9-4-21 roundup: High school football, Pro football and baseball, College football and men’s soccer, Middle school football and softball
By Richard Walker
Gardner-Webb put a scare into traditional power Georgia Southern in the 2021 college football opener for both teams.
The visiting Bulldogs scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns and drove to the Georgia Southern 29 in the closing seconds before losing 30-25 at Paulson Stadium.
Gardner-Webb quarterback Bailey Fisher completed 27 of 45 passes for 315 yards and three touchdowns and wide receiver Justin Franklin threw a 50-yard touchdown pass on a trick play for the Bulldogs. T.J. Luther caught six passes for 164 yards and one touchdown, Franklin six catches for 72 yards and one touchdown, Justin Jordan five catches for 74 yards and one touchdown and Deland Thomas six catches for 32 yards and one touchdown.
The Bulldogs were playing their 18th game against a Football Bowl Series (FBS) opponent, falling to 1-17 all-time in those games. Gardner-Webb’s lone win came in 2010 when it won 38-37 in overtime at Akron of the Mid-America Conference.
Saturday’s loss was the second closest defeat against a FBS opponent; In 2008, Gardner-Webb lost 10-7 at Georgia Tech of the ACC.
Linebacker William McRaney had a team-high 11 tackles for the Gardner-Webb defense. Former Forestview standout Tremayne Booker had six tackles.
Gardner-Webb plays another FBS team next week when it travels to play at the Charlotte 49ers on Saturday at 6 p.m.
Here are the Carolinas NCAA Division I football results and games for this weekend:
(Thursday)
Coastal Carolina 52, The Citadel 14
Appalachian State 33, East Carolina 19
N.C. State 45, South Florida 0
(Friday)
Charlotte 31, Duke 28
Virginia Tech 17, North Carolina 10
Wake Forest 42, Old Dominion 10
(Saturday)
VMI 45, Davidson 24: Former South Point standout Jake Alexander had eight tackles for Davidson and former Burns standout Dorien Starnes two tackles for VMI.
Furman 29, North Carolina A&T 18
Wofford 24, Elon 22
Liberty 48, Campbell 7: Former Huss standout Lamagea McDowell had 26 yards rushing for Campbell.
Eastern Kentucky 31, Western Carolina 28
South Carolina 46, Eastern Illinois 0: Former South Point standout Nick Muse caught two passes for 15 yards and one touchdown.
Alabama A&M 42, South Carolina State 41
Georgia 10, Clemson 3: A 74-yard Georgia interception for a touchdown was the difference in a defensive struggle played in front of 74,187 at Charlotte’s Bank of America Stadium. It was the third-largest crowd for a college football game in the stadium’s history. Former Crest standouts Lannden Zanders (two tackles) and Justin Foster (one) were among Clemson’s defensive standouts.
Here are the Carolinas Division II football results and games for this weekend:
(Thursday)
Wingate 30, Shaw 7
Chowan 30, Mars Hill 24 (OT)
(Saturday)
Catawba 37, Erskine 27: Former Burns standout Kujuan Pryor caught eight passes for 56 yards and one touchdown for Catawba.
Tusculum 58, St. Augustine’s 14
Newberry 31, Barton 7
Fayetteville State 47, Elizabeth City State 6
Lenoir-Rhyne 48, Virginia State 7
North Greenville 37, Limestone 16
College men’s soccer
Belmont Abbey 3, Queens 1: The Crusaders evened their record at 1-1 while spoiling Queens’ season-opener. Miwoned Siraj, Sander Herlofsen and Kensly Owens scored goals for the Crusaders, who play again on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Coker.
