10-12-22 roundup: Pro basketball and football, High school football and girls golf, College football, Middle school football, softball and boys soccer, Auto racing
By Richard Walker
When South Point visits Ashbrook on Friday, it’ll renew the third-oldest rivalry in Gaston County.
Originally started in 1924 as the Belmont-Gastonia rivalry, Friday’s renewal also gives us a chance to recall the first Ashbrook-South Point contest – and the buildup it received.
Entering that 1975 meeting on Oct. 3, Ashbrook was the defending N.C. 4A champion and South Point had won three league titles and one state title in the previous three seasons in the Southwestern Conference of the old Western N.C. Actitivies Association.
In an era in which overtime wasn’t played, Ashbrook stumbled into the meeting with a 1-2-1 record while South Point was 3-1.
That fact would come into play that night at Lineberger Stadium in Belmont, as the played to a 22-all tie after the Red Raiders stopped Ashbrook at the South Point 2 with one minute left in regulation.
South Point had forged the tie on Carl Middleton’s touchdown run and Donnie James’ two-point pass to Cotton McCullough earlier in the fourth quarter.
After the contest, Ashbrook sputtered along to finished 3-4-3 overall and fourth in the first-year Western 4A Conference while South Point won its next two games before closing the season on a three-game losing streak that left it at 5-4-1 overall and in sixth place of the 12-team Southwestern Conference in the next-to-last year of the WNCHSAA. (The WNCHSAA folded and joined the existing N.C. High School Athletic Association in 1977.)
In the years since, the Ashbrook-South Point matchup has been largely dominated by the Red Raiders, who now hold a 30-28-4 all-time series advantage that includes a currently 16-game winning streak that started in 2006.
Gastonia had a 12-3-1 lead in the Belmont series that began on Oct. 14, 1924.
The only Gaston County series that are older are the East Gaston-South Point series that began on Sept. 24, 1923 as Mount Holly-Belmont and the Ashbrook-East Gaston series that began on Nov. 16, 1923 as Gastonia-Mount Holly.
Other long county series are Bessemer City-South Point (started as Bessemer City-Belmont in 1925), Bessemer City-East Gaston (started as Bessemer City-Mount Holly in 1926), Cherryville-South Point (started at Cherryville-Belmont in 1926), Ashbrook-North Gaston (started as Gastonia-Dallas in 1927), Cherryville-East Gaston (started at Cherryville-Mount Holly in 1927) and Bessemer City-Cherryville (1930).
Here’s a look at the other Cleveland/Gaston/Lincoln games this week:
(Thursday)
Shelby at Bessemer City: Shelby leads the all-time series 9-1, including 63-0 last season.
(Friday)
Burns at East Gaston: Burns leads the all-time series 10-9-1, including 45-38 in double overtime last season.
Cherryville at Thomas Jefferson: Thomas Jefferson leads the all-time series 8-1, including 20-12 last season.
Crest at Forestview: Crest leads the all-time series 10-3, including 30-0 last season.
East Lincoln at St. Stephens: St. Stephens leads the all-time series 23-12, but East Lincoln won 42-6 last season.
Foard at North Lincoln: Foard leads the all-time series 3-2, but North Lincoln won 49-3 last season.
Huss at North Gaston: Huss leads the all-time series 27-4, but North Gaston won 20-19 last season to end its 24-game losing streak.
Kings Mountain at Cramer: Kings Mountain leads the all-time series 5-0, including 41-28 last season.
Lincolnton at East Burke: Lincolnton leads the all-time series 2-0, including 35-20 last season.
Mountain Island Charter at Bishop McGuinness: Mountain Island Charter won 47-0 last season in the only meeting between the teams.
West Lincoln at West Caldwell: West Lincoln leads the all-time series 14-6, including 35-12 last season.
