9-18-22 roundup: Pro baseball, football and soccer, High school football, College football, Auto racing

By Richard Walker

The Carolina Panthers continue to confound their fanbase with different ways to lose.

On Sunday, after taking a lead for the 17th time in its last 19 games, Carolina lost 19-16 at the New York Giants on Sunday.

It means the Panthers now have a league-worst nine-game losing streak and are 5-12 in the last 17 games in which they have held a lead.

In this defeat, despite two lost fumbles giving New York an early 6-0 lead, the Panthers scored the next 13 points to take a 13-6 lead early in the second half.

But the Giants would rally as former Carolina kicker Graham Gano booted four field goals – two of 50 or more yards – including the game-winner of 56 yards with 3:38 to play.

The loss will no doubt raise speculation about Panthers’ head coach Matt Rhule’s future with the franchise as he’s now 10-25 overall with records of 3-12 in one-score games and 1-25 in games in which the opponent scores 17 or more points.

Additionally, the 0-2 start is the 11th in Panthers’ history. And only in 2013 did Carolina bounced back to make the playoffs.

The best news for the Panthers was the breakout game of Christian McCaffrey, who rushed 15 times for 102 yards and caught four passes for 26 yards. It was his first 100-yard rushing game since Nov. 10, 2019 against Green Bay.

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, 1 p.m.
Week 4, Oct. 2, Arizona, 4:05 p.m.
Week 5, Oct. 9, San Francisco, 4:05 p.m.
Week 6, Oct. 16, at L.A. Rams, 4:05 p.m.
Week 7, Oct. 23, Tampa Bay, 1 p.m.
Week 8, Oct. 30, at Atlanta, 1 p.m.
Week 9, Nov. 6, at Cincinnati, 1 p.m.
Week 10, Nov. 9, Atlanta, 1 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 football

This week’s high school Monday Morning Quarterback discusses the growing disparity between the teams in the Southern Piedmont 1A/2A Conference.

In Friday night’s league openers, two of the matchups saw Burns and Shelby record two of the 11 70-point games in the rich history of the Cleveland County high school football.

And Burns’ 74-0 win over Highland Tech extended its previous single-game scoring record by two points after last season’s 72-0 win over Highland Tech. Shelby rolled past Cherryville 70-0 on Friday for that school’s fourth 70-point game and its first since a 72-0 win last year over… you guessed it… Highland Tech.

The point isn’t that Burns or Shelby are needlessly running up the score on their opponents.

It just shows what we all knew when the Southern Piedmont 1A/2A was created. The disparity between the haves and have-nots is so large that neither side benefits.

Let’s face it, Shelby is the state’s all-time winner – with 832 victories since 1911 – and has made teams from all over the state look bad.

But the Golden Lions hardly benefit from thrashing teams that have no chance of competing with them. Consider that Shelby had a 96-27-4 all-time record against their other six league opponents in football when the league began last year. Burns has 15 of those victories – all since 1975 – and Cherryville’s 10 victories all came before 1959. Bessemer City (1936) and East Gaston (1978) have one win each against Shelby.

Clearly, the N.C. High School Athletic Association has the goal of creating competitive balance when it does realignment every four years.

Just don’t tell Highland Tech how it has given the Rams any chance in this four-year cycle.

A school that opened in 2002, Highland Tech entered the new league with a 35-159 all-time record and a 1-47 record against its six conference opponents. Friday’s loss to Burns dropped the Rams to 0-15 overall and 0-7 in league play since it joined the SPC.

