9-16-21 roundup: High school football, boys soccer and volleyball, Middle school football and softball, College football, Pro football and baseball
By Richard Walker
How important is winning your conference football opener?
In the Big South Conference, it’s imperative if you want to win the league championship.
How so?
With Friday featuring six teams opening their league slate – Crest beat North Gaston 42-16 last week – none of the previous league champions or co-champions have lost their conference opener.
And the league’s most frequent champion, South Point, has made a habit out of winning its league opener.
The Red Raiders, who host Cramer on Friday, are 41-11 all-time in conference openers. That includes wins in all 12 years South Point won or shared the Big South title. The Red Raiders have lost their league opener the last two seasons – a slump that ended a 12-year winning streak in the conference opener.
Crest, which won the league’s first game, has had similar success as the Chargers are now 36-17-1 in league openers in their school history.
In addition to South Point’s matchup with Cramer, this week’s other Big South Conference slate has Crest at Ashbrook, Forestview at North Gaston and Kings Mountain at Huss.
The Big South isn’t the only league to open conference play this week as Bessemer City visits Thomas Jefferson, Cherryville plays at Shelby and Highland Tech visits Burns in the Southern Piedmont 1A/2A, Lincolnton hosts Bunker Hill and West Lincoln visits Bandys in the Catawba Valley 2A, East Lincoln visits Hickory and North Lincoln visits Statesville in the Western Foothills 3A and Mountain Island Charter hosts Pine Lake Prep in the Catawba Shores 1A/2A.
Here’s a look at this week’s matchups:
Bessemer City at Thomas Jefferson
Series: Thomas Jefferson leads 6-2
Storyline: The host Gryphons have won the last six matchups in the series and enter the game with a 2-0 record. Bessemer City is 1-3 after routing Christ the King 36-8 last week.
Bunker Hill at Lincolnton
Series: Lincolnton leads 11-1
Storyline: The Wolves are a hard-luck 0-3 but have shown improvement behind quarterback Andre Bost (215 yards passing, 199 yards rushing) and face a program that hasn’t beaten Lincolnton since 1975.
Cherokee at East Gaston
Series: First meeting
Storyline: The teams postponed last week’s game to this week.
Cherryville at Shelby
Series: Shelby leads 31-10-4
Storyline: One of the oldest area rivalries has been dominated by Shelby in recent years with 18 straight victories that date to Cherryville’s 6-0 win at Shelby in 1958. The series began in 1928.
Cramer at South Point
Series: South Point leads 7-0
Storyline: Cramer is located only 3.3 miles away from South Point but their all-time football meetings haven’t been close as South Point scored the first 215 points of the series and hold an all-time point differential of 345-45.
Crest at Ashbrook
Series: Crest leads 22-8
Storyline: Crest beat North Gaston 46-21 last week while Ashbrook played its first game – a 21-19 home loss to West Lincoln. Crest has won 13 straight games, last losing at Ashbrook in 2010.
East Lincoln at Hickory
Series: Tied 4-4
Storyline: The first meeting since the two played as league rivals for eight years in the old Western Piedmont 3A Conference. East Lincoln enters 3-0 after edging Lincolnton 14-8 two weeks ago.
Forestview at North Gaston
Series: Forestview leads 19-4
Storyline: North Gaston opened its league schedule with a 46-21 home loss to Crest while Forestview is coming off a 13-7 win at Freedom that improved the Jaguars record to 1-2.
Highland Tech at Burns
Series: First meeting
Storyline: Both teams are slumping entering the matchup; Highland Tech has yielded 144 points in three games – all losses – and Burns is 2-2 after dropping a pair of heartbreakers (19-14 at home against Kings Mountain and 28-20 at Watauga).
Kings Mountain at Huss
Series: Kings Mountain leads 10-8
Storyline: A conference opener between teams that will battle rustiness in their matchup. Kings Mountain has won two straight since losing their opener while Huss has been idle since lost 65-13 at Hickory Ridge on Aug. 20.
North Lincoln at Statesville
Series: Statesville leads 4-0
Storyline: The 2-1 Knights can make a huge statement with a win at preseason league favorite Statesville, which is 2-0 but has been off the past two weeks.
