12-12-21 roundup: High school basketball, Pro football and basketball, College football, basketball and soccer, Middle school wrestling

By Richard Walker

With Shelby’s N.C. 2A championship game on Saturday, local high schools can now focus on high school basketball which has been underway for a month for some teams. League play in the Big South 3A and Western Foothills 3A conferences began on Friday.

With that in mind, here’s preseason projections for the boys and girls teams of the Big South 3A and Southern Piedmont 1A/2A conferences:

Big South 3A boys – Defending champion Crest is a near-unanamious pick to repeat as the Chargers are led by reigning league player of the year Mari Adams. (Adams was recently was named the league’s offensive player of the year in football.)

1. Crest
2. Kings Mountain
3. South Point
4. Cramer
5. Forestview
6. Ashbrook
7. Huss
8. North Gaston

Big South 3A girls – Ashbrook has won five of the last six league titles and coaches forecast another title for the Green Wave. Kings Mountain, with reigning player of the year Saniya Wilson, is the second-place pick.

1. Ashbrook
2. Kings Mountain
3. Crest
4. Huss
5. Forestview
6. Cramer
7 (tie). North Gaston
7 (tie). South Point

Southern Piedmont 1A/2A boys – Defending champion Lincoln Charter is in another league after winning seven straight league titles but Shelby joins the league after winning three straight league titles and is the league favorite after many of those players helped the Golden Lions win a football state title on Saturday.

1. Shelby
2. Burns
3. East Gaston
4. Thomas Jefferson
5. Bessemer City
6. Cherryville
7. Highland Tech

Southern Piedmont 1A/2A girls – Defending N.C. 2A champion and prohibitive state championship favorite Shelby joins a league that had a five-way tie for its title last season. Shelby is the unanimous favorite due to reigning league player of the year Maraja Pass. Bessemer City returns reigning league player of the year Janiya Adams.

1. Shelby
2. Bessemer City
3. Burns
4. East Gaston
5. Thomas Jefferson
6. Cherryville
7. Highland Tech

Here are standings for Cleveland, Gaston and Lincoln county schools through Dec. 11:

BIG SOUTH 3A
(Boys)
Cramer 1-0, 6-0
Kings Mountain 1-0, 2-4
Ashbrook 0-0, 1-4
Forestview 0-0, 1-3
North Gaston 0-0, 1-6
Crest 0-0, 2-1
South Point 0-1, 3-2
Huss 0-1, 0-4
(Girls)
Kings Mountain 1-0, 4-2
South Point 1-0, 2-3
Ashbrook 0-0, 3-2
North Gaston 0-0, 3-4
Crest 0-0, 1-2
Forestview 0-0, 0-4
Huss 0-1, 2-1
Cramer 0-1, 0-6

SOUTHERN PIEDMONT 1A/2A
(Boys)
Bessemer City 0-0, 6-0
Thomas Jefferson 0-0, 6-1
Cherryville 0-0, 3-1
East Gaston 0-0, 4-3
Highland Tech 0-0, 2-2
Shelby 0-0, 0-0
Burns 0-0, 0-3
(Girls)
East Gaston 0-0, 5-2
Bessemer City 0-0, 4-2
Thomas Jefferson 0-0, 2-5
Burns 0-0, 0-3
Shelby 0-0, 0-2
Cherryville 0-0, 0-6
Highland Tech 0-0, 0-4

OTHERS
(Boys)
Piedmont CC 0-0, 0-4
East Lincoln 1-0, 6-0
North Lincoln 1-0, 5-2
Lincolnton 0-0, 0-5
West Lincoln 0-0, 2-5
Lincoln Charter 0-0, 7-3
Mtn Isl Charter 0-0, 2-1
Gaston Christian 0-2, 3-6
Gaston Day 3-0, 8-1

(Girls)
Piedmont CC 0-0, 3-3
East Lincoln 1-0, 5-1
North Lincoln 0-1, 0-7
Lincolnton 0-0, 3-2
West Lincoln 0-0, 4-4
Lincoln Charter 0-0, 3-4
Mtn Isl Charter 0-0, 0-1
Gaston Christian 1-2, 1-5
Gaston Day 1-3, 1-7

This week’s schedule:

(Monday)
Crest at Ashbrook
South Iredell at East Lincoln
Clover at Forestview
Franklin Prep at Mountain Island Charter
Huss at Bessemer City
Lincolnton at Cramer
Pinnacle at Cherryville
South Point at Catawba Ridge

(Tuesday)
Queen’s Grant at Piedmont CC
Crest at Shelby
Highland Tech at Huss

(Wednesday)
Bessemer City at East Rutherford
Charlotte Elite at Mountain Island Charter
Piedmont CC at Polk County
R-S Central at Burns

