Explosive first quarter sends Wolves to blowout win over Maiden
M 0 0 7 0 — 7
L 21 7 10 0 — 38
First quarter
L—Dee Littlejohn 3 run (Kevin Miller kick), 9:46.
L—Dee Littlejohn 1 run (Miller kick), 5:45.
L—Dee Littlejohn 31 run (Miller kick), 1:23.
Second quarter
L—Brandon Wilson 24 run (Miller kick), 6:06.
Third quarter
L—FG Miller 34, 9:14.
L—Johnathan Gidney 4 pass from Brandon Wilson (Miller kick), 7:22.
M—Holden Cox 34 pass from Dustin Hipps (Ian Oliver kick), 4:46.
LINCOLNTON — An overflow crowd gathered Friday night at Lincolnton Memorial Stadium in anticipation of a barn burner between two unbeatens, Lincolnton and Maiden.
But any chance of another classic between the longtime rivals faded in an explosive first quarter that saw the Wolves bolt to a three-touchdown lead.
The entire second half was little more than window dressing as Lincolnton (3-0) finished off a 38-7 dismantling of the Blue Devils. It was Lincolnton’s fourth straight win in the series.
Both teams had piled up impressive offensive numbers in their first two games, but the Wolves dominated this battle of high-scoring teams.
Quarterback Brandon Wilson ran for one touchdown and passed for another, accounting for 169 yards rushing and another 120 through the air.
On defense, the swarming Wolves held a Maiden attack that had scored 98 points in its first two games to 156 yards of total offense. Lincolnton forced four Maiden turnovers, and big play specialist Michael Cunningham had two the Wolves’ three fumble recoveries.
“Overall, we played well in all phases of the game,” Lincolnton coach Scott Cloninger said. “We just had a great overall game, but I think the two games we played previously (East Rutherford and South Point) prepared us for this game.”
The only mistakes the Wolves appeared to make were a few breakdowns on blocking assignments in the return game.
“About the only thing we screwed up on was blocking behind the ball carrier. In the first half, I think we had three or four touchdowns called back because of that,” Cloninger said. “But we are happy going into the Labor Day weekend with a good win.”
The opening series established the tone for Maiden’s long night as the Blue Devils (2-1) fumbled on the game’s opening series, and Jalen Littlejohn recovered for the Wolves at the Lincolnton 41.
The Wolves needed only four plays to get on the scoreboard, with fullback Dee Littlejohn taking it in from 3 yards out at the 9:46 mark of the first quarter.
Littlejohn added two more scoring runs of 1 and 31 yards later in the opening period to put the Wolves up 21-0.
Quarterback Brandon Wilson added a 24-yard touchdown on an option keeper midway through the second period.
Cunningham made big plays on both sides of the ball in the first half. The 6-0, 204-pound junior rambled 56 yards with a fumble return to set up a score, and Cunningham’s 63-yard burst down the sideline on a screen pass set up Wilson’s run.
Maiden’s best player, junior quarterback Matt Johnson, left the game with what was believed to be a mild concussion early in the second quarter and did not return. Backup QB Dustin Hipps ran the Blue Devil offense for the remainder of the game.
Johnson, who had passed for 389 yards in Maiden’s first two games, was 2-for-5 for 22 yards prior to his premature exit.
