Rockingham Prep Sports

Raiders slip past RCMS in OT

2008-10-23T18:23:00.001-07:00

By STEVE CANNULI
Sports Editor
Thursday’s middle school football game was in essence for the conference championship and by the way it played out, it was fitting that Reidsville and Rockingham were the parties involved.
Regulation was not enough to decide matters as the Raiders, who overcame a 14-0 deficit, scored and converted a two-point conversion to edge the Jaguars, 22-20 at Rockingham’s Cougar Pride Stadium.
Tied at 14-14, Rockingham County Middle School (5-1) scored first in overtime as John Jackson plunged in from 2-yards out. Jackson carried the ball all three times and gained 10 yards to put the Jaguars on top, 20-14. RCMS’s two-point conversion was no good.
On its first possession in OT, Reidsville turned things over to Raheem Johnson, who rushed four times for 10 yards — the final 1-yard tying the game at 20-20.
Johnson also ran in the two-point conversion and gave the visitors the victory.
The loss was the first for Rockingham County, which entered the game allowing just two touchdowns on defense.
On Thursday, the Jaguar defense was just as stout.
Reidsville (5-1) gained 194 yards of total offense, 159 coming after halftime.
RCMS led 6-0 at halftime with each team gaining 35 yards.
The Jaguars extended their halftime lead with 6:44 left in the third quarter. Following a Reidsville fumble, Jackson rushed in from 2-yards out and his conversion run gave the home team a convincing 14-0 lead.
After a Raider punt, RCMS was on the move again, but a fake punt pass on fourth and 11 netted 10 yards and gave RMS good field position at the 49.
Five plays later, the Raiders found pay-dirt. Johnson rushed twice on the drive for 25 yards and Rhmael Irving added a six-yard run. The scoring play was a second and 15when Hunter Welch connected with Justin Smith on a 35-yard scoring strike.
Later in the second half, the two would hook up again on a 27-yard TD that tied the game at 14-14.
Reidsville’s game-tying touchdown came with 2:13 left in the game.
But the Jaguars were not going away without a last-second fight.
With 55-yards in front of it, RCMS moved quickly down the field. On first down, Jackson broke loose for an apparent TD, but an illegal block call negated his 55-yard touchdown run.
Now with first and 10 from the RMS 40, Jackson gained 7 yards and a pass interference call against the Raiders put the Jags at the Raider 9.
With 11.2 seconds left in the game, Austin Dixon found Darien Miller near the goal line, but Miller was tackled at the RMS 1-yard line as time expired.
Johnson and Jackson were the two workhorses for their teams. Johnson gained 91 yards on 13 carries and Jackson gained 97 yards on 16 carries.
Reidsville completed four passes — as Welch was 4 of 10 for 84 yards.
Defensively, Chad Pruitt for Reidsville and Nick Lowry for Rockingham had standout games.
Reidsville closes out the season against Fieldale Collinsville next week and RCMS closes against Martinsville.

RCHS advances to second round of volleyball playoffs

2008-10-18T17:07:00.000-07:00

From staff report
Rockingham County finally got its first-round monkey off its back and the team's sweep of Western Harnett, 3-0 Saturday sends the Lady Cougars into the Tuesday's second round.
RCHS (22-2), the Triad 3-A Conference's No. 1 seed, will face the winner of Nash Central and Gray's Creek.
Tuesday's game will be played at RCHS.

MHS falls 3-2 in round one
The season came to an end for the Morehead Lady Panthers, who lost 3-2 to South Johnston Saturday.
The Lady Panthers ended the season with a record of 12-10.
South Johnston (15-10) now faces either Eastern Alamance of Harnett Central on Tuesday.

MHS, RCHS reach volleyball semifinals

2008-10-14T15:43:00.000-07:00

From staff report
Rockingham County and Morehead both advanced through the first round of the Triad 3-A Conference Tournament with three-game sweeps. The Lady Cougars rolled past Western Alamance, 25-5, 25-14 and 25-9 and the Lady Panthers defeated Greensboro Dudley, 25-20, 25-23 and 25-21 Monday night.
Tuesday night’s semifinal games, which were held at Northern Guilford High School, featured Rockingham County versus Northern Guilford and Morehead versus Bartlett Yancey.
RCHS won the regular season conference championship with a perfect 14-0 mark.
For the Lady Cougars, they were led by Erin Cox’s 16 service points, 11 kills, seven digs and three aces and Jordan O’Bryant’s 14 service points, 15 digs, nine kills and two blocks.
RCHS also got 12 digs from Macey Wilson, 26 assists from Denise Grissom and four blocks from Sarah Sparks.
For the Lady Panthers, they were led by Tori Roberts’ 22 assists and four digs, Brittney Stokes’ six kills and 10 digs and Emily Pulliam’s 14 digs, five aces and seven kills.
In the loss, Dudley got seven kills and two blocks from Yasmin Lee and nine assists from Lorin Gilmore.
In the other first-round games, Northern Guilford knocked off Western Guilford, 3-1 and Bartlett Yancey defeated Northeast Guilford.
Samantha Coffer led Northern with 24 kills and three blocks and Elayna Meachum added 20 assists and 14 service points.
Tonight’s championship game will also be held at Northern Guilford HS.

Prep Soccer
Western Alamance 6, Morehead 0
Daniel Boulware scored three times in the first 20 minutes as Western Alamance rolled past Morehead, 6-0 Monday night in Eden.
The Panthers, who were out shot 28-4, got 20 saves from the duo of Taylor Trantham and J.T. Chambers.
With the loss, MHS dropped to 2-8-1 in conference play (4-13-1 overall). Morehead is at Western Guilford tonight.
Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m.

McMichael, Reidsville prepare for state tournament, regionals

2008-10-13T14:22:00.000-07:00

By STEVE CANNULI
Sports Editor
Heading into the 2008 North State tennis season, the early projections pitted McMichael and Reidsville to finish 1-2. Nearly three months later and a North State 2-A Conference tournament later and that is exactly how things played out.
McMichael had both a singles entry and doubles team reach the conference tournament finals, which helped the Lady Phoenix finish with 11 points and edged out the Lady Rams, who finished in second place with nine.
West Stokes was third with seven points, followed by Eastern Guilford (4) and Southern Guilford (1).
In the singles’ finals, McMichael’s Kelly Shemo went up against Eastern Guilford’s LeeAnna Robertson and it was Robertson who came out on top, 8-2.
Reidsville’s Morgan Farver, who lost to Robertson in the semifinals, defeated West Stokes’ Heather Devitt, 8-4 and took home third place. Shemo ousted Devitt in the other semifinal match, 8-6.
The tournament’s double crown went to Sarah Alston Trent and Francie Trent. After winning their first two matches in convincing fashion — 8-0 and 8-0 — the Trents edged out Stephanie Hauser and Caroline Frye of West Stokes, 8-6 in the semifinals.
In the finals, the Trents defeated McMichael’s duo of Brittany Manning and Emily Blakey, 9-7.
Manning and Blakey were equally strong along the way, allowing just four points in their first three matches.
In the doubles’ consolation finals, Hauser and Frye defeated McMichael’s Becky Bozorth and Katie Willard 8-5 and took home third place.
McMichael will now send five players to the 2-A tennis regionals and Reidsville will send three, but before that the teams must turn their attention to the dual team playoffs, which begin today.
The Lady Phoenix (11-0), a No. 1 seed, will host Northwood (14-5) — a No. 2 seed out of the Mid-State 2-A Conference.
Reidsville (7-3) is a No. 2 seed and will travel to Cardinal Gibbons (15-4), the No. 1 seed out of the Mid-State.
The winner of those two matches will meet in the second round Oct. 21.
Individual regional play will begin Oct. 24.
Qualifying from McMichael are Kelly Shemo (singles) and Brittany Manning and Emily Blakey (doubles) and Becky Bozorth and Katie Willard (doubles).
Competing from Reidsville will be Morgan Farver (singles) and Sara Alston Trent and Francie Trent (doubles).

Rams blank McMichael; MHS, RCHS fall

2008-10-07T15:39:00.000-07:00

From staff report
Orlins Reyes proved to be all Reidsville needed as he scored three times in the Rams’ 3-0 shutout of McMichael Monday night at Community Stadium.
Reyes scored at the 9-, 19- and 57-minute marks.
Reidsville got assists from Javier Guzman, James Scheer and Carl Holder.
With the win, the Rams improved to 3-1 in North State play and 7-4-1 overall.
RHS out shot McMichael, 8-5 but the Phoenix held a 6-4 edge in corner kicks.
Ross Haigler recorded fives saves for the Rams, who close out the week with games against West Stokes (tonight) and Bartlett Yancey (Thursday).

Northern Guilford 4, Morehead 1
After falling behind 3-0 to Northern Guilford at halftime, the Morehead Panthers steadied the ship and played the second half to a 1-1 tie, but lost to the Nighthawks, 4-1 Monday night in Eden.
Drew Dippel of Northern scored the game’s first two goals and gave the Rams a 2-0 lead just 12 minutes into the match.
Matthew Beck, who also scored twice, scored three minutes after Dippel’s second goal as Northern took a 3-0 lead into halftime.
The Rams, who out shot the Panthers 22-8, extended their lead to 4-0 on Beck’s second goal of the night — eight minutes into the second half.
Morehead got on the scoreboard as Brandon Joyce, on an assist from Spencer Osborne, scored at the 58-minute mark.
The Panthers, now 1-7-1 in conference play and 3-12-1 overall, got 13 saves from Taylor Trantham and J.T. Chambers. The Nighthawks got four saves from goalkeeper Campbell Chambliss.
With the win, Northern improved to 6-4 in conference play and 9-7 overall.
MHS returns to action at Rockingham County tonight.
The match is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Northeast Guilford 5, Rockingham County 2
Ethan Ellington scored both Rockingham County goals, but Northeast proved to be too much for the Cougars, who lost in McLeansville, 5-2 Monday night.
While Ellington found the net twice for the Cougars, Ahmed Kheir scored three times for the Rams, who improved to 7-2 in Triad play and 9-4-1 overall.
Rockingham County dropped to 1-6-2 in conference and 3-9-2 overall.
Matt Johnson and Zach Moore added the other two Northeast goals.
Taylor Witty of RCHS recorded 10 saves and Kevin Mitchell had five for Northeast.
RCHS is back in action against Morehead Wednesday night.
Game time is set for 7 p.m. at Cougar Pride Stadium in Wentworth.

Panthers fall behind early, rally against Rams

2008-10-04T17:13:00.000-07:00

From staff report
The Morehead Panthers surrendered two goals within 12 minutes of each other and trailed Northeast Guilford 2-0 at halftime Thursday night. However, the Panthers rallied and played much better in the second half in a 3-1 loss to the Rams.
Zach Moore (21:00), Victor Botello (33:00) and Ryan Holbrook (61:00) all scored for Northeast and gave the home team a 3-0 lead.
Morehead's Spencer Osborne scored with seven minutes left in the game and narrowed the gap to 3-1.
Northeast's slim margin came despite a 36-6 shot advantage. Morehead's Taylor Trantham recorded 14 saves.
With the loss, the Panthers dropped to 3-11-1 overall and 1-6-1 in Triad Conference action.
Northeast improved to 8-4-1 overall and 6-2 in conference games.
MHS is back in action against Northern Guilford Monday night in Eden.

Weather ends MHS-RCHS game at 1-1

2008-10-01T17:53:00.000-07:00

From staff reports
Called after 63 minutes due to lightning, Morehead and Rockingham County were left with a 1-1 tie Tuesday night in Triad 3-A Conference soccer action. In North State action from Monday night, the Reidsville Rams hammered Winston-Salem Atkins, 6-1.

MHS, RCHS play to 1-1 tie
Rockingham County’s Ryan Stanley scored a goal at the 60-minute mark proved to be the difference maker as the Cougars turned a 1-0 deficit into a 1-1 tie.
Three minutes after Stanley’s goal, the game was called due to lightning. His goal, via a penalty kick, beat Morehead goalkeeper Taylor Trantham.
Morehead’s goal, which came four minutes into the second half, was by Spencer Osborne on an assist from Levi Richardson on a corner kick.
The game was scoreless at halftime.
Morehead out shot Rockingham County, 12-9 and held a 5-2 edge in corner kicks.
The Cougars are now 1-4-2 in Triad 3-A Conference games and 3-7-2 overall. The Panthers’ record moved to 1-4-1 in conference and 3-9-1 overall.
RCHS’s Taylor Witty recorded nine saves in goal, while Trantham recorded eight saves.
Both teams were back in action Wednesday night. Rockingham was at Northern Guilford and Morehead traveled to Bartlett Yancey.
The Panthers close out the week tonight at Northeast Guilford.

Rams roll past Atkins, 6-1
Four first-half goals proved to be all the Reidsville Rams needed in defeating Atkins, 6-1 Monday night in North State soccer action.
With the win, the Rams are now 2-1 in North State play and 6-4-1 overall.
Wednesday night, Reidsville faced off with Southern Guilford in a battle for first place. The Storm knocked off West Stokes Monday night to set up Wednesday’s contest.
Orlins Reyes scored three times for Reidsville, at the 1-, 25- and 26-minute marks. Javier Guzman had the other first-half goal for the Rams.
In the second half, Emanuel Garcia and Carl Holder found the back of the night to extend RHS’s lead to 6-1.
Atkins’ lone goal came five minutes in on an own-goal off of A.J. Brower.
Reidsville out shot Atkins, 22-7. Ross Haigler and Youvany Guzman combined to record six saves in net for the Rams.
Recording assists for RHS were Alec Cobb (2), James Scheer, Jake McLamb and Tyler Harris.

Lady Cougars finish first at quad-meet

2008-09-24T17:31:00.000-07:00

From staff report
Both Rockingham County and Morehead were in cross country action on Tuesday as part of quad-meets and the Lady Cougars took home a first-place finish and the Lady Panthers and Cougars both had second-place finishes.
Facing Northern Guilford, Northeast and Dudley, the Lady Cougars finished with 20 points, while Northern was second with 54. The Cougars (33) finished six points behind Northeast Guilford, which won the boys’ race with 27 points.
Going up against Western Alamance, Western Guilford and Bartlett Yancey, the Lady Panthers finished second with 56 points. Western Guilford won with a team total of 15.
In the boys’ race, the Panthers finished third behind Western Guilford (60) and Western Alamance (15).

Rockingham Cross Country
Both Derrick Monjeau, on the boys’ side, and Jasmin Sutton, on the girls’ side, finished second. Monjeau’s time of 18:14 was three second off the pace of Dustin Dunn of Northeast (18:11). Sutton finished second, behind Erin McGuirk (20:14) of Northern, with a time of 22:38.
Other RCHS top-five finishes were Josh French (third, 18:24), Nicole Soblesky (third, 22:41), Jordan Loye (fourth, 22:51) and Kylie Keck (fifth, 22:58).
Both the Rockingham boys and girls teams are 3-1 in Triad Conference action. The Cougars are 7-3 overall and the Lady Cougars are 8-2 overall.

Morehead Cross Country
Chelsea Wilson’s seventh-place finish was tops for Morehead Tuesday. Wilson finished with a time of 26:04.
Ganna Brown of Western Guilford won the girls’ race with a time of 20:18.
On the boys’ side, Marty Hall’s 14th-place finish was top for the Panthers. Hall finished with a time of 22:08.
Western Alamance’s John Pratt won the boys’ race with a time of 17:33.
“Western Alamance’s boys look very dominant in the conference, as well as Western Guilford’s girls,” said Morehead coach Donna Turner. “MHS will really have to work hard to be in a good position by the time of the conference meet.”

Lady Cougars capture county golf event

2008-09-17T18:24:00.000-07:00

County Golf at The Plantation Golf Course (Reidsville)
Rockingham Co. 140, McMichael 145, Morehead 180
RCHS - Melissa Miller 44, Kelly Wilson 45, Nikki Alderson 51
McM - Hannah Bailey 44, Courtney Vaughn 50, Mackenzie Webster 51
MHS - Melissa Underwood 56, Jessica Holland 60, Macey McFatter 64

McMichael edges Reidsville in North State tennis

2008-09-16T15:13:00.000-07:00

From staff report
In a match that resembled state playoff atmosphere, the McMichael Lady Phoenix edged out the Reidsville Lady Rams Monday afternoon at Jaycee Park. In other county tennis action, Rock-ingham County could not overcome Western Alamance in an 8-1 loss at Rockingham Community College.

Lady Rams edged at home
In a match in which they lost five games by four points or less, the Lady Rams lost at home to the McMichael Lady Phoenix, 5-4.
In first singles, Sarah Alston Trent lost 10-8 to Brittany Manning. In fourth singles, Caroline Dallas won 10-8 over Becky Bozorth.
In second doubles, the Reidsville team of Carolyn Fagan and Ellen Solomon edged out Kelly Shemo and Rebekah Morrison, 8-6.
The other close matches of the day featured a 10-6 win for Morgan Farver or Morrison and a 10-6 win for Kimberly Legaux over Fagan.
Other winners included Shemo (10-4) over Francie Trent, Katie Willard (10-1) over Jordan Cot-ter, the duo of Manning and Emily Blakey (8-1) over Sarah Alston Trent and Francie Trent and the RHS duo of Farver and Lily Fagan over Bozorth and Willard — no score was given.
The four points scored by Francie Trent were the first point allowed by Shemo since the County Wide Tournament in August.
Both teams are back in action today. McMichael heads to Southern Guilford and Reidsville makes the trip to West Stokes.
Matches are scheduled for 4:30 p.m.

RCHS falls to Western Alamance, 8-1
Caroline Lindsay of Rockingham County won at first singles, but that proved to be the lone Lady Cougar win as they fell to Western Alamance Monday afternoon at RCC.
Lindsay won 10-8 over Rachel Pennington. In doubles action, Lindsay and Krystal Moore lost 6-0 to Pennington and Rebecca Fogleman.
In the other seven games, Western Alamance surrendered a total of four points — including three shutout wins.
Marcia Blackstock, Moore, Brooke Purgason, Lindsey Puckett and Autumn Carter all lost in singles action and Blackstock and Becky Livengood and Allison Nolker and Hannah Livengood lost in doubles play.
RCHS is back on the courts at Bartlett Yancey today.
Matches are scheduled for 4:30 p.m.

RCHS takes second in golf opener
Rockingham County opened its golf season with a second-place finish as part of a quad-match at The Plantation Golf Club Monday afternoon.
The Lady Cougars (2-1) finished behind first-place Western Alamance, which had the top team score of the day at 117. RCHS was second at 142, followed by Northern Guilford (148) and More-head (168).
Lori Beth Adams of Western Alamance was the low golfer as she carded a 33.
Rockingham County was led by Melissa Miller’s 42. Morehead’s low golfer was Melissa Under-wood at 54.
The Lady Cougars also got a 46 from Kelly Wilson and a 54 from Nikki Alderson. Discards were Elizabeth Ferguson (55) and Olivia Siler (57).
The Lady Panthers (0-3) also received a 54 from Macey McFatter and a 60 from Emily Rudisill. Jessica Holland (67) and Caroline Nooe (72) were the team’s two discards.
Morehead and Rockingham return to action on Wednesday at The Plantation plays host to the County Golf Tournament. McMichael will also be competing in the event.