High school football
Saturday results:
Washington, D.C. St. John’s 33, Butler 0
Hibriten 39, West Caldwell 25
Thursday result:
Pine Lake Prep 20, Bessemer City 8
Friday results:
Chase 26, North Gaston 26
Cramer 28, East Gaston 21
East Lincoln 14, Lincolnton 8
Forestview 43, Freedom 7
Hickory Ridge 27, South Point 7
Kings Mountain 19, Burns 14
North Lincoln 54, Northwest Cabarrus 40
Winston-Salem Carver 26, Highland Tech 21
Charlotte Chambers 30, Kernersville Glenn 6
Charlotte Kell 26, Marvin Ridge 7
Charlotte Mallard Creek 28, Charlotte Providence 20
Charlotte Myers Park 35, Pfafftown Reagan 20
Charlotte Olympic 35, Huntersville Hopewell 13
Hickory 37, Draughn 13
Kannapolis Brown 28, Mint Hill Rocky River 6
North Mecklenburg 27, Charlotte Harding 14
Rock Hill, S.C. Northwestern 42, Clover, S.C. 16
South Mecklenburg 62, East Mecklenburg 0
Thomas Jefferson 51, Community School of Davidson 15
West Charlotte 16, Charlotte Independence 6
West Mecklenburg 49, Charlotte Garinger 0
High school football standings
Conference record listed first followed by overall record:
BIG SOUTH 3A
South Point 0-0, 2-1
Cramer 0-0, 2-1
Kings Mountain 0-0, 2-1
Forestview 0-0, 1-2
Ashbrook 0-0, 0-0
Crest 0-0, 0-1
Huss 0-0, 0-1
North Gaston 0-0, 0-3
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
North Iredell 0-0, 0-1
West Iredell 0-0, 0-1
Foard 0-0, 0-2
St. Stephens 0-0, 0-2
CATAWBA VALLEY 2A
Bandys 0-0, 2-0
Bunker Hill 0-0, 2-0
Maiden 0-0, 2-0
West Lincoln 0-0, 2-0
East Burke 0-0, 1-1
Newton-Conover 0-0, 0-1
West Caldwell 0-0, 0-2
Lincolnton 0-0, 0-3
SOUTHERN PIEDMONT 1A/2A
Shelby 0-0, 2-0
Thomas Jefferson 0-0, 2-0
Burns 0-0, 2-1
Cherryville 0-0, 1-1
East Gaston 0-0, 1-2
Highland Tech 0-0, 0-2
Bessemer City 0-0, 0-3
SOUTH MECK 4A
Kell 0-0, 2-0
Olympic 0-0, 2-0
Berry Academy 0-0, 1-0
Myers Park 0-0, 2-1
South Meck 0-0, 2-1
Harding 0-0, 1-2
SOUTHWESTERN 4A
Catholic 0-0, 2-0
Butler 0-0, 1-2
Providence 0-0, 1-2
Garinger 0-0, 0-2
Independence 0-0, 0-2
East Meck 0-0, 0-3
Rocky River 0-0, 0-3
QUEEN CITY 3A/4A
Chambers 0-0, 3-0
West Meck 0-0, 3-0
Hough 0-0, 2-0
West Charlotte 0-0, 2-0
Mallard Creek 0-0, 1-0
Hopewell 0-0, 1-2
North Meck 0-0, 1-1
OTHERS
Chase 0-0, 2-0
Clover 0-0, 1-2
Mtn Island Charter 0-0, 2-0
R-S Central 0-0, 0-1
Middle school football
Gaston County Conference standings through Aug. 31 with division record listed first followed by overall record:
(Division I)
Cramerton 0-0, 2-0
Grier 0-0, 2-0
Holbrook 0-0, 2-0
Southwest 0-0, 2-0
Mount Holly 0-0, 0-1-1
(Division II)
W.C. Friday 0-0, 1-1
Chavis 0-0, 0-1
Stanley 0-0, 0-1
York Chester 0-0, 0-1-1
Belmont 0-0, 0-2
Bessemer City 0-0, 0-2
Sept. 8 games
Grier at Cramerton
Mount Holly at Southwest
Stanley at Belmont
York Chester at Bessemer City
W.C. Friday at Chavis
The Tri-County Conference begins its season on Sept. 8. Here is that league’s week one schedule:
East Rutherford at Lincolnton
R-S Central at West Lincoln
East Lincoln at Chase
Kings Mountain at Shelby
Burns at Crest
Thomas Jefferson at North Lincoln
Middle school softball
Gaston County Conference standings through Sept. 2:
Cramerton 3-0
Belmont 2-0
Chavis 2-0
Mount Holly 2-1
Holbrook 1-1
W.C. Friday 1-1
Stanley 1-1
Grier 0-2
Bessemer City 0-3
Southwest 0-3
Sept. 7 games
Belmont at Holbrook
Bessemer City at Grier
Chavis at W.C. Friday
Stanley at Southwest
Pro football
Here is the Panthers’ 2021 regular season schedule:
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
Pro baseball
The Gastonia Honey Hunters dropped their season-long sixth straight game on Saturday when they lost 17-11 to Lexington.
Gastonia, which has lost nine of its last 10 games, fell to 40-46 overall this year in its inaugural season in the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball.