Thursday's Paper

Thursday's paper will have plenty of basketball coverage, including Pfeiffer's struggles in a loss to Livingstone, plus a column from yours truly and more.

By the way, if you have any ideas for feature stories for the sports section, please don't hesitate to get in touch with me. My email is charles@stanlynewspress.com, or you can call me at (704) 982-2121, ext. 12.

Albemarle wins second straight 1-AA title

The clock runs out and the Bulldogs have themselves their second straight 1-AA title and fifth title in 10 years with a 21-7 win over Pender.

Nat Dunlap was named the MVP of the game.

for full stats, photos, story, column and more, check Sunday's Stanly News and Press.

Videos as well will be next week.

Thanks for following my blog and I will be doing plenty more in the future and keep all of you gentle readers in touch with what goes on in Stanly County.

albemarle is running the clock out...i'm running to the post-game press conference. I will blog later...Albemarle up 21-7 with clock running, one minute left...more later...

1:47 yard drive, capped off with a beautiful dunlap pass to Dezi Dockery for the touchdown...21-7 Albemarle!!!!!

Bulldogs finally get a big run...Montego Baldwin, plus a personal foul facemask on Pender, puts the ball at the nine-yard line first and goal for Albemarle.

The defensive struggle continues

Albemarle has won the field-position battle in the second half, keeping the Patriots pinned deep. Another sack forced a punt and the Bulldogs will take over at the Pender 35 with 8:41 left.

albemarle three and out

Bulldogs go three and out, Dick's punt goes to the 5, returned to the 12. Pender first and 10 with 10:54 left in the fourth.

albemarle defense holds

The Bulldogs hold Pender again and take over after a short punt at the Patriot 38, :13 left third quarter

Pender starts another drive

nat dunlap has had three passes that would have been touchdowns dropped...this game would be a blowout if they had been caught...but in this weather, that football is like concrete to catch.

Corey Dick's punt rolls dead at the Pender 8 yard line with 2:39 left in the third.

Team yardage is dead even.

Albemarle with the ball again

albemarle has it back and is inside pender territory at the 48 facing third down and long

pender gets the turnover back

Pender recovers a fumble at their own 25 yard line, takes over first down.

oak tree gets a big stop

julius williams sacks pender QB on the alb 44 on 4th down, bulldogs take over first down

Halftime Stats

Halftime Score Albemarle 14 Pender 7

Rushing: Albemarle 14-37 yds. Pender 29-117
Passing: Albemarle 3-7 86 yds., 1 TD . Pender 1-1, 16 yds.,
Total offense: Albemarle 21-123 yds.; Pender 30-133,.

Pender fumbled the kickoff at around their 20 yard line and Albemarle almost had a chance late to put even more points on the board. The Patriots ran one play up the middle and lost yards, then took a knee.

The Patriots dominated the first half with that 9-minute drive of theirs, but the Bulldogs responded. Albemarle's oak tree defense will have to stand tall as Pender will get the football to start the second half.

oak tree stands tall

Three big stops by the Bulldogs on defense forced a fourth down and 19 from the Pender 17...Bulldogs get the football back

its tied!!

Albemarle's Nat Dunlap avoids big time pressure to find a wide-open Dillon Taylor behind the defense for a 40-yard touchdown pass. Corey Dick's extra point wasn't pretty but it counts and the games is tied 7-7 wiht 2:40 left in the second qtr.

Albemalre gets the ball back

Freddie Parker caused a fumble, recovered Julius williams at the alb 23...

bulldogs down to the pender 39, thanks to a personal foul and a dunlap scramble

Bulldogs into Pender territory

3rd down and 8 at the Pender 32...

nat dunlap hurried when he threw, pass off of corey dick's hands, intercepted by Javon powell, returned to the albemarle 40

end one qtr. 7-0 pender

start of second, albemarle stops pender on two runs, 3rd and 10 pender at the patriot 20

Pender up 7-0

Josh Johnson scores from 12 yards out, xp good, 7-0 pender, 2:37 left first.

First Qtr.

Albemarle three and out in their first possession...

