11-7-21 roundup: Pro football and basketball, High school football and boys soccer, College football, Middle school boys soccer, volleyball and wrestling

By Richard Walker

The rollercoaster ride for the Carolina Panthers took a downward turn on Sunday as quarterback Sam Darnold’s poor play in a 24-6 home loss to the New England Patriots now has his own head coach questioning his future with the team.

Darnold threw three interceptions, including one that was returned 88 yards for a touchdown, and the Panthers’ offense had only two scoring drives – both for field goals – that were set up by first half New England turnovers.

But Darnold’s offense could move only 12 yards for the first score and a brief 3-0 lead and six yards for the second score and a field goal that cut the Patriots’ lead to 7-6.

Darnold finished with 16 completions in 33 attempts for 172 yards and those three interceptions while directing the Panthers’ 240-yard offense.

And afterward, Ruhle said he wouldn’t make a snap decision on Darnold’s future but hardly gave him a glowing endorsement.

“I will watch the tape before I make some big statements,” Rhule said when asked about Darnold’s status. “To be honest, I want to make sure I see everything and consider all factors.
“But we can’t have a quarterback throwing the ball up in the air. He knows that. I know that. So is it coaching, is it him? We can’t keep doing that. I can probably better answer that” later.

Rhule said his biggest problem was in Darnold’s persistence for throwing into traffic, which has frequently resulted in his interceptions.

“We just can’t continue to just keep throwing the ball up,” Rhule said. “We have got to protect the football. A third-down interception is one thing, but a first- and second-down interception just can’t happen. So to me those are decision-making things that we have talked about and talked about and talked about, and here we are on game nine and it hasn’t happened.”

Asked directly if Darnold can help the Panthers win longterm, Rhule offered: “It’s a fair question. I don’t want to answer those questions in my brain right now coming off the game. Obviously we are all disappointed and I’m disappointed.”

Carolina traded away three draft picks in the offseason to the New York Jets for Darnold after also pursuing trades with two other quarterbacks – Detroit’s Matthew Stafford (since traded to the Los Angeles Rams) and Houston’s Deshaun Watson.

Watson, the subject of legal troubles after being accused by 22 women of sexual assault, remains on the Houston roster and the Panthers were linked to trade rumors before the recent NFL trade deadline.

For his part, Rhule has recently said his team needs to be more persistent in establishing a running game, cut down on its turnovers and rely on its defense.

Darnold’s turnover struggles have been at the root of the team’s struggles of five losses in its last six games. After throwing three touchdown passes with one interception in a 3-0 start to the season, Darnold has four TD passes and 10 interceptions in the team’s five losses.

“It’s learning from it and continuing to take care of the football,” Darnold said afterward. “It’s really that simple. I think for me it’s understanding like if it’s not there, throw it away, and then if I am outside of the pocket just making smart decisions.”

The bright side for Charlotte was the return of running back Christian McCaffrey after he’d missed five games with a hamstring injury. McCaffrey rushed 14 times for 52 yards and caught four passes for 54 yards, drawing one of the loudest cheers of the day from the crowd of 72,203 following his first carry of the game.

The Panthers head into the second half of their season after Sunday’s game – and recent history hasn’t been good for the team.

Carolina, which has had a better second half of the season 13 times in its first 26 seasons, had had a worse second half record in three straight 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, 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

The Charlotte Hornets’ record-setting 3-0 start must seem like months ago after the current five-game road trip endured another speed bump on Sunday night.

The Hornets actually built a 102-93 lead at the Los Angeles Clippers with 7:09 left before the Clippers scored 22 straight points and rode that momentum to a 120-106 victory.

It was Charlotte’s fourth straight loss, fifth in six games and dropped the team to 5-6 on the season.

Miles Bridges (21 points), LaMelo Ball (21 points), Terry Rozier (17 points, 8 rebounds), Kelly Oubre (16 points) and Gordon Hayward (15 points, 7 rebounds) led Charlotte, which continues the road trip on Monday at the Los Angeles Lakers.

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 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

 

 

 

College football

Player of the week: Former East Gaston High standout Robert Washington was named Pioneer Football League Offensive Player of the Week after rushing for 234 yards and three touchdowns in 26 carries and catching four passes for 48 yards in Valparaiso’s 65-55 win over Presbyterian on Saturday.

