By Richard Walker Former Burns High state champion Scottie Montgomery has a new NFL coaching job. Montgomery, a 1996 Burns High graduate, has been hired as Detroit Lions assistant head coach and running backs coach. A 1994 Burns state championship player who earned All-ACC honors at Duke before playing in the NFL, Montgomery had been […]
By Richard Walker There’s been shift in the fortunes on three programs that have usually struggled in area high school basketball. East Gaston, Gaston Christian and South Point are enjoying historic seasons – and all three have either won or have a chance to win rare league titles. Gaston Christian clinched the first conference regular […]
By Richard Walker Gaston County’s all-time winningest basketball coach announced on Friday that he would be retiring from coaching at the end of this season. Cherryville High School coach Scott Harrill announced during the Ironmen’s 63-48 win over Highland Tech during “Senior Night” in their final game of the 2022-23 season at Nixon Gym. Harrill, […]
By Richard Walker Two of the winningest basketball programs in the Carolinas reside 40 miles apart in the North Carolina Piedmont. Unbeaten Conference Carolinas leader Belmont Abbey has a 15-game winning streak and is ahead by two games in the loss column with three weeks to go in its regular season starting with Saturday’s 2 […]
By Richard Walker Cleveland County’s winningest high school football coach is a member of the North Carolina Athletic Directors Association 2023 Hall of Fame induction class. Jim Taylor led Shelby High to a 201-54-2 record as head coach from 1977 to 1997. During his tenure, the Golden Lions won 11 conference championships, three state titles […]
By Richard Walker Cherryville High School added two more trophies last weekend when its cheerleading team won its 24th and 25th state championships. The Ironmen cheerleaders won the North Carolina Cheerleading Coaches Association on Saturday at North Raleigh Christian Academy. Cherryville took titles in the Varsity D2 Game Day Division and the Small Varsity D2 […]
By Richard Walker During the recent Carolina Panthers head coaching search, reports indicated team owner David Tepper was interested in an offensive-minded coach. At Tuesday’s news conference to officially introduce Frank Reich, Tepper confirmed them. “Every year we get in these NFL (owners) meetings and every year they put some new rule in to benefit […]
By Richard Walker Less than a week after winning its first N.C. High School Athletic Association dual team wrestling match, Lincolnton High School will host the Western N.C. 2A regional on Wednesday night. And the Wolves will be hosting familiar opponents as all four Western N.C. 2A wrestling semifinalists are members of the Catawba Valley […]
By Richard Walker Three local high school basketball players are closing in school scoring records. Piedmont Community Charter’s Grace East surpassed 1,000 points last week and now has 1,019 points in 75 career games for the Patriots. She’s the third 1,000-point scorer in school history and has passed 2018 graduate Courtney Williams’ 1,017 career points. […]
By Richard Walker History was made and extended on Saturday during the opening two rounds of the N.C. High School Athletic Association dual team wrestling playoffs. Lincolnton won its first dual match in history and followed it up with a second straight win to advance into Wednesday’s Class 2A regional finals. The Wolves, who are […]
By Richard Walker The oldest Gaston County high school basketball rivalry resumed Friday night at Bessemer City. And Cherryville led much of the second half, was tied in regulation before taking an 83-78 overtime win over their longtime rivals. Numerius Good had 26 points, Carson Kelly 18 and Landon Hahn 14 to lead Cherryville and […]
By Richard Walker The winningest coach in Kings Mountain High School football history has resigned. Greg Lloyd had a 133-71 record in 16 years as the Mountaineers’ head coach, a tenure highlighted by four conference titles and four trips to the regional finals. “First off, I would like to thank and congratulate Coach Greg Lloyd […]
By Richard Walker A pair of Gaston County schools won wrestling titles on Saturday as Cherryville won the Southern Piedmont 1A/2A Conference title and Mountain Island Charter won the Catawba Shores 1A/2A Conference wrestling title. Here are Cherryville’s individual results: 113 Hunter Griffin (17-25) placed 2nd and scored 18.0 team points. Quarterfinal – Hunter Griffin […]
By Richard Walker East Lincoln High School’s girls basketball team improved to 19-0 following Tuesday’s 65-23 home win over Statesville. Coach Jason Otey’s Mustangs improved to 9-0 in the Western Foothills 3A Conference and are one win away from becoming the school’s 10th 20-game winner since 1972. East Lincoln’s all-time best team – its unbeaten […]
By Richard Walker The Big South 3A boys and girls races and the Southern Piedmont 1A/2A boys races head into the final three weeks of the regular season with multiple teams currently tied at the top of the standings. Meanwhile, in the Southern Piedmont 1A/2A girls race and the Western Foothills 3A and Catawba Valley […]
