KANNAPOLIS — A.L. Brown’s football team is facing one of those freaky Fridays when an efficient travel agent, alert bus drivers and a sympathetic weatherman will be every bit as important to their success as the ability to execute the counter or rush the passer.
When you factor in all the extenuating circumstances, the fifth-seeded Wonders (10-2) could be considered underdogs as they head to the Nantahala Forest to tangle with fourth-seeded Franklin (10-1) in the second round of the 3A state playoffs. Friday’s gametime is 7:30 p.m.
The Wonders hope to be on the road by 10:30 tomorrow morning — nine full hours prior to kickoff — but their fantastic voyage is still going to be less fun than a tax audit. Franklin squats in that dreaded and distant corner of the map where South Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee converge on the North Carolina mountains like three tacklers chasing Chris Carter.
The cleats were on the other foot for Franklin last season, when it was forced to bus to West Rowan for a first-rounder. After the Falcons roasted them 34-13, the Panthers said the ride took something out of them. It had to.
The Wonders haven’t made any trips of this magnitude in recent memory. Maybe ever.
Weather at Franklin’s higher elevation could definitely be a minus. Temperatures are expected to be in the 30s, at best. The Wonders haven’t played a frozen-tundra game since their shivery first-rounder in the shadow of Asheville’s Biltmore House in 1997.
“I heard there’s a cold front coming in Thursday,” said Wonder coach Ron Massey. “I’ve already got mamas calling me, telling me they want us to take hand-warmers and stuff. But cold shouldn’t be a big deal when you’ve got the opportunity to play in a game like this. Hopefully, our kids will worry about the things they’re supposed to worry about. This one will be tough enough without worrying about what the temperature is.”
Rain, which is also in the latest forecast, could present a more serious problem, because a soggy field would negate not just comfort, but the Wonders’ expected speed advantage.
The storm that washed Franklin last Friday — the first rain the area had seen in 31 days — may have altered the Wonders’ itinerary this week. Had it been dry in the mountains, Franklin may not have beaten Eastern Randolph, a team that destroyed the Wonders 35-14 at Memorial Stadium in September. But a driving deluge, coupled with fog and mudslides, erased ER’s edge in quickness and helped Franklin pull out a 13-10 duel in the stadium locals affectionately call the “Panther Pit.”
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Massey, like most everyone else, was surprised Franklin, coached by former Duke head coach Fred Goldsmith, took out ER. At least until he saw the Panthers on film.
“On tape, they sure look like a 10-1 team,” he said. “Their game with Eastern Randolph was played in the rain and there were turnovers, but it didn’t look like a fluke. Franklin looked like the better team that night.”
Massey shouldn’t have any trouble convincing his team that Franklin is dangerous. He could mention that Franklin hasn’t lost since Aug. 31 when a chip-shot field goal went awry in a 14-13 loss to nearby Murphy.
Massey could also remind his troops that the Asheville team they nipped last week was runner-up to Franklin in the Mountain Athletic Conference. Then again, he might just remind his guys what Eastern Randolph did to the Wonders on Sept. 7, but couldn’t do to Franklin.
Against ER, Franklin’s defense came up with five turnovers, forced six punts and had four QB sacks. So it’s going to present a challenge for the Wonder offense. Franklin gives up about 15 points a game and scores 34. The Wonders score an almost identical amount, but surrender an average of 20.
Massey says Goldsmith’s offense is a simplified version of what he employed at Duke. Play-action passes, sprint-out passes and an effective inside-outside running attack.
Junior backs Josh Durm and Marcus West scored the Panther TDs last week. Both have rushed for over 1,000 yards. Junior QB Clayton Wyatt, has thrown for over 1,200 yards, even though he had just four completions in last week’s muck.
“We watched tape of three of their games,” said Wonder defensive coordinator Aubrey Hollifield. “They did pretty much the same thing in all of them. It looks like they can throw, but what they really like to do is run. I feel real good about the game plan we’ve come up with.”
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The subplot surrounding the game is Goldsmith, who won his first seven games after coming to Duke from Rice in 1994. He actually took the Devils to a bowl game that season (their last one). But he was axed in 1998 after losses — both on the field and in the courtroom (that female kicker case) started piling up.
Goldsmith sold his house in Durham, headed for his wife’s old mountain stomping grounds, and was convinced he’d never coach again. But his coaching flame was rekindled when he watched the movie, “Remember the Titans.” Shortly after that screening, Goldsmith applied for the Franklin job. At age 57, he’s accomplished minor miracles at a school that graduated its whole offense and had not won a playoff game since 1976.
“Having a coach like Fred Goldsmith has raised Franklin’s confidence level,” said Massey. “He’s a big plus for them.”
The Wonders have pluses of their own. Speed and tradition. And for a change, maybe even a size advantage. If they can just ignore the weather and the fact that they’re playing in a galaxy far, far away, they should survive.
“We’re going to treat this game just like it was any other road game,” promised Wonder QB Drew Maher, who has 19 TD passes. “It doesn’t matter where Franklin is or how far it is. We’ll be ready to strap it on.”
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NOTES:Franklin’s a community of 3,000. ... When Goldsmith was at Duke he hired Bob Trott, who had worked with him at Air Force and Arkansas, as defensive coordinator. Trott, who starred for A.L. Brown in 1970 and ’71 is still a Blue Devil. ... The Wonders won’t have linebacker Kendall Carter, who suffered a concussion against Asheville. Massey said fullback Rock Johnson is “banged up,” that safety Shannon Blackmon rolled an ankle and that several kids missed practice with illness. ... Franklin’s been getting the breaks. An inadvertent whistle wiped out a huge Eastern Randolph fumble recovery on a fourth-quarter punt. ... The Wonder-Franklin winner gets the Hickory-Ragsdale survivor. The Wonders would host Hickory. They would travel to unbeaten Ragsdale.
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Contact Mike London at 704-797-4259 or mlondon@salisburypost.com
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