10-11-22 roundup: Pro basketball and football, High school football, College football, Middle school football, Auto racing

By Richard Walker

When Belmont and Holbrook meet for the Gaston County Conference football championship at 6 p.m. at South Point High’s Lineberger Stadium, a new champion will be crowned.

Belmont is seeking its sixth title and first since 2016, while Holbrook is seeking its fifth title and first since 1995.

Coached by Carey Galbreath, Belmont is 7-0 and has a chance to finish with the best record in school history; The Wildcats finished 7-0 in 1999 and 2009.

Holbrook is coached by Bryan Nichols and is in its first county title game since 2001.

GASTON COUNTY CONFERENCE
Final regular season standings with division records followed by overall records:

(Division I)
Holbrook 3-1, 5-1
Southwest 3-1, 4-2
Cramerton 2-2, 4-2
Mount Holly 1-3, 3-3
Grier 1-3, 2-4

(Division II)
Belmont 5-0, 7-0
York Chester 4-1, 4-3
Stanley 2-3, 2-4
Bessemer City 2-3, 2-5
W.C. Friday 2-3, 2-5
Chavis 0-5, 0-7

(Wednesday’s game)
Holbrook vs. Belmont at South Point HS, 6 p.m.

TRI-COUNTY CONFERENCE
Standings through Oct. 5 with division records followed by overall records:

(West)
East Lincoln 3-1, 4-1
North Lincoln 3-1, 4-1
Kings Mountain 3-1, 3-2
Lincolnton 2-2, 3-2
Burns 1-3, 1-4
West Lincoln 0-4, 1-4

(East)
Crest 4-0, 5-0
Shelby 3-1, 4-1
R-S Central 3-1, 3-2
East Rutherford 1-3, 1-4
Thomas Jefferson 1-3, 1-4
Chase 0-4, 0-5

(Wednesday’s games)
Crest at Shelby
East Lincoln at North Lincoln
East Rutherford at Thomas Jefferson
Kings Mountain at Burns
Lincolnton at West Lincoln
R-S Central at Chase

(Playoffs)
Oct. 19 – semifinals
Oct. 26 – championship game

 

 

 

Pro football

Steve Wilks made it clear at his introductory news conference on Tuesday that he’s determined to improve the Carolina Panthers.

“I didn’t blink whatsoever,” Wilks told reporters when asked if he hesitated at inheriting a 1-4 team. “I’m not worried about the end result. I’m just worried about winning the day and giving us the opportunity to be successful.”

Wilks was hired as interim head coach of the Panthers when Matt Rhule was fired on Monday after Carolina went 11-27 under him in two-plus seasons.

But Wilks, a 1987 West Charlotte High graduate and former Appalachian State graduate, faces a daunting.

As an interim head coach, he faces long odds at even maintaining his head coaching; Since 2000, only 10 of the 40 NFL interim head coaches gone on to be a head coach following season, the last in 2016 (Jacksonville’s Doug Marrone).

The Panthers only interim coach, Cramerton’s Perry Fewell (1980 South Point High graduate) guided Carolina to an 0-4 record in 2019 and hasn’t coached in the NFL since.

And as an African-American interim head coach, the challenge is even more difficult as only three of the 14 African-American interim head coaches were promoted to permanent head coach – Mike Singletary in San Francisco (2009), Leslie Frazier in Minnesota (2011), Romeo Crennel in Kansas City (2012),

Wilks has 12 games including five in the NFC South Division to try and change the Panthers’ sagging fortunes.

“I know what it takes. I’ve been around here when it was good,” said Wilks, who served as a Panthers defensive assistant coach from 2012-17. “We went to a Super Bowl (in 2016). So to be able to get us back to that point is the reason I wanted to accept and take this job.”

Here’s the full Carolina Panthers schedule for the 2022 season:

Week 1, Sept. 11, Cleveland (L 24-26)
Week 2, Sept. 18, at N.Y. Giants (L 16-19)
Week 3, Sept. 25, New Orleans (W 22-14)
Week 4, Oct. 2, Arizona (L 16-26)
Week 5, Oct. 9, San Francisco (L 15-37)
Week 6, Oct. 16, at L.A. Rams, 4:05 p.m.
Week 7, Oct. 23, Tampa Bay, 1 p.m.
Week 8, Oct. 30, at Atlanta, 1 p.m.
Week 9, Nov. 6, at Cincinnati, 1 p.m.
Week 10, Nov. 9, Atlanta, 1 p.m.
Week 11, Nov. 20, at Baltimore, 1 p.m.
Week 12, Nov. 27, Denver, 1 p.m.
Week 13, Dec. 4, BYE
Week 14, Dec. 11, at Seattle, 4:25 p.m.
Week 15, Dec. 18, Pittsburgh, 1 p.m.
Week 16, Dec. 24, Detroit, 1 p.m.
Week 17, Jan. 1, at Tampa Bay, 1 p.m.
Week 18, Jan. 7 or 8, at New Orleans, TBD

 

 

 

 

High school volleyball

Cherryville def. Thomas Jefferson 3-1 (25-23, 25-18, 25-27, 25-12): Rileigh Kiser (31 assists, 11 kills, 6 aces), Emily Allen (12 kills, 9 digs), Carson Reed (8 kills) and Lexi McSwain (8 kills) for Cherryville (12-8 overall, 5-7 Southern Piedmont 1A/2A).

