From staff reports
Charlotte’s men’s basketball team shot 59 percent and beat Pfeiffer 122-85 in an exhibition game at Halton Arena on Thursday.
Charlotte coach Bobby Lutz formerly coached at Pfeiffer.
Seven 49ers scored in double figures, led by Ian Anderson’s 24 points off the bench.
Charlie Coley scored 20 points, and Lamont Mack had 16 points and 11 boards. Phil Jones blocked 11 shots.
Chris Woods had 17 points and six rebounds for Pfeiffer, which was 8-for-26 on 3-pointers. Derrick Truesdale scored 11 points. Mounda Williams added 10 points.
– Rampage gets ready
Rowan Rampage players put in another “film day” on Thursday in preparation for Saturday night’s Central Carolina Football League championship game against the Carolina Eagles at Concord’s Webb Field.
“It says a lot about our organization that we’re competing for a league championship in our third year,” Rampage owner/coach Larry Bryant said. “Our first year, we had a few knuckleheads, but guys realized they had to control attitudes and focus on coming together, and you can see where we are now.”
The Eagles, who had an established program for years before the CCFL was formed, drilled the Rampage 64-8 in 2006, but Rowan has closed the gap. The Rampage went 8-2 in the CCFL regular season and has added a pair of playoff victories. The regular-season champion Eagles nipped the Rampage 23-22 in early October.
Saturday night’s game features two of the league’s top offensive performers ó Carolina running back Jimmy Bell and Rampage quarterback D’Andre Hopper.
Bell produced 208 rushing yards and two touchdowns as the Eagles nipped the Iredell Warriors in a semifinal and gets plenty of respect from Bryant.
“He’s low to the ground, hard to tackle and keeps his legs driving,” Bryant said. “He has elusive speed. He doesn’t look that fast, but once he breaks out, he’s tough to catch.”
Bryant emphasizes the Rampage are far from a one-man team, but Hopper, a former Livingstone star is indispensable. He can run or pass effectively and also handles punting and placekicking duties.
“There are some very good quarterbacks in our league,” Bryant said. “But I don’t think any of them can do as many things as D-Hop. He brings all the intangibles. He has the experience, and he is able to create so many big plays for us.”
Justin Davis, the former West Rowan standout who went on to Western Carolina, is another game-changer for the Rampage. Many games have been decided by his heroics on special teams or as a receiver.
The unsung star for the Rampage is defensive tackle Garette Knight, a beast in the trenches who makes Rowan tough to move the ball against. North Rowan’s Bobby Lee and Salisbury’s Steven Blanton have also contributed outstanding seasons.Saturday’s game is a tossup. The Eagles are home, but Rowan turned in a far more dominant performance in the semifinals when it crushed the Greenville Seminoles.
“It should be a great game,” said Bryant, who will lead the Rampage on their final walk-throughs at Knox on Saturday afternoon from 2-4 p.m. “We’re not gonna be shell-shocked.”
– Wonders: 10-0
A.L. Brown’s jayvee football team completed a 10-0 season with a 42-8 rout of Concord at Memorial Stadium on Thursday.
Martel Campbell, Robert Gill, Xavier Stanback, Damien Washington, Demetrius Jackson and Tevin Jones scored TDs for the Wonders, who rushed for 180 yards and passed for 74. Brenden Brown kicked the PATS.
* Tickets for tonight’s game at Concord are on sale at A.L. Brown from 11:30-1.
The cost is $6.
– College soccer
Catawba’s Lenny Suarez, Lainey Nichols and Alyssa Schoenberg made All-SAC first team for women’s soccer.
Nikki Blackwelder and Lindsay Webster made the second team.
* Honored as SAC Scholar-Athlete for soccer was Catawba’s Kyle Ganow.
* Pfeiffer’s Kirsten Bartsch and Megan Blevins were named to All-Conference Carolinas first team for women’s soccer.
* Pfeiffer’s Nick Brindley made the men’s all-conference first team.
* Pfeiffer’s women’s soccer team beat Queens 1-0 in a tourney semifinal Thursday.
– College women’s hoops
Carson-Newman’s women’s basketball team lost to Tennessee 135-55 in an exhibition played on Thursday.
– Rowan youth football
YFL playoff games will take place Saturday at North Rowan High.
Third-seeded North Rowan’s 3rd-4th graders (4-2) take on second-seeded East Rowan (5-1) at 9:30 a.m. At 11 a.m., fourth-seeded West Rowan (3-3) plays the top-seeded Granite/Faith Chargers (6-0).
Winners will meet in the Super Bowl at North Rowan on Nov. 15.
Granite-Faith beat Salisbury 7-0 Saturday to finish an undefeated regular season.
– SAC football
Catawba’s Cory Darnell and Wingate’s Cam LeGrand (NW Cabarrus) and Ryan Webber (Robinson) were named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District III football first team (college division).