10-15-22 roundup: Pro basketball and football, High school football, College football and baseball, Middle school football, Auto racing
By Richard Walker
As a player, Steve Wilks quarterbacked West Charlotte to the 1986 N.C. 4A state title game, helped Appalachian State into 1989 and 1991 NCAA Division I-AA playoffs as a defensive back and played for one of the city’s first professional teams – the Charlotte Rage of the Arena Football League.
As a coach, he’s been an assistant at eight different colleges ranging from Charlotte’s NCAA Division II Johnson C. Smith to Missouri of the SEC and been a NFL assistant for four teams including his homeetown Carolina Panthers and a NFL head coach for the Arizona Cardinals.
Now interim head coach for the Panthers after Matt Rhule was fired after five games of his third season as head coach, Wilks has the tall task of trying to turn his hometown team around after a 1-4 start.
“I know what it takes,” said Wilks, a Panthers’ assistant from 2012 to 2017 when the franchise won three straight NFC South titles and made four playoff appearances highlighted by Super Bowl 50 in the 2015-16 season. “I’ve been around here when it was good. We went to a Super Bowl. So to be able to get us back to that point is the reason I wanted to accept and take this job.”
A 1987 West Charlotte High graduate, Wilks faces a high bar if he’s to remain as full-time head coach.
Panthers owner David Tepper said on Monday he gave Wilks “no promises” about having his interim status lifted and that Wilks would be considered for the full-time job “if he does an incredible job.”
With 12 games left in the season, including five in the division, Wilks’ tenure starts with a game at the defending Super Bowl Champion Los Angeles Rams on Sunday at 4:05 p.m. in a game in which he will start third-team quarterback P.J. Walker in hopes that an offense ranked 32nd (and last) in the NFL can show improvement.
Wilks has already acted swiftly with his staff moves; He fired two of Rhule’s longtime assistant coaches — defensive coordinator Phil Snow and special teams coach Ed Foley — and promoted Al Holcomb to top defensive play-caller.
He also referred to potential changes in his frank assessment of the 1-4 Panthers.
“We’re sitting at a point to where right now if you do the same thing over and over again, you know the definition — that’s insanity,” Wilks said.
In Wilks’ first head coaching job, he guided the Cardinals to a 3-13 record in 2018.
Gameday: Carolina Panthers (1-4) at Los Angeles Rams (2-3), 4:05 p.m. on Sunday
TV: FOX (Kevin Kugler, Mark Sanchez, Laura Okmin)
RADIO: FM 99.7 in Charlotte is flagship station (Anish Shroff, Jake Delhomme, Luke Kuechly, Kristen Balboni, Jim Szoke)
THE SERIES: Carolina leads the all-time series 13-9 including a 30-27 victory in their last meeting in 2019. The teams were NFC West Division rivals from 1995 to 2001 when the Rams were located in St. Louis.
RANKINGS AMONG NFL (After Week 5): Carolina offense – 32nd overall, 27th rushing, 28th passing. Carolina defense – 20th overall, 27th rushing, 17th passing. Los Angeles offense – 26th overall, 32nd rushing, 18th passing. Los Angeles defense – 11th overall, 11th rushing, 13th passing.
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 football
History was nearly set in Gaston County football on Friday night.
When Dwayne Fields completed a 98-yard touchdown pass to Seth McEachern in Mountain Island Charter’s 28-7 win at Kernersville Bishop McGuinness, it set a Raptors school record, was one yard shy of a county record and was the first touchdown pass of 90 or more yards since 2017.
Ashbrook holds the county record with a pair of 99-yard touchdown passes – the first in 2004 from Cole Russell to Clay Patton and the second in 2013 from Austin Mitchell to Z’Andre Givens.
The last touchdown pass of 90 or more yards in the county came in 2017 when South Point’s Scottie Lee threw a 91-yard scoring strike to Ray Grier Rose.