Washington is the first PFL player to rush for more than 200 yards in a game since 2019.

Here’s the Carolinas Division I results from the weekend:

(Saturday)
North Carolina 58, Wake Forest 55
Pittsburgh 54, Duke 29
N.C. A&T 21, Charleston Southern 18
Hampton 27, Gardner-Webb 21 (OT)
Davidson 42, St. Thomas (Minn.) 15
S.C. State 15, Howard 12
Chattanooga 35, Wofford 10
Appalachian State 48, Arkansas State 14
Villanova 35, Elon 0
N.C Central 38, Norfolk State 36
Valparaiso 65, Presbyterian 55
Western Carolina 43, Furman 42
East Carolina 45, Temple 3
Samford 35, The Citadel 14
Charlotte 31, Rice 24 (OT)
James Madison 51, Campbell 14
N.C. State 28, Florida State 14
Coastal Carolina 28, Georgia Southern 8
South Carolina 40, Florida 17
Clemson 30, Louisville 24

Here’s the Carolinas Division II results from the weekend:

(Saturday)
Notre Dame, Ohio 45, UNC Pembroke 7
Livingstone 17, J.C. Smith 3
Saint Augustine’s 21, Shaw 17
Chowan 28, Lincoln, Pa. 12
Bowie State 79, Elizabeth City State 6
Virginia Wise 30, Catawba 7
Newberry 41, Wingate 35 (OT)
Mars Hill 20, Tusculum 7
Carson-Newman 27, Limestone 21
Shorter 38, Erskine 7
Fayetteville State 10, Winston-Salem State 3
Valdosta State 31, North Greenville 21
Lenoir-Rhyne 56, Barton 20

 

Here’s the Carolinas Division I schedule for this week:

(Thursday)
North Carolina at Pittsburgh, 7:30 p.m.
(Saturday)
Connecticut at Clemson, noon
Davidson at Dayton, noon
East Carolina at Memphis, noon
Hampton at Campbell, 1 p.m.
Marist at Presbyterian, 1 p.m.
N.C. Central at Howard, 1 p.m.
Charleston Southern at Gardner-Webb, 1:30 p.m.
N.C. A&T at S.C. State, 1:30 p.m.
East Tennessee State at Western Carolina, 2 p.m.
Elon at Towson, 2 p.m.
VMI at Furman, 2 p.m.
Wofford at The Citadel, 2 p.m.
South Alabama at Appalachian State, 2:30 p.m.
Charlotte at Louisiana Tech, 3:30 p.m.
Duke at Virginia Tech, 3:30 p.m.
South Carolina at Missouri, 4 p.m.
N.C. State at Wake Forest, 7:30 p.m.

Here’s the Carolinas Division II schedule for this week:
(Saturday)
Shorter at North Greenville, noon
CIAA championship at Salem, Va. – Fayetteville State vs. Bowie State, 1 p.m.
Barton at Virginia Wise, 1 p.m.
Catawba at Lenoir-Rhyne, 1 p.m.
UNC Pembroke at Concord, W.Va., 1 p.m.
Mars Hill at Wingate, 3 p.m.
Newberry at Limestone, 4 p.m.
Kentucky State at Erskine, 4 p.m.

 

 

High school football

Here are Friday’s second round pairings:

1A
(East)
#16 Southeast Halifax (5-6) at #1 Tarboro (9-1)
#9 Riverside-Martin (6-3) at #8 Perquimans (7-2)
#12 North Edgecombe (6-5) at #5 Rosewood (5-2)
#20 Warren County (4-6) at #4 Northampton County (8-2)
#14 Gates County (5-4) at #3 North Moore (9-1)
#11 West Columbus (5-5) at #6 Pender (6-3)
#10 KIPP Pride (6-3) at #7 Southside (10-1)
#15 Hobbton (5-6) at #2 Northside-Pinetown (9-1)

(West)
#16 Draughn (6-5) at #1 Eastern Randolph (9-0)
#9 Murphy (7-4) at #8 Mountain Heritage (8-2)
#12 North Rowan (7-3) at #5 Thomas Jefferson (7-3)
#13 Cherokee (6-4 at #4 Robbinsville (7-3)
#14 Swain County (5-5) at #3 Mitchell (9-2)
#11 South Stokes (6-4) at #6 Thomasville (8-2)
#10 Andrews (7-3) at #7 Starmount (7-4)
#15 East Wilkes (5-6) at #2 Mount Airy (11-0)