By Richard Walker Only once in Gaston County’s basketball conference championship history has the same school won both the boys and girls titles. It was the Southwest Roadrunners in 2009 as the boys edged Grier 42-38 and the girls rolled past Belmont 40-12 to complete 11-1 seasons. If the preseason coaches’ polls are correct, Holbrook […]
By Richard Walker East Lincoln High School won its third football state championship on Saturday night with a 30-15 victory over Northern Nash at N.C. State’s Carter-Finley Stadium. It improves the Mustangs record to 3-1 in state title games and gives them championships in 2012, 2014 and 2022. It also gave East Lincoln a 16-0 […]
By Richard Walker Shelby High’s father-son Hollifield duo received top awards at Monday’s Charlotte Touchdown Club/Bronko Nagurski Awards ceremony in Charlotte. Longtime Shelby High football assistant coach Aubrey Hollifield was presented North Carolina’s Frank Broyles Award as the top assistant coach. A 1987 Kings Mountain High graduate who played for the N.C. Shrine Bowl team […]
By Richard Walker West Lincoln’s Mason Avery and East Lincoln’s Keandre Walker were named to the North Carolina team for the 2022 Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas on Tuesday. Avery, a running back and linebacker, last week was honored as Catawba Valley 2A Conference co-offensive player of the year and defensive player of the year. […]
By Richard Walker Local players dominated the 2022 Big South 3A Conference and 2022 Southern Piedmont 1A/2A Conference football teams that were released on Monday following selections made by the respective coaches in both leagues. In the Big South 3A Conference, Crest junior Ny’Tavious Huskey was named Offensive Player of the Year, Kings Mountain senior […]
By Richard Walker Twenty two players from Cleveland, Gaston and Lincoln counties are on the rosters of six teams that found out their college bowl destinations on Sunday, including four players from N.C. State for a “homecoming trip” after it was invited to play in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl against Maryland at Charlotte’s Bank of […]
By Richard Walker To some, Gaylord Perry will always be remembered for throwing a spitball. For folks in this area, he’ll also be remembered for one of the state’s best three-sport high school athletes, starting up the baseball program at an area college and coaching American Legion baseball at one of the state’s top programs. […]
By Richard Walker East Lincoln High School is headed to its fourth state championship football game after outlasting South Point 14-7 on Friday night in the Western N.C. 3A championship game at East Lincoln. The unbeaten Mustangs (15-0) got touchdown down runs from Christopher Daley and Ben Cutter and survived a late rally by South […]
By Richard Walker The stakes are high on Friday for three area high school football teams as they pursue regional titles, including two that meet each other. The Western 3A championship game features unbeaten East Lincoln (14-0) hosting South Point (13-1) while Burns (13-1) visits perennial state power Reidsville (13-1) in the Western 2A championship […]
By Richard Walker Drake Maye already knew he was making a homecoming visit when he leads North Carolina into Saturday’s 8 p.m. ACC championship game against Clemson at Charlotte’s Bank of America Stadium. On Wednesday, the former Myers Park High standout will also be playing his first game as an ACC individual award winner after […]
By Richard Walker West Lincoln’s record-setting Mason Avery added a pair of Catawba Valley 2A Conference honors in voting done by league coaches. After setting Lincoln County single-season and career rushing records with 2,622 yards this season and 4,726 for his career, Avery was selected as the league’s co-offensive player of the year with Maiden’s […]
By Richard Walker The 49th “Battle for the Hornets’ Nest” basketball game on Tuesday between the Charlotte 49ers and Davidson College will feature a new corporate partner. The Hornets’ Nest series began in the 1978-79 season and Davidson’s 75-58 victory last year makes it the current holder of the trophy though the 49ers hold a […]
By Richard Walker Sam Darnold’s return to action was a triumphant one for the Carolina Panthers as they defeated the Denver Broncos 23-10 on Sunday at Charlotte’s Bank of America Stadium. Out since the 2022 preseason finale, Darnold became the third starting quarterback for the Panthers this season and directed a run-heavy offensive attack to […]
By Richard Walker Gardner-Webb will set school history on Saturday in its 5 p.m. Football Championship Series (FCS) playoff game at Eastern Kentucky. It marks the Bulldogs’ first FCS playoff game and sixth national playoff game in its history. Previously, Gardner-Webb participated in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) playoffs twice – both times […]
