From staff reports
Central Davidson has officially forfeited four football games that it won on the field and has shaken up the CCC standings.
The forfeits were a penalty imposed by the NCHSAA for a player who apparently used a falsified address. The player in question has transferred. Central self-reported the violation.
Prior to the forfeits, Central stood 5-5 overall and 3-1 in the league and was in great position to share a conference championship for the first time in 32 years. Now the Spartans, who weathered a coaching change at midseason, are officially 1-9 and 1-3 in the league and won’t even make the state playoffs.
“I don’t know if disappointing is a strong enough word considering the year these kids have had and what they’ve come back from and overcome,” Central AD Gene Poindexter told Lexington Dispatch sports editor Mike Duprez on Wednesday. “We’re devastated. We had a chance to potentially play for a conference championship.”
Central did not have to forfeit last Friday’s victory against Lexington, but it did have to relinquish non-league victories it earned against Bartlett Yancey and Ledford and CCC wins against Thomasville and East Davidson.
The reversal of Central’s big triumph against Thomasville is the key component locally. With the revised standings, Salisbury now has only a slim chance to share the CCC championship.
Thomasville now sits 4-0, instead of 3-1, and can clinch an outright crown by beating Lexington on Friday. Salisbury has to beat East Davidson and also has to get some help from Lexington just to tie the Bulldogs.
East Davidson, Salisbury’s foe on Friday at Ludwig Stadium, also benefited significantly from the reversal of its loss to Central Davidson. The Golden Eagles are now 2-2 in the league, instead of 1-3, and now have four overall wins. They could make the playoffs even if they lose Friday.
Morganton mess
Morganton Freedom, one of the top teams in 3A, appears out of the playoff picture, unless additional video evidence sways the NCHSAA’s initial ruling regarding an altercation and ejections that took place last week.
Morganton’s News Herald reported that Freedom principal Dr. Ken Prichard and AD Joey Davis planned to drive today to Chapel Hill for a morning meeting with the NCHSAA Board of Directors to appeal a decision rendered on Wednesday. The NCHSAA officially notified Freedom of a postseason ban for this year, a $1,000 fine and an additional year of probation.
Five Freedom players and two Chase players were ejected during a brawl late in Morganton’s 55-13 victory on Friday. NCHSAA rules state that when a team has three players ejected for fighting in a season, that team can’t participate in the state playoffs. The NCHSAA’s Que Tucker said leaving the bench during a fight is the same as fighting, according to the organization’s rulebook.
Former Northwest Cabarrus coach Mike Helms coaches Freedom. His son, Michael, is Freedom’s standout player and a Shrine Bowl quarterback.
Bracketology issues
The NCHSAA football playoff brackets are supposed to be released Saturday, although there are more complications than usual this year.
The Department of Public Instruction’s computers recently went down for an entire week, so the NCHSAA has had a much tougher time than usual compiling the ADM (Average Daily Membership) figures for each school. These are the critical attendance figures that determine if schools are placed in the big-school or small-school bracket within their classification.
The difference between playing in 3A or 3AA can come down to a handful of students.
Middle school football
China Grove’s 7th-graders beat Corriher-Lipe 24-0 at South Rowan’s Donnell Stadium.
Donuvan Hopewell scored on a 13-yard run, Isaac Bell scored on a 2-yard run, and Austin Chrismon scored on a 28-yard run.
Cole Howard kicked three PATs, worth two points each. Standouts defensively for the Red Devils were Bell, Howard, Nathan Nugyen, Miguel Bonilla, Gabe Early, Cameron Corriher, Bailey Rayfield, Cameron Rayfield, Eric Soto and Jacob Stevens. Malik Vickers had an interception.
China Grove finished a doubleheader sweep with a 36-16 win in the 8th-grade game.
Austin Lear scored on runs of 1 and 6 yards, Dylan Livengood scored on a 23-yard run, and Brandon Huneycutt scored on a 34-yard run.
Payton Penninger scored on a 28-yard pass from Andy Lear. Brennan Lambert kicked two PATs and Andy Lear ran for a PAT.
Defensively, it was a total team effort. Colton Sims recovered a fumble and Dylan Clarke intercepted a pass.
West Rowan 38, Mooresville 22
West Rowan’s 7th-graders ended a strong season with a convincing victory over the Mooresville Imps. Brendon Westbrook had a interception return of 105 yards for a TD, the longest in school history.
West captains Javon Quarles, Armoni Hogue, Kortez Weeks, Hunter Brown and Rodney Howell led the way for coach Sam Moore’s Bulldogs (6-2). Quarles rushed for 136 yards and had a 53-yard scoring run and a 75-yard kickoff return TD. Hogue rushed for 103 yards with a TD and a two-point conversion.
