11-9-22 roundup: Pro basketball and football, High school football and soccer, College football and basketball, Middle school boys, volleyball and wrestling
By Richard Walker
When Shelby visits Burns in a second round playoff game on Thursday in the N.C. 2A bracket, it’ll continue a Golden Lions’ tradition that proved quite successful.
It’s because Shelby is facing a team in the postseason that it has played in the regular season for the 28th time.
Since in-season improvement has long been a hallmark of the Golden Lions’ program.
Entering this weekend’s game, which comes two weeks after losing 27-14 at Burns in the Southern Piedmont 1A/2A Conference title, Shelby will look to pick up a 21st victory in such circumstances – and seventh in a row.
And the Golden Lions have not only been effective in those rematches, they’ve avenged regular season defeats four times and a regular season tie once.
How good has Shelby been in rematches?
Since 1960, only twice has it lost in playoff rematches – in 1985 to Kings Mountain and in 2001 to Lincolnton.
Among the turnaround wins include bouncing back from a 28-all regular season tie at Chase in 1968 – the only blemish on the Golden Lions’ record in that long series – to win 41-20 on its way to a Western N.C. Activities Association state title, three wins over South Point and one over East Rutherford after losing the regular season contest.
And while avenging a regular season is impressive, it’s also quite a feat to defeat a talented team twice in the same season.
Shelby’s done that 13 times since the 1969 season, including twice over Burns in the Golden Lions’ state title run; Shelby won 42-14 in the playoffs after winning 26-13 in the regular season game.
Burns also lost in a playoff rematch against Shelby in the 1988 season.
The Bulldogs are involved in their ninth repeat playoff matchup. And while they’ve lost the last four playoff games against teams they played in the regular season, they also have had some success as well.
In Burns’ 1994 3A state title run, the Bulldogs avenged a 24-0 regular season loss at South Point with a 26-0 home postseason victory. And in 2004, Burns beat North Gaston by identical 28-7 scores in the regular season and the playoffs.
Here’s a look at the weekend’s other second round matchups for Cleveland/Gaston/Lincoln counties:
(Friday)
Smoky Mountain at Kings Mountain: They’ve had only one matchup when Kings Mountain outlasted Smoky Mountain 37-36 in five overtimes in a 1989 first round matchup.
(Thursday)
Tuscola at East Lincoln: The first meeting between the schools.
Crest at Oak Grove: The first meeting between the schools.
South Point at Dudley: Dudley defeated South Point 38-0 in the 2021 Western N.C. 3A championship game in their only previous meeting.
Mountain Island Charter at Andrews: Mountain Island Charter won 64-8 in a 2016 first round playoff matchup in their only previous meeting.
Lincolnton at Monroe: The teams have met twice – in a 20-7 Lincolnton regular season win in 1939 and in last year’s 57-13 Monroe win in the first round of the 2021 playoffs.
Here are this week’s second round state playoff pairings with most games being moved up to Thursday due to concern about weather on Friday:
(1A East)
Southeast Halifax at Tarboro (Thursday)
North Edgecombe at Riverside-Martin (Thursday)
Washington County at West Columbus (Thursday)
Northside-Pinetown at Northampton County (Thursday)
Warren County at Rosewood (Thursday)
Hobbton at Southside (Thursday)
East Columbus at Perquimans County (Thursday)
Pender at North Moore (Thursday)
(1A West)
Mountain Heritage at Eastern Randolph (Thursday)
Cherokee at Robbinsville (Thursday)
Hayesville at Christ the King (Thursday)
North Rowan at Mount Airy (Thursday)
Swain County at Thomasville (Thursday)
Mitchell County at Draughn
East Wilkes at Murphy (Thursday)
Mountain Island Charter at Andrews (Thursday)
(2A East)
Trask at Princeton (Thursday)
Midway at Burlington Cummings (Thursday)
Wallace-Rose Hill at Northeastern (Thursday)
Greene Central at Nash Central (Thursday)
Edenton Holmes at Whiteville (Thursday)
Hertford County at West Craven (Thursday)
South Granville at Clinton (Thursday)
Kenan at East Duplin (Thursday)
(2A West)
Providence Grove at Reidsville (Thursday)
Robinson at Chase (Thursday)
Mount Pleasant at Maiden
Bunker Hill at Community School of Davidson (Thursday)
Shelby at Burns (Thursday)
