10-14-21 roundup: High school football, boys soccer and volleyball, Pro basketball and football, Middle school football and volleyball, College football
By Richard Walker
Seven players in Cleveland, Gaston and Lincoln counties have surpassed 1,000 yards with three weeks left in the 11-week season.
Mountain Island Charter’s Dylan Bisson is the top yardage-gainer with 2,503 yards passing in seven games. Shelby’s Daylin Lee (1,588), Cramer’s Justin Rocquemore (1,351), Burns’ Ben Mauney (1,303) and North Gaston’s Kandan Zollo (1,083) also have surpassed 1,000 yards passing.
Two running backs have surpassed 1,000 yards – South Point’s Tyson Riley (1,397) and Crest’s Mari Adams (1,022).
And Burns’ Ryan Thompson is the leader of a tight battle for tops in receiving yards with 767. The Mountain Island Charter duo Reginald Taylor (763) and Cole Hart (708) are close behind.
Here are the top passing, rushing and receiving leaders for schools that have reported their statistics through Oct. 8: (Statistics unavailable for Ashbrook, Highland Tech and Forestview and Huss stats unavailable for Oct. 11 game)
Passing yards
Dylan Bisson, Mtn Isl Charter 2,503
Daylin Lee, Shelby 1,588
Justin Rocquemore, Cramer 1,351
Ben Mauney, Burns 1,303
Kandan Zollo, North Gaston 1,083
Trenton Sherrill, East Gaston 835
Austin Parker, Forestview 702
Nytavious Huskey, Crest 822
Chase Miller, Cherryville 695
Lamont Littlejohn, Kings Mtn 616
Rushing yards
Tyson Riley, South Point 1,397
Mari Adams, Crest 1,022
Mason Avery, West Lincoln 959
Justin Hill, East Gaston 930
Markel McKinney, East Gaston 744
Brennen Rogers, North Lincoln 731
Justice Cooper, Bessemer City 692
Cooper Sloan, Cherryville 652
Ben Patton, Mtn Isl Charter 553
Kyle Kovalchuk, North Lincoln 537
Receiving yards
Ryan Thompson, Burns 767
Reginald Taylor, Mtn Isl Charter 763
Cole Hart, Mtn Isl Charter 708
Brian Coley, North Gaston 482
Izy Bridges, Shelby 442
Dameian Bentley, Cramer 441
Trae Nickelson, Mtn Isl Charter 423
Aiden Cloninger, East Gaston 386
Markell Clark, East Lincoln 361
Landon Hahn, Cherryville 361
Here’s the matchups for this week’s high school football games:
Ashbrook at South Point, ppd. no date
Cramer at Kings Mountain
Series: Kings Mountain leads 4-0
Storyline: Cramer has been competitive only once in the series – a 28-23 loss in 2018 – but enters on a two-game winning streak. Kings Mountain has won six straight to improve to 6-1.
Forestview at Crest
Series: Crest leads 9-3
Storyline: Forestview has won four of its last five to move into title contention while Crest is 4-0 in league play and 4-2 overall following alast week’s 38-28 loss at longtime rival Shelby.
North Gaston at Huss
Series: Huss leads 24-3
Storyline: Both teams enter the game eager for a first win; North Gaston was off last week after losing its first seven and Huss (0-5) has had two ot its games cancelled this season.
Bessemer City at Shelby
Series: Shelby leads 8-1
Storyline: Bessemer City has shown offensive firepower at times this season while Shelby (6-1, 3-0) is picking up momentum towards its season-ending showdown with county rival Burns.
East Gaston at Burns
Series: Burns leads 9-8-1
Storyline: The Warriors (5-2) have their longest winning streak in 15 years. Another win would put East Gaston into title contention. Burns (5-2, 3-0) has routed its last three opponents by a combined 178-7 margin.
Thomas Jefferson at Cherryville
Series: Thomas Jefferson leads 7-1
Storyline: Cherryville stopped a five-game losing streak in last week’s 50-14 win at Highland Tech. Thomas Jefferson has lost three straight games after starting 3-0.
Christ the King at Highland Tech
Series: Highland Tech leads 3-1
Storyline: Christ the King edged Highland Tech 14-7 in the spring when it was a conference matchup. Now the non-conference game looks to be Highland Tech’s (0-7) best chance for a victory this year.
St. Stephens at East Lincoln
Series: St. Stephens leads 23-11
Storyline: One of the oldest rivalries in East Lincoln history is resumed for the first time since 2002. East Lincoln (5-2, 2-2) had won two straight after losing its first two league games.
