By Richard Walker One team from Cleveland, Gaston and Lincoln counties will have a shot at the state finals next week after Friday night’s Western semifinal action. And since East Lincoln will host South Point, one area team is guaranteed a spot in the state finals. Burns and South Point outlasted their opponents while East […]
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 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 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 […]
By Richard Walker Cherryville American Legion Post 100 has had a tough last couple of weeks. Just this past week, a former star baseball player and a former player and longtime baseball official have died. It comes a month after longtime Fraley Field scoreboard operator Darise Hartman died at 89 on Sept. 15 Former star […]
By Richard Walker When South Point visits Ashbrook on Friday, it’ll renew the third-oldest rivalry in Gaston County. Originally started in 1924 as the Belmont-Gastonia rivalry, Friday’s renewal also gives us a chance to recall the first Ashbrook-South Point contest – and the buildup it received. Entering that 1975 meeting on Oct. 3, Ashbrook was […]
By Richard Walker When Belmont and Holbrook meet for the Gaston County Conference football championship at 6 p.m. at South Point High’s Lineberger Stadium, a new champion will be crowned. Belmont is seeking its sixth title and first since 2016, while Holbrook is seeking its fifth title and first since 1995. Coached by Carey Galbreath, […]
By Richard Walker Shelby High’s Aubrey Hollifield will set local high school football history when he’s an assistant coach for the North Carolina team in the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas on Dec. 17 at Spartanburg, S.C., High’s Vikings Stadium. Hollifield, who played in the 1986 Shrine Bowl game as a Kings Mountain senior, will […]
By Richard Walker Two Cleveland County and Lincoln County players and one from Gaston County were named to the roster of the North Carolina team for the 2022 Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas team on Sunday. The event, which has been cancelled by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, will return this year on […]
By Richard Walker When Kings Mountain hosts South Point on Friday, it’ll renew a rivalry that is one of the oldest in each school’s history. A series that began in 1924 will have some high stakes as the winner will take sole possession of first place in the league with three games to play. Belmont/South […]
By Richard Walker The 2022 Gaston County Conference middle school football championship game has been set after an upset in Division I. Unbeaten Belmont (7-0) will host Holbrook (5-1) next Wednesday at 6 p.m. with gates opening at South Point’s Lineberger Stadium at 5:15 p.m. Belmont recorded its fifth straight shutout to finish 5-0 in […]
By Richard Walker Cramerton won its fifth Gaston County Conference middle school golf championship in six seasons on Tuesday at Green Meadows Golf Course in Mount Holly. Belmont’s Will Monteith was the individual medalist for the second straight year with a 37 that was one shot ahead of five other golfers in the field. Cramerton […]
By Richard Walker Former Burns High and Cherryville American Legion Post 100 standout Christopher Proctor was a part of a professional baseball championship team. Proctor and the Lancaster Barnstormers won the independent Atlantic League of Professional Baseball title following series wins over Southern Maryland and High Point. A 2015 Burns High graduate, Proctor hit .243 […]
By Richard Walker The Cherryville American Legion Post 100 baseball family has had a rough couple of weeks following the death of longtime scoreboard operator Darise Hartman. Hartman died on Sept. 15 at 89 with one of the greatest attendance streaks in Legion baseball history; Hartman attended the American Legion World Series for 34 straight […]
By Richard Walker Kings Mountain and South Point set up the area’s biggest game of the regular season for next week with impressive Thursday night victories in Big South 3A Conference play. With games moved up from Friday to Thursday due to Hurricane Ian’s projected Friday rainfall in the area, Kings Mountain routed Forestview 48-7 […]
By Richard Walker When Crest visits South Point on Friday, it’ll again be a game with huge Big South 3A Conference title implications. It also reminds us of one of the first huge football meetings between the two schools that came on a day when another sport shined just as brightly. When Crest played and […]
