Cards top Eagles to 4-peat as conference champions – Mount Airy News

East Surry quarterback Folger Boaz completes a first half pass against Surry Central.
Cory Smith | The News
East Surry’s Colby Johnson makes one of his four touchdown receptions against Surry Central.
Cory Smith | The News
Golden Eagle Allen Huffman (32) splits a pair of Cardinal defenders as he returns a kickoff to East Surry territory.
Cory Smith | The News
East Surry’s Braden Snow (44) takes a handoff from quarterback Luke Bruner during the fourth quarter.
Cory Smith | The News
Surry Central’s Clay Whitaker (22) makes a touchdown saving tackle inside the 5-yard line.
Cory Smith | The News
Cardinal defender Kyle Zinn (11) takes down Eagles running back Allen Huffman behind the line of scrimmage.
Cory Smith | The News
Brian Williams (1) moves the chains for the Golden Eagles after taking a pass from Mason Jewell 23 yards.
Cory Smith | The News
East Surry’s Stephen Brantley (24) nails one of his seven made PATs.
Cory Smith | The News
Surry Central quarterback Mason Jewell (16) calls his own number and runs behind his offensive line.
Cory Smith | The News
DOBSON — East Surry clinched the outright Foothills 2A Conference Championship Friday by defeating Surry Central 55-0.
The Cardinals accumulated close to 400 yards of offense, which included nearly 300 yards passing in just the first half. The Golden Eagles were held to just over 100 total yards. East Surry’s defense forced an interception, had two fumble recoveries and 11 tackles for a loss.
Friday’s win completes East Surry’s third undefeated regular season in the past four seasons and the school’s fourth consecutive conference championship. The Cardinals (10-0, 6-0 FH2A) won the Northwest 1A title in 2019 and 2020, then repeated as FH2A Champions in 2021 and 2022.
An 11-play, 4:05 drive to start the game was the longest drive for either team. East Surry went 75 yards on eight passing completions before Folger Boaz plugged in the 5-yard run. Stephen Brantley hit his first of seven consecutive PATs to put the visitors up 7-0.
From here, the Eagles (2-8, 1-5 FH2A) and Cardinals alternated quick drives. Surry Central went three-and-out on its first three drives, while East scored on its first four drives. Following the drive of more than four minutes, each of East Surry’s next three scores came on drives of less than 60 seconds; all three ended with Boaz connecting with Colby Johnson for touchdowns.
Johnson finished the night with nine catches for 106 yards. Johnson tied a school record with four receiving touchdowns, which was set by Stephen Gosnell (Class of 2020) in 2019. Landon Stevens (Class of 2020) tied the record later in the 2019 season, and Matthew Keener tied it again just seven days prior to Johnson’s four-TD game.
Another Cardinal school record was set in the game by Boaz. The senior passed his brother Jefferson (Class of 2020) for the most career passing touchdowns by a Cardinal, which Jefferson set with 91. Folger’s six passing touchdowns against Central put him at 92.
The younger Boaz also surpassed 8,000 career yards passing by throwing for 298 against the Golden Eagles.
A 23-yard pass from Mason Jewell to Brian Williams gave Surry Central a first down for the first time in the game at the end of the first quarter. Central ended up having to punt on the drive, but then stopped East for the first time on the following possession.
Johnson, Matthew Keener and Luke Brown added receiving touchdowns in the second quarter to bring East Surry’s halftime lead to 49. The latter of the two scores were separated by just 61 seconds thanks to a strip sack from Brett Clayton sandwiched in-between.
Clayton and Hatcher Hamm combined for 21 total tackles and seven tackles for a loss. Hamm led the team with 12 total tackles, followed by Clayton and Joshua Parker with nine each and Kyle Zinn with seven. Zinn added two tackles for a loss, and Johnson and Eli Becker each had one.
In addition to Clayton’s sack and fumble recovery, Zinn recovered a fumble on a punt attempt from Surry Central and Stevie Keener grabbed an interception.
Most of Surry Central’s total yards came from completed Jewell passes in the first quarter as the sophomore started the game 4-of-6 for 49 yards. However, he was held to 3-of-8 passing for 13 yards for the remainder of the game.
East Surry’s season will continue in the state playoffs. The Cards earned the No. 2 seed in the 2A West and will host No. 31 Anson (4-6) on Nov. 4.
Scoring
East Surry – 28, 21, 0, 6 = 55
Surry Central – 0, 0, 0, 0 = 0
1Q
7:55 ESHS 0-7 – Folger Boaz 5-yard rush TD, Stephen Brantley PAT
5:54 ESHS 0-14 – Colby Johnson 6-yard TD reception on Folger Boaz pass, Stephen Brantley PAT
3:15 ESHS 0-21 – Colby Johnson 6-yard TD reception on Folger Boaz pass, Stephen Brantley PAT
1:06 ESHS 0-28 – Colby Johnson 1-yard TD reception on Folger Boaz pass, Stephen Brantley PAT
2Q
6:45 ESHS 0-35 – Matthew Keener 23-yard TD reception on Folger Boaz pass, Stephen Brantley PAT
5:44 ESHS 0-42 – Luke Brown 12-yard TD reception on Folger Boaz pass, Stephen Brantley PAT
2:52 ESHS 0-49 – Colby Johnson 18-yard TD reception on Folger Boaz pass, Stephen Brantley PAT
3Q
No scoring
4Q
3:35 ESHS 0-55 – Braden Snow 30-yard rush TD, PAT no good
Offensive Stats
Surry Central
TEAM
63 yards passing on seven completions
41 yards rushing on 28 carries
104 total yards
INDIVIDUAL
Passing: Mason Jewell 7-of-14 for 63 yards, one interception; Lucas Johnson 0-of-1
Receiving: Brian Williams 2 receptions for 40 yards; Allen Huffman one reception for 13 yards; Ayden Wilmoth three receptions for 8 yards; Kyle Inman one reception for 4 yards
Rushing: Brian Williams three carries for 16 yards; Allen Huffman 14 carries for 15 yards; Alex Huffman two carries for 6 yards; Mason Jewell eight carries for 4 yards, one fumble; Wyatt Wall one carry for zero yards
East Surry
TEAM
296 yards passing and six touchdowns on 21 completions
98 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 17 carries
394 total yards
INDIVIDUAL
Passing: Folger Boaz 21-of-30 for 298 yards, six touchdowns; Luke Bruner 1-of-1 for -2 yards
Receiving: Colby Johnson nine receptions for 106 yards and four touchdowns; Luke Brown three receptions for 77 yards, one touchdown; Matthew Keener two receptions for 57 yards, one touchdown; Kyle Zinn four receptions for 43 yards; Stephen Brantley one reception for 14 yards; Gabriel Harpe one reception for -2 yards
Rushing: Braden Snow two carries for 38 yards, one touchdown; Folger Boaz four carries for 25 yards, one touchdown; Hayden Sammons three carries for 21 yards; Matthew Edwards four carries for 11 yards; Luke Bruner one carry for 8 yards; Gabriel Harpe one carry for zero yards; Matthew Keener one carry for -1 yard; Jackson Key one carry for -4 yards
Kicking: Stephen Brantley 7-of-8 PATs, three punts for 118 yards (39.3 yards per punt), one punt downed inside the 5-yard line
Reach Cory on Twitter @MaNewsSports
Real Estate Transfers
Marion wins 1A Singles Championship
October 31, 2022
CARY — Mount Airy sophomore Carrie Marion won the N.C. High School Athletic Association 1A Singles State Championship at Saturday’s Tournament.
Marion is the first person in the history of the Granite Bears’ girls tennis program to win both a singles and doubles championship, having won the NCHSAA 1A Doubles Championship with partner Ella Brant in 2021.
Carrie also joins Jordan Jackson as the only Mount Airy girls to win a singles championship. Jackson, a 2013 Mount Airy grad, captured the 1A Singles Championship her junior year in 2011.
“It means a whole lot and is very humbling,” Marion said regarding her accomplishment and putting her name in the Granite Bear history book. “I am excited to be part of the rich history of Mount Airy Tennis and I hope that it motivates more young girls to come out and play tennis.”
Instead of opting to compete for a second consecutive doubles title, the sophomore said she decided to go the singles route this year to challenge herself.
“I didn’t know going into it what the outcome was going to be,” Marion said. “But, I knew it was going to be extremely hard, and at the end of it I feel I grew as a player.”
Marion has a 25-2 singles record this season following her championship victory. She went 3-0 in the Northwest 1A Conference Tournament, 4-0 in the 1A West Regional Tournament, 3-0 in the 1A State Tournament and is currently 15-2 in dual team matches. Mount Airy is currently in the quarterfinals of the 1A Dual Team State Tournament as the No. 1 overall seed.
“I’m extremely proud of and elated for Carrie,” said Mount Airy coach Luke Graham. “It’s very rewarding for me to see her work ethic, dedication and sacrifice pay off with a championship. I’m equally proud of the way she carries herself and represents our team and school on the court: respectful and courteous to her opposition.”
Marion, the 1A West Regional Champion, opened the state tournament with a 6-0, 6-0 win over Bear Grass Charter’s Kristin Ingalls. Highland Tech’s Madison Darrell became the first 1A opponent to take a set from Carrie in the semifinal match, winning the first 7-6 (3), but Marion fired back by winning the next two sets 6-3, 6-4.
Graham said Marion showed extremely impressive composure, poise and resilience during both the semifinal and final matches. Carrie trailed four games to two and love-30 in the make-or-break third set of the semifinal. Instead of folding under the pressure, she came back to win the game and then the next three to advance to the championship.
The State Championship match was a rematch of the 1A West Title match a week prior, with Marion taking on Bishop McGuinness sophomore Adelaide Jernigan. Jernigan started the season 19-0 before falling 6-3, 6-1 to Marion in the regional finals.
Jernigan led 5-4 in the first set and even came within a point of winning the set twice. Marion managed to force a tiebreak in the first set, win it and then maintained a lead in the second set to close out the match 7-6 (1), 6-3.
“It was almost unbelievable and honestly still feels like it didn’t happen,” Marion said. “It was also very relieving that it was over, and that all the time and effort I put into it paid off.”
“There was a lot of emotion in the moment shared between myself, Carrie, her teammates and her family,” Graham said. “It’s nice to witness for someone I have so much respect and admiration for.”
Carrie had multiple people she wanted to thank for helping her reach this point:
“My team. They support me endlessly, challenge me and they are the best group of friends I could ever ask for.
“Coach Luke, for being the best and most encouraging coach ever. He pushes me to be the best player I can be, and he always knows what to say to motivate me during the matches.
“My parents, for not being tough on me about the game but instead they are supportive and encouraging. My sister Audrey is always excited for me and is behind me 100% of the time.”
Carrie wasn’t the only Granite Bear competing for a championship over the weekend. Brant was looking to win back-to-back doubles championships, this time with partner Kancie Tate.
Brant, a junior, was competing in her third state tournament: all three in doubles. Tate, a senior, returned to the state tournament for a second consecutive year, having reached the 1A Singles Semifinals in 2021.
“Along with Carrie’s championship, I’d also like to express how proud I was of the run our doubles team made to the state semifinals,” Graham said. “Kancie and Ella were paired together last minute prior to the conference tourney with very little preparation or match play together.
“The chemistry they built essentially on the fly that led them to both a conference and regional championship was exciting to watch, and I think it speaks volumes to the quality players and competitors they are.”
Brant/Tate defeated two state qualifying pairs on their way to winning the NW1A and 1A West Regional Championships. The Bear pair defeated East Wilkes’ Ava Darnell and Savannah Sparks in both the conference and regional championship matches, and also beat Bishop McGuinness’ Isabella Ross and Nina Holton in the regional semifinals.
Brant/Tate found themselves in a rematch with Ross/Holton after the Granite Bear duo defeated Chatham Central’s Jaylee Williams and Rachel Albright 7-5, 6-0 in the opening round of the state tournament.
Brant/Tate won the first set over Ross/Holton 6-2, but the Villians’ duo won the next two sets to advance to the state championship match. Chatham Central’s Olivia Brooks and Ellie Phillips defeated Ross/Holton 7-6 (1), 6-3 in the 1A Doubles Championship.