(Friday)
Ashbrook at Forestview
Cramer at Ashbrook
North Gaston at Kings Mountain
South Point at Huss
Highland Tech at Burns
Shelby at Cherryville
Hickory at North Lincoln
Statesville at East Lincoln
Bandys at West Lincoln
Lincolnton at Bunker Hill
Westminster Catawba at Mountain Island Charter

 

 

 

High school football

This weekend’s state finals pairings, dates, times and sites:

Class 1A: Tarboro (14-1) 28, Mitchell (13-3) 7 on Saturday (Kenan Stadium, North Carolina)
Class 2A: Shelby (15-1) 55, Wallace-Rose Hill (13-3) 34 on Saturday (Carter-Finley Stadium, N.C. State)
Class 3A: Greensboro Dudley (15-1) 69, Greenville Rose (11-5) 40 on Friday (Kenan Stadium, North Carolina)
Class 4A: Raleigh Cardinal Gibbons (15-1) 14, Charlotte Chambers (13-3) 2 on Saturday (Carter-Finley Stadium, N.C. State)

 

 

 

Pro football

Every week Carolina Panthers head coach Matt Rhule talks about avoiding turnovers and ball control.

And, it seems, every week Rhule’s team continues to struggle in those area, none moreso than in Sunday’s 29-21 home loss to the Atlanta Falcons.

Not only was it the fifth straight home loss – which drew some boos at various times during the sun-splashed afternoon game – but three turnovers Rhule called “catastrophic” played a role in the Panthers’ downfall.

Carolina now has committed 23 turnovers this season, which is third-most in the NFL, and 18 of those turnovers have come in the eight losses that make their 5-8 overall record all but eliminated from the playoffs.

“It’s real simple, you look at the games when we win the turnover battle or tie it, we usually win,” Rhule said afterward. “When we don’t win the turnover battle, we lose. That’s where we are. That’s where most teams are, to be quite honest, but that is definitely where we are.”

Carolina next plays at Buffalo before returning to Bank of America Stadium for its 2021 home finale against defending Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay.

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 (L 21-29)
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

 

 

 

Pro basketball

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 (L 125-127)
Sun. 5 at Atlanta (W 130-127)
Mon. 6 PHILADELPHIA (L 124-127, OT)
Wed. 8 PHILADELPHIA (L 106-110)
Fri. 10 SACRAMENTO (W 124-123)
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 basketball

Pitt Community College 63, Gaston College 59: A month after beating Pitt 97-68 in a game played at North Gaston High, the Rhinos played without three starters in a road loss that dropped them to 8-5. Dee Merriweather’s 18 points led Gaston College with Zavion Jackson adding 14 and Nasyean Baisy 12. The Rhinos play again on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Gaston Christian School against Blue Lights College in their final game before the holiday break.

Davidson 79, Northeastern 69: Foster Loyer scored a career-high 35 points and Hyunjung Lee added 23 as Davidson extended its winning streak to six straight with a road victory on Sunday.

 

 

 

 

College football

Here’s the full college bowl schedule:

Friday, Dec. 17
Bahamas Bowl: Middle Tennessee vs. Toledo, noon
Cure Bowl: Northern Illinois vs. Coastal Carolina, 6 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 18
Boca Raton Bowl: Appalachian State vs. Western Kentucky, 11 a.m.
Celebration Bowl: Jackson State vs. South Carolina State, noon
New Mexico Bowl: Fresno State vs. UTEP, 2:15 p.m.
Independence Bowl: No. 13 BYU vs. UAB, 3:30 p.m.
LendingTree Bowl: Eastern Michigan vs. Liberty, 5:45 p.m.
LA Bowl: Oregon State vs. Utah State, 7:30 p.m.
New Orleans Bowl: No. 23 Louisiana vs. Marshall, 9:15 p.m.

Monday, Dec. 20
Myrtle Beach Bowl: Tulsa vs. Old Dominion, 2:30 p.m.

Tuesday, Dec. 21
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl: Kent State vs. Wyoming, 3:30 p.m.
Frisco Bowl: No. 24 San Diego State vs. UTSA, 7:30 p.m.

Wednesday, Dec. 22
Armed Forces Bowl: Missouri vs. Army, 8 p.m.

Thursday, Dec. 23
Frisco Football Classic: Miami, O. vs. North Texas, 3:30 p.m.
Gasparilla Bowl: Florida vs. Central Florida, 7 p.m.

Friday, Dec. 24
Hawai’i Bowl: Memphis vs. Hawaii, 8 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 25
Camellia Bowl: Ball State vs. Georgia State, 2:30 p.m.

Monday, Dec. 27
Quick Lane Bowl: Western Michigan vs. Nevada, 11 a.m.
Military Bowl: East Carolina vs. Boston College, 2:30 p.m.

