"Wonder Football Scrapbook 2013"
2013 Results
Kannapolis-20 Concord-33
Kannapolis-41 South Rowan-6
Kannapolis-7 Weddington-0
Kannapolis-45 Berry Academy-39
Kannapolis-30 North Mecklenburg-14
Kannapolis-55 Vance-40
Kannapolis-61 J.M. Robinson-6
Kannapolis-0 Hough-14
Kannapolis-7 Mallard Creek-49
Kannapolis-66 West Charlotte-14
Kannapolis-14 Hopewell-19
Playoffs
1st Kannapolis-14 Charlotte Catholic-56
7-5
Kannapolis-20 Concord-33
Kannapolis-41 South Rowan-6
Kannapolis-7 Weddington-0
Kannapolis-45 Berry Academy-39
Kannapolis-30 North Mecklenburg-14
Kannapolis-55 Vance-40
Kannapolis-61 J.M. Robinson-6
Kannapolis-0 Hough-14
Kannapolis-7 Mallard Creek-49
Kannapolis-66 West Charlotte-14
Kannapolis-14 Hopewell-19
Playoffs
1st Kannapolis-14 Charlotte Catholic-56
7-5
Game #1
Kannapolis
VS
Concord
"The 83rd Battle for the Bell"
Kannapolis-20 Concord-33
KANNAPOLIS — Some had tears in their eyes. All had torment on their faces. One by one the A.L. Brown Wonders made the lonely walk across the muddy turf at Memorial Stadium. But the victorious Concord Spiders made sure they couldn’t make the walk in peace, serenading them with the incessant ringing of the Victory Bell. Only time will tell if it was tolling on Brown’s season.
“I told the kids this game is a double-edged sword playing it first,” Wonders coach Mike Newsome said after a 33-20 season-opening loss to his school’s bitter rival.
“… That’s tough for them to take. They can drop their heads and we could go one direction. On the other side of the coin, if you get back next week, we could rock and roll through a new conference, do things we need to do and win a lot of football games.”
It’s an unfamiliar position for Newsome and his team; he wasn’t around and his players weren’t born the last time Concord, who is now 42-38-4 against Brown, won two straight games in this series. It’s also a peculiar position for maybe all but a handful of Wonders fans. These teams haven’t met in the season opener since 1931, meaning it’s been 82 years since one of them has had to cope with losing its biggest game in Week One. If Newsome’s team – one he said played better than he expected – is going to mature in a hurry, this would be a great time for it to happen.
“It’s real tough man,” said Brown tailback R.J. Fowler, who led the Wonders with 62 rushing yards and two touchdowns but also lost two pivotal fumbles. “We went hard all summer. It’s hard to lose the Bell game. … We’ve just got to step forward. We’re a strong team. We’ve got it.”
The Wonders made the mistakes that you’d expect from a young team. Two interceptions, two fumbles inside the red zone and a bevy of missed tackles in the first half doomed their efforts. Concord tailback Rocky Reid was the offensive star for the Spiders, racking up 232 yards on just 16 carries. He broke up 57- and 82-yard touchdown runs in the first half and iced the game with a 48-yard scoring run in the game’s final three minutes, but he wasn’t the only star for Concord. Senior defensive back Qua Grisson recovered both of Fowler’s fumbles and also picked off Brown quarterback Andrew Ramirez on each of the Wonders’ final two drives.
“It was just kids making plays,” Concord coach Glen Padgett said. “I’m just proud of our players. That’s what this game is about.”
There were other big playmakers for the Spiders as well. Sophomore safety Carter Mozingo returned a kickoff 77 yards for a first-quarter score and receiver Myles Neils took a short swing pass and raced 81 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter. Their success was a combination of skill and bad tackling from the Wonders. Eighty-two percent of Concord’s total yardage came on its four offensive touchdowns.
“It doesn’t matter what level you are playing in, you can’t give up big plays,” Newsome said. “Our defense played good other than the big plays. As young as we are, the offense played better than expected. We lost over 5,000 yards of offense to graduation, and I thought the kids played well despite that.”
The status quo likely would have been different if the Wonders could have held onto the ball when it mattered most. Fowler’s fumbles were both inside Concord’s 10-yard line. On the first, he rushed for 18 yards on 3-and-8, but he eventually fumbled and the loose ball was recovered by Grisson midway through the second quarter. Down 11 midway through the third, he lost another fumble at Concord’s 6. Still, the Wonders had cut the deficit to 5 midway through the final quarter and were facing third-and-7 from Concord’s 23, when Ramirez was rushed in the pocket and forced a bad throw into traffic that Grisson easily picked off. The 6-foot, 200-pound Reid added to the lead with his third rushing touchdown on the game’s next drive before Grisson sealed the victory with his second interception.
“I just stayed in my zone and did what my coaches told me to do,” Grisson said. “I just played the game. I don’t know why [they kept throwing to my side]. I know he saw me out there. It was almost like he was looking for me. It wasn’t luck. It was doing what my coaches told me to do – dropping into my zones and reading the quarterback.
“We did something tonight that hasn’t happened in a lot of years.”
Only time will tell if the Wonders can recover from it. -Salisbury Post
“I told the kids this game is a double-edged sword playing it first,” Wonders coach Mike Newsome said after a 33-20 season-opening loss to his school’s bitter rival.
“… That’s tough for them to take. They can drop their heads and we could go one direction. On the other side of the coin, if you get back next week, we could rock and roll through a new conference, do things we need to do and win a lot of football games.”
It’s an unfamiliar position for Newsome and his team; he wasn’t around and his players weren’t born the last time Concord, who is now 42-38-4 against Brown, won two straight games in this series. It’s also a peculiar position for maybe all but a handful of Wonders fans. These teams haven’t met in the season opener since 1931, meaning it’s been 82 years since one of them has had to cope with losing its biggest game in Week One. If Newsome’s team – one he said played better than he expected – is going to mature in a hurry, this would be a great time for it to happen.
“It’s real tough man,” said Brown tailback R.J. Fowler, who led the Wonders with 62 rushing yards and two touchdowns but also lost two pivotal fumbles. “We went hard all summer. It’s hard to lose the Bell game. … We’ve just got to step forward. We’re a strong team. We’ve got it.”
The Wonders made the mistakes that you’d expect from a young team. Two interceptions, two fumbles inside the red zone and a bevy of missed tackles in the first half doomed their efforts. Concord tailback Rocky Reid was the offensive star for the Spiders, racking up 232 yards on just 16 carries. He broke up 57- and 82-yard touchdown runs in the first half and iced the game with a 48-yard scoring run in the game’s final three minutes, but he wasn’t the only star for Concord. Senior defensive back Qua Grisson recovered both of Fowler’s fumbles and also picked off Brown quarterback Andrew Ramirez on each of the Wonders’ final two drives.
“It was just kids making plays,” Concord coach Glen Padgett said. “I’m just proud of our players. That’s what this game is about.”
There were other big playmakers for the Spiders as well. Sophomore safety Carter Mozingo returned a kickoff 77 yards for a first-quarter score and receiver Myles Neils took a short swing pass and raced 81 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter. Their success was a combination of skill and bad tackling from the Wonders. Eighty-two percent of Concord’s total yardage came on its four offensive touchdowns.
“It doesn’t matter what level you are playing in, you can’t give up big plays,” Newsome said. “Our defense played good other than the big plays. As young as we are, the offense played better than expected. We lost over 5,000 yards of offense to graduation, and I thought the kids played well despite that.”
The status quo likely would have been different if the Wonders could have held onto the ball when it mattered most. Fowler’s fumbles were both inside Concord’s 10-yard line. On the first, he rushed for 18 yards on 3-and-8, but he eventually fumbled and the loose ball was recovered by Grisson midway through the second quarter. Down 11 midway through the third, he lost another fumble at Concord’s 6. Still, the Wonders had cut the deficit to 5 midway through the final quarter and were facing third-and-7 from Concord’s 23, when Ramirez was rushed in the pocket and forced a bad throw into traffic that Grisson easily picked off. The 6-foot, 200-pound Reid added to the lead with his third rushing touchdown on the game’s next drive before Grisson sealed the victory with his second interception.
“I just stayed in my zone and did what my coaches told me to do,” Grisson said. “I just played the game. I don’t know why [they kept throwing to my side]. I know he saw me out there. It was almost like he was looking for me. It wasn’t luck. It was doing what my coaches told me to do – dropping into my zones and reading the quarterback.
“We did something tonight that hasn’t happened in a lot of years.”
Only time will tell if the Wonders can recover from it. -Salisbury Post
"The Stats"
Scenes from Friday Night's Action
Pre Game
"The Battle"
"The Intensity"
Head Coach Mike Newsome and Quarterback Andrew Ramirez
"The Man of the Hour for Kannapolis"
Johnny Delahoussaey
Johnny D reeled in 3 catches for fifty nine yards keeping critical drives alive to give the Wonders a shot at a victory
Johnny D reeled in 3 catches for fifty nine yards keeping critical drives alive to give the Wonders a shot at a victory
"The Man of the Hour for Concord"
"Rocky Reid"
Junior Rocky Reid scored on three long touchdown runs of 57, 48, and 82 yards rushing for 225 yards on 15 carries. Outstanding performance by the young man.
Junior Rocky Reid scored on three long touchdown runs of 57, 48, and 82 yards rushing for 225 yards on 15 carries. Outstanding performance by the young man.
Game #2
Kannapolis
VS
South Rowan
Kannapolis-41 South Rowan-6
LANDIS — LANDIS – A.L. Brown slot back Casey Walker sharpened his focus on the bus trip to South Rowan. He excelled as a focal point of the offense in a 41-6 victory against the Raiders on Friday night. Walker rushed for the Wonders’ first two touchdowns and scored on an 18-yard pass in the third quarter. He finished with 10 touches for 158 yards, including 98 on six carries. Kenny Moore, Jarrett Boykin, Uriah LeMay, Damien Washington and Kalif Phillips are among the players who have performed well as H-backs – or slot receivers – in coach Mike Newsome’s system at Butler and A.L. Brown. Walker, a junior, appears comfortable in that high-profile position.
“Some of the best players I’ve ever coached have played that position,” Newsome said. “He fits right into that bill of being one of the best players on the team.”
Walker scored on a 30-yard jet sweep with 4:07 remaining in the first quarter and added a 15-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter. Andrew Ramirez’s short touchdown passes to Johnny Delahoussaey and Rodney Edmonds pushed A.L. Brown (1-1) to a 27-0 halftime lead, and Delahoussaey hauled in a 28-yard scoring toss from Ramirez with 7:46 left in the third quarter. Walker struck again six minutes later, taking a throw from backup quarterback Damon Johnson to the end zone. Johnson normally lines up at the other H-back position, and Walker is familiar with its pedigree.
“We know about our past,” he said. “With Kalif Phillips, Damien Washington, we know the standards we have to fill. The blocking was there, and I was just focused. Coming up on the bus, I was just thinking about what I had to do.”