Pender has driven from their 19 down to the Bulldog 16, forcing an Albemarle timeout. Pender converted a fourth and 15 with an acrobatic catch from Derek Holmes.

about to start

bulldogs and patriots take the field...national anthem coming...

Albemarle / Pender 1AA state tite blog is on the air

One of the rare moments this season where I am inside in the heat and the radio crew is outside in the cold (an open-air booth). Nice to see the local radio crew and the Albemarle film crew as I walked in today. Media members are slowly filing in to the stadium, along with the Bulldogs fans which are sitting on the North side of Kenan Stadium, meaning that they will be on the top part of the television screen for the taping.

To say that it's chilly tonight would be an understatement. It is always pretty cold for these state title games, but tonight's seems that much colder without a whole lot of wind blowing through here. The flags on the uprights are nearly perfectly still.

Here come some Albemarle players for warmups walking through the seats on the west side of the stadium. it's the backs and receivers, along with special teams and others marching down the far sideline of Kenan, now running and hearing some cheers from a few Albemarle fans that have gotten here very early. It's 59 minutes before kickoff, I'm going to the field to shoot some video...be back on here soon!

Braving the Cold Friday Night

Nobody ever said that being a football fan is easy.

The weather here in North Carolina can be viciously cruel to anyone engaged in outdoor activities, whether it's the bone-chilling cold of December or the unending heat of summer.

Friday night's weather forecast is calling for some chilly temps for the 1AA regional finals game between Albemarle and Mitchell. Game-time temps will likely be in the low to mid 40's, with 30's likely later in the game.

The Mountaineer fans will be on their fourth road trip in as many weeks, probably coming from even colder temps in the mountains to take on the Bulldogs.

The game will not be taped for Stanly County Monday Night Football, so the only way to see the game is to be there at the beautiful football stadium of the Bulldogs.

Although it will be warmer either in your homes or at a basketball game Friday night, the place to be in Stanly County Friday night will be that stadium. Media coverage of the game can only go so far as to give a fan that experience of knowing that they have witnessed history with their own eyes.

In the future, thousands of people will probably claim that they were at this game Friday night, but for those of you for which it is true, you will have my deepest respect.

It may not be 15 degrees like the time South was in Elkin, but anyone willing to spend their own hard-earned money to sit out in the freezing cold and enjoy the competition and beauty that is high-school football is OK with me.

Albemarle gets home playoff game

The Bulldogs football squad will return home for one final home game this season when Albemarle hosts Mitchell in the 1AA regional finals.

I know that I'm glad to not have to go on the road next week, but no more so than the Bulldog fans, coaches and players, all of whom have been logging serious mileage on the odometers of their cars and buses.

Albemarle is playing great football right now, and this week's matchup will be interesting.

Full coverage of the 'Dogs and their win over Monroe in Sunday's paper!

Tuesday's paper

I am headed out to West Stanly this afternoon to take a picture of the Colts with the Stanly Cup...Tuesday's sports section will feature a brief story on the presentation, along with a correction that can be fond in my column.

Again, sorry to all the West Stanly fans...I'm making no excuses for Sunday's paper, I was in a hurry and I made a mistake.

Correction

I goofed...I made a mistake in Sunday's edition...West Stanly is the Stanly Cup Champions...see Tuesday's paper for a correction and picture of the team.

Sorry about the mistake, fans...

Football Playoff Updates

Just a quick reminder that we will be getting the football playoff matchups as soon as the brackets are released this weekend onto the sports blog.

Also, we will have some playoff soccer coverage (congrats to Gray Stone for their win) and some other items as well...I may even have another guest columnist (this particular columnist has a name you might recognize).

That and coverage of the inter-Stanly County football games all in Sunday's paper!

Clarification

I received a message this morning that there was some confusion regarding my story in Sunday's paper on Albemarle having to forfeit games. Apparently, some readers have come to an incorrect conclusion that North Stanly and West Stanly were both fined for the same things that Albemarle was.

Let's be clear about this: North and West Stanly were in a meeting with the AD's from South and Albemarle, when it was discussed that PIEDMONT was fined by the state for violating the 8-quarter rule. It was brought up by North and West because, obviously, those two schools are members of the Rocky River Conference, along with Piedmont. North and West have not violated this rule and the article in question did not state that the two programs had violated any rule.