Tuesday, Dec. 28
Birmingham Bowl: No. 20 Houston vs. Auburn, noon
First Responder Bowl: Air Force vs. Louisville, 3:15 p.m.
Liberty Bowl: Texas Tech vs. Mississippi State, 6:45 p.m.
Holiday Bowl: No. 18 N.C. State vs. UCLA, 8 p.m.
Guaranteed Rate Bowl: Minnesota vs. West Virginia, 10:15 p.m.

Wednesday, Dec. 29
Fenway Bowl: Virginia vs. SMU, 11 a.m.
Pinstripe Bowl: Virginia Tech vs. Maryland, 2:15 p.m.
Cheez-It Bowl: No. 19 Clemson vs. Iowa State, 5:45 p.m.
Alamo Bowl: No. 14 Oregon vs. No. 16 Oklahoma, 9:15 p.m.

Thursday, Dec. 30
Duke’s Mayo Bowl: North Carolina vs. South Carolina, 11:30 a.m.
Music City Bowl: Tennessee vs. Purdue, 3 p.m.
Peach Bowl: No. 10 Michigan State vs. No. 12 Pittsburgh, 7 p.m.
Las Vegas Bowl: Wisconsin vs. Arizona State, 10:30 p.m.

Friday, Dec. 31
Gator Bowl: No. 17 Wake Forest vs. No. 25 Texas A&M, 11 a.m.
Sun Bowl: Washington State vs. Miami, Fla., noon
Arizona Bowl: Central Michigan vs. Boise State, 2 p.m.

(College Football Playoff semifinals)
Cotton Bowl: No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 4 Cincinnati, 3:30 p.m.
Orange Bowl: No. 2 Michigan vs. No. 3 Georgia, 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, Jan. 1
Outback Bowl: No. 21 Arkansas vs. Penn State, noon
Citrus Bowl: No. 15 Iowa vs. No. 22 Kentucky, 1 p.m.
Fiesta Bowl: No. 5 Notre Dame vs. No. 9 Oklahoma State, 1 p.m.
Rose Bowl: No. 6 Ohio State vs. No. 11 Utah, 5 p.m.
Sugar Bowl: No. 7 Baylor vs. No. 8 Mississippi, 8:45 p.m.

Tuesday, Jan. 4
Texas Bowl: Kansas State vs. LSU, 9 p.m.

Monday, Jan. 10
(College Football Playoff championship game)
At Indianapolis: Cotton/Orange bowl winners, 8 p.m.

 

 

College soccer

Clemson won the NCAA men’s national championship Sunday with a 2-0 triumph over Washington in front of 7,238 fans at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina. It gave the ACC 18 NCAA men’s soccer championships and the league has had at least one conference team in the NCAA Men’s College Cup in 20 of the last 21 seasons.
This also marks the 11th time the ACC has won both the women’s and men’s soccer national championships in the same year. Florida State claimed the women’s crown on Monday night. The ACC has won three team national championships this fall – men’s soccer (Clemson), women’s soccer (Florida State) and women’s cross country (NC State) – with an opportunity to win another this weekend in women’s volleyball (Louisville and Pitt).
The tournament’s No. 8 seed, Clemson (16-5-2) notched the third national championship in program history, second most of any current ACC program (Virginia leads with 7).
Clemson, which also won national championships in 1984 and 1987, eliminated three of the tournament’s top four seeds en route to the title.

 

 

 

Middle school wrestling

Saturday’s Gaston County Conference championship at South Point High School

Team scores
1. Belmont 173.0
2. W.C. Friday 172.0
3. Cramerton 167.5
4. Holbrook 133.0
5. Stanley 93.5
6. Southwest 89.5
7. York Chester 72.0
8. Grier 62.0
9. Chavis 53.0
10. Mount Holly 41.0
11. Bessemer City 13.0

