10-31-21 roundup: Pro football and basketball, High school football, boys soccer, volleyball and girls tennis, College football, Middle school football, boys soccer, volleyball and wrestling
By Richard Walker
After losing four straight games, Carolina Panthers coach Matt Rhule earlier this week said his team needed to follow a conservative game plan that featured running the football, limiting turnovers and relying on your defense.
Despite a hiccup on the game’s first play, the Panthers did just that in a 19-13 win at Atlanta.
Carolina evened its record at 4-4 by rushing 47 times for 203 yards and limiting the Falcons to 213 yards total offense on a day in which starting quarterback Sam Darnold was again replaced in the fourth quarter.
This time, Darnold was forced out of action after it was determined he had a concussion after the last of his eight running plays for 66 yards that came just two plays before what proved to be a decisive touchdown run from Chuba Hubbard.
Hubbard had 82 yards on 24 carries to lead the Panthers’ first 200-yard road rushing game since 2014 and its first game with 40 or more carries since 2018.
Having 40 or more rushing attempts has historically been a sure fire winner for the Panthers; Carolina is 25-3 all-time in game in which it has 40 or more carries, including an amazing 11-0 on the road.
And it all came after Hubbard fumbled on the game’s first play from scrimmage that led to an early Atlanta field goal.
But after Zane Gonzalez booted his second 50-yard field goal – he had field goals of 51 and 57 yards and converted four field goals overall – closed Carolina within 10-9 at the half, the Panthers dominated the Falcons in the second half.
Carolina outgained Atlanta 332-243 overall, including 153-102 in the second half.
The Panthers also intercepted Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan twice, both in Carolina territory; Shaq Thompson intercepted Ryan in the first half after Atlanta had driven to the Panthers 24 and Stephon Gilmore intercepted Ryan after the Falcons had driven to the Carolina 30.
The victory gives Rhule his second straight win in Atlanta, which had been a house of horrors for most of his predecessors; Carolina is only 8-19 all-time in road games against the Falcons.
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 (L 28-34, OT)
Oct. 24 at New York Giants (L 3-25)
Oct. 31 at Atlanta (W 19-13)
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
Pro basketball
A few hours after the Carolina Panthers won at Atlanta, the Charlotte Hornets completed a rare NFL/NBA sweep by the city’s teams with a 125-113 come-from-behind win over the Portland Trail Blazers.
LaMelo Ball (27 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists), Kelly Oubre (26 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists), Miles Bridges (19 points, career-high 8 assists), P.J. Washington (17 points) and Terry Rozier (15 points) led Charlotte to the victory behind a 36-25 advantage in the final quarter.
Portland, which led by as many as eight points, had longtime former Hornets center Cody Zeller on its roster; Zeller had six points and six rebounds in 18 minutes off the bench.
The sweep was only the seventh same-day sweep by the Panthers and Hornets in 50 tries since the Panthers were born in 1995.
The last such sweep came on Dec. 27, 2020 when the Panthers won at Washington and the Hornets defeated visiting Brooklyn.
Here is the Charlotte Hornets’ full regular season schedule (with results):
OCTOBER
Wed. 20 INDIANA (W 123-122)
Fri. 22 at Cleveland (W 123-112)
Sun. 24 at Brooklyn (W 111-95)
Mon. 25 BOSTON (L 129-140, OT)
Wed. 27 at Orlando (W 120-111)
Fri. 29 at Miami (L 99-114)
Sun. 31 PORTLAND (W 125-113)
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
High school athletics
Gaston Day won three state titles on Saturday when its boys soccer, girls tennis and volleyball teams all won N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association Class 2A championship games.
The Spartans defeated Davidson Day 3-1 (21-25, 30-28, 25-19, 25-8) as Camryn Massey had 10 blocks on the way to a 50-block season that is a school record. Massey also had six kills.
Other standouts for Gaston Day were Kaitlyn Kincaid (4 Aces, 2 blocks, 1 kill), McKynzie Mauney (2 blocks, 2 digs), Mary Kate Hurst (18 serve receive balls, 22 Digs), Megan Brown (15 Kills, 3 Aces, 16 digs, 1 block, 3 assists, 32 serve receive balls), Anne Bradley Bing (41 Assists, 4 kills, 2 blocks) and Drew Brown (23 Kills, 3 blocks, 18 digs).