Albemarle to forfeit three games this season

I have recently learned that the Albemarle varsity football team will be forfeiting three of its wins this season due to ineligible players. For more information, check the Sunday Stanly News and Press.

Random Observations at the Carolina game

It's been far too long since I've blogged, and I will try to get on here more often from now on.

Sitting in the first row in the press box Sunday afternoon, I saw a few things on the field and heard some things in the box that may not make any other media outlet. Some are my observations, others just odd occurences Sunday, but here goes:

- There was a joke in the great movie "Major League" where Bob Uecker says that you can tell a lot about the season from the first batter of the year (in that case, Willie Mays Hayes got an accidental single and was picked off at first). If the same is true about the Panthers from the timing of the jets' flyover at Bank of America Stadium (a good 30 seconds late), it could be a long season for the Carolina faithful.

- Why have most of us never heard of the Tampa Bay quarterback, Josh Freeman? He's got good size (6'6", 248 lbs), has good mobility and scrambling ability (43 yards on four carries) and was efficient if not impressive through the air (12-of-24, 128 yds, 2 TD's, no picks). The offensive line for the Bucs did a great job Sunday of picking up the Carolina blitzes. Several times, Carolina brought extra rushers, and the line and running backs for the Bucs picked them up and gave Freeman time to throw.

- Moore will not be starting this Sunday against Cincinnati, and most will presume it is all to do with him. Unfortunately for Jimmy Claussen, he will have the same offensive line that had problems protecting Moore. Also, the pass coverage that you did not see on the television (which focus more on the battle at the line) for the Bucs had the Panthers covered most of the time. I'm not sure if anyone should shoulder the blame for that on the Carolina side, but it seemed like the Tampa defense was prepared for this game, scheme wise, bringing a lot of pressure and keeping Moore offbalance while keeping the Panthers' pass targets covered.

- On the Panthers' touchdown drive, Dante Rosario was credited for a 26-yard pass that looked like on replay it hit the ground, but Carolina quickly ran a play before the Bucs could challenge. Someone on the Tampa side dropped the ball on that one.

- What you may not have seen on Moore's interception was a streaking David Gettis who might have been the only player on that play that Moore could have gotten the ball to succesfully. Gettis ran a streak pattern straight down the field designed to open up the two receivers underneath, but Tampa's backs jumped both short routes, leaving the long one open. People will likely use that play as a reason for Moore's benching.

- Another thing you may not have see on TV was Jimmy Claussen taking the field during a TV timeout to a standing ovation from Panthers fans, provoking a comment from the press box about the luck of the Irish. Now that Claussen is starting, let's see how long the fans' loyalty lasts if he struggles, or if the fans are proven right should Claussen blossom.

- I still am trying to understand why the Panthers ran the ball with a backup running back two times inside the 5 yard line in the fourth quarter, trailing 20-7 with just under five minutes left in the game. The Panthers only had two time outs left at that point, losing one earlier in the half on a challenge. If you're going to run the ball, why not put your first-round draft picks on the field? Besides that, basic football strategy would say that you need to pass the ball into the endzone to save time on the clock because you will have to use those timeouts likely on defense to get the football back. So, instead of possibly scoring to make it 20-14 with around 4:30 left, the Panthers didn't make it in and Tampa had the ball with 3:30 left. Carolina got the ball back with 3:30 left, but then needed two scores without time outs, which would have been nearly impossible to pull off without timeouts. Their strategy in the final five minutes was a little odd, in my opinion.

I hope the Panthers look better against Cincinnati, but they have plenty more to work on than just changing quarterbacks.

Covering the Coverage

I am glad that high school athletics are back in session. Nothing is more fulfilling to me than covering the individual and team performances of all five of our high schools.

Although it may generally be said that certain sports receive more coverage than others, my challenge throughout the year is to make sure that every sport receives some coverage in at least one of the three editions of our paper.

Today's edition of the Stanly News and Press has coverage of no less than 10 individual matches or games played from last weekend through last night, including some amazing West Stanly soccer pictures by Mike McCarn.