Here are the standings through Sept. 16 with conference records followed by overall records:

(Big South 3A)
Kings Mountain 1-0, 4-0
South Point 1-0, 4-0
Crest 1-0, 3-1
Forestview 1-0, 2-2
Cramer 0-1, 2-2
Ashbrook 0-1, 1-3
Huss 0-1, 1-3
North Gaston 0-1, 0-4

(Southern Piedmont 1A/2A)
Burns 1-0, 4-1
Shelby 1-0, 2-3
Bessemer City 1-0, 1-4
East Gaston 0-0, 2-2
Cherryville 0-1, 2-3
Thomas Jefferson 0-1, 0-4
Highland Tech 0-1, 0-5

(Western Foothills 3A)
East Lincoln 1-0, 4-0
St. Stephens 1-0, 2-2
Statesville 1-0, 2-2
North Iredell 1-0, 1-3
Hickory 0-1, 2-2
Foard 0-1, 0-4
North Lincoln 0-1, 0-4
West Iredell 0-1, 0-4

(Catawba Valley 2A)
Bunker Hill 1-0, 4-0
West Lincoln 1-0, 4-0
Maiden 1-0, 3-1
Newton-Conover 1-0, 2-2
Bandys 0-1, 1-3
East Burke 0-1, 1-3
Lincolnton 0-1, 1-3
West Caldwell 0-1, 0-4

(Queen City 3A/4A)
Chambers 1-0, 4-1
Hough 1-0, 3-1
Mallard Creek 1-0, 3-2
Hopewell 0-0, 2-2
West Meck 0-1, 4-1
North Meck 0-1, 3-2
West Charlotte 0-1, 2-3

(Southern Meck 4A)
Olympic 1-0, 5-0
South Meck 1-0, 3-2
Myers Park 1-0, 1-4
Kell 0-0, 3-1
Palisades 0-1, 1-3
Berry Academy 0-1, 1-4
Harding 0-1, 1-4

(Southwestern 4A)
Butler 1-0, 4-1
Catholic 1-0, 3-1
Rocky River 1-0, 2-3
Independence 0-0, 4-0
Providence 0-1, 2-2
East Meck 0-1, 1-4
Garinger 0-1, 0-5

(Others)
Mtn Isl Charter 0-1, 2-1
Chase 0-0, 4-0
East Rutherford 0-1, 1-4
R-S Central 0-1, 2-3

(Friday’s games)
Bessemer City at Highland Tech
Cherryville at East Gaston
Community School of Davidson at Mountain Island Charter
Crest at Cramer
East Lincoln at Statesville
Forestview at Ashbrook
Huss at South Point
Kings Mountain at North Gaston
Newton-Conover at Lincolnton
North Lincoln at Hickory
Thomas Jefferson at Shelby
West Lincoln at Maiden
Off – Burns

(Other area games:)
Foard at West Iredell
St. Stephens at North Iredell
Bandys at East Burke
Bunker Hill at West Caldwell
Hough at Chambers
Hopewell at Mallard Creek
West Charlotte at West Meck
Palisades at Kell
Berry Academy at South Meck
Myers Park at Harding
Butler at Providence
Charlotte Catholic at Independence
Garinger at East Meck
Charlotte Country Day at Lake Norman Charter
East Rutherford at Chase
R-S Central at Brevard
Boiling Springs, S.C. at Clover, S.C.

 

 

 

 

 

 

College football

This week’s NCAA Division I Carolinas schedule:

(Sept. 17 results)
Virginia Tech 27, Wofford 7
Georgia 48, South Carolina 7
Coastal Carolina 38, Buffalo 26
Appalachian State 32, Troy 28
Western Carolina 77, Presbyterian 21
Wake Forest 37, Liberty 36
Duke 49, North Carolina A&T 20
East Carolina 49, Campbell 10
Eastern Kentucky 40, Charleston Southern 17
N.C. Central 45, New Hampshire 27
Mercer 17, The Citadel 0
Elon 30, Gardner-Webb 24
N.C. State 27, Texas Tech 14
Charlotte 42, Georgia State 41
Davidson 56, St. Andrews 6
Furman 27, East Tennessee State 14
Clemson def. Louisiana Tech

This week’s NCAA Division I Carolinas schedule:

(Thursday’s games)
Coastal Carolina at Georgia State, 7:30 p.m.