North Lincoln at Foard
Series: Foard leads 3-1
Storyline: North Lincoln has won five of its last six games and will look to keep that momentum going against the winless Tigers (0-6), who had scored 14 points all season.
East Burke at Lincolnton
Series: Lincolnton leads 1-0
Storyline: First matchup ever between East Burke and Lincolnton; The only previous game was in 1957 when Lincolnton won 24-20 at Valdese. Lincolnton has won three straight since an 0-4 start.
West Caldwell at West Lincoln
Series: West Lincoln leads 13-6
Storyline: West Lincoln celebrates homecoming against a longtime rival; The Rebels played Gamewell-Collettsville 15 times from 1962 to 1976 before West Caldwell opened as a consolidation of Gamewell-Collettsville and Lenoir high schools in 1977.
Bishop McGuinness at Mountain Island Charter
Series: First meeting
Storyline: The host Raptors look to keep winning the Catawba Shores 1A Conference.
Other area games:
Hickory at West Iredell
Statesville at North Iredell
Newton-Conover at Bandys
Maiden at Bunker Hill
Lake Norman Charter at Community School of Davidson
Chambers at North Meck
Hopewell at West Meck
Hough at Mallard Creek
Berry Academy at West Charlotte
Harding at Kell
Olympic at South Meck
Butler at Catholic
East Meck at Independence
Rocky River at Providence
Chase at Polk County
A.C. Reynolds at R-S Central
Here are standings through Oct. 11 with conference record listed first followed by overall record:
BIG SOUTH 3A
Kings Mountain 4-0, 6-1
Crest 4-0, 4-2
Forestview 3-1, 4-3
Cramer 2-2, 4-3
South Point 2-2, 4-3
Ashbrook 1-3, 1-4
Huss 0-4, 0-5
North Gaston 0-4, 0-7
WESTERN FOOTHILLS 3A
Statesville 4-0, 6-0
North Lincoln 3-1, 5-2
Hickory 3-1, 4-3
East Lincoln 2-2, 5-2
North Iredell 2-2, 2-4
West Iredell 1-3, 1-4
St. Stephens 1-3, 1-5
Foard 0-4, 0-6
CATAWBA VALLEY 2A
Maiden 4-0, 7-0
Bunker Hill 4-0, 7-0
Lincolnton 3-1, 3-4
West Lincoln 2-2, 5-2
Newton-Conover 2-2, 2-4
Bandys 0-3, 2-3
East Burke 0-3, 1-4
West Caldwell 0-4, 0-6
SOUTHERN PIEDMONT 1A/2A
Shelby 3-0, 6-1
Burns 3-0, 5-2
East Gaston 3-0, 5-2
Cherryville 1-2, 2-5
Thomas Jefferson 1-3, 3-3
Bessemer City 1-3, 2-6
Highland Tech 0-4, 0-7
SOUTH MECK 4A
Myers Park 3-0, 6-2
Olympic 2-0, 5-1
South Meck 1-1, 5-2
Kell 1-1, 4-2
Berry Academy 1-3, 2-4
Harding 0-3, 2-6
SOUTHWESTERN 4A
Catholic 4-0, 6-1
Butler 4-0, 5-2
Providence 1-2, 3-4
Independence 1-2, 2-4
Rocky River 1-2, 2-5
East Meck 1-2, 1-6
Garinger 0-4, 0-7
QUEEN CITY 3A/4A
Hough 4-0, 7-0
Chambers 2-1, 6-1
North Meck 2-1, 4-2
Mallard Creek 2-1, 3-2
West Charlotte 2-2, 5-2
Hopewell 0-3, 1-6
West Meck 0-4, 3-5
OTHERS
Chase 1-1, 6-1
Clover 1-0, 2-3
Mtn Island Charter 3-1, 6-1
R-S Central 2-2, 2-4
Lk Norman Charter 0-0, 5-1
High school athletics
Crest High School will honor two of its greatest athletes on Friday when it retires the jerseys of football star Jonathan Bullard and softball star Bailey Smith.
Bullard, a 2012 Crest High graduate who will on his Atlanta Falcons bye week, was a two-time Big South Conference defensive player of the year at Crest before becoming an All-SEC performer at Florida and playing six NFL seasons for the Chicago Bears (2016-19), Seattle Seahawks (2020) and Falcons (2021).
And Smith, a 2010 Crest High graduate, was a two-time Big South Conference player of the year for the Chargers who had a 24-2 pitching record in her senior season as Crest finished 25-3 overall and as N.C. 3A state runner-up. She later played at Spartanburg Methodist and Anderson University.
