KANNAPOLIS — An irresistible force meets an immovable object at 7:30 tonight in Spencer.

Specifically, North Rowan’s Graham Hosch, fresh from setting the county total offense record against Scotland County, and his formation of receiving jets will take on A.L. Brown’s bulletproof secondary.

In its three games, North’s air force has put up a staggering 848 passing yards — 282.7 per game.

In its three games, A.L. Brown (3-0) has allowed a grand total of 56 yards in the air — 18.7 per game. The Wonders actually have intercepted more passes (6) than their opponents have completed (4).

Something has to give at Eagle Stadium.

Usually it’s the Cavs (1-2) who give in this series, as the Wonders, ranked No. 2 in the state in 3A, have won the last five meetings and 10 of 12 since North coach Roger Secreast and former Wonder coach Bruce Hardin got the series going annually in 1989. (The teams played twice in ‘92.)

No one’s exactly guaranteeing victory in the Wonder camp this year, however. No one’s quite as outspoken as former star Nick Gill, who proclaimed in ‘98 that “he was coming to Spencer to shut the airport down.”

“North’s a good team. We know if we don’t play our game, they can slip up and beat us,” acknowledges diplomatic Wonder cornerback DeAngelo Collins.

“North’s got athletes everywhere,” offers Wonder head coach Ron Massey, as he prepares for his first battle against Secreast. “I’m not too good at names, but I know the numbers of those receivers. And their quarterback does a heck of a job reading and calling audibles.”

Massey joked about taking over as scout team quarterback in Tuesday’s practice in an attempt to get his defense pumped up for the coming aerial barrage.

“I threw about four balls in a row straight to our DBs,” he laughed. “I figured that should get everybody’s confidence up.”

As always, the North game will be totally different for A.L. Brown from any other. The Wonders annually enter 10 games (plus the playoffs) with the priority of stopping the run and forcing the pass.

“North’s different,” says junior free safety Charlie Fox, who watched Cav QB Mario Sturdivant air it out 25 times in Kannapolis last year. “You gotta try and make them run.”

Easier said than done, though. Even with Flight No. 6 (Sturdivant) finally grounded — Flight No. 4 (Hosch) has been cleared for departure. And that means fun for the whole family.

“Anytime you play North it’s exciting,” shrugs Wonder assistant coach Jeremy Ryan. “It’s basketball on turf.”

Maybe that’s because the top five Cav receivers —Alfonzo Miller, Chris Phillips, Dre Byrd, Marcus Reddick and Eric Davis — are basketball players. And the 6-foot-4 Hosch also hoops pretty well.

Three of the Wonder DBs — starting corners Collins and Chris Gibson and strong safety Jason Brown —play hoops and have taken their lumps from the high-flying Cavs over the years.

“Actually, I know those North guys more from track,” offers Collins. “Speed, speed and more speed.”

He’s got that right. The Wonder DBs are fast, but the Cavs are even swifter — and a good bit taller. Especially dangerous is Miller (four TDs), who has that extra gear that makes him one of the state’s best. Miss a tackle on “Nard” on a simple slant and you’re looking at six quick points.

But as the Wonders point out, this is football and football is still their game. And tonight is their chance for a little payback for some of those Cav dunkathons.

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The guy in charge of the Wonder DBs is Buddy Amerson, who has been there, done that. He’s been around since the Bob Boswell era, so he knows North and knows Secreast.

“It’s not like we’re going to do any secret stuff,” says Amerson. “Roger’s got the films. We aren’t gonna fool him.”

Amerson offers the theory that Secreast has been so successful over the years (not a single losing season since ‘89), because his emphasis on the pass forces opposing coaches to put people on the field who don’t usually play.

“When you’re in pass coverage every single play, your DBs get worn out,” he said. “You can’t play North with four DBs. You’ve got to use extra people.”

So you might think Amerson’s sweating bullets this week.

Actually, though, he feels pretty good, because he has confidence in not only his four starters, but in reserve corner Terry Collins (DeAngelo’s brother), backup safety Shannon Blackmon and Danyell Brown (Jason’s cousin), who plays anywhere in the secondary.

“We’re lucky to have seven who can play. We use them every game and they’ll all play against North,” Amerson said. “They’re not afraid, but they are excited. They know that for any DB, North is the ultimate challenge.”

Amerson describes his charges as go-getters. He often doesn’t get off work until practice is about to begin, but he’ll usually find his guys already pushing one another by the time he changes and gets to the field.

“They’ve all got average to a little above average speed,” he said. “The main reason that they’re good is that for teen-agers they’re workaholics.”

Fox is the quarterback of the group, the one who calls the sets. Jason Brown is the playmaker, a former linebacker who hits like a truck and is capable of taking any fumble, pick or punt that lands in his hands 90 yards in a hurry.

Amerson says DeAngelo Collins is the most talkative of the bunch and that Gibson, who stops the run extremely well for a 160-pounder, is very underrated. He describes Danyell Brown as very athletic; Terry Collins as tough and intense; and Blackmon as cerebral.

Amerson says his magnificent seven will be prepared for Hosch, even though they’ve seen run-oriented teams in their first three contests.

“We scrimmaged Crest twice and they can throw it,” he said. “And we saw great passing games in a camp at Richmond County this summer. We faced Vance quarterback Paul Troth (who signed with East Carolina) and we defended a kid from Marlboro County (S.C.), who’s supposed to be the best wideout in the Southeast.

“Look, we know we’re not going to hold North to some goofy number of completions. Our goal is to execute and tackle and make sure they earn everything they get.”

Any predictions?

“It’ll be a war,” said Amerson. “But it’s the sort of challenge you look forward to.”