Kings Mountain def. South Point 3-0 (25-9, 25-7, 25-17): Camden Pasour (24 assists, 11 service points, 2 kills, 2 digs), Meile Songaila (15 kills, 6 service points, 5 service points, 1 block, 7 digs), Myracle Davis (16 kills, 1 block), Caroline Barber (10 service points, 15 service points, 8 digs) and Paige Bagwell (9 assists, 5 kills, 3 digs, 1 service point) led Kings Mountain.
The Mountaineers also won the JV match 2-0 (25-13, 25-18) behind Abigail Hedgepath (19 assists, 13 service points), Kenzlie Morris (5 kills, 1 block, 5 service points) and Ava Tipton (9 serve receptions, 6 digs).

Cherryville def. West Lincoln 3-2 (25-22, 13-25, 24-26, 25-23, 15-10 on Monday): Rileigh Kiser (25 assists, 7 aces, 12 digs), Taylor Digh (6 aces, 9 digs), Emily Allen 8 kills, Carson Reed (5 kills) and Gracie Truesdale (5 kills) led Cherryville.

 

 

 

 

 

Middle school softball

TRI-COUNTY CONFERENCE

(Tuesday’s semifinals)
West Lincoln 9, Chase 2
R-S Central def. East Lincoln

(Thursday’s championship game)
R-S Central at West Lincoln, 4:15 p.m.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

High school football

(This week’s Cleveland/Gaston/Lincoln games:)
-Thursday
Shelby at Bessemer City
-Friday
Burns at East Gaston
Cherryville at Thomas Jefferson
Crest at Forestview
East Lincoln at St. Stephens
Foard at North Lincoln
Huss at North Gaston
Kings Mountain at Cramer
Lincolnton at East Burke
Mountain Island Charter at Bishop McGuinness
South Point at Ashbrook
West Lincoln at West Caldwell
Off – Highland Tech

(This week’s other area games:)
West Iredell at Hickory
North Iredell at Statesville
Bandys at Newton-Conover
Bunker Hill at Maiden
North Meck at Chambers
West Meck at Hopewell
Mallard Creek at Hough
Kell at Harding
Palisades at Berry Academy
South Meck at Olympic
Charlotte Catholic at Butler
Independence at East Meck
Providence at Rocky River
Polk County at Chase
R-S Central at East Rutherford
Community School of Davidson at Lake Norman Charter
Clover, S.C. at Blythewood, S.C.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pro basketball

Here is the 2022-23 Charlotte Hornets schedule:

(Preseason)
October
2 at Boston (L 93-134)
5 Indiana (L 97-122)
7 Boston-at Greensboro (L 103-112)
10 Washington (L 107-116)
12 at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.

(Regular season)
October
19 at San Antonio, 8 p.m.
21 New Orleans, 7 p.m.
23 at Atlanta, 5:00 p.m.
26 at New York, 7:30 p.m.
28 at Orlando, 7 p.m.
29 Golden State 7 p.m.
31 Sacramento, 7 p.m.
November
2 at Chicago, 7:30 p.m.
4 at Memphis, 8 p.m.
5 Brooklyn, 7 p.m.
7 Washington, 7 p.m.
9 Portland, 7 p.m.
10 at Miami, 7:30 p.m.
12 at Miami, 8 p.m.
14 at Orlando, 7 p.m.
16 Indiana, 7 p.m.
18 at Cleveland, 7:30 p.m.
20 at Washington, 6 p.m.
23 Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
25 Minnesota, 5 p.m.
28 at Boston, 7:30 p.m.
December
2 Washington, 7 p.m.
3 Milwaukee, 6 p.m.
5 L.A. Clippers, 7 p.m.
7 at Brooklyn, 7:30 p.m.
9 New York, 7 p.m.
11 at Philadelphia, 6 p.m.
14 Detroit, 7 p.m.
16 Atlanta, 7 p.m.
18 at Denver, 8 p.m.
19 at Sacramento, 10 p.m.
21 at L.A. Clippers, 10:30 p.m.
23 at L.A. Lakers, 10:30 p.m.
26 at Portland, 10 p.m.
27 at Golden State, 10 p.m.
29 Oklahoma City, 7 p.m.
31 Brooklyn, 7 p.m.
January
2 L.A. Lakers, 7 p.m.
4 Memphis, 7 p.m.
6 at Milwaukee, 8 p.m.
8 at Indiana, 5 p.m.
10 at Toronto, 7:30 p.m.
12 at Toronto, 7:30 p.m.
14 Boston, 7 p.m.
16 Boston, 1 p.m.
18 at Houston, 8 p.m.
21 at Atlanta, 7:30 p.m.
23 at Utah, 9 p.m.
24 at Phoenix, 9 p.m.
26 Chicago, 7:30 p.m.
29 Miami, 1 p.m.
31 at Milwaukee, 8 p.m.
February
2 at Chicago, 8 p.m.
3 at Detroit, 7 p.m.
5 Orlando, 1 p.m.
8 at Washington, 7 p.m.
10 at Boston, 7:30 p.m.
11 Denver, 7 p.m.
13 Atlanta, 7 p.m.
15 San Antonio, 7 p.m.
24 at Minnesota, 8 p.m.
25 Miami, 7 p.m.
27 Detroit, 7 p.m.
March
1 Phoenix, 7 p.m.
3 Orlando, 7 p.m.
5 at Brooklyn, 6 p.m.
7 at New York, 7:30 p.m.
9 at Detroit, 7 p.m.
11 Utah, 7 p.m.
12 Cleveland, 5 p.m.
14 Cleveland, 7 p.m.
17 Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
20 Indiana, 7 p.m.
23 at New Orleans, 8 p.m.
24 at Dallas, 7:30 p.m.
26 Dallas, 1 p.m.
28 at Oklahoma City, 8 p.m.
31 Chicago, 7 p.m.
April
2 Toronto, 1 p.m.
4 Toronto, 7 p.m.
7 Houston, 7 p.m.
9 at Cleveland, 1 p.m.