“Ella and Kancie have both been in the top half of our lineup for three years straight at this point and have been tremendously instrumental to the success of our team,” Graham said. “I know how disappointed they were with the semifinal loss to Bishop and I was gutted for them. But, credit to Bishop’s girls – they played a much cleaner match in the state semi as opposed to when we faced them in the regional semi.”
The season isn’t over yet for Graham and the Granite Bears. Mount Airy (18-1), the No. 1-ranked team in the 1A West, is set to host No. 4 Highland Tech (12-3) in the semifinals of the 1A Dual Team State Tournament on Nov. 1. The match was originally scheduled for Oct. 31, but was pushed back due to weather.
The winner of Mount Airy/Highland Tech will battle the winner of No. 2 Bishop McGuiness (16-1) and No. 3 Gray Stone Day (16-2) in the 1A West Regional Championship.
October 31, 2022
DOBSON — East Surry clinched the outright Foothills 2A Conference Championship Friday by defeating Surry Central 55-0.
The Cardinals accumulated close to 400 yards of offense, which included nearly 300 yards passing in just the first half. The Golden Eagles were held to just over 100 total yards. East Surry’s defense forced an interception, had two fumble recoveries and 11 tackles for a loss.
Friday’s win completes East Surry’s third undefeated regular season in the past four seasons and the school’s fourth consecutive conference championship. The Cardinals (10-0, 6-0 FH2A) won the Northwest 1A title in 2019 and 2020, then repeated as FH2A Champions in 2021 and 2022.
An 11-play, 4:05 drive to start the game was the longest drive for either team. East Surry went 75 yards on eight passing completions before Folger Boaz plugged in the 5-yard run. Stephen Brantley hit his first of seven consecutive PATs to put the visitors up 7-0.
From here, the Eagles (2-8, 1-5 FH2A) and Cardinals alternated quick drives. Surry Central went three-and-out on its first three drives, while East scored on its first four drives. Following the drive of more than four minutes, each of East Surry’s next three scores came on drives of less than 60 seconds; all three ended with Boaz connecting with Colby Johnson for touchdowns.
Johnson finished the night with nine catches for 106 yards. Johnson tied a school record with four receiving touchdowns, which was set by Stephen Gosnell (Class of 2020) in 2019. Landon Stevens (Class of 2020) tied the record later in the 2019 season, and Matthew Keener tied it again just seven days prior to Johnson’s four-TD game.
Another Cardinal school record was set in the game by Boaz. The senior passed his brother Jefferson (Class of 2020) for the most career passing touchdowns by a Cardinal, which Jefferson set with 91. Folger’s six passing touchdowns against Central put him at 92.
The younger Boaz also surpassed 8,000 career yards passing by throwing for 298 against the Golden Eagles.
A 23-yard pass from Mason Jewell to Brian Williams gave Surry Central a first down for the first time in the game at the end of the first quarter. Central ended up having to punt on the drive, but then stopped East for the first time on the following possession.
Johnson, Matthew Keener and Luke Brown added receiving touchdowns in the second quarter to bring East Surry’s halftime lead to 49. The latter of the two scores were separated by just 61 seconds thanks to a strip sack from Brett Clayton sandwiched in-between.
Clayton and Hatcher Hamm combined for 21 total tackles and seven tackles for a loss. Hamm led the team with 12 total tackles, followed by Clayton and Joshua Parker with nine each and Kyle Zinn with seven. Zinn added two tackles for a loss, and Johnson and Eli Becker each had one.
In addition to Clayton’s sack and fumble recovery, Zinn recovered a fumble on a punt attempt from Surry Central and Stevie Keener grabbed an interception.
Most of Surry Central’s total yards came from completed Jewell passes in the first quarter as the sophomore started the game 4-of-6 for 49 yards. However, he was held to 3-of-8 passing for 13 yards for the remainder of the game.
East Surry’s season will continue in the state playoffs. The Cards earned the No. 2 seed in the 2A West and will host No. 31 Anson (4-6) on Nov. 4.
Scoring
East Surry – 28, 21, 0, 6 = 55
Surry Central – 0, 0, 0, 0 = 0
1Q
7:55 ESHS 0-7 – Folger Boaz 5-yard rush TD, Stephen Brantley PAT
5:54 ESHS 0-14 – Colby Johnson 6-yard TD reception on Folger Boaz pass, Stephen Brantley PAT
3:15 ESHS 0-21 – Colby Johnson 6-yard TD reception on Folger Boaz pass, Stephen Brantley PAT
1:06 ESHS 0-28 – Colby Johnson 1-yard TD reception on Folger Boaz pass, Stephen Brantley PAT
2Q
6:45 ESHS 0-35 – Matthew Keener 23-yard TD reception on Folger Boaz pass, Stephen Brantley PAT
5:44 ESHS 0-42 – Luke Brown 12-yard TD reception on Folger Boaz pass, Stephen Brantley PAT
2:52 ESHS 0-49 – Colby Johnson 18-yard TD reception on Folger Boaz pass, Stephen Brantley PAT
3Q
No scoring
4Q
3:35 ESHS 0-55 – Braden Snow 30-yard rush TD, PAT no good
Offensive Stats
Surry Central
TEAM
63 yards passing on seven completions
41 yards rushing on 28 carries
104 total yards
INDIVIDUAL
Passing: Mason Jewell 7-of-14 for 63 yards, one interception; Lucas Johnson 0-of-1
Receiving: Brian Williams 2 receptions for 40 yards; Allen Huffman one reception for 13 yards; Ayden Wilmoth three receptions for 8 yards; Kyle Inman one reception for 4 yards
Rushing: Brian Williams three carries for 16 yards; Allen Huffman 14 carries for 15 yards; Alex Huffman two carries for 6 yards; Mason Jewell eight carries for 4 yards, one fumble; Wyatt Wall one carry for zero yards
East Surry
TEAM
296 yards passing and six touchdowns on 21 completions
98 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 17 carries
394 total yards
INDIVIDUAL
Passing: Folger Boaz 21-of-30 for 298 yards, six touchdowns; Luke Bruner 1-of-1 for -2 yards
Receiving: Colby Johnson nine receptions for 106 yards and four touchdowns; Luke Brown three receptions for 77 yards, one touchdown; Matthew Keener two receptions for 57 yards, one touchdown; Kyle Zinn four receptions for 43 yards; Stephen Brantley one reception for 14 yards; Gabriel Harpe one reception for -2 yards
Rushing: Braden Snow two carries for 38 yards, one touchdown; Folger Boaz four carries for 25 yards, one touchdown; Hayden Sammons three carries for 21 yards; Matthew Edwards four carries for 11 yards; Luke Bruner one carry for 8 yards; Gabriel Harpe one carry for zero yards; Matthew Keener one carry for -1 yard; Jackson Key one carry for -4 yards
Kicking: Stephen Brantley 7-of-8 PATs, three punts for 118 yards (39.3 yards per punt), one punt downed inside the 5-yard line
October 29, 2022
The North Surry High School varsity and JV cheerleading squads as well as Northern Regional Hospital hosted a breast cancer awareness walk on Oct. 26.
The Greyhound Cheerleaders support breast cancer awareness all month in October. They wear pink socks, bows and use pink poms during the month.
This year, the Greyhounds decided to go the extra mile in their support of fighting this disease.
“For the last several years, I have asked Lana Eades Holder to come in and speak with the cheerleaders about breast health and breast cancer,” said varsity cheerleading coach Hope Ward. “When I asked Lana about doing something this year, she said, ‘let’s do something different, let me brainstorm’ and she came back with the idea of doing a short walk where the cheerleaders would pay five dollars each to walk.
“With the proceeds, Northern Regional Mammography Department could award one uninsured woman with a 3D mammogram. An uninsured woman has to pay $250 out of pocket for a 3D mammogram. As you can imagine, many women can’t afford this extra cost. So combined with the cheerleaders’ contributions and the ladies from the mammography department, hopefully we could raise enough money to pay for one mammogram.”
The cheerleaders took it beyond this and asked their parents, grandparents and friends to walk with them. The cheerleading coaches also invited the faculty and staff to walk with us.
“We even extended an invitation to the community by posting the event on NSHS social media pages,” Ward said. “Cheerleaders set up during lunch to ask for donations and sign people up for the walk. Many students and staff contributed but were unable to walk.
“I also asked the JROTC if they would assist us. Col. Corby Myles and 1st Sgt. Ken Goetzke, along with their cadets, measured and mapped out the route around campus. They also marked the walk with bright pink flags. The cadets were also stationed along the route to direct walkers and cheer them on. They were a huge help.”
Kim Atkins’ Foods II classes prepared pink cupcakes for the walk. The ladies in the mammography department and Food Lion provided after-walk snacks and water.
Andrea Hudson, Secondary Curriculum Coach at North Surry had a very personal reason for walking. Her mother, Laura Flye, was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer, one of the deadliest varieties, in December 2016. It metastasized to her bones and then traveled to her brain.
Flye passed away on June 30, 2021.
“Her cancer in her breast was so small that it was only caught through a 3D mammogram” said Hudson, who made a very generous donation to the walk according to Ward.
“I think that the breast cancer walk was a great way to bring awareness for the need of early detection to the younger generation. The research is so close to finding a cure that these sweet girls may see a cure in their lifetime. Cancer impacts every household in some way, shape or form. We need to do what we can to beat this evil disease. I was so happy to be part of this.”
Fonda Dalton, Social Studies Teacher at North Surry and Breast Cancer Survivor, said, “It was a very moving, emotional and encouraging event. A time of information, reflection and inspiration.”
Barbara Moncus, another Breast Cancer survivor, has a son at North Surry and also joined in for the walk.
“I appreciate you all and all the girls,” Moncus said. “It is hard enough to go through cancer, much less have to worry about bills. I know a mammogram is painful and when I hear people say it hurts too much. I tell them that the pain is just a few minutes and that pain can save your life. It did mine.”
Representing the Northern Regional Mammography Department was Mammography Coordinator Tammy Branch and Mammography Technologists Lana Holder and Lauren Creed.
“With the resurgence of COVID-19 we are diligently continuing our safety protocols to keep our patients safe. Please continue to get your yearly mammogram! Mammography saves lives” said Holder.
The total donation amount from the walk was $880.
“I am so proud of these cheerleaders, our faculty and staff, our students and this wonderful community that we live in for coming together to support this cause,” Ward said. “With the money raised, Northern Regional Hospital will be able to award 3 uninsured women with 3D mammograms. How awesome is that!“
October 29, 2022
CHAPEL HILL — It is no secret.
There is a shortage of officials for amateur contests across our country. That shortage continues to grow and is causing significant challenges for high school athletics in the United States. North Carolina is not immune to this shortage and the N.C. High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) is working diligently to address concerns and issues surrounding the recruitment and retention of officials.
This past summer, the NCHSAA commissioned a special Ad Hoc Committee on Officiating and tasked them with generating a report and recommendations for the Board of Directors to plot a pathway forward to address critical issues in officiating.
Steve Schwartz, an official in the Triangle area and chairperson of the Officiating Ad Hoc Committee tasked with studying the issues surrounding recruitment and retention of officials in North Carolina shared, “Our center of work was to study the officiating experience in North Carolina. Over 3100 officials, across all sports, shared their honest feelings in a survey about pay, sportsmanship, safety, satisfaction, and the level of support they feel from schools and the NCHSAA. That data told us a story that led to several major recommendations that, if adopted, will improve life for all officials in the state.”
Schwartz and his committee recently presented their findings to the NCHSAA’s Review and Officiating Subcommittee of the Board of Directors. The results of their intensive study were alarming. The Review and Officiating Committee had several hours of candid discussion with the members of the committee as both groups look to chart a course forward that will significantly improve the officiating experience for officials at NCHSAA Member Schools.
The Ad Hoc committee created a report based on a survey that was sent to the NCHSAA’s more than 7,400 officials. The survey generated a 42% response rate, and the results were clear. There is much work to be done across our state to address the underlying problems that are driving a shortage of officials.
