By Bill Kiser
sports@salisburypost.com
KANNAPOLIS ó Jamill Lott knew A.L. Brown had played a terrible game against Marvin Ridge.
Lott also knew his mistakes had played a role in putting the Wonders in a hole against the Mavericks on Monday night.
So when Lott got a chance to make amends, he grabbed it with both hands, scampering in from 7 yards out in overtime to give Brown a 23-20 victory over Marvin Ridge.
“I was going to keep it all the way,” said Lott, who led the Wonders with 93 rushing yards. “I had to make up for all of that.”
He can also thank Brown’s defense, which made a key stop at the goal line on Marvin Ridge’s last possession of regulation that spelled the difference between going into overtime ó and going into the locker room with a loss.
The Mavericks, who had been unable to mount any sort of consistent drives most of the game, finally put one together. They drove 56 yards on 12 plays, and were on the Brown 4 with 1:51 left.
But on the next play, Terrance Johnson knocked the ball out of MR fullback Dylan Williams’ hands 2 yards from the goal line, with Joshua Moss diving on the loose ball in the end zone.
Jordan Day’s 24-yard field goal put Marvin Ridge ahead 20-17 in its overtime possession. But on Brown’s second OT down, Lott faked to Antwoine Jordan heading left, then broke right and raced untouched into the end zone.
“It looks like our conference is going to be pretty competitive, top to bottom,” Wonders head coach Ron Massey said. “It could be like this the rest of the season.”
Jordan added 77 yards rushing and one touchdown for Brown (4-2, 2-1 South Piedmont Conference) ó a 17-yard dash off left tackle in the fourth quarter that tied the game at 17-17 ó and Morgan McDaniel hit a 30-yard field goal in the closing seconds of the first half that tied the score at 10-10.
Johnathan Williams also ran in for a score, a 1-yard dive in the first quarter that put the Wonders ahead. But Williams apparently twisted his left ankle on the play and sat out the rest of the game.
Brown trailed twice, going down 10-7 midway through the second quarter and 17-10 early in the third.
While the Wonders’ defense kept the Mavericks in check for most of the game ó three first downs through the first three quarters ó Marvin Ridge (2-3, 1-1) took advantage of a pair of Brown fumbles inside the 5 to set up two Dylan Williams TD runs.
“No, it wasn’t pretty,” Massey said. “We knew (Marvin Ridge) was a pretty good football team … but we did some dumb things in the first half offensively.”
Add to that a defensive stop the Mavericks made early in the second quarter, pulling Lott down for a safety for Marvin Ridge’s first points of the game, and it was no wonder that the senior quarterback felt he owed his teammates big time.
“We just didn’t execute,” said Lott, who had two of the Wonders’ three fumbles. “We had a lot of turnovers, we missed blocks and we weren’t handling their pressure.”

NOTES: Lott threw for 110 yards on 9-of-18 completions. T.J. Johnson was his favorite target, pulling in six receptions for 80 yards. … Lawrence led the Mavericks with 35 yards rushing, with D. Williams adding 22 yards on seven carries.