High school boys soccer
Monday’s opening round schedule for Cleveland, Gaston and Lincoln counties:
(3A)
Freedom at Cramer
High Point Central at Forestview
St. Stephens at South Point
Ashbrook at North Iredell
Smoky Mountain at East Lincoln
North Lincoln at Asheboro
(2A)
Burns at Shelby
East Gaston at Hendersonville
Wilkes Central at Lincolnton
Lincoln Charter at Robinson
(1A)
Sugar Creek at Highland Tech
Cherryville at N.C. Leadership Academy
Bessemer City at Mount Airy
Mountain Island Charter at W-S Carver
Bishop McGuinness at Piedmont Community Charter
High school football
Friday’s opening round schedule for Cleveland, Gaston and Lincoln counties:
(3A)
Carson at Crest
Franklin at Kings Mountain
Eastern Guilford at South Point
Forestview at Clyde Erwin
Cramer at West Charlotte
West Rowan at North Lincoln
East Lincoln at Oak Grove
(2A)
Owen at Shelby
McMichael at Burns
East Gaston at Community School of Davidson
Surry Central at West Lincoln
Lincolnton at Monroe
(1A)
Cherryville at Cherokee
Bessemer City at North Rowan
Highland Tech at Thomasville
College football
Here’s the Carolinas Division I results from the weekend:
(Thursday)
Coastal Carolina 35, Troy 28
East Carolina 26, South Florida 14
(Saturday)
Charleston Southern 27, Campbell 14
Kennesaw State 34, Gardner-Webb 30
Monmouth 35, North Carolina A&T 16
Stetson 56, Presbyterian 14
Chattanooga 13, Furman 3
Western Carolina 41, Wofford 21
Davidson 29, Morehead State 22
James Madison 45, Elon 21
Mercer 34, The Citadel 7
S.C. State 27, North Carolina Central 24
Clemson 30, Florida State 20
Appalachian State 59, UL Monroe 28
Western Kentucky 45, Charlotte 13
Wake Forest 45, Duke 7
N.C. State 28, Louisville 13
Notre Dame 44, North Carolina 34
Here’s the Carolinas Division I results from the weekend:
(Saturday)
UNC Pembroke 14, West Liberty 13
West Alabama 31, North Greenville 14
Newberry 48, Erskine 10
J.C. Smith 34, Saint Augustine’s 13
Catawba 31, Tusculum 28
Shaw 38, Winston-Salem State 14
Barton 62, Bluefield State 7
Chowan 38, Virginia State 30
Virginia Union 44, Elizabeth City State 14
Fayetteville State 34, Livingstone 0
Mars Hill 49, Carson-Newman 23
Virginia Wise 28, Limestone 24
Lenoir-Rhyne 31, Wingate 6
Here’s the Carolinas Division I schedule for this week:
(Saturday)
Wake Forest at North Carolina, noon
Pittsburgh at Duke, noon
N.C. A&T at Charleston Southern, 1 p.m.
Gardner-Webb at Hampton, 1 p.m.
St. Thomas (Minn.) at Davidson, 1 p.m.
Howard at S.C. State, 1:30 p.m.
Chattanooga at Wofford, 1:30 p.m.
Appalachian State at Arkansas State, 2 p.m.
Villanova at Elon, 2 p.m.
Norfolk State at N.C. Central, 2 p.m.
Presbyterian at Valparaiso, 2 p.m.
Furman at Western Carolina, 2 p.m.
Temple at East Carolina, 3 p.m.
The Citadel at Samford, 3 p.m.
Rice at Charlotte, 3:30 p.m.
Campbell at James Madison, 3:30 p.m.
N.C. State at Florida State, 4 p.m.
Coastal Carolina at Georgia Southern, 6 p.m.
Florida at South Carolina, 7:30 p.m.
Clemson at Louisville, 7:30 p.m.
Here’s the Carolinas Division II schedule for this week:
(Saturday)
Notre Dame, Ohio at UNC Pembroke, noon
Livingstone at J.C. Smith, 1 p.m.
Shaw at Saint Augustine’s, 1 p.m.
Lincoln, Pa. at Chowan, 1 p.m.
Elizabeth City State at Bowie State, 1 p.m.
Virginia Wise at Catawba, 1 p.m.
Wingate at Newberry, 1 p.m.
Tusculum at Mars Hill, 1 p.m.
Limestone at Carson-Newman, 1 p.m.
Erskine at Shorter, 1 p.m.
Winston-Salem State at Fayetteville State, 2 p.m.
North Greenville at Valdosta, 3 p.m.
Lenoir-Rhyne at Barton, 4 p.m.
Middle school football
Shelby visits Crest on Monday night at Crest High School in the Tri-County Conference title game.
Middle school boys soccer
Gaston County Conference standings through Oct. 28 games:
Belmont 2-0
Cramerton 2-0
Grier 1-0
Holbrook 1-0
Southwest 1-1
Stanley 1-1
W.C. Friday 1-1
York Chester 1-1
Bessemer City 0-2
Chavis 0-2
Mount Holly 0-2
(Monday’s games)
Grier at Cramerton
Holbrook at Chavis
Mount Holly at Bessemer City
Southwest at Belmont
Stanley at York Chester
Middle school volleyball
Gaston County Conference standings through Oct. 28 games:
Belmont 2-0
Chavis 2-0
Cramerton 2-0
Holbrook 1-0
Mount Holly 1-1
Stanley 1-1
W.C. Friday 1-1
Grier 0-1
Bessemer City 0-2
Southwest 0-2
York Chester 0-2
(Monday’s games)
Grier at Cramerton
Holbrook at Chavis
Mount Holly at Bessemer City
Southwest at Belmont
Stanley at York Chester
Middle school wrestling
Gaston County Conference wrestling schedule:
(Monday’s matches)
Grier at Cramerton
Holbrook at Chavis
Mount Holly at Bessemer City
Southwest at Belmont
Stanley at York Chester