From staff reports
A.L. Brown senior football standout Damien Washington has verbally committed to North Carolina.
He’s the first athlete to commit to the Tar Heels since the dismissal of head coach Butch Davis.
Washington, noticeably bigger and stronger than last season at 6-foot-2, 190 pounds, has been primarily a running back for the Wonders, but he’s versatile enough to become a potential receiver or defensive back for the Tar Heels.
Washington averaged 10 yards per carry as a junior as part of a balanced rushing attack, picking up 633 yards on 63 attempts. He scored eight TDs.
His biggest games were 141 rushing yards against Robinson and 126 against Cox Mill. He scored two TDs in each of those games. He missed Brown’s third-round playoff loss against Charlotte Catholic with an injury.
Washington also is a notable track athlete and was the South Piedmont Conference champion in the 200 meters, triple jump and long jump last spring, as well as placing second in the 100 meters.
He was a 3A state meet qualifier in the 100.
Washington has run the 100 in 11.15 seconds, the 200 in 22.84. He has long-jumped 21 feet, 3 inches and triple jumped 44-3.
Coach passes away
Bob Jacobs Jr., head baseball coach and assistant football coach at A.L. Brown in the 1980s and 1990s, passed away on Monday. He was 58.
Jacobs played baseball and football at Gardner-Webb and coached at Garinger and Myers Park in Charlotte before coming to A.L. Brown in 1980.
Jacobs’ baseball teams made the playoffs in 1984, 1989 and 1991, and the Wonders reached the Western 3A final in 1991.
He coached numerous future NFL football players as well as pitchers Hut Smith and Andy Smith, athletes who were picked in the first five rounds of MLB drafts.
Prep football
The first annual Rowan-Cabarrus Border Battle Football Jamboree will be held Saturday night at Concord’s Bailey Stadium.
Teams will play for a half.
Admission is $5.
At 6 p.m., North Rowan takes on Mount Pleasant.
At 7 p.m., East Rowan faces Northwest Cabarrus.
At 8 p.m., South Rowan tangles with Central Cabarrus.
Prep basketball
Davie County’s 6-foot-6, Martin twins, Cody and Caleb, a pair of rising sophomores, are already creating a major recruiting stir, reports Brian Pitts of the Davie County Enterprise Record.
Coaches from North Carolina, Wake Forest, Tennessee, Xavier, Virginia and Elon watched the skilled twins work out in April.
Wake has already offered the twins. They are also receiving serious recruiting interest from Clemson, Kansas, Oregon State, N.C. State, Charlotte and Providence.
Huge UNC fans, the twins were especially excited about performing in front of UNC assistant C.B. McGrath.
College football
Defensive lineman Gordy Witte Jr. (Salisbury) had a sack in Appalachian State’s intrasquad scrimmage on Wednesday afternoon.
Minor leagues
New Britain’s Spencer Steedley (East Rowan) made a rare start on Wednesday, and it didn’t go well.
Steedley (3-4) allowed six runs in the first inning of a 14-1 loss to Altoona.
His ERA soared from 3.66 to 5.13.
Daniel Wagner (South Rowan) contributed an RBI single to the Dash’s doubleheader sweep of Wilmington on Wednesday.
Wade Moore (West Rowan, Catawba) collected his 14th double for Hagerstown on Wednesday. He’s batting .207.
Craige Lyerly (East, Catawba) had an RBI double in his first at-bat on Wednesday for Hudson Valley, but the game was suspended by rain. Lyerly is batting .306.
Bristol’s Keegan Linza (North Rowan) allowed an earned run in two-thirds of an inning on Wednesday as the Sox were shelled 20-3 by Johnson City.
The Kannapolis Intimidators were shut down 4-0 by the Hickory Crawdads on Wednesday.
Cody Buckel pitched six shutout innings, and Jurickson Profar homered for the Crawdads, who are 10-2 against Kannapolis this year.
Major leagues
Bobby Parnell (East Rowan) struggled on Wednesday, throwing 30 pitches and allowing three runs in the ninth inning of the New York Mets’ 9-5 loss to San Diego.
He did have two strikeouts, but his ERA jumped to 4.38.
Seattle’s Kyle Seager (NW Cabarrus) was 1-for-5 in Wednesday’s game against Texas. His batting average inched up to .154.
Independent leaguesIn the American Association, Grand Prairie’s David Thomas (Catawba) hit his ninth homer on Tuesday in an 8-0 win against Kansas City.
Thomas is batting .275 with 46 RBIs.
Also in the American Association, Lincoln’s Garrett Sherrill (A.L. Brown) sailed through two scoreless innings on Tuesday in a 6-1 win against Fargo.
Sherrill faced Thomas on Sunday at Lincoln’s Haymarket Park and got him to fly out to center field on a 2-1 pitch.
Sherrill (1-1) was the winning pitcher in relief in that game.
Fargo has placed pitcher Zach Ward (A.L. Brown) on the disabled list.
Local golf
In the Dogwood State Junior Championship being held in Snow Hill, Alex Nianouris moved up to a tie for eighth in the boys 16-18 division. Nianouris has fired rounds of 74-72— 146.
Troy Beaver shot 75 for the second straight day. His 150 score has him tied for 24th.
Roy Dixon III stands at 151, tied for 26th, after shooting 73-78 — 151.
Alex Austin (85-76 — 161) missed the cut. The cutline fell at 157.
In the ages 14-15 division of the Dogwood, Eric Edwards is only one shot off the lead. He’s tied for second at 74-74 — 148.
In the girls division of the Dogwood, Lily Yatawara shot 96-86 — 182 to finish 18th. The cutline fell at 171.
In the EGolf Professional Tour’s HGM Hotels Classic in Conover, Frank Adams III shot a first-round 71 and is nine shots off the pace.
Hall of Fame
The Salisbury-Rowan Hall of Fame will induct Bobby Jackson, James Brown, LaTasha Pharr, Ralph Shatterly, Jesse Watson and Bob Miller in ceremonies set for Sunday at 2 p.m. at the Salisbury Civic Center.
American Legion
Play begins in the American Legion World Series in Shelby on Friday.
Winning regional titles were Eden Prairie, Minn., Midland, Mich., Las Vegas, Tupelo, Miss., Walpahu, Hawaii, Bricklawn, N.J., Gaffney, S.C., and Bedford, N.H.
Sacred Heart
Sacred Heart will be sponsoring a middle school basketball camp at its facility on Aug. 19-20.
The camp is for boys and girls teams. It will feature round-robin team play and fun skills individual competitions. The cost will be $100 per team. Contact bob Burges at bburges@piedmontchemical.com or 336-362-6802.