Middle school football
Tri-County Conference standings through Oct. 14 with division record listed first followed by overall record:
(East)
East Lincoln 5-0, 6-0
Kings Mountain 4-1, 4-2
Burns 3-2, 3-2
North Lincoln 2-3, 3-3
Lincolnton 0-4, 1-4
West Lincoln 0-4, 0-5
(West)
Crest 5-0, 5-1
Shelby 3-1, 5-1
R-S Central 3-2, 4-2
East Rutherford 2-2, 2-3
Thomas Jefferson 1-4, 1-5
Chase 0-5, 0-6
Thursday’s games
Crest 14, Shelby 12: Lyrik Pettis had a 5-yard touchdown, Romeo Sanders a two-point conversion reception and Brock Melton’s 20-yard touchdown pass to Davarious Surratt with 30 seconds left was the game-winning for Crest (5-1), which won the West Division regular season title. SUrratt, Eli Black, Tavian Whisnant, Michael Edwards and Paxton Dobbins lead the Dragons’ defense.
R-S Central 28, Chase 8
Oct. 18 game
East Rutherford at Shelby
Oct. 20 game
West Lincoln at Lincolnton
(Playoffs)
Oct. 20 semifinals: West-2 (Shelby) at East-1 (East Lincoln), East-2 (Kings Mountain) at West-1 (Crest)
Oct. 27 championship game
Middle school volleyball
Gastonia’s Piedmont Community Charter School won the Carolina Beltway Conference championship on Wednesday at Union Academy in Monroe.
After going 6-4 in the regular season to finish as a No. 4 seed in the tournament, the Patriots won three straight games on Wednesday. Piedmont Community Charter beat Bradford Prep 2-0 (25-16, 27-25), Covenant Classical 2-1 (32-30, 5-25, 15-6) and Gray Stone Academy 2-1 (19-25, 25-23, 18-16).
All-tournament selections for the Patriots were Chloe Baker, Sofia Gibson, Kiara Capistran and Madelyn Wyatt.
Pro basketball
The Charlotte made three transactions on Thursday, including res-signing LiAngelo Ball.
LiAngelo Ball, the older brother of Hornets guard LaMelo Ball, appeared in five games with the Hornets at the 2021 MGM Resorts Summer League in Las Vegas and averaged 9.6 points, 2.0 rebounds, 1.6 steals and 17.4 minutes per game.
The Hornets also whittled their roster down to 19 after waiving guard Jalen Crutcher and forward Cameron McGriff.
Crutcher played in one game in the preseason, finishing 1-3, and McGriff didn’t play in a preseason game.
Here is the team’s full regular season schedule:
OCTOBER
Wed. 20 INDIANA 7:00
Fri. 22 at Cleveland 7:00
Sun. 24 at Brooklyn 4:00
Mon. 25 BOSTON 7:00
Wed. 27 at Orlando 7:00
Fri. 29 at Miami 7:30
Sun. 31 PORTLAND 7:00
NOVEMBER
Mon. 1 CLEVELAND 7:00
Wed. 3 at Golden State 10:00
Fri. 5 at Sacramento 10:00
Sun. 7 at LA Clippers 9:00
Mon. 8 at L.A. Lakers 10:30
Wed. 10 at Memphis 8:00
Fri. 12 NEW YORK 7:00
Sun. 14 GOLDEN STATE 7:00
Wed. 17 WASHINGTON 7:00
Fri. 19 INDIANA 7:00
Sat. 20 at Atlanta 7:30
Mon. 22 at Washington 7:00
Wed. 24 at Orlando 7:00
Fri. 26 MINNESOTA 7:00
Sat. 27 at Houston 8:00
Mon. 29 at Chicago 8:00
DECEMBER
Wed. 1 at Milwaukee 8:00
Sun. 5 at Atlanta 6:00
Mon. 6 PHILADELPHIA 7:00
Wed. 8 PHILADELPHIA 7:00
Fri. 10 SACRAMENTO 7:00
Mon. 13 at Dallas 8:30
Wed. 15 at San Antonio 8:30
Fri. 17 at Portland 10:00
Sun. 19 at Phoenix 8:00
Mon. 20 at Utah 9:00
Thu. 23 at Denver 9:00
Mon. 27 HOUSTON 7:00
