11-29-21 roundup: Pro football and basketball, College football and basketball, High school football, basketball and volleyball, Middle school boys soccer, volleyball and wrestling

By Richard Walker

Lincoln County schools found out their all-conference award winners on Monday and all four schools are well represented in the Western Foothills 3A and Catawba Valley 2A conferences, respectively, in voting done by those league’s coaches.

In the Western Foothills 3A, North Lincoln’s Kyle Kovalchuk and East Lincoln’s Ben Cutter came away with two of the five individual awards.

Kovalchuk was named offensive player of the year after scoring 124 points, rushing for 1,088 yards and passing for 582 yards to lead the Knights to a 8-3 overall record and 6-1 league mark.

Cutter was named defensive player of the year after he had 158 tackles in helping the Mustangs to an 8-4 overall record and 4-3 league mark.

Other top award winners were Statesville’s Zamari Stevenson (player of the year) and Sam Buckner (special teams player of the year) and Hickory’s Joe Glass (coach of the year).

North Lincoln had 10 all-league selections – Kovalchuk, Bryson Esser, Krystjan Snyder, Malach Williams, Dylan Nestor, Brennen Rogers, Sam Wilkins, Luke Fitzsimmons, Tyler Donahue and Josh Fox.

And East Lincoln had eight all-league selections – Cutter, Tyler Mizzell, Keandre Walker, Landon Glezen, Markell Clark, Josh Gilbert, Terry Bryant and Blake Bradford.

In the Catawba Valley 2A, Lincolnton’s Bernard Wingate was named defensive player of the year after making 102 tackles, including seven for sacks for the 4-7 Wolves who advanced to the playoffs for the first time since 2017.

Other top award-winners in the league were Maiden’s Ben Gibbs (offensive player of the year), Chris Culliver (specialist of the year) and Will Byrne (coach of the year).

West Lincoln had seven all-league selections – Mason Avery, Zach Daigler, Trace Gilmore, Curtis Goins, Xandor Hedrick, Lathon Sain and Jersey Singletary.

And Lincolnton had six all-league selections – Wingate, Khamoni Heath, Deandra Smith, Andre Smith, Easton Dellinger and Andre Bost.

 

 

 

High school volleyball

Five local athletes have been named to the N.C. Volleyball Coaches Association all-state teams for the 2021 season.

In Class 1A, Cherryville’s Rileigh Kiser and Terayha Bess and Highland Tech’s Ashlynn Stephens were honored with Stephens taking 1A state player of the year honors.

And in Class 3A, East Lincoln’s Kendall Fisher and Katie Cook were honored.

 

 

 

Pro football

The area’s three local pro football players had a quiet weekend as two were inactive and one was on the practice squad.

For the Atlanta Falcons, defensive lineman Jonathan Bullard (Crest 2012 graduate) has 18 tackles in eight games (four starts) after being inactive for Sunday’s 21-14 win at Jacksonville.

For the Minnesota Vikings, linebacker Chazz Surratt (East Lincoln 2016) has played in five games and was inactive for the sixth time this season in Sunday’s 34-26 loss at San Francisco.

And for the Seattle Seahawks, linebacker Tanner Muse (South Point 2015) has three tackles in two games but has been on the practice squad for nine games, including Monday night’s game at Washington.

 

 

 

Pro basketball

The Charlotte Hornets dropped a second straight high-scoring shootout on Monday night when they lost 133-119 at the Chicago Bulls.

It marks the third straight game Charlotte (13-10) has yielded 115 or more points and sixth game in seven allowing 100 or more points.

Charlotte led 31-30 after the first quarter, which marked only the sixth time in 23 games this season the Hornets have led after the first quarter.

The Bulls would go on to build a 23-point lead before Charlotte rallied within 110-106 with 7:31 to play before Chicago responded with a game-ending 23-13 run.

Terry Rozier (31 points), Gordon Hayward (22 points) and LaMelo Ball (18 points, 7 rebounds, 13 assists) led Charlotte.