Despite a strong start, South Rowan (0-2) didn’t score until Derrick Blackwell reached the end zone on a 5-yard run midway through the fourth quarter. South defensive back Bryson Deaton picked off Ramirez’s first pass of the game, and linebacker Burke Fulcher intercepted Ramirez’s final throw of the opening half, but the Wonders scored on four of the five possessions sandwiched between those miscues. Deaton’s interception followed a tip by teammate Michael Childers, and South used 11 plays on its first offensive series to march from its 43-yard line to the A.L. Brown 11. Junior quarterback Aaron Kennerly converted a pair of third-down passes to Eric Stowe on that drive, and Blackwell gained 24 yards on six rushes, but running back Dominique Bost fumbled into the end zone after reaching the 5 on a second-down carry from 11. A.L. Brown’s Malik Fowler recovered the ball for a touchback, and Walker capped an eight-play drive with his first touchdown run. Ramirez’s 14-yard pass to Walker on a third-and-7 play from near midfield extended the possession. A.L. Brown stopped a pass on a fake punt and pressured punter Marshall Long into a desperate, one-handed throw to set up short fields that helped the Wonders score their final two touchdowns of the first half.
“For people who saw us last week and how we kind of got stunned real quick, tonight we were a different football team,” said South coach Jason Rollins, whose team fell 44-9 in its opener against South Iredell. “I thought we held ourselves well in the first half.”
The energy from the students and band members in the home crowd made a big impression on Rollins, who said the support motivated his players to keep fighting.
“I was so proud to have such a great group of kids up there in the stands,” he said. “To have that tonight meant more to our kids. Just knowing they backed us, were behind us, it was an awesome feeling.” -Salisbury Post
“Some of the best players I’ve ever coached have played that position,” Newsome said. “He fits right into that bill of being one of the best players on the team.”
Walker scored on a 30-yard jet sweep with 4:07 remaining in the first quarter and added a 15-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter. Andrew Ramirez’s short touchdown passes to Johnny Delahoussaey and Rodney Edmonds pushed A.L. Brown (1-1) to a 27-0 halftime lead, and Delahoussaey hauled in a 28-yard scoring toss from Ramirez with 7:46 left in the third quarter. Walker struck again six minutes later, taking a throw from backup quarterback Damon Johnson to the end zone. Johnson normally lines up at the other H-back position, and Walker is familiar with its pedigree.
“We know about our past,” he said. “With Kalif Phillips, Damien Washington, we know the standards we have to fill. The blocking was there, and I was just focused. Coming up on the bus, I was just thinking about what I had to do.”
Despite a strong start, South Rowan (0-2) didn’t score until Derrick Blackwell reached the end zone on a 5-yard run midway through the fourth quarter. South defensive back Bryson Deaton picked off Ramirez’s first pass of the game, and linebacker Burke Fulcher intercepted Ramirez’s final throw of the opening half, but the Wonders scored on four of the five possessions sandwiched between those miscues. Deaton’s interception followed a tip by teammate Michael Childers, and South used 11 plays on its first offensive series to march from its 43-yard line to the A.L. Brown 11. Junior quarterback Aaron Kennerly converted a pair of third-down passes to Eric Stowe on that drive, and Blackwell gained 24 yards on six rushes, but running back Dominique Bost fumbled into the end zone after reaching the 5 on a second-down carry from 11. A.L. Brown’s Malik Fowler recovered the ball for a touchback, and Walker capped an eight-play drive with his first touchdown run. Ramirez’s 14-yard pass to Walker on a third-and-7 play from near midfield extended the possession. A.L. Brown stopped a pass on a fake punt and pressured punter Marshall Long into a desperate, one-handed throw to set up short fields that helped the Wonders score their final two touchdowns of the first half.
“For people who saw us last week and how we kind of got stunned real quick, tonight we were a different football team,” said South coach Jason Rollins, whose team fell 44-9 in its opener against South Iredell. “I thought we held ourselves well in the first half.”
The energy from the students and band members in the home crowd made a big impression on Rollins, who said the support motivated his players to keep fighting.
“I was so proud to have such a great group of kids up there in the stands,” he said. “To have that tonight meant more to our kids. Just knowing they backed us, were behind us, it was an awesome feeling.” -Salisbury Post
"The Stats"
"Scenes from Friday Night's Action"
"Pre Game"
"The Battle"
"The Man of the Hour for Kannapolis"
Casey Walker
(Picutre Above) Runningback Casey Walker
A.L. Brown Runningback Casey Walker rushed for 98 yards on 6 carries for two rushing touchdowns. Walker also pulled in an 18 yard pass reception from QB Damon Johnson for a touchdown.
Game #3
Kannapolis
VS
Weddington
Kannapolis-7 Weddington-0
KANNAPOLIS — A.L. Brown fans got a rare glimpse at some good old fashioned smash-mouth football Friday night. The Wonders defense did a lot of bending but never broke and continuously made the clutch plays all night. The effort produced a 7-0 non-conference victory over a talented Weddington team. Actually neither defense allowed any points but Brown (2-1) was able to break through when defensive back Kenon Jones pounced on a loose football in the end zone midway in the second quarter. Although both team mounted some serious threats, that was all the scoring for the night. Through the pre-season and early games, Wonder coach Mike Newsome knew his defense was more mature than his offense and would have to carry the team for a while.
“They definitely showed that tonight by not only getting the shutout but they scored too.” Newsome said. “ That was a big win against a great football team”
Weddington (2-1) came in as defending champs of the 3-A Southern Carolina Conference and had outscored their opponents 66-19 in wins over Ardrey Kell and Forest Hills. While they showed a potent passing attack (181 yards) behind senior quarterback Jeff Welch, Brown’s defense responded with two fumble recoveries (one for the score), seven sacks, a key interception late by Khari Wilkes, a blocked field goal by Malik Fowler and a big stop on fourth down at their 16 in the first half. Late in the game Weddington drove from their own 18 to the Brown 26 and seemed poised to tie it. But a Welch pass over the middle was intercepted by Wilkes with 2:09 left.
“I anticipated, jammed him a little bit then I saw the quarterback look towards me,” Wilkes said. “I knew I had to make a big play.”
The Warriors got a break by recovering a fumbled pitch at the Brown 19 with 1:21 left. But the home defense rose up again with two sacks including the game clincher by Jamel Logan on fourth down. It was the fourth sack of the game for the big defensive tackle. The lone TD followed a strange sequence in which a Weddington punt snap sailed into the end zone and was pooch kicked out to the 14. The Wonders were stopped on downs at the nine but the defense rose up again, knocking the ball loose and into the end zone for Jones to grab for his first TD.
“My man got the strip and I just got down and got that ball., “ Jones said. “We were playing for the turnover.”
Brown did have some offensive highlights especially from 14-year-old sophomore halfback Sandon McCoy with 104 yards on 28 carries in his first varsity start. He also caught two passes for 34 yards. Quarterback Andrew Ramirez was an efficient 9 for 12 and 119 yards. Johnathan Bryant caught four passes for 44 yards.
“They definitely showed that tonight by not only getting the shutout but they scored too.” Newsome said. “ That was a big win against a great football team”
Weddington (2-1) came in as defending champs of the 3-A Southern Carolina Conference and had outscored their opponents 66-19 in wins over Ardrey Kell and Forest Hills. While they showed a potent passing attack (181 yards) behind senior quarterback Jeff Welch, Brown’s defense responded with two fumble recoveries (one for the score), seven sacks, a key interception late by Khari Wilkes, a blocked field goal by Malik Fowler and a big stop on fourth down at their 16 in the first half. Late in the game Weddington drove from their own 18 to the Brown 26 and seemed poised to tie it. But a Welch pass over the middle was intercepted by Wilkes with 2:09 left.
“I anticipated, jammed him a little bit then I saw the quarterback look towards me,” Wilkes said. “I knew I had to make a big play.”
The Warriors got a break by recovering a fumbled pitch at the Brown 19 with 1:21 left. But the home defense rose up again with two sacks including the game clincher by Jamel Logan on fourth down. It was the fourth sack of the game for the big defensive tackle. The lone TD followed a strange sequence in which a Weddington punt snap sailed into the end zone and was pooch kicked out to the 14. The Wonders were stopped on downs at the nine but the defense rose up again, knocking the ball loose and into the end zone for Jones to grab for his first TD.
“My man got the strip and I just got down and got that ball., “ Jones said. “We were playing for the turnover.”
Brown did have some offensive highlights especially from 14-year-old sophomore halfback Sandon McCoy with 104 yards on 28 carries in his first varsity start. He also caught two passes for 34 yards. Quarterback Andrew Ramirez was an efficient 9 for 12 and 119 yards. Johnathan Bryant caught four passes for 44 yards.
"The Stats"
"Scenes from Friday Night's Action"
Pre Game
"The Battle"
"The Man of the Hour for Kannapolis"
Sandon McCoy
Sandon McCoy led the Wonder offense with 104 yards on 28 carries and caught two passes for 34 yards.
"The Man of the Hour for Weddington"
John Welch
Weddington Quarterback John Welch threw for 184 yards.
Game #4
Kannapolis
VS
Berry Academy
Kannapolis-45 Berry Academy-39
KANNAPOLIS — A.L. Brown coach Mike Newsome couldn’t stop smiling. Sure his team has flaws, but his team also has a lot of character, a combination he can live with.
“I couldn’t be more proud of a group of guys,” Newsome said after Friday’s 45-39 comeback win over Berry Academy. “To play the game that we did last week and then play the game that we did this week … I love the guys. I really do. And they are just great kids. I love being around them.”
Newsome feels that way despite the frustrations he and his staff must have with a youthful squad that plays with inconsistency. The Wonders shut out Weddington with one of their best defensive efforts in recent memory, but that seemed like a distant memory in the first half Friday, when the Cardinals gashed Brown through the air and on special teams. Yet, the Wonders secured a win with late heroics. An errant punt snap with 2:38 left led to a Brown safety, tying the game at 39-all. Taking over deep in Berry territory, Wonders tailback Casey Walker scored the winning points on a six-yard touchdown run with one minute left.
The Wonders improved to 3-1, heading into their off week with a lot of confidence. They’ll open conference play on Sept. 27 against North Mecklenburg. Berry nearly pulled a big upset, a point that coach Andrew Howard used to console his team following the game. The Cardinals were led by quarterback Omar Baker, who was 19-of-35 for 248 yards and 5 touchdowns. However, he and his teammates were held to just seven second-half points, finishing with just 336 offensive yards after compiling 252 in the first half.
“We just needed to tackle and make plays,” Berry coach Andrew Howard said. “They just kept it on the ground [and slowed the game down]. But if we tackle, we’d have been fine. We stopped them a couple of times, but we couldn’t capitalize on it. It just didn’t happen our way.”
That, according to Newsome, was his team weathering its early mistakes.
“We just played,” Newsome said of the Wonders in the second half. “According to the defensive coaches, we made some mistakes. We got up with them at halftime and discussed some mistakes they were making. We didn’t make them in the second half. Our defensive coordinator said if we had done things in the first half we were supposed to, we wouldn’t even have had an issue.”
The issue was that Brown’s defense struggled mightily in the first half. The Wonders gave up 7.4 yards per play, watching Berry rack up huge numbers on offense and another 176 on five kick returns before halftime. The Cardinals weren’t much better. In fact, both defenses were porous. Brown finished with 259 first-half yards, a balanced effort that included 134 on the ground and 125 through the air from quarterbacks Andrew Ramirez and Damon Johnson. Sophomore tailback Sandon McCoy rushed for 51 yards and two first-half scores, helping the Wonders dominate time of possession. However, their defense couldn’t get off the field against the high-octane Cardinals. Baker was 10-of-19 passes for 159 yards and four touchdowns before the break, tossing two scores each to electric receivers Victor Harris and Kelvin Brim.