Cougars nearly upset Northeast Guilford

2008-09-13T16:00:00.001-07:00

From staff report
Rockingham County was 16 minutes away from nearly pulling off a big win over Northeast Guilford Thursday night. However, with 16 minutes left in regulation Zach Moore’s goal gave the Rams a 2-1 lead and the victory over the Cougars in Triad 3-A Conference soccer action.
Tied at 1-1, Moore beat Rockingham goalkeeper Taylor Witty at the 64-minute mark.
In the loss, Witty made 10 saves for the Cougars.
“Defense, midfield and forwards all played well,” said RCHS head coach Reg Gentle. “[Taylor] Witty played an outstanding game.”
Trailing 1-0, the Cougars tied the match when Pierce Moore scored at the 30-minute mark.
RCHS remained in the contest despite being out shot, 12-4. Northeast’s Kevin Mitchell recorded three saves.
“We started a little flat and that allowed them to get in their first goal,” added Gentle, who saw his Cougars allow an Ahmed Kheir goal just four minutes into play.
RCHS dropped to 0-2 in the conference and 2-5 overall. Northeast improved to 2-0 in Triad action and 4-2-1 overall.
The Cougars play host to Morehead Monday night.

Lady Cougars blanked by McMichael
Unbeaten McMichael was too much for Rockingham County Lady Cougars Thursday afternoon at Rockingham Community College. The Lady Phoenix dropped just 11 games in the six singles matches and blanked RCHS, 9-0.
DMHS is now 6-0 overall, while RCHS dropped to 0-9.
Caroline Lindsay, Marcia Blackstock and Krystal Moore all lost their singles matches, 8-1. Lindsay lost to Brittany Manning, Blackstock lost to Rebekah Morrison and Moore lost to Kelly Shemo.
McMichael’s Becky Bozorth defeated Brooke Purgason, 8-2 and in the closest match, Kimberly Legaux of DMHS edged Becky Livengood, 8-6. Hannah Livengood lost to Katie Willard, 8-0.
In the closest doubles match, Lindsay and Blackstock lost to Shemo and Legaux, 7-6 (7-3 tiebreaker).
Lindsey Puckett and Autumn Carter and Allison Nolker and Purgason of RCHS lost in doubles action. Nolker and Purgason lost 6-0 to Manning and Morrison and Puckett and Carter lost 6-2 to Lacey Stevens and Savannah Brown.
The Lady Cougars are back in action Monday against Western Alamance at RCC. McMichael is at Reidsville Monday.

McMichael volleyball edges Forbush
The Lady Phoenix needed five games to knock off Forbush Thursday night.
McMichael improved to 9-2 on the season, while Forbush dropped to 6-5.
Brooke Hensley led the way with 12 kills and nine digs and Alex Hopper added 12 blocks and five kills.
DMHS also got 13 digs and eight kills from Danielle Simpson and 12 blocks and six kills from Chelsie Angel. Tracy Ellis led McMichael with 34 assists.
McMichael returns to action at Reidsville on Tuesday.

Local Prep Football

2008-09-12T19:49:00.000-07:00

Friday's Prep Football Scores
Reidsville (3-0) 56, Rockingham County (1-2) 7
McMichael (3-1) 17, Martinsville (Va.) (n.a.) 16
Lexington (2-1) 56, Morehead (0-4) 20
Friday, Sept. 19
Rockingham County at McMichael
Reidsville at Northeast Guilford
Morehead, Idle

Lady Panthers suffer first Triad Conference loss

2008-09-11T17:27:00.000-07:00

From staff report
The Morehead Lady Panthers suffered their first Triad 3-A Conference loss of the season as the Northern Guilford Lady Nighthawks won in five sets, 20-25, 25-23, 21-25, 25-21, 15-8 Wednesday night.
MHS, now 4-1 in conference play, is 8-3 overall.
With the win, Northern improved to 3-3 in conference games and 7-3 overall.
For Morehead, Emily Pulliam finished the night with 23 digs, three aces and five kills and Tori Roberts added 26 assists, 10 digs, five kills and three aces. The Lady Panthers also got nine kills, 10 digs and a pair of aces from Jinea Adams.
The Lady Panthers must rebound and turn their attention to a Monday showdown with Rock-ingham County (6-0, 9-2).
Monday’s game is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. in Wentworth.

Rockingham sweeps Northeast Guilford
Rockingham County remained unbeaten in the Triad 3-A Conference following Wednesday night’s three-game sweep of Northeast Guilford, 25-11, 25-19 and 25-17.
Overall, the Lady Cougars are now 9-2 and 6-0 in conference games.
With the loss, the Lady Rams dropped to 6-4 overall and 3-3 in Triad action.
Denise Grissom led RCHS with 19 assists, 10 service points, five digs and seven aces. Allison Sparks chipped in with five kills, two aces and six service points and Jordan O’Bryant added 10 service points, seven kills and three aces.
RCHS is back in action against Morehead Monday night.

Lady Panthers blank RCHS, 9-0 in tennis

2008-09-09T14:26:00.000-07:00

From staff report
Led by a pair of single match shutouts from Jessa Rexrod and Kelly Snyder, the Morehead Lady Panthers blanked Rockingham County, 9-0 Monday afternoon at Rockingham Community College.
Rexrod blanked Hannah Livengood in fifth singles and Snyder shutout Becky Livengood in the fourth singles match.
Also winning for the Lady Panthers were Tori Huffman (first singles), Chelsea Robertson (sec-ond) and Meredith Hilliard (third).
Hilliard and Rockingham’s Krystal Moore played the tightest singles match, with Hilliard win-ning 10-6.
In doubles action, Huffman and Robertson, Hilliard and Snyder and Emily Adams and Rexrod all won for Morehead.
Rexrod and Adams, who won 8-6, had the closest doubles match — edging out Rockingham’s Lindsey Puckett and Brooke Purgason.
Both teams are back in action today, with Morehead at Western Alamance and Greensboro Dudley at Rockingham County.

Boys’ soccer results
Northern Guilford, in just its second season of varsity soccer, is beginning to show that they are going to be a team to reckon with in the Triad 3-A Conference. The Nighthawks, who are just 2-3 on the season, defeated host Rockingham County, 6-1 Monday night.
Northern out shot RCHS, 32-4.
In the loss, the Cougars (2-3, 0-1) got 17 saves from Jason Davis.
Rockingham’s lone goal came from Ryan Stanley.
The Nighthawks got goals from Corey Hilliard, Steven Markham, Adam Storm, Sean Semmler, Fillip Maj and Matthew Beck. Beck also added a pair of assists.
Northern’s Campbell Chambliss made three saves in goal.
RCHS is back in action against Northeast Guilford (3-2, 1-0) tonight in McLeansville.

Lady Panthers still perfect in Triad volleyball
Despite dropping game two, 25-18, the Morehead Lady Panthers recovered and took games three and four and knocked off defending conference champion Bartlett Yancey Monday night.
Now at 4-0 in Triad 3-A games, Morehead won game one, 25-22. Tied at 1-1, the Lady Panthers scored a close 26-24 win in game three and a 25-18 victory in the deciding game four.
Morehead (8-2 overall) got four kills and 18 digs from Brittney Stokes and 16 digs, four aces and five kills from Emily Pulliam.
Tori Roberts chipped in with 25 assists and three aces and Erin Sexton added 13 kills, five aces and eight digs.
The Lady Panthers are at Northern Guilford tonight.

RCHS still atop Triad volleyball standings
Rockingham County remains unbeaten and atop the Triad 3-A Conference standings following Monday night’s three-set victory over visiting Northern Guilford. The Lady Cougars won 25-15, 25-19 and 25-17.
With the win, the Lady Cougars (8-2 overall) are now a perfect 5-0 in conference games.
Rockingham County got 14 kills, six blocks and four service points from Jordan O’Bryant and three aces, six digs and 12 assists from Denise Grissom.
Megan Dickerson led RCHS with nine service points and she also added nine assists. Erin Cox finished the night with three blocks, seven kills, five service points and three digs and Sarah Cutler chipped in with four kills and six digs.
In junior varsity action, Rockingham County dropped its match, 17-25, 25-23, 20-25.
Rockingham County is back in action at Northeast Guilford tonight.

RCHS volleyball improves to 6-2

2008-09-03T18:55:00.001-07:00

From staff report
Back-to-back wins over Bartlett Yancey and Reidsville helped Rockingham County run its record to 6-2 on the season, following the three-game sweep of the Lady Rams Wednesday night.
The Lady Cougars won, 25-10, 25-9, 25-8. On Tuesday night, RCHS knocked off defending conference champion Bartlett Yancey in five games, 25-18, 25-20, 21-25, 15-25, 15-2.
Megan Dickerson helped lead RCHS with 18 assists, nine aces and 16 service points. Erin Cox added seven kills and four digs and Katie Pace had two kills, six service points and three digs.
RCHS, which plays at Western Guilford tonight, also got three aces and five digs from Macey Wilson and four kills and four digs from Allison Sparks.
No details on Reidsville were made available.
Tonight’s game is scheduled for 6 p.m. in Greensboro.

Harris' goal all Rams need in 1-0 win over RCHS

2008-09-03T18:48:00.001-07:00

From staff report
Tyler Harris’ goal just 1:55 into Wednesday night’s game was all Reidsville High School needed to get past Rockingham County, 1-0 in a non-conference prep soccer game.
Reidsville, which won the first meeting 5-2, won despite being out shot 10-7.
“It was a very evenly matched game,” said RC head coach Reg Gentle. “Both coaches can be very proud of their players.”
In the loss, Taylor Witty recorded four saves and Reidsville’s Ross Haigler made eight saves.
RCHS dropped to 1-3 on the season heading into tonight’s game at Eastern Guilford.
Reidsville (n.a.) plays at Northern Guilford Sept. 11.

Friday Night Prep Scoreboard

2008-08-29T19:36:00.000-07:00

Friday's Local Prep Football Scoreboard
Reidsville 53, Morehead 6
McMichael 40, South Stokes 7
Rockingham County, Idle
Friday, Sept. 5
Burlington Cummings at Reidsville
Randleman at Rockingham County
McMichael at Morehead

RCHS rolls past Western Alamance

2008-08-28T19:12:00.001-07:00

From staff report
Rockingham County played three sharp games and recorded a sweep of Western Alamance, 25-15, 25-9 and 25-12 Thursday night in Triad 3-A Conference volleyball action.
The Lady Cougars improved to 4-2 overall and 2-0 in conference play.
Rockingham County got strong efforts from Jordan O’Bryant, who finished with 21 spikes, 12 kills, seven service points and three digs.
Denise Grissom added 17 service points, four aces, seven digs and 18 assists.
The Lady Cougars also got 10 service points from Sarah Sparks, five digs from Macey Wilson and six spikes and five kills from Erin Cox.
RCHS is back in action against defending conference champion Bartlett Yancey Tuesday night.

Spangler hauls in two catches in WCU victory

2008-08-28T19:01:00.000-07:00

Former Rockingham County Cougar Taylor Spangler, a red-shirt freshman, had two receptions for 34, including a 19-yard catch as Western Carolina University opened the 2008 season with a 35-0 win over Shorter College Thursday night.

McMichael hands MHS first loss of season

2008-08-28T18:37:00.001-07:00

From staff report
The Morehead Lady Panthers suffered their first loss of the season and it came at the hands of county-rival McMichael Wednesday night.
The Lady Phoenix, now 4-2 on the season, defeated Morehead, 25-23, 25-13, 23-25, 25-14.
Morehead falls to 4-1 on the season. On Wednesday night, the Lady Panthers (1-0 in conference play) rolled past Western Alamance — winning three of four games. Also on Wednesday, the Lady Phoenix defeated Grimsley in four games.
For McMichael, Brittney Stokes had five kills and 11 digs and Emily Pulliam had five kills, 13 digs.
For Morehead, Tori Roberts led the way with 19 assists, 10 digs, three aces.
The Lady Panthers were back in action against Western Guilford Thursday night.
No results were available.

Lady Phoenix roll past RCHS, 8-1

2008-08-28T18:28:00.000-07:00

NON-CONFERENCE PREP TENNIS MATCH
McMichael 8, Rockingham County 1
SINGLES
No. 1 Brittany Manning (M) def. Marcia Blackstock (8-0)
No. 2 Caroline Lindsey (R) def. Rebekah Morrison (9-7)
No. 3 Kelly Shemo (M) def. Allison Nolker (8-0)
No. 4 Becky Bozorth (M) def. Brooke Purgason (8-0)
No. 5 Katie Willard (M) def. Kelly Jones (8-0)
No. 6 Emily Blakey (M) def. Livengood (8-0)
DOUBLES
No. 1 Bozorth/Willard (M) vs. Blackstock/Lindsey(6-0)
No. 2 Kimberly Legaux/Gabby Harris (M) vs. Nolker/Purgason (6-1)
No. 3 Savannah Brown/Lacey Stevens (M) vs. Jones/Livengood (6-0)

Late goal lifts Cougars past unbeaten McMichael

2008-08-25T19:05:00.000-07:00

From staff report
With just two minutes left on the clock, Rockingham County’s Justin Davis scored the game-winning goal that lifted the Cougars past previously unbeaten McMichael, 2-1 Monday night.
Davis’ goal, which beat McMichael’s Austin Irby, came at the 78-minute mark.
McMichael, 2-1, struck first with a Riley Shelton goal 12 minutes into the contest.
“We came out with a typical Monday game and the first day of school,” said RCHS coach Reg Gentle. “However McMichael played very well and I was very impressed with their play.”
At the 30-minute mark, Rockingham’s Ethan Ellington got the visitors on the scoreboard and tied the game at 1-1.
“Tying the game gave us some enthusiasm and momentum heading into the second half,” added Gentle.
Each team recorded eight shots. For RCHS, Taylor Witty made five saves in net and Irby recorded four saves.
Now at 1-1, the Cougars play at South Stokes Wednesday and at Eastern Guilford Thursday.
McMichael, which started the season with wins over Bartlett Yancey and Morehead, now faces Morehead Wednesday.

RCHS rallies past Western Alamance, 8-4

2008-04-15T20:32:00.000-07:00

Staff Report
ELON – After a marathon 10-inning loss at Greensboro Dudley last Friday night, Rock-ingham County rebounded in Triad 3-A Conference baseball action, but needed a sev-enth-inning rally to win at Western Alamance.
The Cougars, who lost 4-3 at Dudley on Friday, scored four times in the top of the sev-enth inning and rallied for an 8-4 win over the host Warriors.
With the win, RCHS improved to 8-2 in the conference and 12-4 overall. The loss dropped Western to 4-4 in conference games.
Three errors in the top of the seventh inning, two on a single by Jordan Puckett did in the home team.
Tyler Burchett, who got the win for the Cougars in six innings of work, doubled to right field. Justin Davis, who scored twice, was inserted as a pinch runner. Josh Munson bunted Davis over to third and Bryan Mitchell reached on a throwing error, but on the play Davis was cut down at home.
The play did not ruin Rockingham’s late-game rally. With two outs, Cody Westmoreland walked and Adam Johnson’s single scored Mitchell for a 5-4 RCHS lead. Puckett then singled to center field and two errors brought home Westmoreland, Johnson and Puckett.
Ethan Ellington pitched a scoreless seventh inning and struck out one.
Burchett, who struck out two and allowed two earned runs (4 runs), had three hits and is now 8 for his last 9 (.889).
Westmoreland and Puckett each had two hits and Johnson had one hit.
The Cougars return to action tonight at home against Martinsville (5 p.m.). RCHS also host Bartlett Yancey (7 p.m.) on Friday night.
B-Yancey is one of the two Triad losses on Rockingham’s ledger.
“We can’t afford to slip up,” said RCHS coach Chris Loye. “We kinda backed ourselves into a corner with that loss Friday at Dudley.”

DMHS breaks skid, beats Magna Vista

2008-03-29T19:46:00.002-07:00

By BRETT KNIGHT
Staff Writer
MAYODAN — McMichael got back to winning ways Friday night at home. After dropping two straight during the spring break week, the Phoenix scored early and often and cruised to a 10-5 victory over Magna Vista.
DMHS, which improved to 8-5 overall, scored in four of its six plate appearances, including three-run showings in the second and fourth. McMichael now has some momentum heading into Tuesday night’s showdown with West Stokes. Both the Phoenix and Wildcats sit atop the conference standings at 3-0.
“We played some team baseball and it’s the first time we have done that in a while,” said McMichael coach John Hall. “I wanted to go into the West Stokes game on a positive not and we are. We got our bats going at the right time.”
Friday’s game was tied at 4-4 after two innings of play, but McMichael outscored the Warriors, 6-1 the rest of the way.
Leading 5-4, McMichael broke the game open with three runs in the fourth. Ross Vaden was hit by a pitch to start the inning, stole second and scored on an RBI-single to left field from Allen Webster. Joseph Hughes drew a walk, while Clark Erskine was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Webster came home on a passed ball, while Hughes made it 8-4 scoring off an RBI-grounder from Corey Shelton.
The home team capped off the scoring with a pair of runs in the sixth. Hughes singled and Shelton doubled to put runners on second and third. Hughes scored on a sacrifice fly to left field from Kenlon Knight, while Shelton later scored on an error.
Picking up the win for McMichael was Steven Trant, who pitched three and two-third innings of relief in place of Hughes, who started. Trant surrendered one run, one hit and two walks to go along with one strikeout. Knight pitched the final one and one-third innings and had two strikeouts.

Former Ram auditions for pro scouts

2008-03-29T19:46:00.001-07:00

By Travis Sawchik
Special to The Daily News
CONWAY, S.C. — NFL scouts struggled to organize and identify 15 numberless, body-armor clad former college players at Coastal Carolina’s pro day on Friday, hollering for media types and curious observers to back away from the mob time after time.
They did, however, know about Jerome Simpson, the former Chanticleers star who finished his career as the Big South’s all-time leading receiver and impressed at the NFL Combine last month with 40-yard dash runs of 4.43 and 4.47 seconds.
Simpson’s workout in Indianapolis earned praise from ESPN’s NFL Draft guru Mel Kiper, who recently listed Simpson as one of his four top sleepers for the upcoming draft.
Because of Simpson’s success in Indianapolis, the 6-foot-2, 200-pound receiving prospect did not participate in the majority of the physical tests that make up pro day — the 40-yard dash, 225-pound bench-press, broad jump and three-cone drill, but he did improve his vertical leap with a jump of 41 inches (he had a 37-inch jump at Indianapolis) and ran routes.
“I kind of felt good today,” Simpson said. “(The vertical jump) was kind of spur of the moment. I just felt like I could improve it (since) they said the combine jump (measurements) were off.”

Simpson to work out for pro scouts

2008-03-27T20:16:00.000-07:00

By STEVE CANNULI
Sports Editor
CONWAY, S.C. – Boston College’s Matt Ryan had his, LSU’s Glenn Dorsey had his and now Coastal Carolina’s Jerome Simpson too will have his one-on-one day in the sun.
Simpson, who caught the eyes of several National Football League scouts at the February NFL Combine, will hold a pro day workout today on the Coastal Carolina University campus.
The former Reidsville Ram wide receiver who re-wrote the receiving-record books at CCU will perform in front of approximately 20 professional scouts looking to further raise his stock for the upcoming NFL draft in April.
“To me it’s just another workout day,” said Simpson. “Go out and play football. Something I have done all my life.”
The former Chanticleer receiver has already improved his draft status following standout performances at the East-West Shrine game in January and the Combine last month.
Since the combine, where Simpson impressed those in attendance with his 4.47 40-yard dash time – always a knock against Simpson – and his amazing 37.5-inch vertical leap. His 40-time was tied for 6th best among the 54 WRs in Indianapolis and his vertical mark was second.
Simpson, who measured in at 6-1¾ and 199 pounds, set a combine record with an 11-4 standing broad jump. He was already at the top of the list with his massive hand measurement of 11 – the largest of anyone who worked out at the RCA Dome.
“My results in the East-West game and the combine boosted my draft stock,” said Simpson. “Now they want to see if, when you’ve had some time off, can you still perform well.”
Duran Lawson, quarterback from The Citadel, will be throwing the ball to Simpson today in South Carolina.