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 (L 110-113)
Wed. 3 at Golden State (L 92-114)
Fri. 5 at Sacramento (L 110-140)
Sun. 7 at LA Clippers (L 106-120)
Mon. 8 at L.A. Lakers (L 123-126, OT)
Wed. 10 at Memphis (W 118-108)
Fri. 12 NEW YORK (W 104-96)
Sun. 14 GOLDEN STATE (W 106-102)
Wed. 17 WASHINGTON (W 97-87)
Fri. 19 INDIANA (W 121-118)
Sat. 20 at Atlanta (L 105-115)
Mon. 22 at Washington (W 109-103)
Wed. 24 at Orlando (W 108-99)
Fri. 26 MINNESOTA (W 133-115)
Sat. 27 at Houston (L 143-146, OT)
Mon. 29 at Chicago (L 119-133)
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

 

 

 

Pro football

A bad loss got even worse for the Carolina Panthers on Monday when it was announced that running back Christian McCaffrey would be lost for the season with a left ankle injury he suffered during Sunday’s 33-10 loss at the Miami Dolphins.

McCaffrey has battled injuries for virtually all of the last two seasons as he will have missed 23 games with various injuries the last two seasons.

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 (L 6-24)
Nov. 14 at Arizona (W 34-10)
Nov. 21 Washington (L 21-27)
Nov. 28 at Miami (L 10-33)
Dec. 5 BYE WEEK
Dec. 12 Atlanta, 1 p.m.
Dec. 19 at Buffalo, 1 p.m.
Dec. 26 Tampa Bay, 1 p.m.
Jan. 2 at New Orleans, 1 p.m.
Jan. 9 at Tampa Bay, 1 p.m

 

 

 

 

College football

After finishing 5-7 with four losses in their last five games, Charlotte 49ers head coach Will Healy has made staff changes.

FootballScoop reported that defensive assistant coaches Brandon Cooper and Eddie Hicks were fired from their duties after a defense yielded 30 or more points in seven games this season – all against Conferences USA opponents.

Cooper has been 49ers co-defensive coordinator and coached safeties since being a part of Healy’s inaugural Charlotte staff in 2019. Hicks was the defensive backs coach and he also was a member of Healy’s first coaching staff.

Here’s this weekend’s Carolinas Division I football schedule:
(Saturday)
Sun Belt championship – Appalachian State at Louisiana, 3:30 p.m.
ACC championship – Pittsburgh vs. Wake Forest, 8 p.m.

 

 

 

 

College basketball

Gardner-Webb 83, N.C. Central 58: The Bulldogs (4-3) won their fourth straight game – and fourth straight home game – in impressive fashion after roaring ahead 49-21 in the first half. D’Maurian Williams (17 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists), Kareem Reid (14 points) and Julien Saumaoro (14 points) led a balanced G-W attack.

Belmont Abbey women 56, Charleston Southern 48 (exhibition): Keyanna Spivey had 17 points and Jo Snow 15 as the Crusaders won an exhibition road game against a NCAA Division I opponent.

 

 

 

 

High school football

Here are Friday’s full NCHSAA regional finals pairings:

1A
(East)
#1 Tarboro (12-1) vs. #6 Pender (9-3)
(West)
#3 Mitchell (12-2) vs. #4 Robbinsville (10-3)

2A
(East)
#1 Princeton (13-0) vs. #10 Wallace-Rose Hill (12-2)
(West)
#1 Shelby (13-1) vs. #2 East Surry (13-0)

3A
(East)
#6 J.H. Rose (10-4) vs. #13 Jacksonville (11-2)
(West)
#3 Dudley (13-1) vs. #16 South Point (11-3)

4A
(East)
#6 Cardinal Gibbons (12-2) vs. #20 Rolesville (9-5)
(West)
#1 Hough (14-0) vs. #10 Julius Chambers (13-1)

 

S.C. High School League state finals pairings (all games at Benedict College):

(Thursday)
Class 4A – South Pointe vs. Beaufort, 7 p.m.
(Friday)
Class 3A – Daniel vs. Camden, 2 p.m.
Class 2A – Gray Collegiate vs. Silver Bluff, 7 p.m.
(Saturday)
Class 1A – Southside Christian vs. Bamberg-Ehrhardt, noon
Class 5A – Gaffney vs. Dutch Fork, 5 p.m.

 

 

 

High school basketball

Boys results:

Cramer 77, South Rowan 38: Will Kelly (33 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals), Mason Craig (12 points, 4 assists, 3 steals) and Jacob Joyner (10 points, 3 assists, 6 steals) led Cramer to the non-conference victory.

