said. "I know he can catch the ball anywhere I throw it. He did what he had to do to come down with it."
The Mountaineers managed to cut the Wonders' lead to 21-14 early in the fourth quarter on Roberts' 1-yard run. Brown responded with a pair of scoring drives — capped by Morgan McDaniel's 20-yard field goal and Antwoine Jordan's 14-yard TD run — and a pair of fourth-down stops."This is a great feeling," Lott said. "We had no doubts — no doubts at all — that we could do it. ... We've played a lot of good teams this year, but we knew that if we played our hearts out, we could do it.
"We always believed we could do this ... but it was our defense that helped us tonight. You know what they say — offense wins games, but defense wins championships."
Kings Mountain Gallery
Kannapolis-18 Greensboro Dudley-34
WINSTON-SALEM — The white towel dangling from Colby Reid's waist came loose and floated through the air as the A.L. Brown receiver attempted to track down a deep throw from Jamill Lott. The Wonders never waved a white flag against Greensboro Dudley, but the powerful Panthers proved worthy of their reputation during a 34-18 victory against Brown in the 3AA state championship game at Wake Forest's BB&T Field on Saturday night.
"Our kids are disappointed, but if you hang around athletics long enough, you're going to run up against a buzzsaw like we ran up against tonight," A.L. Brown coach Ron Massey said. "We'd have liked to have had a little bit better game, but I thought effort-wise we couldn't ask for much more than we got. We made some mistakes, but they created a lot of them on their own."
Lott threw touchdown passes to Reid and Zach Massey but was sacked five times and limited to minus-7 yards on 15 official carries. Dudley (16-0) rushed for 355 yards thanks to the efforts of quarterback Ricky Lewis (160 yards, two touchdowns) and running back J.R. Peterson (147 yards, two TDs). Lewis, who led the Panthers past Charlotte Catholic in the 2007 final, repeated as the game MVP.
"We controlled the line of scrimmage on offense," Dudley coach Steven Davis said. "Starting around the second quarter, it seemed like the holes started getting a little bigger. Defensively, I thought we put a lot of pressure on the quarterback all night, not letting them run it."
The third quarter ended with A.L. Brown (13-3) trailing 34-6 and Lott standing on the sideline following a vicious hit that briefly knocked him out of the game. His 14-yard scramble set up Antwoine Jordan's 2-yard touchdown run with 10:47 remaining, and Mark Goodjohn recovered a mishandled kickoff at Dudley's 17-yard line. Lott's 14-yard touchdown pass to Massey cut the Wonders' deficit to 16 points with 9:15 left, and A.L. Brown's Xavier Watson recovered an onside kick.
"The last thing you want to do on this stage is play poorly and get blown out," Ron Massey said. "The way they kept hanging in there and making a play here and there, scrapping for everything we had, I was very proud of them."
Watson's recovery occurred at Dudley's 46, and the Wonders' comeback hopes ended when a throw on fourth-and-8 fell incomplete.
"As long as you gave it your all and left it on the field for 48 minutes, you did your job and there's no use to cry," A.L. Brown defensive lineman Aaron Davidson said. "They're a good football team."
Saturday's game started with A.L. Brown's defense giving up a time-consuming touchdown drive, but that's where the similarities to a state semifinal victory against Kings Mountain ended. The Mountaineers opened the Western final with a 21-play series that lasted 91/2 minutes. Dudley's Lewis capped a 15-play drive by scoring on a 16-yard run with 4:17 remaining in the first quarter. Lewis took a helmet to his left knee while being upended by Watson midway through the possession, and backup quarterback Demetrius Dick replaced the hobbled Lewis.
"I was praying on that," Dudley defensive MVP Josh Jones said.
Lewis missed two snaps before returning, and he reached the end zone six plays later.
"He's our guy on offense," Davis said. "When he goes, the offense goes."
The Panthers don't kick extra points, and Lott took the field for the first time with his team trailing 8-0. He connected with Reid for a 60-yard touchdown on the Wonders' fifth offensive play. Reid broke open in the middle of the field and caught Lott's pass at the Dudley 35.
"They had Colby one-on-one, so I just took that chance," Lott said. "I'm glad it paid off into a quick score."
The Panthers' offense continued to present problems. Dudley posted touchdowns on its first three possessions and didn't punt until midway through the third quarter. A.L. Brown's Dana Moss recovered a fumbled pitch at the Panthers' 39 with 35 seconds left in the first half, but the Wonders made no progress and went into the locker room trailing 20-6.Dudley ran 38 first-half plays, nearly twice as many as A.L. Brown, and gained 230 yards on 37 rushes. Lewis had 139 yards at the break.
"He sees the seam, and once he sees it, he hits the hole hard," Watson said. "He's a great runner. We knew it was going to be a fight coming in."
