Red Raiders’ Run Ends, Shelby’s Quest For Five Continues

                The Shelby Golden Lions traveled to the South Point Red Raiders for the second time in three weeks. South Point won the first game 35-15 in the regular season finale. But we have all heard the old saying “It’s hard to beat a good team twice.” Early on, the Red Raiders would seemingly refute that phrase as they stopped the Golden Lions on their first drive and scored on their first drive with a one-yard touchdown run by Jake Alexander. The Red Raiders were primed to extend their lead on the ensuing drive but would miss a 36-yard field-goal.

                Shelby would strike back in the second quarter with a four-yard run by Xavier Brooks. The extra point was missed however. They would snatch the lead late in the second quarter with a Malik Surratt 35-yard touchdown pass to Tucker Green. Chase Hendrick’s extra point was good. South Point would drive deep into Shelby territory but would be stopped at the six-yard line. They would have to settle for a 23-yard field-goal by Cade Ratliff. That would make the score 13-10 at half-time.

                The Red Raiders received the second half kickoff but would not punch it on their first drive. But they would pull ahead on their second drive. Backed deep in their own territory, Scottie Lee would hit Keaton Hale for a short pass that Hale would take 73 yards for a touchdown. Ratliff’s extra point kick made it 17-13.

                The fourth quarter was not kind to the Red Raiders as they were outscored 20-6. Shelby’s Xavier Brooks put the Golden Lions back on top with a 26-yard touchdown run. Jake Alexander would give the Red Raiders the 23-20 lead. Brooks’s one yard touchdown run gave Shelby the lead back at 26-23. On the ensuing kickoff, the Red Raiders fumbled the ball and the Golden Lions recovered. That gave Brooks a chance to ice it for Shelby with another one-yard touchdown run. Hendrick’s extra point made the final 33-23.

                Shelby’s drive for five is still alive. South Point’s quest for a repeat has come to a crashing halt. Shelby will travel to take on Mount Pleasant next week. The Tigers beat the Fred T. Foard Tigers 28-14.

                “I’m elated.” Said Shelby head coach Lance Ware “I told the other guys that I have been part of seven state champions as a head coach and as an assistant. But I don’t know if I ever had a more satisfying win than tonight. They were embarrassed last time we were down here in the regular season. They weren’t ready to play and that was my fault.”

                “There are a lot of champions on this team and a lot of champions on that team. It came down to guts and finding a way to make a play and we were able to do that tonight.” Ware said “We’re going to enjoy this tonight. Get in there and go to work and get ready for whoever we are playing. Thankful to be practicing on Thanksgiving. You never take that for granted.”

                “They got a good team. They got good field position and momentum at times.” Said South Point head coach Adam Hodge “We were in it till the fumble. Everything gets magnified in big games. It’s going to be tough to overcome. But we kept fighting. Our guys played their guts out.”

                Malik Surratt led the Golden Lions with 248 passing yards and a touchdown. Xavier Brooks amassed 97 yards rushing four touchdowns. Scottie Lee led South Point with 159 total yards (112 passing and 47 rushing) and a touchdown. Jake Alexander amassed 86 yards and two touchdowns.

               

Gaston, Lincoln and Cleveland Round 2 Playoff Picks

Shelby 14 @ South Point 21

Weddington 28 @ Hunter Huss 21

Stuart Cramer 14 @ Charlotte Catholic 55

Crest 21 @ Jay M. Robinson 17

Rockingham County 14 @ Kings Mountain 28

Lincolnton 14 @ South Columbus 24

Swain County 27 @ Bessemer City 14

Robbinsville 14 @ Mountain Island Charter 21

Elkin 21 @ Thomas Jefferson 48

Same Game, Same Result, Different Score

                Sometimes you get another bite at the apple, but sometimes it’s the same flavor. That was the case as Forestview traveled to Kings Mountain for the first round playoff matchup. The Mountaineers crushed the Jaguars 63-7 two weeks ago. This time, it was the same result though the score was a little closer. This time Kings Mountain won 48-13.