The facts of the game and the spirit in which the games are contested are both crucial in producing a sports section that is both fair and honest without being cruel or demeaning. I can promise you that our coverage of sports in Stanly County will continually be looking for ways to improve both the quanity and quality of what we do. For me, my gentle readers mean everything, including my new found gentle online readers.

Dixie Youth Softball updates

Quick updates on Dixie Youth Softball:

Both the West Stanly Darlings and The South Stanly Debs won their games on Tuesday and reached the semifinals of the tournaments.

Scores and results from Tuesday and Wednesday will be in Thursday's sports section.

West leads east 9-0 at halftime of the NCCA all star football game on a punt return for a td and a late field goal.

Dixie Youth Scores

I could not get the scores from Saturday's action at the Dixie Youth Baseball O-Zone Tourney, but here are results from both days and Sunday's scores...

Saturday

Hope Mills d. Albemarle

N. Stanly d. Reidsville

S. Stanly d. Oxford

Eden d. W. Stanly American

Sunday

Reidsville 9, Albemarle 1 (Alb. eliminated)

Oxford 11, W. Stanly American 10 (WS Amer. Eliminated)

N. Stanly 16, W. Stanly National 15

S. Stanly 5- Eden 4

I'm on vacation for the rest of the week...see you later!

Stanly loses at Lexington

The Stanly County American Legion senior squad lost 14-10 Saturday night at Lexington. The loss drops Stanly to 5-12 in the division, a half-game behind Concord for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Southern Division of the American Legion Area III playoffs. For more information on the game, please see Tuesday's sports section.

Stanly loses morning game at South Rowan

Stanly County dropped to 5-11 in the division with an 8-7 loss Saturday morning to South Rowan. Post 76 travels to Lexington tonight for what is now a must-win game to stay in the playoff hunt for the locals. I will post later on this blog about that game.

Stanly Legion needs to win to stay alive

I wrote a column for Thursday's paper about the Stanly senior legion team and this season by the numbers, and I was interested myself to see what I discovered in those numbers. More on that, plus junior legion, coach-pitch coverage and the updated Legion standings, along with Concord Speedway news, in Thursday's paper!

Tuesday's Paper

Junior legion coverage and pics, along with local golf, camp updates and a story on Brooke Whitley in Tuesday's paper!

Legion Finally Gets a Break

I don't think I've seen baseball players in high school quite as tired as the looks in the eyes of the senior American Legion team after last night's game, their sixth in as many nights. Most of them look like sleep is about the last thing they have been able to find for nearly a week.

Scheduling and weather dictated the rescheduling of games to this past week, and I know that baseball players at other levels play nearly every day. It makes you respect just how much energy it takes to work in the baseball industry every day, whether as a player, coach, announcer or just as a fan getting there every night.

Stanly County is 6-5 and in fourth place in the division, getting five days off from ball games at just the right moment.

More Like What It Should Be

With all apologies to Carolina fans that enjoyed last year's Stanly County Hall of Fame induction ceremony, Monday night's event was much more on point as to what the ceremony is supposed to be, in my opinion.

In fairness, it's not quite the same inducting a person into any Hall of Fame posthumously. Not that Orge Patterson Cooper was not deserving of the honor (he was), but the event was more of a Tarheel booster rally than the normal ceremony that I have become accustomed to seeing over the years. As I have said before, I pull for the Miami Hurricanes, so I don't have a dog in the Carolina-Duke fight.

I didn't find Duke football coach David Cutcliffe any less entertaining than I did Coach Roy Williams last year. Most coaches have a little preacher in them, as anyone that has heard a speech to a team can attest. Coach Cutcliffe had some great stories (still not sure about that graveyard story in Al-BAN-ee, Georgia) and talked about how sports can teach us life lessons. The Duke football coach was very much interested in the Sports Hall of Fame memorabilia cases (they have a new location, more on that in Thursday's paper). He and I actually talked about Frank Marbry, the head coach of the 1940 World Champion Legion team.

Bravo to the Chamber of Commerce and the Hall of Fame committees members for a dignified and enjoyable event.