Other offensive standouts included Weeks, Javon Lofton, DeAndre Snowden, Tyler Wheeler, Tyler Nicholas and Jacob Morris.
Defensive Standouts included Hogue, Brown, Quarles, Howell, Westbrook and Rodney Howell.
Kenneth Nusser scored two TDs for the Imps.
Prep golf
Tee times are set for Salisbury’s golfers on Monday for the 1A-2A state championships at Longleaf in Southern Pines.
Isabella Rusher tees off at 9:20 a.m., with Lily Yatawara (9:30), Madeline Hoskins (9:40) and Brooke Smith (9:50) to follow.
Middle school hoops
Sacred Heart’s annual “Civil War” intrasquad game has kicked off the hoops season locally. The White team defeated the Blues 43-37 at the Boyd Dolphin Tank.
Reilly Gokey hit four 3-pointers and scored 21 points to lead the White team. Spencer Storey scored 13 points in the second half and pulled down eight rebounds. Justin Boyd had five steals, while Will Casmus and Arun Kelly-Rajan had six rebounds each.
The Blue squad was led by Joe Harrison’s 11 points. Max Fisher and Walker Latimer scored eight points each. Latimer had a game-high 11 rebounds, while Bryan Reid pulled down six.
The Dolphins’ regular season starts Thursday at home at 6 p.m. against Durham’s Walltown Tigers.
n College volleyball
Winston-Salem State’s Adrienne Alexander (South Rowan) was honored on Senior Night by the Rams on Wednesday and had nine kills in a sweep of J.C. Smith.
Guilford’s Taylor Whitley (Carson) had 43 assists, five kills and five digs in a 3-2 win against Emory & Henry on Tuesday.
Averett swept Greensboro on Tuesday to finish second in USA South. Nicole Barringer (South) had 11 assists.
Catawba Valley Community College’s Breckin Settlemyer (Carson) had three solo blocks in a win against Guilford Tech.
Shanna Stewart (Carson) served four aces in Johnson & Wales’ recent win against Johnston Community College.
College hoops
Catawba plays Athletes in Action at home at 7 p.m. on Friday.
The Indians will fly to Tulsa for an exhibition with a D-I squad on Nov. 5.
The regular season opens Nov. 11 with the Indians taking on Pfeiffer at Livingstone’s Trent Gym. Catawba will play Livingstone on Nov. 12.
Catawba is offering a “Family Pass” to games.
See http://www.e-timeout.com/catawbabasketballteam/gameinformation.html. Register by Nov. 15 for Catawba’s basketball Christmas camps in Salisbury, Concord and Charlotte.
College soccer
Catawba’s men’s soccer team tied Lenoir-Rhyne 1-1 on Wednesday at Frock Field.
Trailing 1-0, the Indians (7-8-2, 2-4-2 SAC) scored the equalizer when Corey Faughnan headed home Carson Smith’s corner.
Evan Harvey had four saves for the Indians.
Catawba ends the regular season at Brevard on Saturday at 4 p.m.
College golf
Catawba’s women wrapped up their fall schedule with a 15th-place finish in the Flagler Fall Slam in Florida.
Leslie Long and Madison Kennedy (Salisbury) led Catawba with two-day scores of 165.
Local golf
Seventy-four GARS members played at Lexington Country Club earlier this week.
Low ‘A’ flight player with a net of 63.41 was Gordon Correll. Low ‘B’ flight player with a net of 67.71 was Bill Hathcock. Low ‘C’ flight player with a net of 63.88 was Guy Schenk. Low ‘D’ player with a net of Vohn Peeler with a net of 65.22.
East Y programs
Registration for East Rowan girls basketball (ages 7-14) and Little Shooters (boys and girls, ages 4-6) programs ends on Saturday, Oct. 29.
Practices are on Thursdays with games on Mondays and Tuesdays.
Register at the East YMCA or online at www.rowanymca.org. Contact Joe Finney at 704-279-1742 or jfinney@rowanymca.org.
Rowan Hurricanes
The Rowan Hurricanes girls AAU Basketball Club will have a meeting for parents and players interested in Winter Skills & Drills and playing the 2012 season. The meeting is Sunday, Oct. 30, at the Comfort Suites, 1040 E. Innes St., Salisbury.
Girls in grades 3-5 will meet from 3-4 p.m. Girls in grades 6-8 will meet from 4-5 p.m. Go to www.BallCharts.com/RowanHurricanes or call or text 704-267-9374.
Parks and Rec clinics
Salisbury Parks and Recreation Department will hold four youth basketball official clinics on Sunday, Oct. 30 and Nov. 6, 13 and 20 at Hall Gym.
The first clinic is at 7 p.m., with the others at 5 p.m. Individuals interested in officiating Jr. Bobcats are required to attend all clinics to be eligible to call for the Rec Department. For further information, call Hall Gym at 704-638-5289.