By Richard Walker Local standouts continue having impressive college football seasons last Saturday, including one that set a league record. Former Shelby High record-setting quarterback Isaiah Bess completed the longest touchdown pass in Big South Conference history for Charleston Southern in last Saturday’s 24-19 home loss to Furman. Bess, who set the Shelby High and […]
By Richard Walker The Charlotte Hornets are back – and so is former head coach Steve Clifford. Clifford, hired for a second tenure as the team’s head coach earlier this summer, begins training camp on Tuesday morning with its first practice as the team prepares for a 5-game preseason slate that begins Sunday at 1 […]
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 […]
By Richard Walker Four teams from Cleveland, Gaston and Lincoln counties entered Friday’s sixth week of the high school football season with unbeaten records. After Friday’s results, three remain unbeaten as East Lincoln, Kings Mountain and South Point won comfortably to each improve to 4-0 while West Lincoln couldn’t hold a late lead before losing […]
By Richard Walker Lincolnton High faces its third-oldest existing rivalry when the Wolves host Newton-Conover on Friday. Lincolnton first met “Newton” in 1929 – or 12 years before “Newton-Conover” was formed. And the Wolves hold a 32-26-3 all-time lead in the series that includes a 20-0 win in that inaugural matchup at Love Field in […]
By Richard Walker After blitzing Atlantic League of Professional Baseball opponents all season long, the Gastonia Honey Hunters will need to win twice this weekend to advance to the league championship series. The High Point Rockers evened the best-of-five Southern Division playoff series at one game apiece following Wednesday’s 11-4 victory at CaroMont Health Park […]
By Richard Walker The Gastonia Honey Hunters routed the High Point Rockers 12-1 on Monday night in the first game of the best-of-five Atlantic League of Professional Baseball Southern Division championship series at Gastonia’s CaroMont Health Park. Gastonia, which went 88-44 in the regular and won the first- and second-half divisional titles, snapped a 1-all […]
By Richard Walker The Gastonia Honey Hunters just completed one of the best seasons in the city’s long professional baseball history. On Tuesday at 6:15 p.m., the Honey Hunters open their bid for Gastonia’s seventh pro baseball league championship when they begin a best-of-five Atlantic League of Professional Baseball semifinal series against the High Point […]
By Richard Walker When Cramer opened in 2013, since the school was so close to South Point, it seemed natural that the schools would soon become rivals. Well, as the ninth renewal of the series opens Big South 3A Conference play for both teams at Cramer on Friday night, the host Storm still seek its […]
By Richard Walker Gaston County Conference middle school football teams moved into their second week of divisional competition while the Tri-County Conference opened division play on Wednesday. Here are results from both leagues: GASTON COUNTY CONFERENCE Standings through Sept. 14 with division records followed by overall records: (Division I) Cramerton 1-0, 3-0 Southwest 1-0, 2-1 […]
By Richard Walker With the Charlotte 49ers enduring the school’s second-worst start in the program’s brief college football history, head coach Will Healy remains confident better days are ahead. “You’ve got to maintain positivity in the building,” Healy said during Tuesday’s weekly news conference. “I have to believe we’re making positive strides. What you have […]
By Richard Walker Former Grier Middle School and Ashbrook High standout Isaiah Whaley has been signed to a contract with the Charlotte Hornets, the team announced on Monday. Joining Whaley as Hornets signees to their upcoming training camp roster were Jalen Crutcher, Anthony Duruji and Charlotte’s Jaylen Sims. Whaley, who helped Ashbrook to the 2015 […]
By Richard Walker One of the area’s oldest rivalries highlights the lightest regular season playing date of the high school football season as most teams are off in preparation of starting league play next week. At Cherryville’s Rudisill Stadium, the Ironmen will host Chase in the 46th renewal of a rivalry that began in 1959. […]
By Richard Walker Local history was made on Wednesday when the first East Lincoln High product was called up to the major leagues. Alec Burleson, a 2017 East Lincoln graduate, was promoted to the St. Louis Cardinals major league roster after having the best season of his professional baseball career. Ranked the No.5 prospect in […]
