10-8-21 roundup: Pro football, basketball, baseball and auto racing, College football, High school football, boys soccer and volleyball, Middle school football and softball
By Richard Walker
A strong second half allowed Kings Mountain to move into a tie atop the Big South 3A Conference standings with Crest on Friday.
The Mountaineers scored 17 fourth-quarter points in a 24-7 win at South Point on Friday as Kings Mountain improved to 6-1 overall and 4-0 in the Big South. The Mountaineers are tied for first place in the league with Crest (4-2, 4-0); Crest visits Kings Mountain on Oct. 29 in the regular season finale.
Robert Kendrick’s 2-yard touchdown run gave Kings Mountain an early lead before Tyson Riley’s 56-yard TD run helped South Point tie the score at 7.
But Lamont Littlejohn’s 12-yards TD pass to DeAndre Hoyle with 11:34 left gave the Mountaineers lead for good.
Kings Mountain’s win ended a 12-game South Point win streak in their rivalry that dates to 1924.
Here’s a look at Friday’s other games in Cleveland, Gaston and Lincoln counties:
Shelby 38, Crest 28: Shelby stormed to a 28-7 first half lead then held off a Crest rally to win its third straight meeting with its longtime rival. Daylin Lee passed for 141 yards and three touchdowns to lead Shelby (6-1) while Crest was led by Mari Adams’ 158 yards rushing and two touchdowns.
Huss at Forestview: Postponed to Monday at 7 p.m.
East Lincoln 57, Foard 0: The Mustangs improved to 5-2 overall and 2-2 in the Western Foothills 3A with the home rout over a school it first played in 1960 when it was Rock Springs High School.
North Lincoln 26, St. Stephens 0: The Knights improved to 5-2 overall and 3-1 in the Western Foothills 3A with its fifth win in its last six games.
Lincolnton 27, West Caldwell 7: The Wolves (3-4, 3-1) won their third straight Catawba Valley 2A Conference game with a road win against an opponent they have been playing since 1925.
West Lincoln 13, Newton-Conover 7 (OT): The Rebels (5-2, 2-2) snapped a two-game losing streak with the Catawba Valley 2A road victory.
Cherryville 50, Highland Tech 14: Cherryville (2-5, 1-2) ran its all-time record to 18-0 against the Rams.
Burns 64, Thomas Jefferson 7: The Bulldogs (5-2, 3-0) rolled to its third straight high-scoring victory; Burns has outscored its last three opponents by a cumulative score of 178-7.
Mountain Island Charter 60, Christ the King 6: The Raptors won their third game in eight days to improve to 6-1, 3-1.
Here are other area results:
North Iredell at Hickory: Postponed to Monday at 7 p.m.
West Iredell at Statesville: Postponed to Monday at 7 p.m.
Maiden 46, Bandys 0
Bunker Hill at East Burke: Postponed to Monday at 7 p.m.
Chambers 67, Hopewell 0
Hough 37, West Charlotte 17
North Meck 21, West Meck 16
Olympic 26, Berry Academy 14
Myers Park 37, Harding 0
Kell 21, South Meck 17
Butler 39, Rocky River 8
Catholic defeats Garinger by forfeit
Providence 44, Independence 12
Clover, S.C. 44, Fort Mill, S.C. 7
Brevard at Chase: Postponed to Monday at 7 p.m.
R-S Central 48, Patton 0
Pro baseball
Former North Gaston High and Gastonia American Legion Post 23 standout Blake Brown has gotten his professional baseball career off to a fast start this season in the Philadelphia Phillies.
Brown, a 2016 North Gaston graduate who was a free agent signee out of UNC Asheville in 2020, was promoted from High Class A East Jersey Shore to Class AA Reading last month with impressive pitching statistics for both teams.
And on Thursday, Brown was named a postseason All-Star by the High Class A East League.
A right-handed pitcher, Brown went 2-1 with eight saves in 33 appearances for the Jersey Shore BlueClaws. He was particularly impressive just before he was promoted as he had a 1.84 ERA with seven of his eight saves after June 17.
College football
For the first time in nearly a year, the Charlotte 49ers have a road victory after Friday night’s 45-33 win at Florida International.
And for the first time in the school’s nine-year football history, Charlotte is to a 4-2 start.
Quarterback Chris Reynolds completed 21 of 27 passes for 203 yards and four touchdowns with Victor Tucker catching eight passes for 92 yards and one touchdown to lead Charlotte. Former Shelby High standout Calvin Camp added 66 yards rushing and the game’s first touchdown on a two-yard TD run.