(Saturday’s games)
Clemson at Wake Forest, noon
Duke at Kansas, noon
Furman at Charleston Southern, noon
Western Carolina at Samford, 3 p.m.
Notre Dame at North Carolina, 3:30 p.m.
James Madison at Appalachian State, 3:30 p.m.
Elon at William & Mary, 3:30 p.m.
Virginia Lynchburg at N.C. Central, 4 p.m.
Mercer at Gardner-Webb, 6 p.m.
Navy at East Carolina, 6 p.m.
Wofford at Kennesaw State, 6 p.m.
Davidson at Presbyterian, 7 p.m.
S.C. State at North Carolina A&T, 7 p.m.
Connecticut at N.C. State, 7:30 p.m.
Charlotte at South Carolina, 7:30 p.m.

 

 

 

 

 

Pro baseball

Gastonia closed out its Atlantic League of Professional Baseball regular season on Sunday with a 7-1 victory at Charleston, W.Va.

The full Gastonia Honey Hunters’ 2022 schedule (Games times 6:15 p.m. Monday through Saturday, 4:15 on Sunday):

First half record: 45-21 (South Division winner)
Second half record: 43-23 (South Division winner)

April (8-1)
21 Lancaster, Pa. (L 2-5)
22 Lancaster, Pa. (W 4-3)
23 Lancaster, Pa. (W 8-1)
24 Lancaster, Pa. (W 13-4)
26 Wild Health, Ky. (W 12-1)
27 Wild Health, Ky. (W 17-4)
28 Wild Health, Ky. (W 6-4)
29 Staten Island (W 5-4)
30 Staten Island (W 6-5)

May (16-10)
1 Staten Island (W 10-5)
3 at York, Pa. (W 3-1)
4 at York, Pa. (L 4-5 in 10)
5 at York, Pa. (W 12-7)
6 at Staten Island (ppd.)
7 at Staten Island (ppd.)
8 at Staten Island (W 4-1)
8 at Staten Island (W 7-2)
10 at So. Maryland (W 2-0)
11 at So. Maryland (L 0-4)
12 at So. Maryland (L 2-4)
13 at Staten Island (ppd.)
14 at Staten Island (ppd.)
15 at Staten Island (L 1-2)
15 at Staten Island (W 1-0)
16 at Staten Island (W 8-3)
17 So. Maryland (L 4-5)
18 So. Maryland (L 6-8)
19 So. Maryland (W 13-1)
20 Charleston, W.Va. (W 12-10)
21 Charleston, W.Va. (W 6-4)
22 Charleston, W.Va. (L 1-8)
24 at Lancaster, Pa. (W 2-1)
25 at Lancaster, Pa. (L 3-13)
26 at Lancaster, Pa. (L 1-4)
27 at Long Island (W 5-3)
28 at Long Island (W 10-3)
29 at Long Island (W 3-2)
30 at Long Island (W 5-2)
31 Long Island (L 7-8)

June (17-9)
1 Long Island (L 9-10 in 11)
2 Long Island (L 0-5)
3 at High Point (W 5-4)
4 at High Point (W 8-3)
5 at High Point (W 8-3)
7 at Charleston,W.Va. (L 5-7)
8 at Charleston,W.Va. (W 6-0)
9 at Charleston,W.Va. (W 3-2)
10 High Point (W 7-6)
11 High Point (W 6-4)
12 High Point (W 9-5)
14 Charleston, W.Va. (L 4-6)
15 Charleston, W.Va. (W 14-7)
16 Charleston, W.Va. (W 2-0)
17 at Lexington, Ky. (W 6-1)
18 at Lexington, Ky. (L 2-3 in 10)
19 at Lexington, Ky. (W 4-0 in 11)
21 Charleston, W.Va. (W 8-7)
22 Charleston, W.Va. (L 1-4)
23 Charleston, W.Va. (W 5-4)
24 at So. Maryland (ppd.)
25 at So. Maryland (W 6-3)
25 at So. Maryland (W 3-0)
26 at So. Maryland (L 7-9)
28 Wild Health, Ky. (W 4-0)
29 Wild Health, Ky. (L 2-10)
30 Wild Health, Ky. (L 6-7)