By Richard Walker Conference champion Forestview received the most selections on the Big South 3A all-conference soccer team with six. Top individual honors went to North Gaston’s Braydon Johnson (offensive player of the year), Joan Bonilla (goalie of the year) and Jonathan Reed (coach of the year) and South Point’s Graham Williams (defensive player of […]
By Richard Walker New Charlotte 49ers head football coach Francis “Biff” Poggi was officially introduced to fans and the media on Monday. And Poggi talked about the 49ers and College Football Playoff. “The American Athletic Conference is an unbelieveable league,” Poggi said. “It’s the best ‘Group of 5’ conference in the country. As the College […]
By Richard Walker One of the area’s most prominent softball players recently received arguably the highest honor he has ever received with induction into the 41st annual National Softball Hall of Fame. Kings Mountain’s Rusty Bumgardner was among 11 inductees on Nov. 12 in a ceremony held in Shreveport, La. A 1987 Kings Mountain High […]
By Richard Walker It was a nailbiting finish in three of the area’s four high school football playoff games on Friday night as Burns, Kings Mountain and South Point took dramatic victories. Burns scored the game-winning touchdown with 1:30 to play in a 24-20 win over visiting Salisbury, Kings Mountain scored with 6.7 seconds left […]
By Richard Walker Entering this year’s state high school football playoffs, there was a sense that Cleveland County teams could have a special year. After all, it was the fifth straight season all four teams had made the playoffs. Entering Friday’s third round, it’s yet another banner year for the county – and has a […]
By Richard Walker After finishing with the best regular season record in the 2022 Atlantic League of Professional Baseball schedule, the Gastonia Honey Hunters have announced their 2023 schedule. The Honey Hunters won both halves of the Southern Division races with records of 45-21 in the first half and 43-23 in the second half beofe […]
By Richard Walker Perhaps the strangest Charlotte 49ers’ football season in the school’s 10-year history comes to an end on Saturday in what promises to be an emotional 3:30 p.m. matchup against Louisiana Tech. Five graduate players, 13 redshirt seniors and two true seniors will be honored before the game in their home finale which […]
By Richard Walker Gardner-Webb has a chance at history this Saturday in its regular season finale that has become a championship game for the Big South Conference. The Bulldogs, who started the season 1-4 against a challenging schedule, have bounced back win four wins in the last five games of the season for a shot […]
By Richard Walker North Carolina clinched its spot in the upcoming ACC championship game on Saturday night one week after Clemson wrapped up its spot. In the final year of divisional play, each team enters the final two weeks of the regular season with unbeaten league records; North Carolina is 6-0 in the ACC’s Coastal […]
By Richard Walker Kings Mountain continued their school-best start to a season with an impressive 42-0 win over Smoky Mountain on Friday in the second round of the N.C. Class 3A state playoffs. The Mountaineers, now 12-0, got three touchdown passes from Lamont Littlejohn – two to Caleb Holland and one to JaQualyn Sanders – […]
By Richard Walker Burns defied history Thursday with an impressive 42-0 win over visiting rival Shelby in the second round of the N.C. Class 2A playoffs on Thursday night. The Bulldogs moved on to third round of the playoffs as they beat Shelby for the second time in three weeks. It marks only the third […]
By Richard Walker When Shelby visits Burns in a second round playoff game on Thursday in the N.C. 2A bracket, it’ll continue a Golden Lions’ tradition that proved quite successful. It’s because Shelby is facing a team in the postseason that it has played in the regular season for the 28th time. Since in-season improvement […]
By Richard Walker Seventeen players from Cleveland and Gaston counties are on the roster of the West team for the 2022 Queen City Senior Bowl. The game will be played on Dec. 17 at noon at Charlotte’s Olympic High School and pits Charlotte-area players divided by East and West against one another. The local players […]
By Richard Walker A pair of Lincoln County high school soccer teams have advanced to the Western N.C. semifinals after Monday night victories. East Lincoln defeated St. Stephens 3-1 in Class 3A, giving the Mustangs (18-4-3) a fourth round appearance for the fourth time in fifth seasons; East Lincoln will play at top-seeded Asheboro on […]
By Richard Walker After a home win and heartbreaking defeat in the previous two weeks, there were lots of reasons for Carolina Panthers’ fans to harbor hopes of another good effort from their team on Sunday. Instead, the Panthers had one of their worst efforts in franchise history in a 42-21 loss at the defending […]
By Richard Walker Shelby High set a state record on Friday in its 30-13 opening round Class 2A state playoff victory at Forest Hills. The Golden Lions have now won 28 straight first round state playoff games to snap a tie they had shared with Thomasville (1982-2012) and Crest (1993-2019). Shelby has won opening round […]