The 49ers led 17-6 at the half before scoring four touchdowns in the second half.
Charlotte (4-2, 2-0) will have its bye week before returning to action on Oct. 21 at home at 7:30 p.m. against Florida Atlantic.
Here’s the Carolinas Division I schedule this week:
(Thursday)
Coastal Carolina 52, Arkansas State 20
(Friday)
Charlotte 45, Florida International 33
(Saturday)
Elon at Maine, noon
South Carolina at Tennessee, noon
Georgia Tech at Duke, 12:30 p.m.
Furman at Wofford, 1:30 p.m.
Florida State at North Carolina, 3:30 p.m.
Mercer at Western Carolina, 3:30 p.m.
Wake Forest at Syracuse, 3:30 p.m.
The Citadel at East Tennessee State, 4:30 p.m.
East Carolina at Central Florida, 6 p.m.
Here’s the Carolinas Division II schedule this week:
(Saturday)
Newberry at Virginia Wise, noon
Wheeling at UNC Pembroke, noon
Carson-Newman at Catawba, 1 p.m.
Fayetteville at Shaw, 1 p.m.
Tusculum at Lenoir-Rhyne, 1 p.m.
Wingate at Limestone, 1 p.m.
Winston-Salem State at Johnson C. Smith, 1 p.m.
Bowie State at Chowan, 1 p.m.
Barton at Mars Hill, 1:30 p.m.
St. Augustine’s at Livingstone, 1:30 p.m.
Erskine at Savannah State, 6 p.m.
Elizabeth City State at Virginia Union, 7 p.m.
West Florida at North Greenville, 7 p.m.
Pro basketball
One day after their second preseason games, the Charlotte Hornets announced on Friday they have signed two players and released two players to keep their training camp roster at 20.
The team signed Jalen Crutcher and Cameron McGriff.
Crutcher played in four games for Milwaukee at the 2021 MGM Resorts NBA Summer League this summer and averaged 5.3 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists after a four-year career at Dayton from 2017-21; He averaged 17.6 points, 3.5 rebounds and 4.8 assists in 24 games as a senior.
McGriff was a member of the Hornets summer league team did did not play. A former Oklahoma State standout who averaged 9.2 points and 5.7 rebounds in 132 career collegiate games, he played for Okapi Aalst of the BNXT League in Belgium last year and averaged averaged 13.5 points and 5.0 rebounds in 27 games.
The team earlier in the day released D.J. Carton and Xavier Sneed.
Neither player had an appearance in the first two preseason games after both played for the Hornets’ Las Vegas Summer League.
Signed as an undrafted free agent out of Marquette on Aug. 7, Carton averaged 5.8 points, and 2.8 assists in the summer league.
Signed by the Hornets on Sept. 20, Sneed averaged 6.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.0 assists in the summer league and averaged 8.1 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.9 steals in 13 games for the G-League Greensboro Swarm last season.
Here is the full 2021 preseason schedule as the Hornets prepare for an Oct. 20 start to the regular season:
(Preseason)
OCTOBER
Mon. 4 at Oklahoma City (W 113-97)
Thu. 7 MEMPHIS (L 98-128)
Mon. 11 at Miami 7:30
Wed. 13 DALLAS 7:00
Pro football
After some optimism earlier in the week that Carolina Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey may play in Sunday’s home game against Philadelphia, the team’s injury report on Friday listed McCaffrey as doubtful.
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, 1 p.m.