“After looking at film, we knew [big plays] were there,” Howard said. “Whatever they gave us, we took it.”
Brim also gutted the Wonders on special teams. He had two kickoff returns for 89 yards in the first half, including a 73-yard score. Receiver Thomas Gordon added a 76-yard return that set up an early second-quarter touchdown that gave the Cardinals a 19-18 lead. However, the Cardinals failed to get the defensive stops in the second half to continue that momentum. And the Wonders did, holding Berry to 2.7 yards per play and minus-5 rushing yards in the second half. Brown, on the other hand, rushed for 262 yards in the game, watching both McCoy and Walker run for more than 80 yards. -Salisbury Post
“I couldn’t be more proud of a group of guys,” Newsome said after Friday’s 45-39 comeback win over Berry Academy. “To play the game that we did last week and then play the game that we did this week … I love the guys. I really do. And they are just great kids. I love being around them.”
Newsome feels that way despite the frustrations he and his staff must have with a youthful squad that plays with inconsistency. The Wonders shut out Weddington with one of their best defensive efforts in recent memory, but that seemed like a distant memory in the first half Friday, when the Cardinals gashed Brown through the air and on special teams. Yet, the Wonders secured a win with late heroics. An errant punt snap with 2:38 left led to a Brown safety, tying the game at 39-all. Taking over deep in Berry territory, Wonders tailback Casey Walker scored the winning points on a six-yard touchdown run with one minute left.
The Wonders improved to 3-1, heading into their off week with a lot of confidence. They’ll open conference play on Sept. 27 against North Mecklenburg. Berry nearly pulled a big upset, a point that coach Andrew Howard used to console his team following the game. The Cardinals were led by quarterback Omar Baker, who was 19-of-35 for 248 yards and 5 touchdowns. However, he and his teammates were held to just seven second-half points, finishing with just 336 offensive yards after compiling 252 in the first half.
“We just needed to tackle and make plays,” Berry coach Andrew Howard said. “They just kept it on the ground [and slowed the game down]. But if we tackle, we’d have been fine. We stopped them a couple of times, but we couldn’t capitalize on it. It just didn’t happen our way.”
That, according to Newsome, was his team weathering its early mistakes.
“We just played,” Newsome said of the Wonders in the second half. “According to the defensive coaches, we made some mistakes. We got up with them at halftime and discussed some mistakes they were making. We didn’t make them in the second half. Our defensive coordinator said if we had done things in the first half we were supposed to, we wouldn’t even have had an issue.”
The issue was that Brown’s defense struggled mightily in the first half. The Wonders gave up 7.4 yards per play, watching Berry rack up huge numbers on offense and another 176 on five kick returns before halftime. The Cardinals weren’t much better. In fact, both defenses were porous. Brown finished with 259 first-half yards, a balanced effort that included 134 on the ground and 125 through the air from quarterbacks Andrew Ramirez and Damon Johnson. Sophomore tailback Sandon McCoy rushed for 51 yards and two first-half scores, helping the Wonders dominate time of possession. However, their defense couldn’t get off the field against the high-octane Cardinals. Baker was 10-of-19 passes for 159 yards and four touchdowns before the break, tossing two scores each to electric receivers Victor Harris and Kelvin Brim.
“After looking at film, we knew [big plays] were there,” Howard said. “Whatever they gave us, we took it.”
Brim also gutted the Wonders on special teams. He had two kickoff returns for 89 yards in the first half, including a 73-yard score. Receiver Thomas Gordon added a 76-yard return that set up an early second-quarter touchdown that gave the Cardinals a 19-18 lead. However, the Cardinals failed to get the defensive stops in the second half to continue that momentum. And the Wonders did, holding Berry to 2.7 yards per play and minus-5 rushing yards in the second half. Brown, on the other hand, rushed for 262 yards in the game, watching both McCoy and Walker run for more than 80 yards. -Salisbury Post
"The Stats"
"Scenes from Friday Night's Action
Pre Game
"The Battle"
"A Minute Can Seem Like an Eternity"
Wonders Take the Lead with One Minute Left Giving a High Powered Berry Academy Offense one last Shot at Victory
Wonders Take the Lead with One Minute Left Giving a High Powered Berry Academy Offense one last Shot at Victory
"The Man of the Hour for Kannapolis"
Daveon Perry
Daveon Perry owns the most important statistic of the game for the Wonders. Perry intercepted Berry QB Omar Baker with just under 38 seconds left in regulation as Berry was driving the ball down field for a possible go ahead score. Perry's interception saved the game for the Wonders allowing the victory to be accomplished.
"The Man of the Hour for Berry Academy"
Omar Baker
Though in a losing effort, Berry Academy Quarterback Omar Baker was 19 of 35 passing for 248 yards and 5 touchdowns. Baker also rushed 13 times for 58 yards. A fantastic individual performance.
"MECKA AAAA Play Begins"
Game #5
Kannapolis
VS
North Mecklenburg
Kannapolis-30 North Mecklenburg-14
KANNAPOLIS — In their first 4A MECKA contest, the A.L. Brown Wonders played a balanced game, and took advantage of North Mecklenburg’s mistakes, in a 30-14 homecoming win over the Vikings. Coming off an open week following three straight victories, the Wonders advance to 4-1 overall with the win. Although Coach Mike Newsome called Friday’s victory “a good win against a very athletic team,” he said the Wonders could have played a stronger first half. A.L. Brown racked up 63 rushing yards in the first half, with quarterback Andrew Ramirez completing six of 15 throws for 38 yards before halftime.
The Wonders’ best plays were solid and straightforward – what Newsome called “bread ‘n’ butter plays” in a postgame interview. Both teams tried their best to find weak spots, including a bit of trickery. In the closing seconds of the first half, on second down and 11, Ramirez tossed the ball down the line to wide receiver Johnny Delahoussaey, who lofted it downfield toward tight end Johnathan Bryant. The ball fell incomplete. On the other hand, the Vikings managed to convert fourth down and eight with a fake punt toss to wide receiver Malik Byrd, keeping alive a drive that led to North Meck’s last touchdown of the night. But, for most of the game, the Vikings were their own worst enemy. The Wonders broke through the North Meck offense to sack quarterback Nolan Beasley eight times.
Those opportunities helped keep A.L. Brown’s momentum going throughout the game, in spite of their own miscues. Case in point: When North Meck recovered a Kannapolis fumble with 3:22 to go in the second quarter, defensive end Denzel Sherer broke through on the next play and tackled Beasley for a six-yard loss. On the next play, linebacker Christian Neal got by the Vikings and tackled Beasley for no gain. On third and 16, Neal and linebacker Hayden Taylor got to Beasley yet again for a loss of seven, forcing North Meck to punt. Late in the third quarter, Beasley was sacked on a crucial third-down play by Kannapolis linebacker Kyrell Williamson.
As the Vikings tried to punt it away on fourth down, the snap bounced into the North Mecklenburg end zone, and North Mecklenburg punter Robbie Quinlan knocked the ball out of the back of the goal for a safety. The Vikings fall to 2-3 overall with Friday’s loss. A.L. Brown travels to Charlotte to take on the Vance High School Cougars next week.
Newsome, who coached against Vance during his time at Butler, said the Cougars “are very athletic, they know how to win.” He said the Wonders’ win Friday against North Mecklenburg gives his team “kind of a springboard” toward that match, but that it will take preparation and determination to continue their winning streak. -Salisbury Post
KANNAPOLIS, N.C. – The Wonders’ defense was stout. So once the offense started clicking, in the third quarter, the Wonders were on their way to a 30-14 MeCKa Conference win over North Mecklenburg. The homecoming game at Kannapolis Memorial Stadium was a league opener, and the first 4A conference victory for an A.L. Brown football team since 1988, the last time the school was in that classification. The North Meck offense netted only 34 yards in the first half, but the Vikings still led 7-0 on the strength of a fumble return.
“The defense played phenomenal the whole game,” Wonders coach Mike Newsome said. “Other than the one drive, and that was just missed tackles. Offensively we just shot ourselves in the foot the first half. We can’t do that against teams as athletic as the teams we’re going to face. If we’ll just not shoot ourselves in the foot, we can be a phenomenal football team."
The Wonders forged a 7-7 tie when Damon Johnson found Johnny Delahoussaey behind the defense for a 41-yard scoring pass. The one-play drive was set up by Hayden Taylor’s interception. Delahoussaey had a huge night, catching 10 passes for 152 yards and two touchdowns, including a 28-yard throw from Andrew Ramirez in the third quarter. Delahoussaey again was alone behind the defense on the fourth-and-two scoring play. When the Wonders got the ball back, they moved 72 yards, including runs of 22 and seven yards by Maliek Patterson, the latter gain for a touchdown. An errant punt snap, also in the third quarter, put the Wonders up 23-7. The Wonders’ offense totaled 139 yards in the third, while the Vikings netted minus 9 yards. Helped by a fake punt that kept the drive going, North Meck closed to 23-14 with seven minutes left, disdaining a two-point PAT try that would have made it a one-score game.
On the ensuing kickoff, the Vikings opted for a short kickoff that was not an onside attempt, and Johnathan Bryant covered the ball at the Wonders’ 35. They covered the distance in 12 plays, with Sandon McCoy running two yards for the touchdown. The Wonders next play at Vance, which beat Jay M. Robinson 47-7 Friday night, Because the game is at a Charlotte-Mecklenburg school, kickoff will be at 7 p.m. instead of 7:30.
“It’s big for us to get a good win,” Newsome said. “I think it’s a big catalyst for us going into next week against a tough, tough Vance team. Rodney Edmonds is one of our fastest players. He said it as good as you can say it. You come around the corner and there’s a huge gap, and you snap your fingers and the gap closes. That’s the kind of teams we’re facing. The gap is not going to be there very long.
“We’re not going to be as athletic as some of those teams. We talk to guys about just running. They try to make cuts. We have to just run the football and get what we can out of it.”
With the Wonders coming off a bye week, Edmonds returned the opening kickoff Friday 81 yards to the 18, but a holding penalty set them back and a touchdown pass was dropped. The Wonders ran a trick play late in the first half. Again a wide-open receiver did not result in a touchdown.
“The first half wasn’t so pretty,” Ramirez said. “We played smart, fast and physical in the second half. We got together up there (at halftime) and Coach talked about how we can’t play fast and physical without playing smart. We were not playing smart, not lining up right.”
At the very least, the victory goes a long way toward helping the Wonders achieve a 36th winning season in a row. Of course, they want more than that.
“It was a battle,” Ramirez said. “Going into this new division, we have a bunch of people saying we wouldn’t make it, but our coaches are saying we’ve got to believe in ourselves.”
Ramirez, a senior quarterback, got most of the playing time. Johnson, a sophomore, was five of five passing for 83 yards.
“Andrew is a great leader,” Newsome said. “He’s a guy with deep faith. The kids understand that. They follow him. They follow him into battle. Damon gives us a whole other element. He’s extremely athletic. If he would take the time to learn our whole offense, he could probably push Andrew for being the starter. When he’s out there, he makes plays. He’s a great athlete. He’s somebody we can rely on immensely in the future.”