Off – Highland Tech
Here are the area standings through Oct. 7 with conference records followed by overall records:
(Big South 3A)
Kings Mountain 4-0, 7-0
South Point 3-1, 6-1
Crest 3-1, 5-2
Ashbrook 2-2, 3-4
Forestview 2-2, 3-4
Cramer 1-3, 3-4
Huss 1-3, 2-5
North Gaston 0-4, 0-7
(Southern Piedmont 1A/2A)
Shelby 3-0, 4-3
Burns 3-0, 6-1
East Gaston 3-0, 5-2
Bessemer City 2-2, 2-6
Cherryville 1-2, 3-4
Thomas Jefferson 0-4, 0-7
Highland Tech 0-4, 0-8
(Western Foothills 3A)
East Lincoln 4-0, 7-0
Hickory 3-1, 5-2
Statesville 3-1, 4-3
St. Stephens 2-2, 3-4
North Lincoln 2-2, 2-5
North Iredell 1-3, 1-6
West Iredell 1-3, 1-6
Foard 0-4, 0-7
(Catawba Valley 2A)
Bunker Hill 4-0, 7-0
Maiden 4-0, 6-1
Lincolnton 3-1, 4-3
West Lincoln 2-2, 5-2
Newton-Conover 2-2, 3-4
Bandys 1-3, 2-5
East Burke 0-4, 1-6
West Caldwell 0-4, 0-7
(Queen City 3A/4A)
Hough 4-0, 6-1
Mallard Creek 3-0, 5-2
West Charlotte 2-2, 4-4
Chambers 1-1, 4-2
North Meck 1-2, 4-3
Hopewell 0-3, 2-5
West Meck 0-4, 4-4
(Southern Meck 4A)
Olympic 3-0, 7-0
Kell 3-0, 6-1
Myers Park 3-1, 3-5
South Meck 2-1, 4-3
Harding 1-2, 2-5
Palisades 0-4, 1-6
Berry Academy 0-4, 1-7
(Southwestern 4A)
Butler 4-0, 7-1
Catholic 4-0, 6-1
Independence 2-1, 6-1
East Meck 1-2, 2-5
Rocky River 1-2, 2-5
Providence 0-3, 2-5
Garinger 0-4, 0-8
(Others)
Mtn Isl Charter 0-4, 2-4
Chase 3-0, 7-0
East Rutherford 0-4, 1-7
R-S Central 1-3, 3-5
Lk Nor Charter none, 4-3
(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.
(Cleveland/Gaston/Lincoln individual statistical leaders)
All with 300 or more yards
Passing
Ny’Tavious Huskey, Crest 1830
Daylin Lee, Shelby 1798
Justin Rocquemore, Cramer 1548
Tyler Mizzell, East Lincoln 1312
Lamont Littlejohn, Kings Mtn 1149
Jameer Holmes, Bessemer City 992
Trent Sherrill, East Gaston 875
Andre Bost, Lincolnton 755
Jaxson Hill, Forestview 655
Chase Miller, Cherryville 410
Conner Carson, North Lincoln 363
Tiger Coffin, Mtn Isl Charter 345
Rushing
Mason Avery, West Lincoln 1597
Cam Medlock, South Point 943
Sirr Stovall, East Gaston 936
Carmelo Bess, Ashbrook 869
Cody Morse, North Lincoln 792
Christopher Daley, East Lincoln 732
Patrick Blee, South Point 638
Jaylin Winnex, West Lincoln 597
Khamoni Heath, Lincolnton 554
Aiden Carson, Crest 455
Justin Rocquemore, Cramer 453
Chase Johnson, East Gaston 414
Christian Holland, Forestview 395
Teddy Jeffries, Kings Mountain 370
Ny’Tavious Huskey, Crest 369
Mark O’Dell, Cramer 367
Terrance Smith, Bessemer City 354
Bricen Kee, Shelby 350
J.J. Gordon, North Gaston 349
Nate Eaton, Mtn Isl Charter 339
Caleb Holland, Kings Mountain 334
Ben Summey, East Gaston 301
Receiving
Javarius Green, Crest 944
Izay Bridges, Shelby 681
Ja’Keith Hamilton, Shelby 590
Isaiah Johnson, Cramer 508
Markel Clark, East Lincoln 502
Tyler Ward, Cramer 471
Jvontre Duff, Bessemer City 414
Randall Pettus, Bessemer City 377
Keandre Walker, East Lincoln 363
Eli Falls, Shelby 315
Sirr Stovall, East Gaston 300
Middle school football
Wednesday’s scheduled 2022 Gaston County Conference football championship game was postponed due to inclement weather.