Local MMA fighter wins gold

J.J. Brantley, a nursing student (of all things) at Stanly Community College, won a 145-pound mixed martial arts title this past weekend. That, plus a Legion update and the Yadkin Valley Conference All-Conference selections for the spring 2010 sports, a SCC baseball season wrap-up and more in Thursday's sports section!

Legion game cancelled for tonight. Stanly plays at home Wednesday vs. S. Rowan.

A Sad Saturday of Stanly Softball

I do not like to be the bearer of bad tidings, but here goes anyway...

South Stanly and West Stanly both lost their sectional finals games last night. West Stanly lost 7-0 at Central Davidson and South Stanly lost at home 7-2 to East Surry.

Both teams had tremendous seasons in 2010. Both won the regular season conference championships, and South Stanly also claimed the Yadkin Valley Tournament title as well. West Stanly was ranked in the top 10 in the 2A for much of the season, while South Stanly vaulted all the way to #1 in the coaches' poll.

Congratulations to both teams on super seasons...I know you wish they had went about one week longer.

Mother Nature is not cooperating with us

As badly as the Burleson garden in the southern part of Stanly needs rain, the precipiation was a bit too heavy for softball or baseball last night.

South Stanly and West Stanly both had their games rescheduled to tonight. The Bulls host East Surry at 6 p.m. while West Stanly goes back up to Central Davidson for a 7 p.m. game with the Spartans. Neither game ever got underway last night.

As far as Stanly County Legion at Statesville, that games was rained out as well. The make up has been tentatively scheduled for Sat. June 19 here at Don Montgomery Park. The game will be made up as part of a doubleheader.

Coverage of Post 76's win Thursday over Mocksville, plus a few other random stories in this Sunday's paper. Rain makes putting together a sports page challenging, to say the least.

South softball cancelled and rescheduled for Sat. night at 7 p.m.

Post 76 out to 3-0 start; Softball tonight

The finish to Thursday's Stanly County American Legion game was quite dramatic despite the late hour Thursday night. Through Friday's game, Post 76 is 3-0 and 2-0 in league play and is off to a strong start so far.

The next few days will be a tough test for Stanly. Three road games in three nights, with Friday at Statesville, Saturday at Mocksville and Sunday at Eastern Randolph. Add to that a non-league game Monday night at home with Concord, and it's four games in four nights. Thankfully, those last two games are non-league games and will not count in the divisional standings.

Also, another scheduling change: Post 76 will play at Rowan County on Sunday, June 7. If you have never been to a game at Newman Park in Salisbury, you owe it to yourself to go. The Pinky's hotdogs are great (not as good as Whispering Pines at Don Montgomery Park), the slush machines are a godsend on a hot night (and $1 each) and the atmosphere is down home. Dr. Clyde Young plays a trumpet in the stands, doing the fight songs for all of the Armed Forces branches between innings, along with sound effects for walks, home runs, etc. You all know how I love sound effects at a game.

I'm heading out to South Stanly tonight to see if the Rebel Bulls can make it to the state championship series next week. They have a tough test with East Surry tonight...and considering the gloom, despair and agony predicted tonight by the weather people, this game may have trouble getting finished if it's anything like last year's ten-inning classic.

Stanly leads 5-4 top of the third over Mocksville at the DMP.

Stanly wins 7-1and plays at home Thursday night.

After seven innings, Stanly leads Concord 7-1

Stanly County Post 76 leads Concord on the road 4-0 in the top of the fifth.

Warm night for legion ball at Concord. Coverage in Thursday's paper.

And Then There Were Two

It's amazing that just one year later after South Stanly's run to the 1A baseball title in 2009, we may be seeing another state championship appearance from Stanly County in a spring sport. In fact, we may see two.

South Stanly and West Stanly's softball teams have both reached the sectional finals fourth-round of the 1A and 2A state playoffs, respectively. However, fans may not want to make those hotel reservations for June 4-5 in Raleigh just yet as both teams have extremely tough opponents to hurdle on Friday night.

South Stanly hosts East Surry, the #4-ranked 1A team in the state in the final coaches' poll. East Surry eliminated the Bulls last year 1-0 in the third round of the playoffs and went on to win the state title, their second-straight state championship.