Morehead blanked in Easter tourney finale

2008-03-26T20:01:00.001-07:00

Staff Report
HAVELOCK — Any momentum the Morehead Panthers had from Tuesday’s win in the Crystal Coast Easter Tournament went quickly out the door in Wednesday afternoon’s finale against New Bern.
The Bears used a pair of home runs and a no-hit performance to come away with an easy 10-0 five inning victory at Havelock High School.
The Panthers, who defeated Havelock 3-0 Tuesday, dropped to 2-8 heading into the second half of the season. MHS is scheduled to take on Bartlett Yancey this Tuesday in Yanceyville.
New Bern got the scoring started early as Brett Williams hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the first inning. After added a run n the third, the Bears broke the game open with a six-run fourth highlighted by a three-run home run from Gabe Brown. The fourth inning saw just two New Bern hits along with four walks and one error by Morehead.
MHS, which had no base runners get past second base, had its best scoring chance in the top of the fourth. Both Stephen Corcoran and Preston Halstead drew one-out walks, but both were left stranded as Grey Davis recorded back-to-back strikeouts. Davis pitched four innings and struck out six batters. Rudy Rutti pitched a perfect fifth and had one strikeout.
Joe Glasgow reached base on an error in the second and Corey Smith reached base on another Bear error in the fifth. However, the miscues didn’t come back to haunt New Bern.
Taylor Trantham got the start for the Panthers and lasted 3 and 1/3 innings. He surrendered eight runs (five earned), six hits and five walks. Trantham also had one strikeout.
Corcoran went the final 1 and 1/3 innings where he gave up two runs (one earned) and three hits.
The game with the Buccaneers will be one of three games for the Panthers this coming week. MHS will also take on Graham (Thursday) and Northern Guilford (Friday).
Tuesday’s game will start at 7 p.m

Cougars rally to win CCET finale

2008-03-26T20:00:00.001-07:00

Staff Report
HAVELOCK — Rockingham County won its last two Crystal Coast Easter Tournament games and finished 2-1 on its East coast road swing following Wednesday’s 5-4 win over host Havelock.
Now at 9-3 on the season, the Cougars had to rally from a 4-1 deficit. Rockingham County scored three runs in the bottom of the fifth and added the game-winning run in the bottom of the sixth inning.
“It was good to get those two wins,” RCHS coach Chris Loye said.
Bryan Mitchell, who got the victory and pitched six innings, doubled in Josh Munson in the fifth inning and Cody Westmoreland drove in Mitchell with an RBI-single.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Munson hit a sacrifice fly and scored Widerman, who led the rally with a single and stole second base.
Havelock’s Stanley Murphy put his team on top, 4-1 with a three-run homerun in the fifth inning.
In the win, Mitchell struck out six, surrendered five hits and allowed four earned runs. In one inning of work, Tyler Burchett got the save and had one strikeout.
Munson led RCHS with a 2 for 3 plate performance.
“This was good because we got some guys in and took a look at them,” added Loye. “We didn’t do as much as we wanted, but we were able to see some things.”
The Cougars return to Wentworth Wednesday night and then return to action on April 1 at Northern Guilford. RCHS also plays Northeast Guilford on April 4 and Reidsville on April 5.

Cougars edge E. Carteret

2008-03-25T19:21:00.002-07:00

Staff Report
HAVELOCK – After losing its opening-round game of the Crystal Coast Easter Tournament on Monday, Rockingham County rebounded and got a win although in a shootout – 11-9 over East Carteret Tuesday afternoon.
The Cougars, now 8-3 on the season, exploded for seven runs in the top of the sixth inning and claimed a 10-1 lead.
However, East Carteret answered with its own barrage of eight runs in the bottom half of the sixth and narrowed the Cougars’ gap to 10-9.
RCHS added an insurance run in the seventh and Bryan Mitchell pitched the final one and one-third innings to get the save.
At the plate, Mitchell added a hit, but it was Josh Munson who came through with a good por-tion of RCHS’s offense. Munson, who had three hits, homered in the seventh to help extend the Cougar lead. He also singled and tripled.
Brian Widerman, who earned the win pitching, had two hits and Wes Wright and Zack Dickson each added one hit.
RCHS is back in action at 5 p.m. today against Havelock, which is 0-2 at the tournament. Have-lock lost to the Morehead Panthers, 3-0 on Tuesday.
The Cougars will return to regular-season action on April 1 at Northern Guilford. It is the first of four games that week as RCHS also plays Calvary at home on April 3, Northeast Guilford at home on April 4 and Reidsville on the road April 5.

Protzek leads Panthers to 3-0 win

2008-03-25T19:21:00.001-07:00

Staff Report
HAVELOCK — Monday’s opener of the Crystal Coast Easter Tournament was highlighted by errors and missed opportunities for Morehead. Tuesday’s game with Havelock was a totally different story.
Highlighted by a combined shutout from Josh Protzek and Stephen Corcoran and two insurance runs in the fifth inning, the Panthers recorded a 3-0 victory over the Rams at Havelock High School.
The victory improved Morehead’s overall record to 2-7 heading into today’s finale against New Bern.
“This gives us a lot of momentum heading into our final game,” said MHS coach Jeff Roberts. “It allows us to look forward to playing them. I think this gives them an idea of what level they are capable of playing at.”
Protzek had a solid start on the mound, pitching five innings of six-hit ball. He surrendered no runs and three walks to go along with one strikeout. Protzek faced two batters in the sixth before giving way to teammate Stephen Corcoran. Corcoran sent down all six batters he faced to pick up the save.
“Josh did an outstanding job on the mound,” said Roberts. “He was hitting his spots and was working ahead in the count. Stephen Corcoran got a great save for us as well.”
Havelock, which defeated Northwest Guilford Monday night, got runners to third base in the first four innings, but all were left stranded. The Rams left 10 runners on base in the game.
MHS was limited to just three hits, but the visitors made them count. The Panthers got on the board in the bottom of the third. Corcoran got things started with a one-out double to the fence in right-center field, while Preston Halstead sent a line drive past the pitcher and into center. Joe Glasgow brought Corcoran home on a sacrifice fly to right field.
Morehead added a pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth to increase the lead to three.
Chris Stanley led off with a double to left and moved to third as George Mabes reached base on an error following a bunt. Corcoran drove in Stanley with a sacrifice to right to make it 2-0. Halstead sent a Chris Dorman pitch to the shortstop, which allowed Mabes to go home. Mabes was called safe as Havelock Nathan Vicknair missed the tag.
Today’s game with New Bern will begin at 2 p.m.

Late miscue costs Panthers in CCET

2008-03-24T19:40:00.000-07:00

Staff Report
HAVELOCK — If Monday’s baseball game between Morehead and East Carteret is a sign of things to come, the Crystal Coast Easter Tournament is going to be an exciting one. In a game that saw both teams combine for 21 runs, 18 hits and 14 errors, East Carteret used a late inning Panther error to squeak out an 11-10 eight-inning
victory.
Needing two runs for a victory, the Mariners got just that as Trey Fulcher scored from third base on the fifth Panther error of the game. With runners at second and third with one out, Travis Barbeau sent a grounder to shortstop Preston Halstead. Needing to get the lead runner, Halstead went home for the second out, but Fulcher was able to score the winning run as MHS catcher Josh Rice dropped the ball.
With the loss, Morehead dropped its overall record to 1-7 heading into today’s game against host Havelock.
The game went into extra innings with the score tied at 9-9 after seven. Morehead struck first in the eighth as the ninth Mariner error brought home Joe Glasgow, who singled earlier in the inning.
MHS scored in all but three innings, including the first as the Panthers plated three runs.
Chris Stanley drew a walk and later scored on an RBI-single from Stephen Corcoran (2 for 4 in the game). Halstead reached base on a fielder’s choice and scored along with Corcoran on a two-run single down the third base line from Glasgow, who finished the game 3 for 5.
Two MHS errors contributed to five unearned runs for East Carteret in the bottom half of the inning.

Reidsville falls short in GET

2008-03-24T19:39:00.000-07:00

By STEVE CANNULI
Sports Editor
GREENSBORO — Despite out hitting R.L. Patton, 9-6, the Reidsville Rams could not overcame a three-run first inning and dropped a 7-5 game Monday afternoon in the second round of the Grimsley Easter Tournament.
In a game that featured some December-like snow, the Rams, 3-8 on the season, fell behind 3-0 on three swings off Patton’s bats.
“This was a pretty good team and we played more to their level,” said Reidsville coach Ernie Holcomb. “Every inning our pitchers started out in the hole and too many walks.”
In the bottom of the first inning, following a brief Reidsville scoring threat, Aaron Attaway singled off Ram starter Jason Pruitt. Attaway then stole second and came around with the game’s first run on an RBI-double from Matt Baker. A wild pitch allowed Baker to advance to third base and Dakota Spiess extended Patton’s lead with a two-run homerun to left centerfield.
Pruitt only pitched one inning and allowed three earned runs on three hits.
Ray Ray Butchee attempted to stop the bleeding, but the junior pitcher allowed four runs (3 earned) in two and two-thirds innings of work. Butchee allowed just two hits, but issued seven walks.
Cole Apple pitched the final one and one-third innings and allowed just a single hit and had two strikeouts.
In the team’s loss to High Point Central Saturday, Reidsville’s pitchers struck out eight and walked one, but Monday was a different story. On Monday, three RHS pitchers struck out two batters and walked eight.
The Rams got on the scoreboard with a run in the third inning and three more in the fourth off Baker. Reidsville scored a run in the top of the sixth inning, but the game was called after the tournament’s two-hour and 15-minute time limit expired.
Reidsville’s third-inning run snapped a 16-inning scoring drought. The Rams last run came in the fifth inning of a loss to McMichael back on March 19.
Jason Pruitt scored in the third inning, following the first of two straight hit batters. Jordan Stewart then singled to left field and scored Pruitt.
The Rams’ big inning came in the fifth and featured three hits and one Patton error. Jeremy Pruitt led off the inning with a triple to left field and Ray Ray Butchee followed with a walk. Following an Isaac Jones fielder’s choice groundout that cut Pruitt down at home plate, Craig Pruitt reached on an infield single and a throwing error allowed Butchee to score. With one out, Sam Pugh’s RBI-single scored Craig Pruitt and narrowed the gap to 7-4.
In the top of the sixth inning, Jason Pruitt’s RBI-single scored Jones, who singled to start the frame, but the threat was squashed by a 6-4-3 double play and a 5-3 groundout off the bat of Ryan Ellis.
“They are working real hard and the effort is there,” said Holcomb. “We had some base running mistakes in this game that took us out of some situations.”
For the Rams, Jones finished with two runs scored and Jeremy Pruitt and Ellis each had two hits.
Patton’s seven runs came from seven different players, but Attaway was 3 for 3 with two singles and a double.
The Rams, although their opponent is not known, are back in action at 10 a.m. today.

Reidsville blanked by High Point Central

2008-03-22T19:45:00.001-07:00

By STEVE CANNULI
Sports Editor
GREENSBORO — Allowing runs in the early innings is something that has plagued the Reidsville Rams in recent games and Saturday afternoon was no different.
High Point Central (4-4) scored four runs in the top of the first inning and blanked the Rams, 6-0 in a first-round game of the Grimsley Easter Tournament.
Coming off an 11-0 loss to West Stokes on Thursday — in which the Wildcats scored all 11 runs in the second inning, Reidsville allowed four runs in the first off starter Craig Pruitt. Following a leadoff single to Houston Ison and a wild pitch that allowed him to get in scoring position, Central’s starting pitcher Justin Lassiter helped his own cause with a two-run home run to left field. A pair of Ram errors allowed the inning to stay alive and two more runs to come across.
Central scored one run in the second inning and later added its sixth run in the top of the fifth inning.
After Pruitt’s rocky first inning, RHS head coach Ernie Holcomb turned to Jeremy Pruitt, who performed well in six innings of work. Jeremy Pruitt allowed two runs (0 earned) on four hits. He struck out seven and walked none.
The two Ram pitchers surrendered just one walk, but it was six defensive miscues that put the team’s back up against the wall.
Reidsville committed five of its six errors in the three innings in which Central scored runs.
Offensively, the Rams — despite only four hits — had runners on in the second, third, sixth and seventh innings, but failed to score.
In all, Reidsville left six runners on base.
Lassiter pitched seven innings and allowed no runs on four hits. He walked one and struck out six RHS batters.

RCHS track sweeps Morehead

2008-03-20T20:53:00.000-07:00

Staff Report
EDEN — Rockingham won all by two events in Thursday’s dual-track meet with Morehead and came away with an easy 118-26 victory over the Panthers. In the girls’ meet, Morehead recorded 10 wins but was edged by the Lady Cougars, 71-70.
Picking up wins for Morehead were E.J. Pickett (47.5 seconds) in the 300-meter hurdles and Tre Galloway (43-3.5) in the shot put.
The home team had 4 second-place finishes including Hunter Waldron, who recorded a time of 11.49 in the 100-meter dash. Maurice Dillard was runner-up in the 400-meter run (58.9), while Leverne Dillard placed second to Galloway in the shot put with a throw of 43-1.
Taking the runner-up spot in the long jump was Jamie Johnson (17-3).
No boys’ results for RCHS were called in prior to press time.
On the girls’ side, Jordan Loye of RCHS picked up a pair of wins in the 1600-meter (6:02) and the 800-meter runs (2:47).
Morehead’s Shenika Peace was a multi-event winner, taking first in the high jump (5-3), the 100-meter dash (13.0) and the 200-meter dash (27.7).
Nerisa Peace won the discus with a throw of 71-10 and was also part of the 4x100-meter relay team, which won with a time of 56.9. Peace was joined by Lynn Wade, Jakeita Artis and Brayl Fax. Josephine Doggett won the discus event with a throw of 27-3.
Wade, Artis, Fax and Danielle Pinnix won the 4x200 relay with a time of 1:56.1.
In the 300 hurdles, Keisha Wilson won with a time of 56.9 and MHS also won the 100 hurdles, as Ashley Scales finished with a time of 18.5.
The other Lady Cougar (3-1) wins came from Marie Valentine in the 400 (1:11), Megan Wilburn, who won the triple jump (27-5) and Orianna Clayton, who won the long jump (14-8).
MHS will return to action on April 1 as it hosts Dudley in a dual meet. The County Wide meet is scheduled for April 3 at Rockingham County. RCHS returns to action also on April 1 against Bartlett Yancey at home.
The meet with Dudley will start at 4 p.m.

MHS blanks Lady Phoenix

2008-03-20T20:52:00.000-07:00

Staff Report
Morehead got back to its old ways Thursday night against county foe McMichael. After being limited to only one goal Monday night against Western Alamance, the Lady Panther offense erupted for seven second-half goals as the home team blanked the Lady Phoenix, 9-0.
MHS, who improved to 8-1 overall, has now scored 61 goals in its first nine games (6.7 goals per game).
The Lady Panthers got goals from Anabel Alvarez (18:00) and Jessica Moran (30:00, assist to Danielle Minichello) in the opening half. MHS scored seven goals in a 24-minute span in the second half led by Minichello, who had three goals.
She notched goals at the 53:00, 61:00 and 68:00 marks. Teammate Brittany Rumley made it 4-0 with a goal off a penalty kick at the 55-minute mark.
At the 71-minute mark, Stephanie Kinney scored off an assist from Krissy Snyder, while Keely Snnyder scored unassisted two minutes later.
Ashley Adkins capped off the scoring at the 77-minute mark on a penalty kick.
Keely Snyder had one assist in the second half.
“We went with a different lineup in the first half,” said MHS coach Ken Price.
“We felt like we could and wanted to get the seniors to score. It took awhile, but we did it.”
MHS recorded 39 shots and 10 corner kicks, while DMHS had only six shots and three corner kicks.
Morgan and Tori Huffman combined for three saves for MHS, while McMichael got eight saves from Caroline
Lanning.

Morehead will host Dudley on March 31.

RCHS scores 6-0 at Western Guilford

2008-03-20T20:37:00.001-07:00

Staff Report
GREENSBORO - Rockingham County got five scoreless innings from Bryan Mitchell and two from Ethan Ellington and the Cougars rebounded from Tuesday's loss at Bartlett Yancey with a 6-0 win at Western Guilford Thursday night.
With the win, the Cougars improved to 7-2 overall and 4-1 in the Triad 3-A Conference. Western, 6-1 overall, lost for the first time this season. The loss dropped the Hornets to 4-1 in the conference.
"It was a good win for us in only our second road game of the year," said RCHS coach Chris Loye.
RCHS put together a five-run first inning and then turned things over to its pitching. In five innings of work, Mitchell allowed one hit and struck out 11. He did walk four before turning things over to Ellington. Ellington tossed two innings of one-hit baseball and struck out one.
In the top of the first inning, Tyler Burchett doubled in a run, Josh Munson singled in Burchett, Jake Wall singled in Munson and Zack Dickson doubled in Wall and Cody Westmoreland to help RCHS build its early lead.
Josh Munson finished the game with two hits and Burchett, Brian Widerman, Westmoreland, Wall, Dickson, Mitchell and Ellington all had one hit each.
Leading 5-0, the Cougars added an insurance run in the top of the fourth inning - thanks to a Mitchell sacrifice fly to left field that scored Burchett. With one out, Burchett had walked and moved up to second on a wild pitch.
The Cougars are back in action in next week's Crystal Coast Easter Tournament in Havelock. RCHS plays New Bern at 4 p.m. Monday.
RCHS was 2-1 at last year's tournament, suffering its only loss to Monday's opponent - New Bern.

Satterfield leads Phoenix to 7-2 victory over RHS

2008-03-19T19:19:00.001-07:00

Staff Report
MAYODAN — Allen Webster and Craig Erskine did all the mound work and Ethan Satterfield provided the offense as McMichael scored a 7-2 win over Reidsville Tuesday night in North State 2-A Conference baseball action.
All seven of the Phoenix runs came in the first three innings and the Rams dropped their second North State contest in as many games.
“We didn’t play a bad ballgame,” said Reidsville coach Ernie Holcomb. “The just had a little bit more pitching and a little bit more firepower than we did.”
Reidsville jumped out to a 1-0 lead after one-half inning of play, but the home team answered with three in its bottom half of the first and later added four more in the bottom of the third.
Ram starter Craig Pruitt, who got the loss, pitched three innings and allowed seven runs (4 earned) on five hits. He struck out two and walked three.
In relief, Ray Ray Butchee no hit the Phoenix over the final three innings of work. Butchee struck out four and walked three.
With the loss, the Rams dropped to 0-2 in North State play and 3-5 overall. McMichael improved to 2-0 in conference and 6-3 overall.
Webster allowed four hits and two earned runs in four and two-thirds inning. He struck out six and walked two. In relief, Erskine allowed no hits and no walks in two and one-third. Erskine struck out three.
Both teams are back in action today. Reidsville plays host to West Stokes in another key conference game and McMichael battles Southern Guilford.
In the top of the first, Butchee walked and stole second. Jordan Stewart gave his team a 1-0 lead when his single drove in Butchee.
In the bottom of the first, the Phoenix got a two-run single from Corey Shelton.
The big blow came in the bottom of the third inning when Ethan Satterfield’s three-run homerun gave his team a 7-1 edge.
The Rams’ second run of the game came in the top of the fifth inning. Stewart walked and moved to second on a wild pitch. Kerry Hammock, who was 2 for 3 on the night, doubled in Stewart and narrowed the gap to 7-2.
Reidsville also got one hit each from Stewart and Jason Pruitt.
Today’s game is scheduled for 5 p.m. at Reidsville High School.

