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 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 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 When the Gastonia Honey Hunters became an Atlantic League of Professional Baseball expansion franchise in 2021 set to play in the city’s new CaroMont Health Park, the team had hopes of signing local players and attracting fans. With the help of former Forestview High star Reilly Hovis, that’s happened in addition to […]
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 The Carolina Panthers face their most frequent opponent on Sunday when they host the New Orleans Saints in the first game of a rare three-game homestand. Carolina hosts New Orleans this Sunday, then hosts Arizona on Oct. 2 and San Francisco on Oct. 9. How rare is a three-game homestand? It’s only […]
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 The Carolina Panthers continue to confound their fanbase with different ways to lose. On Sunday, after taking a lead for the 17th time in its last 19 games, Carolina lost 19-16 at the New York Giants on Sunday. It means the Panthers now have a league-worst nine-game losing streak and are 5-12 […]
By Richard Walker Is the Carolina Panthers’ season on the line Sunday when it visits the New York Giants? Based on Carolina’s history, if the playoffs are the goal, it will be. In the franchise’s previous 27 seasons, only once in the 10 previous 0-2 starts have the Panthers rebounded to make the playoffs. That […]
By Richard Walker Burns and Shelby opened their bids for a Southern Piedmont 1A/2A Conference title on Friday night with high-scoring road victories. Burns set a school record for single game scoring in a 74-0 win over Highland Tech in a game played at Gastonia’s Huss High School and Shelby won 70-0 at Cherryville as […]
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 The Carolina Panthers’ 2022 season-opener ended in disappointment on Sunday. After a late rally had the Panthers ahead by a point with 1:13 to play, the Cleveland Browns took a 26-24 victory on rookie Cade York’s 58-yards field goal with eight seconds to play. It ruined the debut of Panthers’ quarterback Baker […]
By Richard Walker Carolina makes its 2022 debut and the storyline is obvious with quarterback Baker Mayfield makes his Panthers’ debut against the team that traded him to Carolina in July. Also in the 1 p.m. game, Cleveland will start former N.C. State standout Jacoby Brissett at quarterback since former Clemson standout Deshaun Watson was […]
By Richard Walker Shelby was off to only the fifth 0-3 start in that school’s history. The Golden Lions made sure they wouldn’t fall to 0-4 with an offensive outburst in a 57-21 win at Hibriten on Friday night. Shelby quarterback Daylin Lee completed 11 of 17 passes for 248 yards and four touchdowns, Izay […]
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 When the Gastonia Honey Hunters’ second-year franchise begins their pursuit of an Atlantic League of Professional Baseball championship on Sept. 20, they’ll be looking to join a title history that is more than 100 years old. Gastonia professional baseball teams have won six league titles starting with the city’s first pro team […]
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 Charlotte 49ers could have a third starting quarterback in three games later this week. But after an 0-2 start and the starters on each of the first two games limited in practice, 49ers head coach Will Healy wouldn’t name a starter for Saturday’s 3:30 p.m. home game against Maryland. “I don’t […]
By Richard Walker Basketball Hall of Famer Earvin “Magic” Johnson will be at Gastonia’s CaroMont Health Park on Friday for a meet and greet with fans from 5 to 6 p.m. before the Gastonia Honey Hunters’ game against Lexington. Johnson, who led Michigan State to the 1979 NCAA championship and the Los Angeles Lakers to […]
By Richard Walker There was so much to unpack from Friday’s Crest-Shelby thriller that it’s hard to know where to start in this week’s “Monday Morning Quarterback” high school edition for this week. Crest’s dramatic 54-49 victory in the 54th matchup of a series marked by defense fell just two points shy of a Cleveland […]
By Richard Walker Five former local standouts were involved the highest-scoring NCAA Division I football game in the history of both programs on Saturday when North Carolina outlasted Appalachian State 63-61. In front of a record Kidd Brewer Stadium crowd of 40,168, the teams combined for 62 points and 504 yards in the fourth alone. […]
By Richard Walker Many call the Crest-Shelby rivalry the best in the state given how many times each school has won state championships. It’s most often been a defensive struggle over the years. That wasn’t the case in Friday’s renewal in the series. In the highest-scoring game in the 54-game history of the series, Crest […]