Bessemer City 78, North Gaston 72 (Nov. 23): Randall Pettus (26 points, 5 assists, 4 blocks), Jameer Holmes (18 points, 13 rebounds), Nazari Smarr (16 points, 6 assists, 6 rebounds), Marshall Tucker (10 points) and Keyshawn Adams (10 rebounds) led the Yellow Jackets to victory.

Girls results:

South Rowan 60, Cramer 35: Hadley Womack had 21 points and Dasia Harris eight for Cramer in the loss.

Bessemer City 48, North Gaston 22 (Nov. 23): Janiya Adams (19 points, 11 steals, 8 assists), Tionna Pettus (18 points, 19 rebounds) and Imani Rhodes (18 rebounds) led the Yellow Jackets to the win.

Here’s the rest of the week’s schedule:

(Tuesday)
Bunker Hill at North Lincoln
Chase at Shelby (ppd. no date)
Cherryville at Pinnacle
Concord Academy at Gaston Day
East Gaston at Forestview
East Rutherford at Highland Tech
Gaston Christian at Metrolina Christian
Lincoln Charter at Providence Day
North Gaston at Bessemer City
Polk County at Piedmont CC
South Point at Lincolnton
West Lincoln at Foard

(Wednesday)
Ashbrook at East Lincoln
Cherryville at North Gaston
Franklin Prep at Mountain Island Charter
Huss at Highland Tech
Kings Mountain at Burns
Newton-Conover at North Lincoln
North Henderson at Cramer
Roberson at Crest

(Thursday)
Asheville School at Gaston Christian
Burns at R-S Central
East Gaston at Cramer
Lincoln Charter at 1of1 Academy

(Friday)
Ashbrook at Highland Tech
Bandys at North Lincoln
East Gaston at North Gaston
Forestview at Bessemer City
Gaston Christian at Gaston Day
Hough at Huss
Lincoln Charter at Kings Mountain
Lincolnton at East Lincoln
Mountain Island Charter at Hopewell
Shelby at Crest (ppd., no date)
West Lincoln at Cherryville

(Saturday)
Avery at West Lincoln

 

 

 

 

 

 

Middle school boys soccer

Gaston County Conference standings through Nov. 29 games:

Cramerton 9-0
Belmont 8-0
Grier 7-1
Holbrook 6-3
Stanley 5-3
Mount Holly 5-4
York Chester 3-6
W.C. Friday 2-6
Bessemer City 1-7
Southwest 1-8
Chavis 0-9

(Monday’s games)
Belmont at Grier, no report

Bessemer City at W.C. Friday, no report

Cramerton 9, Chavis 0: Nick Markley, Will Cass, Jarrett Bumpas, Saliou Diouf, Aiden VanderMeer, Jake Harms, Zachary Janik, Isaac Aycock and Josh Ramsey scored goals, Maxi Rodriguez (4), Spencer Baker (2), Ramsey and Janik had assists and Tristan Holt and Aycock split time in goal for the shutout.

Holbrook 2, York Chester 1

(Tuesday’s game)
Stanley at Mount Holly

(Thursday’s games)
Cramerton at Belmont
Chavis at Bessemer City
W.C. Friday at York Chester
Grier at Stanley
Holbrook at Southwest

 

 

 

Middle school volleyball

Gaston County Conference standings through Nov. 29 games:

Cramerton 9-0
Mount Holly 8-1
Stanley 7-1
Chavis 6-3
Holbrook 5-4
Belmont 4-4
Southwest 3-6
W.C. Friday 2-6
York Chester 2-7
Grier 1-7
Bessemer City 0-8

(Monday’s games)
Belmont at Grier, no report

Bessemer City at W.C. Friday, no report

Cramerton 3, Chavis 0: Arydn Thornburg, Julianna Mott, Finley Watson, Cailey Evans, Jordan Gates, Addison Townsend, Ava Cabe and Lilly Coletta led Cramerton to the victory.

Holbrook 3, York Chester 0

(Tuesday’s game)
Stanley at Mount Holly

(Thursday’s games)
Cramerton at Belmont
Chavis at Bessemer City
W.C. Friday at York Chester
Grier at Stanley
Holbrook at Southwest

 

 

 

Middle school wrestling

Gaston County Conference wrestling standings through Nov. 23:

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

(Monday’s match)
Belmont 78, Mount Holly 9

(Tuesday’s matches)
Holbrook at Bessemer City
Grier at Chavis
W.C. Friday at Cramerton
Southwest at York Chester

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