High school football: West Cabarrus beats Wonders on last play
Published 2:50 am Monday, October 14, 2024
- JON C. LAKEY/SALISBURY POST. Coach Brian Hinson and the Hornets celebrate after a big win against Randleman.
Staff report
CONCORD — Former Catawba College star Brian Hinson, who coached Salisbury High to a state championship and two regional titles, is trying to build a winner at West Cabarrus, a school that never has tasted success in football.
West Cabarrus opened in 2020 and was 0-10 in 2022.
Hinson was hired to try to turn things around prior to the 2023 season.
Hinson’s Wolverines took a big step toward a breakthrough season on Friday with a pulsating 16-14 victory against A.L. Brown (4-3, 2-2). Sam Mendiola kicked a 22-yard field goal on the final snap of the game to give West Cabarrus the win.
West Cabarrus (4-4, 3-1) has won Greater Metro Conference games against Cox Mill, Lake Norman and the Wonders the last three weeks and also upset Northwest Cabarrus in a non-conference game to open the season. The four wins are a school record for the Wolverines. They could make the 4A playoffs for the first time.
It was a sloppy first half. The Wonders dug a hole with fumbles. West Cabarrus forged a 13-0 lead on two TD runs by Daylon Fuller, but Mendiola missed a PAT kick after a penalty made it a 35-yard attempt.
A.L. Brown scored twice late in the first half following West Cabarrus turnovers, one of them a somersaulting fumble recovery by Maddox Langley. CJ Gray took advantage of those short fields and threw two TD passes to Navariy Young. Brian Rojo’s PATs put the Wonders in front 14-13.
Defenses ruled for most of the second half, with both offenses struggling to convert on third downs.
When Gray made a terrific punt of 48 yards to the West Cabarrus 2-yard line with the game entering its final stages, the Wonders appeared to have command, but the Wolverines, who got 188 rushing yards from Fuller, mounted a relentless drive when one more Wonder stop would have meant defeat.
Converting two third-down plays and converting once on fourth down, West Cabarrus drove the ball 93 yards to the A.L. Brown 5. The Wonders wouldn’t allow a TD, but West Cabarrus ran the clock down to 2.5 seconds before Hinson called on Mendiola. He made the decisive kick.