By Richard Walker The second-oldest rivalry in Lincoln County resumes on Friday when East Lincoln visits Lincolnton. It’s rivalry that began in 1974 when Lincolnton left the old Western N.C. Activities Association to join the N.C. High School Athletic Association and came in the same season when Lincolnton also started playing West Lincoln; East Lincoln-West […]
By Richard Walker Two of the five NFL players from Cleveland, Gaston and Lincoln counties survived Tuesday’s cut day – and one who didn’t was retained on his team’s practice squad on Wednesday. Two of the three who survived cuts are on the Minnesota Vikings roster – seventh-year defensive lineman Jonathan Bullard (Crest 2012 graduate) […]
By Richard Walker If the Charlotte 49ers are to break into the win column in Friday’s 2022 home opener, they’ll be doing it without their school-leader in quarterback starts and quarterback victories. Charlotte head coach Will Healy announced Chris Reynolds wouldn’t play in Friday’s 7 p.m. home opener against William & Mary due to an […]
By Richard Walker A former Kings Mountain High standout made his collegiate reception in North Carolina’s season-opening win and a former Huss standout was a defensive leader for Charlotte in its season-opening loss in a pair of games last Saturday. Kobe Paysour, a Kings Mountain football and basketball standout from 2018 to 2021, caught one […]
By Richard Walker This week will start a segment called “Monday Morning Quarterback” that wraps up the recent high school football games. And some trends are emerging in high school football for Cleveland, Gaston and Lincoln counties after two weeks of the season. In Gaston County, Justin Rocquemore is poised for a record-setting career during […]
By Richard Walker The Golf Channel and ESPN reported on Saturday that Gastonia’s Harold Varner III is expected to among the next wave of PGA Tour players who will join the LIV Golf tour. A 2008 Forestview High graduate, Varner has qualified for the FedEx Cup playoff all seven years he’s been a PGA touring […]
By Richard Walker South Point continued its recent dominance in the oldest rivalry in Gaston County history with a 16th straight victory over East Gaston on Friday night. The Red Reiders rolled to a 48-6 victory in the 73rd renewal of a rivalry that began in 1923 as Belmont against Mount Holly; Belmont and Cramerton […]
By Richard Walker One week after the state’s oldest rivalry continued in Cleveland County, the oldest Gaston County rivalry continues in the second week of 2022 high school football. East Gaston visits South Point in the 73rd meeting between them when you include their predecessors. Like last week’s Kings Mountain-Shelby rivalry, the Gaston County rivalry […]
By Richard Walker A rematch of one of the 2021 championship game highlighted the opening day of Gaston County Conference middle school football season. And Belmont snapped a Southwest’s county-record 31-game winning streak with a 10-8 road victory on Jake Layman’s 23-yard field goal with 11 seconds left. The Southwest win streak that began in […]
By Richard Walker Both Surratt brothers are shining so far this preseason in the NFL. Chazz Surratt, a 2016 East Lincoln High graduate, has made 11 tackles with a half-sack in two games for the Minnesota Vikings. And Sage Surratt, a 2017 Lincolnton High graduate who also played at East Lincoln, has caught four passes […]
By Richard Walker After holding a quarterback competition between Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold for the entirety of his 2022 training camp, Carolina Panthers head coach Matt Rhule announced what most people expected on Monday. That’s when Rhule announced top offseason trade acquisition Mayfield would be his starting quarterback. Mayfield will make that debut on […]
By Richard Walker Cherryville’s Dalton Pence received a top honor last week in the Coastal Plain League. A 2021 Cherryville High graduate and former Cherryville Post 100 Legion standout, Pence was named Pitcher of the Year for the CPL, a summer collegiate wood bat league, for his efforts playing for the Forest City Owls this […]
By Richard Walker The Carolina Panthers got bad news on the injury to rookie quarterback Matt Corral in Friday’s 20-10 preseason loss at New England. Corral, a third-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft out of Mississippi, suffered what coach Matt Rhule called a “significant” injury and will be out of action a substantial amount […]
By Richard Walker The 101st “Battle of Buffalo Creek” was a thriller as Kings Mountain held off a late Shelby comeback for a 28-26 victory at Shelby’s Blanton Memorial Stadium to highlight area high school football openers. In the oldest rivalry in N.C., Kings Mountain won for the third time in four years, including two […]
By Richard Walker The 2022 high school football season opens in Cleveland, Gaston and Lincoln counties on Friday night. Here’s a look at the history of this week’s games: Anson County at Mountain Island Charter – cancelled Ashbrook at Concord – Last year’s game, the first scheduled between the two schools, was cancelled Avery County […]
