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Wonders left standing in playoffs
Photo By James Nix
Kannapolis' Travis Riley finds running room against Asheville Erwin in the second round of the NCHSAA 3AA playoffs Friday night at Kannapolis Memorial Stadium. The Wonders won 44-27 to advance.
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Published: November 25, 2009
KANNAPOLIS - If a team is still playing high school football after Thanksgiving, they're doing something right.
Playing in December makes for even rarer company.
That's the goal for the Kannapolis Wonders and the South Point Red Raiders, who meet tonight at 7:30 at Kannapolis Memorial Stadium in an NCHSAA 3AA quarterfinal game.
This is no new experience for these two programs. South Point has been a quarterfinalist for three years running, and the Wonders were state runners-up a year ago.
South Point and A.L. Brown have met four times, two of them playoff games.
The most recent game was in 2002, when South Point won 55-17 during the regular season. One year earlier, the Wonders prevailed 33-30.
In 2000, Ron Massey's first season as Kannapolis head coach, South Point won a second-round playoff game in Belmont 38-31 in double overtime. And in 1992, host Kannapolis beat the Red Raiders 24-16 in the playoffs, also in the second round.
For years, South Point — coached by John Devine — has run a triple-option attack. Only the names change as the Red Raiders pressure defenses.
The challenge for the Wonders is clear: make sure each option is covered, tackle effectively and try to force either a turnover or a punt.
The flip side is that success on the offensive side by the Wonders can keep the South Point offense off the field while providing points for Kannapolis.
The primary challenge for Wonders' opponents this season has been containing junior running back Travis Riley, who has rushed for nearly 2,000 yards and 32 touchdowns this season.
Senior running back Antwoine Jordan is up to 850 yards with 11 TDs. Junior quarterback Martel Campbell's running and passing was key in last Friday's victory over Asheville Erwin as the South Piedmont Conference champion Wonders' offense kicked into high gear.
South Point's offense has been led by quarterback Josh Justice with 213 carries for 1,518 yards and
16 touchdowns and fullback Aaron Crumbley with 228 carries for 1,068 yards and 25 TDs.
Justice is 38 of 82 passing for 776 yards and eight TDs. His leading receiver is Shane Merrill, with 17 catches for 373 yards and five TDs.
The Wonders are the No. 3 seed and South Point is seeded No. 7. Both teams have 11-2 records.
The Wonders' two losses this season, to South Rowan and Concord, were by a total of five points. Last year in the quarterfinal round, the Wonders finally beat Charlotte Catholic, in a thriller.
A one-point loss to Gastonia Forestview cost South Point the conference championship this season and a better seeding. The Red Raiders avenged that loss last week with a convincing 35-14 win.
South Point's defense held Forestview to 28 yards in the second half of the playoff win. Crumbley rushed for 184 yards and three TDs as the Red Raiders amassed 320 yards on the ground.
Friday's winner will face top-seeded Northern Guilford (12-1) or 12th-seeded Anson County (9-4) for a berth in the state final.
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