10-15-25 roundup: Pro football, soccer and basketball, College football and basketball, High school football, soccer, volleyball and tennis, Middle school football, Auto racing

By Richard Walker

Brandon Messick has been hired as East Gaston High School’s 10th boys basketball head coach in its 54-year history.

Messick comes to East Gaston after spending the past 2 years at the Warriors’ top feeder program – Stanley Middle School.

Previously, Messick had coached softball at Gaston Christian and North Gaston high schools and at Kings Mountain Middle School.

“My initial goal at East Gaston is to bring the excitement back to Warrior basketball,” Messick said. “There’s a history of some really good men’s basketball teams at EG and we know there’s some great young men that will represent themselves, their families, and their school on the court.
“It’s a requirement of my program to play with toughness, intensity, and to play for each other.”

East Gaston had its 2nd and 3rd 20-win seasons in the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons before falling to a 3-21 mark last season that was the school’s worst winning percentage in history.

At Stanley the past 2 seasons, Messick has guided the Blue Devils to back-to-back top 4 finishes in the 11-team Gaston County Conference highlighted by a 7-4 record and 3rd-place finish in 2024.

High school football

Here’s are the results/upcoming schedule for Cleveland, Gaston and Lincoln counties:

(Friday, Oct. 10)
Crest 62, Huss 7
Ashbrook 43, Kings Mountain 7
South Point 53, North Gaston 0
Cramer 21, West Lincoln 0
Cherryville 21, East Gaston 14
Highland Tech 15, Bessemer City 12
Lincolnton 35, Shelby 34 (OT)
Bandys 49, North Lincoln 23
East Lincoln 30, Foard 0
Community School of Davidson 49, Lincoln Charter 7
Mountain Island Charter 28, Union Academy 27
Idle – Burns, Forestview

(Friday, Oct. 17)
Ashbrook at Forestview
Kings Mountain at South Point
North Gaston at Crest
Cherryville at Burns
Lincolnton at Cramer
Shelby at East Gaston
Highland Tech at West Lincoln
Hickory at East Lincoln
Cone Leadership at Mountain Island Charter
Idle – Bessemer City, Huss, Lincoln Charter, North Lincoln

(Friday, Oct. 24)
Crest at Ashbrook
Forestview at South Point
Huss at Kings Mountain
Bessemer City at Shelby
Cramer at Cherryville
Burns at Highland Tech
West Lincoln at East Gaston
East Lincoln at Maiden
North Lincoln at Bunker Hill
Lincoln Charter at Pine Lake Prep
Mountain Island Charter at South Stanly
Idle – Lincolnton, North Gaston

(Thursday, Oct. 30)
North Rowan at Mountain Island Charter

(Friday, Oct. 31)
Ashbrook at Huss
Crest at Kings Mountain
North Gaston at Forestview
Burns at Shelby
Cherryville at Bessemer City
Cramer at East Gaston
Lincolnton at West Lincoln
Foard at North Lincoln
Lake Norman Charter at Lincoln Charter
South Point at Ambassador Christian
Idle – East Lincoln, Highland Tech

Middle school football

Tri-County Conference standings thru Oct. 8:

-East Div. All PF-PA
Kings Mountain 5-0 8-0 212-34
Burns 4-1 6-2 186-100
East Lincoln 2-3 3-3 94-93
West Lincoln 2-3 3-3 98-104
Lincolnton 2-3 2-3 102-141
North Lincoln 0-5 1-5 48-138
-West Div. All PF-PA
Shelby 4-0 5-2 153-46
Crest 3-1 4-3 131-110
East Rutherford 2-2 2-3 102-107
Chase 1-3 2-3 56-140
R-S Central 0-4 0-5 14-142

(Wednesday, October 8)
Semifinals-
West-2 (Crest) at East-1 (Kings Mountain) – Kings Mountain 28-0
East-2 (Burns) at West-1 (Shelby) – Burns 6-0

(Wednesday, October 15)
Championship game- Burns at Kings Mountain – Kings Mountain 20-8

High school boys soccer

(Wednesday, Oct. 15)
West Lincoln 2, East Gaston 1: After trailing 1-0 at the half, Edwin Ramirez scored on an assist from Alex Arredondo and Gustavo Otero Torres scored the game-winner with 4 minutes on an assist from Prince Diano for West Lincoln. The Rebels’ Chase Driscoll notched his 11th goalkeeping victory with 8 saves on 9 shots.