Here are the area standings through Oct. 14 with conference records followed by overall records:
(Big South 3A)
Kings Mountain 5-0, 8-0
South Point 4-1, 7-1
Crest 4-1, 6-2
Ashbrook 2-3, 3-5
Forestview 2-3, 3-5
Huss 2-3, 3-5
Cramer 1-4, 3-5
North Gaston 0-5, 0-8
(Southern Piedmont 1A/2A)
Burns 4-0, 7-1
Shelby 4-0, 5-3
East Gaston 3-1, 5-3
Bessemer City 2-3, 2-7
Cherryville 1-3, 3-5
Thomas Jefferson 1-4, 1-7
Highland Tech 0-4, 0-8
(Western Foothills 3A)
East Lincoln 5-0, 8-0
Hickory 4-1, 6-2
Statesville 4-1, 5-3
North Lincoln 3-2, 3-5
St. Stephens 2-3, 3-5
North Iredell 1-4, 1-7
West Iredell 1-4, 1-7
Foard 0-5, 0-8
(Catawba Valley 2A)
Maiden 5-0, 7-1
Bunker Hill 4-1, 7-1
Lincolnton 4-1, 5-3
West Lincoln 3-2, 6-2
Newton-Conover 2-3, 3-5
Bandys 2-3, 3-5
East Burke 0-5, 1-7
West Caldwell 0-5, 0-8
(Queen City 3A/4A)
Mallard Creek 4-0, 6-2
Hough 4-1, 6-2
Chambers 3-1, 6-2
West Charlotte 2-2, 4-4
North Meck 1-3, 4-4
West Meck 1-4, 5-4
Hopewell 0-4, 1-7
(Southern Meck 4A)
Olympic 4-0, 8-0
Kell 4-0, 7-1
Myers Park 3-1, 3-5
South Meck 2-2, 4-4
Harding 1-3, 2-6
Berry Academy 1-4, 2-7
Palisades 0-5, 1-7
(Southwestern 4A)
Butler 5-0, 8-1
Catholic 4-1, 6-2
Independence 3-1, 7-1
Providence 1-3, 3-5
East Meck 1-3, 2-6
Rocky River 1-3, 2-6
Garinger 0-4, 0-8
(Others)
Mtn Isl Charter 1-4, 3-4
Chase 4-0, 8-0
East Rutherford 0-5, 1-8
R-S Central 2-3, 4-5
Lk Nor Charter none, 4-4
(Friday’s Cleveland/Gaston/Lincoln games:)
Shelby 45, Bessemer City 0 (Thursday)
Kings Mountain 63, Cramer 24
East Lincoln 55, St. Stephens 3
South Point 28, Ashbrook 19
Burns 44, East Gaston 0
Thomas Jefferson 26, Cherryville 20
Crest 51, Forestview 7
North Lincoln 55, Foard 17
Huss 22, North Gaston 15
Lincolnton 21, East Burke 17
Mountain Island Charter 28, Bishop McGuinness 7
West Lincoln 62, West Caldwell 20
Off – Highland Tech
(Friday’s other area games:)
Hickory 56, West Iredell 30
Statesville 37, North Iredell 13
Bandys 21, Newton-Conover 14
Maiden 36, Bunker Hill 33
Chambers 41, North Meck 7
West Meck 22, Hopewell 6
Mallard Creek 13, Hough 9
Kell 36, Harding 0
Berry Academy 13, Palisades 10
Olympic 28, South Meck 22
Butler 20, Charlotte Catholic 19
Independence 53, East Meck 0
Providence 42, Rocky River 12
Chase 48, Polk County 27
R-S Central 48, East Rutherford 8
Community School of Davidson 42, Lake Norman Charter 0
Blythewood, S.C. 21, Clover, S.C. 7
(Next week’s Cleveland/Gaston/Lincoln games:)
Ashbrook at Kings Mountain
Cherryville at Burns
Crest at Huss
East Burke at West Lincoln
East Gaston at Shelby
East Lincoln at North Iredell
Forestview at South Point
Lincolnton at Maiden
North Gaston at Cramer
North Lincoln at West Iredell
Thomas Jefferson at Highland Tech
Winston-Salem Carver at Mountain Island Charter
Off – Bessemer City
(Next week’s other area games:)
Hickory at Foard
St. Stephens at Statesville
West Caldwell at Bandys
Newton-Conover at Bunker Hill
Chambers at West Charlotte
Hopewell at North Meck
Hough at West Cabarrus
West Meck at Mallard Creek
Kell at Olympic
Palisades at Harding
Myers Park at South Meck
Charlotte Catholic at East Meck
Garinger at Providence
Independence at Rocky River
Chase at Patton
East Rutherford at Polk County
Lake Norman Charter at Pine Lake Prep
Clover, S.C. at Fort Mill, S.C.
Middle school football
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 championship game)
Holbrook vs. Belmont at South Point HS, 6 p.m.
TRI-COUNTY CONFERENCE
Standings through Oct. 12 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
East Lincoln at North Lincoln, ppd., Monday, Oct. 17
Thomas Jefferson 22, East Rutherford 20
Kings Mountain 8, Burns 0
Lincolnton 42, West Lincoln 0
R-S Central 33, Chase 20
(Oct. 17 game)
East Lincoln at North Lincoln
(Playoffs)
Oct. 19 – No. 2 West (R-S Central) at No. 1 East, No. 2 East at No. 1 West (Shelby)
Oct. 26 – championship game
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 (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
North Carolina Central 59, Morgan State 20
-Saturday
Old Dominion 49, Coastal Carolina 21
Davidson 28, Morehead State 26
Rhode Island 17, Elon 10
Campbell 41, Robert Morris 10
North Carolina A&T 45, Edward Waters 7
Wofford 31, The Citadel 16
South Carolina State 36, Virginia Lynchburg 0
Furman 47, Western Carolina 40
Syracuse 24, N.C. State 9
Liberty 21, Gardner-Webb 20
UAB 34, Charlotte 20
Charleston Southern 24, Bryant 23
Clemson 34, Florida State 28
East Carolina 47, Memphis 45 (4 OT)
North Carolina 38, Duke 35
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