By Richard Walker As the N.C. High School Athletic Association playoffs begin on Friday, it marks the 13th time in history – and fourth year in a row – that all four Cleveland County teams are in the state football playoffs. The previous 12 years came in 1997, 1998, 2002, 2004, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2016, […]
By Richard Walker Former Shelby High star Dax Hollifield was named Defender of the Nation on Monday by the Charlotte Touchdown Club. Hollifield, a sixth-year senior at Virginia Tech, won an award that goes to players from the nation’s service academies and senior military colleges that include Air Force, Army West Point, The Citadel, Coast […]
By Richard Walker A week ago, it appeared the Charlotte 49ers’ football program was in disarray. Not only had the 49ers’ head coach Will Healy been fired, but the team’s statistical rankings were all at the bottom of the conference and nation. And they had a 1-7 overall record and 0-4 Conference USA record after […]
By Richard Walker Two days after an overtime victory over the defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors, the Charlotte Hornets appeared in great position to win a second straight contest that would give them a winning record for the first month of the season. Instead, a 15-point halftime lead wasn’t enough for Charlotte to hold […]
By Richard Walker In their 28-year history, the Carolina Panthers have had their share of heartbreaking losses. Sunday’s 37-34 overtime loss at Atlanta has to rank right up there as one of the most heartbreaking. The Panthers fell to 8-20 all-time in Atlanta in a game in which it held a fourth-quarter lead and were […]
By Richard Walker Kings Mountain and Burns won county rival regular season finales to clinch unbeaten conference title runs on Friday night. Kings Mountain won 35-20 at Crest and Burns knocked off visiting Shelby 27-14. It gives Kings Mountain an unbeaten regular season (10-0) and a likely No. 1 seed in the Western 3A bracket […]
By Richard Walker Two of the biggest rivalries in Gaston County history will highlight a schedule that ends the 2022 regular season. And part of why they’re such huge rivalries is that they are huge even when a league title isn’t on the line. Bessemer City against Cherryville is the oldest of the two rivalries […]
By Richard Walker Shelby avenged its only loss of the season on Wednesday in a 28-0 win over visiting R-S Central in the Tri-County Conference middle school football championship game at Shelby High School. The Blue Devils, who had lost 26-20 at R-S Central on Sept. 14 in the regular season, won their last six […]
By Richard Walker Former high school teammates will be on opposite sides of a nationally-televised ACC game on Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN when N.C. State hosts Virginia Tech. For N.C. State (5-2, 1-2), Jaylon Scott (Shelby 2019 graduate) has 15 tackles in seven games. And for Virginia Tech (2-5, 1-3), Dax Hollifield […]
By Richard Walker Former Piedmont Community Charter and Kings Mountain High standout Adrian Delph was selected last weekend as the No. 22 overall pick in the G League Draft. Delph, who played collegiately at Appalachian State, was selected by the College Park Skyhawks; College Park is the G League affiliate of the Atlanta Hawks’ organization. […]
By Richard Walker One of the oldest axioms in the National Football League is that NFL says that any team can win on “Any Given Sunday.” After a second straight turbulent week on and off the field, the Carolina Panthers proved that Sunday with an unexpected 21-3 blowout loss of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and […]
By Richard Walker Belmont Middle School set a school record for the best overall mark in school history at 8-0 after a dramatic 27-26 win over Holbrook on Monday at South Point High’s Lineberger Stadium, a new champion will be crowned. It was Belmont’s sixth county title and first since 2016. Holbrook, in its first […]
By Richard Walker The Carolina Panthers had a fast start in the Steve Wilks era. Unfortunately, a halftime lead wasn’t enough for the visitors as the defending Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams rallied for a 24-10 victory over the Panthers on Sunday. And a sideline issue between wide receiver Robbie Anderson and wide receivers […]
By Richard Walker As a player, Steve Wilks quarterbacked West Charlotte to the 1986 N.C. 4A state title game, helped Appalachian State into 1989 and 1991 NCAA Division I-AA playoffs as a defensive back and played for one of the city’s first professional teams – the Charlotte Rage of the Arena Football League. As a […]
By Richard Walker Kings Mountain and East Lincoln improved to 8-0 on the season with large wins on Friday night. Kings Mountain won 63-24 at Cramer as Teddy Jeffries tied a school record with five touchdowns. Jeffries tied the five touchdowns scored by Kenny Bell (1977 against Burns), Joe Chambers (2008 against East Gaston), Da’Shon […]