 

 

 

 

 

 

College football

This week’s NCAA Division I Carolinas schedule:
-Thursday
Morgan State at North Carolina Central, 7:30 p.m.
-Saturday
Old Dominion at Coastal Carolina, noon
Morehead State at Davidson, 1 p.m.
Elon at Rhode Island, 1 p.m.
Robert Morris at Campbell, 1 p.m.
Edward Waters at North Carolina A&T, 1 p.m.
The Citadel at Wofford, 1:30 p.m.
Virginia Lynchburg at South Carolina State, 1:30 p.m.
Western Carolina at Furman, 2 p.m.
N.C. State at Syracuse, 3:30 p.m.
Gardner-Webb at Liberty, 3:30 p.m.
Charlotte at UAB, 3:30 p.m.
Charleston Southern at Bryant, 4 p.m.
Clemson at Florida State, 7:30 p.m.
Memphis at East Carolina, 7:30 p.m.
North Carolina at Duke, 8 p.m.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Auto racing

The 2022 NASCAR cup schedule (with winners):

Feb. 6 Busch Light Clash (Joey Logano)
Feb. 17 Bluegreen Vacations Duel 1 (Brad Keselowski)
Feb. 17 Bluegreen Vacations Duel 2 (Chris Buescher)
Feb. 20 Daytona 500 (Austin Cindric)
Feb. 27 Wise Power 400 (Kyle Larson)
Mar. 6 Pennzoil 400 (Alex Bowman)
Mar. 13 Ruoff Mortgage (Chase Briscoe)
Mar. 20 Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 (William Byron)
Mar. 27 EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix (Ross Chastain)
Apr. 3 Toyota Owners (Denny Hamlin)
Apr. 9 Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 400 (William Byron-2)
Apr. 17 Food City Dirt Race (Kyle Busch)
Apr. 24 Geico 500 (Ross Chastain-2)
May 2 DuraMAX Drydene 400 (Chase Elliott)
May 8 Goodyear 400 (Joey Logano)
May 15 AdventHealth 400 (Kurt Busch)
May 22 NASCAR All-Star Open (Daniel Suarez)
May 22 NASCAR All-Star (Ryan Blaney)
May 29 Coca-Cola 600 (Denny Hamlin-2)
June 5 Enjoy Illinois 300 (Joey Logano-2)
June 12 Toyota/Save Mart 350 (Daniel Suarez)
June 26 Ally 400 (Chase Elliott-2)
July 3 Kwik Trip 250 (Tyler Reddick)
July 10 Quaker State 400 (Chase Elliott-3)
July 17 Ambetter 301 (Christopher Bell)
July 24 NASCAR Cup Series at Pocono (Chase Elliott-4)
July 31 Verizon 200 at the Brickyard (Tyler Reddick-2)
Aug. 7 FireKeepers Casino 400 (Kevin Harvick)
Aug. 14 Federated Auto Parts 400 (Kevin Harvick-2)
Aug. 21 Go Bowling at The Glen (Kyle Larson-2)
Aug. 27-28 Coke Zero Sugar 400 * (Austin Dillon)
Sept. 4 Cook Out Southern 500 (Erik Jones)
Sept. 11 Hollywood Casino 400 (Bubba Wallace)
Sept. 17 Bass Pro Shops Night Race (Chris Buescher)
Sept. 25 AutoTraderEchoPark Automotive 500 (Tyler Reddick-3)
Oct. 2 YellaWood 500 (Chase Elliott-5)
Oct. 9 Bank of America ROVAL 400 (Christopher Bell)
Oct. 16 South Point 400
Oct. 23 Dixie Vodka 400
Oct. 30 Xfinity 500
Nov. 6 NASCAR Cup Series Championship