10-19-22 roundup: Pro basketball and football, High school football, boys soccer, girls tennis, cross country and volleyball, College football, Middle school football, Auto racing

By Richard Walker

After a turbulent offseason, an 0-5 preseason and the injury to All-Star guard LaMelo Ball, expectations were mighty low for the Charlotte Hornets entering Wednesday’s 2022-23 regular season opener at San Antonio.

The Hornets responded with a fast start that they maintained for a 129-102 victory over the Spurs.

It improved Charlotte to 13-20 all time in season-openers and the 27-point margin of victory was the Hornets’ largest in a season opener.

The Hornets made eight of their first 12 shots before setting another franchise record with a 38-22 first quarter lead; Charlotte’s 38 points were the most in team history in the opening quarter of the opening game of the season.

Terry Rozier (24 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists) led a balanced attack in which all five starters reached double figures two more reached double digits off the bench as starters Gordon Hayward (20 points, 5 rebounds), P.J. Washington (17 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists), Kelly Oubre (13 points) and Mason Plumlee (12 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists) and reserves Nick Richards (19 points, 10 rebounds) and Dennis Smith (12 points, 4 assists) all made contributions.

Charlotte (1-0) now turns its attention to Friday’s home opener against Zion Williamson and the New Orleans Pelicans; The Hornets are 16-16 all time in previous home openers. Ball (left ankle) is likely to still be out of action.

Here is the 2022-23 Charlotte Hornets schedule:

October
19 at San Antonio (W 129-102)
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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Middle school football

TRI-COUNTY CONFERENCE

(Playoffs)
Oct. 19 – No. 2 West (R-S Central) at No. 1 East (Kings Mountain) – R-S Central 20-0
Oct. 24 – No. 2 East (East Lincoln) at No. 1 West (Shelby)
Oct. 26 – Championship game: R-S Central at EL-Shelby winner

 

 

 

 

 

High school boys soccer

Forestview 4, Huss 0: Christian Tyler scored two goals and Steve Camacho and Rylan Miller had one apiece for Forestview.

 

 

 

 

 

High school cross country

Big South 3A Conference: South Point swept to the league title in boys and girls in Tuesday’s meet at the Ashbrook High course.

Kings Mountain’s Isaiah Watts was the boys individual winner with a time of 17:54.24 on the 5,000-meter course and Forestview’s Emily Raspanti (21:17.1) was the girls individual winner.

Both winning teams placed their top five scorers among the top 11 finishers.

Boys team scores:
1. South Point 39
2. Kings Mountain 45
3. Huss 81
4. Crest 113
5. Forestview 114
6. Ashbrook 130
No score for Cramer, Huss

Boys top 10 individuals:
1. Isaiah Watts (So.) Kings Mountain 17:54.24
2. Jordan Granados (Sr.) Cramer 18:05.58
3. Max Thompson (So.) Kings Mountain 18:05.76
4. Ben Kimmel (Jr.) Huss 18:28.89
5. Mason Braswell (Sr.) South Point 18:54.05
6. Davis Adcock (Sr.) South Point 18:57.12
7. Luke Denton (So.) Forestview 19:19.09
8. Hunter Cruise (Jr.) Kings Mountain 19:38.01
9. Ruffin Johnson (Sr.) South Point 19:39.50
10. Johnny Cruz Servin (Jr.) Ashbrook 19:42.41

Girls team scores:
1. South Point 28
2. Kings Mountain 54
3. Forestview 57
4. Crest 96
5. Ashbrook 144
No score for Cramer, Huss and North Gaston

Girls top 10 individuals:
1. Emily Raspanti (So.) Forestview 21:13.71
2. Divinity Ervin (Sr.) Kings Mountain 21:23.90
3. Lexi Birtwistle (Jr.) South Point 22:04.53
4. Oshauna Holland (Fr.) Cramer 22:22.06
5. Maddie Frank (Jr.) South Point 22:26.23
6. Brooke Waseman (So.) Kings Mountain 22:58.57
7. Claire Frank (Fr.) South Point 23:10.49
8. Rachel Tolbert (So.) South Point 23:17.61
9. Savannah Powell (Jr.) Cramer 23:22.23
10. Ellory Lamp (So.) Cramer 23:47.29