                Ricaylen Mack led Kings Mountain with 218 rushing yards and three touchdowns. He scored on runs of 13, 9 and 10. But it was a 37-yard field-goal by Micah Randall that got the party started for the Mountaineers. A 58-yard pass from Kaylon Wade to Christopher Brittain for a touchdown gave the Mountaineers a 10-0 lead early. Wade threw another touchdown in the second quarter. That one was a 14-yarder to Dontavious Hughes.

                The score was 31-0 at half-time. The second half started out in similar fashion as the first half. Randall kicked a 39-yard field-goal to give the Mountaineers a 34-0 lead. Mack’s ten-yard touchdown run gave the Mountaineers a 41-0 lead late in the third quarter and that would be the end of his night as the subs would come in and finish the game off.

                The Jaguars did have a few bright spots and did avoid the shutout. Aaron Bennett’s 70-yard touchdown run put the Jaguars on the board. Josh Medlin’s extra point kick made it 41-7. After forcing Kings Mountain to punt, Forestview’s Jake Lee picked up what was thought to be a dead ball and took it 70 yards for a punt return for a touchdown. The extra point kick was missed however.

                The Mountaineers would put the exclamation point on it with a 30-yard touchdown run by Qua Brooks. Randall was 6-for-6 on his extra point attempts. Forestview ends their season 4-8. Kings Mountain (11-1) will face Rockingham County at home next week.

Gaston, Lincoln and Cleveland Round 1 Playoff Picks

3AA

Ashbrook 21 @ Mount Tabor 41

3A

Concord 30 @ Stuart Cramer 27

West Rowan 17 @ Hunter Huss 31

Forestview 12 @ Kings Mountain 28

Monroe 14 @ Crest 35

2AA

West Iredell 7 @ South Point 55

Newton-Conover 20 @ Shelby 24

West Lincoln 14 @ Reidsville 48

East Lincoln 21 @ Mount Pleasant 28

2A

Lincolnton 35 @ Graham 14

1AA

Cherryville 14 @ Swain County 35

Bessemer City, bye

1A

Thomas Jefferson, bye

Mountain Island Charter, bye

Forestview Shocks Stuart Cramer

This has been another year of firsts for Stuart Cramer. Just last week, they survived their first ever overtime game against Hunter Huss 21-14. It was also their first win against the Huskies. Tonight was another first, the Storm’s varsity team has never played at Forestview before and they have never beaten the Jaguars. Could they get a two-for-one tonight as they pay a visit? That answer would be no!

Forestview would get the ball first and they would get on the board. A 24-yard touchdown pass from Jake Lee to Cameron Carter would put them up 6-0. The extra point kick would fail, however. The Storm would answer that with a score of their own. Jaylen Rocquemore connected with tight-end Kendall Karr for a 59-yard touchdown pass. Devin Baldwin gave the Storm a one-point lead with the extra point kick.

Forestview would take the lead back with a one-yard run by Jake Lee. Lined up for the extra point kick, the Jaguars went for the fake and Jayson Young scored on the two-point conversion. The defenses took over from that point forward. Each team would turn it over once in the second half.

In the second half, Stuart Cramer received the kick off and they would capitalize. Tyreese Morris cut Forestview’s lead with a seven-yard touchdown run. The kick to tie it would be blocked however. Forestview would put themselves in position to answer that score. A 58-yard pass from Jake Lee to Cameron Carter would set them up at the four-yard line. But on fourth down, the Storm defense would stop them short at the one-yard line. Cramer would not be able to advance the ball past the six-yard line and were forced to punt.

Forestview would score on the ensuing drive. Lee’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Kyra Peterkin gave the Jaguars the 20-13 lead. The two-point conversion pass play was just short.

In the fourth quarter, the Storm put together a drive that took them all the way to the Forestview six-yard line. But on second down, a bad snap backed them up to the 15. The Storm ended up settling for a 25-yard field goal by Devin Baldwin. They would not get any closer.

After Forestview recovered a muffed punt by the Storm, Jake Lee would get his third passing touchdown of the day when he connected with Jalen Neely-Baldwin for a 14-yard scoring pass. The kick would fail however and the score remained 26-16. That would end up being the final.