Shumaker, Lady Bucs blank Rockingham

2008-03-18T20:10:00.000-07:00

Staff Report
YANCEYVILLE — Bartlett Yancey’s Shumaker sisters did all the damage and helped the Lady Buccaneers remain unbeaten in Triad Conference softball action, following Tuesday afternoon’s 3-0 shutout win over Rockingham County.
On the mound, Rachel Shumaker tossed a one-hitter and struck out seven in seven innings of work. At the plate, Hannah Shumaker rapped out three hits, including a double and a home run and drove in all three B-Yancey runs.
Rockingham County suffered its first loss of the season and now sits at 2-1 in conference play and 4-1 overall.
“It’s not that we didn’t put the bat on the ball,” said Rockingham coach Woody Wall. “We did hit some shots right at people.”
BY, now 3-0 in the Triad, scored single runs in the first, third and sixth innings of Rockingham County’s Macey Wilson. In six innings of work, Wilson allowed five hits, three runs and struck out five. The three runs allowed by Wilson were the first earned runs allowed by the junior pitcher.
Lindsay Puckett had the Lady Cougars’ lone hit – coming in the first inning. She later walked in the fourth inning, but both times was left stranded at first.
In the bottom of the first, a Rockingham error led to BY’s first run of the game and then a walk in the third led to the home team’s 2-0 lead.
“We know what it takes to beat them,” said Wall. “We just need to put a run or two on the board first and make them press.”
On Thursday, the Lady Cougars will welcome back coach Scott Isley, who has missed the past two weeks due to illness.
“The girls will be glad to have him back on the bench,” added Wall.
Thursday’s game at Western Guilford is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start.

Panthers score first baseball win

2008-03-18T20:05:00.000-07:00

Staff Report
After going winless through the first five games, Morehead finally got into the win column Tuesday night against visiting Dudley. With the game tied at three, the home team took advan-tage of two wild pitches by the Dudley pitching staff in the bottom of the seventh as Corey Smith crossed home plate on the second one leading the Panthers to a 4-3 victory.
Morehead improved to 1-5 overall and 1-2 in the Triad 3-A Conference with the victory.
Smith got things started in the seventh drawing a one-out walk. He ended up on second with two outs in the inning. With Joe Glasgow at the plate, Dudley recorded back-to-back wild pitches which allowed Smith to score from second. On the second wild pitch, he slid safely into home plate as the pitcher missed the ball on the tag attempt.
Picking up the win for MHS was Taylor Trantham, who sent down all three batters he faced in the seventh. Josh Protzek went the first six innings and surrendered nine hits and three runs. He struck out seven and walked only one.
Both teams went scoreless through the first three innings before MHS plated a run in the bot-tom of the fourth.
Glasgow, who finished the game going 2 for 2, recorded a two-out triple to right field. He later scored on an infield error.
Dudley took a 3-1 lead as it scored one in the fifth and two in the sixth. However, the home team responded with a pair of runs in the sixth.
Stephen Corcoran led off the sixth with a double, while Preston Halstead walked. Glasgow sent an RBI-double to right field that brought home Corcoran. With Halstead on third, George Mabes laid down an RBI-bunt single to tie the game at 3-3.
MHS will return to action Thursday night at Northeast Guilford.
The game will start at 7 p.m.

York wins opener at Caraway

2008-03-17T19:41:00.000-07:00

Staff Report
ASHEBORO – Reidsville’s Jason York caught everyone’s attention as the “Reidsville Rocket” rolled to a season-opening Late Model Stock victory Sunday night at Caraway Speedway.
York, who has won two previous season championships at Caraway, broke the track record with a qualifying time of 16.815 seconds (97.41 miles per hour). The Reidsville native led the Late Model race wire-to-wire.
Madison’s Lucas Ransone finished hird behind Randy Benson of Rockingham.
Brent Weaver of Clemmons won the Limited Late Model race, Michael Tucker of Thomasville won the Mini Stock race, Jerry Chriscoe of Randleman won the Custom Steel Fabricators Super Mini Truck race and Ray Forrest of Winston-Salem won the U-Car race.

McMichael wins close county golf tourney

2008-03-17T19:39:00.000-07:00

By STEVE CANNULI
Sports Editor
REIDSVILLE — The four area high schools gathered at Pennrose Park Country Club for the annual County Wide Golf Tournament Monday and despite some chilly and windy conditions, the play could not have been much closer.
Led by Hunter Ward’s low round of 37, McMichael edged Morehead and Rockingham County and captured the county title.
The Fighting Phoenix finished with a team score of 164 – one shot better than Morehead and Rockingham County, who both finished with 165s. Reidsville finished in fourth with a 182.
McMichael also got 41s from Ben Claybrook and Joseph Rierson and a 45 from Clint Dillon. The Fighting Phoenix discarded Jay Brown’s 45 and Noah Coleman’s 51. Brown’s 45 would have counted for any of the other three schools.
“It’s going to stay that way for a couple of years,” said RHS coach Lynn Nesbit about the golf competition throughout the county. “None of the top three schools are losing a whole lot this year.”
Last year, McMichael was fourth at the county meet – which was won by Morehead in Eden.
Daniel Tatarski led RCHS with a 38 and the Cougars also got a 40 from Braden Cox, a 42 from Richard Crouse and a 45 from Kevin Isaacs. Discarded were Dallas Page’s 49 and Cody Roberts’ 51.
Rockingham County finished alone in second at the 2007 event.
“We had some high numbers today and it came down to the last man,” added Williams. “We’ve just got to get better round the greens.”
Morehead’s Dylan Morgan had the third lowest round of the day with a 39. Jerry Holland added a 41, William Martin had a 42 and Anthony Gammon chipped in with a 43. The Panthers’ discards were Taylor Freeman’s 50 and Hogan Turner’s 53.
Reidsville’s Payne McLeod was the team’s low man with a 40, followed by Zachary Bryan’s 43 and Ben Covington’s 45.
The Rams’ fourth score was 54, posted by both Josh Weston and Ross Haigler. Daniel Southard rounded out the list with 57.
Rockingham County returns to action on Wednesday against Morehead at Meadow Greens. Reidsville heads back out on the course on Wednesday against River Mill Academy and then opens North State play Thursday at Deep Springs.

Johnson C. Smith falls in tourney

2008-03-15T19:16:00.001-07:00

Staff Report
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Maurice Hooper’s first trip to the Division II basketball tournament was short-lived.
Despite outscoring Augusta State 32-25 in the second half, Johnson C. Smith could not prevail — losing 58-54 in the first round of the men’s basketball tournament Saturday.
The Golden Bulls’ strong second half allowed the visitors to pull within one (52-51) with 2:00 left in the contest.
However, the Jaguars scored seven of the game’s final nine points and Johnson C. Smith watched as its season ended at 21-10.
With the win, Augusta State (23-6) now faces third-seeded Wingate today.
The second-seeded Jaguars were held to their lowest scoring output of the season, but the Golden Bulls struggled from the field — shooting 37 percent (23 of 62) from the field.
Augusta also benefited from 23 free throw attempts (making 13) compared to just seven attempts by the Golden Bulls (5 of 7).
Hooper, in 21 minutes of action, scored two points and dished out one assist. Johnson C. Smith was led by Jerry Hollis and Ryan Scott — each with 14 points. Hooper, a senior, ended his Golden Bull career with 1,294 points.
The Jaguars got a game-high 22 points from Tyrekus Bowman.
Johnson C. Smith’s 54 points was also a season-low for the CIAA Tournament champions.
The Golden Bulls also had their seven-game winning streak snapped on Saturday.

Lady Cougars remain perfect in Triad

2008-03-15T19:09:00.002-07:00

Staff Report
WENTWORTH — Rockingham County continued its strong season as the Lady Cougars improved to 3-0 with a 7-1 win over Western Alamance Friday afternoon.
The win, which moved the Lady Cougars to 2-0 in the Triad 3-A Conference, sets up a big early-season matchup with Bartlett Yancey on Tuesday.
RCHS belted out 13 hits and starting pitcher Macey Wilson held the Lady Warriors to one run (unearned) on five hits. She struck out five and walked one.
Through three games this season, Wilson (3-0) has surrendered 2 runs (both unearned) in 19 innings of work.
“Right now we are playing very complementary to each other,” said RCHS coach Woody Wall. “We’ve had some mental mistakes on the base paths, but we’re gelling right now.”
The Lady Cougars jumped out to an early 4-0 lead with four runs in their first at-bat. Katie Pace drove in pair of runs with a two-RBI single and Lindsay Puckett and Moriah Seidelman also drove in first-inning runs. In the top of the third inning, Western answered with its lone run of the game, but the home team responded with three of its own in the bottom half of the third.
Kenzie Hanks’ single drove in two runs and Anna Carter singled in a run as RCHS grabbed its 7-1 lead.
RCHS out hit the Lady Warriors, 13-5. Kayleigh Dorsett, Jennifer Taylor, Pace and Carter each had two hits as nine different Lady Cougars belted out hits.
“We are swinging the bats well right now,” said Wall. “We are being selective and not striking out a lot.”
Seven different players scored for RCHS as Dorsett, Wilson, Puckett, Taylor, Ferguson, Carter and Pace all came across with runs.
Bartlett Yancey, which won the Triad 3-A Conference a year ago, plays host to the Lady Cougars on Tuesday afternoon.
“BY is going to be tough,” said Wall. “They have two good pitchers and that’s the kind of game where you’re going to have to score a run or two and play defense.”
RCHS also has games with South Stokes (Wednesday) and Western Guilford (Thursday).Tuesday’s game is scheduled for
4:30 p.m.

Erskine, Webster lead DMHS to 16-1 win

2008-03-15T19:09:00.001-07:00

Staff Report
MAYODAN — McMichael took care of business early and put it in cruise control the rest of the way in Friday night’s North State 2-A Conference opener against visiting Winston-Salem Atkins.
The Phoenix cranked out three homeruns, including two from Craig Erskine and limited the Camels to two hits as they won, 16-1 in five innings.
“Our bats finally woke up in this game,” said McMichael coach John Hall. “We haven’t been hitting the ball that well as of late though.”
McMichael (4-3 overall, 1-0 in the North State), finished with 11 hits led by Erskine and Webster, who combined to go a perfect 5 for 5 with 10 RBIs.
Erskine had a career night going 2 for 2 with two homers and seven RBIs. Webster went 3 for 3 with three RBIs and a homer.
Webster got things going in the first inning with a two-run homer to center field. Ethan Satterfield singled prior to the homer.
In the second inning, Chris Woods walked, while Webster was hit by a pitch. Erskine cranked out his first homer moments later as he sent a three-run shot over the right field fence.
The Phoenix broke the game open with an eight-run third inning, which was highlighted by an Erskine grand slam (to right field). Steven Trant walked, while Satterfield and Webster both singled to load the bases for Erskine.
DMHS capped the scoring off with three runs in the fourth. Webster singled, Erskine walked and Joseph Hughes was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Clint Cure drove in Webster with an RBI-single, while Trant picked up an RBI the easy way drawing a bases loaded walk. Hughes came around to score on an error by the Camels.
Picking up the win for the home team was Clint Foulks, who pitched four innings of two-hit ball.
He surrendered just one run and no walks while striking out eight. Trant pitched the fifth and struck out two.
McMichael will be back in action Monday night at Magna Vista (5 p.m.) before returning home Wednesday to face Reidsville. The game with the Rams will start at 7 p.m.

Rockingham wins at Plantation

2008-03-13T19:52:00.000-07:00

Staff Report
Rockingham County, playing its first home match of the season, defeated three teams — including Triad 3-A Conference rival Eden Morehead — Thursday at Plantation Golf Club.
The Cougars, who lost by one shot to both Morehead and McMichael earlier this week at Hemlock Golf Club, posted a 159 total Thursday for an eight-shot margin over the Panthers. South Stokes was third with 180 and Reidsville fourth with 190.
Rockingham and Morehead are expected to battle with Western Guilford in the Triad 3-A race this season.
The Cougars got a balanced effort Thursday with both Richard Crouse and Braden Cox shooting 39, Daniel Tatarski 40 and Kevin Isaacs 41
They discarded Dallas Page’s 42, a score that would have been second for every other team in the field.
The Cougars are without returning starter Randy Brill, sidelined with an injury. He may be back in action next week.
South Stokes Jonathan Montgomery was medalist with a one-over-par 37. He finished two shots better than Crouse, Cox and Reidsville’s Payne McLeod.
In addition to McLeod’s 39, the Rams got a solid effort from No. 2 man Ben Covington with a 44.
Morehead didn’t have a player break 40 playing the par-36 front nine of the Plantation course.
William Martin led the way with 40, Dylan Morgan and Anthony Gammon each shot 42 and Jerry Holland had 43
Next up on the schedule for both Reidsville and Rockingham is the county-wide championship Monday at Pennrose Park Country Club.
The action will start at 4:15 p.m.

Panthers edged by Reidsville, 5-4

2008-03-13T19:51:00.000-07:00

Staff Report
REIDSVILLE — Reidsville won its second straight tennis match, edging Morehead 5-4 Thursday afternoon in a non-conference affair held at Jaycee Park.
Despite losing matches at No. 1 and No. 2 singles, the Rams won and improved to 2-3 on the season.
Morehead’s Ethan Hughes won at first singles, defeating Marlon Roach 10-1.
In second singles, Matthew Gilley defeated Josh McLamb, 10-3.
Tyler Harris of RHS blanked Chris Bowles, 10-0 in the match at fourth singles and Carl Holder of RHS edged Stephen Ziglar, 10-7 in third singles action.
Cameron Gentry rolled past Scott Bishopric 10-2 in fifth singles and James Scheer edged Cody Clark, 10-8 in sixth singles action.
Morehead won, as it did in singles competition, the first two doubles matches.
In first doubles, Hughes and Gilley knocked off Roach and Alex Frye, 8-3. Ziglar and Bowles won 8-3 over Holder and Gentry in second doubles action.
In third doubles, McLamb and Tommy Jurrissen rolled past Alex Winn and Clark, 8-1.
With the loss, the Panthers dropped to 2-3 on the season.
Reidsville returns to action on Wednesday against Southern Guilford. Morehead returns to action on Monday against
Northern Guilford.

Hooper, Golden Bulls going dancing

2008-03-12T20:01:00.001-07:00

Staff Report
CHARLOTTE — For the first time in his Johnson C. Smith career, Maurice Hooper is going dancing – basketball-wise that is.
Following the team’s 65-57 victory over Fayetteville State on March 1, Johnson C. Smith captured its second-ever CIAA tournament title and in doing so advanced to this weekend’s Division-II tournament.
Hooper, who led the Golden Bulls in scoring this season at 11.6 points per game, had 13 points in the championship game.
Johnson C. Smith won all three meetings with Fayetteville State by an average margin of 7.3 per contest.
It seemed as though the Golden Bulls toughest task was behind them, having upset Virginia Union in the tournament semifinals.
Johnson C. Smith led Fayetteville State by as many as 14 in the second half, but the Broncos stormed back and trailed 48-47 with 5:36 left in the contest.
“We started getting uncomfortable,” said Hooper to the Charlotte Observer following the game.
“We stopped playing that good “D” that we had in the first half.”
Over the final 5:36, Hooper and company outscored the Broncos 17-10.
Hooper and teammate Jerry Hollis were both named to the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association’s all-conference team.
Hooper, a senior guard who is the all-time leading scorer in Reidsville Rams history, has been selected to the team the past two seasons.
Hooper went over the 1,000-point mark this season and currently stands at 1,292. He ranks fifth in the CIAA in terms of steals (1.65) and assists to turnover ratio (+1.40) and eighth in assists (3.5).
The Golden Bulls, 21-9 on the season, have won seven straight games – a season high.

Minichello leads MHS to win over Lady Cougars

2008-03-12T19:56:00.001-07:00

Staff Report
WENTWORTH — Wednesday night’s final score: Danielle Minichello 3, Rockingham County 1. In actuality it was Morehead 4, Rockingham County 1, but Minichello was a one-girl wrecking machine scoring three times for the unbeaten Lady Panthers.
“Rockingham made us work,” said Morehead coach Ken Price. “More than any team we have faced so far.”
In a battle of unbeaten, it was Morehead (6-0, 1-0), which struck first.
Seven minutes into the game, Minichello scored on an unassisted goal.
The game remained 1-0 for 30 minutes when Minichello assisted on Britney Irwin’s goal (37:00).
“Irwin’s goal was a good momentum booster,” said Price. “We had our chances earlier in the game, but they stopped us. We got that goal, but then turned around and put another one in early in the second half.”
Two minutes into the second half, Minichello notched her second goal of the night on a penalty kick that got past Rockingham County goalkeeper Lindsay Harrell.
The Lady Cougars finally got on the scoreboard when Areeg Rehman scored at the 45-minute mark.
RCHS (4-1, 0-1) could have changed the momentum when, at the 50-minute mark, had its own penalty kick and a chance to narrow the gap to 3-2.
However, Adrianne Zeller could not beat Morehead’s Tori Huffman and the Lady Panther lead remained at 3-1.
“That was big,” said RCHS coach Reg Gentle. “It would have given us the momentum and made the score, 3-2.”
MHS, which out shot Rockingham 16-10, got the final say in matters as Minichello scored her third goal of the night – with 12 minutes left in the contest.
It was Minichello’s fifth straight game with three or more goals.
In the loss, Harrell recorded eight saves as did Morehead’s Huffman.
“I am not unhappy with the play of our team,” added Gentle. “The effort was there. The difference was Minichello. She is their kingpin and she plays with a lot of energy.”
MHS puts its unbeaten mark back on the line tonight against Eastern Guilford. RCHS plays host to Greensboro Dudley on Monday night.
Tonight’s game with Eastern is scheduled for 6 p.m. in Eden.

Hughes, DMHS too much for Panthers

2008-03-12T19:55:00.001-07:00

Staff Report
MAYODAN — McMichael got back to winning ways Wednesday night, while keeping Morehead winless.
Led by Joseph Hughes’ 10-strikeout effort and a four-run second inning, the Phoenix recorded the season sweep of the Panthers with a 5-0 non-conference victory.
McMichael (3-2), which broke a two-game skid, has limited the Panthers to just four hits in the two games this season. MHS dropped to 0-5 on the season.
Hughes, a junior, pitched five and one-third innings and gave up only two hits to go along with 10 strikeouts. He also walked four batters.
“Joseph pitched well tonight,” said McMichael coach John Hall. “He had his breaking stuff working and made key pitches when he had to.”
Hughes actually sparked the four-run second as he led off the bottom half of the inning with a solo homerun to right field. Teammate Ross Vaden reached first on a fielder’s choice and moved to second on a MHS error, which allowed Clint Foulks to get to first.
Allen Webster, who finished with three RBIs, drove in Vaden and Foulks with a two-run double to right-center field to make the score 3-0.
Webster touched home plate thanks to a ground-rule double from Ethan Satterfield.
“We came through with runners in scoring position tonight,” Hall said. “That was the difference compared to our last two games where we weren’t doing that.”
In the fourth, Vaden reached base on an error and proceeded to steal second. He moved to third on a fly ball from Foulks and scored on a sacrifice fly to center from Webster off MHS starter Taylor Trantham.
Trantham pitched all six inning and surrendered two earned runs and four hits.
MHS, which was limited to just two hits, threatened in the top of the fifth as the visitors loaded the bases.
Chris Stanley walked, Corey Smith singled and Stephen Corcoran walked to load the bases, which chased Hughes out of the game.
However, Kenlon Knight got Morehead’s Preston Halstead to ground out into a 5-2-3 double play that ended the scoring threat and inning.
“He (Knight) made some clutch pitches for us,” said Hall. “He really got us out of a jam in the sixth.”
Knight pitched the final one and two-third innings where he gave up no runs, no hits and only one walk. He had a strikeout.
Both teams will return to action Friday night. Morehead will host Western Guilford, while McMichael hosts Winston-Salem Atkins in the North State 2-A Conference opener.
The games will start at 7 p.m.