Key highlights of survey findings from the Ad Hoc Committee on Officiating
– Poor Sportsmanship is the #1 reason officials will leave the officiating ranks
– Low pay is the second leading issue driving officials out of the job
– Average age of officials is continuing to rise
– More than half of current NCHSAA officials have considered quitting in the last two years
NCHSAA Commissioner Que Tucker said, “We hear our officials loudly and clearly. Bad behavior, particularly by fans, at high school contests must stop. The data from this survey of officials is alarming as it shows how close we are to a tremendous problem in finding qualified officials for contests at our schools.”
Tucker added: “The members of our Board of Directors are committed to thoroughly reviewing the committee’s findings, creating a game plan and timeline to address these issues, while continuing a dialogue with officials from across the state. Our goals are to make substantive changes, both near-term and long-term, to improve the conditions and experiences officials are facing in our schools and at our contests.”
Schwartz noted, “As the Board spends the next few weeks reviewing our proposal in anticipation of creating their plan, we are hopeful the NCHSAA will make a significant commitment to the entire officiating program of North Carolina to stem our ongoing issues of the retention of current officials and the recruitment of new ones so high school athletics remains vibrant in our state.”
The NCHSAA Board of Directors is scheduled for its Winter Meeting November 29 through December 1. The NCHSAA has plans to provide the Ad Hoc Committee’s full report to the membership. It hopes to also provide a timeline for implementation of many of the submitted recommendations.
October 28, 2022
PILOT MOUNTAIN — East Surry soccer recognized three seniors during halftime of an Oct. 26 home match against Surry Central.
Alex Galvan, Kevin Blakeney and Juan Caro were honored by East Surry High School, the soccer program and coach Samuel Lowe.
“I just can’t say enough about those young men,” Lowe said. “They’ve been here since they were freshmen. I’m just so proud of them, not only for the progress they’ve made on the field but for the outstanding young men they’ve become.
“Alex has given everything he could this year on the field. He moved back on defense for us and was huge. We could always rely on him.
“Kevin is a workaholic. He will work his tail off all game and the whole time at practice. I would love to have a whole team of Kevins.
“I really hate it for Juan Caro because he had his ACL surgery after last season, finally got back after missing some games this year and then broke his nose the first game back. He really hasn’t played but maybe the last five games of the season. I really hate it for him because it’s his senior season and he couldn’t play most of it. I commend him for fighting to come back and overcoming those injuries. You could see the difference in how we played when he was on the field.
“All three of these guys will be extremely missed.”
East Surry finished the season 2-11-2 overall and 2-9-1 in the Foothills 2A Conference.
October 28, 2022
PILOT MOUNTAIN — Getting even can be a powerful motivator in sports.
In 2017, East Surry lost to Polk County 3-1 on the road in the 1A West Regional Semifinal. The Cardinals hosted the Wolverines in the 1A West Regional Championship the following season, but once again came up short 3-1.
Katelyn Markle, East Surry’s assistant volleyball coach at the time, still remembers the pain of watching the Cards be eliminated from the state playoffs by Polk County and used that as inspiration.
After almost four years exactly, the Cardinals and Wolverines once again found themselves battling in the playoffs. Only this time around Markle is the head coach at East Surry and both schools are part of the 2A division.
The final score once again read 3-1, but this time it was East Surry that had its hand raised as the victor with sets scores of 25-20, 25-10, 13-25 and 25-20.
“This win feels really good right now,” Markle said. “They’re a tough team. They have a lot of energy and they bring a lot to every game we’ve played against them. I had told the girls that in preparation for today. It just feels really good to beat Polk County.”
No. 4 East Surry and No. 12 Polk County entered the Oct. 27 match with identical 23-3 records. Despite being the higher seed, there many that considered East Surry the underdogs due to the NCHSAA’s RPI rankings. Polk County spent most the season ranked higher than East, and this included the day of the match when Polk Co. was No. 4 in the 2A West while East Surry was No. 5.
The difference in seeding resulted from East Surry winning the Foothills 2A Conference outright, while Polk split the Mountain Foothills Seven Conference title with Brevard and lost in their tournament championship.
All rankings went out the window once the whistle blew Thursday evening.
The four-set match only featured one lead change. East Surry took the lead to start every set, and managed to never trail in the first, second and fourth sets. The score was only ever tied four times combined in the three sets won by East Surry: 15-15 in the first set, 1-1 in the second set, and 6-6 and 9-9 in the fourth set.
East Surry’s offense has made headlines all year with a profusion of high-flying attackers. While the offense continued to thrive – with the Cardinals recording 49 total kills, led by Merry Parker Boaz’s 22 – Markle knew the defense would have to be on point to contend with a talented Polk County squad.
And that’s exactly what they did.
“I thought our defense played very, very well tonight,” Markle said. “We didn’t let many things hit the floor, and we got a touch on a lot of things and slowed their hits down. We worked on that a lot at practice yesterday, blocking and defense in general, and we executed both of those really well tonight.”
Markle called East Surry’s defense “scrappy” as a whole, saying they went after a lot.
The Cardinal coach also praised the team’s serving in the win. While the team had struggled with service errors at times during the past few weeks, it was their serving that gave them an advantage against the Wolverines.
“I thought we served tough at them and kept them out of system for the most part,” Markle said. “They had a great middle and a great outside we needed to counter so that really did a lot.
“I just thought we kept our composure and kept high energy even when things didn’t go our way.”
East took a 1-0 set lead by winning 25-20, then a Khloe Bennett block and Boaz kill put the Cardinals up 2-1 in the second set. Boaz served up an ace on the next point as East went on to score 12 consecutive times.
Boaz hit six aces in the second set alone. Bella Hutchens, who finished the night with 20 kills, recorded seven of those in the second set as east ran away with the win 25-10.
East Surry took Polk County out of system with strong serving in the second set, and the Wolverines turned around and retaliated in the third set. The score was tied 2-2 when Polk went on an 8-0 run, leading by as many as 12 in the set before winning 25-13.
The fourth and final set was similar to the first in that East Surry jumped out to an early lead and never trailed. The score was tied at 9-9 when Boaz nailed a kill down the sideline. This put Kate McCraw, who finished with 43 assists, at the service line to lead the Cardinals to a 15-9 lead.
It was Boaz’s turn to have seven kills in a set in the fourth, while Bella Hutchens added four, and Bennett, Maggy Sechrist and Madeline Dayton each added one.
A 25-20 fourth-set win sealed East Surry’s ticket to the Elite Eight.
Up next is another powerhouse: McMichael. The Phoenix are the No. 1 seed in the 2A West with a 24-1 record. When in-season tournaments are included, many of which only play best 2-of-3 sets, McMichael has a 34-3 record.
Ronald Reagan High School is the only team to defeat McMichael this season outside of tournaments, doing so 3-0 on Oct. 24.
Reagan, who also beat East Surry 3-0 in August, is one of two common opponents between East Surry and McMichael. The other is West Stokes, whom East Surry defeated 3-0 twice and McMichael defeated three times: 3-0 twice and 3-1 once.
“We know who we have to play, and we know how they play because I’ve seen film,” Markle said. “It’s going to be tough but it’s going to be a good game. I’m excited. I’ve wanted to play them all season, and now we get to – I just hope we’re ready.”
Scoring
(12) Polk County – 20, 10, 25, 20 – 1
(4) East Surry – 25, 25, 13, 25 – 3
October 28, 2022
DOBSON — The Surry Central varsity soccer team honored two senior athletes during an Oct. 19 home match against North Wilkes.
Though the team was notoriously young this year, it benefited greatly from the leadership of two senior athletes said coach Adan Garcia. The two seniors are Jonathan Avila and Eliazar “Eli” Gonzalez.
“I’ve known both athletes for years, even before they made their high school debut,” Garcia said. “Normally a coach calls one of their seniors an anchor, but it’s so hard not to call them both our anchor.
“Jonathan has the most minutes played on our team. Even when the team is struggling we can always rely that Jonathan will pick up the slack and help his team. He’s always reliable on and off the field and he is definitely a role model to our younger kids to follow. He may be quiet most of the time, but he has one of the biggest impacts on this team.
“Eli was unfortunately plagued with injuries since scrimmages. Nevertheless he came to all practices and games and never shied away from helping his team on drills and during games. He really was that fourth coach while he was out. Even now as we start giving him time, you can feel his presence as he helps elevate his team.
“Never shying away from their responsibilities, they will be missed.”
After a tough start to the 2022 season in which the Golden Eagles 3-6-2, Surry Central finished the regular season by winning nine of its remaining 10 matches. The Eagles finished second in the Foothills 2A Conference with a 10-2 record, just one match behind the conference champions, Forbush.
Surry Central (12-7-2) earned the No. 16 seed in the 2A West for the state playoffs. The Golden Eagles will host No. 17 Lincoln Charter (9-9-3) on Oct. 31.
October 27, 2022
The defending 1A Dual Team State Champions moved one step closer to a repeat by defeating East Wilkes in the Sweet 16.
The top-seeded Granite Bears ran into East Wilkes for the third time this season on Oct. 25. Even though the Cardinals were ranked No. 4 in the entire state by the N.C. High School Tennis Coaches Association, East Wilkes was given the No. 8 seed in the 1A West since they did not win their conference. East (12-4) finished second after losing to Mount Airy 8-1 and 9-0 during the regular season.
Mount Airy (18-1) continued its dominance over East Wilkes with a 6-0 sweep to advance to the Elite Eight.
Mount Airy won five of six singles matches in straight sets, with only the No. 3 singles match needing a tiebreaker to be decided. Granite Bear senior Kancie Tate won the opening set over Hallie Younger 6-1, then Younger took the second set 6-2.
Tate won the third-set tiebreaker 10-7 to improve to 19-0 in singles this season.
The No. 5 and No. 6 singles matches went heavily in the Bears’ favor. Senior Charlotte Hauser defeated East Wilkes’ Salem Sparks 6-0, 6-0 on court No. 5, and freshman Audrey Brown beat Valerie Schubart 6-1, 6-0 on court No. 6.
Mount Airy junior Ella Brant and East Wilkes’ Savannah Sparks split regular season meetings. Sparks won the first matchup between the No. 2 singles players as part of a marathon match, with set scores of: 7-6 (7-3), 4-6, 1-0 (13-11). Brant fired back with a 6-1, 7-5 win in the rematch, then won the rubber match on Tuesday 7-5, 6-0.
Finally, the Marion sisters – Audrey and Carrie – picked up wins for the Bears in No. 1 and No. 4 singles. Carrie, a sophomore, defeated Ava Darnell 6-3, 6-4 in the top spot, and Audrey, a senior, defeated Salem Emily Spicer 6-4, 6-2 in No. 4 singles.
Mount Airy is the only traditional 1A public school left in the 1A West and one of just two such schools left in the tournament.
The Bears will host No. 4 Highland Tech (12-3) in the Elite Eight. Highland defeated No. 13 Piedmont Community Charter (3-8) 6-0 in the opening round, then beat Elkin (7-8) 5-1 in the second round.
October 26, 2022
North Surry recognized seven senior soccer players during halftime of a match against Surry Central on Oct. 24.
The Greyhounds honored the following seniors: Hector Hernandez, Jonathan Lopez, Josh Garcia, Jimmy Burnett, Leonardo Cabrera, Salvador Rodriguez and Jordan Inman.
Coach Kevin Shore said the following of his seven senior players:
“Josh Garcia has played for North Surry for three of his four years in high school. Josh has been the starting keeper all season and he brings team spirit and great communications for the defensive line. Josh has really helped this season team focus and come together—his leadership will be missed.
“Jimmy Burnett has played midfield and striker much of the season before breaking bones in his foot last week. Jimmy has played three of his four seasons for North Surry and he brings size, speed, and endurance to the center midfield spot.
“Jonathan Lopez, a.k.a. Jonny, is the right defensive back and has played all 4-years for North Surry. Jonny has great anticipation and finds himself making great stops more times than not. Jonny brings size and has a great foot for changing fields with the ball.
“Jordan Inman has played all four years while at North Surry and he brings experience to the midfield spot. Jordan supports his team and gives it his all each time out.