Pine Lake Prep at Salisbury (Thursday)
Lincolnton at Monroe (Thursday)
Hendersonville at East Surry (Thursday)
(3A East)
Southern Nash at Northern Nash (Thursday)
Vance County at Southern Durham (Thursday)
Triton at Hunt (Thursday)
Jacksonville at Havelock (Thursday)
Greenville Rose at Fayetteville 71st (Thursday)
Lee County at North Brunswick (Saturday)
Scotland County at Fayetteville Terry Sanford (Thursday)
Burlington Williams at Eastern Alamance (Thursday)
(3A West)
Smoky Mountain at Kings Mountain (Thursday)
Hibriten vs. West Charlotte at West Meck
Ledford at Northwest Cabarrus (Thursday)
Tuscola at East Lincoln (Thursday)
Crest at Oak Grove (Thursday)
South Point at Greensboro Dudley (Thursday)
Eastern Guilford at Asheville Erwin (Thursday)
West Rowan at West Henderson
(4A East)
Apex at Hillside (Thursday)
Pine Forest at Holly Springs (Thursday)
Millbrook at Cardinal Gibbons (Thursday)
Southern Alamance at New Hanover (Thursday)
Leesville Road at Wake Forest (Thursday)
Rolesville at Cleveland
Jordan at Pinecrest (Thursday)
Hoggard at New Bern (Thursday)
(4A West)
Charlotte Catholic at Greensboro Grimsley
Olympic at Independence (Thursday)
Mallard Creek at Hough
Mount Tabor at East Forsyth
Northwest Guilford at Watauga
Cox Mill at Weddington (Thursday)
Chambers at A.C. Reynolds
Butler at Mooresville
N.C. Independent School Athletic Association
Division 1
(Last Friday’s first round results)
Charlotte Providence Day 56, Charlotte Country Day 7
Asheville Christ School 36, Charlotte Latin 35
Rabun Gap 45, Cannon/Concord Academy 14
(This weeek’s semifinals)
Asheville Christ School at Charlotte Providence Day
Charlotte Christian at Rabun Gap
Division 2
(Last Friday’s first round results)
High Point Christian 19, Hickory Grove Christian 7
Trinity Christian 50, Harrells Christian 0
(This week’s semifinals)
High Point Christian at Asheville School
Trinity Christian at Covenant Day
Pro football
Every NFL team is guaranteed an appearance on Thursday Night Football and the Carolina Panthers are making their 12th appearance in the contest – and second time in three years at home against the Atlanta Falcons.
Carolina has struggled on Thursday night, with a 3-8 record on a game started for the NFL Network in 2009. The Panthers also lost on NBC’s Opening Thursday Night contest in the 2016 season at the Denver Broncos in a rematch of Super Bowl 50.
Carolina has won its Thursday night games in 2013 at Tampa Bay, in 2016 against New Orleans and last year at Houston.
Gameday: Atlanta Falcons (4-5) at Carolina Panthers (2-7), 8:15 p.m. on Thursday
TV: Amazon Prime (Al Michaels, Kirk Herbstreit, Kaylee Hartung)
RADIO: FM 99.7 in Charlotte is flagship station (Anish Shroff, Jake Delhomme, Kristen Balboni, Jim Szoke)
THE SERIES: Atlanta leads the series 35-20 including 37-37 overtime victory 11 days ago in Atlanta.
RANKINGS AMONG NFL (After Week 9): Carolina offense – 30th overall, 22nd rushing, 28th passing. Carolina defense – 27th overall, 28th rushing, 21st passing. Atlanta offense – 25th overall, 4th rushing, 30th passing. Atlanta defense – 31st overall, 8th rushing, 32nd passing.
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, 8:15 p.m.
Week 11, Nov. 20, at Baltimore, 1 p.m.
Week 12, Nov. 27, Denver, 1 p.m.
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
High school boys soccer
Here are Thursday’s fourth round pairings:
(Class 2A)
No. 17 Lincoln Charter at No. 5 Newton-Conover
(Class 3A)
No. 4 East Lincoln at No. 1 Asheboro
Pro basketball
Charlotte’s slump continued as Portland rallied in the second half for a 105-95 victory that extended the Hornets’ losing streak to six games.
Terry Rozier (18 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists) led Charlotte and made a 3-pointer with 7:11 left in the third quarter for a 72-60 lead before the Trail Blazers closed the game on a 45-23 surge.
Here is the 2022-23 Charlotte Hornets schedule:
(3-9 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, 7 p.m.
10 at Miami, 7:30 p.m.
12 at Miami, 8 p.m.
14 at Orlando, 7 p.m.
16 Indiana, 7 p.m.
18 at Cleveland, 7:30 p.m.
20 at Washington, 6 p.m.
23 Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
25 Minnesota, 5 p.m.
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.
College basketball
Gaston College 80, Combine Academy 58: Caleb McCarty had 17 points, 12 rebounds and six blocked shots as the Rhinos improved to 4-0.