McLeod medalist at PPCC

2008-03-11T19:39:00.001-07:00

Staff Report
Payne McLeod shot a two-over-par 38 Tuesday and Reidsville and Northern Guilford tied at 187 in non-conference golf action at Pennrose Park Country Club.
It was the second straight individual win for McLeod. He was medalist in three-team match at Meadow Greens last week. The RHS junior birdied the first and sixth holes Tuesday but took a double bogey at No. 7 and bogeys at No. 4 and No. 8.
He was five shots better that Northern’s Jeffrey Jackman, who shot 43. The Nighthawks also counted 45, 47 and 51.
In addition to McLeod’s 38, the Rams counted 45 by Zachary Bryan, 47 by Ben Covington and 57 by freshman Ben Goodes. Reidsville’s discards were 59 by Josh Weston and 63 by Ross Haigler.
Reidsville will return to action Thursday at Plantation as Rockingham County plays host to a non-conference match involving at least two other schools.

MHS edges Western Alamance in Triad opener

2008-03-11T19:38:00.000-07:00

Staff Report
After a slow start to Tuesday’s Triad 3-A Conference opener, Morehead finally caught fire in its last at-bat.
Trailing 3-2 heading into the bottom of the seventh the Lady Panthers plated two runs, including a game-winning RBI-sacrifice fly from Brittany Tucker as the home team recorded a 4-3 comeback victory.
“Great comebacks make great games,” MHS coach Gerald Ellis said. “It was great for the girls to be able to come back like that. Our top of the lineup did a great job today. It was a very competitive game.”
After falling behind 3-1 early in the game, MHS was within one run of tying the score in the bottom of the seventh, which was started with a single from Missy McCullough past shortstop.
Mandi McCullough moved her sister to second base on a sacrifice bunt and an error on the same play allowed Missy to score and tie the game at 3-3. The miscue moved Mandi McCullough to second and a sacrifice bunt from Kayla Price moved her to third with only one out. Tucker drove in McCullough with a sacrifice fly to right field as the Lady Panther snuck out the win.
MHS got a solid pitching performance from the duo of Mandi McCullough and Ashlee Lemons, who combined on a two-hitter.

Lady Panthers cruise past Reidsville

2008-03-10T20:14:00.000-07:00

Staff Report
Scoring has come pretty easy for MHS this year and Monday night was no different.
Led by Danielle Minichello’s hat trick, the Lady Panthers jumped out to a 3-1 halftime lead and never looked back as they defeated county foe Reidsville, 8-1.
MHS, which improved to a perfect 5-0 on the young season, has outscored its opponents 40-5, including a 10-1 win over the Lady Rams the first time around.
“We came out a little sluggish at the start, but picked it up in the second half,” MHS coach Ken Price said. “It’s nice to have more than one girl that can finish on the offensive end.”
Minichello, who had scored three goals or more in four straight games, scored two goals in the first 10 minutes. Assists came from Stephanie Kinney and Britney Irwin.
RHS (0-4) did cut the lead to one as Beth Neal scored the Lady Rams’ lone goal at the 19-minute mark off an assist from Carroll Davis. However, MHS accounted for the next six goals including one at the 22-minute mark as Irwin scored off an assist from Minichello.
“We had a couple of chances in the first half,” said RHS coach Jarod Williams. “I felt like it could have been a tie game at halftime.”
Leading by only two, MHS put the game away scoring three goals in a six-minute span to start the second half. Goals came from Kinney (46:00), Minichello (51:00) and Iriwn (52:00). Minichello and Krissy Snyder had assists during that span.
At the 52-minute mark, Snyder hooked up with Irwin for another MHS goal to make it 6-1. Snyder scored 12 minutes later and capped off the scoring with a goal at 76-minute mark.
The home team finished with advantages in both shots (30-4) and corner kicks (5-4).
Tori Huffman and Jessica Moran combined for five saves for the Lady Panthers, while Kinsey Kropa tallied 10 for the visitors.
MHS will return to action Wednesday night at Rockingham County in the Triad 3-A Conference opener (7 p.m.).
RHS is scheduled to take on Northeast Guilford tonight in McLeansville (6 p.m.).

Goodes finishes tied for 21st at TC

2008-03-10T20:13:00.000-07:00

By STEVE WILLIAMS
Special to the Review
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. — Mike Goodes’ best finish on the Champions Tour was just a couple of shots away from being a top-10.
Goodes posted a final-round 1-under-par 70 Sunday in the final round of the Toshiba Classic at Newport Beach Country Club and settled for a tie for 21st on a tightly-bunched leaderboard. Added to his 65 and 71 the first two days, Goodes had a seven-under-par 206 total, the same as 10 other players.
There was an eight-way tie for 13th with 205 and a five-way tie for eighth at 204.
Goodes’ finish earned $16,459, marking his best payday since turning professional in 2007. He moved from 74th to 70th on this year’s money list with $27,159.
The players who tied for 13th won $28,113 and the ones who tied for eighth claimed $44,880.
Bernhard Langer won the tournament and the $255,00 first prize. He needed seven extra holes to turn back Jay Haas after both finished at 199, three clear of third-place Scott Simpson and Ben Crenshaw.
Goodes owned the par-5 third hole, the par-3 fourth hole and the par-5 15th hole in the tournament. He birdied those holes in all three rounds, accounting for nine of his 11 birdies.
The birdies at Nos. 3 and 4 Sunday gave him some early momentum but he bogeyed the par-4 sixth and the par-4 11th to fall back to even on the day. The birdie at the 15th got him back to one-under as he posted a 34-36 card.
Goodes’ best previous finish was a tie for 33rd in the 2007 Senior PGA Championship and his best previous payday was $10,728 in the 2007 U.S. Senior Open.
TOSHIBA STATS: Goodes had an eagle, 11 birdies, six bogeys and 36 pars in the three rounds.
• He ranked eighth in driving distance with 293.8 and tied for fifth in driving accuracy with 76.2. He hit 74 percent of the greens in regulation (tied for 26th) and had an average of 30 putts per round (tied for 44th).
NEXT EVENT: Goodes is in the event qualifier today at Robinson Ranch Golf Club in Santa Clarita, Calif. There are 61 players in the field competing for nine spots in this week’s AT&T Classic in Valencia, Calif.

Twenty-five DMHS athletes make all-conference

2008-03-08T19:14:00.000-08:00

Staff Report
Highlighted three conference championships, McMichael High School's winter sports team were rewarded with 25 athletes that were named to the North State 2-A All-Conference team, which was recently released.
After securing yet another conference championship, the wrestling team, led by coach of the year Jon Bullins, had 12 wrestlers earn all-conference honors. Making the all-conference team this year were Greg Smith (103), Michelle Wilson (112), Dakota Holt (119), Alex Wilson (130), Josh Befort (135), Daniel Hopper (140), Ben Gleiser (145), Travis Ward (152), Joseph Silvers (160), Kenny Harris (171), Steven Chestnut (215) and Matt Gardner (285).
Southern Guilford's William Graves was named wrestler of the year as well as conference tournament MVP.
The girls’ swim team won its first ever conference title this past season thanks to all-conference selections Rachel Mabe, Samantha Honeycutt, Alex Vernon, Jac Davis, Mallori McKinlay and Crosby Butler. Mabe (50-yard freestyle), Honeycutt (100-yard butterfly) and McKinlay (100-yard backstroke) made all-conference in individual events. The team of Vernon, Davis, McKinlay and Butler was all-conference in the 200-yard freestyle relay, while Butler, Davis, Honeycutt and Vernon were conference champions in the 400-yard freestyle relay.
Michelle Casto was named the conference's top coach (for both the girls and guys teams). Kaitlyn Kilfoyle of Eastern Guilford (swimmer of the year) and Brett Benson of West Stokes (conference meet MVP) also won awards.
Led by swimmer of the year in Sam Price and conference meet MVP in Elliot Casey, the boys' swim team had five all-conference selections.
Casey was conference champion in both the 100-yard backstroke and 100-yard butterfly, while Price was the top swimmer in the 50-yard freestyle. Jacob Davis was all-conference in the 200-yard individual medley.
Two relay teams were also all-conference including the 200-yard medley relay (Price, Davis, Casey and Bryan Alberts) and the 400-yard freestyle relay (Casey, Gavin Blakey, Alberts and Price).
Brooke Hensley was the lone all-conference representative for the Lady Phoenix basketball team. She helped McMichael to the state playoffs as the team lost to Graham in the opening round.
Reidsville's Eleisha Hairston was selected as the player of the year. Hairston averaged 22.3 points, 15.1 rebounds and 5.1 blocks per game. She was also named the conference tournament's most valuable player.
Reidsville shared the regular season title with Eastern Guilford.
Eastern's Tina Gunn was named North State coach of the year.
Despite not making the playoffs, the Phoenix boys' basketball team had one player on the all-conference team in senior guard Terrell King. Individual award went to Atkins' Shane Allen (player of the year) and Southern Guilford's Roderick McCullough (coach of the year). Reidsville's Quinton Price was named MVP of the conference tournament.

Goodes tied for 12th at Toshiba Classic

2008-03-08T19:12:00.000-08:00

By STEVE WILLIAMS
Special to the Daily News
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. — Mike Goodes is in position for his best-ever finish on the Champions Golf Tour.
The 51-year-old Reidsville native followed Friday’s first-round six-under-par 65 with an even-par 71 Saturday and stands in a tie for 12th going into today’s final round of the Toshiba Classic at Newport Beach Country Club.
Goodes, a life-long amateur until turning pro as a 50-year-old, is in his second season on the Champions Tour. His best finish in 10 events in 2007 was a tie for 33rd. The Toshiba Classic is his third tournament this year with his best finish a tie for 35th in the ACE Group Classic.
The first-round six-under-par 65 put Goodes into the Champions Tour spotlight for the first time. He was tied for third, earning a tee time with superstars Jay Haas and Craig Stadler in the next-to-last group Saturday.
His 136 total is just one shot out of the top-10 and just three shots out of second place on a tightly-bunched leaderboard. Bernhard Langer, with a pair of 65s, is at the top of the list and he carries a three-shot cushion over four players (Morris Hatalsky, Jeff Sluman, Tim Simpson and Mark Johnson) into today’s final 18 holes.
After not making a bogey Friday, Goodes began the second round with a bogey on the first hole. But he recovered with back-to-back birdies at the par-5 third and the par-3 fourth. A bogey at the ninth left him with an even-par 35 going out.
He dropped another shot at the par-3 13th but quickly recovered with birdies at the par-4 14th and the par-5 15th. He missed the green at the par-3 17th and took his fourth bogey of the day. A par at the 18th left him with 36 on the back nine.
The 18th hole provided the highlight of the round Friday. He rolled in an eagle putt after reaching the green from over 200 yards out.
It capped a four-under-par 32 on the back nine that included birdies at Nos. 10 and 15. On the front nine, he had birdies at Nos. 3 and 4.
Goodes will be hoping for a top-10 finish today as it would give him an exemption into this week’s AT&T Champions Classic in Valencia, Calif.
If he finishes outside the top 10, he’ll have to play in Tuesday’s event qualifier.
There is a $1.7 million purse up for grabs today with the winner claiming a check of $255,000. A 10th-place finish would be worth approximately $40,000.
Goodes finished 99th on the money list a year ago with $52,684 and a single-week best of $10,726. This year, he ranks 74th on the money list with $10,700.
The Golf Channel will provide final-round coverage from 6:30 to 9 today. Goodes is in a threesome with Gil Morgan and Craig Stadler going off the first tee at 2:45 p.m. (EDT).

Panthers edge Fighting Phoenix, 5-4

2008-03-06T19:35:00.001-08:00

Staff Report
MAYODAN — Morehead picked up its first win of the season Thursday afternoon in Mayodan. After being tied with Phoenix following singles play, the Panthers captured wins in two doubles matches to edge McMichael, 5-4.
Recording wins in singles play for the visitors from Eden were Ethan Hughes, Matthew Gilley and Cody Clark.
Hughes defeated McMichael’s Alex Cobb, 10-2 in first singles, while Gilley beat Josh Wall, 10-2 in second singles. Sixth singles saw Clark defeat Patrick Reamey, 10-4.
The home team got three wins in singles play as well including third singles as Gavin Blakey beat Stephen Ziglar, 10-8. In fourth singles, Michael Strandberg blanked Scott Bishopric, 10-0, while fifth singles went to Juan Balbuena with a 10-6 victory over Alex Winn.
MHS picked up the team win as it won in first and second doubles.
Hughes and Gilley defeated the McMichael duo of Cobb and Wall, 8-4 in first doubles, while Ziglar and Winn were victorious over Strandberg and Balbuena, 8-4 in second doubles.
The Phoenix duo of Blakey and Reamey beat Bishopric and Smith, 8-1 in third doubles action.
In exhibition doubles, Colton Lee and Ryan Joyce of McMichael defeated Justin Ward and Justin Hamilton, 9-3.
Both teams return to action Monday. MHS (1-2) hosts Dudley, while McMichael (0-2) travels to Southern Guilford for the North State 2-A Conference opener.
The matches will start at 4:30 p.m.

Mitchell, Cougars blank Panthers

2008-03-06T19:34:00.000-08:00

By STEVE CANNULI
Sports Editor
WENTWORTH — Rockingham County’s Bryan Mitchell was literally “un-hittable” Thursday night as the junior pitcher faced off against Morehead in the Cougars’ Triad 3-A Conference opener. Mitchell tossed a no-hitter through five innings and struck out 12 as the Cougars rolled past Morehead, 11-0.
Mitchell struck out the side in both the first and fifth innings and two each in the second, third and fourth.
He faced 17 batters and allowed just two base runners. Stephen Corcoran reached first on a dropped third strike in the first and Taylor Trantham drew a walk off Mitchell in the third inning.
Neither runner advanced past first base.
Rockingham County (3-1), winners of three straight since a season-opening loss to Southeast Guilford, used a nine-run third inning to break the game open.
Leading 1-0, Rockingham County sent 14 batters to the plate and scored nine times on six hits. The Cougars also chased two MHS pitchers from the game during the third inning.
Josh Munson drove in four runs in his two at-bats and Zach Dickson and Tyler Burchett each had two runs batted in during the frame. Munson and Dickson both doubled in a pair of runs off MHS starter Chase Raiford and Burchett singled in two runs off Taylor Trantham. In his second at-bat of the inning, Munson singled off Stephen Corcoran and gave the home team a 10-0 lead.
Munson finished the game 2 for 3 with four RBIs and one run scored. Burchett was 2 for 2 with two RBIs and two runs scored and Dickson was 1 for 3 with two runs scored and two RBIs.
MHS lost for the third time in as many tries. Having lost to RCHS, Reidsville and McMichael, the Panthers are scheduled to face the Fighting Phoenix again tonight in Mayodan.
RCHS is scheduled to face the Rams tonight at Reidsville. The Cougars defeated the Rams, 11-1 last Friday night.
Since the Cougars’ opening-day 10-0 loss to Southeast Guilford, they have posted scores of 11, 5 and 11 and have outscored their opponents 27-1 in those three games.

Irwin, Minichello lead Lady Panthers to win over DMHS

2008-03-05T19:58:00.002-08:00

Staff Report
MAYODAN — McMichael failed at trying to stop Morehead’s early season scoring spree as the two teams met up Wednesday night in Mayodan. Led by the duo of Danielle Minichello and Britney Irwin, the Lady Panthers jumped out to a five-goal lead at halftime and cruised to an 8-0 non-conference victory.
The Lady Panthers, who have outscored their first three opponents (Southern Alamance, Reidsville and McMichael) by a 23-3 score, improved to 3-0. DMHS dropped to 0-3.
Minichello and Irwin both recorded hat tricks as they combined for six of the eight MHS goals. Over the past two games, the duo have combined for 14 goals.
“It’s been great having those two in there,” MHS coach Ken Price said. “They’ve been working well together so far this season.”
Minichello notched two goals to start the game as she scored at the 5:00 and 14:00 marks. Irwin got into the scoring action at the 25-minute mark thanks to an assist from Minichello. Three minutes later Irwin scored an unassisted goal, while Minichello capped the first half with her third goal of the half with a minute to go.
Irwin made it 6-0 five minutes into the second half as she scored off an assist from Krissy Snyder. Tori Huffman hooked up with Snyder at the 49-minute mark.
“Krissy has been played a huge role for us on defense this year,” Price said. “She has created a lot of scoring opportunities for us.”
Keely Snyder scored an unassisted goal with five minutes left in the game.
The visitors had a huge advantage in both shots on goal (32-6) and corner kicks (4-0).
Huffman and Jessica Moran combined for five saves for the Lady Panthers, while Caroline Lanning tallied 10 for the Lady Phoenix.
MHS will travel to Eastern Guilford tonight to take on the Lady Wildcats.
Game time is set for 6 p.m.

Wilson leads Lady Cougars to victory

2008-03-05T19:58:00.001-08:00

Staff Report
GIBSONVILLE — After a handful of postponements, the Rockingham County Lady Cougars finally got their 2008 season under way and it started on a high note. A four-run third inning helped pace RCHS past Eastern Guilford, 7-1 on Wednesday night.
RCHS (1-0) got a three-hit, seven-strikeout performance from starting pitcher Macey Wilson. Wilson allowed one earned run and issued no walks in seven innings of work.
At the plate, she was 2 for 3 with a double, two runs batted in and one run scored.
Wilson drove in two of the Lady Cougars’ four runs in the third inning. Moriah Seidelman and Lindsey Puckett also drove in runs in that inning.
RCHS grabbed a 5-0 lead with a single run in the sixth inning – thanks to a Jennifer Taylor RBI-single.
Wilson no-hit the Lady Wildcats through the first five innings of action.
Eastern broke the shutout with a run in its bottom half of the sixth inning, but the Lady Cougars added a pair of insurance runs in the top of the seventh.
Puckett, who was 2 for 4, drove in one run in the seventh and Elizabeth Ferguson drove in the other.
Puckett also added two runs scored, as did Kayleigh Dorsett. Wilson, Denise Grissom and Kenzie Hanks all added one run each.
RCHS returns to action next Tuesday against Greensboro Dudley at home. Today’s game with Morehead has been moved, but no date has been set. Also, the Lady Cougars’ game on March 12 with Southwest Guilford has been moved to April 5 and will be played as a varsity doubleheader.

