From staff reports

The West Rowan at Statesville football game that will decide the North Piedmont Conference championship has been moved up from Friday and will be played tonight at Greyhound Hollow at  6:30 p.m.

Statesville (5-1, 4-0) is explosive and thrives on big plays more than long drives. The Greyhounds were in a 10-10 tie with Carson in the  third quarter. Two minutes later, Statesville led 30-10.

Statesville had 400 yards of offense against East Rowan last week.

West (4-2, 4-0) opened the season with lopsided losses to Salisbury and Davie, but has gotten better since then.

West’s strengths have been the defensive line and the passing game.

Noah Loeblein has thrown for 566 yards and eight TDs in West’s last two games. He has 13 TD passes for the season. Damon Phillippe and Andrew Kennerly have combined for nine TD catches.

West has lost its last four meetings with the Greyhounds, including a 27-24 OT decision in 2019.

West’s last win in the series came in 2011, which was also the last season in which the Falcons won the conference championship.

Walton honored

West Rowan’s Taylor Walton and Hezekia Newby from Eastern Guilford are recipients of the NCHSAA Performance of the Week award.

Walton, a senior on the West softball team, struck out 22 batters and allowed only one earned run in 18 innings pitched last week.

Walton contributed at the plate batting .556 with two RBIs.

   

HS girls golf

Freshman Hannah Waddell shot 39 and led East Rowan to its fourth straight county championship on Tuesday at Corbin Hills.

Carlee Patterson (45) and Emma Callahan (48) were the other scorers for the Mustangs, who won the nine-hole event by 38 strokes. North Rowan placed second, while South Rowan was third. West Rowan and Salisbury didn’t register team scores, and Carson didn’t have any participants.

Fourth went to East’s Addison Queen, who shot 50. Salisbury’s Phoebe Shields shot 51 for fifth, and South’s Blythe Elliot shot 55 for sixth. The top six are all-county.

A story and photos are online.

HS girls soccer

Salisbury rolled 9-0 against Lexington in Central Carolina Conference soccer on Wednesday.

Sutton Webb scored three goals for the Hornets (4-0). Piper Muire and Carolina Cardelle scored two goals each.  Izzy Banish and Sydney Hlavacek scored one apiece.

It was the first career goal for Banish, a freshman.

Assists were credited to Lillie Rusher (3), Banish (3), Cardelle and Webb.

Hannah Schmeltzer earned the shutout in goal.

Salisbury got excellent play from Hlavacek, Stella Koontz, Kyna Zaldivar  and Parker Jenkins.

Next up for the Hornets is CCC rival West Davidson on Thursday afternoon. Game time is 4:30 to be followed by jayvee football against South Rowan.

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Anna Mead and Brittany Vanhoose scored two goals each for West Rowan in a 5-1 North Piedmont Conference win against Statesville on Tuesday.

Mia Arntsen also scored for the Falcons.  Lauren Corriher had three assists, and Alyssa Graham had one.

Karen Anaya made two saves.

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West Rowan won 8-0 against East Rowan in NPC play on Wednesday.

Mead scored three goals for the Falcons (4-4, 3-3).  Vanhoose scored two. Corriher, Leslie Guerrero, Selma Mehmedovic and Lauren Corriher scored one each.

Emily Kelly and  Anaya split time in goal.

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Makayla Borst scored the only goal for Carson in a 4-1 NPC loss to South Iredell on Tuesday.

Alona Locklear made seven saves.

A story and photos are online.

HS softball

Lonna Addison pitched a perfect game in Carson’s 14-0 North Piedmont Conference win against South Iredell on Tuesday.

Addison struck out five.

Ellie Wilhelm homered for the Cougars.

Abbey Nixon was 2-for-2 and scored three runs. Liza Simmerson had two hits and two RBIs. Allie Burns scored three runs. Makayla Johnson had two hits. Landry Stewart had two hits and two RBIs.

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Marissa Furches pitched a two-hitter for West Davidson in Tuesday’s 12-0 Central Carolina Conference  win over Salisbury.

Mallory Link had both hits for the Hornets.

