Area athletes update …
Whatever happens from here, John Knox (Salisbury) can always say that he beat Notre Dame.
OK, it was the Notre Dame College in Euclid, Ohio, not the big boys at the somewhat better known D-I University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind.
Still, Knox had a pretty phenomenal game for Charleston (W.Va.) in a 34-32 victory, rushing 18 times for 147 yards and two touchdowns and catching three passes for 45 yards.
Knox had scoring runs of 19 and 67 yards. On both TDs, he put Charleston ahead in a see-saw game.
Knox’s 30-yard pass reception on a third-down play set up the game-winning field goal in the final seconds.
• Mark McDaniel (South Rowan) made two tackles and broke up a pass in Catawba’s big 25-22 win at Carson-Newman.
• Ike Whitaker (Salisbury) rushed 11 times for 42 yards in Lenoir-Rhyne’s 24-10 SAC road win at Tusculum.
Zach Long (Davie County) made three tackles for the L-R Bears.
•In UNC Pembroke’s 38-10 win against Wingate, Ben DeCelle (East Rowan) had an 8-yard touchdown catch in the third quarter. DeCelle had four catches for 32 yards.
Cadarreus Mason (South) made two tackles, including a sack for a loss of 11, for UNCP’s undefeated Braves.
• Erick Amaya (A.L. Brown) kicked a 29-yard field goal and two PATs in Johnson C. Smith’s 19-17 loss to Virginia State in Petersburg.
J.P. Lott (A.L. Brown) made two tackles and broke up two passes for the Golden Bulls, who suffered their first loss.
• West Liberty’s Quentin Sifford (West Rowan) made three tackles, including a sack, in a 20-3 loss to Concord (W.Va.).
Junior linebacker Jared Barber (Davie) led West Virginia’s defense with nine tackles in Saturday’s 30-21 win against Oklahoma State in Morgantown.
Barber had one tackle for loss, as the Mountaineers improved to 3-2.
• Arkansas’ senior defensive end Chris Smith (West) had a first-quarter sack of Texas A&M’s Heisman-winning quarterback Johnny Manziel, but Texas A&M won the SEC contest 45-33 in Fayetteville. Smith was one of the Razorbacks’ captains on Saturday.
• Western Michigan freshman Keion Adams (Salisbury) made three tackles and broke up a pass in a 32-14 loss to Kent State.
• Virginia’s ACC opener against Pitt did not go well on Saturday. Virginia lost 14-3 on the road to the Panthers, and Kevin Parks (West) was held to 34 yards on 16 carries. Parks added 29 yards on six receptions.
• Hurt in the Georgia Tech game, Romar Morris (Salisbury) didn’t play in Saturday’s 55-31 loss to East Carolina. Darien Rankin (Salisbury) and Damien Washington (A.L. Brown) played for the Tar Heels, but didn’t have any stats.
• Domonique Noble (West) made one tackle for Georgia Tech in Thursday’s 17-10 loss to Virginia Tech.
• Javon Hargrave (North Rowan) made an impact as South Carolina State whipped Hampton 30-6 to start the MEAC season. Hargrave forced a fumble, had a tackle for loss and added a QB hurry.
• Freshman Kalif Phillips (A.L. Brown) scored two touchdowns as Charlotte (3-2) went on the road and romped 45-21 at Presbyterian. Phillips scored on runs of 1 and 7 yards and finished with 79 yards on 12 carries. He returned a kickoff 27 yards.
• Shaun Warren (Carson) scored a late touchdown for Western Carolina in a 52-23 loss to Samford in Birmingham.
Warren carried four times for 13 yards and had an 18-yard pass reception. He returned two kickoffs for 30 yards.
• Gerald Holt (A.L. Brown) had two tackles, including a sack for a loss of 7 yards, in Liberty’s 73-7 rout of Kentucky Wesleyan.
Averett lost 27-24 to N.C. Wesleyan on Saturday in the Cougar Den in Danville, Va.
Hobie Proctor (West) kicked a 23-yard field goal and three PATS for the Cougars and made the tackle on his opening kickoff.
Dontae Gilbert (Carson) was all over the place for Averett. He blocked an extra point. He ran back a kickoff 29 yards. He made six tackles and broke up a pass.
Zack Grkman (Carson) made three tackles for Averett. Dante Pinkston (A.L. Brown) had a 9-yard pass reception.
Southern Wesleyan’s Sierra Zemanick (Carson) was 12th in 21:57 in Saturday’s Warrior Invitational.
Zemanick also placed 11th in the Hyder-McMahill College Invitational at Montreat and was named Southern Wesleyan’s Athlete of the Week.
• Southern Wesleyan’s Erik Delgado (South Rowan) was 29th in the men’s Warrior Invitational.
•USC Upstate’s Ross Oden (East) was 23rd in Saturday’s 8K Charlotte Invitational. He ran 26:05.
Averett won twice Friday and is 5-0 in the USA South Conference. Nicole Barringer (South) had 49 assists, nine digs and four kills in a 3-1 win against N.C. Wesleyan. She had 35 assists, 10 digs and five blocks assists in a 3-1 win against William Peace.
• Guilford’s Taylor Whitley (Carson) had 33 assists, 14 digs and four kills in a 3-2 loss to Piedmont on Saturday and 23 assists, eight digs and six kills in a 3-0 loss to Shenandoah.
• Lela Moore (West) had 15 assists, eight digs and three kills for Hollins in a 3-0 loss at Washington College.
• In Lenoir-Rhyne’s 3-2 loss to Newberry on Friday, Emma Pope (South) had seven digs for the Bears. Kayla Morrow (South) had five kills, five block assists and three digs. Morrow had eight kills in a 3-0 win against Pfeiffer earlier in the week.
Roy Dixon III (Salisbury) has a stroke average of 72.5 after two matches and six rounds this season. He’s leading a talented UNC-Greensboro team.