Wed. 29 at Indiana 7:00
JANUARY
Sun. 2 PHOENIX 7:00
Mon. 3 at Washington 7:00
Wed. 5 DETROIT 7:00
Sat. 8 MILWAUKEE 7:00
Mon. 10 MILWAUKEE 7:00
Wed. 12 at Philadelphia 7:00
Fri. 14 ORLANDO 7:00
Mon. 17 at New York 1:00
Wed. 19 at Boston 7:30
Fri. 21 OKLAHOMA CITY 7:00
Sun. 23 ATLANTA 7:00
Tue. 25 at Toronto 7:00
Wed. 26 at Indiana 7:00
Fri. 28 L.A. LAKERS 7:00
Sun. 30 LA CLIPPERS 1:00
FEBRUARY
Wed. 2 at Boston 7:30
Fri. 4 CLEVELAND 7:00
Sat. 5 MIAMI 7:00
Mon. 7 TORONTO 7:00
Wed. 9 CHICAGO 7:30
Fri. 11 at Detroit 7:00
Sat. 12 MEMPHIS 7:00
Tue. 15 at Minnesota 8:00
Thu. 17 MIAMI 7:00
Fri. 25 TORONTO 7:00
Sun. 27 DETROIT 7:00
Mon. 28 at Milwaukee 8:00
MARCH
Wed. 2 at Cleveland 7:00
Sat. 5 SAN ANTONIO 7:00
Tue. 8 BROOKLYN 7:00
Wed. 9 BOSTON 7:00
Fri. 11 at New Orleans 8:00
Mon. 14 at Oklahoma City 8:00
Wed. 16 ATLANTA 7:00
Sat. 19 DALLAS 7:00
Mon. 21 NEW ORLEANS 7:00
Wed. 23 NEW YORK 7:00
Fri. 25 UTAH 7:00
Sun. 27 at Brooklyn 7:30
Mon. 28 DENVER 7:00
Wed. 30 at New York 7:30
APRIL
Sat. 2 at Philadelphia 12:30
Tue. 5 at Miami 7:30
Thu. 7 ORLANDO 7:00
Fri. 8 at Chicago 8:00
Sun. 10 WASHINGTON TBD
Pro football
The Carolina Panthers will have a new punter in Sunday’s home game against the Minnesota Vikings.
With Joseph Charlton, who had punted in the team’s first five games, going on injured reserve with a back injury, the team has added Ryan Winslow to the practice squad. The expectation is that Winslow will be on the active roster for Sunday’s game.
Winslow has had a couple of stints with the Arizona Cardinals, and Carolina special teams coordinator Chase Blackburn said his experience as a holder for current Panthers kicker Zane Gonzalez in Arizona there was a factor in his signing.
“They worked together there, so they’ve done some stuff,” Blackburn told the media on Thursday. “There’s a decent amount of familiarity there. He spent time here pre-practice in the stadium and during walk-throughs and stuff, getting the mechanics of it, and going through it. Same with the punt mechanics.”
Here is the Carolina Panthers’ 2021 schedule (with results):
Sept. 12 New York Jets (W 19-14)
Sept. 19 New Orleans (W 26-7)
Sept. 23 at Houston (W 24-9)
Oct. 3 at Dallas (L 28-36)
Oct. 10 Philadelphia (L 18-21)
Oct. 17 Minnesota, 1 p.m.
Oct. 24 at New York Giants, 1 p.m.
Oct. 31 at Atlanta, 1 p.m.
Nov. 7 New England, 1 p.m.
Nov. 14 at Arizona, 4:05 p.m.
Nov. 21 Washington, 1 p.m.
Nov. 28 at Miami, 1 p.m.
Dec. 5 BYE WEEK
Dec. 12 Atlanta, 1 p.m.
Dec. 18 or 19 at Buffalo, TBD
Dec. 26 Tampa Bay, 1 p.m.
Jan. 2 at New Orleans, 1 p.m.
Jan. 9 at Tampa Bay, 1 p.m
College football
Here’s the Carolinas Division I schedule this week:
(Tuesday)
Louisiana 41, Appalachian State 13
(Friday)
Clemson at Syracuse, 7 p.m.
(Saturday)
Duke at Virginia, 12:30 p.m.
Samford at Wofford, 1:30 p.m.
Miami at North Carolina, 3:30 p.m.
Morgan State at S.C. State, 3:30 p.m.
Vanderbilt at South Carolina, 4 p.m.
N.C. A&T at Kennesaw State, 5 p.m.
The Citadel at Furman, 6 p.m.
Hampton at Charleston Southern, 6 p.m.
Presbyterian at Davidson, 7 p.m.
N.C. State at Boston College, 7:30 p.m.
