9-24-22 roundup: Pro baseball, football and soccer, High school football, College football, Auto racing
By Richard Walker
The Carolina Panthers face their most frequent opponent on Sunday when they host the New Orleans Saints in the first game of a rare three-game homestand.
Carolina hosts New Orleans this Sunday, then hosts Arizona on Oct. 2 and San Francisco on Oct. 9.
How rare is a three-game homestand?
It’s only the ninth in franchise history and first since 2017. And two of those three-game homestand were due to the team’s advance into the postseason.
Here’s how the previous three-game homestands have gone (with records):
1996 (3-0): Carolina won the last two games of the regular season over the St. Louis Rams and Pittsburgh Steelers, then after a first-round playoff bye defeated the defending Super Bowl champion Dallas Cowboys in the NFC semifinals.
1998 (1-2): The Panthers lost to the San Francisco 49ers and Washington Redskins before defeating the St. Louis Rams.
2000 (1-2): Carolina lost to the Atlanta Falcons, had a Week No. 4 bye before losing to the Dallas Cowboys and beating the New England Patriots.
2001 (0-3): The Panthers lost the last three games of the season, the finale created by the NFL-wide cancellation of games on Sept. 16 due to the Sept. 11 attack on the Twin Towers in New York City; Carolina lost to the St. Louis Rams, Arizona Cardinals and New England Patriots.
2006 (2-1): Carolina lost to the Dallas Cowboys, had a Week No. 9 bye before beating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and St. Louis Rams.
2011 (1-2): The Panthers beat the Washington Redskins, lost to the Minnesota Vikings then after a Week No. 9 bye lost to the Tennessee Titans.
2015 (3-0 and 3-0): Carolina beat the Philadelphia Eagles, Indianapolis Colts and Green Bay Packers, then beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, had a first-round playoff bye before beating the Seattle Seahawks and Arizona Cardinals to win the NFC championship.
2017 (3-0): The Panthers beat the Minnesota Vikings, Green Bay Packers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Gameday: New Orleans Saints (1-1) at Carolina Panthers (0-2), 1 p.m. on Sunday
TV: FOX (Dan Hellie, Matt Millen, Lindsay Czarniak)
RADIO: FM 99.7 in Charlotte is flagship station (Anish Shroff, Jake Delhomme, Luke Kuechly, Kristen Balboni, Jim Szoke)
THE SERIES: New Orleans leads the all-time series 29-26, including 14-13 at Carolina and six wins in the last eight meetings overall. The Panthers’ last home win came in a 26-7 Panthers victory on Sept. 19, 2021.
RANKINGS AMONG NFL (After Week 2): Carolina offense – 28th overall, 20th rushing, 30th passing. Carolina defense – 9th overall, 29th rushing, 3rd passing. New Orleans offense – 17th overall, 9th rushing, 18th passing. New Orleans defense – 17th overall, 23rd rushing, 11th passing.
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
Here are the standings through Sept. 23 with conference records followed by overall records:
(Big South 3A)
Kings Mountain 2-0, 5-0
South Point 2-0, 5-0
Crest 2-0, 4-1
Forestview 2-0, 3-2
Cramer 0-2, 2-3
Ashbrook 0-2, 1-4
Huss 0-2, 1-4
North Gaston 0-2, 0-5
(Southern Piedmont 1A/2A)
Shelby 2-0, 3-3
Bessemer City 2-0, 2-4
Burns 1-0, 4-1
East Gaston 1-0, 3-2
Cherryville 0-2, 2-4
Thomas Jefferson 0-2, 0-5
Highland Tech 0-2, 0-6
(Western Foothills 3A)
East Lincoln 2-0, 5-0
St. Stephens 2-0, 3-2
Hickory 1-1, 3-2
Statesville 1-1, 2-3
North Iredell 1-1, 1-4
West Iredell 1-1, 1-4
Foard 0-2, 0-5
North Lincoln 0-2, 0-5
(Catawba Valley 2A)
Bunker Hill 2-0, 5-0
Maiden 2-0, 4-1
West Lincoln 1-1, 4-1
Bandys 1-1, 2-3
Lincolnton 1-1, 2-3
Newton-Conover 1-1, 2-3
East Burke 0-2, 1-4
West Caldwell 0-2, 0-5
(Queen City 3A/4A)
Hough 2-0, 4-1
Mallard Creek 2-0, 4-2
Chambers 1-1, 4-2
West Charlotte 1-1, 3-3
North Meck 0-1, 3-2
Hopewell 0-1, 2-3