Then if life could get any more difficult, West Stanly has to travel to Central Davidson Friday night to face the #2-ranked 2A team and three-time defending state champions Spartans.

Full coverage of softball in Thursday's paper.

Baseball news: I know that the Albemarle faithful are disappointed about their playoff run ending, but it is rare to see a team reach the fourth round of the playoffs in consecutive years, and all the Albemarle players, coaches and fans have nothing about which to hang their heads.

Three Teams Still Alive

Two softball teams and one baseball team are still alive from Stanly County in the state playoffs. West Stanly and South Stanly are in the third round of the 2A and 1A state playoffs, respectively, while Albemarle hosts Bishop McGuinness in the sectional finals tonight, weather permitting of course.

The Stanly County Legion team opened their season Sunday night with a non-league game against Eastern Randolph. Post 76 was scheduled to play Monday but was rained out. They will travel to Concord on Wednesday night.

Coverage of all the above plus West Stanly's baseball loss to East Rutherford all in Tuesday's sports section.

Albemarle baseball and West Stanly softball both play at home Tue. night at 7 p.m.

Legion game cancelled for tonight. South's softball game on Tue. is at 6 p.m.

East ruth. beats west stanly 10-4...more details on tuesday

West Stanly trails 8-4 bottom four. East Ruth. has scored seven runs in a row.

Legion season opens tonight

I put the schedules for the Stanly County American Legion senior and junior baseball teams in today's paper. Both teams play today but the results will be late for the print edition (I will try to get something in a blog over the weekend).

West Stanly baseball plays East Rutherford tonight at 7.

Big baseball games tonight!

Heading out to West Stanly and East Rutherford tonight...it's been since 2004 since a West baseball team has reached the third round and I hope there is a huge crowd for the game tonight.

Albemarle got a big crowd the other night against South Davidson, and I'm sure the DMP will be packed tonight for the Bessemer City game.

On the softball front, congrats to the West Stanly girls for their 6-4 win over West Lincoln in the second round on Thursday...they will play again on Tuesday at home. South Stanly has North Stokes tonight as well.

Check Sunday's paper for those stories, plus a little world-title cheerleading and more!

Baseball and softball weather updates

It looks like West Stanly baseball is the only team not playing their game tonight...the Colts will play West Caldwell on Wednesday at 7...everything else is the same for tonight!

Softball Pairings

The NCHSAA has released the softball pairings for the state playoffs starting on Tuesday and there are some interesting facts to note about the 2A West and 1A West brackets:

1) The top side of the 1A West region features four of the top 10 teams from the final softball coaches' association poll released the first week of May, including three of the top five-ranked teams (South Stanly #1, #3 North Moore and #4 East Surry).

South Stanly opens with Gray Stone and has seeding priority though the section round into the four-team championship tournament on June 4-5. Out of the eight teams in South Stanly's district, only Cherryville (18-5) and Chatham Central (17-7) have winning records. Should the Bulls and the Bears meet, it would a huge rematch in the district finals.

The bottom half of the region has just two ranked teams in #2 Swain County and #5 Murphy. If those teams were to meet, it would be in the sectional finals with a berth to the finals on the line.

2) On the 2A West regional side, West Stanly (23-3) opens at home with West Davidson (9-11). The Colts would be on the road in the next round if they were to face West Lincoln (16-6).

West finished as the #7-ranked team in the state poll. Only two other teams ranked in the poll are in West's section: Central Davidson (20-4, #2) and Chase (14-3, #10). The soonest West Stanly would see Central Davidson would be the sectional finals, but there are some tough teams in front of the Colts.

Let the playoffs begin!

The Playoffs March Along

Heading out today to Pfeiffer to see the Gray Stone girls take on Bishop McGuinness in the second round of the 1A soccer playoffs...ought to be a great match!

We had a three-page sports section today, a lot of ground to cover. Congrats to Albemarle, South and West for all winning their games on Friday night. Albemarle will host South Davidson, South Stanly hosts Bishop McGuinness, and West Stanly hosts West Lincoln on Tuesday night.