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

High school volleyball

Kings Mountain def. Crest 3-0 (25-11, 25-18, 25-15 on Tuesday): Meile Songaila (9 digs, 5 service points, 12 service points, 16 kills, 4 blocks), Myracle Davis (17 kills, 6 blocks, 4 digs), Paige Bagwell (18 assists, 15 digs, 5 service points, 2 kills), Camden Pasour (14 assists, 8 digs, 5 service points, 3 kills) and Caroline Barber (6 assists, 10 digs, 15 service points, 22 service points) led Kings Mountain as it completed an unbeaten Big South 3A Conference season (14-0).
The Mountaineers also won the JV match 2-0 (25-18, 25-21) behind Abigail Hedgepath (13 assists, 5 kills, 5 digs, 3 service points), Ruby Osborne (4 kills, 3 blocks), Megan Harrison (6 kills, 6 digs) and Kenzlie Morris (3 kills, 1 block, 6 service points).

 

 

 

 

 

High school tennis

Here are Wednesday’s first round pairings:

(Class 1A)
No. 4 Highland Tech (10-3) hosts No. 13 Piedmont Community Charter (3-7)

(Class 2A)
No. 8 Shelby (11-2) hosts Wheatmore (12-7)
No .7 West Lincoln (15-2) hosts Mount Pleasant (9-6)
No. 2 Lincoln Charter (15-0) hosts Southwestern Randolph (10-5)

(Class 3A)
No. 1 Kings Mountain (8-0) hosts West Henderson (10-4)
No. 5 North Lincoln (14-1) hosts Hickory (9-2)
No. 11 East Lincoln (12-2) at W-S Atkins (11-2)
No. 15 Forestview (8-2) at Franklin (14-0)

 

 

 

 

 

Pro football

The Carolina Panthers could have more options at quarterback this week as Sam Darnold returned to returned to practice on Wednesday after being designated to return from injured reserve and Baker Mayfield was shown doing some running drills on the side.

Interim head coach Steve Wilks announced later on Wednesday that P.J. Walker would get his second straight start at quarterback – and fourth of the his career – with Jacob Eason again his backup.

Walker made his first start of this season in Sunday’s 24-10 loss at the Los Angeles Rams but left with a neck injury in the fourth quarter and was replaced by Eason.

With Darnold taken off injured reserve and Mayfield, the starter in the first five games, showing improvement from an ankle injury he suffered in the 37-15 home loss to San Francisco on Oct. 9, there was speculation Wilks would change starting quarterbacks.

Carolina has the lowest-ranked offense in the 32-team NFL.

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 (L 10-24)
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

(This 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

(This 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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

College football

(This weekend’s NCAA Division I Carolinas schedule:)
-Wednesday
Appalachian State 42, Georgia State 17
-Saturday
North Carolina A&T at Robert Morris, noon
Syracuse at Clemson, noon
Duke at Miami, 12:30 p.m.
Elon at New Hampshire, 1 p.m.
St. Thomas-Minnesota at Presbyterian, 1 p.m.
North Carolina Central at South Carolina State, 1:30 p.m.
Furman at VMI, 1:30 p.m.
The Citadel at Western Carolina, 2 p.m.
Davidson at Drake, 2 p.m.
Boston College at Wake Forest, 3:30 p.m.
Florida International at Charlotte, 3:30 p.m.
Gardner-Webb at Charleston Southern, 6 p.m.
Texas A&M at Soth Carolina, 7:30 p.m.
Central Florida at East Carolian, 7:30 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-2)
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-3)
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 (Joey Logano-4)
Oct. 23 Dixie Vodka 400
Oct. 30 Xfinity 500
Nov. 6 NASCAR Cup Series Championship