Here are the area’s NCISAA playoff pairings:

-Class 2A
(Tuesday, Oct. 14)
No. 5 Gaston Day hosts Southern Pines O’Neal – Gaston Day 6-0

(Thursday, Oct. 16)
No. 5 Gaston Day hosts Fayetteville Northwood Temple

(Saturday, Oct. 18)
Regional semifinals

(Tuesday, Oct. 21)
Regional finals

(Saturday, Oct. 25)
State final at Fayetteville Academy

High school volleyball

(Tuesday Oct. 14)

Kings Mountain d. Crest 3-0 (25-12, 25-19, 25-20): Camden Pasour (23 serve receptions, 23 assists, 7 digs, 2 kills, 2 blocks and 6 service pts), Denet Houey (16 kills, 3 blocks and 2 digs), Abigail Hedgepath (13 assists, 9 digs, 1 kill and 10 service pts), Ava Tipton (10 serve receptions, 8 digs and 6 service pts) and Kenzlie Morris (9 kills, 4 blocks and 1 dig) led Kings Mountain.
In the JV match, Kings Mountain won 2-0 (25-14, 25-20) behind Avery Cruise, Elyn Phongsa and Caroline Lane.

Piedmont Community Charter d. Thomas Jefferson 3-2 (16-25, 25-12, 27-29, 26-24, 15-13): Lily Cochcroft (31 Assists, 2 Aces and 2 Kills), Madelyn Wyatt (12 Kills and 10 Digs), Faith Brown (12 Kills) and Emma Ackerman (9 Kills and 4 Blocks) led Piedmont to a win in the Catawba Shores 1A/2A/3A tournament semifinals.

Here are the area’s conference tournament pairings:
-Southern Piedmont 2A/3A/4A
(Monday, Oct. 13)
No. 8 Shelby at No. 1 Highland Tech – Highland Tech 3-0

No. 5 Cramer at No. 4 Cherryville – Cherryville 3-2 (24-26, 25-17, 22-25, 25-17, 18-16): Emily Allen (31 assists), Kate Mulvey (14 kills), Camryn Shirley (11 digs) and Raylei Gidney (9 kills) led Cherryville with Allen recording her school-record 708th career kill.

No. 6 Lincolnton at No. 3 Burns – Burns 3-0

No. 7 West Lincoln at No. 2 East Gaston – East Gaston 3-0

(Tuesday, Oct. 14)
Cherryville at Highland Tech – Highland Tech 3-1 (25-16, 25-12, 19-25, 25-14): Kate Mulvey (10 kills), Emily Allen (16 assists) and Camryn Shirley (12 digs) led Cherryville

East Gaston at Burns – East Gaston 3-1

(Wednesday, Oct. 15)
Championship – East Gaston at Highland Tech – East Gaston 3-2

-Western Foothills 4A/5A
(Monday, Oct. 13)
No. 8 Newton-Conover at No. 1 Hickory – Hickory 3-0
No. 5 Bandys at No. 4 Foard – Bandys 3-2
No. 7 West Iredell at No. 2 North Lincoln – North Lincoln 3-0
No. 6 East Lincoln at No. 3 Maiden – Maiden 3-0

(Tuesday, Oct. 14)
Bandys at Hickory – Hickory 3-0
Maiden at North Lincoln – North Lincoln 3-0

(Wednesday, Oct. 15)
Championship – North Lincoln at Hickory – Hickory 3-0

Here are the area’s NCISAA playoff pairings:

-Class 2A
(Saturday, Oct. 18)
No. 1 Gaston Day hosts winner of Oct. 16 regional quarterfinal

(Tuesday, Oct. 21)
Regional finals

(Saturday, Oct. 25)
State final at Gaston Day

-Class 3A
(Tuesday, Oct. 14)
unseeded Gaston Christian at unseeded Winston-Salem Calvary Day – Calvary Day 3-0

High school girls tennis

Here are the area’s NCHSAA playoff pairings:

-2A West
(Wednesday, Oct. 15)
No. 1 Highland Tech hosts No. 16 Avery County – Highland Tech 6-0
No. 8 Mountain Island Charter hosts No. 9 Cherryville – Mountain Island Charter 7-2
No. 9 Cherryville at No. 8 Mountain Island Charter – Mountain Island Charter 7-2

(Monday, Oct. 20)
No. 1 Highland Tech hosts No. 8 Mountain Island Charter

(Wednesday, Oct. 22)
Regional semifinals