Pine Lake Prep at Mountain Island Charter
Series: Mountain Island Charter leads 4-2
Storyline: The Raptors are humming at 3-0 after quarterback Dylan Bisson (541 yards passing) and Reginald Taylor (334 yards receiving) set Gaston County records in last weeks 68-12 win over Union Academy.
West Lincoln at Bandys
Series: Bandys leads 36-14-1
Storyline: One of West Lincoln’s oldest rivalries resumes as a Catawba Valley 2A opener. The Rebels are 3-0 and enter with a strong running game that features Mason AVeray (599 yards) and Trace Gilmore (276 yards).
Here are other games involving teams in the area:
Clover, S.C. at Spartanburg, S.C.
R-S Central at Hendersonville
Foard at North Iredell
St. Stephens at West Iredell
Maiden at East Burke, ppd. no date
Newton-Conover at West Caldwell
Chambers at West Meck
Hough at North Meck
West Charlotte at Mallard Creek
Myers Park at Berry Academy
Olympic at Harding
Kell at Porter Ridge
Catawba Ridge, S.C. at South Meck
Garinger at Butler
Providence-Charlotte Catholic (at Memorial Stadium)
Rocky River at East Meck
Here are standings through Sept. 10 with conference record listed first followed by overall record:
BIG SOUTH 3A
Crest 1-0, 1-1
Cramer 0-0, 2-1
Kings Mountain 0-0, 2-1
South Point 0-0, 2-1
Forestview 0-0, 1-2
Ashbrook 0-0, 0-1
Huss 0-0, 0-1
North Gaston 0-1, 0-4
WESTERN FOOTHILLS 3A
East Lincoln 0-0, 3-0
Statesville 0-0, 2-0
North Lincoln 0-0, 2-1
Hickory 0-0, 1-2
West Iredell 0-0, 0-1
Foard 0-0, 0-2
North Iredell 0-0, 0-2
St. Stephens 0-0, 0-2
CATAWBA VALLEY 2A
Bunker Hill 0-0, 3-0
Maiden 0-0, 3-0
West Lincoln 0-0, 3-0
Bandys 0-0, 2-0
East Burke 0-0, 1-1
Newton-Conover 0-0, 0-2
West Caldwell 0-0, 0-2
Lincolnton 0-0, 0-3
SOUTHERN PIEDMONT 1A/2A
Thomas Jefferson 0-0, 2-0
Shelby 0-0, 2-1
Burns 0-0, 2-2
Cherryville 0-0, 1-2
East Gaston 0-0, 1-2
Bessemer City 0-0, 1-3
Highland Tech 0-0, 0-3
SOUTH MECK 4A
Kell 0-0, 3-0
Olympic 0-0, 3-0
South Meck 0-0, 3-1
Myers Park 0-0, 2-2
Harding 0-0, 2-2
Berry Academy 0-0, 1-1
SOUTHWESTERN 4A
Catholic 0-0, 2-1
Butler 0-0, 1-2
Independence 0-0, 1-2
Providence 0-0, 1-2
Rocky River 0-0, 1-3
Garinger 0-0, 0-3
East Meck 0-0, 0-4
QUEEN CITY 3A/4A
Chambers 0-0, 4-0
Hough 0-0, 3-0
West Charlotte 0-0, 3-0
West Meck 0-0, 3-1
North Meck 0-0, 2-1
Mallard Creek 0-0, 1-1
Hopewell 0-0, 1-3
OTHERS
Chase 0-0, 4-0
Clover 0-0, 1-2
Mtn Island Charter 0-0, 3-0
R-S Central 0-0, 0-2
High school JV football
Forestview 22, North Gaston 8
South Point 44, Cramer 14
Crest 28, Chase 18
Mountain Island Charter 14, Bishop McGuinness 12
Athletic Hall of Fame
The Cherryville Sports Hall of Fame will return with 10 individuals and an honored team on Oct. 2 at 6 p.m. at the Community Outreach Center at Cherryville’s First Baptist Church.
The Cherryville Sports Hall of Fame, which last previously inducted members in 2005, will induct Thomas Bess, Larry Boyles, Skeet Brackett, Trentavis Friday, Scott Harrill, Sonja Hoyle, Ebone Johnson, Abby Owens, Terry Whisnant, Jr., and the 1985 Cherryville High School state championship-winning boys basketball team.