2A
(East)
#17 Kinston (8-3) at #1 Princeton (10-0)
#9 South Granville (5-6) at #8 Nash Central (6-5)
#12 Roanoke Rapids (7-4) at #5 St. Pauls (9-0)
#13 James Kenan (6-3) at #4 Whiteville (10-0)
#14 John A. Holmes (8-2) at #3 Northeastern (10-0)
#11 Washington (9-2) at #6 Cummings (9-1-1)
#10 Wallace-Rose Hill (9-2) at #7 West Craven (6-3)
#15 Clinton (8-2) at #2 East Duplin (10-1)
(West)
#17 Polk County (7-3) at #1 Shelby (10-1)
#25 Forest Hills (7-4) at #24 East Gaston (7-4)
#12 Burns (8-3) at #5 Hendersonville (9-1)
#13 Chase (10-1) at #4 Reidsville (10-0)
#14 West Lincoln (9-2) at #3 Maiden (11-0)
#11 Bunker Hill (10-1) at #6 Salisbury (10-0)
#10 J.M. Robinson (10-1) at #7 Monroe (7-1)
#15 Forbush (8-3) at #2 East Surry (10-0)

3A
(East)
#16 Havelock (7-3) at #1 Eastern Alamance (8-1)
#9 North Brunswick (7-4) at #8 Westover (9-1)
#12 Southern Nash (9-1) at #5 Lee County (8-3)
#13 Jacksonville (8-2) at #4 Hunt (9-2)
#19 Williams (7-2) at #3 Seventy-First (11-0)
#22 Terry Sanford (7-3) at #6 J.H. Rose (7-4)
#23 Scotland County (6-4) at #7 West Carteret (8-2)
#15 Smithfield-Selma (8-3) at #2 Northern Nash (10-1)
(West)
#16 South Point (8-3) at #1 Pisgah (10-1)
#25 Forestview (6-5) at #9 Parkwood (6-2)
#21 Hickory (7-4) at #5 North Davidson (7-3)
#20 West Rowan (7-3) at #4 Crest (8-2)
#14 Ledford (8-3) at #3 Dudley (10-1)
#11 Kings Mountain (9-2) at #6 West Charlotte (7-3)
#10 Concord (7-3) at #7 Hibriten (7-3)
#18 East Lincoln (8-3) at #2 Statesville (10-0)

4A
(East)
#16 Leesville Road (8-2) at #1 Richmond County (10-1)
#25 Knightdale (5-5) at #9 Pine Forest (10-1)
#12 Millbrook (10-1) at #5 Hillside (8-2)
#20 Rolesville (6-5) at #4 New Bern (10-1)
#19 Laney (9-2) at #3 Cleveland (10-0)
#11 Heritage (10-1) at #6 Cardinal Gibbons (9-2)
#10 South View (9-2) at #7 Hoggard (10-1)
#18 Panther Creek (8-3) at #2 Wake Forest (8-3)
(West)
#16 South Mecklenburg (9-2) at #1 Hough (11-0)
#25 Mallard Creek (5-4) at #9 Asheville (9-2)
#12 Myers Park (8-3) at #5 Glenn (8-2)
#13 East Forsyth (9-1) at #4 Ardrey Kell (8-2)
#14 Marvin Ridge (8-2) at #3 Weddington (10-1)
#27 Cuthbertson (5-6) at #22 Lake Norman (8-3)
#10 Julius Chambers (10-1) at #7 Hickory Ridge (9-2)
#18 Porter Ridge (7-2) at #2 Grimsley (11-0)

 

 

 

 

High school boys soccer

Monday’s third round schedule:
(3A)
No. 24 Enka at No. 16 East Lincoln
No. 29 North Lincoln at No. 5 Concord
No. 7 Central Academy at No. 2 Cramer

(2A)
No. 5 North Forsyth at No. 4 Shelby
No. 23 Lincoln Charter at No. 2 Lincolnton

(1A)
No. 5 Highland Tech at No. 4 Gray Stone Day

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Middle school boys soccer

Gaston County Conference standings through Nov. 4 games:

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

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

 

Middle school volleyball

Gaston County Conference standings through Nov. 4 games:

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

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

 

Middle school wrestling

Gaston County Conference wrestling standings through Nov. 5:

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

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