By Richard Walker The 2022 Gaston County Conference and Tri-County Conference middle school football seasons begin in the next month. Here’s the composite schedules of both conferences: (Gaston County Conference) Aug. 24 – Belmont at Southwest, Bessemer City at Holbrook, W.C. Friday at Cramerton, Stanley at Grier, York Chester at Mount Holly Aug. 31 – […]
By Richard Walker Eight boys teams and four girls teams remain alive as the N.C. High School Athletic Association basketball playoffs continue with second round play on Thursday. Following the first round, trends are already emerging from postseason play. Unbeaten area conferences include Queen City 3A/4A boys (4-0), Western Foothills 3A boys (5-0), Mountain Foothills […]
By Richard Walker Cleveland County will be the site of two conference championship games next week after all four of the county’s teams enjoyed blowout wins on Friday. Kings Mountain (8-1, 6-0) will host Crest (6-2, 6-0) for the Big South 3A Conference title and Shelby (8-1, 5-0) will host Burns (7-2, 5-0) for the […]
By Richard Walker A big day in the national spotlight ended with a thud for the Charlotte 49ers Thursday night in a disappointing 38-9 home loss to Florida Atlantic. Earlier Thursday, the school officially accepted an invitation to join the American Athletic Conference. The change of conference of leaving Conference USA had been reported on […]
By Richard Walker A third quarter offensive explosion propelled a Charlotte Hornets’ comeback that ended in a dramatic 123-122 victory over the Indiana Pacers in front of 15,521 at Spectrum Center. The Hornets trailed 82-59 early in the third quarter and were still behind 84-63 with 8:48 left in that quarter before scoring 24 straight […]
By Richard Walker Charlotte 49ers football coach Will Healy declined to say much about media reports about the school soon applying to leave Conference to apply for membership in the American Athletic Conference. “There’s a lot of excitement around this program,” Helay said at his weekly news conference. “It’s really exciting to see what’s been […]
By Richard Walker The Charlotte 49ers are expected to apply for membership to the American Athletic Conference this week, Yahoo sports reported on Monday. The 49ers, who are in their second stint in Conference USA, will have to pay a $3 million exit fee to the league to join the AAC along with league rivals […]
By Richard Walker Burns rallied late in regulation then won a double overtime thriller over visiting East Gaston 45-38 on Friday night in one of the season’s most exciting games of the year. Trailing 35-28 late in regulation, Burns quarterback Ben Mauney threw his fourth touchdown pass to L.J. Allen with 1.3 seconds remaining and […]
By Richard Walker Seven players in Cleveland, Gaston and Lincoln counties have surpassed 1,000 yards with three weeks left in the 11-week season. Mountain Island Charter’s Dylan Bisson is the top yardage-gainer with 2,503 yards passing in seven games. Shelby’s Daylin Lee (1,588), Cramer’s Justin Rocquemore (1,351), Burns’ Ben Mauney (1,303) and North Gaston’s Kandan […]
By Richard Walker The Charlotte Hornets now have a week to heal up and get ready for their Oct. 20 regular season opener at home against the Indiana Pacers. That comes after Wednesday’s 127-59 home loss to the Dallas Mavericks that ended the Hornets’ preseason schedule with a 1-3 record. Charlotte, already playing without starting […]
By Richard Walker Southwest’s county-record winning streak reached 31 games with a 16-8 win over Belmont for the 2021 Gaston County Conference middle school football championship game. Southwest (7-0) has won four straight county titles and hasn’t lost since 2016. Southwest has won seven county titles; The Roadrunners also won championships in 1982, 2003, 2007, […]
By Richard Walker For the sixth straight season, Belmont and Southwest will clash in a Gaston County Conference middle school football playoff game, this time for the 2021 championship. Southwest (6-0) will host Belmont (5-2) at Hunter Huss High at 6:30 p.m. Southwest is a three-time defending county champion with titles in 2017, 2018 and […]
By Richard Walker A strong second half allowed Kings Mountain to move into a tie atop the Big South 3A Conference standings with Crest on Friday. The Mountaineers scored 17 fourth-quarter points in a 24-7 win at South Point on Friday as Kings Mountain improved to 6-1 overall and 4-0 in the Big South. The […]
By Richard Walker Cramer and East Gaston won a pair of high-scoring Gaston County high school matchups on Thursday night in games that were moved up from Friday due to the threat of inclement weather. Cramer improved to 4-3 overall and 2-2 in the Big South 3A Conference with a 31-20 win over visiting Ashbrook. […]