Said Ramirez: “I love the kid. We’ve got this package for him. He works hard. He pushes me and I push him. He’s a good quarterback.”
The Wonders’ best plays were solid and straightforward – what Newsome called “bread ‘n’ butter plays” in a postgame interview. Both teams tried their best to find weak spots, including a bit of trickery. In the closing seconds of the first half, on second down and 11, Ramirez tossed the ball down the line to wide receiver Johnny Delahoussaey, who lofted it downfield toward tight end Johnathan Bryant. The ball fell incomplete. On the other hand, the Vikings managed to convert fourth down and eight with a fake punt toss to wide receiver Malik Byrd, keeping alive a drive that led to North Meck’s last touchdown of the night. But, for most of the game, the Vikings were their own worst enemy. The Wonders broke through the North Meck offense to sack quarterback Nolan Beasley eight times.
Those opportunities helped keep A.L. Brown’s momentum going throughout the game, in spite of their own miscues. Case in point: When North Meck recovered a Kannapolis fumble with 3:22 to go in the second quarter, defensive end Denzel Sherer broke through on the next play and tackled Beasley for a six-yard loss. On the next play, linebacker Christian Neal got by the Vikings and tackled Beasley for no gain. On third and 16, Neal and linebacker Hayden Taylor got to Beasley yet again for a loss of seven, forcing North Meck to punt. Late in the third quarter, Beasley was sacked on a crucial third-down play by Kannapolis linebacker Kyrell Williamson.
As the Vikings tried to punt it away on fourth down, the snap bounced into the North Mecklenburg end zone, and North Mecklenburg punter Robbie Quinlan knocked the ball out of the back of the goal for a safety. The Vikings fall to 2-3 overall with Friday’s loss. A.L. Brown travels to Charlotte to take on the Vance High School Cougars next week.
Newsome, who coached against Vance during his time at Butler, said the Cougars “are very athletic, they know how to win.” He said the Wonders’ win Friday against North Mecklenburg gives his team “kind of a springboard” toward that match, but that it will take preparation and determination to continue their winning streak. -Salisbury Post
KANNAPOLIS, N.C. – The Wonders’ defense was stout. So once the offense started clicking, in the third quarter, the Wonders were on their way to a 30-14 MeCKa Conference win over North Mecklenburg. The homecoming game at Kannapolis Memorial Stadium was a league opener, and the first 4A conference victory for an A.L. Brown football team since 1988, the last time the school was in that classification. The North Meck offense netted only 34 yards in the first half, but the Vikings still led 7-0 on the strength of a fumble return.
“The defense played phenomenal the whole game,” Wonders coach Mike Newsome said. “Other than the one drive, and that was just missed tackles. Offensively we just shot ourselves in the foot the first half. We can’t do that against teams as athletic as the teams we’re going to face. If we’ll just not shoot ourselves in the foot, we can be a phenomenal football team."
The Wonders forged a 7-7 tie when Damon Johnson found Johnny Delahoussaey behind the defense for a 41-yard scoring pass. The one-play drive was set up by Hayden Taylor’s interception. Delahoussaey had a huge night, catching 10 passes for 152 yards and two touchdowns, including a 28-yard throw from Andrew Ramirez in the third quarter. Delahoussaey again was alone behind the defense on the fourth-and-two scoring play. When the Wonders got the ball back, they moved 72 yards, including runs of 22 and seven yards by Maliek Patterson, the latter gain for a touchdown. An errant punt snap, also in the third quarter, put the Wonders up 23-7. The Wonders’ offense totaled 139 yards in the third, while the Vikings netted minus 9 yards. Helped by a fake punt that kept the drive going, North Meck closed to 23-14 with seven minutes left, disdaining a two-point PAT try that would have made it a one-score game.
On the ensuing kickoff, the Vikings opted for a short kickoff that was not an onside attempt, and Johnathan Bryant covered the ball at the Wonders’ 35. They covered the distance in 12 plays, with Sandon McCoy running two yards for the touchdown. The Wonders next play at Vance, which beat Jay M. Robinson 47-7 Friday night, Because the game is at a Charlotte-Mecklenburg school, kickoff will be at 7 p.m. instead of 7:30.
“It’s big for us to get a good win,” Newsome said. “I think it’s a big catalyst for us going into next week against a tough, tough Vance team. Rodney Edmonds is one of our fastest players. He said it as good as you can say it. You come around the corner and there’s a huge gap, and you snap your fingers and the gap closes. That’s the kind of teams we’re facing. The gap is not going to be there very long.
“We’re not going to be as athletic as some of those teams. We talk to guys about just running. They try to make cuts. We have to just run the football and get what we can out of it.”
With the Wonders coming off a bye week, Edmonds returned the opening kickoff Friday 81 yards to the 18, but a holding penalty set them back and a touchdown pass was dropped. The Wonders ran a trick play late in the first half. Again a wide-open receiver did not result in a touchdown.
“The first half wasn’t so pretty,” Ramirez said. “We played smart, fast and physical in the second half. We got together up there (at halftime) and Coach talked about how we can’t play fast and physical without playing smart. We were not playing smart, not lining up right.”
At the very least, the victory goes a long way toward helping the Wonders achieve a 36th winning season in a row. Of course, they want more than that.
“It was a battle,” Ramirez said. “Going into this new division, we have a bunch of people saying we wouldn’t make it, but our coaches are saying we’ve got to believe in ourselves.”
Ramirez, a senior quarterback, got most of the playing time. Johnson, a sophomore, was five of five passing for 83 yards.
“Andrew is a great leader,” Newsome said. “He’s a guy with deep faith. The kids understand that. They follow him. They follow him into battle. Damon gives us a whole other element. He’s extremely athletic. If he would take the time to learn our whole offense, he could probably push Andrew for being the starter. When he’s out there, he makes plays. He’s a great athlete. He’s somebody we can rely on immensely in the future.”
Said Ramirez: “I love the kid. We’ve got this package for him. He works hard. He pushes me and I push him. He’s a good quarterback.”
"The Stats"
"Scenes from Friday Night's Action"
Pre Game
"The Battle"
"Man of the Hour for Kannapolis
Johnny Delahaussaey
Johnny Delahoussaey caught ten passes for 147 yards and two touchdowns
Johnny Delahaussaey
Johnny Delahoussaey caught ten passes for 147 yards and two touchdowns
"Man of the Hour for North Meck"
TayRay Tabron
TayRay Tabron had a forty eight yard fumble recovery for a touchdown.
TayRay Tabron
TayRay Tabron had a forty eight yard fumble recovery for a touchdown.
Game #6
Kannapolis
VS
Vance
Kannapolis-55 Vance-40
CHARLOTTE — Standing in the end zone moments after the final whistle, A.L. Brown Coach Mike Newsome summed up his team’s performance Friday night.
“I’ll tell you what we did,” Newsome told his players. “We locked the freakin’ door on ‘em!”
The Wonders’ 55-40 win over the Vance High Cougars came, Newsome said, because the Kannapolis boys overcame their doubts to secure their second Mecka 4A conference win. It was a fast-paced game, with both teams matching point for point in the first half. Vance scored first, after just five plays and one minute, 42 seconds, on a 22-yard run by Donovon Spencer. Exactly one minute and 42 seconds of game time later, Brown tied the game on a 51-yard reception by sophomore back Sandon McCoy, with 8:36 to go. After ending the first quarter tied at 14, both teams scored three touchdowns and missed an extra point apiece, going into the locker room tied at 20.
When the Wonders came back after halftime, Newsome said, they’d made some defensive adjustments. Missed tackles had been a problem in the first half, he said, but “we had some guys step up." Those changes, Newsome said, were the key to holding the Cougars to one touchdown in the second half. The offense kept pounding, too, running rapid-fire plays and keeping the Vance defense busy. The door slammed shut for the Cougars with a critical error late in the third quarter. After taking a 41-34 lead early, the Wonders stopped an eight-play drive set up by a 59-yard kickoff return by Vance’s Oquan Bratton. Brown took over on downs at their own 19 yard line, but was forced to punt six plays later. Bratton signaled for a fair catch, but the ball ricocheted off his hands and was recovered by the Wonders at Vance’s 13 yard line.
On the next play, halfback Maliek Patterson ran the ball 13 yards for a touchdown. McCoy went on to end the night with 96 total yards on offense and three touchdowns. He gave the Wonders’ offensive line credit for making those scores possible.
“They did a great job blocking, and I was able to close it up,” McCoy said.
Starting quarterback Andrew Ramirez completed 9 of 13 passes for 165 yards. Sophomore QB Damon Johnson went 2-for-4 for 51 yards. Penalties were a problem for the Wonders, who were flagged eight times for 60 yards. Late in the first quarter, a 15-yard roughing call against the Wonders turned a Cougars fourth-and-three into a new set of downs near midfield. Three plays later, Vance’s Spencer ran the ball 38 yards for a touchdown. Overall, Newsome said his team needs to combine the offensive performance they showed against Vance with the strong defensive game they played the week before against North Mecklenburg. Now 5-1 overall, and 2-0 in the conference, A.L. Brown continues its run in the Mecka 4A next week at J.M. Robinson.
Ramirez said Friday’s win at Vance makes a statement: “We’re sending people a message that we belong in this conference,” he said. “If we believe in ourselves, we can accomplish anything.”
Still, as Newsome told his team before they left the field, “We’ve got a long way to go.” Five conference matches, that is, including an Oct. 25 road game against Vance’s rival, the No.1-ranked Mallard Creek Mavericks. -Salisbury Post
“I’ll tell you what we did,” Newsome told his players. “We locked the freakin’ door on ‘em!”
The Wonders’ 55-40 win over the Vance High Cougars came, Newsome said, because the Kannapolis boys overcame their doubts to secure their second Mecka 4A conference win. It was a fast-paced game, with both teams matching point for point in the first half. Vance scored first, after just five plays and one minute, 42 seconds, on a 22-yard run by Donovon Spencer. Exactly one minute and 42 seconds of game time later, Brown tied the game on a 51-yard reception by sophomore back Sandon McCoy, with 8:36 to go. After ending the first quarter tied at 14, both teams scored three touchdowns and missed an extra point apiece, going into the locker room tied at 20.
When the Wonders came back after halftime, Newsome said, they’d made some defensive adjustments. Missed tackles had been a problem in the first half, he said, but “we had some guys step up." Those changes, Newsome said, were the key to holding the Cougars to one touchdown in the second half. The offense kept pounding, too, running rapid-fire plays and keeping the Vance defense busy. The door slammed shut for the Cougars with a critical error late in the third quarter. After taking a 41-34 lead early, the Wonders stopped an eight-play drive set up by a 59-yard kickoff return by Vance’s Oquan Bratton. Brown took over on downs at their own 19 yard line, but was forced to punt six plays later. Bratton signaled for a fair catch, but the ball ricocheted off his hands and was recovered by the Wonders at Vance’s 13 yard line.
On the next play, halfback Maliek Patterson ran the ball 13 yards for a touchdown. McCoy went on to end the night with 96 total yards on offense and three touchdowns. He gave the Wonders’ offensive line credit for making those scores possible.
“They did a great job blocking, and I was able to close it up,” McCoy said.
