KANNAPOLIS — This time, the Wonders (10-0, 7-0 South Piedmont Conference) were
fortunate to escape Northwest alive. The state’s top-ranked 3A team, did not,
however, get out of this game in one piece.Quarterback Justin Hardin, the team’s offensive catalyst, dislocated
his right shoulder on the Wonders’ first possession and did not return.
“Justin wasn’t injured
on a hit, he got hurt when he fell awkwardly,” said Kannapolis coach Bruce Hardin.
“The shoulder came right out of there.”
The senior QB’s status for
Friday’s SPC championship struggle with rival Concord won’t be determined until
X-rays are taken on Monday
Punter Michael Anthony went down
too. Then linebacker/fullback Duran Lipscomb sustained a concussion. Those injuries put
the Wonders in a world of hurt.
Blair Hardin, Justin’s
brother, had to move from cornerback to Lipscomb’s defensive spot, with Deangelo
Collins stepping in at the corner. Prince McCoy filled in at fullback.
Meanwhile, Josh Lee, the
Wonders’ standout junior linebacker, had to take over quarterbacking and punting
duties in addition to calling the defensive signals.
“Lee was a warrior,”
said coach Hardin. “He had to do an awful lot of things for us.”
“We made good yards all
night,” said coachHardin. “Josh did a nice job, but there were little timing
problems. We had some penalties because Josh’s cadence is different from
Justin’s. Josh gets snaps in practice but doesn’t get to work with (first-team
center)Chad Lambert.
“It seemed like all night we
were first-and-10, then first-and 15, then first-and-20.”
But Eric Caldwell scored to finish
the drive on which Hardin was injured for a 7-0 lead and Lee came through each and every
time he had to. Lee’s 38-yard scoring pass to Ryan Craft gave the Wonders a 13-0 lead
by the end of the first quarter.
Kannapolis’ defense, led by
Justin Chambers, Des Williams and Lee Basinger, made those points stand up the rest of the
way, but the Trojans (7-3, 4-3 SPC), coached by Glen Padgett who was at Salisbury last
season, made a fourth-quarter move.
Trojan back Chris Willard finished
off a 10-play, 58-yard drive with a 10-yard TD run with 11:36 left to play to make it
13-7.
Then the Trojans forced a punt.
But Northwest never got a chance for a go-ahead drive. Lee’s boot was muffed and
Santwain Law recovered for Kannapolis at Northwest’s 33.
A personal foul penalty moved the
ball down to the Trojan 12 and Caldwell got the clinching TD from there at the 7:39 mark.
Lee’s conversion pass to Jason Brown made the final 21-7.
“I’m proud that this
team is 10-0, has a playoff spot secured and has a chance for another conference
championship,” said coach Hardin. “As strong as our league is, we’ve had a
great season. But we sure don’t want to stop now.”
n
NOTES: Punter Anthony will be back
next week. ... Marcus Rivens had a 42-yard punt return. ... Kannapolis turned it over
once, while forcing five turnovers, including a Lee interception. ... Lee completed four
of eight passes. |
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