Staff report

CONCORD — Central Cabarrus ended years of frustration against A.L. Brown on Friday, winning a major 3A matchup, 33-30, in overtime.

Central had lost 25 straight times to the Wonders since the first meeting in 1981.

This was the South Piedmont Conference opener for both teams.

Regulation ended in a 27-all tie after the Wonders (4-3, 0-1) fought back from 14-0 and 24-14 deficits.

Central won the coin toss to start overtime and elected to play defense first. After holding the Wonders to a field goal by Alex Gutierrez, the Vikings scored the decisive touchdown on a run by DeAndre Boykins.

Boykins and KeShawn Harvey had rushing touchdowns as Central (7-0, 1-0) jumped on the Wonders for a two-TD lead in the early going.

The Wonders’ rally began with a long kickoff return by Nick Lyerly. Lyerly’s rushing TD made it 14-7.

A Jordan Medley-to-Steven Robinson 80-yard pass play got the Wonders even at 14-all, and A.L. Brown’s defense was dominant in the second quarter.

Central made halftime adjustments and had taken a 24-14 advantage when Medley broke a 54-yard scoring run on the last play of the third quarter.

Medley had an 80-yard scoring dash to tie the game at 27-all with 8:51 remaining.

Medley nearly won the game with about four minutes left in regulation, but he was hit by Boykins and fumbled near the Central goal.  Kalil Lemons made the key recovery.

The Wonders turned it over four times, with two interceptions and two fumbles, and that, ultimately, made the difference.

Medley had more than 200 rushing yards and topped 150 passing yards.

Workhorse Henry had almost 200 rushing yards for the Vikings.  Nico Soriano kicked two field goals.

Next week A.L. Brown hosts Cox Mill (5-2, 1-0 SPC), a 27-7 winner over Concord.

Central moves on to another showdown at Northwest Cabarrus (7-0, 1-0 SPC). NWC whipped Robinson, 37-7, on Friday.