Starting quarterback Andrew Ramirez completed 9 of 13 passes for 165 yards. Sophomore QB Damon Johnson went 2-for-4 for 51 yards. Penalties were a problem for the Wonders, who were flagged eight times for 60 yards. Late in the first quarter, a 15-yard roughing call against the Wonders turned a Cougars fourth-and-three into a new set of downs near midfield. Three plays later, Vance’s Spencer ran the ball 38 yards for a touchdown. Overall, Newsome said his team needs to combine the offensive performance they showed against Vance with the strong defensive game they played the week before against North Mecklenburg. Now 5-1 overall, and 2-0 in the conference, A.L. Brown continues its run in the Mecka 4A next week at J.M. Robinson.
Ramirez said Friday’s win at Vance makes a statement: “We’re sending people a message that we belong in this conference,” he said. “If we believe in ourselves, we can accomplish anything.”
Still, as Newsome told his team before they left the field, “We’ve got a long way to go.” Five conference matches, that is, including an Oct. 25 road game against Vance’s rival, the No.1-ranked Mallard Creek Mavericks. -Salisbury Post
"The Stats"
"Scenes from Friday Night's Action"
Pre Game
"The Battle"
Man of the Hour for Kannapolis"
Sandon McCoy
Sandon McCoy rushed 21 times for a 114 yards on the ground, and two rushing touchdowns. Sandon also caught one pass for 50 yards.
Sandon McCoy
Sandon McCoy rushed 21 times for a 114 yards on the ground, and two rushing touchdowns. Sandon also caught one pass for 50 yards.
Game #7
Kannapolis
VS
J.M. Robinson
Kannapolis-61 J.M. Robinson-6
CONCORD, N.C – For the third week in a row, A.L. Brown was part of a homecoming game. For the sixth game in a row, the Wonders won, beating Jay M. Robinson 61-6 Friday night. The victory, coupled with Mallard Creek’s 38-21 win over Hough, leaves A.L. Brown and Mallard Creek tied for first place in the MeCKA Conference with four games to go. Hough is at Kannapolis this Friday. The Wonders go to Mallard Creek the following Friday. From the time Daveon Perry returned the opening kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown, Friday’s game at Robinson was just a matter of what the final score would be.
“He’s just an electric kid,” Wonders coach Mike Newsome said. “He’s a junior. He’s got a chance to be one of the best defensive backs in the state. He’s one of the best I’ve been around and I’ve been around a bunch of good ones.
“Whenever you can get a kickoff return at the first of the game, it kind of makes the whole team relax. We played good, but played relaxed, which is good in games like this.”
The winless Bulldogs didn’t have starting quarterback Alex Thornton (injured), and then backup QB Mark Perkins was injured late in the first half and did not return.
“We had worked all week shifting our offense to more of an option-oriented attack,” Robinson coach John Fitz said. “When he went out, we were scrambling a little bit.”
Extra people were able to play for both teams, either because of the lopsided score or injury. Other than Perry’s long return, the most interesting touchdown for the Wonders was a flea-flicker pass from Casey Walker to Damon Johnson, good for a 32-yards and a 27-3 lead in the first quarter. Johnson also scored on a five-yard run. Sandon McCoy had TD runs of two and 13 yards. Johnny Delahoussaey caught a 10-yard scoring pass from Andrew Ramirez. A 39-yard pass to Delahoussaey set up the first of two short R.J. Fowler touchdown runs.
“He’s just so versatile,” Newsome said of Delahoussaey. “Last year he started for us at defensive back. Then he had to start for us at receiver when Keon Johnson went down. He could probably be a better defensive back than he is an offensive player, but I’m extremely proud of him and everything he does. He’s got great speed and great hands. He continues to lead our team. Whenever we need a big play, he seems to come up and make one.”
Maliek Patterson closed out the Kannapolis scoring with a five-yard run. The strong kicking of Jeremy Mason kept Robinson from being shut out. Mason kicked field goals of 40 and 41 yards. The Wonders rushed for 325 yards and passed for 179. Robinson netted 97 yards on the ground and 48 through the air.
“It went kind of the way we’d hoped it would go,” Newsome said. “We got a lot of people in the game. Our kids didn’t practice real well. They played a lot better than they practiced this week. Robinson is struggling, but they have a good coaching staff and they’re going to be a better football team once they get this first year behind them.”
Said Fitz: “We’re just trying to get better every day. That’s really all you can do. We come out here and try to win the individual battles. When you can start winning those, you can win games. We’re just not doing that on a consistent basis.” -Independent/Tribune
“He’s just an electric kid,” Wonders coach Mike Newsome said. “He’s a junior. He’s got a chance to be one of the best defensive backs in the state. He’s one of the best I’ve been around and I’ve been around a bunch of good ones.
“Whenever you can get a kickoff return at the first of the game, it kind of makes the whole team relax. We played good, but played relaxed, which is good in games like this.”
The winless Bulldogs didn’t have starting quarterback Alex Thornton (injured), and then backup QB Mark Perkins was injured late in the first half and did not return.
“We had worked all week shifting our offense to more of an option-oriented attack,” Robinson coach John Fitz said. “When he went out, we were scrambling a little bit.”
Extra people were able to play for both teams, either because of the lopsided score or injury. Other than Perry’s long return, the most interesting touchdown for the Wonders was a flea-flicker pass from Casey Walker to Damon Johnson, good for a 32-yards and a 27-3 lead in the first quarter. Johnson also scored on a five-yard run. Sandon McCoy had TD runs of two and 13 yards. Johnny Delahoussaey caught a 10-yard scoring pass from Andrew Ramirez. A 39-yard pass to Delahoussaey set up the first of two short R.J. Fowler touchdown runs.
“He’s just so versatile,” Newsome said of Delahoussaey. “Last year he started for us at defensive back. Then he had to start for us at receiver when Keon Johnson went down. He could probably be a better defensive back than he is an offensive player, but I’m extremely proud of him and everything he does. He’s got great speed and great hands. He continues to lead our team. Whenever we need a big play, he seems to come up and make one.”
Maliek Patterson closed out the Kannapolis scoring with a five-yard run. The strong kicking of Jeremy Mason kept Robinson from being shut out. Mason kicked field goals of 40 and 41 yards. The Wonders rushed for 325 yards and passed for 179. Robinson netted 97 yards on the ground and 48 through the air.
“It went kind of the way we’d hoped it would go,” Newsome said. “We got a lot of people in the game. Our kids didn’t practice real well. They played a lot better than they practiced this week. Robinson is struggling, but they have a good coaching staff and they’re going to be a better football team once they get this first year behind them.”
Said Fitz: “We’re just trying to get better every day. That’s really all you can do. We come out here and try to win the individual battles. When you can start winning those, you can win games. We’re just not doing that on a consistent basis.” -Independent/Tribune
"The Stats"
"Scenes from Friday Nights Action"
Pre Game
"The Battle"
"The Man of the Hour for Kannapolis"
Daveon Perry
Daveon Perry ran the opening kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown setting the tone for the Wonders out of the gate. Perry also had 31 yards on two rushing attempts for a total of 130 yards total offense for the game.
Daveon Perry
Daveon Perry ran the opening kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown setting the tone for the Wonders out of the gate. Perry also had 31 yards on two rushing attempts for a total of 130 yards total offense for the game.
Game #8
Kannapolis
VS
Hough
Kannapolis-0 Hough-14
KANNAPOLIS — A.L. Brown had its six-game winning streak snapped as it dropped a hard-nosed defensive battle with highly-ranked Hough 14-0 Friday night.The Huskies, ranked sixth in 4A, pinned Brown inside their own 10-yard line twice and halted their hosts on two trips inside the red zone. It was the first Mecka conference loss for Brown. The Wonders (6-2, 3-1) were shut out for the first time since 2004 when Eastern Randolph blanked them 28-0. It had been 130 games since then.
“Our stats were very similar,” Brown assistant coach Chip English said. “They made a couple of plays. We had opportunities and didn’t capitalize.”
Hough rushed for 220 yards to Brown’s 207. The Huskies forced an interception on Brown quarterback Andrew Ramirez.
“I felt like our defense played lights out,” English said. “They kept us in the game.”
Brown goes to Mallard Creek next. -Salisbury Post
KANNAPOLIS, N.C. – Shutting out the Wonders happens once in a blue moon. With a full moon on display Friday night, Hough posted its second shutout in three weeks, stopping A.L. Brown 14-0 in MeCKa 4A football. A Kannapolis team had not been blanked since Eastern Randolph accomplished it in a 28-0 victory on Sept. 3, 2004. Hough bounced back from its first loss of the season by shortening the game with its running attack. With a 7:30 kickoff, this one was over before 9:30. The first thing one notices about Hough is its size. Maybe that’s why the team is called Huskies. The visitors to Kannapolis Memorial Stadium capitalized on that advantage. A game Wonders’ defense didn’t allow big plays or many first downs, but with Hough attacking straight ahead, the clock ran and ran. A short run in the first quarter and a passing touchdown in the third provided all the scoring. The Wonders (6-2, 3-1), who dropped into a second-place tie with Hough while seeing a six-game win streak snapped, threatened twice, once in each half. But a penalty helped blunt the first threat, and a busted play took care of the second. It marked the second time this season the Wonders’ offense did not score a touchdown. A.L. Brown beat Weddington 7-0 in the third week of the season without any offensive points.
“We knew we had to keep the score down low,” said Wonders coach Mike Newsome. “Obviously we did. Everytime we got something rolling, we had a mistake here or there that cost us. We just didn’t finish the drives out. Defensively I don’t think we could have played a better game. The kids tackled very well. I was so proud of those guys. We played one of the best teams in the state of North Carolina to a 14-point game. We just couldn’t get anything offensively for them."
“We kind of stole from North Carolina talking about playing smart, fast and physical. Smart is the thing you’ve got to keep first. Our kids know that. The kids understand their mistakes before they get to the sideline. That’s the great thing about coaching these guys.”
Hough shut out Jay M. Robinson two weeks earlier for its first goose egg of the season.
“We wanted to play great defense and run the football,” Hough coach Bobby Collins said. “Our goal was we didn’t want any three-and-outs.”
The Huskies did both, and their kicking game was also impressive. All three Hough kickoffs carried well into the end zone for touchbacks, leaving the Wonders with 80 yards left to the goal line. Newsome noted the disparity in size that worked to Hough’s advantage.
“The difference in offensive and defensive lines is I’d say they were close to 300 pounds. We’re about 215 pounds on the defensive line. With that kind of advantage, I told our coaches I’d never throw the ball. That’s one of the biggest football teams I’ve seen in a long time, going back to the old Independence games.”
Hough used the pass sparingly, but did have success through the air with precision passing on its second-half scoring drive, including a 27-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open receiver. Now the Wonders travel to top-ranked Mallard Creek to play on the artificial turf for Kannapolis’ fourth and final road game of the regular season. Mallard Creek beat Hough 38-21.
“(Tonight) was a big test of our character,” Collins said. “Mallard Creek is one of the best teams in the state. We wanted our kids to stay focused on doing the little things, the fundamentals, reading their keys. I think the defense did that. To get a shutout in our conference is pretty good.”
It made for a quiet night for the cannon crew. -Independent/Tribune
“Our stats were very similar,” Brown assistant coach Chip English said. “They made a couple of plays. We had opportunities and didn’t capitalize.”
