Brian Gutierrez’s 22-yard field goal lifts A.L. Brown past No. 1 Vance
Brian Gutierrez kicked a 22-yard field goal with 2 minutes, 9 seconds to play and Kannapolis A.L. Brown held off a desperation drive by Vance with a red-zone interception to take a 24-21 victory against the Cougars, ranked No. 1 in the Observer’s Sweet 16, on Friday night at Kannapolis Memorial Stadium.
Quarterback Zacc Williamson threw two touchdown passes and running back Tyrek Cagle rushed for another as the Wonders vaulted into a tie with Mallard Creek for the early lead in the MECKA 4A race.
Quarterback Kingsley Ifedi rushed for 85 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries, and completed 19 of 31 passes for 241 yards, but also threw three interceptions.
The last one, at the Vance 1 in the final seconds by Wonders cornerback Nakohr Wise, stopped the Cougars’ final drive after Gutierrez had given A.L. Brown the lead for only the second time.
The teams settled into a grittier game after a back-and-forth first quarter than ended in a 14-14 tie.
Brown grabbed a 21-14 lead about 2 1/2 minutes into the second half, after an interception and 45-yard return by Equarius Baldwin gave the Wonders the ball at the Vance 1. Cagle crashed into the end zone from there one play later.
Vance struck back with a time-consuming 87-yard drive that ended in a 1-yard touchdown run by Jeremiah Hall on the first play of the fourth quarter.
Records: Vance 5-1, 0-1; A.L. Brown 5-1, 2-0.
Worth mentioning: Vance appeared to be considering going for the tie on its last drive, bringing out kicker Odavion Bush-Smiley for what would have been a 34-yard field goal attempt, but Cougars coach Aaron Brand reconsidered and ran a play, getting the first down anyway when the Wonders jumped offsides on fourth-and-3.
What’s Next: Vance will host West Charlotte in the Cougars’ homecoming game at 7 p.m. Friday; A.L Brown will play at Concord Robinson at 7:30 p.m. in a nonconference game.
Vance 14-0-0-7-21
Brown 14-0-7-3-24
V – Kingsley Ifedi 13 run (Odavion Bush-Smiley kick)
B – Sherard Sutton 10 pass from Zacc Williamson (Brian Gutierrez kick)
V – Ifedi 3 run (Bush-Smiley kick)
B – Ja’querius Bost 52 pass from Williamson (Gutierrez kick)
B – Tyrek Cagle 1 run (Gutierrez kick)
V – Jeremiah Hall 1 run (Bush-Smiley kick)
B – Gutierrez 22 FG
This story was originally published September 30, 2016 at 11:02 PM with the headline "Brian Gutierrez’s 22-yard field goal lifts A.L. Brown past No. 1 Vance."