“Leonardo Cabrera played only this season for North Surry as he transferred in from Mexico to be with family here in the states. Leo is a great defensive corner with his size and ability to play through the ball. He has led the defense with stops and winning those 50-50 balls.
“Salvi and Hector have been the backbone of the Hounds this season. Both have played for North for four seasons and have been captains for the last two seasons. Both started in the defensive line, and one or the other shift to mid field and even striker as the game progresses. Both possess great soccer knowledge and skillsets that allow them to decide where the teams needs a boost and they fill that role.
“Hector and Salvi had scored this season and rarely came out of games. They have been in a position to pick up vacancies from other players with injuries or who departed from the team. Both of these young men have really stepped up to lead a very young North Surry soccer club this season.”
October 26, 2022
PILOT MOUNTAIN — East Surry booked its ticket to the Elite Eight of the 2A West by defeating Forbush 5-1 on Oct. 25.
The Cardinals (15-1) are undefeated against fellow 2A teams in 2022. Tuesday’s playoff match against Forbush marked the third meeting of the Cards and Falcons this season, with the Cards winning all three.
Forbush finishes the season 15-4, with three of its losses coming to East Surry.
In all three meetings between the two Foothills 2A Conference schools, East Surry won No. 1 and No. 2 singles all three times. Cardinal seniors Tara Martin and Evelyn Ruedisueli are both undefeated in singles this season and continued their winning ways against the Falcons.
Martin swept Lauren Rockett 6-0, 6-0 in singles, just as she had twice before in No. 1 singles. Ruedisueli only dropped two games in a 6-1, 6-1 win over Carolina Myers in No. 2 singles.
No. 3 seed Sophie Hutchens gave East Surry another win by defeating Forbush’s Salem Parker. The Cardinal won 6-3, 6-0.
East’s Mallory Estrada gave the Cardinals a 4-0 advantage by defeated Katie Starling in No. 6 singles. Estrada took the first set 6-1, then battled back from a 5-6 deficit to force a set tiebreaker in the second – which Estrada won 7-1.
East Surry’s final win came on court No. 4. Like Estrada, Chloe Koons fought back from a 5-6 deficit to force a tiebreaker before winning 7-1, but Koons did so in the first set. Forbush’s Emma Sorrell won the second set 6-3, but Koons clinched the match victory with a 10-7 win in a third-set tiebreaker.
Forbush picked up its only win of the afternoon in No. 5 singles, where Jane Helton defeated East’s Taylor Bullington 6-1, 6-1.
East Surry and Forbush began the No. 1 singles match, but called it off once the No. 4 singles match ended.
Similar to 2021, East Surry will face No. 1 Salisbury in the playoffs. The top-seeded Hornets are 17-0 on the season.
The winner of East Surry/Salisbury will host the winner of No. 6 Hendersonville (14-1) and No. 7 West Lincoln (17-2) in the 2A West Regional Championship.
October 26, 2022
A win over Elkin on Oct. 24 will go down in the ever-expanding history book of Mount Airy soccer.
On the night Mount Airy celebrated 10 seniors, many that have been with the program all four years, the Granite Bears (19-0, 11-0 NW1A) clinched the Northwest 1A Conference Championship by defeating the Buckin’ Elks 8-1 in Wallace Shelton Stadium. This marks the sixth consecutive season that Mount Airy has won the NW1A Championship, and the third in which the Bears have won the title outright.
Mount Airy recognized the following senior athletes during halftime: Edwin Ramirez, Christopher Flores, Pablo Salmeron, Elkin Lopez, Agripino Perez, Carlos Diaz, Noah Lambert, Carson Hill, Juan Carlos Equihua and Edwin Agabo.
The win also served as coach Will Hurley’s 200th victory as the boys soccer coach at Mount Airy.
“It’s all about these kids,” Hurley said. “This is the memories of a lifetime for them. They’ve achieved something that is pretty tough to do. To go undefeated that many times in a row is exciting. They’ve meant a lot to me, and I’m not sure how to even describe it other than it’s been awesome. They’ve worked so hard.”
On winning his 200th game with the boys program, Hurley said that – in addition to working with some great young men that have come through the program – the highlight has been coaching alongside his two sons.
“Holden’s been with me through 200 wins and thick and thin, and Wes has been with me the last three years through this,” Hurley said. “To have them along has been what’s made it really special for me. I’m just really proud of all the kids and all the coaching staff.”
The focus on himself didn’t last long as Hurley quickly transitioned into talking about his players.
“I tell the kids this all the time: ‘For me it’s not about winning or losing, it’s about how you play the game. If you work on stuff in practice and if you execute it in the game it’ll turn into what we want,’ and they did that today. Probably the first time all season that we really executed what we worked on in practice.”
When the Bears first played the Elks (12-8, 7-4) on Sept. 27, Elkin became the only team in 2022 to come within one goal of winning in the 4-3 game. In fact, only two other teams – Ashe County and South Stokes – came within two goals of the Mount Airy, while Elkin was the only team this season to score more than twice.
The Granite Bears quickly put the game out of reach by scoring three times in the first six minutes: Perez scored on an assist from Salmeron in the fourth minute, Salmeron scored on an Agabo assist in the fifth minute, and Lopez scored less than 30 seconds after Salmeron’s goal.
Mount Airy scored five goals on 11 shots in the first half, with Gavin Guerrero and Perez adding the other two scores. Elkin’s Alejandro Lopez-Canobbio managed to score in the 24th minute, but this was the Elks’ only shot of the first half.
Lambert scored 43 seconds into the second half on a Hill throw in, and Agabo added two goals later in the half for Mount Airy.
The Granite Bears will close the regular season with their toughest test of the year to this point. Mount Airy, who last lost a regular season matchup in 2019, will host Forbush on Oct. 27.
Mount Airy is ranked No. 2 in the NCHSAA RPI rankings in the 1A West, while Forbush (18-0-1) is ranked No. 3 in the 2A West. Forbush secured the Foothills 2A Conference Championship this season and has only allowed one goal in its past 11 matches.
“Both of us like to treat it like a friendly, but it could really do a lot for both programs ahead of the postseason,” Hurley said. “For us to have continued success I think we have to keep working hard because that’s what we’ve been doing all season long. Taking things one game at a time and not looking ahead.“
October 26, 2022
PILOT MOUNTAIN — Three things one can count on life: death, taxes and East Surry volleyball reaching the Sweet 16.
East Surry advanced to the Sweet 16 for the ninth consecutive season – seven times in the 1A classification and now twice in the 2A classification – by defeating Randleman 3-0 on Oct. 25.
“I thought we played together really well tonight,” said East Surry coach Katelyn Markle. “We are peaking at the right time in the season. We just have to do our jobs and keep playing our game. I was very pleased with the entire team tonight and how well they kept their composure and energy up the entire game.”
The No. 4 Cardinals, now 23-3 overall, won their 17th straight match by downing the No. Tigers in three sets. During this winning streak East has only surrendered three sets while winning 51.
The teams opened with a back-and-forth first set. East Surry and No. 13 Randleman (17-6) traded big runs: the Cards went up 10-5, but the Tigers fired back to tie things at 10-10.
Neither side led by more than three points until late in the set. East held a 21-19 advantage when a kill from Madeline Dayton sparked a Cardinal run. Merry Parker Boaz, who tied for the most kills with 15, followed with a kill, then a dump from Kate McCraw made it 24-19.
A pair of Cardinal attack errors allowed Randleman to stay alive, but a Boaz kill ended the set at 25-21.
There were five lead changes and nine changes in the first set, but no lead changes or ties in either the second or third sets. Strong starts in both helped East Surry claim the overall match victory.
Attacks from East’s Boaz and Maggy Sechrist led the home team to a 4-0 lead, and the Tigers were eventually forced to call a timeout down 9-4. Bella Hutchens, who also had 15 kills, helped the Cards increase their lead to as many as nine in the second at 16-7.
Randleman’s offense started to find its groove, but had trouble putting points away with Samarin Kipple diving all over the court.
East had a little trouble with service errors derailing momentum in the second set, but went on to win 25-20.
Another strong start helped East go up 5-0 in the third set. Randleman cut the lead to 6-5 before a pair of Hutchens kills, but the Tigers wouldn’t lie down.
The Cardinal advantage was cut to 10-8 after a Tiger block, but a kill from Dayton saw momentum shift for the final time. Hutchens followed with a pair of aces on what would be a 15-4 Cardinal run.
East Surry ended the match with a 10-0 run to win the set 25-12.
East Surry will host No. 12 Polk County (23-3) in the Sweet 16 on Oct. 27. The visiting Wolverines tied for first in the Mountain Foothills Seven Conference, but due to a loss in the conference tournament were not afforded a top seed.
Polk County defeated No. 21 Anson (18-6) 3-0 in the opening round, then upset No. 5 Pine Lake Prep (16-7) 3-0 in the round of 32.
October 26, 2022
DOBSON — The Surry Community volleyball team defeated Catawba Valley Community College 3-1 on Oct. 20 to capture the Region 10 Western Division Championship.
The Lady Knights jumped out to an early lead to take the opening set 25-13. The Lady Red Hawks rebounded to take the second set 25-22. Surry then took a 2-1 lead after capturing the third set 25-16. The Lady Knights finished off the Red Hawks taking the fourth set 25-17.
Michelle Thao (Fred T. Foard HS) led Surry offensively with 27 kills while teammate Camilla Garner (Southwest Guilford HS) added 13 kills. Anna Stevens (Oak Grove HS) dished out a game high 46 assists.
Emma Freed (Starmount HS) recorded four service aces while PaChia Khang (Maiden HS) added three services aces.
Defensively, the Lady Knights received solid play from Stevens with 20 digs, while Khang notched 16 digs and Anna Martin (South Stokes HS) added 14. Coree Haywood-Parker (Southwest Guilford HS) led Surry with three blocks.
Prior to the game, Surry honored five sophomores that have led the Lady Knights to an overall 47-6 record along with back-to-back Region 10 Western Division Championships: Freed, Garner, Stevens, Thao and Elizabeth Tilley (Davie Co. HS).
Surry (22-2, 10-2) will travel to Wake Technical Community College on Friday for the Region 10 Division II volleyball tournament. The Lady Knights earned the top seed in the Western Division and will face Bryant and Stratton College at 4 p.m. on Oct. 28. The winner will advance to the semifinals on Oct. 29.
The Region 10 tournament winner advances to the NJCAA National Championship, held November 17-19 at Alliant Energy Powerhouse in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
October 25, 2022
MILLERS CREEK — East Surry claimed at least a share of the Foothills 2A Conference Championship by defeating West Wilkes 54-7 on Oct. 21.
The Cardinals, now 9-0 overall and 5-0 in conference play, piled on 35 first-quarter points to put the game away early. East Surry scored in all three phases to put up their sixth game of the season scoring at least 50 points.
A week 11 victory over Surry Central (2-7, 1-4 FH2A) will give the Cardinals the FH2A title outright. This would be East Surry’s fourth consecutive outright conference title, as the Cards won the Northwest 1A Conference Championship in 2019 and 2020-21, and the FH2A Championship in 2021.
Wilkes Central (6-3, 4-1 FH2A) is the only other team still in contention for the FH2A Title. The Eagles need a win in their week 11 game against Forbush (3-6, 3-2 FH2A) AND an East Surry loss to share the title.
East Surry’s road win over West Wilkes marked the school’s 23rd consecutive regular season win. It was also the Cardinals’ third consecutive game scoring at least 40 points in the first half.
The Cards got on the board less than a minute into the game with a Matthew Keener touchdown reception thrown by Folger Boaz. Keener went on to lead East with six receptions for 115 yards and four touchdowns, becoming the third Cardinal to ever grab four receiving touchdowns in one game (Landon Stevens 2019, Stephen Gosnell 2019).
East’s Brett Clayton then forced a fumble that was recovered by Lindann Fleming, which set up Kyle Zinn for a touchdown run. Boaz found Keener again to make it 20-0, then a Boaz touchdown run and another Keener touchdown made it 34-0 before the end of the first quarter.