Stanfield to play football for Aggies

2008-03-04T20:01:00.001-08:00

By BRETT KNIGHT
Staff Writer
Micah Stanfield has already been part of one rebuilding process while in a Morehead Panther uniform. He hopes he can help do the same at North Carolina A&T as he looks to help an Aggie team that has gone winless in each of the last two seasons.
The senior defensive lineman will get that chance come August once the college football season starts up. Stanfield changed his colors from red, black and white to blue and gold as he recently signed a letter of intent to continue his football career with the Aggies.
“North Carolina A&T had a nice environment and the coaching staff has a real positive attitude,” said Stanfield. “They want to turn around that program.”
Stanfield, who was a three-year starter and a two-time all-conference and all-county selection under MHS coach Mickey Crouch, chose the Aggies over Winston-Salem State. It appears the A&T coaching staff has Stanfield as a projected defensive lineman.
“They (coaching staff) think he can be a good defensive end or defensive tackle,” said Crouch. “I think he can be a good one at college.”
Stanfield, who first put on a football uniform as a seventh grader at Holmes Middle School, was a busy player during his senior season playing on both the offensive and defensive lines. He was the starting defensive tackle and played both guard and tackle on the offensive front. Drawing constant double teams while on defense, Stanfield finished his senior season with 68 tackles, 11 tackles for loss (third on team), three sacks and two fumble recoveries.
“He played hard and gave us good minutes on both sides of the ball,” said Crouch. “When he came in on offense, we got a whole lot better.”

Cougar golfers looking strong again

2008-03-04T19:59:00.000-08:00

By STEVE WILLIAMS
Special to the Review
When Rockingham County opens its golf season Thursday, the memory of former teammate David Sechrest will be on the mind of every Cougar.
Sechrest died early in his senior year at RCHS, the result of an automobile accident last September.
“It’s been a tough off-season,” Rockingham coach Mike Williams said.
“Emotionally, it’s going to be a roller-coaster ride. We’re going to dedicate every thing we do this year to him. He was our leader and also our comic relief. He was real popular with the other guys on the team.”
Sechrest won the Triad 3-A Conference individual championship last spring, helping the Cougars to the team title.
Rockingham went on to its best post-season in school history, winning the regional for the second straight year and finishing third to Hickory and Gastonia Forestview in the state 3-A tournament.
The Cougars return three of the six players who competed in the state tourney and have several other players with varsity experience.
Junior left-hander Richard Crouse was the Cougars’ top finisher in the state tourney as his 78-75 tied for 12th.
Also back are junior Daniel Tatarski and senior Randy Brill.
Graduation losses from the state tournament team were Ambrose Evans and Lance Dunlap while Wade Crouse, who played quite a bit in his RCHS career, also graduated.
Evans and Crouse are members of the golf team at Rockingham Community College.

Stewart's homer lifts RHS to win

2008-03-03T20:03:00.000-08:00

Staff Report
REIDSVILLE — One swing of the bat gave Reidsville all the momentum it needed in Monday night’s non-conference baseball affair with county-foe Morehead. Jordan Stewart sent a three-run homerun over the rightfield fence in the bottom of the third inning and helped propel Reidsville to a 4-2 victory.
Reidsville improved its record to 2-1 on the young season, while the Panthers fell to 0-2.
The visitors from Eden tied the game at 1-1 in the top of the third as Nick O’Dell (who reached base on an error to start the inning) scored from third on a wild throw into left field.
Anthony Wooten started things off for RHS in the bottom half with a double, while Sam Pugh singled to left field to put runners on first and third. Stewart then sent a Josh Protzek pitch over the rightfield fence to give the Rams a 4-1 edge.
“We’ve been talking about getting hits with men in scoring position,” said Reidsville coach Ernie Holcomb. “We didn’t do that as well as we wanted to tonight, but Jordan certainly stepped up with that homerun. He uncorked a timely shot.”
RHS got a four-hit performance from the pitching trio of Craig Pruitt, Jeremy Pruitt and Wooten. The trio also benefited from the Rams’ offense, which collected 10 hits.
“We just didn’t hit the ball tonight,” said MHS coach Jeff Roberts. “We had some opportunities to come back, but we just didn’t hit the ball.”

Lady Rams fall in third round of playoffs

2008-03-01T19:03:00.000-08:00

By STEVE WILLIAMS
Special to the Review
Cardinal Gibbons High of Raleigh has already produced state girls championships in volleyball, cross country and swimming in 2007-08. Now the basketball team has earned its time in the spotlight.
The Crusaders used a strong second half to turn back Reidsville 62-54 Friday night at the RHS gymnasium to advance to the 2-A East Regional Tournament, also known as the state’s elite eight.
“This is the first time that women’s basketball has ever made it to Greenville,” said coach Jessica Lowe. “We’ve won 10 games in a row and at this point, I guess anything can happen if you make it this far.”
Cardinal Gibbons, now 23-7, finished second to Graham (29-1) in the Mid-State Conference regular season but stunned the previously-undefeated Red Devils in the conference tournament championship game to gain momentum heading into the state playoffs. They will face Red Springs (24-4) in the first round of the regional Thursday while Graham, which rolled over Eastern Guilford 90-69 Friday in Sectional 3, will play Kill Devil Hills First Flight (27-1).
For the Lady Rams, it was the third straight year they have lost in the Sectional championship game.
“It’s wide open this year,” RHS coach Casey Elrod said. “We felt like it was our year but they (Crusaders) played a wonderful game. You can’t take anything away from them.”

DMHS-MHS play to 4-4 softball tie

2008-03-01T19:01:00.000-08:00

By BRETT KNIGHT
Staff Writer
Just when Friday’s McMichael-Morehead softball game was getting interesting, Mother Nature decided to play a factor in the outcome.
With the game tied at four each, MHS had one final chance to squeeze out a home win, but the Lady Panthers left two runners stranded on second and third in the bottom of the sixth, as the umpires called the 4-4 game due to darkness.
The game will not be finished and both teams currently have a tie on their overall records even though they both face one another this Friday in Mayodan.
Following a warning from the home plate umpire that the bottom of the sixth would be the final at-bat of the game, MHS was in business as an error in the Lady Phoenix infield put Brittany Tucker on second with no outs. Tucker slid safely into third on a bunt from Ashley Scherer one batter later, which put runners at first and third. Scherer moved to second on a stolen base moment later. However, both runners would be left stranded as McMichael starter Kelly Clark sent down the next three batters in order, including two on strikeouts (one which was the final out).

Rams score win in home opener

2008-02-28T19:55:00.000-08:00

Staff Report
The Reidsville Rams used not one, but three Pruitts in their 3-1 opening-day victory over Bartlett Yancey on a chilly, football-like Thursday afternoon.
Jason Pruitt was 2 for 3 at the plate with one run scored and one run batted in and then tossed two-plus innings of one-hit baseball as the Rams limited the Buccaneers to just three hits.
“I thought heading into the preseason we might be able to take these half dozen pitchers and replace the two we lost,” said Reidsville coach Ernie Holcomb.
The combination of Jeremy Pruitt, Jason Pruitt and Craig Pruitt handcuffed the BY batters all day. The trio surrendered one run on three hits and struck out six batters.
Jason Pruitt earned the win in relief as he pitched two and one-third innings of one-hit baseball.
He struck out one before turning things over to Craig Pruitt, who tossed a scoreless one and one-third inning and earned the save.
Trailing 1-0, the Rams tied the game with a run in the bottom of the fifth and then added a pair of runs – including the game winner – in the sixth inning.
Craig Pruitt led off the sixth with a walk and then stole second base. With one out, Sam Pugh reached on an error and Pruitt was able to score from second.
After a Reidsville strikeout, Jason Pruitt singled to centerfield and scored Pugh from second.
“When we got someone to second I told them we needed to get them in,” said Holcomb. “I didn’t think on a day like today, there would be too many guys reaching second.”
Jeremy Pruitt pitched the first three and two-thirds innings and allowed one earned run on one hit and struck out five.
Faced with a dilemma of replacing his top two pitchers, but Holcomb got efficient pitching in the team’s opener. In four of the seven innings, Reidsville pitchers retired the side in order four times and the three pitchers only surrendered two walks.
The other two Reidsville hits came from Craig Pruitt, who singled in the fourth but was unable to score, and Anthony Wooten.
In the loss, BY’s (0-1) Jacob Dameron and Brent Seamster combined to pitch six innings of four-hit baseball and recorded six strikeouts.
The Rams (1-0) return to action tonight at Rockingham County.
The game is a junior varsity-varsity doubleheader, which is slated to start

MHS falls in second round to N. Vance

2008-02-28T19:54:00.000-08:00

Staff Report
HENDERSON — Northern Vance took control early, but still had to fight off a Morehead comeback in the final minutes of Thursday night’s second round playoff game.
Led by Darrius Dunston’s game-high 36 points, the Vikings got out to a 21-2 lead after one quarter of play and still had to hold off the pesky Panthers late to win 76-67.
MHS, which ended the season at 12-15, cut the Northern lead to four (62-58) with 2:30 left.
The visitors had a chance to cut the deficit even more, but the referees didn’t call a foul on a three-point shot attempt late in the game. Morehead could get no closer as Northern advanced to Saturday’s sectional final.
“We just turned the ball over too much early in the game and couldn’t get the ball in the basket,” MHS coach John Harder said. “We turned the ball over eight times in that first quarter. But the guys didn’t give up and I was proud of them.”
After mustering only two points in the second, MHS got to within 10 at halftime (33-23) thanks to 21 second quarter points. Senior KaShaun Johnson scored 10 of his team-high 22 points in the second stanza.
Morehead had no answer for Dalton, who drained seven 3-pointers for the home team. He scored 20 of his 36 points before halftime.
The Panthers erupted for 26 fourth quarter points led by Johnson and Greg Perkins, who both hit a pair of three-pointers.
Perkins and Corey Graves both finished their high school careers with 14 points apiece.

Lady Rams make it to third round

2008-02-27T20:06:00.000-08:00

By STEVE WILLIAMS
Special to the Daily News
It’s on to the sweet 16 for the third straight year for the Reidsville Lady Rams.
A 77-57 victory over Burlington Cummings Wednesday night in the RHS gymnasium sends Reidsville to the Sectional 4 Championship game Friday night at home against Raleigh Cardinal Gibbons. The Crusaders, 19-7, turned back North Lenoir 61-45 Wednesday night.
Reidsville, winners of 14 straight, was coming off an impressive 94-69 romp over North Pitt in the opening round the previous night and continued to impress despite some lousy free throw shooting in the first three quarters. The Lady Rams were just 5 of 21 on the unguarded 15-footers until turning it around in the fourth quarter. They hit 11 of 14 in the final period to hold off Cummings’ spirited rally.
“I think it’s a matter of concentration,” said RHS coach Casey Elrod after watching his team’s 18th win against seven losses. “They’re more worried about what they’re doing after the foul shots instead of making the shot and then worrying about the defense. But free throw shooting was huge in the fourth quarter. If we had not stepped up at the end it could have been one of the ugliest endings possible.”
The Rams never trailed in the game after jumping out to an 11-2 lead. But Cummings was tenacious and closed the margin to one at 17-16 and 19-18 in the second period.
The Rams were up by just 28-24 before senior DeAnna Foust scored two baskets in the final 25 seconds of the half to push the margin to 32-24.
DeAnna then teamed up with her sophomore sister Raven Foust to ignite the Rams during a crucial stretch to begin the third quarter that opened up some breathing room.
Raven began the second half by knocking down a three-pointer, then DeAnna scored, then Raven again.
After Cummings got its only basket in the first 5:40 of the period, the Foust sister act continued. Each assisted the other during the Rams’ 18-3 run with the DeAnna scoring six points and Raven eight.
“We’ve been playing together since we were eight years old, so we know how each other works,” said DeAnna Foust. “She was always the guard and I was always the post so it’s perfect match right there.”
Kiana Galloway’s basket pushed the RHS advantage out to 50-27 with 2:44 left and it was 53-33 heading into the final eight minutes.
When Eleisha Hairston hit a pair of free throws to begin the final period, the Rams enjoyed a 22-point cushion.

Cougars hammered, 108-72

2008-02-26T19:44:00.001-08:00

Staff Report
GREENVILLE – Despite scoring 72 points and shooting 54 percent from the field, Rockingham County had no answers for top-seeded D.H. Conley on Tuesday night. Conley shot 84 percent from the field and rolled past the Cougars, 108-72 in the first round of the 3-A East state playoffs.
The loss ends Rockingham County’s season at 11-14.
With the win, Conley improves to 22-3 and now faces Southern Wayne, which knocked off Currituck on Tuesday.
“We didn’t play poorly,” said RCHS head coach Jeff Hamilton. “We just ran into a buzz saw.”
With only 14 turnovers on the night, Rockingham County fell behind 28-19 at the end of the first quarter. Conley was even more impressive in the second quarter, outscoring Rockingham County, 34-19.
The Cougars, which were a wild-card entry for the second straight season, trailed 62-38 at halftime.
RCHS had to contend with Conley’s dual threat of inside and outside. From the outside, the home team connected on 10 three-pointers, compared to just four by the Cougars.
Jonathan Setters led Conley with 25 points and Juran Lane added 22.
Setters scored 19 of his 25 before the half and Lane netted 14 of his 22 in the first two quarters.
In the loss, Rockingham County got 27 points and 17 rebounds from “Buck” Parker and 20 points from Devin Moyer. Justin Ward, who made 3 of the team’s 4 three-pointers, finished with 17 points.
Conley plays host to Southern Wayne on Thursday night.
In the other Triad 3-A Conference action, Morehead, Northeast Guilford, Northern Guilford and Greensboro Dudley won, but Western Guilford along with RCHS lost.

Lady Rams advance to second round

2008-02-26T19:42:00.000-08:00

By STEVE WILLIAMS
Special to the Review
Reidsville’s inside-outside attack was too much for North Pitt Tuesday night and the Rams rolled to a 94-69 victory in the opening round of the State 2-A playoffs.
Junior Eleisha Hairston scored 31 points, mostly on inside moves, and senior Kiana Gal-loway lit up the RHS gymnasium for eight three-pointers on her way to 26 points to pace the Rams’ high-powered attack.
“That was probably one of the better shooters we’ve faced this year,” said North Pitt coach Allen Wooten after his team ended the year with a 9-16 record. “Credit them, they’re a good ball club. We’re trying to front Hairston inside making sure she doesn’t get open and then you got shooters from both sides of the court. So you pick your poison.”
It was a double dose of the lethal stuff administered by the Rams, who also excelled from the foul line (20 of 27) and on defense where their full-court pressure forced North Pitt turnovers in bunches.
“They didn’t know about Kiana,” said RHS coach Casey Elrod after the Rams won their 13th straight game and moved to 17-7 on the season. “That was one of the rare times that any team’s not going to know about her so they left her open for a long time. And even when they started coming out, by then she had a rhythm, and once you’ve got a rhythm, it doesn’t matter if you’ve got a hand in your face.”
Galloway’s night started innocently enough, making just 1 of 3 from beyond the arc in the first half.
Hairston had 16 of her points before intermission as the Rams built a 41-31 margin.
The Panthers had hopes of hanging in the game in the third quarter, cutting Reidsville’s lead to 45-39 on an offensive rebound conversion by Teera Clark after three minutes.
But Galloway heated up and North Pitt’s hopes wilted under the barrage. She hit six three-pointers in the final 4:52 of the quarter and Melita Galloway added another bonus ball as the Rams pulled away. Hairston added 10 points in the period. It was an awesome offensive display that produced Reidsville’s largest one-quarter total of the season. Senior guard Brandy Roach played a big role in the explosion with seven or her game-high eight assists in the quarter.
At the end of the period, the Rams had built the cushion to 76-54 and in the final 4:52 of the period they outscored North Pitt 31-15.

Panthers control tempo, upsets Union Pines

2008-02-26T19:41:00.000-08:00

Staff Report
CAMERON — The one thing John Harder wanted was for his MHS squad to control the tempo in Monday night’s first-round playoff game against Union Pines. Mission accomplished.
Led by KaShaun Johnson’s game-high 16 points, MHS slowed the pace down and frustrated the Vikings throughout as the visiting Panthers won, 39-30.
“We played awfully well and played our game,” said Harder. “We ran as much time off the clock as we could and were very patient on offense. We were basically walking the ball up the court a lot.”
With the victory, the Panthers, who improved to 12-14 overall will visit Northern Vance in Thursday’s second round. NVHS won its opening round game, 69-57 over Wilson Fike.
The halftime score looked much like a first quarter score as the visitors led 12-10.
Union Pines connected on an early three-pointer to take a 3-2 lead. However, a basket from the Panthers gave the Eden-based team the lead for good.
Both offenses got going in the second half as the teams combined for 47 points, including 27 from MHS. Johnson had the hot hand after halftime, scoring 13 of his 16
Morehead doubled up its halftime production with 12 third-quarter points as the team led 24-17 heading into the fourth. Needing to catch up, Union Pines (18-10), the second seed out of the Cape Fear Valley Conference, started fouling.
The Panthers responded by hitting 9 of 14 shots from the charity stripe.
The home team cut the Panther deficit to one (29-28) with 3:30 left in the game, but could get no closer. MHS, which squandered a late six-point lead in last week’s conference tournament against Western Guilford, was ready for the late run this time around.
“We were really focused in the last two minutes of the game,” Harder said. “We weren’t going to beat ourselves tonight.”
Adam Hairston chipped in with eight points for the visitors, while the trio of Quenton Hood, Greg Perkins and Corey Graves all had five points apiece.
Derrick Rose was the leading scorer for Union Pines with 15. Will Maness added six.

Harnett Central downs Lady Panthers, 49-29

2008-02-25T19:44:00.000-08:00

Staff Report
ANGIER — Morehead picked the wrong time to start shooting cold from the field. The Lady Panthers got off to a slow start as they were outscored 15-0 by Harnett Central in the first quarter of Monday night’s opening round playoff game and eventually lost 49-29.
With the loss, MHS ended the season at 11-15 as it ended the season with losses to Northeast Guilford (Triad 3-A Conference Tournament) and Harnett Central.
“I don’t know why all of a sudden we thought we were three-point shooters,” said Morehead coach Monte Dillard. “We stopped doing what has worked for us all year and chose another way to try to score. And that hurt us in our chance to get into the second round.
It took Morehead 11 minutes to score its first basket, while mustering only nine points in the opening half.
The Harnett trio of Chelsey McRay (13), Kristin Barker (10) and Rhonda James (10) outscored the entire MHS squad, 33-29 as they helped the home team to a 27-9 halftime advantage. Things didn’t get much better for the visitors from Eden in the third as they were outscored 12-5 as they HCHS increased its lead to 25 (40-15).
Jakeita Artis led MHS in scoring with eight points, while teammate PeLaura Hairston had seven points and a team-high 14 rebounds. Also scoring for the Lady Panthers were Kali Cuttaia (four), Amber Dalton (four), Shenika Scales (three), Jakell Meadows (two) and Mecail Martin (one).
Morehead did finish with a 31-26 rebounding advantage, but went 7 of 16 from the free throw line and committed 19 turnovers.
It was the second appearance in the state playoffs in the last three years for the Lady Panthers.

Lady Cougars advance to second round

2008-02-25T19:43:00.000-08:00

Staff Report
BAILEY – Rockingham County certainly put Friday night’s conference finals’ loss behind them as the Lady Cougars began postseason play Monday night at Southern Nash High School.
Led by a 24-7 second quarter, Rockingham County (23-5) rolled to a 64-42 victory and advanced to the second round of the 3-A East playoffs at Western Harnett Wednesday night.
“We handled ourselves real well,” said Rockingham head coach Woody Wall. “Offensively, we worked the ball around and took good shots.”
The Lady Cougars took a 16-12 edge into the second quarter, but a 24-point second put the Ladybirds’ backs up against the wall.
Outside of a four-point lead, the Rockingham highlight of the first quarter came with 2:38 left in the period. Moore, who led the Lady Cougars with 21 points, eclipsed the 1,000-point mark during the early goings.
Moore also finished with three steals and four assists.
“We pressed them in the first quarter and they just could not adjust to it,” added Wall.
Rockingham County also got 16 points, 10 rebounds and four assists from Ashley Palm and 13 points and five assists from Lindsay Puckett.
Southern Nash was led by Alyse Hall’s 13 points.
With the loss, Southern Nash ended its season at 14-10.
Rockingham was just one of three Triad teams victorious Monday night. Also in first-round action, Northeast Guilford (21-7) – winners of the conference tournament – defeated Southern Lee, 62-25 and Greensboro Dudley (20-7) won, 76-30 over Triton. Morehead (11-15) fell at Harnett Central, 49-29 and Northern Guilford (10-17) lost at Western Harnett.
Rockingham’s game Wednesday is scheduled for 7 p.m. in Lillington.
“Now each game is going to get harder from here on in,” said Wall.

