CONCORD — After all these years, Central Cabarrus still hasn’t beaten A.L. Brown in a football game.

The Vikings may never, ever have a better opportunity than they had on Monday night, when the Wonders escaped 34-20 in a 3A South Piedmont Conference slugfest originally scheduled for Friday.

It was a game that included fleeting moments of good mixed with generous helpings of bad and ugly. The Wonders (5-0 overall, 2-0 SPC) lost four of their six fumbles, drew 115 yards in penalties — mostly holding calls that train-wrecked scoring drives — and twice botched punts.

Wonder radio man Frank Santore buried his head in his hands and proclaimed to the world that he was “dying in pieces” as his favorite team uncharacteristically strung together enough foul-ups to create a best-selling bloopers tape. One could only imagine what Wonder coach Ron Massey, a man who prides himself on efficiency and organization, was thinking, as chaos unfolded all around him in the mud and the blood and the jeers.

And yet when it had to be, Massey’s team was still the Wonders. Whenever Brown absolutely had to put a drive together, quarterback Josh Lee, his host of running backs and that magnificent offensive line — Alan Overcash, Shaun Davis, Josh Barrier, Wally Tuttle and Matt Crosby — delivered. And whenever it had to, the Wonder defense rose up to contain Central’s all-world weapons — running back/sprinter Lamont Reid and receiver Michael Ricks.

“We made so, so many mistakes,” sighed Massey. “Still, I’m proud of our kids. This is their third straight road game. They’re playing on a Monday after it’s rained all day long and they’re playing in a tough place. Somehow, they overcame everything and got out with a win.”

And that remains the bottom line. This wasn’t gymnastics or synchronized swimming, where style points are awarded. It’s still who finishes with the most points on the scoreboard.

This was the Wonders’ 20th straight SPC victory. They haven’t lost in conference play since October ‘97. Bottom line: this is still the Wonders’ league until someone proves otherwise.

The Wonders began like they were standing in the Viking huddle for the play calls. On the first play from scrimmage, Jason Brown roared in from his safety position, picked off a Jake Roberts pass intended for Ricks and scored his third defensive TD of the season to make it 7-0.

Central (2-4, 1-2) ran two plays before fullback Todd Forque fumbled and Wonder Lee Basinger recovered. The Wonders then made it a daily double — also scoring a TD on their first play from scrimmage — when Chris Carter broke free and raced 61 yards. Rush Rollins’ PAT made it 14-0 with only 88 seconds elapsed.

Minutes later, a sack by Duran Lipscomb forced a Viking punt and the Wonders went on the march. They were knocking at the door, all set to go up 21-0, when the game suddenly became a Stephen King novel. First, a holding penalty. Then a fumble by Dale King (no relation to Stephen) that Viking Aaron Moore eagerly pounced on. From the instant of King’s fumble until they wearily boarded the bus for home, the second-ranked Wonders fought for their lives.

“There’s a thin line between being a great team and a good team,” said Massey. “A great team puts people away. We had the super start and I’m thinking, ‘Just don’t let up,’ but then we let them have momentum back.”

By halftime, Central had gotten even on a 74-yard breakaway by Reid and a 9-yard pass from Roberts to Brian Duley.

The first possession of the second half would be decisive. Massey knew it, Lee knew it and Central coach Jody Grooms, a former Catawba Indian, knew it. Massey told his offensive line to take charge on the wet field and with Lee barreling forward like Jerome Bettis, it did exactly that. Eleven tough-man contest plays later, Lee smashed into the end zone for a 21-14 lead. Still, Brown couldn’t stand prosperity. It fumbled away its next two possessions to keep things more than interesting.

“We expected to have some turnovers on this kind of field,” said Lee, “but nothing this bad. We had to keep our composure and fight through it.”

Central made it 21-20 on a Reid run as the fourth-quarter began. But the Vikes missed the critical extra point. Regular kicker Andrew Long was playing soccer and stand-in Greg Tucker’s boot sailed under the uprights.

Still, it was far from over. As the clock neared the 5-minute mark, Central moved to its own 45 and the crowd was bellowing. But on third down, Gerrell McCrae blitzed off the corner and sacked Roberts to force a punt. And then, the Wonder O-line asserted itself once more. Lipscomb capped a brutish 75-yard drive with an 8-yard snow-plow job at the 1:15 mark for a 28-20 lead.

Central still hoped to tie with a TD and two-point conversion, but with 46 seconds left, feisty 5-foot-8 cornerback DeAngelo Collins intercepted Roberts and shimmied 36 yards for the clinching score.

“I thought our secondary had a great night,” beamed Collins. “We held down Ricks (who had just one catch) and he’s the best in the state. I’m just glad I could be the one to put it away. We should never have let it get close.”

NOTES: The game ended by mutual consent of coaches and officials after Collins’ pick. On his runback, Wonder linebacker Clifford White took a vicious shot from behind, resulting in a Viking ejection. The game was halted to prevent further mayhem. The players did shake hands after meeting with coaches.