Keener caught his fourth touchdown pass right before halftime. Clayton and Colby Johnson went on to score rushing touchdowns in the second half.
Boaz finished 15-of-20 passing (75%) for 236 yards and four touchdowns. Behind Keener’s 115 yards, Johnson added 55 on three catches, Stephen Brantley had three receptions for 49 yards, Luke Brown had two receptions for 12 yards and Zinn had one 5-yard reception.
Seven different Cardinals rushed in the game to accumulate 91 yards: Clayton, Zinn, Johnson, Boaz, Hayden Sammons, Matthew Edwards and Luke Bruner.
Defensively, East Surry had 16 tackles for a loss. Clayton led the way with five, followed by Anderson Badgett with four, Isaac Vaden with two, and Edwards, Zinn, Hatcher Hamm, Daniel Villasenor and Joshua Parker with one each. Clayton and Badgett each had two sacks.
Clayton, Hamm and Vaden each finished with double-digit tackles.
Scoring
East Surry – 34, 6, 14, 0 = 54
West Wilkes – 0, 0, 7, 0 = 7
October 25, 2022
ELKIN — Mount Airy came back from its bye week well-rested and ready to repeat as conference champions.
The Granite Bears secured at least a share of the Northwest 1A Conference with its most one-sided victory of the 2022 season. Mount Airy traveled to Elkin on Oct. 21 and won 66-0, improving to 8-1 overall and 5-0 in the NW1A Conference.
Mount Airy returns home for the first time in nearly a month on Oct. 28 to host Senior Night against Alleghany (3-6, 2-3 NW1A). A win over Alleghany will grant the Bears the NW1A Championship outright for the second consecutive season, while they will share the title with either Starmount or East Wilkes with a loss.
Starmount and East Wilkes both sit in second place in the conference with 4-1 records. One will be eliminated from the conference title race regardless of Mount Airy’s Week 11 results as the Rams and Cardinals play one another. Both Starmount and East Wilkes’ only conference loss came against Mount Airy.
The Granite Bears have scored 60 points or more three times this season. The first was a 62-7 home win over East Wilkes, the second was a 62-0 road win over North Stokes and the third came at Elkin on Friday.
Mount Airy scored 42 of its 66 points in the opening quarter and led 56-0 at halftime. The Bears forced five Buckin’ Elk turnovers in the first half: Cam’Ron Webster and Caleb Reid each recovered two fumbles, and Walker Stroup ran an interception 34 yards to the end zone.
Mount Airy’s dominant ground game had another strong performance against the Elks. Junior Tyler Mason extended his lead of total touchdowns in the 1A division with four more rushing TDs. Mason scored on all four of his carries, going for 71 yards in the process.
Nas Lemon also posted 71 yards rushing for Mount Airy, doing so on seven carries. Lemon also had a rushing score for the Bears.
D.J. Joyce added two carries for 47 yards, followed by Caleb Reid with three carries for 24 yards and two touchdowns, Mario Revels with one carry for 17 yards and a touchdown, Ian Gallimore with one carry for 11 yards and Landon Gallimore with three carries for -8 yards and a fumble.
Ian Gallimore finished 3-of-4 passing (75%) for 57 yards and an interception. Stroup had two catches for 47 yards, and Blake Hawks had one 10-yard reception.
Stroup also finished 8-for-8 on PATs and scored a 31-yard field goal in the third quarter.
Scoring
Mount Airy – 42, 14, 3, 7 = 66
Elkin – 0, 0, 0, 0 = 7
October 24, 2022
Ninety one runners and walkers braved the early morning Patrick County, Virginia, chill on Saturday morning, lining up for the Apple Dumpling Festival 5K presented by the Patrick County Chamber and Dan River Basin Association.
The race is a fundraiser for the association, to continue trail development in Patrick County, according to event organizers. Among the work being done includes the addition of mapping and trail markers for the I.C. Dehart bike and hiking trails in Woolwine, Virginia
. Complete results are available at www.runroanoke.com. We look forward to seeing everyone again next year.
Racers gather to sprint — or jog, or even walk — along Mayo River Rail Trail.
Completing “the flattest 5K in Patrick County” in first place was Eli Roberson in a time of 17:06, with second place Noah Hiatt coming in with a time of 18:59 and Hunter Martin claiming third in 19:36.
For the females, first place was Ellianna Montgomery in 25:45, second was Eden Nickelston 25:46 and third was Kinsleigh Harris in 29:26. Overall masters male was Landon Nowlin in 19:58 and overall female was Roshne Davidson in 30:26. Participant ages ranged from under 10 to older than 70.
“A special thank you goes to the Stuart Elementary Run Club participants who trained for six weeks before the race,” chamber organizers said. “And thank you to Lindsay Alley for organizing the club. This event would not be possible without the assistance of our sponsors: Adcock Veterinary Orthopedic Solutions, PC Chamber of Commerce, Jones & DeShon Orthodontics, Clark Gasand Oil, The Landmark Center, Blue Ridge Therapy Connection, Patrick County Eye Associates, Clark Brothers Construction, Patrick Med Spa, Blue Ridge Accounting & Tax, Liz Wariner and John Hopkins and Lynn Regan.
October 24, 2022
SALISBURY — East Surry seniors Tara Martin and Evelyn Ruedisueli won the 2A Midwest Regional Doubles Championship over the weekend.
The Lady Cardinal duo avenged their loss in the 2021 regional tournament by defeating a team from Salisbury. Salisbury’s top duo from last season was one of only two teams to defeat Martin/Ruedisueli their junior year.
This time around, Martin/Ruedisueli upset the top-seeded pair of Salisbury’s Cora Wymbs/Millie Wymbs 1-6, 6-4, 6-0 in the championship match.
The two Cardinals will compete in their third state tournament as a doubles team. The pair were 1A State Runners Up in 2020-21, and reached the 2A State Semifinals in 2021-22.
Martin also reached the 1A Doubles State Semifinals as a freshman with partner Sarah Mann (Class of 2020).
Both Martin/Ruedisueli and Wymbs/Wymbs were undefeated heading into Saturday’s championship match. The Wymbs’, champions of the Central Carolina Conference, were 18-0 coming into the tournament, while Foothills Champions Martin/Ruedisueli were 15-0 as a team.
The Wymbs’ earned a first-round bye before defeating No. 9 Emma Pollard/Addison Griffin (8-1) of West Stanly 6-1, 6-1. Wymbs/Wymbs then beat the No. 4-seeded pair of Forbush’s Caroline Myers/Salem Parker (10-3) 6-0, 6-1.
Martin/Ruedisueli were the tournament’s No. 2 seed. The Cardinal duo defeated West Stokes’ No. 15-seeded team of Sadie Hartle/Gordon Grabs, who were 6-6 on the season as a team, 6-0, 6-0 in the opening round. Martin/Ruedisueli then defeated the No. 10-seeded team of West Stanly’s Reagan Talley/Sue Pollard (11-1) by a score of 6-1, 6-1.
Just like the 2021 season, Martin/Ruedisueli had to take on Salisbury’s second-best doubles team in the semifinals. The pair were still an intimidating foe as none of Salisbury’s top six players dropped a single match in either singles or doubles the entire regular season.
The No. 3-seeded duo of Salisbury’s Lucy Barr/Abbey Lawson entered the tournament 17-1, with their only loss coming against their own teammates in the conference championship.
Martin/Ruedisueli advanced to the championship match with a 6-1, 6-1 win, then went on to upset the top seeds in three sets. Both teams, as well as Salisbury’s Barr/Lawson and Forbush’s Myers/Parker, will all compete in the 2A Doubles State Tournament on Oct. 28-29 at Ting Park in Holly Springs.
Surry County had two doubles teams and two singles competitors reach the 2A Midwest Regional Championship.
In doubles, Surry Central junior Karlie Robertson and sophomore McKenna Merritt teamed together to get the No. 11 seed. Robertson/Merritt (7-6) were defeated by Mount Pleasant’s Reagan Hylton/Hailie Durham (14-5) 6-4, 6-4 in the opening round.
East Surry’s Sophie Hutchens and North Surry’s Whitley Hege competed in the singles championship.
Hege (13-5) was the No. 14 seed and was defeated by the No. 3 seed, Mount Pleasant’s Ryley Gray, 6-6 (7-5), 6-1.
Hutchens (13-2) was the No. 4 seed and was defeated by the No. 13 seed, Reidsville’s Mariana Faint, by a score of 6-3, 6-2.
October 24, 2022
ELKIN — One week after dominating the Northwest 1A Conference Championship at Elkin Municipal Park, the Mount Airy tennis team posted a repeat performance for regionals at the same location.
The results for both brackets were the same, with Mount Airy players capturing both the singles and doubles crowns. In the case of the doubles bracket, the 1A West Regional Championship match was identical to the NW1A Doubles Championship match.
Mount Airy sophomore Carrie Marion won the 1A West Regional Singles Championship to qualify for her second state tournament. Senior Kancie Tate and junior Ella Brant won the doubles championship, sending Tate to the state tournament for the second time and Brant for the third time.
All three girls qualified for the 1A State Tournament in 2021. Marion/Brant won the 1A Doubles State Championship, while Tate reached the semifinals of the singles tournament.
Singles
Marion entered the regional tournament as the No. 1 overall seed with a record of 16-2.
The sophomore made it through the first two rounds of the tournament without dropping a game. Carrie defeated Corvian Community’s previously undefeated Lauren Tomes 6-0, 6-0 in the opening round, then beat Draughn’s Madison Powell (9-3) by the same score in the quarterfinals.
Highland Tech’s Madison Darnell (14-4) was the No. 5 seed in the tournament. Like Marion, she won both of her first two matches without dropping a game. Darnell managed to win four games off Marion, but lost 6-3, 6-1 in the semifinals.
Marion met Bishop McGuinness sophomore Adelaide Jernigan (19-1), the tournament’s No. 2 seed, in the championship round. Carrie handed the Villain her first singles loss of the season 6-3, 6-1 to win the singles championship.
Darnell defeated North Stokes’ Chandler Sizemore (12-7) in the consolation finals. Marion, Jernigan, Darnell and Sizemore will all compete in the 1A State Singles Championship at Cary Tennis Park on Oct. 28-29.
Mount Airy freshman Audrey Brown also competed in the regional singles tournament. Brown (18-2) dropped her opening match to Highland Tech’s Katelin Vaher (12-4) by a score of 6-0, 7-6 (2).
Doubles
Brant/Tate were the doubles tournament’s No. 1 seed with a 7-0 record.
The Granite Bears earned a first-round bye, then defeated Covian Community’s Savannah Barnett/Kalias Martin (7-4) by a score of 6-1, 6-2 in the quarterfinals.
Brant/Tate ran into Bishop McGuinness’ top doubles team of Isabella Ross/Nina Holton (13-6) in the semifinals. Ross/Holton were the tournament’s No. 3 seed and were coming off a three-set victory over one of Mount Airy’s familiar opponents: East Wilkes’ Emily Spicer and Hallie Younger (7-4).
Brant/Tate defeated Ross/Holton 6-2, 6-4 to advance to the championship round.
The Bears found themselves in a rematch of the NW1A Doubles Championship against East Wilkes’ Ava Darnell/Savannah Sparks. Darnell/Sparks, who entered the tournament 10-4 as a unit, suffered their only losses of the year to players from Mount Airy – C. Marion/Brant twice and Brant/Tate once – or Bishop’s Ross/Holton.
The Bear-Cardinal championship match once again went three sets, and the result was the same. Brant/Tate captured the 1A West Doubles Championship with scores of 6-1, 5-7 and 6-2.
Ross/Holton defeated Cherryville’s Kelly Diaz/Katie Diaz (16-7) 6-4, 6-1 in the consolation finals.
Mount Airy’s Charlotte Hauser and Audrey Marion also competed in the doubles tournament. The senior duo defeated South Davidson’s Chelsey Drye/Anna Smith (8-5) 6-0, 6-0 in the opening round, but fell to Darnell/Sparks 7-6 (4), 6-4 in the quarterfinals.
October 22, 2022
DOBSON — North Surry turned defense into offense Friday night to defeat Surry Central 37-14.
