In fact, whenever he goes around hat in hand you can bet Hardin’s upset. Mighty upset.

Hardin’s hat was doing a pretty good impression of an eggbeater on Friday night atMemorial Stadium. It was, in fact, flapping in his hands, more than it was anchored on his head.

An army of statisticians couldn’t have kept track of the number of times that Hardin’s headgear was jerked from his noggin in just the last five minutes of the Wonders’ 34-31 win over Central Cabarrus.

That’s right: 34-31. That was the stunning final score in a South Piedmont 3A Conference game that the Wonders (5-0, 2-0 SPC), the state’s top-ranked 3A team, had under complete control at 34-9 until a mind-bending ending that saw three late Central TDs in a span of 4:26.

The word around the South Piedmont 3A Conference this year is that Central Cabarrus isn’t the same old Central anymore.

That word is gospel. New coach Scott Stein has turned things around at a school which hasn’t ventured to the playoffs a single time in the ‘90s. That’s news only slightly less startling than the revelation 507 years ago that the world was round.

This is the school about which graduated Wonder star Nick Gill said last season, “This game was over when we got on the bus to go over there.”

Last year, Kannapolis beat the Vikings 55-14. Prior to that it was 55-0 and 56-0.

This year? Well, let’s just say that the Wonders heaved a hearty sigh of relief when the clock finally ticked to zeroes.

“I don’t know about the past and don’t care,” said Stein. “All I know is we’ve got great athletes who can make plays, and we’ve got kids with no quit in them.”

Stein’s charges proved his points against the Wonders, who looked more like myths than legends down the stretch. Quarterback Clayton Russell (255 passing yards), running back Lamont Reid (187 rushing yards) and receiver Michael Ricks (11 second-half catches) showed they can play for anyone, anywhere, anytime.

Russell and Ricks combined for all three of those late scoring plays — the last with nine seconds left — as Central closed with a rush that made Hurricane Hugo seem like a gentle breeze.

Until that final flurry, it had been a competitive game, but Kannapolis had used big plays to overcome a rash of penalties and pile up a comfortable edge.

Justin Hardin lofted a 77-yard fly-pattern bomb into the arms of burner Ryan Craft and tossed a 12-yard, back-of-the-end-zone dart to brother, Blair Hardin, for his ninth and 10th TD passes of the year. Hardin, the QB, added a plunge for another score after Josh Lee recovered a Central fumble.

Meanwhile, Marcello Stanback (204 yards), who improves every week, was turning two tiny cracks in the Viking defense into scintillating, Nick Maddox-like 34-and 71-yard scoring romps.

“Some teams may not respect my speed, because I’m returning from a serious injury,” said Stanback, who tore an ACL last year. “But I can feel it all coming back because I’m working so hard in practice.”

The Wonders’ defense delivered big plays, too — at least until the frantic finish. It had its hands full with the hard-charging Reid, but Marcus Rivens and Charlie Fox came up with interceptions to turn away two threats by the Vikings (3-3, 2-1 SPC).

Those zany closing minutes, though, when the Wonders failed to cover an onsides kick, had their secondary incinerated by Ricks, and rushed the passer like senior citizens, left a sour-apple taste in the mouth of every player and coach.

“We just lost our focus at the end,” said Craft, who managed to cover Central’s last two onsides kicks, staving off complete collapse. “Our heads got way off course.”

As Craft suggested, things got un-Wonderlike down the stretch. So much so, that it’s a safe bet that the upstart Vikings left Memorial Stadium feeling better than the winners.

“We’re leaving with a load of fight,” said the feisty Stein. “We didn’t back down an inch, and I’m proud of that. We lost to a great football team, but are we happy about losing close? Absolutely not. With better execution, we would have won and that’s what we’re looking for —Ws.”

He’ll likely get more than his share.

Coach Hardin, meanwhile, put out an APB for answers.

“At the end, we were an accident waiting to happen,” he groaned. “We have to finish better. Offensively, we executed well enough except for the penalties. But we had big penalties. They weren’t just 15-yarders, it seemed like they were all costing us 60.

“Defensively, I’m concerned. We couldn’t pressure the quarterback. It looks like we’re gonna have to go out and outscore people, and that’s not good.”

It was the Wonders’ first game as a top-ranked team, so maybe a few heads did swell — at least until the not-so-swell conclusion.

“We had good moments and bad moments,” said a somber Justin Hardin. “Maybe that No.1 ranking was in some heads, but this was an eye-opener. Right now, I sure don’t feel like we’re No.1.”

Coach Hardin must have shared his son’s opinion after a long, frustrating night. Because 15 minutes after the game, his hat still wasn’t back on his head.

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