Here’s the Carolinas Division II schedule this week:
(Saturday)
Elizabeth City State at Lincoln, Pa., 1 p.m.
Lenoir-Rhyne at Carson-Newman, 1 p.m.
Virginia Union at Chowan, 1 p.m.
St. Augustine’s at Winston-Salem State, 1:30 p.m.
Shaw at Livingstone, 1:30 p.m.
J.C. Smith at Fayetteville State, 2 p.m.
North Greenville at Delta State, 2 p.m.
Bluefield State at Erskine, 4 p.m.
Catawba at Newberry, 4 p.m.
Mars Hill at Limestone, 4 p.m.
UNC-Pembroke at West Virginia State, 6 p.m.
Wingate at Barton, 6 p.m.
High school boys soccer
Here are the standings through Oct. 14 with conference record listed first followed by overall record:
BIG SOUTH 3A
Cramer 10-0, 16-2
Forestview 8-2, 11-4-1
Ashbrook 6-4, 8-5
South Point 7-3, 11-6
North Gaston 4-6, 6-8-1
Huss 2-7-1, 5-7-1
Kings Mountain 2-7-1, 3-10-1
Crest 0-10, 0-14
SOUTHERN PIEDMONT 1A/2A
Shelby 9-0, 14-1-1
Highland Tech 8-1, 10-3
Burns 5-5, 8-5-1
Thomas Jefferson 5-4, 5-6
East Gaston 3-6, 4-13
Bessemer City 1-7, 2-10
Cherryville 0-8, 1-11-1
OTHERS
Gaston Christian 3-2, 5-8
Gaston Day 5-0, 13-2
East Lincoln 6-3-1, 8-6-2
North Lincoln 3-7, 7-10
Lincolnton 7-0-1, 9-0-3
West Lincoln 0-10, 2-15
Lincoln Charter 2-5, 6-9-1
Mtn Island Charter 0-8, 3-11
Piedmont CC 8-1, 10-2
This week’s schedule:
(Monday)
Cramer 9, Crest 0
Forestview 4, Ashbrook 1
South Point 3, Huss 0
North Gaston 3, Kings Mountain 2
MAC tournament – SouthLake Christian 4, Gaston Christian 3
Hickory 2, East Lincoln 1
North Lincoln 2, Statesville 0
Lincolnton 2, Newton-Conover 2 (OT)
Maiden 3, West Lincoln 2
Community School of Davidson 6, Mountain Island Charter 1
Christ the King 3, Lincoln Charter 1
(Tuesday)
Highland Tech 6, East Gaston 3
Shelby 2, Burns 0
Thomas Jefferson 9, Cherryville 1
MAC tournament – Gaston Day 9, SouthLake Christian 0
Piedmont CC 5, Sugar Creek 1
(Wednesday)
North Gaston 3, Ashbrook 2
Cramer 5, Huss 1
South Point 5, Crest 1
Forestview 8, Kings Mountain 1
Cherryville at Shelby, ppd., Oct. 18
Hickory 2, North Lincoln 0
East Lincoln 3, Statesville 2
Bunker Hill 4, West Lincoln 0
Lincolnton at Bandys, no report
Lincoln Charter 5, Mountain Island Charter 4
(Thursday)
Kings Mountain at Alexander Central, no report
Thomas Jefferson 9, Bessemer City 1
Highland Tech 4, Burns 3
Bunker Hill at Lincolnton, no report
MAC tournament – Gaston Day 1, Concord Academy 0
Piedmont CC at Cabarrus Charter, no report
High school volleyball
Standings through Oct. 13:
BIG SOUTH 3A
Kings Mountain 13-0, 17-2
Crest 9-1, 16-1
South Point 9-4, 10-9
Forestview 7-6, 12-7
Cramer 5-7, 9-10
North Gaston 4-6, 5-12
Ashbrook 1-11, 1-13
Huss 0-13, 1-16
SOUTHERN PIEDMONT 1A/2A
Highland Tech 10-0, 15-2
East Gaston 10-1, 14-5
Cherryville 8-4, 12-12
Burns 5-5, 8-7
Thomas Jefferson 4-8, 6-11
Bessemer City 1-10, 1-16
Shelby 1-11, 1-16
Gaston County Sports Hall of Fame
The Gaston County Sports Hall of Fame auction began on Wednesday
The proceeds will go to a scholarship fund for Gaston County students to attend Belmont Abbey College.
To bid on vacation trips, golf outings, orthodontics, restaurant gift cards, car service, sporting events, kid camps, spa treatments, sporting goods and other itmes, go to gastoncountysportshof.com and click on “auction.”