BY STEVE HANF
SALISBURY POST

KANNAPOLIS—Northwest Cabarrus held onto the football an amazing 17 minutes, 50 seconds of the first half Friday night.

But it was a split second in which the Trojans didn’t have the ball in the opening 24 minutes that played a key role in A.L. Brown’s 35-7 romp.

The Wonders scored three touchdowns in a span of 2:19 to blow open the close 3A North Piedmont Conference contest at Memorial Stadium.

A.L. Brown scored with 1:22 left to play in the half, then stole the momentum by converting a Shelton Roseboro fumble on Northwest’s ensuing possession into a 21-7 halftime lead.

Then, on its first drive of the second half, A.L. Brown needed just three plays and 52 seconds to take a 28-7 advantage.

“They controlled the clock, moved the football methodically. We were looking at going in 7-7 at half,”Wonders head coach Ron Massey said. “Fortunately we got the quick score, our defense got the quick turnover and we were able to put another one in right before half. That gave us a little more breathing room.”

And it took all the air out of the Trojans, who had executed their game plan to near perfection. Northwest scored on a 17-play, 8:59 drive to tie the game at 7-all. The Wonders owned possession for all of 6:10 in the half, yet led 21-7.

“For 21 minutes, we did exactly what we had to do to be able to compete in this game,”Northwest head coach Glen Padgett said. “They stuck that one in, we turned the ball over and gave them an easy one, and that really hurt.”

A.L. Brown (5-3 overall, 3-0 NPC) doesn’t play much of a possession game, of course. It’s not necessary when players like Andre “Touché” Allison and Chris Carter can score in the blink of an eye.

The Wonders needed just six plays and 90 seconds to race 66 yards on their opening drive. On fourth-and-9 from the Northwest 38, Massey called for the punt team, then put the offense back on the field. Quarterback Drew Maher flipped a screen pass to Carter, who raced toward the first-down marker — and tip-toed the rest of the way to the end zone down the left sideline.

The Trojans (4-5, 0-4) responded, however. Roseboro carried the ball 10 times on Northwest’s next drive, steadily marching 78 yards. His 1-yard plunge tied the game. After the squads exchanged punts, Maher and his mates took the field with 3:32 left in the half on only their third offensive series.

“They just did a good job of eating the clock and holding onto it,”said Maher, who finished 8-for-12 with 197 yards. “We were ready to get back in there and get some points on the board.”

Maher rifled a pass to Allison between a pair of defenders for a 24-yard score with 1:22 remaining in the half. After the kickoff, Roseboro ran up the middle and had the ball knocked out from behind. Wonder senior Robert Clark, who also intercepted a pass, picked up the loose ball, and the Wonder offense reached the end zone 13 seconds later on Dale King’s 2-yard run.

Maher opened the third quarter with a pretty play fake and hit a wide open Carter down field for a 40-yard score. Allison capped it with 5:15 to play in the period when he took a screen pass and danced his way 43 yards for the 35-7 lead.

“Carter and Allison are just great play-makers,” Padgett said. “They can score from anywhere on the field any time they get the ball.”

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Contact Steve Hanf at 704-797-4287 or shanf@salisburypost.com .