11-27-22 roundup: Pro basketball and football, High school football, College football and basketball, Middle school soccer, volleyball and wrestling

By Richard Walker

Sam Darnold’s return to action was a triumphant one for the Carolina Panthers as they defeated the Denver Broncos 23-10 on Sunday at Charlotte’s Bank of America Stadium.

Out since the 2022 preseason finale, Darnold became the third starting quarterback for the Panthers this season and directed a run-heavy offensive attack to 349 yards. Darnold accounted for both Carolina touchdowns, throwing a 5-yard touchdown pass to D.J. Moore and scoring on a 2-yard touchdown run in which he recovered his own fumble and rolled untouched into the end zone.

Darnold finished with 11 completions in 19 attempts for 164 yards and D’Onta Foreman (113 yards) and Chuba Hubbard (65) led the 185-yard rushing attack.

Also on Sunday, long snapper J.J. Jansen tied the franchise’s all-time record for games played; Jansen and former Carolina kicker John Kasay have played in 221 games apiece for the Panthers.

Sunday’s victory improved the Panthers to 4-8 on the season and gave interim head coach Steve Wilks a 3-0 home record entering their bye week; Carolina returns to action on Dec. 11 at Seattle.

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 (W 21-3)
Week 8, Oct. 30, at Atlanta (L 34-37, OT)
Week 9, Nov. 6, at Cincinnati (L 21-42)
Week 10, Nov. 10, Atlanta (W 25-15)
Week 11, Nov. 20, at Baltimore (L 3-13)
Week 12, Nov. 27, Denver (W 23-10)
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

 

 

 

 

 

 

Obituary

Longtime local radio commentator and former Gardner-Webb College basketball player Gerry Vaillancourt died on Sunday.

A native of New York City, Vaillancourt came to the region to play basketball for coach Eddie Holbrook at Gardner-Webb Junior College in the late 1960s when the Runnin’ Bulldogs were a national junior college power featuring future Basketball Hall of Famer Artis Gilmore and future professional basketball player and Cleveland County Hall of Famer George Adams.

Vaillancourt coached basketball in high school and college before embarking on a career in radio and TV broadcasting; He coached at Kernersville’s Bishop McGuinness High School, James Madison, Davidson and Appalachian State in college and coached teams in the old Charlotte Pro-Am Summer League.

From 1990 to 2002, Vaillancourt was a lead announcer for the Charlotte Hornets and followed the organization to New Orleans when the franchise moved there and remained there for 15 years in that radio/TV market.

A former sports director at WCCB-TV in Charlotte, he returned to Charlotte doing a show on ESPN-730 AM in 2017 and later also did work for WFNZ-AM 610 and WFNZ-92.7 FM.

The Charlotte Hornets released the following statement:

“The Charlotte Hornets are saddened to learn of the passing of Gerry Vaillancourt. Gerry V was a mainstay of our TV and radio broadcast from 1990-2002, serving in roles including radio analyst, TV analyst and TV studio host. He also hosted sports talk radio shows on several local stations throughout that time and returned to the Charlotte airwaves in that same format in 2017. His analysis and opinions will be greatly missed, and our condolences go out to his family, friends and colleagues.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

College football

(Last weekend’s NCAA Division I Carolinas results:)
-Friday
N.C. State 30, North Carolina 27 (2 OT)
-Saturday
South Carolina 31, Clemson 30
James Madison 47, Coastal Carolina 7
East Carolina 49, Temple 46
Duke 34, Wake Forest 31
Georgia Southern 51, Appalachian State 48 (2 OT)
-FCS playoffs
(Nov. 26 first round games)
Furman 31, Elon 6
Richmond 41, Davidson 0
Delaware 56, Saint Francis 17
New Hampshire 52, Fordham 42
Weber State 38, North Dakota 31
Gardner-Webb 52, Eastern Kentucky 41
Southeastern Louisiana 45, Idaho 42
Montana 34, Southeast Missouri 24
-NCAA Division II
(Nov. 26 second round)
Wingate 23, Benedict 6

