8-16-21 roundup: Bessemer City Hall of Fame, Legion baseball, Pro football, High school football and boys soccer

By Richard Walker

On Saturday night, Bessemer City inducted its inaugural Sports Hall of Fame class.

In a ceremony held at First Baptist Church of Bessemer City, a class of four individuals and one team were officially inducted – Mike Mahaffey, Kevin Millwood, Jackson “Ace” Parker and Shameka Smith and the 1959 Bessemer City High bsaeball team. The class was to have been inducted in March 2020 but was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The featured speaker at Saturday’s banquet was former Bessemer City High football coach Woody Fish, who is a longtime Gardner-Webb University coach and administrator.

Mahaffey coached Bessemer City High baseball teams to a 428-271 overall record with 18 playoff berths and nine league titles in 29 seasons and highlighted by the the 1986 N.C. 2A runner-up team. Also athletic director at Bessemer City from 1989 to 2009, Mahaffey was a football assistant coach for Bessemer City and later was an assistant softball coach at South Point. The baseball field at Bessemer City High is named in his honor.

Millwood, a 1993 Bessemer City High graduate, is the longest-tenured major league baseball player in Gaston County history at 16 years. A three-sport standout at Bessemer City High, Millwood was team MVP of the Yellow Jackets’ N.C. 2A basketball runner-up team and finished with 1,394 career points in that sport. An 11th-round draft pick of the Atlanta Braves in 1993, Millwood went 169-152 during his career with the Braves, Philadelphia Phillies, Cleveland Indians, Texas Rangers, Baltimore Orioles, Colorado Rockies and Seattle Mariners that was highlighted by a 1999 National League All-Star appearance and no-hitters for Philadelphia (2003) and Seattle (2012).

Parker, a 1945 Bessemer City High graduate, played bsaeball and football in high school attended Erskine College in Due West, S.C., before returning to Bessemer City as a coach and teacher. Parker coached football, basketball and baseball at the school and the gymnasium is named in his honor. Parker, who died at 86 in 2014, led the Yellow Jackets to conference titles in all three sports and his 1972 basketball team finished as N.C. 2A runner-up.

Smith, a 2002 Bessemer City High graduate, finished with 1,774 career points in high school and was runner-up for N.C. Ms. Basketball in 2002 before getting 1,136 career points and 992 career rebounds during her career at Gardner-Webb University. Smith was Runnin’ Bulldogs team most valuable player as a junior.

The 1959 Yellow Jackets won Bessemer City’s only state championship in school history when then went 7-0 in the state playoffs to cap a 15-3 season that included a 7-3 finish in the Little Six Conference to share that title and advance into the playoffs. The team, coached by Terry Gates, defeated Bethware (7-1), Pleasant Garden (8-4), Granite Quarry (2-1), Valley Springs (6-0), Siler City (10-2) and Rock Ridge (4-3 in nine innings and 6-2) to win the N.C. 1A title.

 

 

Legion baseball

Here is the full schedule of games for the 2021 American Legion World Series that begin on Thursday:

Pool play 4-team divisions (with records)
Stars – Central Plains (Fargo, N.D. 0-3), Mid-Atlantic (Ridge St. Mary’s, Md. 2-1), Southeast (Tupelo, Miss. 2-1), Western (Honolulu Team Central, Hi. 2-1)
Stripes – Great Lakes (Midland Berryhill, Mich. 1-2), Mid-South (Dubuque County, Ia. 2-1), Northeast (Beverly, Mass. 1-2), Northwest (Idaho Falls, Id. 2-1)

Thursday Aug. 12
Central Plains vs. Western, 10 a.m. – Honolulu 7, Fargo 1
Mid-South vs. Northeast, 1 p.m. – Beverly 8, Dubuque County 4
Great Lakes vs. Northwest, 4 p.m. – Idaho Falls 3, Midland 2
Southeast vs. Mid-Atlantic, 7:30 p.m. – Ridge 6, Tupelo 1