Middle school football
Here are Wednesday’s Gaston County Conference results:
Gaston County Conference standings through Sept. 15 with division record listed first followed by overall record:
(Division I)
Southwest 2-0, 4-0
Grier 1-0, 3-0
Holbrook 1-0, 3-0
Cramerton 0-2, 2-2
Mount Holly 0-2, 0-3-1
(Division II)
York Chester 2-0, 2-1-1
Belmont 2-0, 2-2
W.C. Friday 1-1, 2-2
Stanley 1-1, 1-2
Chavis 0-2, 0-3
Bessemer City 0-2, 0-4
Wednesday’s results
Holbrook 36, Mount Holly 6
Southwest 6, Cramerton 0
Belmont 32, Bessemer City 8
Stanley 34, W.C. Friday 22
York Chester 40, Chavis 18
Sept. 22 games
Cramerton at Mount Holly
Holbrook at Grier
Belmont at W.C. Friday
Bessemer City at Chavis
Stanley at York Chester
Tri-County Conference standings through Sept. 15 with division record listed first followed by overall record:
(East)
East Lincoln 1-0, 2-0
North Lincoln 1-0, 2-0
Kings Mountain 1-0, 1-1
Lincolnton 0-1, 1-1
Burns 0-1, 0-1
West Lincoln 0-1, 0-2
(West)
Shelby 1-0, 3-0
Thomas Jefferson 1-0, 1-1
Crest 0-0, 0-1
East Rutherford 0-0, 0-1
R-S Central 0-1, 1-1
Chase 0-1, 0-2
Sept. 15 games
Crest at East Rutherford, ppd., Oct. 4
Shelby 50, R-S Central 8
Thomas Jefferson 14, Chase 0
East Lincoln 28, Burns 0
Kings Mountain 36, West Lincoln 0
North Lincoln 12, Lincolnton 8
Sept. 22 games
East Rutherford at Shelby
Thomas Jefferson at R-S Central
Chase at Crest
Burns at Kings Mountain
North Lincoln at East Lincoln
West Lincoln at Lincolnton
High school boys soccer
Here are the standings through Sept. 16 unless noted-x with conference record listed first followed by overall record:
BIG SOUTH 3A
Cramer 2-0, 8-2
Forestview 2-0, 5-2-1
Huss 1-1, 4-1
South Point 1-1, 5-4
Ashbrook 1-1, 2-2
Kings Mountain 1-1, 2-4
North Gaston 0-2, 2-4-1
Crest 0-2, 0-6
SOUTHERN PIEDMONT 1A/2A
Shelby 2-0, 7-1
x-Highland Tech 1-0, 3-1
Burns 2-1, 5-1-1
Thomas Jefferson 1-1, 1-3
East Gaston 1-2, 2-8
Cherryville 0-2, 1-3-1
x-Bessemer City 0-1, 2-6
OTHERS
East Lincoln 2-0, 4-3
Lincoln Charter 0-0, 4-3-1
Lincolnton 2-0, 4-0-1
Mtn Island Charter 0-0, 3-3
x-North Lincoln 0-1, 4-4
West Lincoln 0-2, 2-7
This week’s schedule:
(Monday)
Bandys 8, West Lincoln 0
Cramer 4, South Point 1
Ashbrook 9, Crest 0
East Lincoln 4, North Lincoln 1
Forestview 2, North Gaston 0
Huss 3, Kings Mountain 0
Hibriten 7, Lincoln Charter 0
Lincolnton 2, Bunker Hill 0
Forest Hills 3, Mountain Island Charter 1
(Tuesday)
Bessemer City at Shelby, ppd., Sept. 27
East Gaston 5, Cherryville 1
Thomas Jefferson 1, Burns 0
(Wednesday)
Forestview 2, Ashbrook 0: Plamedi Warsinsky and Jaden Johnson scored goals for Forestview.
Cramer 9, Crest 0
Forest Hills 4, Lincoln Charter 1
East Lincoln 4, Hickory 1
Monroe Victory FC 2, Mountain Island Charter 0
Lincolnton 4, Newton-Conover 1
Kings Mountain 2, North Gaston 1
South Point 2, Huss 0
Statesville at North Lincoln, no report
Maiden 3, West Lincoln 2
(Thursday)
Bessemer City at Highland Tech, no report
Burns 2, East Gaston 1
Shelby 4, Thomas Jefferson 0
High school volleyball
Gaston Day 3, Concord Academy 3-0 (25-5, 25-7, 25-15): Gaston Day improved to 14-4 overall and 3-0 in the MAC entering its next game on Tuesday at Gaston Christian.
