8-27-21 roundup: High school football, volleyball and girls tennis, Middle school football and softball, Pro football and baseball

By Richard Walker

South Point was challenged for a half at rival East Gaston.

Then the Red Raiders scored 28 straight points in the second half for a 35-7 non-conference victory.

It gives South Point its 25th win over the Warriors in their last 25 meetings.

Tyson Riley scored two second half touchdowns and Cam Medlock ran for one score and passed for another (Jackson Blee) and Joseph O’Neill rushed for another touchdown.

Here’s the rest of Friday’s results from Cleveland, Gaston and Lincoln counties:

Alexander Central 41, North Gaston 6: Host North Gaston fell to 0-2.

Cramer 38, Bessemer City 6: The host Storm (1-1) scored the first 28 points and cruised to the non-conference win.

Burns 21, Crest 20: The host Bulldogs (2-0) stopped Crest near midfield in the final seconds of the 56th meeting all-time between the longtime rivals. Ben Mauney threw TD passes to Chase Bridges to Kahari Surratt and Azari Brown returned a fumble 40 yards for Burns. Crest’s Mari Adams scored two touchdowns and Nytavious Huskey threw a TD pass to Malachi Addison.

Hickory Grove 49, Highland Tech 0: Visiting Hickory Grove ruined Highland Tech’s season-opener.

Kings Mountain 14, Asheville 0: The Mountaineers went on the road to bounce back after a season-opening home loss.

North Lincoln 28, Lincolnton 18: Kyle Kovalchuk scored three touchdowns and Brennan Rogers one as the Knights rallied in the fourth quarter to win at Lincolnton. Bernard Wingate, Eian Stancil and Andre Bost scored Lincolnton’s touchdowns.

Shelby 15, A.C. Reynolds 12: A late defensive stand preserved a road win for Shelby, which got touchdowns from Luke Williams and Kamari Houze.

West Lincoln 27, Cherryville 7: After Cherryville scored first, West Lincoln closed the game with 27 straight points.

Other Friday scores from the area:
Bandys 49, Foard 3
Berry Academy at West Meck, cancelled
Bunker Hill 42, St. Stephens 0
Charlotte Latin 24, Hickory 6
Chase 56, Owen 6
Kell 41, Cuthbertson 28
Freedom 13, East Burke 12
Catholic 34, Hickory Ridge 19
Hopewell 34, East Meck 0
Hough 48, Mooresville 9
Marvin Ridge 38, Independence 6
Myers Park 35, Clover, S.C. 13
Newton-Conover at West Iredell, cancelled

North Iredell at Lake Norman, cancelled
North Meck at Garinger, no report
Rocky River at Olympic, cancelled
South Caldwell at Hickory, cancelled
Statesville 27, South Iredell 14
South Meck 24, Providence 7
Thomas Jefferson 23, Pine Lake Prep 8
Maiden 49, Watauga 0
West Caldwell at R-S Central, cancelled
West Charlotte 20, Harding 8
York, S.C. at Clover, S.C., cancelled

Saturday’s games
East Lincoln at Forestview
Rocky River at West Meck
Charlotte Chambers at Highland Springs, Va.

Richmond at Butler

 

High school volleyball

Kings Mountain 3, Weddington 2 (19-25, 25-20, 17-25, 26-24, 16-14, Thursday): Aaliyah Byers (22 kills, 12 serve receptions, 10 digs, 6 service points), Meile Songaila (17 kills, 25 serve receptions, 12 digs, 6 service points), Paige Bagwell (3 kills, 26 assists, 9 digs, 11 service points), Jessie Osmore (16 assists, 7 digs) and Caroline Barber (9 serve receptions, 15 digs, 5 service points) led the Mountaineers (3-1), who play again in a tournament at Chesnee, S.C., on Saturday.
Weddington won the junior varsity match 2-1 (22-25, 25-15, 15-6) with Kings Mountain (3-1) being led by London Brown (10 serve receptions, 5 digs, 7 kills, 5 service points) and Sara Kate Bridges (11 assists).