Jake Lee led Forestview’s offense with 273 passing yards and four touchdowns (one rushing) and one interception. On defense, Aveon Reid got two interceptions for the Jaguars. Xavier Worthy, Turner Edwards, Cameron Bame and Christian Harwell all registered sacks for Forestview. Gabe Washington got the Storm's only interception and the Storm also recovered a fumble. Caleb Clemmer and Dylan Collins each got sacks for the Storm. Cramer's offense amassed 250 yards (170 rushing and 80 passing).

"I was happy for our team, our fans and our school." said Forestview head coach Chris Medlin "It was a big win over very good team. I'm just thrilled to death for our seniors and I hope we get to play again next week. I think we're in!"

"They were ready to play and we weren't.That was my fault. I should have done a better job of having them prepared. That's about it." said Cramer head coach Ben McMillan "We didn't execute well. We had some stupid penalties. We have to get better if we want to win next week in the playoffs."

Forestview (4-7) will travel to conference rival, Kings Mountain (10-1), for their first round playoff game. Stuart Cramer (7-4) will host Concord (5-6).

Gaston, Lincoln and Cleveland Week 12 Picks

Shelby 14 @ South Point 28

Ashbrook 31 @ Hunter Huss 34

Kings Mountain 24 @ Crest 17

Stuart Cramer 42 @ Forestview 14

North Gaston 27 @ Burns 24

East Gaston 14 @ East Rutherford 48

Maiden 35 @ Lincolnton 21

East Lincoln 28 @ Newton-Conover 35

North Lincoln 21 @ Bandys 24

Lake Norman Charter 14 @ West Lincoln 48

Cherryville 14 @ Bessemer City 34

Highland Tech 12 @ Mountain Island Charter 54

Thomas Jefferson 28 @ Union Academy 21

Gaston, Lincoln and Cleveland Week 12 Best to Last

1. South Point (10-0)(4-0) won 69-0 over Chase
2. Shelby (9-1)(4-0) won 28-7 over East Rutherford
3. Kings Mountain (9-1)(6-0) won 63-7 over Forestview
4. Crest (7-3)(5-1) won 56-8 over Burns
5. Thomas Jefferson (10-0)(6-0) won 34-16 over Mountain Island Charter
6. Stuart Cramer (7-3)(4-2) won 21-14 (OT) to Hunter Huss
7. Bessemer City (9-1)(5-1) won 60-15 over Community School of Davidson
8. Hunter Huss (6-4)(4-2) lost 21-14 (OT) to Stuart Cramer
9. Mountain Island Charter (7-3)(4-2) lost 34-16 to Thomas Jefferson
10. East Lincoln (6-4)(5-1) won 42-35 (OT) over West Lincoln
11. Lincolnton (5-5)(4-2) won 56-41 over North Lincoln
12. Ashbrook (4-6)(3-3) won 48-40 over North Gaston
13. Forestview (3-7)(2-4) lost 63-7 to Kings Mountain
14. West Lincoln (3-7)(1-5) lost 42-35 (OT) to East Lincoln
15. North Lincoln (2-8)(1-5) lost 56-41 to Lincolnton
16. East Gaston (2-8)(1-3) lost 28-20 to R-S Central
17. North Gaston (2-8)(0-6) lost 48-40 to Ashbrook
18. Burns (1-9)(0-6) lost 56-8 to Crest
19. Cherryville (4-6)(2-4) won 27-7 over Pine Lake Prep
20. Highland Tech (2-8)(0-6) lost 42-12 to Union Academy

This week's match-ups

　

Shelby @ South Point

Crest @ Kings Mountain

Ashbrook @ Hunter Huss

Stuart Cramer @ Forestview

North Gaston @ Burns

East Gaston @ East Rutherford

East Lincoln @ Newton-Conover

Maiden @ Lincolnton

North Lincoln @ Bandys

Lake Norman Charter @ West Lincoln

Cherryville @ Bessemer City

Highland Tech @ Mountain Island Charter

Thomas Jefferson @ Union Academy