Kings Mountain 3, Cramer 0 (25-15, 25-12, 25-14): Kings Mountain (8-1, 4-0) stayed unbeaten in the Big South 3A Conference behind Aaliyah Byers (6 serve receive, 6 digs, 15 kills, 2 blocks, 4 service points), Meile Songaila (11 serve receive, 7 digs, 11 kills, 2 blocks, 9 service points), Paige Bagwell (22 assists, 13 service points) and Jessie Ozmore (9 assists, 7 service points). Cramer won the junior varsity match 2-0 (25-16, 25-9) with Kings Mountain (5-3) being led by London Brown (6 kills, 12 service points, 4 digs), Caroline Moss (10 service points, 5 serve receive), Alexa Jones (8 kills, 4 digs, 3 serve receptions) and Sara Kate Bridges (16 assists, 3 digs).
Middle school softball
Thursday’s results:
Chavis at Stanley, ppd., Sept. 21
Cramerton at Southwest, ppd., Sept. 22
Mount Holly 15, W.C. Friday 0
Holbrook 17, Grier 2: Christina Ramsey, Madison Flint, Layla Love, Alysa Couick, Abby Helms, Mackenzie McCaskill, Layla Pless, Amani Neely, Breauna Whitener, Abby Helms and Alysa Couick led Holbrook to the victory.
Gaston County Conference standings through Sept. 15:
Cramerton 4-0 (5-0 overall)
Chavis 4-0
Mount Holly 5-1
Belmont 4-1
Stanley 3-2
Holbrook 3-3
Grier 1-4
Bessemer City 1-4 (1-5 overall)
W.C. Friday 1-5
Southwest 0-6
Sept. 20 games
Belmont at Stanley
Bessemer City at Southwest
Chavis at Mount Holly
Cramerton at Southwest
College football
Here’s the Carolinas Division I football schedule this week:
(Saturday)
Coastal Carolina at Buffalo, 11 a.m.
Elon at Appalachian State, 2:30 p.m.
Samford at Western Carolina, 2:30 p.m.
Georgia Tech at Clemson, 3:30 p.m.
Florida State at Wake Forest, 3:30 p.m.
Northwestern at Duke, 4 p.m.
Charlotte at Georgia State, 6 p.m.
East Carolina at Marshall, 6 p.m.
Kennesaw State at Wofford, 6 p.m.
Lincoln, Pa. at Gardner-Webb, 6 p.m.
Monmouth at Charleston Southern, 6 p.m.
North Greenville at The Citadel, 6 p.m.
Presbyterian at Campbell, 6 p.m.
Winston-Salem State at N.C. Central, 6 p.m.
South Carolina at Georgia, 7 p.m.
Virginia at North Carolina, 7:30 p.m.
Furman at N.C. State, 7:30 p.m.
South Carolina State at New Mexico State, 8 p.m.
Here’s the Carolinas Division II football schedule this week:
(Saturday)
Barton at Catawba, 1 p.m.
Central State at Shaw, 1 p.m.
Erskine at Chowan, 1 p.m.
Virginia Wise at Mars Hill, 1 p.m.
Wingate at Carson-Newman, 1 p.m.
Limestone at Tusculum, 3 p.m.
Livingstone at Allen University, 5 p.m.
Bluefield State at J.C. Smith, 6 p.m.
Glenville State at UNC-Pembroke, 6 p.m.
Lenoir-Rhyne at Newberry, 6 p.m.
Virginia Lynchburg at Virginia Union, 6 p.m.
Elizabeth City State at Norfolk State, 7 p.m.
Pro football
Here is the Carolina Panthers’ 2021 regular season schedule:
Sept. 12 New York Jets (W 19-14)
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
Pro baseball
The Gastonia Honey Hunters lost their fifth straight game, 3-1 at home against Lexington, to fall to 44-54 in the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball.
Gastonia continues its homestand with three straight home games against High Point starting Friday night at 6:50 p.m.