Friday, Aug. 13
Central Plains vs. Southeast, 4 p.m. – Tupelo 11, Fargo 1 (6 innings)
Mid-Atlantic vs. Western, 7 p.m. – Honolulu 5, Ridge 2
Idle – Great Lakes, Mid-South, Northeast, Northwest

Saturday, Aug. 14
Mid-South vs. Northwest, 1 p.m. – Dubuque County 10, Idaho Falls 2
Great Lakes vs. Northeast, 4 p.m. – Midland 6, Beverly 3
Southeast vs. Western, 7:30 p.m. – Tupelo 4, Honolulu 0
Idle – Central Plains, Mid-Atlantic

Sunday, Aug. 15
Mid-South vs. Great Lakes, 1 p.m. – Dubuque County 3, Midland 2
Mid-Atlantic vs. Central Plains, 4 p.m. – Ridge 8, Fargo 3
Northeast vs. Northwest, 7:30 p.m. – suspended to 10 a.m. Monday with Beverly leading Idaho Falls in bottom 1st
Idle – Southeast, Western

Monday, Aug. 16 – semifinals
Northeast vs. Northwest, 10 a.m. – Idaho Falls 13, Beverly 3 (6 innings)
Stars No. 1 (Tupelo) vs. Stripes No. 2 (Idaho Falls), 1 p.m. – Idaho Falls 9, Tupelo 3
Stripes No. 1 (Dubuque County) vs. Stars No. 2 (Honolulu), 4 p.m. – postponed to Tuesday at time TBD

Tuesday, Aug. 17
Stripes No. 1 (Dubuque County) vs. Stars No. 2 (Honolulu), time TBD
Championship game – Idaho Falls vs. Dubuque County-Honolulu winner, 6:30 p.m.

 

 

High school boys soccer

The Gazette Cup began on Monday at Stuart Cramer High School as six teams were split into two pools to determine Saturday’s championship competition.

Here is the schedule and all games are being played at Cramer:

Pool A: West Charlotte, Stuart Cramer, Highland Tech
Pool B: East Gaston, Forestview, South Point

Monday’s games
West Charlotte vs Stuart Cramer, 6 p.m.
East Gaston vs Forestview, 8 p.m.

Tuesday’s games
Stuart Cramer vs Highland Tech, 6 p.m.
Forestview vs South Point, 8 p.m.

Wednesday’s games
Highland Tech vs West Charlotte, 6 p.m.
South Point vs East Gaston, 8 p.m.

Saturday’s games
Pool A 3rd place vs Pool B 3rd place, 4 p.m.
Pool A 2nd place vs Pool B 2nd place, 6 p.m.
Pool A 1st place vs Pool B 1st place, 8 p.m.

 

Pro football

Here is the Carolina Panthers’ full 2021 schedule:

(Preseason)

Aug. 15 at Indianapolis (Lost 18-21)
Aug. 21 Baltimore, 7 p.m.
Aug. 27 Pittsburgh, 7:30 p.m.

(Regular season)

Sept. 12 New York Jets, 1 p.m.
Sept. 19 New Orleans, 1 p.m.
Sept. 23 at Houston, 8:20 p.m.
Oct. 3 at Dallas, 1 p.m.
Oct. 10 Philadelphia, 1 p.m.
Oct. 17 Minnesota, 1 p.m.
Oct. 24 at New York Giants, 1 p.m.
Oct. 31 at Atlanta, 1 p.m.
Nov. 7 New England, 1 p.m.
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

 

 

High school football

Here is Friday’s slate for teams from Cleveland, Gaston and Lincoln counties:

Bessemer City at Community School of Davidson
Burns at Forestview
Cherryville at Avery County
Cramer at Bunker Hill
Concord at Ashbrook
East Gaston at North Gaston
East Lincoln at Hibriten
Freedom at Crest
Huss at Hickory Ridge
Lincolnton at South Point
Mountain Island Charter at Anson County
North Lincoln at West Lincoln
Shelby at Kings Mountain