Staff report

SKYLAND— A.L. Brown played a football playoff game on Friday about eight miles south of Asheville and about eight miles north of insanity.

The wild final score in the 3AA West bracket first-round matchup:  Wonders 56, T.C. Roberson Rams 50. That tells a lot.

The last time the schools got together on a football field, in the 2005 state playoffs, A.L. Brown won 39-38 in two overtimes.

There were no overtimes on Friday, but even more touchdowns.

The 10th-seeded Wonders trailed the seventh-seeded Rams 14-13 after a quarter, trailed 28-21 at halftime, and still trailed 43-36 after three quarters. But the Wonders (8-3) won the fourth quarter and live to play again.They’ll ride back to the mountains next Friday, to Boone, to take on No. 2 seed Watauga (11-1). The Watauga Pioneers demolished Cuthbertson, 61-21, on Friday.

Jakhiry Bennett turned in one of the more amazing games in A.L. Brown’s rich history. He scored five touchdowns, including the decisive one. He rushed 28 times for 322 yards and four scores. He also caught a 75-yard touchdown pass.

Cam Kromah threw for 178 yards. Todd Kennedy had 12 carries for 63 yards.

A.L. Brown needed all of it because T.C. Roberson QB Brody Whitson had the game of his career with 32-for-53 passing for 445 yards and six touchdowns. Rodney McDay had 16 catches for 199 yards and three TDs for the Rams (5-7). Cameron Phillips had 14 catches for 203 yards and three TDs.

T.C. Roberson couldn’t stop A.L. Brown from running the ball, but the Wonders struggled to handle the Rams’ passing game.

The Wonders caught up at 50-all after a 42-yard TD pass from Kromah to Jose Vargas with 3:23 left.

After the Wonders came up with a fumble recovery with under three minutes to play, Bennett scored the tie-breaking TD with 1:14 left.

It’s hard to believe, but T.C. Roberson hasn’t won a football playoff game in 12 years.

 

3AA West

(10) A.L. Brown           13      8    15    20   — 56

(7) T.C. Roberson      14    14    15     7     — 50