From staff reports
D’Andre Hopper threw for 212 yards and Rodney Wallace rushed for 102 yards and two TDs as the Rowan Rampage battered the Monroe Mustangs in a Central Carolina Football League game at Knox Middle School on Saturday.
The Rampage (2-0) benefited from a big defensive effort that included a goal-line stand.
James Lattimore’s interception on the second play from scrimmage gave the Rampage the first break, and they pushed 60 yards to take a 6-0 lead.
Former Livingstone standout Hopper’s 3-yard strike to Travis Gist capped the drive.
Wallace finished a 57-yard drive with a 6-yard burst behind fullback Brandon Walker to bump the lead to 12-0, and Wallace also punched in a two-point conversion for a 14-0 halftime lead.
The Rampage lost a fumble in the third quarter, but a sack by Trent Edwards kept the Mustangs (0-2) from making any noise.
Another lost fumble gave Monroe field position in third quarter, but a sack by former Salisbury standout Steve Blanton keyed another defensive stop.
A pass interference call in the end zone gave Monroe the ball on the Rowan 1-yard line in the fourth quarter, but Blanton recovered a fumble at the 4 on second down.
Rowan then cruised 96 yards in five plays to seal the game. The key to the drive was Hopper’s 59-yard connection to Gist, who finished with three catches for 89 yards. Wallace, the former Catawba bulldozer, romped 13 yards to finish the clinching march and also tacked on his second two-point conversion.
After one more defensive stop, the Rampage owned a shutout. Linebacker Maurice Swaringen and lineman Roddrick England had four solo stops apiece to spark the defense.
The Rampage collected school supplies donated by fans, and they thanked fans for an excellent turnout.
The Rampage travels to High Point to take on the Ravens at the High Point Athletic Complex next Saturday. Rowan returns home to take on the Thomasville Titans on Aug. 16.
n Abdalah wins medalLocal runner Marianne Abdalah finished eighth in the sub-bantam division in the 1500 meters and was a medal-winner in the AAU Junior Olympic Games held at Eastern Michigan.
Abdalah, a 9-year-old, ran a personal-best 5:54.04 as part of a field of 38 national qualifiers.
Abdalah also ran 2:57.17 in the 800 and finished in the top 25 out of 58 national qualifiers in that event.
Abdalah, who is coached by her parents Kim and Dr. Marvin Abdalah, made her second trip to the Junior Olympics.
n Intimidators win at homeThe Kannapolis Intimidators opened an eight-game home-stand with an 8-3 victory over Hagerstown on Saturday.
Johnnie Lowe (4-6) pitched six strong innings for Kannapolis (18-21), and Charlis Burdie picked up a save with three scoreless frames. Christian Marrero hit a two-run triple and a solo homer for the Intimidators.
n Minor league updateBobby Parnell (East Rowan) won his 10th game of the season as Binghamton beat New Britain 4-3 in the Double-A Eastern League on Friday.
Parnell (10-6) pitched six innings, striking out two and walking none. He allowed three earned runs, including solo homers by Minnesota prospects Brock Peterson and Erik Lis.
Parnell has a 4.33 ERA. He leads the league in starts and has thrown 1222/3 innings. He is tied for fourth in the league in wins. The right-hander has struck out 87 batters while walking 56.
n New Britain’s Zach Ward (A.L. Brown) is 2-6 despite a 3.96 ERA. He’s made five starts and 30 relief appearances and is again working out of the bullpen for the Rock Cats.
Ward has struck out 66 while walking 42 in 75 innings.
n Fort Myers lefty Spencer Steedley (East Rowan) took a loss on Friday when he was charged with three unearned runs in a relief appearance. Steedley is 0-2 since being promoted to Fort Myers in the high Class A Florida State League.
n Brett Bartles (A.L. Brown) had two hits Friday for Billings. The Duke graduate is batting .240 with 12 RBIs in 100 at-bats for the Cincinnati farm team.
Bartles, a right-handed hitter, is wearing out lefty pitching (.361), but he’s hitting .172 against righties.
n Helena right-hander Garrett Sherrill (A.L. Brown) pitched well Friday, throwing three innings and allowing one unearned run. He struck out three and lowered his ERA to 6.00.
n Pitcher Jeremy Johnson (Mooresville) is 4-2 at Triple-A Toledo. In eight starts and eight relief appearances, he has a 5.80 ERA. He’s struck out 42 while walking 21.
n Jerry Sands (Catawba) is batting only .220, but he is tied for the Gulf Coast League lead in homers with seven and is among the league leaders in RBIs with 24.