Hough rushed for 220 yards to Brown’s 207. The Huskies forced an interception on Brown quarterback Andrew Ramirez.
“I felt like our defense played lights out,” English said. “They kept us in the game.”
Brown goes to Mallard Creek next. -Salisbury Post
KANNAPOLIS, N.C. – Shutting out the Wonders happens once in a blue moon. With a full moon on display Friday night, Hough posted its second shutout in three weeks, stopping A.L. Brown 14-0 in MeCKa 4A football. A Kannapolis team had not been blanked since Eastern Randolph accomplished it in a 28-0 victory on Sept. 3, 2004. Hough bounced back from its first loss of the season by shortening the game with its running attack. With a 7:30 kickoff, this one was over before 9:30. The first thing one notices about Hough is its size. Maybe that’s why the team is called Huskies. The visitors to Kannapolis Memorial Stadium capitalized on that advantage. A game Wonders’ defense didn’t allow big plays or many first downs, but with Hough attacking straight ahead, the clock ran and ran. A short run in the first quarter and a passing touchdown in the third provided all the scoring. The Wonders (6-2, 3-1), who dropped into a second-place tie with Hough while seeing a six-game win streak snapped, threatened twice, once in each half. But a penalty helped blunt the first threat, and a busted play took care of the second. It marked the second time this season the Wonders’ offense did not score a touchdown. A.L. Brown beat Weddington 7-0 in the third week of the season without any offensive points.
“We knew we had to keep the score down low,” said Wonders coach Mike Newsome. “Obviously we did. Everytime we got something rolling, we had a mistake here or there that cost us. We just didn’t finish the drives out. Defensively I don’t think we could have played a better game. The kids tackled very well. I was so proud of those guys. We played one of the best teams in the state of North Carolina to a 14-point game. We just couldn’t get anything offensively for them."
“We kind of stole from North Carolina talking about playing smart, fast and physical. Smart is the thing you’ve got to keep first. Our kids know that. The kids understand their mistakes before they get to the sideline. That’s the great thing about coaching these guys.”
Hough shut out Jay M. Robinson two weeks earlier for its first goose egg of the season.
“We wanted to play great defense and run the football,” Hough coach Bobby Collins said. “Our goal was we didn’t want any three-and-outs.”
The Huskies did both, and their kicking game was also impressive. All three Hough kickoffs carried well into the end zone for touchbacks, leaving the Wonders with 80 yards left to the goal line. Newsome noted the disparity in size that worked to Hough’s advantage.
“The difference in offensive and defensive lines is I’d say they were close to 300 pounds. We’re about 215 pounds on the defensive line. With that kind of advantage, I told our coaches I’d never throw the ball. That’s one of the biggest football teams I’ve seen in a long time, going back to the old Independence games.”
Hough used the pass sparingly, but did have success through the air with precision passing on its second-half scoring drive, including a 27-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open receiver. Now the Wonders travel to top-ranked Mallard Creek to play on the artificial turf for Kannapolis’ fourth and final road game of the regular season. Mallard Creek beat Hough 38-21.
“(Tonight) was a big test of our character,” Collins said. “Mallard Creek is one of the best teams in the state. We wanted our kids to stay focused on doing the little things, the fundamentals, reading their keys. I think the defense did that. To get a shutout in our conference is pretty good.”
It made for a quiet night for the cannon crew. -Independent/Tribune
"The Stats"
"Scenes from Friday Night's Action
Pre Game
"The Battle"
"The Man of the Hour for Kannapolis"
Johnny Delahoussaey
Johnny Delahoussaey caught two passes for 46 yards.
Johnny Delahoussaey
Johnny Delahoussaey caught two passes for 46 yards.
"The Man of the Hour for Hough"
Josh Stilley
Hough quarterback Josh Stilley was 9 of 13 passing for 103 yards and one touchdown pass.
Josh Stilley
Hough quarterback Josh Stilley was 9 of 13 passing for 103 yards and one touchdown pass.
Game #9
Kannapolis
VS
Mallard Creek
Kannapolis-7 Mallard Creek-49
CHARLOTTE — They say when life hands you lemons, make lemonade. Life handed A.L. Brown’s football team the state 4A champions, the Mallard Creek Mavericks, and the Wonders made the most of it. Following Kannapolis’ 49-to-7 loss on the road to Mallard Creek on Friday, Coach Mike Newsome turned the loss around in his postgame remarks. He said his players have got to move forward, looking to the final two home games with determination.
“I really feel like playing good teams like this will prepare you for the playoffs. You won’t face a better team than this,” Newsome told his players. As soon as you walk off this field, put this one behind you,” Newsome said.
Coming off a 14-to-0 loss at home to Hough last week, the tone of the game was set on the opening play from scrimmage, as Mallard Creek senior running back Lawrence Pittman ran the ball 55 yards for a touchdown. On the Wonders’ first possession, the Mavericks held them behind their own 20, setting up a short punt and, eight plays later, a second touchdown. The Mavericks kept up pressure on A.L. Brown’s defense, opting to keep the ball on the ground for nine out of 12 plays in the first quarter. But the Wonders defense responded in the second quarter, several times penetrating into the backfield to hurry sophomore quarterback James Smith. Late in the first half, Kannapolis defensive lineman Keechan Ware scooped up a Maverick fumble that set up a 77-yard, 12-play drive for the Wonders’ only touchdown. Kannapolis senior quarterback Andrew Ramirez completed five of 12 passes for 107 yards, with one interception.
Sophomore quarterback Damon Johnson completed two out of six passes for 27 yards, with two interceptions. Speaking to reporters, Newsome said the team came in “wanting to win,” and that he’d studied film of previous games carefully, trying to keep the Wonders from making mistakes that he said caused other teams to “implode” early. Newsome praised his team’s efforts in the second quarter, when the Wonders kept moving the ball steadily.
“We know we need to control the ball,” Newsome said.
Now standing at 6-3, and 3-2 in the MECKA 4A conference, the Wonders’ regular season schedule ends with two games at home: West Charlotte next week and Hopewell on November 8. Despite the Lions’ winless record going into this week, “We cannot take West Charlotte lightly,” Newsome told his team. Hopewell now stands at 4-5 overall, 3-2 in the conference. Two solid wins at home can secure the Wonders a better playoff berth – and may even take some of the “sour” out of Friday’s loss at Mallard Creek. -Salisbury Post
“I really feel like playing good teams like this will prepare you for the playoffs. You won’t face a better team than this,” Newsome told his players. As soon as you walk off this field, put this one behind you,” Newsome said.
Coming off a 14-to-0 loss at home to Hough last week, the tone of the game was set on the opening play from scrimmage, as Mallard Creek senior running back Lawrence Pittman ran the ball 55 yards for a touchdown. On the Wonders’ first possession, the Mavericks held them behind their own 20, setting up a short punt and, eight plays later, a second touchdown. The Mavericks kept up pressure on A.L. Brown’s defense, opting to keep the ball on the ground for nine out of 12 plays in the first quarter. But the Wonders defense responded in the second quarter, several times penetrating into the backfield to hurry sophomore quarterback James Smith. Late in the first half, Kannapolis defensive lineman Keechan Ware scooped up a Maverick fumble that set up a 77-yard, 12-play drive for the Wonders’ only touchdown. Kannapolis senior quarterback Andrew Ramirez completed five of 12 passes for 107 yards, with one interception.
Sophomore quarterback Damon Johnson completed two out of six passes for 27 yards, with two interceptions. Speaking to reporters, Newsome said the team came in “wanting to win,” and that he’d studied film of previous games carefully, trying to keep the Wonders from making mistakes that he said caused other teams to “implode” early. Newsome praised his team’s efforts in the second quarter, when the Wonders kept moving the ball steadily.
“We know we need to control the ball,” Newsome said.
Now standing at 6-3, and 3-2 in the MECKA 4A conference, the Wonders’ regular season schedule ends with two games at home: West Charlotte next week and Hopewell on November 8. Despite the Lions’ winless record going into this week, “We cannot take West Charlotte lightly,” Newsome told his team. Hopewell now stands at 4-5 overall, 3-2 in the conference. Two solid wins at home can secure the Wonders a better playoff berth – and may even take some of the “sour” out of Friday’s loss at Mallard Creek. -Salisbury Post
"The Stats"
"Scenes From Friday Night's Action"
Pre Game
"The Battle"
"Man of the Hour for Mallard Creek"
Lawrence Pittman
Mallard Creek runningback lawrence Pittman carried the ball fourteen times for 153 yards and three rushing touchdowns of 55, 40, and 2 yards.
Lawrence Pittman
Mallard Creek runningback lawrence Pittman carried the ball fourteen times for 153 yards and three rushing touchdowns of 55, 40, and 2 yards.
Game #10
Kannapolis
VS
West Charlotte
Kannapolis-66 West Charlotte-14
KANNAPOLIS, N.C. – One of the most impressive accomplishments imaginable continued Friday night when A.L. Brown beat West Charlotte. By posting their seventh win of the season, the Wonders assured no worse than a winning record for 2013, the 36th season in a row that’s happened for Kannapolis football.
“We set the bar high,” Wonders coach Mike Newsome said. “The people in the community set the bar high. We as coaches set the bar high and our players set the bar high. It’s definitely a challenge to continue that streak. Just glad that I can be a small part of it and glad this team was able to accomplish that goal again this year.”
It takes depth to create such a longstanding statistic, and the Wonders demonstrated that quality again Friday in a 66-14 win. With starting quarterback Andrew Ramirez injured, sophomore Damon Johnson started and had a big night.Johnson threw four touchdown passes, all in the first half, when the Wonders did all of their throwing.
“Last year Keenan Medley got hurt and Andrew stepped up,” Johnson said. “I just have to do the same thing for him and come in and just play smart and run plays. I was ready for the game mentally and physically. I was dearly hoping that he was ready to play. But he didn’t, so I had to step up.”
On the receiving end of scoring plays were Gabe Lucero (4 yards), Johnny Delahoussaey (30 yards), Jalen Cagle (24 yards) and Rodney Edmonds (40 yards).
“I told Damon at the beginning of the game to go out and play the way he is capable of playing,” Newsome said. “I’ve got one of my former players here, the best quarterback I ever coached, Christian LeMay, and had him talk to him before the game. I think that kind of helped him understand the importance of his position and what he can do to be a great quarterback.
“It was special to watch him play the way he’s capable tonight.”
In the Wonders’ 28-point second quarter that provided a 35-0 halftime lead, Daveon Perry returned an interception 66 yards for a touchdown.bR.J. Fowler rushed for three second-half touchdowns while Kenon Jones ran for one.
Nate Williams was 9 for 9 on PATs and kicked a 25-yard field goal to complete Kannapolis scoring.
“I thought they played spectacular,” Newsome said. “Everybody got an opportunity to play. We started the game kind of making mistakes, then they settled down and played the way they’re capable of playing.
“If we can play like that the rest of the year, the future’s bright for us.”
The Wonders (7-3, 4-2 MeCKa) ended a two-game losing skid. They close the regular season at home against Hopewell on Friday.
“It helps us out in the playoffs,” Johnson said. “It gives us confidence to go out and win more games.”
