From staff and wire reports
National recognition continued for the 18th-ranked UNC Pembroke football team late Monday afternoon when the Braves checked in at No. 4 in the initial Super Region 2 ranking by the NCAA.
North Alabama (5-1), whose lone loss came in the season opener at Division I foe Jacksonville State, tops the first region poll which carries heavy weight for the selection of the 28 teams that will compete in the Division II playoffs.
Valdosta State (6-1) is in the No. 2 spot in the ranking, while Tuskegee (5-1) is third.
The Braves (7-1) are in the fourth spot.
South Atlantic Conference (SAC) powers Newberry (7-1) and Wingate (7-1) occupy the Nos. five and six spots, respectively, and are followed by a trio of Gulf South teams – West Alabama (5-2), West Georgia (5-3) and Florida Tech (4-2).
Wingate’s only loss was to Catawba.
North Greenville (4-3) rounds out the top 10.
Six teams from each “super region” advance to the 28-team NCAA Division II Championship playoff. The annual tournament will begin on campus sites November 19.

HBCU football
In the weekly BOXTOROW HBCU media poll, North Carolina A&T stayed at No. 1.
Tuskegee’s surprising 10-9 loss to Kentucky State dropped the Golden Tigers two spots to No. 5.
Virginia Union defeated Bowie State, 42-35, and the loss dropped BSU, No. 9 last week, out of the poll and allowed Winston-Salem State to get in at No. 10.
Winston-Salem has won six of its last seven including Saturday’s win against Livingstone.

Football updates
MyQuon Stout (Carson) had two tackles for Appalachian State in Saturday’s homecoming win against Idaho.
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Javon Hargrave (North Rowan) had one tackle for Pittsburgh in Sunday’s loss to New England.

SAC football
Mars Hill running back Malik Prescott, Wingate defensive lineman Ray Edwards and Newberry punter and return man Cole Watson were the SAC players of the week.

Prep golf
Clinton’s Amy Wooten holds a five-shot advantage on the rest of the field at the 1A/2A girls golf State Championships at Foxfire Resort’s Grey Fox Course.
Wooten poured in five birdies to go along with two bogeys and a double bogey on her way to carding a 1-under par 71 on the 5,607 yard layout.
In the team competition, West Davidson holds a 28-shot advantage over Franklin Academy. West Davidson finished second in the event last year behind Croatan. Rachel Mast powered West Davidson with a 4-over par 76.
3A
Chapel Hill’s Gina Kim, the defending 3A individual state champion, stormed out to a five-shot lead in the 3A Championships at the Longleaf Golf & Country Club’s 5,546 yard, par 72 layout.
Kim, a junior at Chapel Hill, carded only a single bogey. She posted birdies on three par fours as the 388 yard par 5 12th hole.
Rockingham County shot 253 and holds the team lead after the first round.
Carson’s Micah Furr shot 39-47 — 86 (14-over) and is tied for 16th.
Furr has a 10:30 a.m. tee time.
Weddington’s Jenny Zhang had the highlight of the tournament as she knocked in a hole-in-one on the 145-yard 11th hole.
4A
After a second place finish a year ago, Pinecrest holds a nine-shot lead after day one of the 4A State Championships at Pinehurst No. 5.
Last year’s individual champion, Jenny Chang of Athens Drive, leads the individual tournament, cruising to a 1-under par 71 on the on the 5,709 yard, par 72 layout.
She leads by a single shot over Keri Kenkel of Charlotte Catholic who fired an even-par 72.
Pinecrest leads the team competition by nine shots over Cardinal Gibbons. Charlotte Catholic is third, 14 off the pace.

Catawba athletics
Catawba senior Sean McMahon took home the South Atlantic Conference Elite 18 Award for Men’s Cross Country.
The newly created award is given to the student-athlete with the highest GPA among schools competing at the finals site of SAC Championships.
McMahon has a 3.97 GPA, while majoring in sociology.

Monday NFL
DENVER — The Denver Broncos ruined Brock Osweiler’s homecoming Monday night, incessantly hurrying, hitting and harassing their former teammate in a 27-9 win over his Houston Texans.
Coach Gary Kubiak returned to the sideline following his second health scare in three years, and he liked what he saw as the Broncos (5-2) snapped a two-game skid in sending the overwhelmed Texans home at 4-3.
C.J. Anderson and Devontae Booker energized Denver’s sputtering ground game, both running for a touchdown. Anderson gained 107 yards on 16 carries and Booker had 83 on 17 hand-offs.