Dudley's defense forced a three-and-out to begin the third quarter, and Peterson followed with the first of two touchdowns he scored in the period. The Panthers weathered the storm created by their special-teams mishaps and started celebrating once Dudley's Jeremy Reynolds picked off a desperate fourth-down pass with three minutes left. Lewis took a knee for the final time at the Wonders' 27 and sprinted to the opposite end zone before being tackled by his teammates. A.L. Brown players and coaches made the slow march to midfield.
"We had a great season, and we've had a great run for nine years," Massey said. "You wish it would have been a different story tonight, but we'll go back to work and try to go one more game next year."
"Our kids are disappointed, but if you hang around athletics long enough, you're going to run up against a buzzsaw like we ran up against tonight," A.L. Brown coach Ron Massey said. "We'd have liked to have had a little bit better game, but I thought effort-wise we couldn't ask for much more than we got. We made some mistakes, but they created a lot of them on their own."
Lott threw touchdown passes to Reid and Zach Massey but was sacked five times and limited to minus-7 yards on 15 official carries. Dudley (16-0) rushed for 355 yards thanks to the efforts of quarterback Ricky Lewis (160 yards, two touchdowns) and running back J.R. Peterson (147 yards, two TDs). Lewis, who led the Panthers past Charlotte Catholic in the 2007 final, repeated as the game MVP.
"We controlled the line of scrimmage on offense," Dudley coach Steven Davis said. "Starting around the second quarter, it seemed like the holes started getting a little bigger. Defensively, I thought we put a lot of pressure on the quarterback all night, not letting them run it."
The third quarter ended with A.L. Brown (13-3) trailing 34-6 and Lott standing on the sideline following a vicious hit that briefly knocked him out of the game. His 14-yard scramble set up Antwoine Jordan's 2-yard touchdown run with 10:47 remaining, and Mark Goodjohn recovered a mishandled kickoff at Dudley's 17-yard line. Lott's 14-yard touchdown pass to Massey cut the Wonders' deficit to 16 points with 9:15 left, and A.L. Brown's Xavier Watson recovered an onside kick.
"The last thing you want to do on this stage is play poorly and get blown out," Ron Massey said. "The way they kept hanging in there and making a play here and there, scrapping for everything we had, I was very proud of them."
Watson's recovery occurred at Dudley's 46, and the Wonders' comeback hopes ended when a throw on fourth-and-8 fell incomplete.
"As long as you gave it your all and left it on the field for 48 minutes, you did your job and there's no use to cry," A.L. Brown defensive lineman Aaron Davidson said. "They're a good football team."
Saturday's game started with A.L. Brown's defense giving up a time-consuming touchdown drive, but that's where the similarities to a state semifinal victory against Kings Mountain ended. The Mountaineers opened the Western final with a 21-play series that lasted 91/2 minutes. Dudley's Lewis capped a 15-play drive by scoring on a 16-yard run with 4:17 remaining in the first quarter. Lewis took a helmet to his left knee while being upended by Watson midway through the possession, and backup quarterback Demetrius Dick replaced the hobbled Lewis.
"I was praying on that," Dudley defensive MVP Josh Jones said.
Lewis missed two snaps before returning, and he reached the end zone six plays later.
"He's our guy on offense," Davis said. "When he goes, the offense goes."
The Panthers don't kick extra points, and Lott took the field for the first time with his team trailing 8-0. He connected with Reid for a 60-yard touchdown on the Wonders' fifth offensive play. Reid broke open in the middle of the field and caught Lott's pass at the Dudley 35.
"They had Colby one-on-one, so I just took that chance," Lott said. "I'm glad it paid off into a quick score."
The Panthers' offense continued to present problems. Dudley posted touchdowns on its first three possessions and didn't punt until midway through the third quarter. A.L. Brown's Dana Moss recovered a fumbled pitch at the Panthers' 39 with 35 seconds left in the first half, but the Wonders made no progress and went into the locker room trailing 20-6.Dudley ran 38 first-half plays, nearly twice as many as A.L. Brown, and gained 230 yards on 37 rushes. Lewis had 139 yards at the break.
"He sees the seam, and once he sees it, he hits the hole hard," Watson said. "He's a great runner. We knew it was going to be a fight coming in."
Dudley's defense forced a three-and-out to begin the third quarter, and Peterson followed with the first of two touchdowns he scored in the period. The Panthers weathered the storm created by their special-teams mishaps and started celebrating once Dudley's Jeremy Reynolds picked off a desperate fourth-down pass with three minutes left. Lewis took a knee for the final time at the Wonders' 27 and sprinted to the opposite end zone before being tackled by his teammates. A.L. Brown players and coaches made the slow march to midfield.
"We had a great season, and we've had a great run for nine years," Massey said. "You wish it would have been a different story tonight, but we'll go back to work and try to go one more game next year."