By Richard Walker Gastonia’s Harold Varner III is in a five-person class of those who will be inducted into the 44th annual East Carolina University Athletics Hall of Fame on Oct. 14 at Minges Coliseum. Varner will be joined by 1994 Liberty Bowl Alliance Co-Offensive Player of the Year and former Pirate quarterback Marcus Crandall, […]
By Richard Walker Troy, Ala., made its third straight rally from a large deficit to win its first American Legion World Series title – and take the first title for Alabama in 55 years – on Tuesday with a 6-5 win over two-time defending champion Idaho Falls, Id. Idaho Falls was pursuing an unprecedented third […]
By Richard Walker Troy, Ala., and Idaho Falls, Id. won Monday semifinal games at the American Legion World Series to advance to Tuesday’s 7 p.m. championship game. Troy, playing in its first-ever ALWS, rallied from an early 3-0 deficit to beat Midland, Mich., 5-3. Troy seeks to become the second Alabama champion; Tuscaloosa, Ala., won […]
By Richard Walker When Chandler Redmond played baseball for Gardner-Webb University, he set single-season and career records for home runs. Last Wednesday night, he matched one of the rarest home run records in professional baseball history with a home run cycle. A 32nd-round pick in 2019 by the St. Louis Cardinals organization, Redmond hit a […]
By Richard Walker The Carolina Panthers played four quarterbacks – starting recent trade acquisition Baker Mayfield – and survived a Washington Commanders’ rally directed by former University of North Carolina quarterback Sam Howell before winning 23-21 Saturday afternoon in their 2022 preseason opener. Mayfield, acquired from the Cleveland Browns in July, started for coach Matt […]
By Richard Walker The Burns High School community is in mourning after the death of the coach credited with building the school into a championship football program. Ron Greene died at 71 on Thursday. The winningest coach in school history and the man for whom the school’s stadium is named guided the Bulldogs to a […]
By Richard Walker The 2022 American Legion World Series got underway at Shelby’s Veterans Field at Keeter Stadium on Thursday. Here’s the schedule and results: Stars Division – Mid-South (Troy AL), Northeast (Shrewsbury MA), Southeast (Camden SC), Western (League City TX) Stripes Division – Great Lakes (Midland MI), Mid-Atlantic (Chesapeake VA), Central Plains (Omaha Prep […]
By Richard Walker Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame coach Roy Williams was the featured speaker on Wednesday at LeGrand Center in Shelby, N.C., during the “Host City Welcome” festivities that kicked off the 2022 American Legion World Series. Williams applauded each of the eight regional champions that begin play in the ALWS on Thursday. “I […]
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 As the Carolina Panthers prepare for Friday’s first preseason game during training camp in Spartanburg, S.C., coach Matt Rhule still hasn’t named a starting quarterback. However, Rhule admitted that day was coming closer as 2021 starter Sam Darnold and offseason trade acquisition Baker Mayfield continue sharing practice repetitions with projected starters and […]
By Richard Walker The field has been set for this week’s American Legion World at Shelby’s Veterans Field at Keeter Stadium – and it includes two-time defending champion Idaho Falls, Id. Here’s the schedule of games that begin on Thursday: Stars Division – Mid-South (Troy AL), Northeast (Shrewsbury MA), Southeast (Camden SC), Western (League City […]
By Richard Walker Gastonia’s Chandler Meeks, the Gaston Braves’ Caleb Burr and Chase Stewart and Cherryville’s Joseph Webb led American Legion baseball statistical leaders from Cleveland, Gaston and Lincoln counties: Note: Statistics provided by area coaches and/or statisticians. Batting average (minimum: 30 at-bats) Chandler Meeks, Gastonia (25-53) .472 Austin Parker, Gastonia (22-51) .431 Logan Agosta, […]
By Richard Walker Here’s a look at pro baseball players from Cleveland, Gaston and Lincoln counties: Former Gardner-Webb and Belmont Abbey baseball standout Emilio Pagan is 3-5 with nine saves and a 4.97 ERA in 40 appearances for the Minnesota Twins. Jeffrey Springs (South Point 2011 graduate) is 4-3 with a 2.50 ERA in 22 […]
By Richard Walker A former Crest High standout Lannden Zanders announced on twitter that his Clemson University college football career was over while Burns High senior Cahari Haynes announced his college commitment on twitter to play at Appalachian State University. A 2019 Crest High graduate, Zanders is a 6-foot-1, 210-pound safety who had made 57 […]
By Richard Walker Six players from Cleveland, Gaston and Lincoln counties were honored earlier this week by HighSchoolOT.com with selection to their all-state high school baseball team. East Lincoln’s Garrett Michel was named first team infielder, North Lincoln’s Matt Heavner was named second team infielder, Cherryville’s Landon Hahn was named third team infielder and East […]