Sands, who has walked 15 times, had a home run and added a game-winning single in the ninth inning on Friday.
n Vancouver’s David Thomas (Catawba) is batting .280 with six doubles, 16 walks, four steals and 11 RBIs in 25 games since being promoted from the Arizona League Athletics.
He batted .462 in Arizona.
n Timmy Smith (Catawba) suffered his first pro loss when the Gulf Coast League Mets fell to the Nationals 5-4 in 10 innings on Friday. Smith (1-1, 3.60 ERA) allowed two hits and one run in two innings. He struck out two.
n Lancaster’s Jaymie Russ (NW Cabarrus) remains on the disabled list in the California League. Russ was 0-4 when he was sidelined.
n Lonnie Chisenhall, the 29th pick in the June draft out of Pitt Community College by the Cleveland Indians, is playing at Mahoning Valley in the New York-Penn League.
Chisenhall, who is learning to play third base, is batting .256 with three homers and 24 RBIs in 39 games.
Chisenhall, who was booted off the South Carolina squad after being found guilty on breaking and entering charges, played for the Morehead City American Legion team in the last two state tournaments against Kannapolis and Rowan County.
n Pitcher Bradley Holt (Albemarle) was wild in his most recent start, walking seven batters in 31/3 innings, but he’s been dominant in the New York-Penn League. He has a 3-2 record, a 2.15 ERA and 53 strikeouts in 372/3 innings.
Holt was the 33rd pick in the June draft out of UNC Wilmington.
n Former Caldwell County Legion star Madison Bumgarner, who played against Rowan County and Kannapolis, is dominating the South Atlantic League.
Bumgarner signed out of high school in 2007 after he was the 10th pick in the draft by the San Francisco Giants and is pitching for the Augusta GreenJackets. The 6-foot-5 left-hander has a 10-3 record with a 1.81 ERA and 116 strikeouts with only 18 walks in 1091/3 innings.
Bumgarner is now considered among the game’s best pitching prospects and could pitch in Kannapolis against the Intimidators when Augusta visits Fieldcrest Cannon Stadium Aug. 19-22. But there’s a chance Bumgarner could be promoted to San Jose before then.
n Rivercats 13-under team
The North Carolina Rivercats 13-under baseball team is looking to add one or two players for the fall and spring seasons.
The Rivercats were 12-under state champions and are based in Mocksville.
Contact Joe Boyette at 336-469-0188 for information.
n Coastal Plain League
Ryan Query (A.L. Brown, Catawba) hit his sixth home run to help Asheboro beat Gastonia 5-3 on Friday.
n East volleyball
East Rowan volleyball starts practice Monday from 9 a.m. until noon. Every girls needs a physical to participate.
n West Rowan golf
West Rowan will begin golf camp and conditioning Tuesday at Carolina Golf Mart.
All girls interested in playing golf at West, including incoming freshmen, are encouraged to attend Tuesday through Friday from 11 a.m. to noon. Tryouts will then take place Aug. 11 at Rolling Hills at 4:30 p.m.
Team pictures are Aug. 12 at 1 p.m. at West, and a mandatory parent/player/coach meeting is Aug. 13 at 6:30 p.m., also at the high school. All athletes must have a physical.
For more information, contact Coach Martinelli at (704) 267-0246.
n Swingin’ for Nazareth golf
The Swingin’ for Nazareth Golf Tournament will be held at Lexington Golf Club on Aug. 25.
The format is Texas Scramble. Registration is at 11:30 a.m. Lunch is at noon. A shotgun start is at 1 p.m.
The cost per golfer is $100.
The tournament benefits Nazareth’s Children’s Home. Contact Josh Regan at 888-207-0250, ext. 119, for information.
n Dula places in tourneys
Caroline Dula finished third in the 14-18 age group in the National Junior Golf Club Tournament at Providence Country Club in Charlotte on Monday and finished second in her age group at the NJGC tournament held at River Hills Golf Club of Lake Wylie on Wednesday.