Second half dooms Lady Cougars

2008-02-23T18:56:00.000-08:00

By STEVE CANNULI
Sports Editor
McLEANSVILLE — Rockingham County was held to just 13 second-half points and a season-low 32 points as the Lady Cougars fell to Northeast Guilford, 58-32 Friday night in the finals of the Triad 3-A Conference Tournament.
Trailing 22-19 at halftime, the Lady Cougars mustered just three points on 1 of 8 shooting and fell behind by 19 — a deficit too large for RCHS to overcome.
“Our defense kept working hard and played well, but we just couldn’t capitalize,” said Rockingham head coach Woody Wall. “This just wasn’t our night.”
Northeast Guilford outscored Rockingham County 19-3 in the third quarter as it won its third straight conference tournament title.
Despite the loss, the Lady Cougars take their 22-5 record into Monday’s first round of the 3-A state playoffs. Rockingham County will travel to Southern Nash (14-9) — the No. 2 seed out of the New 6 3-A Conference.
When all the dust had settled, Rockingham County — which stunned Greensboro Dudley just 24 hours earlier in the semifinals — was outscored 36-13 over the final two quarters of play.

Price leads Rams to NS title

2008-02-23T18:55:00.000-08:00

By BRETT KNIGHT
Staff Writer
WINSTON-SALEM — Chalk one up for the little guy — and his Reidsville Ram teammates. Quinton Price made the most of his opportunity against his former team, scoring a team-high 19 points as he led a late Reidsville scoring burst and a 65-61 come-from-behind victory over Winston-Salem Atkins in the North State 2-A Conference Tournament championship on Friday night.
With the victory, the Rams (11-12), the fourth seed heading into the conference tournament, secured the No. 2 spot for the upcoming 2-A state playoffs as well as a home game for Tuesday night’s first round. Not to mention bragging rights for next year and a third straight conference tournament title.
Just like the previous five games, the Rams had their struggles in the first half against the Camels (9-17). It wasn’t pretty for RHS, which shot only 25 percent from both the field (9 of 36) and the free throw line (2 of 8). However, the Rams saw themselves only down 31-24 at halftime.
The second half was a different story as the Rams hit 15 of 31 shots from the field and 10 of 13 free throws including 4 of 6 in the final 39 seconds.
“It’s been that way for the last six games where we have a mediocre first half where we miss easy shots,” said RHS coach Bill Walton. “But for the last six games, something happens at halftime where our kids get a sense of urgency, the intensity turns up and magically the shots start doing down.”

Shanor, Stanfield win state wrestling titles

2008-02-23T18:53:00.000-08:00

Staff Report
WINSTON-SALEM — What a way to cap off a high school wrestling career. Morehead’s Bobby Shanor ended his senior season just like the previous two years — as a state champion. The senior grappler won his third straight state title Saturday night as he decisioned Parkland’s Luis Camacho by a 6-5 decision at the state individual championship in Winston-Salem.
Shanor won in dramatic fashion as he recorded the sixth and final point at the 5:59 mark to squeak out the one-point victory.
Four other Panthers also wrestled for state titles including Michael Cresenzo, Alex Winn, Victor Cresenzo and Micah Stanfield.
Stanfield won his first state championship as he decisioned Charlie Millea of Havelock, 11-3 at 285.
Michael Cresenzo lost by 6-3 decision to Lane Wilmoth (Parkland) in the 140-pound weight class championship, while Winn was pinned at the 5:02 mark by Parkland’s Lanard Oglesby at 145.
At 160, Victor Cresenzo was decisioned by a 2-0 score against Greg Gainey of Parkland.
“With these many wrestles in the finals, we would win the tournament most years,” said MHS coach Greg Frey. “But Parkland was so strong. The team did a great job and we had a great season.”
Finishing in fourth in the 171-pound weight class was Neal Stultz. Stultz lost to Demetrius Boswell of South Johnston by a pin at the 1:33 mark. He started the tournament with a win in the opening round over B. Maness of R-S Central (7-6 decision) and won his quarterfinal match over South Central’s Quinton Godley with a pin at the 4:13 mark.
In the championship semifinals, Stultz suffered his first defeat as he lost to Ben Lord of Southwest Guilford (7-0 decision). He made his way into the third-place match with a 4-2 decision over Jacksonville’s Matthew Ochoa.
Greg Stanfield went 1-2 at the 189-pound weight class. The senior grappler was upset by Prath Bruton of Mooresville by a 9-4 overtime decision, but came back to decision Eastern Alamance’s Matthew Dean, 3-2 in the second round consolations. However, in the third round consolation, Northeast Guilford’s Daniel Patrick decisioned Stanfield, 8-4.
The freshmen duo of Marty Hall and Ian Kirkman took part in the tournament, but lost their first two matches. Hall, wrestling at 125, lost to Daniel Ownbey of Enka by an 18-3 technical fall and fell to Jacksonville’s Jonathan Langholtz by an 8-5 decision.
Kirkman wrestled Jesse McFarland of R-S Central in the first match at 215 and was pinned at the 3:47 mark. His second defeat came to Eric Novell of White Oak by a pin at the 1:53 mark.

Lady Panthers fall in semis

2008-02-21T17:51:00.000-08:00

By BRETT KNIGHT
Staff Writer
McLEANSVILLE — Morehead eventually got its offense going against top-seeded Northeast Guilford in Thursday’s semifinals of the Triad 3-A Conference Tournament. However, it was too little too late for the upset-minded Lady Panthers.
After a horrendous start where MHS mustered only seven points in the first half, the Lady Panthers were within reach most of the second half, but Northeast connected on 9 of 12 free throws over the final 3:47 to hang on for a 39-35 victory.
With the win, the Lady Rams advanced to the championship game against the third-seeded Lady Cougars of Rockingham County, who upset Dudley, 56-43 in the other semifinal game. Northeast swept RCHS both times in the regular season.
Despite shooting 35 percent (13 of 37) from the floor, MHS found itself down only three points (26-23) with 4:48 left in the game following a lay up from Pelaura Hairston. It was the third straight lay up for the senior forward, but that would be as close as MHS would get the rest of the way thanks in large part to turnovers. Instead of cutting into the Lady Ram lead even more, the Lady Panthers committed five turnovers on their next six possessions as Northeast increased the lead to 11 with 49.9 seconds left in the game. Shelley Reese played a big role in that as she connected on all six of her free throws during that span. Her final two made it 36-25
The Lady Panthers did manage to score 10 points over the final 39 seconds led by Jakeita Artis, who scored seven points. The other three points came from teammate Mecail Martin, who buried a three-pointer with eight seconds left to cut the deficit to four (37-33). However, Hillary Cook put the icing on the cake with two free throws with 5.3 seconds left.

Lady Cougars advance to Triad finals

2008-02-21T17:13:00.000-08:00

By STEVE CANNULI
Sports Editor
McLEANSVILLE — After two times falling short against Greensboro Dudley, Rockingham County finally got the last say in the matter. The Lady Cougars outscored Dudley, 29-12 in the second half and advanced to the finals of the Triad 3-A Conference Tournament with a 56-43 win Thursday afternoon at Northeast Guilford High School.
The game, which was originally scheduled for 7:30 p.m., was moved up to 4:30 p.m. and was moved into NEHS’s auxiliary gymnasium to accommodate two basketball games to be played at the same time.
None of that seemed to faze Rockingham County, which now faces Northeast Guilford in tonight’s championship game. The Lady Rams edged Morehead, 39-35 Thursday in the other semifinal contest.
“Once again we kept our composure well,” said Rockingham head coach Woody Wall. “We got down 12 early, but we kept our poise, changed our offense and they had a hard time handling us inside.”
The Lady Cougars lost the first two meetings with Dudley by a total of 16 points.
Rockingham County, which trailed 31-27 at halftime, used its inside game of Jessica Lowe, Ashley Palm and Elizabeth Ferguson to combat the speed and quickness of the Lady Panthers.
Lowe, Palm and Ferguson accounted for 32 of RCHS’s 56 points (57 percent). Lowe led the way with a season-high 15 points. Palm chipped in with 10 and Ferguson added seven.
“Lowe [J-Lo] played super,” said Wall. “It may have been her best game at Rockingham County in a game that mattered.”

SUMMARY
ROCKINGHAM COUNTY (22-4) — Krystal Moore 14, Kylie Keck 5, Hannah Livengood, Lindsay Puckett 4, Elizabeth Ferguson 7, Jessica Lowe 15, Ashley Palm 11.
GSO-DUDLEY (19-7) — Helen Terry 16, Breonna Patterson 2, Chell Jackson 2, Porsha Roach 5, Amanda Hairston 12, Jessica Farr 6, Desiree Drayton, Kiera McIver.
BY QUARTERS
Rockingham Co. 10 17 8 21 — 56
Dudley 21 10 4 8 — 43

Conference Tournament Brackets

2008-02-21T17:11:00.000-08:00

TRIAD 3-A CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT
At Northeast Guilford, McLeansville
Boys’ Bracket
Monday’s Results
Dudley 88, Bartlett Yancey 45
Western Guilford 42, Morehead 38
Northern Guilford 67, W. Alamance 54
NE Guilford 80, Rockingham 45
Wednesday, Feb. 20
Dudley 72, Western Guilford 57
NE Guilford 67, Northern Guilford 65
Friday, Feb. 22
7:30 p.m. — Dudley vs. Northeast Guilford
---
Girls’ Bracket
Tuesday, Feb. 19
NE Guilford 69, Bartlett Yancey 32
Morehead 50, Northern Guilford 46
Dudley 54, Western Guilford 35
Rockingham County 52 Western Alamance 40
Thursday, Feb. 21
NE Guilford 39, Morehead 35
Rockingham County 56, Dudley 43
Friday, Feb. 22
6 p.m. – Rockingham County at Northeast Guilford
———
NORTH STATE 2-A CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT
At Higher Seeds
Girls’ Bracket
Monday, Feb. 18
Southern Guilford 46, McMichael 34
West Stokes 73, Atkins 48
Tuesday, Feb. 19
Reidsville 75, Southern Guilford 47
Eastern Guilford 50, West Stokes 45
Friday, Feb. 22
7 p.m. — Eastern Guilford at Reidsville
---
Boys’ Bracket
Monday, Feb. 18
Reidsville 72, Southern Guilford 69
Atkins 53, McMichael 51
Wednesday, Feb. 20
Reidsville 98, E. Guilford 81
Atkins 75, West Stokes 67
Friday, Feb. 22
7:30 p.m. — Reidsville at W-S Atkins

Conference Tournament Brackets

2008-02-20T20:13:00.000-08:00

TRIAD 3-A CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT
At Northeast Guilford, McLeansville
Boys’ Bracket
Monday’s Results
Dudley 88, Bartlett Yancey 45
Western Guilford 42, Morehead 38
Northern Guilford 67, W. Alamance 54
NE Guilford 80, Rockingham 45
Wednesday, Feb. 20
Dudley 72, Western Guilford 57
NE Guilford 67, Northern Guilford 65
Friday, Feb. 22
7:30 p.m. — Dudley vs. Northeast Guilford
---
Girls’ Bracket
Tuesday, Feb. 19
NE Guilford 69, Bartlett Yancey 32
Morehead 50, Northern Guilford 46
Dudley 54, Western Guilford 35
Rockingham County 52 Western Alamance 40
Thursday, Feb. 21
6 p.m. — NE Guilford vs. Morehead
7:30 p.m. — Dudley vs. Rockingham County
Friday, Feb. 22
6 p.m. – Championship Game
———
NORTH STATE 2-A CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT
At Higher Seeds
Girls’ Bracket
Monday, Feb. 18
Southern Guilford 46, McMichael 34
West Stokes 73, Atkins 48
Tuesday, Feb. 19
Reidsville 75, Southern Guilford 47
Eastern Guilford 50, West Stokes 45
Thursday, Feb. 21
7 p.m. — Eastern Guilford at Reidsville
---
Boys’ Bracket
Monday, Feb. 18
Reidsville 72, Southern Guilford 69
Atkins 53, McMichael 51
Wednesday, Feb. 20
Reidsville 98, E. Guilford 81
Atkins 75, West Stokes 67
Friday, Feb. 22
7 p.m. — Reidsville at W-S Atkins

Lady Panthers head to semis

2008-02-19T20:22:00.000-08:00

By STEVE CANNULI
Sports Editor
MCLEANSVILLE — What a difference a week makes, especially if you are the Morehead Lady Panthers. One week after shooting 9 of 23 from the free- throw line in a loss at Northern Guilford, the Lady Panthers made 17 of 23 free throws — 5 of 6 with less than one minute left in the game as MHS knocked off Northern, 50-46 Tuesday night at Northeast Guilford High School.
With the win, Morehead (11-13) advanced to the semifinals of the Triad 3-A Conference Tournament and has a date with host Northeast. Earlier on Tuesday, the Lady Rams (No. 1 seed) thumped Bartlett Yancey, 69-32.
“We told the girls we needed to take our time in the second half,” said MHS head coach Monte Dillard. “The other big thing was that we made our free throws. That cost us the game last week against Northern.”
Northern Guilford, now 9-16 on the season, must win a playoff play-in game against Western Alamance on Thursday in order to become postseason bound. Western Alamance (5-15) tied with the Lady Nighthawks at 5-9 in the Triad 3-A Conference.

Conference Tournament Brackets

2008-02-19T20:21:00.000-08:00

TRIAD 3-A CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT
At Northeast Guilford, McLeansville
Boys’ Bracket
Monday’s Results
Dudley 88, Bartlett Yancey 45
Western Guilford 42, Morehead 38
Northern Guilford 67, W. Alamance 54
NE Guilford 80, Rockingham 45
Wednesday, Feb. 20
6 p.m. — Dudley vs. Western Guilford
7:30 p.m. — Northern Guilford vs. NE Guilford
Friday, Feb. 22
7:30 p.m. — Championship Game
---
Girls’ Bracket
Tuesday, Feb. 19
NE Guilford 69, Bartlett Yancey 32
Morehead 50, Northern Guilford 46
Dudley 54, Western Guilford 35
Rockingham County 52 Western Alamance 40
Thursday, Feb. 21
6 p.m. — NE Guilford vs. Morehead
7:30 p.m. — Dudley vs. Rockingham County
Friday, Feb. 22
6 p.m. – Championship Game
———
NORTH STATE 2-A CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT
At Higher Seeds
Girls’ Bracket
Monday, Feb. 18
Southern Guilford 46, McMichael 34
7 p.m. — West Stokes defeated Atkins
Tuesday, Feb. 19
Reidsville 75, Southern Guilford 47
Eastern Guilford 50, West Stokes 45
Thursday, Feb. 21
7 p.m. — Eastern Guilford at Reidsville
---
Boys’ Bracket
Monday, Feb. 18
Reidsville 72, Southern Guilford 69
Atkins 53, McMichael 51
Wednesday, Feb. 20
7:30 p.m. — Reidsville (4) at E. Guilford (1)
7 p.m. — Atkins (3) at West Stokes (2)
Friday, Feb. 22
TBA — Championship Game

Late collapse proves costly for Panthers

2008-02-18T20:00:00.000-08:00

By STEVE CANNULI
Sports Editor
McLEANSVILLE — Western Guilford overcame a six-point deficit with 1:40 left in the fourth quarter and held off Morehead, 42-38 Monday night in the first round of the Triad 3-A Conference Tournament — being played at Northeast Guilford High School.
With 1:40 left in the game, the Panthers led 38-32 following a free throw from Quenton Hood.
Western Guilford, which went scoreless for a 3:00 span in the fourth, broke its drought with an Aaron Goulbourne layup at the 1:27-mark. Goulbourne’s field goal snapped a 7-0 MHS run and cut the Panthers’ lead to 38-34.
Leading 38-36, Morehead got the ball back following a Western offensive charge call.
However, over the next 31 seconds, the Hornets went on a 4-0 run — capped off by Daniel McCarty’s second-chance bucket.
Western led 49-48 with 18.5 seconds left and with 7.3 seconds left Greg Perkins’ attempt from just inside the free throw line was no good.
R.J. McLaughlin iced the game with a pair of free throws with 3.0 seconds left in the game.
“Everything that could go wrong, went wrong for us,” said MHS coach John Harder. “We weren’t ready to play from the get-go and just came out flat. We didn’t have any intensity and I will take responsibilty for that.”

Rams advance in NS tourney

2008-02-18T19:59:00.000-08:00

By Steve Williams
Special to the Review
Reidsville’s middle was better than Southern Guilford beginning and ending and as a result the Rams advance into the semifinals of the North State 2-A Conference Tournament.
The Storm began Monday night’s game at the RHS gymnasium on a 14-5 run and ended it with a 26-10 rally in the final 6:30 but the Rams had just enough to hang on to a 72-69 victory thanks to some sensational play in the second and third quarters.
The victory was the Rams’ third over Southern since Feb. 8 and all three have gone down to the final minute. The other two were 74-66 and 60-55. Those three wins are part of a late-season surge for Reidsville, which has won five in a row and six of its last seven after opening the season 3-11.
Southern, which won just one game a season ago, also played well down the stretch, claiming wins over Eastern Guilford and Winston-Salem Atkins while finishing 7-16 overall.
The Rams will take their 9-12 mark to Eastern Guilford (the Wildcats are using the Eastern Middle School gym) Wednesday for the semifinal round. Eastern, the conference tourney’s top seed, had a first-round bye. The Rams also have a guaranteed date in the state 2-A playoffs thanks to Atkins defeating McMichael 53-51 on a shot in the final seconds in the other quarterfinal game Monday night.