East Lincoln 3, Maiden 1 (25-20, 16-25, 25-17, 25-17, Tuesday); Kendall Fisher (9 kills, 18 digs), Hailey McFadden (7 kills, 3 blocks, 8 digs)
Alexa Dos Santos (7 kills, 21 digs) and Katie Cook (27 assists, 6 digs, 5 kills, 3 aces) led East Lincoln.

East Lincoln 3, Bandys 1 (25-21, 25-17, 9-25, 25-21, Thursday): Fisher (13 kills, 3 aces, 15 digs), McFadden (12 kills, 5 blocks, 7 digs), Dos Santos (9 kills, 18 digs) and Cook (36 assists, 25 digs, 4 aces) led East Lincoln.

 

 

 

High school girls tennis

South Point 8, East Rutherford 1 (Thursday): Emilia Vargas, Emily Koehler, Caroline Beaty, Sofia Czerwinsky and Carlie Ann Phillips won in singles and Lauren Lucas-Vargas, Koehler-Beaty, Czerwinsky-Phillips won in doubles.

North Lincoln 9, Maiden 0 (Thursday): Emma Carver, Anna Gore, Madison File, Meghan Restino, Natalie Gore and Rachel Fink won in singles and Carver-Restino, Gore-Gore and Addison Heavner-Ella Wulfhorst won in doubles.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pro football

The Carolina Panthers routed the Pittsburgh Steelers 34-9 to close out their 2021 preseason with a 1-2 record on Friday night at Bank of America Stadium.

It was a night where the Panthers played their starters – except for running back Christian McCaffrey – in the opening half while the Steelers rested their starters.

Quarterback Sam Darnold, acquired from the New York Jets in the offseason, completed 19 of 25 throws for 162 yards with two touchdowns and a 119.1 passer rating while leading Carolina to a 17-3 first half lead. Darnold had only seven snaps in the first two preseason games.

Another storyline involved Panthers’ kickers.

Joey Slye’s struggles continued as he missed a 49-yarder while Thursday’s trade acquisition, Ryan Santoso, converted both of his field goal attempts that includes a 52-yarder. Slye’s miss was his fourth of the preseason – three on field goals and one on an extra point.

Carolina outgained Pittsburgh 404-221 as backups P.J. Walker (5 of 10 for 83 passing) and Will Grier (5 of 7 for 47 yards and a TD run) directed the Panthers to 17 second half points.

The Panthers finished 1-2 in the preseason and will now cut down their roster to 53 players as they prepare for the Sept. 12 regular season opener at home against the New York Jets.

Here is the Panthers’ full 2021 schedule:

(Preseason)

Aug. 15 at Indianapolis (Lost 18-21)
Aug. 21 Baltimore (Lost 3-20)
Aug. 27 Pittsburgh (Won 34-9)

(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

 

 

 

College men’s volleyball

Derek Sullivan, a Belmont Abbey alumnus and current assistant coach, has been elevated to head men’s volleyball coach at the school, Vice President and Director of Athletics Stephen Miss announced on Friday.

Sullivan had been serving in an interim capacity for the last two months.

“I am pleased to announce the hire of one of our own, Derek Sullivan, to lead our Men’s Volleyball program moving forward,” Miss said in a school news release. “As an alumnus of Belmont Abbey College, a member of our inaugural class of men’s volleyball students, and a member of our coaching staff the past two seasons, Coach Sullivan is well-suited to form and develop our students holistically and is uniquely positioned to maintain continuity, building upon the program’s strong foundation and last year’s unprecedented success.”

A 2016 Belmont Abbey graduate, Sullivan returned to his alma mater in 2020 as assistant coach, aiding in practice and game preparations, recruiting and overall administration within the program. During his two seasons in the role, the Crusaders posted a 23-18 record, winning their first-ever Conference Carolinas Tournament and earning an historic NCAA Championship bid. The program also was named the winner of the Conference Carolina Messick Award for sportsmanship in 2021.

 

 

 

 

Pro baseball

The Gastonia Honey Hunters lost its third straight game 15-13 at home against Lexington.

The loss dropped Gastonia to 39-40 overall this season as it prepares for the last two games of a three-game series against Lexington; The teams play at 6:50 p.m. on Saturday and 4:50 p.m. on Sunday.