The Hopewell game took on added interest after the Titans’ win over Vance on Friday. That leaves them tied with the Wonders for third place.
“We set the bar high,” Wonders coach Mike Newsome said. “The people in the community set the bar high. We as coaches set the bar high and our players set the bar high. It’s definitely a challenge to continue that streak. Just glad that I can be a small part of it and glad this team was able to accomplish that goal again this year.”
It takes depth to create such a longstanding statistic, and the Wonders demonstrated that quality again Friday in a 66-14 win. With starting quarterback Andrew Ramirez injured, sophomore Damon Johnson started and had a big night.Johnson threw four touchdown passes, all in the first half, when the Wonders did all of their throwing.
“Last year Keenan Medley got hurt and Andrew stepped up,” Johnson said. “I just have to do the same thing for him and come in and just play smart and run plays. I was ready for the game mentally and physically. I was dearly hoping that he was ready to play. But he didn’t, so I had to step up.”
On the receiving end of scoring plays were Gabe Lucero (4 yards), Johnny Delahoussaey (30 yards), Jalen Cagle (24 yards) and Rodney Edmonds (40 yards).
“I told Damon at the beginning of the game to go out and play the way he is capable of playing,” Newsome said. “I’ve got one of my former players here, the best quarterback I ever coached, Christian LeMay, and had him talk to him before the game. I think that kind of helped him understand the importance of his position and what he can do to be a great quarterback.
“It was special to watch him play the way he’s capable tonight.”
In the Wonders’ 28-point second quarter that provided a 35-0 halftime lead, Daveon Perry returned an interception 66 yards for a touchdown.bR.J. Fowler rushed for three second-half touchdowns while Kenon Jones ran for one.
Nate Williams was 9 for 9 on PATs and kicked a 25-yard field goal to complete Kannapolis scoring.
“I thought they played spectacular,” Newsome said. “Everybody got an opportunity to play. We started the game kind of making mistakes, then they settled down and played the way they’re capable of playing.
“If we can play like that the rest of the year, the future’s bright for us.”
The Wonders (7-3, 4-2 MeCKa) ended a two-game losing skid. They close the regular season at home against Hopewell on Friday.
“It helps us out in the playoffs,” Johnson said. “It gives us confidence to go out and win more games.”
The Hopewell game took on added interest after the Titans’ win over Vance on Friday. That leaves them tied with the Wonders for third place.
"The Stats"
"Scenes From Friday Night's Action"
Pre Game
"The Battle"
"Man of the Hour for Kannapolis
QB Damon Johnson
Wonder quarterback Damon Johnson assumed leadership for the Wonders in this game for an injured Andrew Ramirez. Johnson was 8 of 12 passing for 163 yards and four touchdowns of 40, 30, 24, 4 yards. An outstanding individual performance.
QB Damon Johnson
Wonder quarterback Damon Johnson assumed leadership for the Wonders in this game for an injured Andrew Ramirez. Johnson was 8 of 12 passing for 163 yards and four touchdowns of 40, 30, 24, 4 yards. An outstanding individual performance.
"Man of the Hour for West Charlotte"
RB Pralowe Grier
Lions runningback Pralowe Grier rushed for 122 yards on 25 carries and scored two touchdowns that were nullified by penalties. An outstanding individual performance
RB Pralowe Grier
Lions runningback Pralowe Grier rushed for 122 yards on 25 carries and scored two touchdowns that were nullified by penalties. An outstanding individual performance
Game #11
Kannapolis
VS
Hopewell
Kannapolis-14 Hopewell-19
KANNAPOLIS, N.C. – The Wonders couldn’t get the one touchdown they needed in the second half, and it cost them third place in the MeCKa. Hopewell, which started the season 1-5, won its fifth game in a row, edging the Wonders 19-14 Friday on Senior Night at Kannapolis Memorial Stadium.
“We knew they were just like any other team we faced this year,” Wonders coach Mike Newsome said. “They’re extremely athletic. We knew they had speed. We knew they scored at any time. I felt like we were evenly matched and we were going to have to play well to win.”
The Titans overcame four lost fumbles.
“When we started 1-5, no one believed we would do what we did except for us,” said Hopewell coach Matthew Jenkins, who took over that post this season after being defensive coordinator at Concord.
“We knew we were getting better every week. Every game we got a little bit better. It didn’t always show on the scoreboard, but it showed in the film room and it showed on the practice field.”
Squandered opportunities in the first quarter hurt A.L. Brown, which started from midfield and the Titan 36 the first two times it had the ball, scoring on neither one. After an interception and 53-yard return, Hopewell went 39 yards on its first possession for a 7-0 lead. Kenon Jones scored on two short runs in the second quarter to give Kannapolis a 14-7 halftime advantage. The go-ahead score came with 15 seconds left. It was set up by Damon Johnson’s 41-yard pass to Rodney Edmonds. Hopewell took the second half kickoff and moved 59 yards to close within 14-13. Chris Hill blocked the PAT kick. When the Wonders got the ball, they moved from their 42 to the Titan 30, but stalled, turning the ball over on downs. Another interception on the first play of the fourth quarter stopped the Wonders the second time they had the ball. Still ahead 14-13, the Wonders started from their 35 and ate clock while moving to the Titan 35. But a holding penalty pushed them back, and on fourth and 9 they came up two yards shy of a first down.
Hopewell took over at its 27 and scored in four plays. After a Kannapolis timeout, the Titans – who had relied on a running game – connected on a 53-yard touchdown pass with 3:13 left.
“We came out and they had one on one on Dominique (Heath),” Jenkins said. “They called timeout, and we said, ‘You know what, let’s take a shot at them.’ They came out and put a guy over him and we almost changed the play. But four (Heath) is the best player on this football field. Four and 20 (Dimitris Camp) are the best players on this field, and I think they both proved it tonight.”
A squib try on the kickoff turned into a successful while unintentional onside kick for the Titans, who retained possession at their 49. But they fumbled the ball away at their 45. The Wonders had 2:13 left. A fourth-down pass interference penalty moved the ball to the 32. But a delay penalty, three incomplete passes and a four-yard pass turned the ball over at the 33, and the Titans ran out the clock. Jerry Chadwick played quarterback the first half for Hopewell and came in for one play in the second half. Justin Phillips took over at quarterback in the second half.
“Justin brings us a little something with his feet,” Jenkins said. “We were going in our heavy set stuff and we were going to run right at them.”
Former Central Cabarrus High School, North Carolina Tar Heel and San Diego Charger star Natrone Means is Hopewell’s offensive coordinator.
“He’s unbelievable,” Jenkins said. “What’s great about him is, you would never know he played in the NFL. He cares about these kids, and he works as hard as anybody.
“I’ve worked with some NFL guys before, and they’re not always the best high school football coaches. Natrone Means does a heckuva job. He gets what high school football is about.”
Jenkins said it helped to have previously coached against the Wonders.
“We understand some things about what he does,” Jenkins said. “That helped a little bit. But they’re a good football team.”
Jones, Hayden Taylor, Logan Miller and Kendall Holmes made fumble recoveries for Kannapolis.
“We knew they were just like any other team we faced this year,” Wonders coach Mike Newsome said. “They’re extremely athletic. We knew they had speed. We knew they scored at any time. I felt like we were evenly matched and we were going to have to play well to win.”
The Titans overcame four lost fumbles.
“When we started 1-5, no one believed we would do what we did except for us,” said Hopewell coach Matthew Jenkins, who took over that post this season after being defensive coordinator at Concord.
“We knew we were getting better every week. Every game we got a little bit better. It didn’t always show on the scoreboard, but it showed in the film room and it showed on the practice field.”
Squandered opportunities in the first quarter hurt A.L. Brown, which started from midfield and the Titan 36 the first two times it had the ball, scoring on neither one. After an interception and 53-yard return, Hopewell went 39 yards on its first possession for a 7-0 lead. Kenon Jones scored on two short runs in the second quarter to give Kannapolis a 14-7 halftime advantage. The go-ahead score came with 15 seconds left. It was set up by Damon Johnson’s 41-yard pass to Rodney Edmonds. Hopewell took the second half kickoff and moved 59 yards to close within 14-13. Chris Hill blocked the PAT kick. When the Wonders got the ball, they moved from their 42 to the Titan 30, but stalled, turning the ball over on downs. Another interception on the first play of the fourth quarter stopped the Wonders the second time they had the ball. Still ahead 14-13, the Wonders started from their 35 and ate clock while moving to the Titan 35. But a holding penalty pushed them back, and on fourth and 9 they came up two yards shy of a first down.
Hopewell took over at its 27 and scored in four plays. After a Kannapolis timeout, the Titans – who had relied on a running game – connected on a 53-yard touchdown pass with 3:13 left.
“We came out and they had one on one on Dominique (Heath),” Jenkins said. “They called timeout, and we said, ‘You know what, let’s take a shot at them.’ They came out and put a guy over him and we almost changed the play. But four (Heath) is the best player on this football field. Four and 20 (Dimitris Camp) are the best players on this field, and I think they both proved it tonight.”
A squib try on the kickoff turned into a successful while unintentional onside kick for the Titans, who retained possession at their 49. But they fumbled the ball away at their 45. The Wonders had 2:13 left. A fourth-down pass interference penalty moved the ball to the 32. But a delay penalty, three incomplete passes and a four-yard pass turned the ball over at the 33, and the Titans ran out the clock. Jerry Chadwick played quarterback the first half for Hopewell and came in for one play in the second half. Justin Phillips took over at quarterback in the second half.
“Justin brings us a little something with his feet,” Jenkins said. “We were going in our heavy set stuff and we were going to run right at them.”
Former Central Cabarrus High School, North Carolina Tar Heel and San Diego Charger star Natrone Means is Hopewell’s offensive coordinator.
“He’s unbelievable,” Jenkins said. “What’s great about him is, you would never know he played in the NFL. He cares about these kids, and he works as hard as anybody.
“I’ve worked with some NFL guys before, and they’re not always the best high school football coaches. Natrone Means does a heckuva job. He gets what high school football is about.”
Jenkins said it helped to have previously coached against the Wonders.
“We understand some things about what he does,” Jenkins said. “That helped a little bit. But they’re a good football team.”
Jones, Hayden Taylor, Logan Miller and Kendall Holmes made fumble recoveries for Kannapolis.
"The Stats"
"Scenes from Friday Night's Action"
Pre Game
"The Battle"
"Every Face Tells a Story"
"State AAAA Playoffs"
Round #1
Kannapolis
vs
Charlotte Catholic
Kannapolis-14 Charlotte Catholic-56
CHARLOTTE — Charlotte Catholic (10-2) once again rode the red coattails of senior running back Elijah Hood, who rushed for 206 yards and four touchdowns as the Cougars rolled to a 56-14 win over AL Brown (7-5) at Keffer Stadium on Friday evening. Hood, who was selected this past week to participate in the prestigious US Army All-American Bowl, averaged 15.9 yards per carry and managed three touchdown runs of longer than 40 yards as Catholic continued its decade-long run of postseason success against the Wonders. With the two teams meeting in the NCHSAA football postseason for the eighth time in nine years since CCHS moved up to the 3A classification before the 2005 season, Catholic improved to 7-1 in the series between the two tradition-rich programs.
“I am sad for our seniors that have worked their tails off for us, and it’s tough to see them go,” head AL Brown coach Mike Newsome said of his 19-man senior class.