After struggling to force turnovers for most of the 2022 season, the Greyhound defense made five takeaways against the Golden Eagles. Two of the turnovers – a strip by Jahreece Lynch and an Owen McMillen interception – were returned for touchdowns, while two of the remaining three turnovers set up scoring drives for the Hounds: fumble recoveries from Malachi Powers and Wesley Atkins.
North Surry’s fifth and final turnover was a fumble recovery by Jaxon Ramos in the fourth quarter.
The win marks North Surry’s second victory of the season and the team’s first in the Foothills 2A Conference.
“I feel good. It’s been too long,” said North Surry coach Jackson Smith. “When you’ve got a group of kids that come ready to work every week, no matter what the circumstance, it’s truly a blessing. I’m glad we could get these seniors a win, and I’m looking forward to trying to do it again next week.”
The win over Surry Central was far and away North Surry’s strongest defensive performance of the year. The Hounds gave up more than 40 points per game heading into the Central game, but Smith said he knew a breakthrough was imminent.
“We’ve told the defense that ‘You keep coming in and working to be ready to grow and eventually we’re going to put it together and it’s going to be good,’” Smith said. “A lot of credit goes to my defensive staff because they haven’t let up. They haven’t let the past couple of games deter their work ethic. Coach Daniel Draughn came up with a great gameplan this week, and the rest of the defensive staff came in ready to execute it.”
The situation wasn’t ideal for North Surry (2-7, 1-4 FH2A) coming into the Oct. 21 conference clash. The Greyhounds had lost five straight, including a 1-point loss and 3-point loss, and were without some of their usual personnel. Sophomore Kam McKnight made just his second varsity start at quarterback, and the Hounds starting running back/linebacker from the past three seasons – Jake Simmons – exited the game in the first quarter.
“It just shows the fight of our program,” Smith said. “Our guys are going to leave their footprint on the legacy of North Surry football as they handle this adversity. That’s a goal as a program that we really try to focus on is how we handle adversity, and we’ve been thrown a lot of it this year. These seniors have stayed tight, they’ve stayed together, they’ve came in and worked every day and I’m so happy we could finally pull one out for them.
“It’s been a hard couple of weeks, so to put it together on every phase of the game tonight and to come out with a win makes all that work worth it.”
The Greyhounds came out swinging and scored twice in the first four minutes of action. The Golden Eagles (2-7, 1-4 FH2A) received the opening kickoff but lost a fumble that was recovered by Powers. The Hounds covered 44 yards in just over two minutes of time, ending their drive with a Simmons 1-yard touchdown rush and a Jimmy Burnett PAT.
Burnett kicked off to Surry Central, and Lynch stripped the ball from the runner before returning it 21 yards to the house.
Central was held scoreless through the first two quarters, going down 25-0 at halftime. The Eagles were able to contain North Surry’s run game, only allowing two runs longer than 3 yards in the first half, but struggled against the pass.
North played to its strengths and McKnight threw for 326 yards and two touchdowns on 18-of-27 completions (66.7%). Lynch and Fisher Leftwich each had 100 yards receiving: Lynch finished with five receptions for 162 yards and a touchdown, while Leftwich had eight receptions for 125 yards and a touchdown.
Lynch also took reps at running back after Simmons’ injury and led the team with 65 yards rushing and touchdown on eight carries.
“We’ve really tried to get that ‘next man up’ mentality and it’s good to see it showing,” Smith said. “We did it against Elkin and won that game after Jahreece went out, and we did it tonight with Jake being banged up with an ankle injury. A lot of that goes to the credit of Tanner Hiatt and the offensive staff who, just like defense, adapted to the situation and put people in a position to make plays.
“I’m really proud of Kam McKnight for coming in and just trying to be a sponge and soaking it up while enjoying the moment. He’s shown a lot of great things.”
Despite the flurry and turnovers, a large halftime deficit and the loss of starting quarterback Mason Jewell in the second quarter, Surry Central continued to fight into the second half.
“They didn’t lay down in the second half,” said Surry Central coach Monty Southern. “A lot of things went wrong for us in the first half. I thought they played to the end and did the things they could do. It just wasn’t our night.”
Like North, Central was also short-handed on Friday. Southern spoke with his team prior to the game with hopes of inspiring the available players to step up.
“We had some kids out, but everybody does this time of year,” Southern said. “I told them before the game, ‘Nobody cares. Nobody cares who’s here and who’s not.’ I was just proud that as a group we had some kids that I thought stepped up. And, we had to put some kids in some different roles that they’re not used to being in. They went out there and gave it their all, and they put a score on there pretty late.
“I was proud of their effort, I just wish we could’ve done a little more as a coaching staff to get them prepared.”
Surry Central’s defense did have its bright spots, particularly against the run. The Eagles held the Greyhounds to less than 3 yards per carry (75 yards rushing on 27 carries) in the game, and Central held North to no gain or a loss of yards on 11 of their 25 carries.
The following Eagles had tackles for a loss: Wilmoth, Wall, Mason Cox, Blaise Gwyn, Enoc Lopez and Graden Spurlin.
Against the pass: Wyatt Wall picked off McKnight in the second half, while Clay Whitaker and Ayden Wilmoth each has pass deflections.
Central’s adapted offense started to build momentum in the second half. After posting just 49 yards rushing and no touchdowns on 14 first-half carries, the Eagles rushed 16 times for 162 yards and two touchdowns in the second half.
Sophomore Allen Huffman led the Eagles’ ground game with a career-high 17 carries for 168 yards and two touchdowns. Huffman had five carries of at least 10 yards, including a 62-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.
The Eagles’ 211 yards rushing were the second-most of a single game this season.
Scoring
North Surry – 13, 12, 12, 0 = 37
Surry Central – 0, 0, 7, 7 = 14
1Q
8:50 NSHS 0-7 – Jake Simmons 1-yard rushing TD, Jimmy Burnett PAT
8:46 NSHS 0-13 – Jahreece Lynch forced fumble on kickoff returned 21 yards for a touchdown, PAT no good
2Q
5:23 NSHS 0-19 – Jahreece Lynch 1-yard rushing TD, PAT no good
0:07 NSHS 0-25 – Jahreece Lynch 51-yard TD reception on Kam McKnight pass, 2-point conversion no good
3Q
7:06 NSHS 0-31 – Owen McMillian interception returned 33 yards for a touchdown, 2-point conversion no good
5:04 SCHS 7-31 – Allen Huffman 62-yard rushing TD, Chris Nava PAT
0:43 NSHS 7-37 – Fisher Leftwich 13-yard TD reception on Kam McKnight pass, 2-point conversion no good
4Q
1:20 SCHS 14-37 – Allen Huffman 1-yard rushing TD, Chris Nava PAT
Offensive Stats
North Surry
TEAM
326 yards passing and two touchdowns on 18 completions
75 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 27 carries
401 total yards
INDIVIDUAL
Passing: Kam McKnight 18-of-27 for 326 yards, two touchdowns, one interception
Receiving: Jahreece Lynch five receptions for 162 yards, one touchdown; Fisher Leftwich eight receptions for 125 yards, one touchdown; Jared Hiatt three receptions for 28 yards; Makiyon Woodbury two receptions for 11 yards
Rushing: Jahreece Lynch eight carries for 65 yards, one touchdown; Malachi Powers seven carries for 11 yards; Jaxon Ramos one carry for 6 yards; Fisher Leftwich five carries for -1 yard; Jake Simmons four carries for -2 yards, one touchdown; Kam McKnight two carries for -4 yards
Kicking: Jimmy Burnett 1-of-3 PATs
Surry Central
TEAM
75 yards passing on four completions
211 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 30 carries
286 total yards
INDIVIDUAL
Passing: Lucas Johnson 2-of-6 passing for 44 yards, one interception; Mason Jewell 2-of-7 for 31 yards
Receiving: Ayden Wilmoth three receptions for 57 yards, one fumble; Kyle Inman one reception for 18 yards
Rushing: Allen Huffman 17 carries for 168 yards, two touchdowns; Mason Jewell seven carries for 22 yards, one fumble; Ayden Wilmoth two carries for 16 yards; Jesse Jester one carry for 3 yards; Lucas Johnson two carries for 2 yards, one fumble; Wyatt Wall one carry for 0 yards
Kicking: Chris Nava 2-of-2 PATs
October 21, 2022
RONDA — Make it back-to-back Northwest 1A Conference volleyball tournament championships for Mount Airy.
With the 3-0 win over Alleghany in Wednesday night’s tournament final at East Wilkes High School, the Granite Bears won their second-straight tournament crown.
It’s also the first time since 1991 that Mount Airy has won both the regular season and conference tournament championships.
Late in the third set though, the Trojans looked to be on the verge of forcing a fourth set and keeping the match alive as they held a 24-21 advantage, needing just one point to cut Granite Bears’ lead in half.
Shelby Bryant, Mount Airy’s head coach, called timeout in hopes that her players could recollect themselves.
The breather paid off as Kennedy Gwyn recorded a kill and Kinlee Reece served up an ace to tie the match at 24-24.
After an attacking error from Alleghany, Gwyn, who finished with team-high 10 kills, clinched the match and the championship with a well-placed kill.
A back-and-forth third set was tied on nine different occasions and had five lead changes.
Prior to the late rally, No. 2 seed Mount Airy (16-7) held a 20-18 advantage before Trojans scored five of the next six points to set up the exciting finish. An ace from Alleghany’s Brooke Constantino highlighted the run.
Top-seeded Alleghany, which defeated Mount Airy in three sets six days earlier, appeared to have carried the momentum from that match into the opening set.
The Trojans (18-4) scored eight of the first nine points and led 8-1 after a Faith Preston ace.
Phoebe Murray highlighted the opening run with a trio of kills.
Behind the play of Alissa Clabo and tournament most outstanding player Isabella Allen, the Granite Bears clawed back into the match.
Alleghany led by as many as eight at 17-9 before Mount Airy scored 10 of the next 13 points; they cut the deficit to 20-19 after back-to-back aces from Allen. The junior finished a trio of aces to go along with seven kills and 20 digs.
But every time the Granite Bears made a run, the Trojans answered back as they led 23-22 late in the set.
Mount Airy rebounded to take the first set 25-23 behind an ace and a kill from Reece and Gwyn, respectively.
The Granite Bears came out as the aggressors in the second set thanks to a trio of kills from Clabo and Gwyn. Mount Airy scored the set’s first six points and 10 of the first 14.
Back-to-back kills from Zoey Bourne helped spur a 5-0 run from the Trojans to cut the deficit to a point.
Mount Airy was either tied or led throughout the set but couldn’t break away from Alleghany, which tied the set 19-19 after another kill from Bourne.
After a net violation and a kill from Allen gave the Granite Bears the lead back, they capitalized on attacking errors by Alleghany to take a 2-0 advantage with a 25-22 win.
The two squads shared the regular season championship and split the regular matchups (the Granite Bears won in five sets on Sept. 20), but Mount Airy will enter this weekend’s North Carolina High School Athletic Association 1A playoffs as the league’s No. 1 seed.
Mount Airy garnered the No. 7 seed and will face fellow conference foe South Stokes on Saturday at 5 p.m. The will face either No. 10 Highlands or No. 23 South Stanly in the second round, which is scheduled for Tuesday.
The Granite Bears swept the regular season matchups from the Sauras, which included a five-set thriller back on Sept. 1.
Alleghany will go in as the league’s No. 2 seed and earned the No. 11 seed and host No. 22 Corvian Community School.
The Starmount Rams, whom Mount Airy bested in three sets (25-20, 25-18, 28-26) during Tuesday’s semifinal match, also qualified for the 1A playoffs as the No. 19 seed. They will travel to No. 14 Gray Stone Day in the first round.
Notes: In addition MOP Allen, Reece (three blocks, 11 digs and 31 assists) and Morgan Mayfield (35 digs) were all named to the all-tournament team. Constantino and Christa Williams were selected from the Trojans, while Olivia Ray and Sydney Patterson were selected from Starmount and South Stokes, respectively.
October 20, 2022
DOBSON — East Surry volleyball captured the Foothills 2A Conference Tournament Championship Wednesday by defeating North Surry 3-1.