Individual results for championship and 3rd-place matches:
76
1st Place Match – Serious Corzine (Belmont ) 3-0 won by fall over Mario Robbins (WC Friday) 2-1 (Fall 1:59)
3rd Place Match – Jonathan Poteat (Cramerton) 2-1 won by decision over Tucker Motes (Holbrook) 0-2 (Dec 6-3)
83
1st Place Match – Titus Davis (Cramerton) 3-0 won by decision over Carson Sprinkles (Belmont ) 2-1 (Dec 2-0)
3rd Place Match – James Charles (Mount Holly) 2-1 won by fall over Jordan Coy (WC Friday) 1-2 (Fall 4:43)
90
1st Place Match – Elijah Christenbury (Holbrook) 3-0 won by fall over Walker Spargo (Belmont ) 1-1 (Fall 1:57)
3rd Place Match – Keldon Williams (WC Friday) 2-1 won by fall over Brian Snelson (Cramerton) 1-2 (Fall 0:58)
98
1st Place Match – Keaton Blanton (Grier) 3-0 won by fall over Connor Bates (WC Friday) 2-1 (Fall 2:25)
3rd Place Match – Christopher Eady (York Chester) 2-1 won by fall over Michael Bradbury (Holbrook) 1-2 (Fall 0:23)
106
1st Place Match – Louis Scott (Holbrook) 3-0 won by major decision over Sammie Morgan (Belmont ) 2-1 (MD 8-0)
3rd Place Match – Quincy Fortenbury (York Chester) 2-1 won by fall over Hunter Griffin (Chavis) 1-2 (Fall 0:50)
113
1st Place Match – Graham Martin (Cramerton) 3-0 won by fall over Jacari Long (WC Friday) 2-1 (Fall 1:56)
3rd Place Match – RJ Rowe (Stanley) 2-1 won by tech fall over Kaeola Ondayog (Holbrook) 1-2 (TF-1.5 3:54 (20-5))
120
1st Place Match – Bentley Sly (Cramerton) 3-0 won by tech fall over Marcus Lowery (Grier) 2-1 (TF-1.5 1:59 (16-0))
3rd Place Match – Ammon Scott (Belmont ) 2-1 won by fall over Carter Mason (WC Friday) 1-2 (Fall 4:29)
126
1st Place Match – Tommy Price (Mount Holly) 3-0 won by fall over Camryn Stafford (WC Friday) 2-1 (Fall 1:24)
3rd Place Match – Jerimia Holtt (Belmont ) 2-1 won by decision over Robert Davis (Cramerton) 1-2 (Dec 5-0)
132
1st Place Match – Zamarius Gladden (York Chester) 2-0 won by injury default over Nakaya Hale (Holbrook) 2-1 (Inj. 1:30)
3rd Place Match – Braydon Grigg (Belmont ) 2-1 won by decision over Ashton Owenby (Cramerton) 1-2 (Dec 5-4)
138
1st Place Match – Kaden Brown (WC Friday) 3-0 won by major decision over Gavin Robinson (Holbrook) 2-1 (MD 18-10)
3rd Place Match – Chase Sanders (Bessemer City) 2-1 won by fall over Kevin Murphy (Belmont ) 1-2 (Fall 2:20)
145
1st Place Match – Tiyan Marsh (Grier) 3-0 won in sudden victory – 1 over Lucas Conger (Cramerton) 2-1 (SV-1 5-3)
3rd Place Match – Kaleb Pendleton (Chavis) 2-1 won by forfeit over Eli Johnson (WC Friday) 1-2 (For.)
152
1st Place Match – Chris Wurster (Belmont ) 3-0 won by fall over Elijah Floyd (Cramerton) 2-1 (Fall 3:36)
3rd Place Match – Martino Smith (Southwest) 2-1 won by fall over Justin Thomas (Mount Holly) 0-2 (Fall 3:49)
160
1st Place Match – Jakelan Littlejohn (Southwest) 3-0 won by fall over Caleb Gordon (WC Friday) 2-1 (Fall 2:20)
3rd Place Match – Reid Jeffries (Belmont ) 2-1 won by fall over LJ Watson (Cramerton) 1-2 (Fall 0:59)
170
1st Place Match – Blake Hartness (Belmont ) 3-0 won by fall over Elijah Littlejohn (Southwest) 2-1 (Fall 3:38)
3rd Place Match – Zane Dodd (Stanley) 2-1 won by decision over Gabriel McSwain (Chavis) 1-2 (Dec 13-10)
182
1st Place Match – Jacob Banks (Stanley) 3-0 won by fall over Javerion Jefferies (Southwest) 2-1 (Fall 1:34)
3rd Place Match – Jase McCraw (Cramerton) 2-1 won by fall over Weston Bowers (Chavis) 1-2 (Fall 1:45)
195
1st Place Match – Kevin Escorcia (Stanley) 3-0 won by fall over Jalyen Gardin (York Chester) 2-1 (Fall 2:41)
3rd Place Match – Anthony Taylor (Holbrook) 2-1 won by fall over Zac Moss (WC Friday) 0-2 (Fall 0:22)
220
1st Place Match – Gage Phalin (WC Friday) 3-0 won by fall over Justin Harris (Chavis) 1-1 (Fall 0:32)
3rd Place Match – Jacob Bumpas (Cramerton) 2-1 won by decision over Xavier Adair (Southwest) 1-2 (Dec 10-7)
250
1st Place Match – Nicolas McClellan (Stanley) 3-0 won by fall over Keegan Davis (Holbrook) 2-1 (Fall 2:04)
3rd Place Match – Andrew Gaston (Southwest) 2-1 won by fall over Life Gil (York Chester) 1-2 (Fall 0:47)