9-25-22 roundup: Pro baseball, football and soccer, High school football, Middle school football and softball, College football, Auto racing
By Richard Walker
Two long losing streaks are over the Carolina Panthers.
A league-worst nine-game losing streak? Done.
A seven-game home winning streak that dated to Sept. 19, 2021 and made it the second-longest in franchise history? Also ended.
Carolina wiped those streaks away with a defensive-minded 22-14 victory over the New Orleans Saints at Charlotte’s Bank of America Stadium on Sunday.
Carolina’s defense caused its first turnover of the season as Frankie Luvu stripped Saints running back Alvin Kamara of the football near midfield and Marquis Haynes scooped up the football and raced 44 yards for the first score of a game the Panthers never trailed.
Not that Carolina didn’t endure some frustrations as quarterback Baker Mayfield and the offense sputtered much of the way before closing the game out 10 fourth-quarter points to put away the Saints and improve to 1-2 on the season.
Christian McCaffey led Carolina’ 293-yard offense with 108 yards rushing and seven yards receiving on a day in which Mayfield completed 12 of 25 throws for 170 yards and one touchdown. Mayfield was sacked three times and guided the Panthers to four third-down conversions in 14 tries.
But the crowd of 70,496 was so happy to see a win, chants of “Let’s Go Panthers!” broke out in the fourth quarter.
By establishing the running game to the tune of 31 attempts for 145 yards, Carolina also improved a statistic that has long been key to the franchise’s success; The Panthers are 156-30-1 all-time in games in which they have 30 or more rushing attempts.
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 (W 22-14)
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 Monday Morning Quarterback for high school football looks at how the Big South 3A Conference revealed separation last Friday.
Crest, Forestview, Kings Mountain and South Point all improved to 2-0 in league while Ashbrook, Cramer, Huss and North Gaston fell to 0-2.
This week, the unbeaten teams face each other and the winless teams face each other.
Kings Mountain hosts Forestview and South Point hosts Crest in the matchups of unbeaten league teams while Huss hosts Cramer and North Gaston hosts Ashbrook in the matchups of teams seeking to break into the conference win column.
If history is an indicator, one of the two winners of the unbeaten matchups will eventually win the Big South Conference championship.
That’s because 16 of the previous 21 league champions have finished with unbeaten conference records, including 12 straight seasons. Only in 2001, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2009 has the Big South champion finished with one league defeat – and the 2001, 2004, 2006 and 2009 seasons saw co-champions.
South Point holds the league’s record for championships with 12 that includes seven straight from 2007 to 2013. But the Red Raiders haven’t won the league title since 2015.
Crest has won three championships, including two of the last three. Forestview also has won three with its last coming in 2014. And Kings Mountain have won two titles, it’s last coming in the 2021 spring season.
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
(This 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
(This week’s other area games:)
-Friday
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
A dream season ended in disappointment for the Gastonia Honey Hunters on Sunday.
Gastonia lost 8-7 to High Point in the decisive fifth game of the the best-of-five Atlantic League of Professional Baseball Southern Division playoff series.
The Honey Hunters Hunters, who won the first- and second-half divisional titles with an 88-44 record, fell behind 5-0 after one inning and 7-1 after five before tying the score at 7 in top the of the seventh.
But the Rockers scored once in the bottom of the eighth and the held off a ninth-inning Gastonia rally to secure the victory and the series.
High Point will meet Northern Division playoff winner Lancaster for the ALPB championship series this week.
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
Sept. 25 Game 5 – High Point 8, Gastonia 7 (High Point wins series 3-2)
Middle school football
GASTON COUNTY CONFERENCE
Standings through Sept. 21 with division records followed by overall records:
(Division I)
Southwest 3-0, 4-1
Holbrook 1-1, 3-1
Grier 1-1, 2-2
Cramerton 1-2, 3-2
Mount Holly 0-2, 2-2
(Division II)
Belmont 3-0, 5-0
Stanley 2-1, 2-2
W.C. Friday 2-1, 2-3
York Chester 2-1, 2-3
Chavis 0-3, 0-4
Bessemer City 0-3, 0-5
(Sept. 28 games)
Chavis at Bessemer City
W.C. Friday at Belmont
Grier at Holbrook
Mount Holly at Cramerton
York Chester at Stanley
TRI-COUNTY CONFERENCE
Standings through Sept. 22 with division records followed by overall records:
(West)
East Lincoln 2-0, 3-0
Kings Mountain 1-1, 1-2
Lincolnton 1-1, 2-1
North Lincoln 1-1, 2-1
Burns 1-1, 1-2
West Lincoln 0-2, 1-2
(East)
Crest 2-0, 3-0
Shelby 1-1, 2-1
East Rutherford 1-1, 1-2
R-S Central 1-1, 1-2
Thomas Jefferson 1-1, 1-2
Chase 0-2, 0-3
(Sept. 28 games)
Burns at Lincolnton
Crest at Chase
Kings Mountain at East Lincoln
North Lincoln at West Lincoln
R-S Central at Thomas Jefferson
Shelby at East Rutherford
Middle school softball
Standings through Sept. 22:
Belmont 7-0
Stanley 6-2
Mount Holly 5-2
Chavis 5-2
W.C. Friday 4-3
Holbrook 4-4
Bessemer City 3-4
Cramerton 2-5
Grier 1-6
Southwest 0-9
(Thursday’s games)
W.C. Friday 15, Grier 0
Holbrook 14, Cramerton 7
Chavis 11, Mount Holly 4
Bessemer City 20, Southwest 2
Belmont 8, Stanley 4
(Sept. 26 games)
Belmont at Mount Holly
Bessemer City at Holbrook
Chavis at Grier
Cramerton at W.C. Friday
College football
The weekend NCAA Division I Carolinas results:
(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
This week’s NCAA Division I Carolinas schedule:
(Saturday’s games)
S.C. State at South Carolina, noon
Butler at Davidson, 1 p.m.
Presbyterian at Morehead State, 1 p.m.
Mercer at Wofford, 1:30 p.m.
Samford at Furman, 2 p.m.
Richmond at Elon, 2 p.m.
Wake Forest at Florida State, 3:30 p.m.
Virginia Tech at North Carolina, 3:30 p.m.
The Citadel at Appalachian State, 3:30 p.m.
Gardner-Webb at Marshall, 3:30 p.m.
VMI at Western Carolina, 3:30 p.m.
N.C. Central at Campbell, 6 p.m.
UTEP at Charlotte, 6 p.m.
Bryant at North Carolina A&T, 7 p.m.
East Carolina at South Florida, 7 p.m.
N.C. State at Clemson, 7:30 p.m.
Virginia at Duke, 7:30 p.m.
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