July (21-5)
1 at Lexington, Ky. (W 12-11)
2 at Lexington, Ky. (W 10-6)
3 at Lexington, Ky. (W 10-5)
4 High Point (L 1-8)
–end of 1st half of season
5 High Point (W 8-5 in 5/weather)
6 at High Point (W 7-6)
7 at High Point (W 6-4)
8 High Point (ppd.)
9 High Point (W 4-0)
10 High Point (W 5-2)
10 High Point (ppd., Aug. 5)
12 at Wild Health, Ky. (W 8-6)
13 at Wild Health, Ky. (W 6-2)
14 at Wild Health, Ky. (W 4-1)
15 Lexington, Ky (ppd.)
16 Lexington, Ky. (W 4-1)
16 Lexington, Ky. (W 5-3)
17 Lexington, Ky. (W 12-5)
19 at York, Pa. (W 19-5)
20 at York, Pa. (W 10-0)
21 at York, Pa. (L 2-6)
22 at High Point (L 1-2)
23 at High Point (W 5-3)
24 at High Point (L 6-7)
26 Lexington, Ky. (L 4-10)
27 Lexington, Ky. (W 11-0)
28 Lexington, Ky. (W 8-6)
29 York, Pa. (W 3-2)
30 York, Pa. (ppd.)
31 York, Pa. (W 8-7)
31 York, Pa. (W 5-1)

August (14-13)
2 at Lexington, Ky. (W 10-8)
3 at Lexington, Ky. (W 10-3)
4 at Lexington, Ky. (W 10-5)
5 High Point (W 6-3)
5 High Point (L 2-3)
6 High Point (L 4-8)
7 High Point (L 5-11)
9 Staten Island (W 10-5)
9 Staten Island (W 7-2)
10 Staten Island (L 2-6)
11 Staten Island (L 7-9)
12 at High Point (W 9-4)
13 at High Point (L 3-5)
14 at High Point (L 3-6)
16 So. Maryland (L 2-3 in 10)
17 So. Maryland (W 5-3)
18 So. Maryland (W 12-7)
19 High Point (W 15-0)
20 High Point (W 11-5)
21 High Point (L 4-13)
23 at Charleston,W.Va. (L 4-7)
24 at Charleston,W.Va. (W 11-2)
25 at Charleston,W.Va. (W 9-1)
26 at High Point (L 3-8)
27 at High Point (W 6-5)
28 at High Point (L 3-7)
30 High Point (ppd.)
31 High Point (W 2-0)
31 High Point (L 7-8 in 8)

September (10-6)
1 High Point (L 2-3)
2 Wild Health, Ky. (L 2-3)
3 Wild Health, Ky. (W 5-3)
4 Wild Health, Ky. (L 4-5)
6 at Wild Health, Ky. (W 5-2)
7 at Wild Health, Ky. (W 6-3)
8 at Wild Health, Ky. (W 9-4)
9 Lexington, Ky. (W 12-0)
10 Lexington, Ky. (ppd.)
11 Lexington, Ky. (L 6-7)
11 Lexington, Ky. (W 4-3)
13 at High Point (W 10-3)
14 at High Point (W 15-1)
15 at High Point (L 3-8)
16 at Charleston,W.Va. (W 10-5)
17 at Charleston,W.Va. (L 4-5)
18 at Charleston,W.Va. (W 7-1)

—ALPB playoffs
(Southern Division championship vs. High Point: Best-of-5)
Sept. 20 Game 1 – home at 6:15 p.m.
Sept. 21 Game 2 – home at 6:15 p.m.
Sept. 23 Game 3 – away TBA
Sept. 24 Game 4 (if necessary) – away TBA
Sept. 25 Game 5 (if necessary) – away TBA

(League championship vs. Southern Maryland-Lancaster winner: Best-of-5)
Sept. 27 Game 1
Sept. 28 Game 2
Sept. 30 Game 3
Oct. 1 Game 4 (if necessary)
Oct. 2 Game 5 (if necessary)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pro soccer

Charlotte FC won its second straight match with a 3-2 victory at Chicago on Saturday.