After winning the first set handily 25-14, No. 1-seeded East Surry was on track for another big set victory when North Surry caught fire and won 25-23. The Greyhounds trailed by as many as nine points in the second set.
The fired up Greyhounds continued to fight in the third and fourth sets but couldn’t slow the Cardinals down. East Surry took double-digit leads in each of the final two sets before finishing No. 3 North Surry off 25-13 and 25-14.
With the Oct. 19 victory, East Surry wins its ninth consecutive conference tournament championship. The Lady Cardinals won the Northwest 1A Tournament title 2013-2019, no tournament was held in 2020, and East won the FH2A tourney title in 2021 and now 2022.
The FH2A Conference All-Tournament team was named following the championship match: East Surry’s Samarin Kipple, Merry Parker Boaz and Kate McCraw; North Surry’s Reece Niston and Sadie Badgett; Surry Central’s Erica Coe; and North Wilkes’s Ralee Bare.
Kipple was named Most Valuable Player of the conference tournament.
East Surry, which also won the FH2A regular season championship with a 12-0 record, took home the top awards for the 2022 season. Junior Bella Hutchens was named FH2A Player of the Year, and coach Katelyn Markle repeated as FH2A Coach of the Year.
FH2A Tournament
East Surry was the No. 1 seed in the tournament and received a first-round bye. North Wilkes defeated Wilkes Central 3-0 in the 4/5 matchup, then East defeated North Wilkes 3-1 to advance to the championship match.
North Surry won a pair of rubber matches to reach its first conference tournament championship since 2018. The No. 3 Greyhounds (12-12) beat No. 6 Forbush 3-2 in one quarterfinal, and No. 2 Surry Central won a five-setter 3-2 over No. 7 West Wilkes in the other quarterfinal.
North Surry and Surry Central battled in another five-set match in the semifinals. With set scores of 25-22, 23-25, 25-14, 18-25 and 15-12, the Greyhounds upset the host Golden Eagles.
Championship Match
East Surry entered the FH2A Championship riding a 14-match winning streak. Since the streak began on Sept. 12, the Lady Cardinals only surrendered two sets: one against North Wilkes in the conference semifinals, and the other in a Sept. 27 match at North Surry.
East Surry gave up the first point of the opening set after committing a service error, but this would be North’s only lead of the set. The Cards went up 10-5 when the Hounds called their first timeout, then led 14-7 at the time of North’s second timeout.
A block from Khloe Bennett gave East Surry its largest lead of the set at 24-12, and a later kill from Boaz ended the set at 25-14.
The Cardinal offense continued to cause all kinds of problems in the second set as East quickly went up 6-2. A kill from Badgett and ace from Aniya Joyce cut the lead to two, but East responded with a 9-2 run.
East led 18-11 before giving the serve away with a service error. Strong serving from Joyce proved troublesome for East Surry, which allowed North to set Zarah Love up for a pair of kills. Joyce also had an ace that led to Markle using her first timeout of the night.
North Surry went point-for-point with East before Shane Slate used his second timeout of the set down 22-19. The Greyhounds came out of the break and started a 4-0 run to take the lead for the first time since 1-0 in the first set. The Cards briefly tied things at 23-23, but an East Surry service error and block from Joyce gave North the win.
Boaz, Madeline Dayton and Maggy Sechrist were East’s top attackers in the first two sets as the team adjusted to playing without one of its usual outside hitters, Mckenzie Davis. Hutchens joined in on the fun in the third set, posting eight kills in the set alone while North Surry had seven kills as a team in the same span.
The junior outside hitter that went on to be named Player of the Year led East to a 14-9 advantage in the third. A Boaz kill then started a 7-0 Cardinal run to go up 21-9, then East finished North off to win 25-13.
Kills from Joyce and Love helped North take a 3-1 lead to start the fourth set, but East turned around and went on a 9-2 run. The Greyhounds kept the Cards from going on any more big runs in the set, but East would score two or three points for every one scored by North.
The Cardinals closed the final set with a few emphatic Hutchens kills to win 25-14.
State Playoffs
Four Foothills 2A Conference teams were selected for the 2A State Playoffs: East Surry, North Wilkes, North Surry and Surry Central.
The first round is set to begin Saturday, Oct. 22. First-round matchups for those teams are listed below:
No. 4 East Surry (21-3) vs. No. 29 Wheatmore (8-14)
No. 25 North Wilkes (14-10) @ No. 8 Mount Pleasant (15-10)
No. 27 North Surry (12-12) @ No. 6 West Stanly (20-6)
No. 31 Surry Central (10-11) @ No. 2 Southwestern Randolph (23-3)
October 19, 2022
DOBSON — Forbush took a two-match lead in the Foothills 2A Conference by defeating Surry Central 3-0 on Oct. 17.
Similar to the teams’ first encounter on Sept. 21, the undefeated Falcons struck first and held a 2-0 advantage at halftime. The Golden Eagles made some changes late in the first half to boast their offense and found new life in the second half.
Central even led the shot count 4-2 in the second half before a second goal from Forbush’s Donovan Mingus took the wind out of Central’s sails.
Forbush improves to 15-0-1 overall and 9-0 in the FH2A Conference.
“Job well done for Forbush,” said Surry Central coach Adan Garcia. “They came up big on their shots and they made them count. I think the score doesn’t exactly represent what my players put in, though. What I saw was two teams just grueling it out; it’s the same as every year. Regardless of what the score is, both teams are just pounding and clawing and going at it with everything they have.
“It can definitely be stressful, but I enjoy being a part of it because it challenges us and ultimately makes us better.”
Forbush, ranked No. 3 in the Oct. 17 MaxPreps poll for the 2A West, now controls its own destiny in the FH2A Conference. The Falcons are 9-0 in the conference with three matches remaining and the only team still mathematically in the title race is Surry Central at 7-2. Forbush can secure a share of the conference championship with one win in its final three FH2A matches, or win the title outright by winning 2-of-3 remaining matches.
Forbush has been particularly stingy on defense since playing Surry Central (9-7-2) the first time. The Falcons have posted shutouts in 10-of-16 matches this season, including each of past six matches and seven of their past eight.
“It sort of like the pitcher with a no-hitter: you don’t talk about it a lot,” said Forbush coach Seth Davis. “So, we don’t talk about it at practice. We don’t talk about the fact that we haven’t given up many goals during the second time through conference, it’s more of, ‘What do we need to do individually and as a team defensively to stay on the right side of the ball and not give up cheap opportunities.’
“We should’ve given up one tonight but my keeper came up big.”
The theoretical goal Davis referenced occurred during Surry Central’s second-half offense surge. Central Midfielder Chris Nava pushed into Forbush’s defensive third in the 46th minute, and instead of shooting from 35 yards out Nava navigated a minefield of Falcon defenders to put himself just outside the 18-yard box. Nava fired a shot out of the keeper’s reach, but it hit the lower part of the crossbar instead of the back of the net.
Golden Eagle Luke Creed charged forward to capitalize on the rebound while Falcon keeper Freddy Pena charged at him. Creed looked to score, but Pena threw his leg up just in time to make the stop.
“I was happy with both halves, but I was happier in the second half when we we’re taking shot after shot,” Garcia said. “I think we hit the crossbar once, the post once and the goalkeeper twice with an open goal. The keeper came out and did his job, you know, made himself big, and that was big for them.
“We had our chances, but it just shows that we’re not there yet attacking-wise. We can possess the ball all night long, but it does us no good if we can’t get it into the back of the net. I think what I want my guys to take away from this is that we’re going to have to learn fast to execute up top.”
Davis credited Garcia and the Golden Eagle coaching staff for making changes not only between halves, but between the first and second meetings between the teams. Surry Central was 3-6-1 after playing Forbush in September, but followed the match with a tie and then six consecutive victories.
“They had all the possession, it seemed like, for the second half,” Davis said. “We were sort of letting them have possession a little bit, but not in the area of the field that I wanted. We’re trying to counter them because we know they’re coming forward.”
Though the scoreboard tilted in the Falcons favor, both coaches agreed it wasn’t indicative of how close the game was at points. The coaches also concurred that the game’s environment – particularly in the second half – was great preparation for the postseason.
“You know they’re coming at you because they’ve got to win,” Davis said, referencing Central’s second-half resurgence after going down 2-0. “The coaches did a really good job of changing the formation a little bit, moving [Eli Gonzalez] to a different spot and adding some more offense. We were chasing our tail there for about 15 minutes trying to figure it out. Once that third goal went in, though, it kind of put the nail in the coffin.”
Forbush’s ability to finish made the difference in the game.
The teams were scoreless through 18 minutes of play until the Falcons’ Donovan Mingus netted 40-yard screamer to catch the Eagles off-guard. Five minutes later, Axel Garcia stood at the top of Surry Central’s 18 and found an open Bryan Galarza cutting through the box to his left. Galarza faced a sharp angle, but the lefty hit the far side-netting to double the lead.
“We settle down and we play better when we score first,” Davis said. “With them knowing they have to win now they have to score two goals. We can kind of sit back a little bit more and pick our spots, try to pick them apart. They’ve got to expose themselves a little bit more and move forward.”
Mingus struck again from distance in the 66th minute, putting an end to Central’s big comeback.
“We had a brain fart, honestly,” Garcia said. “That’s exactly how they hit us the first time when we played last time too. The guys just forgot that all Forbush’s guys can go from far, compared to us where we don’t really have that type of player yet.
“On the second goal I think we were too worried about stopping another long shot that we stepped too far into the middle and it opened up the side. Plus, the guy that scored just had a heck of a finish.”
Both squads look to maintain their top spots in the conference while also preparing for playoffs as the season winds down. Garcia saw Monday’s match as a learning experience that he hopes the team will use as motivation in the coming weeks.
“I want our guys to realize they can hang with any team,” Garcia said. “It may not show on the scoreboard just because we’re young up top with a sophomore and a freshman, but we’re going to have to have to realize we are good. We’re going to have to get over this and not think we’re not a good team just because we haven’t been able to beat Forbush. In my opinion, I think we can hang with just about any team and our moment will come.”
Forbush, meanwhile, has a pair of nonconference friendlies scheduled for the final two weeks of the season in addition to conference play. The Falcons go on the road against the 2A West’s No. 7-ranked team North Forsyth (13-4-2, 10-0 Mid-State 2A) on Oct. 20, the finish the regular season by facing the 1A West’s No. 2-ranked team Mount Airy (17-0, 10-0 Northwest 1A) on Oct. 27.
“I think those games are more preparation, so we’ll take a more relaxed atmosphere. The guys want to win them all, and I never like to lose, but it’s nice to see a playoff-type team before you go to playoffs. Then you get sort of an idea of what you need to fix going right in. You don’t want injuries or things like that.”
Scoring
Forbush – 2, 1 = 3
Surry Central – 0, 0 = 0
Goals
1H
18’ Forbush 0-1, Donovan Mingus unassisted
23’ Forbush 0-2, Bryan Galarza from Axel Garcia assist
2H
66’ Forbush 0-3, Donovan Mingus unassisted
October 19, 2022
DOBSON — The Foothills 2A Conference held its 2022 Cross Country Championship on Oct. 18 at Fisher River Park.
All seven FH2A conference teams sent runners to the event. Just like the 2021 conference championship, a runner from Surry Central took the boys individual title and a runner from North Surry won the girls title.
Surry Central’s junior Ignacio Morales was named FH2A Male Runner of the Year by winning the boys race. Morales’ championship time in the 5,000-meter run a year ago was 17:41.67 at Mount Airy’s Veterans Memorial Park. This year, Morales won the 5K by nearly a minute with a time of 16:54.30.
North Surry senior Cynthia Chaire competed in her first FH2A Championship in 2022 and was named FH2A Female Runner of the Year. The first-year cross country runner started the season with a first-place finish at Fisher River Park with a time of 23:34.51. She improved her time to 20:40.72 for Tuesday’s championship, which also set a new school record for North Surry.
Unlike 2021, when Surry Central and Wilkes Central each won a team championship, Wilkes Central won both the boys and girls’ team championships this season.