Davidson 102, Wright State 97 (2 OT): Foster Loyer drilled three 3-pointers and scored 11 of his career-high 38 points in the second overtime as the Wildcats overcame a 21-point deficit to improve to 2-0 on the season.
College football
(This weekend’s NCAA Division I Carolinas schedule:)
-Friday
East Carolina at Cincinnati, 8 p.m.
-Saturday
Virginia Tech at Duke, noon
Charleston Southern at North Carolina A&T, noon
Western Carolina at East Tennessee State, 1 p.m.
Elon at Hampton, 1 p.m.
South Carolina State at Howard, 1 p.m.
Gardner-Webb at Campbell, 1 p.m.
VMI at Wofford, 1:30 p.m.
North Carolina Central at Norfolk State, 2 p.m.
Virginia Lynchburg at The Citadel, 2 p.m.
Furman at Mercer, 3 p.m.
Louisville at Clemson, 3:30 p.m.
Boston College at N.C. State, 3:30 p.m.
Appalachian State at Marshall, 3:30 p.m.
Charlotte at Middle Tennessee, 3:30 p.m.
South Carolina at Florida, 4 p.m.
Davidson at San Diego, 4 p.m.
North Carolina at Wake Forest, 7:30 p.m.
Southern Miss at Coastal Carolina, 7:30 p.m.
Middle School boys soccer
GASTON COUNTY CONFERENCE
Standings through Nov. 9:
Cramerton 5-0
Belmont 4-1
Stanley 4-1
Holbrook 3-1
Mount Holly 3-1
Southwest 2-3
Bessemer City 2-4
York Chester 1-2-1
Chavis 1-3-1
Grier 0-4
W.C. Friday 0-5
(Tuesday’s game)
Cramerton def. Belmont 5-2
(Wednesday’s games)
Belmont def. W.C. Friday 9-0: Tyler Cunningham scored two goals, Gabriel Johnson, Buxton Smith, Kweti Nyidem, Danny Larck, Hunter Gerould, Jenton Miller and Jacob Wallace scored one each and Danny Larck, Wallace and Gerould combined on the shutout in the goal.
Cramerton def. Bessemer City 8-0: Jacob Ledwak (3 goals, 1 assist), Carson Holcomb (2 goals), Max Rodriguez (1 goal, 3 assists), Ben Kelly (1 goal), MJ Liwosz (1 goal, 1 assist), Jake Harms (1 assist), Santiago Calle (1 assist) and defenders Brody Dyer, David Herrera, Owen Kelly (3 saves) and Marcus Rhodes (3 saves) led Cramerton.
(Thursday’s games)
Southwest at Mount Holly
Stanley at Holbrook
York Chester at Grier
Middle School volleyball
GASTON COUNTY CONFERENCE
Standings through Nov. 9:
Chavis 5-0
Mount Holly 4-0
Belmont 4-1
Cramerton 4-1
Stanley 4-1
Holbrook 2-2
W.C. Friday 2-3
Bessemer City 1-5
Grier 0-4
York Chester 0-4
Southwest 0-5
(Tuesday’s game)
Cramerton def. Belmont 3-0
(Wednesday’s games)
Belmont def. W.C. Friday 3-0: Stella Absher, Carsyn Redmond, Emmy Hameed, Adeleigh Hutcheson and Logan Culbertson led Belmont.
Cramerton def. Bessemer City 3-0
(Thursday’s games)
Southwest at Mount Holly
Stanley at Holbrook
York Chester at Grier
Middle School wrestling
GASTON COUNTY CONFERENCE
Standings through Nov. 9:
Stanley 4-0
W.C. Friday 3-0
Belmont 3-1
Chavis 3-1
Cramerton 3-1
Grier 1-2
Holbrook 1-2
Mount Holly 1-2
York Chester 1-3
Bessemer City 0-4
Southwest 0-4
(Tuesday’s matches)
Belmont def. Southwest 55-39
Mount Holly def. Bessemer City 42-36
Chavis def. Holbrook 62-36
Cramerton def. Grier 90-15
Stanley def. York Chester 63-42
(Wednesday’s match)
Holbrook def. Southwest 58-42: Holbrook’s winners were Robert Bradshaw, Noah Lowery, Karlos Watson, Quentrell Miller, Elijah Christenbury, Jaycob Perez, Rylan Barber, Khalib Huggins, David Proulx, Kennedy Harris and Zack Byers.
(Thursday’s matches)
W.C. Friday at Chavis
Grier at Bessemer City
Holbrook at Belmont
Mount Holly at York Chester
Southwest at Stanley