I will try to blog later tonight about the Gray Stone game, plus I'm keeping on eye out to see who West Stanly and South Stanly will play in the first round of the softball playoffs.

I also have some interesting information about this year's American Legion squad...but I'm saving that for later this week...

Softball Success Brings Heightened Expectations

I'm not trying to put any more pressure to bear on the West and South softball teams, but the pressure games for those two teams are just beginning.

Consider if you will Thursday's game between North Moore and South Stanly. The Mustangs came in ranked #3 in the state in 1A while South Stanly is #1, and there were no playoff seeding implications or anything else on the line except rivalry and pride between two teams that might see each other again in the playoffs.

South Stanly won the game with some timely hits, claiming the tournament title, yet the reaction of the girls and the South fans was quite subdued. It was more of a response of their belief that this team is supposed to win every time out.

I have been around teams like that in the past, first as a manager with the Hayesville women's basketball teams that won six straight 1A titles from 1988-1993. The parents, coaches and players celebrated their team's victories all year long but never truly relaxed until after the wins at Carmichael Auditorium.

True champions never rest, never stop working, never stop yearning, never stop needing victory until the championship game. These two softball teams have the opportunity to acheive great things...but the real work has just begun.

The Nickel Tour at the Paper

Every now and again, we have tours of students coming through the paper of all ages, from kindergarten through college-age. It's always fun to see the wonder and excitement in the eyes of young kids.

We had an awesome group of students come through earlier today from West Stanly and I have rarely seen such excitement from our five-cent tour. I have suggested we should have a gift shop at the end of the tour, but nothing is yet forthcoming (just kidding).

Every now and then, when I go to the schools to snap pictures, I will notice in some classrooms that our articles are covering the walls. Being able to reach out to people with the power of print is an awesome responsiblity that none of us at the paper ever take lightly.

It really makes the long hours worthwhile when you see the excitement of a young sports fan who wanted to meet me just because I write sports stories for the paper. It makes me want to work that much harder to make the sports page and every facet of the SNAP's sports coverage in Stanly County that much better.

YVC Softball Update

Scores from Tuesday's softball games:
North Moore 9, East Montgomery 3
South Stanly 2, Chatham Central 1 (great game)

North Moore and South Stanly play for the tournament title Thursday night at 6 p.m.

Gas Card Winner; Soccer Playoffs Open

It looks like Randy Shank was the first person to respond with a comment and the correct password...your $20 Citgo gas card will be waiting for you up front at the reception desk here at our office on 237 West North Street...congrats!

On to other business:

Gray Stone and Albemarle have both qualified for the 1A state women's soccer playoffs and play this Wednesday. Albemarle will travel up to Bishop McGuinness while Gray Stone hosts fellow Yadkin Valley Conference opponent East Montgomery at 5 p.m. over at the soccer complex in front of Stanly Community College.

I will have softball tournament updates plus some Uwharrie Bobcats coverage, running from the Beach Blast 5K and more in Tuesday's paper!

Win a Free $20 Gas Card!

The first person that returns a comment to this blog that can tell me the password that I printed in Sunday's paper will get a $20 Citgo gas card...who's gonna win?

Baseball wraps up tourneys tonight; Softball opens next week

BIG games tonight in both the Yadkin Valley and Rocky River baseball tourney finals.

RRC:

West Stanly beat Forest Hills 7-2 Thursday night...Josh Cochran went deep twice along with home runs from Rusty Hartsell and Jeremy Lowder.

Cuthbertson topped Piedmont 3-1 with three solo home runs and a great pitching performance from Peter Hendel.

Cuthbertson and West tonight at 7 for the title.

YVC:

Albemarle and South Stanly face each other for the conference title tonight at 7 p.m. at North Moore High School in Robbins.

With the way that the softball teams of West and South Stanly are playing this year, there is a chance next week that Stanly County could be celebrating two more conference titles at home, with West hosting the Rocky River and South hosting the Yadkin Valley.

What a year for the baseball/softball teams and we still have the playoffs on the horizon!

Thursday's paper + baseball tourney scores tonight

I have a big sports section in the Thursday paper, with coverage of the baseball tournaments, West softball, Gray Stone soccer and a lot more...don't miss it!