The Holbrook-Belmont title game that will be played at South Point High’s Lineberger Stadium has been moved to Monday at 6 p.m.
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
(Monday’s game)
Holbrook vs. Belmont at South Point HS, 6 p.m.
Wins by Shelby and R-S Central forced a three-way tie between Crest, R-S Central and Shelby for the East Division regular season title.
A drawing was held in which Shelby drew the No. 1 seed, R-S Central the No. 2 seed and Crest was eliminated from the playoffs.
The official pairing for next week’s semifinals will be determined whenever Wednesday’s postponed East Lincoln at North Lincoln game is played; A North Lincoln would make it the No. 1 West seed (with Kings Mountain No. 2) and an East Lincoln win would make Kings Mountain the No. 1 West seed (with East Lincoln No. 2).
TRI-COUNTY CONFERENCE
Standings through Oct. 5 with division records followed by overall records:
(West)
Kings Mountain 4-1, 4-2
East Lincoln 3-1, 4-1
North Lincoln 3-1, 4-1
Lincolnton 3-2, 4-2
Burns 1-4, 1-5
West Lincoln 0-5, 1-5
(East)
Crest 4-1, 5-1
Shelby 4-1, 5-1
R-S Central 4-1, 4-2
Thomas Jefferson 2-3, 2-4
East Rutherford 1-4, 1-5
Chase 0-5, 0-6
(Wednesday’s games)
Shelby 14, Crest 7: Crest had a 45 yard touchdown pass from Brock Melton to Jahmere Canady and a Carson Grier PAT. The Dragons’ defense was led by Javion Hopper, Malachi Gamble, Khali Clark and Melton.
East Lincoln at North Lincoln, ppd., no date
Thomas Jefferson 22, East Rutherford 20
Kings Mountain 8, Burns 0
Lincolnton 42, West Lincoln 0
R-S Central 33, Chase 20
(Playoffs)
Oct. 19 – semifinals
Oct. 26 – championship game
High school girls golf
East Lincoln won its first conference title since 2009 on Tuesday at Cowan’s Ford when it won the Western Foothills 3A title.
The Mustangs won five of six league matches this season and will be participating in the 3A regionals next Tuesday at Cedar Rock Golf Club in Lenoir.
East Lincoln was led by Kyla Callahan, who finished the season one stroke shy of being named league player of the year.
Pro football
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
Middle school softball
TRI-COUNTY CONFERENCE
(Tuesday’s semifinals)
West Lincoln 9, Chase 2
R-S Central 10, East Lincoln 3
(Thursday’s championship game)
R-S Central at West Lincoln, 4:15 p.m.
Middle school boys soccer
TRI-COUNTY CONFERENCE
(Tuesday’s semifinals)
East Lincoln 5, Shelby 1
Thomas Jefferson 2, Burns 0
(Thursday’s championship game)
Thomas Jefferson at East Lincoln
Pro basketball
The Charlotte Hornets closed their 2022 preseason schedule with an 0-5 record following a 99-94 loss at the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday.
Gordon Hayward (16 points, 7 rebounds), Terry Rozier (12 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists) and Mason Plumlee (6 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists) led the Hornets, who were without LaMelo Ball (left ankle), P.J. Washington (right ankle) and Cody Martin (left knee tendinopathy) with injuries.
Charlotte opens its regular season on Oct. 19 at San Antonio.
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 (L 94-98)
(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