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Not ‘Wonder’ful, but still good enough

BY MIKE LONDON
SALISBURY POST

That simple statement speaks volumes about this year’s edition of the Wonders.

If last year’s Wonders had surrendered 18 points at Memorial Stadium, it would have been cause for a senate investigation. Dozens of Towel Citians would have been jumping off bridges and Hardin and his assistants would have been making dinner reservations to chew more than a few rear ends at practice.

But this Wonder team, unlike the last two, is human — very human — and Hardin recognizes that fact.

And he recognizes that Friday’s win over a decent Statesville team — while far from flawless — was at least a starting point for this band of Wonders, which is using a brand new offense and only sees Florida State freshman Nick Maddox’s friendly face on ESPN instead of in their huddle.

“I think people doubted this team after our scrimmage against Crest on Saturday” said Hardin. “I heard little comments, little ouches from fans all week.

“But the coaches believe in these kids. We’re seeing an awful lot of good things.”

Most of those good things are on the offensive side of the ball.

Statesville (0-2) held 4A Davie County to 17 points last week. The Wonders’ new offense — which showcases the option abilities of quarterback Justin Hardin — piled up 20 points in the first 18 minutes of action.

Hardin sped for 87 yards and two TDs and threw for another 121 yards.

Justin’s brother, Blair, coach Hardin’s other twin son, contributed a 63-yard punt return for a TD, on which a Wonder wall of Chad Tuttle, Matt Crosby and Gerrell McCrae obliterated a busload of Greyhounds.

The Wonders’ running back replacement platoon wasn’t earthshaking, but did punch the ball into the end zone three more times. Five backs combined for 141 yards, approximating a decent half from Mr. Maddox. Marcello Stanback scored to cap the Wonders’ first possession and added a fourth-quarter dash to pay dirt. Eric Caldwell powered into the end zone with 4:32 left in the third quarter to give the Wonders a 33-6 lead.

Twenty-nine seconds after Caldwell’s score, however, the Wonders became pretty ordinary. Because on one bizarre play, three burly Wonders— Mike Davis, Shawn Davis and Des Williams — went down with cramps. Defensively, the Wonders were porous the rest of the night.

“We lost our continuity once the cramping started,” said coach Hardin. “We had to start patching personnel together.’’

Statesville took advantage of what had become a crazy-quilt Wonder defense to punch in two TDs in a two-minute span, temporarily closing its deficit to 33-18.

That was news, because the Hounds hadn’t scored a point against the Wonders the past two seasons. Statesville actually enjoyed a big statistical edge in the second half, racking up over 200 yards of offense after intermission.

But stats are still only stats. The Wonders weren’t in serious jeopardy after one huge first-quarter sequence by Justin Hardin.

Hardin came out of the gate nervous and heaved an interception that helped the Hounds score to get within 7-6. And on the Wonders’ next sequence, Hardin was quickly in a third-and-11 mess. But that’s when the senior hit Justin Chambers with a 25-yard pass, kept the ball for 12 yards, fired to Ryan Craft for 15 yards, and then bolted 31 yards himself for a score — four straight big plays which put the Wonders in command to stay.

“I guessI was putting pressure on myself early,” Hardin said. “But then my teammates calmed me down and I was able to say to myself, ‘Whoa, slow down and just play your game.’ After that first completion, I relaxed.’’

Then in the second half, his brother’s punt return helped everyone on the Wonder side of the stands relax, as well.

“We don’t have a superstar this year,” Justin said. “But this team is close. If we stick together, we can still be pretty good.’’

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NOTES: Chris Gibson intercepted a pass for the Wonders. ... Linebacker Josh Lee, who was a terror all night, recovered a fumble for the Wonders. ... Statesville’s Korby Jones galloped for 102 yards. ... Stanback had two big kickoff returns to give the Wonders excellent field position. ... Justin Hardin threw two interceptions, only three fewer than he had all last season.