Here’s the full Charlotte FC MLS schedule for the 2022 season (with results):

(12-17-2 record)
Feb. 26 at D.C. (L 0-3)
March 5, L.A. (L 0-1)
March 13, at Atlanta (L 1-2)
March 19, New England (W 3-1)
March 26, Cincinnati (W 2-0)
April 2, at Philadelphia (L 0-2)
April 10, Atlanta (W 1-0)
April 16, at New England (L 1-2)
April 23, at Colorado (T 0-0)
April 30, at Orlando (L 1-2)
May 7, Miami (W 1-0)
May 14, Montreal (L 0-2)
May 22, Vancouver (W 2-1)
May 29, at Seattle (L 1-2)
June 11, New York (W 2-0)
June 18, at Columbus (T 1-1)
June 25, at Montreal (L 1-2)
June 30, Austin (L 0-1)
July 3, at Houston (W 2-1)
July 9, Nashville (W 4-1)
July 16, at Miami (L 2-3)
July 23, at Toronto (L 0-4)
July 30, Columbus (suspended at 0-0 in 16th minute to Oct. 5)
August 3, D.C. (W 3-0)
August 6, Chicago (L 2-3)
August 13, at LAFC (L 0-5)
August 17, at New York City (W 3-1)
August 21, Orlando (L 1-2)
August 27, Toronto (L 0-2)
September 3, at Cincinnati (L 0-2)
September 10, New York City (W 1-0)
September 17, at Chicago (W 3-2)
October 1, Philadelphia, 5:30 p.m.
October 5, Columbus, 7 p.m.
October 9, at New York, 1 p.m.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Auto racing

The 2022 NASCAR cup schedule (with winners):

Feb. 6 Busch Light Clash (Joey Logano)
Feb. 17 Bluegreen Vacations Duel 1 (Brad Keselowski)
Feb. 17 Bluegreen Vacations Duel 2 (Chris Buescher)
Feb. 20 Daytona 500 (Austin Cindric)
Feb. 27 Wise Power 400 (Kyle Larson)
Mar. 6 Pennzoil 400 (Alex Bowman)
Mar. 13 Ruoff Mortgage (Chase Briscoe)
Mar. 20 Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 (William Byron)
Mar. 27 EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix (Ross Chastain)
Apr. 3 Toyota Owners (Denny Hamlin)
Apr. 9 Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 400 (William Byron-2)
Apr. 17 Food City Dirt Race (Kyle Busch)
Apr. 24 Geico 500 (Ross Chastain-2)
May 2 DuraMAX Drydene 400 (Chase Elliott)
May 8 Goodyear 400 (Joey Logano)
May 15 AdventHealth 400 (Kurt Busch)
May 22 NASCAR All-Star Open (Daniel Suarez)
May 22 NASCAR All-Star (Ryan Blaney)
May 29 Coca-Cola 600 (Denny Hamlin-2)
June 5 Enjoy Illinois 300 (Joey Logano-2)
June 12 Toyota/Save Mart 350 (Daniel Suarez)
June 26 Ally 400 (Chase Elliott-2)
July 3 Kwik Trip 250 (Tyler Reddick)
July 10 Quaker State 400 (Chase Elliott-3)
July 17 Ambetter 301 (Christopher Bell)
July 24 NASCAR Cup Series at Pocono (Chase Elliott-4)
July 31 Verizon 200 at the Brickyard (Tyler Reddick-2)
Aug. 7 FireKeepers Casino 400 (Kevin Harvick)
Aug. 14 Federated Auto Parts 400 (Kevin Harvick-2)
Aug. 21 Go Bowling at The Glen (Kyle Larson-2)
Aug. 27-28 Coke Zero Sugar 400 (Austin Dillon)
Sept. 4 Cook Out Southern 500 (Erik Jones)
Sept. 11 Hollywood Casino 400 (Bubba Wallace)
Sept. 17 Bass Pro Shops Night Race (Chris Buescher)
Sept. 24 AutoTraderEchoPark Automotive 500
Oct. 2 YellaWood 500
Oct. 9 Bank of America ROVAL 400
Oct. 16 South Point 400
Oct. 23 Dixie Vodka 400
Oct. 30 Xfinity 500
Nov. 6 NASCAR Cup Series Championship