After winning the coin toss and choosing to receive, Brown got off to an inauspicious start. With a false start penalty on the first play from scrimmage, the Wonders were quickly backed up and eventually fumbled on the third play of the drive. Catholic took over on the Brown 38 yard line and ran the ball seven times, with junior halfback Clay Lozzi cashing in a nine yard touchdown run to put the Cougars in front early. After a Brown punt on the ensuing drive, Hood broke off his longest run of the night with a 73 yard gallop to pay dirt that gave Catholic a 14-0 advantage less than seven minutes into the contest. Over the next two drives for the Wonders, Brown moved the ball down the field on completions from sophomore QB Damon Johnson to senior wideout Johnny Delahoussaey and junior receiver Casey Walker, but both drives eventually ended from a pair of turnovers on downs. The initial drive early in the second quarter saw a near touchdown slip through the hands of a Wonder receiver in the endzone and the latter drive stalled when CCHS senior cornerback Ryan Carroll broke up a possible first down completion.
Catholic quickly turned the second turnover on downs into points midway through the second quarter when senior tailback Drew Tomsho tallied a 66 yard touchdown run, amassing over half of his 128 rushing yards on the evening from the play and sending the hosts into the half with a 21-0 lead.
When Catholic scored twice in a 90-second span early in the third quarter on touchdown runs from Hood and Tomsho, the rout was on. Brown got on the scoreboard with two touchdowns (a 15-yard Rodney Edmonds reception and a 70-yard Kenon Jones run) late in the third quarter that sandwiched Hood’s third touchdown of the night. Hood ended his night with a fourth and final touchdown run early in the fourth quarter to put Catholic up 49-14 and junior fullback Nicholas Rizzieri completed the scoring with a 20-yard touchdown with just under eight minutes remaining.
“That was just Elijah being Elijah,” head Catholic coach Jim Oddo said of his star running back’s stellar performance. The UNC commit now has 2,875 yards and 41 touchdowns during his senior season and has played a large role in ending AL Brown’s season each of the past four years. “We have been lucky to come out on top more times than not in this matchup, but it has always been two great programs going head-to-head with the utmost respect for each other,” according to Oddo, who is in his 41st year at CCHS.
Newsome closes his third season in Kannapolis with a 29-11 overall record and feels that the future is bright. “Our JV and middle school programs have been flourishing, and we feel very good about so many of our young guys that have gained experience this season.” Newsome thinks that Kannapolis is knocking on the door of success after moving up to the 4A classification this year and has been through the seemingly one-sided rivalry before.
“It took seven years of knocking on the door of Independence before we finally broke through at Butler,” Newsome commented. The Butler Bulldogs have since won three state titles. “These kids want to win for the school, community and each other. I feel like their time is coming soon.”
The No. 4-seeded Charlotte Catholic Cougars will host fifth-seeded High Point Central next Friday. HPC was a 38-21 winner over Hopewell on Thursday evening.
Charlotte Catholic has had A.L. Brown’s number in the playoffs. And it continued Friday night. For the fourth straight year, and eighth time in the past 10 years, the Cougars knocked the Wonders out of the postseason in dominant fashion, rolling to a 56-14 win. Catholic (10-2) has now beat Brown (7-5) by a combined 185-48 in the past last four meetings. Catholic controlled the game on the ground, rushing for 461 yards, while completing only one pass (24 yards) on the night. All-American senior running back, Elijah Hood, led the way with 231 yards and four touchdowns on 14 carries. Meanwhile, senior Drew Tomsho added 128 yards and two touchdowns on nine carries. Catholic hosts High Point Central, 38-21 winners against Hopewell, Friday night.
“They are always a tough team,” Charlotte Catholic coach Jim Oddo said. “We’ve had a lot of close games with them over the years. But tonight, we had it a lot easier. We really played well.”
Catholic wasted no time after Brown running back Kenon Jones fumbled on the third play from scrimmage. The Cougars used seven straight rushes, capped by junior Clay Lozzi’s nine yard scoring run. Then, on the next possession, Hood got into the act, on the second play of the drive, bursting down the left sideline 73 yards for another touchdown, and 14-0. Hood added touchdown runs of 46, 25, and 43, finishing with a 16.5-yards-per-touch average.
“When I get the ball, I am supposed to make plays,” Hood said. “I try to make something happen every time I touch it.”
Added Oddo: “He surprises me every game. I watch him do what he does and it’s still amazing. He has a big heart.”
But Hood wasn’t the only story as teammate Drew Tomsho also put on show. He averaged 14.2 yards on nine carries, including a 66-yard touchdown in the first half and a 44-yard touchdown in the third quarter. Cougars quarterback Ryan Miller added 44 yards on six carries. Catholic’s lead was never in jeopardy as it led 14-0 after one quarter, 21-0 at the half, 42-14 after three quarters. A.L. Brown never got consistent offense in the first half, as it mustered only 109 yards of total offense in the first 24 minutes. But the Wonders had some bright spots late as senior Kenon Jones finished with 99 yards rushing and a touchdown (70-yard run), while sophomore quarterback, Damon Johnson passed for 83 yards and a touchdown and ran for 50 yards.
“I am sad for our seniors that have worked their tails off for us, and it’s tough to see them go,” head AL Brown coach Mike Newsome said of his 19-man senior class.
After winning the coin toss and choosing to receive, Brown got off to an inauspicious start. With a false start penalty on the first play from scrimmage, the Wonders were quickly backed up and eventually fumbled on the third play of the drive. Catholic took over on the Brown 38 yard line and ran the ball seven times, with junior halfback Clay Lozzi cashing in a nine yard touchdown run to put the Cougars in front early. After a Brown punt on the ensuing drive, Hood broke off his longest run of the night with a 73 yard gallop to pay dirt that gave Catholic a 14-0 advantage less than seven minutes into the contest. Over the next two drives for the Wonders, Brown moved the ball down the field on completions from sophomore QB Damon Johnson to senior wideout Johnny Delahoussaey and junior receiver Casey Walker, but both drives eventually ended from a pair of turnovers on downs. The initial drive early in the second quarter saw a near touchdown slip through the hands of a Wonder receiver in the endzone and the latter drive stalled when CCHS senior cornerback Ryan Carroll broke up a possible first down completion.
Catholic quickly turned the second turnover on downs into points midway through the second quarter when senior tailback Drew Tomsho tallied a 66 yard touchdown run, amassing over half of his 128 rushing yards on the evening from the play and sending the hosts into the half with a 21-0 lead.
When Catholic scored twice in a 90-second span early in the third quarter on touchdown runs from Hood and Tomsho, the rout was on. Brown got on the scoreboard with two touchdowns (a 15-yard Rodney Edmonds reception and a 70-yard Kenon Jones run) late in the third quarter that sandwiched Hood’s third touchdown of the night. Hood ended his night with a fourth and final touchdown run early in the fourth quarter to put Catholic up 49-14 and junior fullback Nicholas Rizzieri completed the scoring with a 20-yard touchdown with just under eight minutes remaining.
“That was just Elijah being Elijah,” head Catholic coach Jim Oddo said of his star running back’s stellar performance. The UNC commit now has 2,875 yards and 41 touchdowns during his senior season and has played a large role in ending AL Brown’s season each of the past four years. “We have been lucky to come out on top more times than not in this matchup, but it has always been two great programs going head-to-head with the utmost respect for each other,” according to Oddo, who is in his 41st year at CCHS.
Newsome closes his third season in Kannapolis with a 29-11 overall record and feels that the future is bright. “Our JV and middle school programs have been flourishing, and we feel very good about so many of our young guys that have gained experience this season.” Newsome thinks that Kannapolis is knocking on the door of success after moving up to the 4A classification this year and has been through the seemingly one-sided rivalry before.
“It took seven years of knocking on the door of Independence before we finally broke through at Butler,” Newsome commented. The Butler Bulldogs have since won three state titles. “These kids want to win for the school, community and each other. I feel like their time is coming soon.”
The No. 4-seeded Charlotte Catholic Cougars will host fifth-seeded High Point Central next Friday. HPC was a 38-21 winner over Hopewell on Thursday evening.
Charlotte Catholic has had A.L. Brown’s number in the playoffs. And it continued Friday night. For the fourth straight year, and eighth time in the past 10 years, the Cougars knocked the Wonders out of the postseason in dominant fashion, rolling to a 56-14 win. Catholic (10-2) has now beat Brown (7-5) by a combined 185-48 in the past last four meetings. Catholic controlled the game on the ground, rushing for 461 yards, while completing only one pass (24 yards) on the night. All-American senior running back, Elijah Hood, led the way with 231 yards and four touchdowns on 14 carries. Meanwhile, senior Drew Tomsho added 128 yards and two touchdowns on nine carries. Catholic hosts High Point Central, 38-21 winners against Hopewell, Friday night.
“They are always a tough team,” Charlotte Catholic coach Jim Oddo said. “We’ve had a lot of close games with them over the years. But tonight, we had it a lot easier. We really played well.”
Catholic wasted no time after Brown running back Kenon Jones fumbled on the third play from scrimmage. The Cougars used seven straight rushes, capped by junior Clay Lozzi’s nine yard scoring run. Then, on the next possession, Hood got into the act, on the second play of the drive, bursting down the left sideline 73 yards for another touchdown, and 14-0. Hood added touchdown runs of 46, 25, and 43, finishing with a 16.5-yards-per-touch average.
“When I get the ball, I am supposed to make plays,” Hood said. “I try to make something happen every time I touch it.”
Added Oddo: “He surprises me every game. I watch him do what he does and it’s still amazing. He has a big heart.”
But Hood wasn’t the only story as teammate Drew Tomsho also put on show. He averaged 14.2 yards on nine carries, including a 66-yard touchdown in the first half and a 44-yard touchdown in the third quarter. Cougars quarterback Ryan Miller added 44 yards on six carries. Catholic’s lead was never in jeopardy as it led 14-0 after one quarter, 21-0 at the half, 42-14 after three quarters. A.L. Brown never got consistent offense in the first half, as it mustered only 109 yards of total offense in the first 24 minutes. But the Wonders had some bright spots late as senior Kenon Jones finished with 99 yards rushing and a touchdown (70-yard run), while sophomore quarterback, Damon Johnson passed for 83 yards and a touchdown and ran for 50 yards.
"The Stats"
"Scenes From Friday Night's Action"
Pre Game
"The Battle"
"The Man of the Hour for Kannapolis"
#26 Kenon Jones
Kenon Jones broke of a seventy yard run for one of the Wonders two touchdowns on the evening and finished the evening with 99 total rushing yards.
#26 Kenon Jones
Kenon Jones broke of a seventy yard run for one of the Wonders two touchdowns on the evening and finished the evening with 99 total rushing yards.
"The Man of the Hour for Charlotte Catholic
#34 Elijah Hood
Elijah Hood scored four touchdowns on runs of 46, 25, 43 and 73 yards finishing the evening with 231 total rushing yards on fourteen carries. An outstanding individual performance.
#34 Elijah Hood
Elijah Hood scored four touchdowns on runs of 46, 25, 43 and 73 yards finishing the evening with 231 total rushing yards on fourteen carries. An outstanding individual performance.
"Wonder 2013 Final Stats"