STATESVILLE — If there were any questions concerning A.L. Brown’s football team, there shouldn’t be now.
Not after the sniffin’-the-top Wonders answered all their critics with a resounding 35-14 North Piedmont Conference victory over host Statesville Friday night.
“They’re going to have to notice us now,” all-purpose back Maurice Edwards said after Kannapolis improved to 4-3 overall and 2-0 in league play. “No one can go to sleep on us. You can’t look at our record and think it’s a walk in the park because we’re 4-3.”
These guys are 4-3 with a bullet after racking up 429 yards total offense and winning their third straight game.
The Wonders used a balanced attack and an air-tight defensive effort in the second half to leash the slumping Greyhounds (4-4, 1-2 NPC).
“The defense did a great job in the second half,” said Kannapolis quarterback Drew Maher. “Coach made some adjustments at halftime and the guys went out there and shut them down.”
They shut down a Statesville team still reeling from last week’s stunning 17-14 conference loss to North
Iredell. Kannapolis allowed only 57 second-half yards and no first downs over the final 16 minutes.
But it was offense that helped the Wonders meet another challenge on the road to November. Maher was magnificent, passing for 140 yards and two touchdowns in the first quarter. He steered Kannapolis into the end zone on the game’s opening drive, alternating handoffs to Chris Carter (94 yards) and Edwards (108) before completing a left-side swing pass that Aundrae Allison turned into a 38-yard TD sprint.
“We thought if we could score first and maybe make a few big plays early, it would take them out of the game,” Maher reported. “It felt like that happened.”
It happened again late in the opening period when Maher hit Edwards with a short pass over the middle. But instead of going down, the junior spun out of a crowd and raced 83 yards down the left sideline for a 14-6 lead.
“I had to catch that one,” Edwards smiled afterward. “I had to make that play. I call that willpower.”
The Wonders used another big play — Allison’s 75-yard punt return for a TD — to build a 21-6 lead midway through the second quarter. But Statesville had a quick response, riding the shifty feet of tailback Cam Simpson (14 carries/111 yards) to navigate 68 yards on four just four plays. The Hounds drew within 21-14 when he took a pitchout from quarterback Tyler Combs, broke a tackle and scored his second touchdown on a 25-yard romp late in the period.
Instead of retreating and melting the clock, Kannapolis went back on the offensive. The Wonders advanced from their own 40-yard line to the Statesville 27, where they faced a fourth-and-7 situation with about a minute left in the half. “We needed a big play right there,” said Maher. “And we got it.”
They got when Maher spotted Edwards running a crossing pattern near the first-down marker and fired a 9-yard completion. “That wasn’t my play,” said Edwards, who totaled 224 yards rushing, passing (21) and receiving (95). “But I saw he was under pressure, I saw the first-down marker and I stopped. There was no need to go any farther.”
One snap later, Maher tossed an 18-yard TD pass to the back-pedaling Carter, enabling the Wonders to mount a 28-14 halftime lead. They added a third-quarter score when Carter sprung for a 42-yard gain to the 1-yard line and scored his team-high 11th touchdown one play later.
The victory left Maher — and most of his teammates — brimming with confidence. “Everyone knows by now that we had some tough losses early in the season,” he said. “We were all looking for someone or something to blame. That’s behind us now. Now we come out and we’re ready to hit people in the mouth.”
NOTES: The Wonders celebrate homecoming next week when Northwest Cabarrus visits. ... Defensive back Terry Collins picked off a pass in the fourth quarter but fumbled the ball away after a 44-yard return.
Contact David Shaw at sports@salisburypost.com
.
Today's News