You can also check back here on my blog tonight after the RRC semifinals, I'll post the scores and who's playing in the title game on Friday.

Baseball, Tennis updates

A quick correction in the tournament schedule for the Yadkin Valley; the semifinal games are TONIGHT starting with South and East Montgomery at 4:30, followed by Albemarle and North Moore at 7.

First-Round YVC results:

1) South Stanly 11, West Montgomery 1

2) Albemarle 17, North Rowan 6

3) North Moore 12, South Davidson 8

On to the Rocky River:

Tuesday:

1) Piedmont 14, CATA 0 - will play the Cuthbertson - Union Academy winner on Thursday at 4:30 p.m.

West Stanly will play the North Stanly - Forest Hills winner tomorrow at 7 p.m.

Team Tennis Update:

1A - Albemarle (12-5) beat CATA 5-1 in the first round and plays at East Montgomery (16-0) in the next round.

2A - North Stanly (11-6) topped Wheatmore 5-3 in the first round and plays at Salisbury (17-2) in the District Round.

West Stanly (10-5) lost their first-round match to West Davidson 6-3.

Conference Tournaments open tonight...better late than never

There is still a lot for teams to play for in the postseason conference tournaments that open tonight across the county.

Consider if you will North Stanly, who has to beat Forest Hills Wednesday afternoon at 4:30 in order to earn the fourth and final 2A spot in the state playoffs. The Comets won the coin flip, meaning that they will be the home team in the game. The two teams are evenly matched, and both games between the two have been hotly-contested games that needed extra innings to decide, with Forest Hills winning at North 8-6 and the Comets winning down in Marshville 6-5.

West has the #1 seed and the home-field advantage, so the Colts have a good chance of sweeping the RRC titles this week.

South has the #1 seed in the YVC tourney, while Albemarle is a #3 seed...both teams should go far in the tourney.

Let the postseason begin!

2010 YVC Baseball Final Regular Season Standings

Here are the final standings for the Yadkin Valley Conference in baseball:

1) SS - 13-3
2) NM - 12-4 (beat NR 8-4 Friday)
3) Alb. - 10-6 (beat CC 12-7 Friday)
4) CC - 8-8 ( lost Friday to Alb. 12-7)
5) EM - 9-7
6) NR - 7-9 (lost to NM 8-4 Friday
7) SD - 7-9 (swept GS 6-2 and 14-4 Friday)
8) WM - 6-10
9) GS - 0-16

Wrapping Up the Baseball Regular Season

I'm heading over to Albemarle's game tonight with Chatham Central, which will wrap up the baseball regular season. Here's a quick look at the standings.

West Stanly would clinch the regular season title with a win tonight at CATA after beating Monroe 16-1 on Thursday. North Stanly could climb into fourth place with a win at Forest Hills tonight and a win Monday against Union Academy. The top four 2A teams from the RRC go to the 2A playoffs. Here are the Rocky River Standings:

1) WS - 15-1

2) Pied. - 14-2

3) Cut. - 13-3

4) FH - 9-6

5) NS - 7-7

6) CATA - 5-10

7) UA - 4-10

8) Berry - 2-13

9) Mon. 0-15

If Albemarle wins tonight, they have the third seed from the YYC, East Montgomery would be fourth and Chatham Central fifth. If the 'Dogs lose, there could be a three-way tie between Albemarle, Chatham and East, Chatham would vault into third, and Albemarle and East would finish tied for third. Through Thursday's games, the standings are:

1) SS - 13-3

2) NM - 11-4

3) Alb. - 9-6

4) CC - 8-7

5)- EM - 9-7

6) NR - 7-8

7) SD - 5-9

8) WM - 6-10

9) GS - 0-14

Back in the Saddle Again

Just a quick note to let people know that I will begin bloggin as often as I can get time in order to let people know the very latest from games. I will also be getting scores up on the website as soon as they occur and as fast as I get the info.

Hope you enjoy the new Sports Connection blog. If you have any comments, story ideas, compliments, complaints, or anything else, you can email me at charles@stanlynewspress.com