By Richard Walker Cramerton Middle School beat visiting Chavis 10-3 on Wednesday to win the 2021 Gaston County Conference championship. It’s the Eagles’ fourth county title all-time and first since 2013. Cramerton also won in 2001 and 2002. In Wednesday’s victory that completed Cramerton’s season with a 12-0 record, Kayla Johnson threw a complete game […]
By Richard Walker Chavis won its second Gaston County Conference Middle School team golf title in school history on Monday with a one-stroke victory over Belmont for the 2021 Gaston County Conference championship. Coached by Timmy Fleming, the Wolverines won their first title since 2001. Belmont’s Will Monteath was the county individual champion with a […]
By Richard Walker When Wes Helms was named Charlotte Knights manager in January 2020, it was considered one of the best “feel good” homecoming stories in the region. Despite the coronavirus pandemic of 2020 that cancelled the Knights season that year and a challenging 2021 season that included more than 150 player transactions, Helms remains […]
By Richard Walker A strong start and fast finish wasn’t enough for the Carolina Panthers on Sunday at AT&T Stadium against the Dallas Cowboys. And the Cowboys used a streak of 20 straight points to take a 36-28 victory and knock Carolina from the unbeaten ranks in the NFL. The Panthers (3-1) were seeking their […]
By Richard Walker The Carolina Panthers pursue their first 4-0 start since 2015 – and third in team history – when they visit the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday at 1 p.m. Even as the Panthers are 3-0 and Dallas 2-1, Las Vegas oddsmakers have the Cowboys a comfortable favorite for the first meeting between the […]
By Richard Walker The Crest Chargers pulled off an improbable come-from-behind 27-26 win over visiting South Point on Friday night to remain atop the Big South 3A Conference standings. Crest (4-1, 4-0) trailed 26-14 with 6 1-2 minutes left before scoring two touchdowns in the next 2 1-2 minutes to take the lead and later […]
By Richard Walker Frequently on ESPN’s college football and basketball game days, they’ll discuss “Judgement Day” when a slate of games will determine who’s at the top of the league standings. In the Cleveland, Gaston and Lincoln counties area, Friday night is “Judgement Day” for 2021 Big South 3A Conference football. It’s because the league […]
By Richard Walker It’s always good to be remembered in your hometown by your old school and mixed martial arts fighter and television star Justine Kish will be honored by Cramerton Middle School on Thursday. A 2007 South Point High graduate, Justine Kish attended Cramerton in the 2001-02 and 2002-03 school years back when she […]
By Richard Walker After suffering injuries that cost him 29 games last season, Charlotte Hornets forward Gordon Hayward is eager to be healthy this season as the team pursues its goal of making the NBA playoffs. Hayward missed 29 games last year, including the last 24 of the regular season with a right foot injury […]
By Richard Walker Local products came away with top league honors on Monday after having impressive efforts in Saturday college football games. At Charlotte, quarterback Chris Reynolds was named Conference USA Offensive Player of the Week. At Gardner-Webb, two players were honored by the Big South Conference. And at N.C. State and Wake Forest, local […]
By Richard Walker Former South Point High standout Garrett Davila last week won his second minor league championship as a member of the Kansas City Royals’ organization. A 2015 South Point High graduate, Davila was the winning pitcher for Northwest Arkansas in the second game of the Naturals’ three games to none Class AA Central […]
By Richard Walker The first big Southern Piedmont 1A/2A matchup of the season turned into a rout for Shelby as the Golden Lions rolled to a 55-7 win at previously unbeaten Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy on Friday night. Shelby improved to 4-1 overall and 2-0 in league play by scoring the game’s last 49 points […]
By Richard Walker As the high school football season hits the midway point of the 11-week, 10-game season on Friday, we look at individuals who have shined brighest so far this season. Already, two quarterbacks in Cleveland, Gaston and Lincoln counties have surpassed 1,000 yards passing and many others are having strong seasons. No running […]
By Richard Walker Can the Carolina Panthers’ defense keep it up? And can the offense continue it fast starts? If Carolina can keep doing both, the Panthers will become the first 3-0 team in the NFL this season if they can win Thursday’s 8:20 p.m. game at the Houston Texans. The Panthers also are seeking […]