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
High school boys soccer
Here are the standings through Oct. 7 with conference record listed first followed by overall record:
BIG SOUTH 3A
Cramer 8-0, 14-2
Ashbrook 6-2, 8-3
Forestview 6-2, 9-4-1
South Point 5-3, 9-6
Huss 2-5-1, 5-5-1
Kings Mountain 2-5-1, 3-8-1
North Gaston 2-6, 4-8-1
Crest 0-8, 0-12
SOUTHERN PIEDMONT 1A/2A
Shelby 8-0, 13-1-1
Highland Tech 6-1, 8-3
Burns 5-3, 8-3-1
Thomas Jefferson 3-4, 3-6
East Gaston 3-5, 4-12
Bessemer City 1-6, 2-9
Cherryville 0-7, 1-10-1
OTHERS
Gaston Christian 3-3, 5-7
Gaston Day 5-0, 11-2
East Lincoln 5-2-1, 7-5-2
North Lincoln 2-5, 6-8
Lincolnton 7-0, 9-0-2
West Lincoln 0-8, 2-13
Lincoln Charter 1-4, 5-8-1
Mtn Island Charter 0-6, 3-9
Piedmont CC 7-1, 9-2
This week’s schedule:
(Monday)
Ashbrook 2, Huss 0
Kings Mountain 6, Crest 1
Cramer 4, Forestview 2
South Point 6, North Gaston 1
North Iredell 5, East Lincoln 3 (OT)
North Lincoln 6, West Iredell 0
Lincolnton 3, West Lincoln 0
Pine Lake Prep 6, Lincoln Charter 0
Christ the King 7, Mountain Island Charter 2
(Tuesday)
Burns 3, Bessemer City 0
Highland Tech 3, Cherryville 2
Shelby 5, East Gaston 0
Concord Academy 7, Gaston Christian 1
Lincolnton 1, East Lincoln 1
Piedmont Community Charter 2, Bradford Prep 1
(Wednesday)
Ashbrook 9, Crest 3
Huss 0, Kings Mountain 0 (2 OT)
Forestview 4, North Gaston 0
Cramer 2, South Point 1
East Lincoln 3, North Lincoln 2 (OT)
Bunker Hill at Lincolnton, ppd., Oct. 14
Bandys 6, West Lincoln 1
Langtree Charter 7, Lincoln Charter 1
Pine Lake Prep 9, Mountain Island Charter 0
(Thursday)
Bandys 4, Cherryville 1
Burns 4, East Gaston 0
Highland Tech 9, Bessemer City 0
Shelby 5, Thomas Jefferson 0
Gaston Christian 6, Hickory Grove Christian 1
Piedmont Community Charter 9, Carolina International 0
(Friday)
Christ the King at Lincoln Charter, no report
High school volleyball
Standings through Oct. 7:
BIG SOUTH 3A
Kings Mountain 11-0, 15-2
Crest 7-1, 14-1
Forestview 7-4, 12-5
South Point 7-4, 8-9
Cramer 4-6, 8-9
North Gaston 2-6, 3-12
Ashbrook 1-8, 1-10
Huss 0-10, 1-13
SOUTHERN PIEDMONT 1A/2A
East Gaston 9-0, 13-3
Highland Tech 7-0, 12-2
Cherryville 6-4, 10-12
Burns 3-4, 6-6
Thomas Jefferson 3-6, 5-9
Bessemer City 1-7, 1-13
Shelby 1-9, 1-14
Middle school football
Final regular season standings:
(Division I)
Southwest 4-0, 6-0
Holbrook 3-1, 5-1
Grier 2-2, 4-2
Cramerton 1-3, 3-3
Mount Holly 0-4, 0-5-1
(Division II)
Belmont 5-0, 5-2
York Chester 4-1, 4-2-1
Bessemer City 3-2, 3-4
Stanley 2-3, 2-4
W.C. Friday 1-4, 2-5
Chavis 0-5, 0-6
Oct. 12
(County championship game)
Belmont vs. Southwest at Huss HS, 6:30 p.m.
Tri-County Conference standings through Oct. 7 with division record listed first followed by overall record:
(East)
East Lincoln 4-0, 5-0
Kings Mountain 3-1, 3-2
North Lincoln 2-2, 3-2
Burns 2-2, 2-2
Lincolnton 0-3, 1-3
West Lincoln 0-3, 0-4
(West)
Shelby 3-0, 5-0
Crest 3-0, 3-1
R-S Central 1-1, 2-1
East Rutherford 1-1, 1-2
Thomas Jefferson 1-2, 1-3
Chase 0-4, 0-5
Oct. 11 game
R-S Central at East Rutherford
Oct. 13 games
Thomas Jefferson at East Rutherford
Shelby at Crest
Burns at West Lincoln
North Lincoln at Kings Mountain
Lincolnton at East Lincoln
Oct. 14 game
Chase at R-S Central
Oct. 18 game
East Rutherford at Shelby
(Playoffs)
Oct. 20 semifinals
oct. 27 championship game
Pro baseball
The Gastonia Honey Hunters opened their final three-game series of the year with a 9-2 win over West Virginia.
Gastonia (52-66) hosts West Virginia at 6:50 p.m. on Saturday and 4:50 p.m. on Sunday to close out its inaugural season in the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball.
Pro auto racing
The Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course is the site of Sunday’s 2 p.m. Bank of America ROVAL 400.
Denny Hamlin is the current NASCAR Cup Series points standings leader and has two wins and 16 top five finishes this season.