Conference Tournament Brackets

2008-02-16T10:42:00.000-08:00

TRIAD 3-A CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT
At Northeast Guilford, McLeansville
Boys' Bracket
Monday, Feb. 18
4 p.m. - Greensboro Dudley (1) vs. Bartlett Yancey (8)
5:30 p.m. - Morehead (4) vs. Western Guilford (5)
7 p.m. - Northern Guilford (2) vs. Western Alamance (7)
8:30 p.m. - NE Guilford (3) vs. Rockingham County (6)
Wednesday, Feb. 20
6 p.m. - GSO Dudley/B-Yancey winner vs. Morehead-W. Guilford winner
7:30 p.m. - Northern Guilford/W. Alamance winner vs. NE Guilford/Rockingham Co. winner
Friday, Feb. 22
7:30 p.m. - Championship Game
---
Girls' Bracket
Tuesday, Feb. 19
4 p.m. - NE Guilford (1) vs. B-Yancey (8)
5:30 p.m. - Morehead (4) vs. Northern Guilford (5)
7 p.m. - Greensboro Dudley (2) vs. Western Guilford (7)
8:30 p.m. - Rockingham County (3) vs. Western Alamance (6)
Thursday, Feb. 21
6 p.m. - NE Guilford/B-Yancey winner vs. Morehead/Northern Guilford winner
7:30 p.m. - GSO Dudley/W. Guilford winner vs. Rockingham County/W. Alamance winner
Friday, Feb. 22
6 p.m. - Championship Game
---
NORTH STATE 2-A CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT
At Higher Seeds
Girls' Bracket
Monday, Feb. 18
7 p.m. - Southern Guilford (5) at McMichael (4)
7 p.m. - Winston-Salem Atkins (6) at West Stokes (3)
Tuesday, Feb. 19
7 p.m. - Southern-McMichael winner at Reidsville (1)
7 p.m. - Atkins-West winner at Eastern Guilford (2)
Thursday or Friday (depending on outcome of boys games)
7 p.m. - Championship Game
---
Boys' Bracket
Monday, Feb. 18
7 p.m. - Southern Guilford (5) at Reidsville (4)
7 p.m. - McMichael (6) at Winston-Salem Atkins (3)
Wednesday, Feb. 20
7:30 p.m. - Reidsville-Southern winner at Eastern Guilford (1)
7 p.m. - McMichael-Atkins winner at West Stokes (2)
Friday, Feb. 22
TBA - Championship Game

Frey hopes to send eight to states

2008-02-14T18:33:00.001-08:00

Brett Knight
Staff Writer
The team portion of the prep wrestling season pretty much came to a close at last Saturday’ state dual team championship. But the individual bragging rights are still up for grabs and they start tonight for Morehead at the 3-A Mideast Regionals, which will be held in Eden.
Led by three No. 1 seeds, Morehead, which finished state runner-up to Parkland in the dual team tournament, should be one of the favorites.
“This region will be much stronger than last year’s,” said Morehead head coach Greg Frey. “Our kids have put the Parkland match out of their mind and we’ve had a good week of practice. The guys wrestled great during the state dual team tournament and I am expecting them to continue that at regionals.”
Leading the way for MHS is the trio of Bobby Shanor (135), Alex Winn (145) and Micah Stanfield (285), who are all No. 1 seeds in their respective weight classes.

McMichael looks for solid showing at 1-A/2-A Mideast regionals

2008-02-14T18:24:00.000-08:00

By BRETT KNIGHT
Staff Writer
After an early exit from the state dual team tournament, McMichael hopes to have a better showing at the 1A/2A Mideast Regionals, which will be held at Ledford High School.
McMichael, which lost to eventual champion Orange in last week’s second round of the 2-A dual team tournament will send 12 wrestlers, who have hopes of earning a ticket to next weekend’s state tournament, which will be held in Winston-Salem.
“I have several kids that should make it out,” said McMichael head coach Jon Bullins. “If our guys are on this weekend, we could take a bunch to state, but this is one of the toughest regionals in the state. It won’t be handed to us.”
Several wrestlers hope to make another trip to states including Dakota Holt (119), who is a returning regional champion. Daniel Hopper (140), Kenny Harris (171) and Matt Gardner (285) all were regional runner-ups a year ago. Bullins also believes Alex Wilson (130), Josh Befort (135), Ben Gleiser (145), Travis Ward (152) and Joseph Silvers (160) all could be sleepers.

Cougars send eight to Mideast Regionals, Rams send pair to Ledford

2008-02-14T18:09:00.000-08:00

By STEVE CANNULI
Sports Editor
Now that the team dual championships have been handed out, it is time for the individual prep wrestlers to take center stage as regional competition begins this weekend throughout the state.
At Morehead High School, Rockingham County will send eight wrestlers into 3-A Mideast Regional action tonight.
Of the eight Cougars competing tonight, Nick Key leads the way with a No. 1 seed in the 140-pound weight class. With a record of 29-5, Key opens the first round with Will Huffaker (13-22), the No. 16 seed from Oxford Webb.
Key advanced through the regionals and was a part of the 2006 3-A state championships.
Five of the eight wrestlers at this weekend's event, wrestled last year in Eden.
Also making a return regional visit are Brad Merriman (145 pounds), Colby Flinchum (160), Michael Hopper (135) and Mitchell Bray (285).
At 145, Merriman takes a 29-10 record and a No. 5 seed into first-round action against Jared Boyette (No. 11, 18-19) of Southern Lee.
Flinchum is seeded No. 9 (28-13) and opens play tonight against Joey Beck (No. 8, 42-15) of Union Pines.
At 135, Hopper and his 18-16 record (No. 10 seed) take on No. 7 Darien Smith (6-4) of South Granville.
Bray, with a record of 17-10 and a No. 5 seed, opens the first round against No. 10-seeded Archie Fuller (17-15) of Burlington Williams.
Also competing for RCHS are Adam Purgason (No. 14, 6-21), Ryan Stone (No. 12, 3-7) and Brandon Williams (No. 5, 19-7). Purgason battles Marcus Terry (No. 3, 34-4) of Northern Vance, Stone takes on Jose Garnica (No. 4, 39-11) of Greensboro Dudley and Williams faces Daniel Lambert (No. 10, 5-5) of Bartlett Yancey.
RCHS finished fifth at last year's Mideast Regionals.
The top four wrestlers from each weight class head to next weekend's state championships, which will be held in Winston-Salem.
Action begins at 6 p.m. tonight and resumes at 9:15 a.m. Saturday.

Rams to send pair to Ledford
Although the Reidsville Rams' wrestling season did not produce the wins it would have liked, the team was rewarded with two regional selections.
At Ledford, the Reidsville Rams will have two wrestlers competing at the 1-A/2-A Mideast Regionals.
For the Rams, Cody Luckett (119) and Will Moore (171) will be competing at today's action at Ledford High School.
Luckett, with a record of 19-8 and seeded No. 10, will square off with Joseph Figueroa (No. 7, 21-5) of Salisbury.
At 171, Moore (No. 15, 10-12) meets a familiar foe in McMichael's Kenny Harris (No. 2, 40-11).
The top four wrestlers from each weight class head to next weekend's state championships, which will be held in Winston-Salem.
Action at Ledford, wrestling begins at 5:30 p.m. tonight.

Reidsville too much for Panthers

2008-02-13T19:30:00.000-08:00

By BRETT KNIGHT
Staff Writer
REIDSVILLE — In a rare late season non-conference affair between county foes, Reidsville got a bit of revenge on Morehead Wednesday night at home. After a back and forth first half the Rams took over in the second half led by Tyrell Houghton’s 16 points and Reidsville outscored MHS 45-29 after halftime and went on to a 71-52 victory.
Heading into the conference finales in both the North State and Triad, both MHS and RHS appear to be heading in opposite directions. With the victory, the Rams improved to 7-13, having won four out of their last five, while MHS dropped to 10-13. The Panthers have lost four out of their last five.
Reidsville, which lost a heartbreaker 56-55 to MHS on Dec. 21 in Eden, was the team that had to recently play short-handed for a couple of games during conference play. But it was Morehead, who was short two key players in Greg Perkins and Cameron Wade. While the Panthers turned to mainly two players (KaShaun Johnson and Adam Hairston), the Rams, who are at full-strength, turned to a host of players led by Houghton, who scored a game-high 21 points on 7 of 11 shooting from the field. Greg Black added 16, while teammate Darence Jumper finished 10 points and eight rebounds. A.J. Williams chipped in with eight points and 12 rebounds and Marcus Pickard seven points and eight rebounds.
The difference maker in the game turned out to be the second half as RHS used runs of 13-2 and 14-7 to break open a close game.

Free throws hurt Lady Panthers in loss

2008-02-12T19:36:00.000-08:00

Staff Report
Free throws can either help a team or hurt a team. It hurt Morehead Tuesday night against Northern Guilford. The Lady Panthers connected on only 9 of 23 foul shots and had to play catch up for the majority of the second half as they fell 56-51 to the Lady Nighthawks on senior night.
Morehead actually hit 7 of 12 shot from the charity stripe in the fourth quarter, but dug itself a hole in the first three quarters connecting on only 2 of 11. The home team cut the deficit to two late in the game, but could get no closer. With the loss, the Lady Panthers dropped to 10-12 overall and 7-6 in the Triad 3-A Conference heading into Friday’s regular season finale against Rockingham County.
“That was the difference maker tonight,” said Morehead coach Monte Dillard. “We hurt ourselves on the free throw line and that cost us. We have to play four quarters to win and not two.”
Northern, which lost at the buzzer on an Amber Dalton three-pointer the first time the two teams met up in Greensboro, wasn’t much better hitting only 16 of 29 from the line.
However, the visitors outscored MHS, 32-20 in the second and third quarters.
“They came out in a 1-3-1 zone defense in those quarters and we haven’t seen much of that this year,” Dillard said. “We prepared for the 1-1-3, but not the 1-3-1. We chose not to run our offense and that really hurt us.”
MHS also had a hard time stopping Northern’s Samantha Coffer, who scored a game-high 26 points, including 14 in the second half. Teammate Kelly Tessitore added 14.
Leading the way for the Lady Panthers was Mecail Martin who scored all of her 13 points after halftime.
PeLaura Hairston and Jakeita Artis both had 10 points and seven rebounds. Hairston added five steals as well. Shenika Scales provided key minutes off the bench with six points and six rebounds.
Friday’s game with the Lady Cougars is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. in Wentworth.

Lady Panthers finish 20th at state swim meet

2008-02-11T19:05:00.000-08:00

Staff Report
RALEIGH — Both the girls’ and boys’ swim teams from Charlotte Catholic made it a three-peat at Saturday’s NCHSAA State 3-A swim meet, which was held at the Willis Casey Aquatic Center on the campus of North Carolina State University.
CCHS recorded 305.5 points on the boys’ side as the team won handily over the rest of the competition to win the state title for a third straight season. Taking second was Lake Norman with 172 points, followed by Tuscola (148), Concord (139.5) and T.C. Roberson (139).
The Lady Cougars racked up 358.5 points to win their third straight state title, while Reagan was a distant second with 256 points. Rounding out the top-five were Marvin Ridge (209), Tuscola (166) and Roberson (161). Both Morehead and Franklin tied for 20th with 23 team points.
Leading the way for the Lady Panthers was Catharine Moore with a pair of top-20 finishes.

Parkland humbles Panthers in state wrestling finals

2008-02-09T19:19:00.000-08:00

By BRETT KNIGHT
Staff Writer
WINSTON-SALEM — Different year and different site, but yet the same result. In what was a match between the state’s top two wrestling teams in the 3-A ranks, Parkland completed its second straight perfect season with an impressive 59-6 victory over the Panthers.
Parkland, which beat MHS 34-24 in last year’s 3-A title match in Eden, capped off a perfect 39-0 season, while MHS ended the dual team season at 25-3. The Mustangs have compiled an 85-0 record over the past two years.
“Coach (Maurice) Atwood has assembled the best 3-A team in the state,” said Morehead coach Greg Frey. “We wrestled our best, but didn’t have anything for them.”
Morehead, which was wrestling in its eighth state title match in the past 11 years, was actually playing the role of underdog against the top-ranked Mustangs. Parkland literally took the momentum early as Greg Gainey recorded a pin over Drew Ziglar in just 40 seconds. The rout was on from there as the home team won the first 10 matches to jump out to a 53-0 lead.

RCHS's Kenealy captures indoor track title

2008-02-09T18:15:00.000-08:00

Staff Report
CHAPEL HILL — Rockingham County’s Dusty Kenealy avenged last year’s second-place finish in the high jump capturing a state championship in that very event at Saturday’s NCHSAA 1-A/2-A/3-A Indoor State Championship — held at UNC-Chapel Hill.
Kenealy, who was one of three area athletes competing at the event, won the high jump with a mark of 6-6. He edged out Charles Penny of Rocky Mount, who finished with a height of 6-4.
He was the event’s top seed.
Also competing were Rockingham County’s Evan Sandling (pole vault) and Reidsville’s Zachary Bryan (3200).
In the pole vault, Sandling finished ninth with a mark of 12-6. Landon Patterson of Mount Pleasant won the event with an impressive 15-0 vault.
Sandling entered Saturday’s meet as the No. 3 seed.
Bryan finished 13th in the 3200-meter run with a time of 10:24.68 — 47.7 seconds off the pace set by first place finisher Patrick Campbell (9:36.95) of Mooresville.
Coming into Saturday, Bryan was seeded No. 15.
At last year’s event, Sandling took home fifth in pole vault and Bryan was eighth in the 1600-meter run.
Winston-Salem Parkland, which won last year’s boys’ meet, finished third behind Asheville and winner Mooresville. Burlington Cummings repeated as the girls’ winner. The Lady Cavaliers edged out Western Guilford (second) and Jacksonville (third).

Friday's area prep basketball scoreboard

2008-02-08T20:16:00.000-08:00

Friday Night's Prep Scoreboard
GIRLS' BASKETBALL
Rockingham Co. 53, Northern Guilford 33
Reidsville 78, Southern Guilford 45
Morehead 67, Bartlett Yancey 44

BOYS' BASKETBALL
Northern Guilford 70, Rockingham County 56
Reidsville 74, Southern Guilford 66
Morehead 48, Bartlett Yancey 45

RCHS rolls past Northern Guilford, 53-33

2008-02-08T20:14:00.000-08:00

By STEVE CANNULI
Sports Editor
GREENSBORO — Elizabeth Ferguson finished with a career-high 20 points and Rockingham County was without two of its top six players, but the Lady Cougars prevailed over Northern Guilford, 53-33 Friday night in Triad 3-A Conference girls’ action.
The Lady Cougars, who are now 9-3 in conference games and 19-3 overall, were without reserve player Hannah Livengood and starting center Ashley Palm for undisclosed reasons.
“It was the best defensive games we’ve played in several ballgames,” said Rockingham head coach Woody Wall. “We had a number of girls step up and play well tonight.”
With the loss, the Lady Nighthawks dropped to 4-8 in Triad 3-A Conference action and 8-14 overall.
RCHS raced out to an 18-2 first-quarter lead as the Lady Nighthawks struggled to find their shooting touch in their newly opened gymnasium. Northern Guilford was just 1 of 14 in the first quarter, while the Lady Cougars were 6 of 14.
With Palm in street clothes, Jessica Lowe — who returned recently from an elbow injury — stepped in and scored 10 points and pulled down nine rebounds.
Lindsay Puckett also played well for the Lady Cougars with 14 points, four steals, two assists and eight rebounds.
Puckett (10), Ferguson (8) and Krystal Moore (7) accounted for 25 of the team’s 32 first-half points.
RCHS led 32-10 at halftime, thanks to a 14-8 second quarter.

RHS vs. SGHS

2008-02-08T19:55:00.000-08:00

MHS looks for strong showing at state swim meet

2008-02-07T19:58:00.001-08:00

By BRETT KNIGHT
Staff Writer
After successful campaigns in the regular season and last weekend’s regional swim meet, eight Morehead swimmers were rewarded with a trip to Saturday’s 3-A NCHSAA State Championship.
Catharine Moore, Brittany Toney, Ashlee Lemons, Tori Huffman, Jake Snyder, Bryce Morgan, Jamie Hunter and Anatol Weber will compete for the Eden-based team. Melissa Underwood will be an alternate.
The Lady Panthers head into the yearly event off a solid sixth-place showing at last weekend’s regionals in Goldsboro. Both the boys’ and girl’s teams from Charlotte Catholic will look for their third straight state titles this weekend.

Panthers head to state title match

2008-02-07T19:53:00.000-08:00

Staff Report
BARCO - It will be Morehead versus Parkland part II at Saturday's state 3-A dual team wrestling finals.
The Panthers punched their ticket to the state championship with easy wins over both Union Pines (45-27) and Havelock (38-30) at Thursday’s sectional and regional rounds.
After winning the first six matches against Union Pines in the first match, MHS jumped out to a commanding 38-0 lead against Havelock and will be wrestling in their eighth state championship out of the last 11 years.
The Mustangs, the defending state champions, who beat MHS in last year's state title match, beat St. Stephens, 66-12 in the other regional finals. Saturday's match will begin at 7 p.m. at Parkland High School.
“Everyone wrestled good tonight,” said MHS coach Greg Frey. “We did a good job and stayed off our backs. I think we are peaking at the right time.”
Morehead, which defeated both Webb and Southern Lee in Tuesday's first two rounds, won the first nine matches and due to the big lead forfeited their last four matches to record a 38-30 victory.

RCHS to send 2, RHS 1 to Indoor State Meet

2008-02-07T19:44:00.000-08:00

By STEVE CANNULI
Sports Editor
On Saturday, prep athletes from all across the state will gather at UNC-Chapel Hill for the 2008 NCHSAA Indoor State Meet. Rockingham County will have three representatives at the event.
Rockingham County High School will send Dusty Kenealy and Evan Sandling to Chapel Hill and Reidsville High School will send Zachary Bryan.
Saturday's meet will pit the 1-A, 2-A and 3-A schools against each other.
The 4-A classification has its own separate meet.
Kenealy, who is also involved with the RCHS boys' basketball team, is the area's top seed. In the boys' high jump, Kenealy is the top seed with a qualifying height of 6-6.
Both he and Centrail Williamson of Bunker Hill qualified with marks of 6-6.
First, Kenealy must deal with basketball and the Cougars' game at Northern Guilford High School tonight. Less than 24 hours later, Kenealy will be in search of an indoor track and field state title.
Sandling is the No. 3 seed in the boys' pole vault. Sandling's mark of 13-6 is six inches off (Southern Lee) Logan Shearer's mark of 14-0. Wayne Parker of East Rowan is seeded No. 2 at 13-7.
In the boys' 3200-meter run, Bryan is seeded No. 15 with a qualifying mark of 10:16.64. Bryan's time is 20.40 off top-seeded Zack Brantley's (Northern Nash) time of 9:56.24.
At last year's event, Kenealy was second in the high jump, Sandling took home fifth in pole vault and Bryan was eighth in the 1600-meter run.
The 22nd annual event will get under way at 9 a.m. with the 1-A, 2-A and 3-A running and field events. The 4-A meet will begin at 4 p.m.
Burlington Cummings won last year's girls' indoor meet and Winston-Salem Parkland won the boys' event.

MHS turns focus to Union Pines

2008-02-06T19:39:00.000-08:00

By BRETT KNIGHT
Staff Writer
Morehead’s quest to Saturday’s state title match ventures east as the Panthers travel the 260 miles to Barco and Currituck High School for tonight’s sectional and regional rounds. While it will be a long day for the third-ranked Panthers with riding and wrestling on the schedule, it will be nothing new for them.
“The guys are used to this by now,” said MHS coach Greg Frey. “That is why we did all these weekend trips to the tournaments. They are used to the traveling by now so this trip won’t bother them. I actually kind of like it.”
Morehead, which defeated both Oxford Webb and Southern Lee in Monday’s first two rounds, will face off with Union Pines in the one sectional matchup while host Currituck and Havelock face off in the other half of the bracket. The winner of the sectional matches will meet up in the regional finals.
The Panthers had very little trouble Monday night as they won by an average of 39.5 points (51.5-12.0). Union Pines made it to tonight’s sectional round with victories over Williams (42-34) and Dudley (28-27). Havelock’s wins came against West Brunswick (39-14) and Eastern Alamance (58-12), while Currituck defeated South Central (35-30) and Eastern Wayne (57-16).
“Any team at this point can be dangerous,” said Frey. “There won’t be any more slackers from here on out.”
Morehead, which has made it to the state finals seven out of the last 10 years, will face a Union Pines team that has several wrestlers ranked in the Super 32 individual rankings. The Vikings are led by Tony Fernandez, who is ranked third in the 145-pound weight class. Other key wrestlers are Daniel Deardoff (103), Randy Stevens (130), Joey Beck (160) and Kaleb Rierson (215). UPHS won’t have the services of Aaron Breasseale at 140, who is out for the season with an injury.

MHS vs. RCHS Wrestling

2008-02-06T10:37:00.000-08:00