Ellen Yang struck out eight Green Dragons. Shiloh Gray had three hits for West Davidson.

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Kady Livesay had for RBIs in Oak Grove’s 15-0 win against Salisbury on Wednesday.

Ellen Yang was 2-for-2 for the Hornets and had a double. Rachel McCullough also had a double.

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Karley Queen had three RBIs  for Davie in a  7-2 Central Piedmont Conference  win over West Forsyth on Tuesday. Kaylyn Nuckols and Chesney Shook did the hurling.

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West Rowan outscored Davie 10-7 in a non-conference game on Wednesday.

Emma Clarke homered, scored three and drive in three to lead the Falcons.

Brooke Kennerly had two hits and two RBIs. KK Dowling had two hits and two RBIs. Allison Ennis had three hits.

Audrea Fowler homered and drove in three for the War Eagles.

HS boys tennis

East Rowan rolled 9-0 against North Iredell in North Piedmont Conference tennis on Tuesday.

Landon Shuping, Gavin McDaniel, Jaden Collins, Ryan Brady, Drew Roane and Owen Kesler won in singles.

Winning doubles teams were Shuping/Brady, Collins/Roane and McDaniel/Greyson Trexler.

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East (4-1, 3-1) won against Carson 9-0 on Wednesday, with Shuping, McDaniel, Collins, Brady, Roane and Kesler winning singles matches.

Winning doubles teams were Shuping/Brady, Collins/Roane and McDaniel/Greyson Trexler.

Volleyball league

Catawba College Volleyball will have a Beach Academy League this summer from May 17-26.

It will include a shirt, 11 practices and two Saturday tournaments. There will be two groups, beginner (ages 8-13) and intermediate (ages 13-17).

   For more details and registration go to: https://www.highperformancevolleyballtraining.com/content/beach/beach-academy-league.

If you have any questions, please contact Catherine Griffith at cgriffit21@catawba.edu.

   

College football

Sewanee’s Wesley Porter (East Rowan) recorded six tackles, one for a loss, and added a 53-yard interception return and a fumble recovery in Saturday’s 24-21 loss to Greensboro College.

College softball

Belmont Abbey’s Mackenzie Sprinkle (East Rowan) has a hit in her last four games. She hit a home run against Emmanuel.

Women’s soccer

Catawba College defender Katie Beck was named the SAC Defensive Player of the Year.

Catawba forward Hannah Dunn was selected as the conference Freshman of the Year, and Catawba head coach Nick Brown was voted as the Coach of the Year.

Catawba lacrosse

Coker scored with 11 seconds remaining in the first overtime period to take a 13-12 victory over host Catawba (5-6, 4-4) in South Atlantic Conference men’s lacrosse action on Wednesday night at Shuford Stadium.

   Tucker Fanzo finished with four goals and an assist for the Indians.

SAC sports

Tusculum’s Trenton Gibson was voted the 2020-21 South Atlantic Conference men’s basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

Gibson was earlier named   SAC Men’s Basketball Player of the Year.

Local golf

GARS members played a Captain’s Choice tournament at Corbin Hills.

Two teams tied for first  in the First Flight with a minus-10.

  Phil Cauble, Hal Jordan, David Scearce and Phil Rogers won the scorecard playoff over the team of Clyde Crawford, Nelson Earnhardt and Gary Hahn.

The Second Flight  winner was the team of Ken Safrit, Tom Talbert, John Goodman and Allen Hammill with a minus-12.

Third Flight winner was the team of Ralph Luther, Dicky Peeler, Larry Luther and Bobby Clark with a minus-10.

Longest putt on No. 9 was made by Donnie Burris. Closest to the pin on No. 2 was won by Gary Hahn.

Cauble, Scearce, Jordan and Rogers eagled the par-5 No. 18 hole

Crawford, Earnhardt, and Hahn eagled the par-4  14th.

Carroll Downey, Tony Labarbera, Gus Andrews and John Struzick eagled the par-5  No. 6 hole.

Luther, Peeler, Luther and Clark eagled No. 6 and No. 18.