West Meck 0-2, 4-2
(Southern Meck 4A)
South Meck 2-0, 4-2
Myers Park 2-0, 2-4
Olympic 1-0, 5-0
Kell 1-0, 4-1
Palisades 0-2, 1-4
Berry Academy 0-2, 1-5
Harding 0-2, 1-5
(Southwestern 4A)
Butler 2-0, 5-1
Catholic 2-0, 4-1
Rocky River 1-0, 2-3
East Meck 1-1, 2-4
Independence 0-1, 4-1
Providence 0-2, 2-3
Garinger 0-2, 0-6
(Others)
Mtn Isl Charter 0-2, 2-2
Chase 1-0, 5-0
East Rutherford 0-2, 1-5
R-S Central 0-2, 2-4
Lk Nor Charter …, 3-3
(Friday’s Cleveland, Gaston and Lincoln counties results:)
East Lincoln 28, Statesville 7
Kings Mountain 56, North Gaston 0
South Point 35, Huss 7
Maiden 27, West Lincoln 17
Bessemer City 60, Highland Tech 14
East Gaston 38, Cherryville 0
Community School of Davidson 56, Mountain Island Charter 6
Crest 54, Cramer 28
Forestview 24, Ashbrook 21
Lincolnton 22, Newton-Conover 21
Hickory 29, North Lincoln 22
Shelby 55, Thomas Jefferson 6
Off – Burns
(Other area games:)
West Iredell 26, Foard 8
St. Stephens 21, North Iredell 7
Bandys 35, East Burke 14
Bunker Hill 52, West Caldwell 6
Hough 16, Chambers 7
Mallard Creek 47, Hopewell 7
West Charlotte 7, West Meck 0
Kell 48, Palisades 0
South Meck 46, Berry Academy 6
Myers Park 38, Harding 20
Butler 44, Providence 6
Charlotte Catholic 36, Independence 35
East Meck 31, Garinger 28
Charlotte Country Day 40, Lake Norman Charter 12
Chase 55, East Rutherford 9
Brevard 44, R-S Central 6
Clover, S.C. 26, Boiling Springs, S.C. 0
(Next week’s Cleveland/Gaston/Lincoln counties games:)
-Thursday
Mountain Island Charter at Winston-Salem Prep
-Friday
Ashbrook at North Gaston
Bessemer City at Burns
Bunker Hill at West Lincoln
Cramer at Huss
Crest at South Point
East Gaston at Thomas Jefferson
Highland Tech at Shelby
Kings Mountain at Forestview
Lincolnton at Bandys
North Iredell at North Lincoln
West Iredell at East Lincoln
Off – Cherryville
(Next week’s other area games:)
Statesville at Foard
St. Stephens at Hickory
East Burke at Newton-Conover
Maiden at West Caldwell
Hopewell at West Charlotte
West Meck at Hough
Mallard Creek at North Meck
Kell at Myers Park
Harding at Berry Academy
Olympic at Palisades
East Meck at Butler
Rocky River at Catholic
Independence at Garinger
Mooresville at Providence
Hendersonville at Chase
Patton at East Rutherford
Polk County at R-S Central
Nation Ford, S.C. at Clover, S.C.
Pro baseball
It all comes down to Sunday’s decisive fifth game of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball Southern Division playoff series for the Gastonia Honey Hunters.
The High Point Rockers defeated Gastonia 6-1 on Saturday to even their best-of-five series at two games apiece.
ATLANTIC LEAGUE OF PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL PLAYOFFS
(Southern Division championship: Gastonia vs. High Point – Best-of-5)
Sept. 20 Game 1 – Gastonia 12, High Point 1
Sept. 21 Game 2 – High Point 11, Gastonia 3
Sept. 23 Game 3 – Gastonia 8, High Point 2
Sept. 24 Game 4 – High Point 6, Gastonia 1 (Series tied 2-2)
Sept. 25 Game 5 – at High Point at 6:35 p.m.
(League championship: Gastonia-High Point winner 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)
College football
This week’s NCAA Division I Carolinas schedule:
(Thursday’s games)
Coastal Carolina 41, Georgia State 24
(Saturday’s games)
Clemson 51, Wake Forest 45 (2 OT)
Kansas 35, Duke 27
Furman 24, Charleston Southern 19
Samford 35, Western Carolina 12
Notre Dame 45, North Carolina 32
James Madison 32, Appalachian State 28
Elon 35, William & Mary 31
N.C. Central 59, Virginia Lynchburg 14
Mercer 45, Gardner-Webb 14
Navy 23, East Carolina 20 (2 OT)
Kennesaw State 24, Wofford 22
Davidson 56, Presbyterian 24
North Carolina A&T 41, S.C. State 27
N.C. State 41, Connecticut 10
South Carolina 56, Charlotte 20
Pro soccer
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. 25 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