(This weekend’s NCAA Division I Carolinas schedule:)
-Saturday
ACC championship – Clemson vs. North Carolina, 8 p.m.
-FCS playoffs
(Dec. 3 second round games)
New Hampshire at Holy Cross, noon
Furman at Incarnate Word, 2 p.m.
Gardner-Webb at William & Mary, 2 p.m.
Southeastern Louisiana at Samford, 3 p.m.
Delaware at South Dakota State, 3 p.m.
Weber State at Montana State, 3 p.m.
Montana at North Dakota State, 3:30 p.m.
Richmond at Sacramento State, 5 p.m.
-NCAA Division II
Wingate at West Florida, TBA

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

High school football

Last week’s statewide fourth round results:

(1A)
Tarboro 45, Northampton County 20
Rosewood 27, North Moore 7
Mount Airy 35, Eastern Randolph 17
Draughn 42, Andrews 21

(2A)
Wallace-Rose Hill 48, Princeton 14
East Duplin 49, Whiteville 6
Reidsville 34, Maiden 7
Burns 49, Monroe 40

(3A)
Northern Nash 42, Triton 7
71st 38, Terry Sanford 13
East Lincoln 46, Kings Mountain 20
South Point 28, Eastern Guilford 25

(4A)
Millbrook 19, Hillside 14
New Bern 70, Rolesville 34
Grimsley 40, Hough 37 (3 OT)
Weddington 17, A.C. Reynolds 10

This week’s regional finals pairings:

(1A)
Rosewood at Tarboro
Draughn at Mount Airy

(2A)
Wallace-Rose Hill at East Duplin
Burns at Reidsville

(3A)
71st at Northern Nash
South Point at East Lincoln

(4A)
Millbrook at New Bern
Weddington at Grimsley

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pro basketball

Here’s the 2022-23 Charlotte Hornets schedule:

(6-14 record)
October
19 at San Antonio (W 129-102)
21 New Orleans (L 112-124)
23 at Atlanta (W 126-109)
26 at New York (L 131-134, OT)
28 at Orlando (L 93-113)
29 Golden State (W 120-113, OT)
31 Sacramento (L 108-115)
November
2 at Chicago (L 88-106)
4 at Memphis (L 99-130)
5 Brooklyn (L 94-98)
7 Washington (L 100-108)
9 Portland (L 95-105)
10 at Miami (L 112-117, OT)
12 at Miami (L 115-132)
14 at Orlando (W 112-105)
16 Indiana (L 113-125)
18 at Cleveland (L 122-132, 2 OT)
20 at Washington (L 102-106)
23 Philadelphia (W 107-101)
25 Minnesota (W 110-108)
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 boys soccer

GASTON COUNTY CONFERENCE
Standings through Nov. 21:

Cramerton 8-0
Belmont 7-1
Holbrook 6-2
Stanley 6-3
Mount Holly 5-2
Bessemer City 3-5
Southwest 3-6
York Chester 2-4-1
Chavis 2-5-1
Grier 1-7
W.C. Friday 0-8

(Monday’s games)
Belmont at Mount Holly, Bessemer City at Holbrook, Chavis at Grier, Cramerton at W.C. Friday, York Chester at Southwest

 

 

 

 

 

 

Middle School volleyball

GASTON COUNTY CONFERENCE
Standings through Nov. 21:

Mount Holly 7-0
Belmont 7-1
Cramerton 7-1
Stanley 7-2
Chavis 5-2
Bessemer City 3-5
W.C. Friday 3-5
Holbrook 3-5
York Chester 1-7
Southwest 1-8
Grier 0-8

(Monday’s games)
Belmont at Mount Holly, Bessemer City at Holbrook, Chavis at Grier, Cramerton at W.C. Friday, York Chester at Southwest

 

 

 

 

 

Middle School wrestling

GASTON COUNTY CONFERENCE
Standings through Nov. 22:

Stanley 8-0
Belmont 6-1
Cramerton 6-1
W.C. Friday 5-2
Grier 4-3
Chavis 3-4
Holbrook 3-4
York Chester 3-5
Mount Holly 2-5
Bessemer City 0-7
Southwest 0-8

(Tuesday’s matches)
Grier at W.C. Friday, Holbrook at Cramerton, Mount Holly at Chavis, Southwest at Bessemer City, Stanley at Belmont