The team competition is scored based on the finish of a school’s top five times among qualifying schools. The only teams to receive points are those that have at least five runners. For example: a runner may finish No. 12 overall, but earn 11 points if someone in the top-12 is from a school that didn’t have five competitors.
North Wilkes and West Wilkes didn’t have enough runners to compete as a team in either race, while North Surry didn’t compete in the girls team competition and East Surry didn’t compete in the boys competition.
Boys
Surry Central and Wilkes Central were separated by 8 points in the team competition.
Wilkes Central had three top-10 finishes: Sean Wilson in second, Quinn Pyke in third and Kaleb Thornton in seventh. Gabe Brock and Evan Laws rounded out the Wilkes Eagles’ top-5 finishes.
With point values of 2, 3, 7, 11, and 14, Wilkes Central finished with 37 points.
Surry Central was led by Morales’ first-place finish, as well as top-10 finishes from Alexis Pedraza and Brangly Mazariegos. Isaac Eller and Sony Orozco’s had the Golden Eagle’s other top-5 finishes.
With point values of 1, 5, 8, 15 and 16, Surry Central finished with 45 points.
Forbush finished fourth with 59 points (6, 9, 12, 13, 19), and North Surry was fourth with 73 points (4, 10, 18, 20, 21).
There were 41 total runners in the boys race.
Boys results for Surry County schools are below and listed by finish, name, grade, school and then time. Top-10 finishes earned All-Conference Honors.
1 Ignacio Morales 11 Surry Central 16:54.30
4 Miguel Vega 10 North Surry 18:05.90
5 Alexis Pedraza 10 Surry Central 18:11.30
8 Brangly Mazariegos 10 Surry Central 18:36.40
10 Javier Villalon 11 North Surry 19:03.20
16 Joe Cook 10 East Surry 19:58.70
18 Isaac Eller 10 Surry Central 20:13.10
19 Sony Orozco 10 Surry Central 20:13.40
21 Jackson Dunning 9 North Surry 20:24.40
23 Stephen Mojica 10 North Surry 20:33.30
24 Michael Hiatt 9 North Surry 20:41.80
26 Ridge Reeves 9 North Surry 20:53.70
30 Ricky Rivera 12 Surry Central 22:23.80
31 Elijah Johnson 9 North Surry 22:42.10
37 Noah Hopkins 11 East Surry 25:28.20
Girls
Surry Central and Wilkes Central were separated by 17 points in the team competition.
Wilkes Central had three top-10 finishes: Ari Redies in second, Faith Reeves in fourth and Peyton Gage in sixth. Stella Hayes and Leah Parker rounded out Wilkes Central’s top-5 finishes.
With point values of 1, 3, 5, 9 and 17, Wilkes Central finished with 35 points.
Surry Central also had three top-10 finishes: Abigail Hernandez in fifth, Wendy Cantor at ninth and Lanie Fitzgerald at 10th. Ella Priddy and Aylin Rodriguez had the Golden Eagles’ other top-5 finishes.
With point values of 4, 7, 8, 11 and 22, Surry Central finished with 52 points.
East Surry finished third with 62 points (2, 13, 14, 15, 18), and Forbush was fourth with 65 points (6, 10, 12, 16, 21).
There were 31 total runners in the girls race.
Boys results for Surry County schools are below and listed by finish, name, grade, school and then time. Top-10 finishes earned All-Conference Honors.
1 Cynthia Chaire 12 North Surry 20:40.72
3 Addison Goins 10 East Surry 21:37.69
5 Abigail Hernandez 12 Surry Central 22:12.43
9 Wendy Cantor 12 Surry Central 23:09.19
10 Lanie Fitzgerald 11 Surry Central 23:12.14
13 Ella Priddy 11 Surry Central 23:37.66
14 EmmaGrey Dorsett 9 North Surry 23:56.48
16 Chloe Stone 9 East Surry 24:08.90
17 Tamarah Inman 9 East Surry 24:18.85
18 Brianna Wilmoth 9 East Surry 25:13.32
19 Mia Reynolds 9 North Surry 25:32.97
24 Kamryn Talton 10 East Surry 26:26.78
31 Aylin Rodriguez 11 Surry Central 29:27.37
October 17, 2022
The Surry County Parks and Recreation Department and the Surry County Sports Hall of Fame Committee has named the 2022 class of the Surry County Sports Hall of Fame and Ring of Honor inductees.
The unveiling of the monument and induction ceremony will be held on Saturday, Nov. 5, at Surry Community College.
2022 Hall of Fame inductees are: Marli Bennett, Eddie R. Cobb, Charles Buster Cox, Elder Manuel Jessup, Daniel Merritt, and Derek Slate all of whom are recognized for the contributions on the court or field.
Entering the Ring of Honor will be the 2004 Elkin Wrestlers and A.M. “AB” Crater. Ring of Honor inductees are administrators, teams or organizations which have contributed to athletics in Surry County.
Marli Bennett is being recognized for achievement in women’s basketball. While at East Surry High she was named to the 1-A All-Conference team four times, twice recognized as 1-A Player of the Year, a McDonald’s All American, and a National AAU Champion. She continued to play at Temple University and was named to the Big 5 All-Academic Team.
Coach Eddie R. Cobb is already a member of the Mount Airy Sport Hall of Fame. The longtime coach of the Lady Bears of Mount Airy High is the five-time Northwest Coach of Year boasting six basketball conference championships, and two finals appearances. He is also credited as the founder of the girls’ golf program at Mount Airy High.
Charles Buster Cox played football for Mount Airy High and was recognized as All-County, All Conference, and played on 1968 3A State Championship team. He earned a scholarship to Duke to play football where he was a three-year starter at safety, and named to the All State Freshman team in 1970.
Elder Manuel Jessup played men’s basketball at East Surry where he was named All Conference and Player of the Year in 1974. Jessup won a scholarship to Lees-McCrae and entered their Hall of Fame in 2012. After transferring to Coastal Carolina, he set the 1977-78 single season scoring record (571 points) and remains one of Coastal Carolina’s all-timer leading scorers.
For four years Derek Slate of Mount Airy High was ranked as the schools #1 tennis player and is the youngest member of Mount Airy High School Hall of Fame, and a Mount Airy Sports Hall of Fame inductee. Slate was a four time Northwest 1-A All Conference player, Conference Player of the Year, 1A-2A State Singles Champion, and a scholarship tennis player at East Carolina University where he was the men’s tennis team Captain for three years.
Coach Daniel Merritt was the assistant coach of Surry Central High who aided the school in five cross country state titles and one for track and field. He also coached Elkin High cross country being named three times as Coach of the Year while his teams won four MVAC Cross Country titles. As Elkin’s Distance Track and Field coach they won the MVAC in 2012. He also has a myriad of personal awards for competition running both during time at Sanford Central High and at Campbell University where he was captain of both the cross country and track teams.
The 2004 Elkin Wrestlers are entering the Ring of Honor as champions. They were the 1-A Dual Team State Champions and remain the only wresting teams from Surry County to win a state championship.
A.M. “AB” Crater formed the Elkin Recreation Department in 1950. From the inception of the recreation department through 1973 he tirelessly supported the youth programs of Elkin. He was elevated to become the first official director of Elkin Parks and Recreation in 1973 and served through 1983. Crater was both baseball and basketball player for the Chatham Blanketeers.
October 17, 2022
The East Surry soccer team picked up their first win of the season with a 3-1 victory against North Surry on Oct. 11.
The Cardinals never trailed in the rematch against the Greyhounds. A hat trick from junior Jonathan de la Cruz, including two second-half goals, helped East get in the win column for the first time in conference play and overall.
“Oh, it was a great feeling,” said East Surry coach Samuel Lowe. “The boys were excited and I was so happy for them. They came so close over and over, so to get that monkey off our back was great.”
East Surry (1-9-2) felt like it was on the verge of a breakthrough in late September. The team finally built up its chemistry and was competing in games, but just couldn’t put opponents away.
After falling to the 2A West’s third-ranked team Forbush, the Cardinals tied West Wilkes on the road, dropped a 1-0 match at Surry Central and lost a home match 1-0 to North Wilkes. The decisive goals against Surry Central and North Wilkes came in the form of a penalty kick and a free kick, respectively.
“It was frustrating for me because I could see the guys going all out but coming up just short of the mark,” Lowe said. “I told them that we were so close and right there at the end of those games, but we just couldn’t get over the hump.”
East came to Toast for the rematch against North Surry (5-11-0) having dropping the first meeting 5-2. This time, Cruz struck first for the Cards and had the only goal of the first half for either side. The Greyhounds scored early in the second half to even the score at one apiece.
Cruz pushed an attack up the middle of the field in the 59th minute before dishing to Sid Sutphin inside the Hounds’ 18-yard box. Sutphin fired a shot that was blocked by Greyhound keeper Josh Garcia, then Sutphin collapsed on the rebound and took another shot that was saved by Garcia.
Sutphin’s second blocked shot was deflected in Cruz’s direction, so the striker finished to put the Cardinals up 2-1.
East put the game out of reach seven minutes later with another goal. A free kick from Giovanni Flores-Haws sailed from midfield into the 18 for Cruz to finish off.
The North Surry match saw East return one of its players that had missed most of the year: Juan Caro. Caro is one of the young team’s three seniors, and his presence on the field really helped according to Lowe.
“He’s not the fastest guy out there but Juan is great with the ball,” Lowe said. “Our passing has really improved throughout the year, and he looked like a point guard out there finding everyone open.”
The night after defeating North, East Surry went to Wilkes Central to battle a team that held the Cards scoreless the last time around. The Cardinals’ scoring troubles seemed to be a thing of the past as the two teams combined for 12 goals – six each – at the end of regulation.
Wilkes Central came away with the win after scoring twice in extra time.
“That was a really good match to watch,” Lowe said. “We were right there with them through regulation, but once we got into extra time our legs just seemed like jelly. I’m proud of the way our guys fought though.”
East will close out the season with three more conference rematches. The Cardinals travel to the Foothills 2A Conference’s top-ranked team, Forbush (14-0-1) on Oct. 19, then return home to face West Wilkes on Oct. 24 and Surry Central on Oct. 26.
“My message to the guys is that we have to finish strong,” Lowe said. “Where we’ve had some mental mistakes I’d like to get our mental game right and not have those lapses. Would love to win our last few games, and some are very winnable.
“If we can finish strong I think that would be a huge building block for next year where we’ve got most of these guys returning. Let’s just finish strong.”
October 17, 2022
A 62-0 win over North Stokes seemed to be business as usual for coach J.K. Adkins and the Mount Airy Bears.
According to Mount Airy sports historian Doug McDaniel, the Oct. 7 win marked the Granite Bears’ 769th overall win, 313th shutout, 51st time scoring more than 50 in a shutout, and 36th time scoring 60 or more points.
It wasn’t until he left the field that Adkins was informed of the game’s significance: his 100th career win as a head coach.
“I really believe that stats like that are the furthest thing from any coach’s mind,” Adkins said. “I found out from our assistant coaches, and immediately thought of all the great people and great players that I have had the pleasure of working with over the years.”
Adkins, who boasts a career coaching record of 100-75, has been involved in coaching for 24 years and spent 15 of those as a head coach. He started his head coaching career at South Iredell High School in 2005, later spending time at Robert L. Patton and East Wilkes before becoming Mount Airy head coach in 2018.
“It has been a great journey to this point,” Adkins said. “I was so fortunate to work alongside some of the best: Mike Carter, Joe Pinyan, Mike Propst, Pete Stout and the list goes on. They all were great coaches and great men that had a tremendous influence on me as a coach and person. I was truly blessed right from the start.”
Though reaching 100 wins is something that he never really put much thought into, Adkins said that, “If you do this job long enough the odds naturally swing in your favor.” The coach then joked that, “I think it means I am older than I realized!”
He began his coaching career in 1998 at Watauga High School while studying at Appalachian State University. He went on to earn his Bachelor of Science degree in History, Secondary Education in 2001 and started teaching at Mooresville High School.
Adkins helped turn around three varsity programs as head coach before arriving at the Granite City. At South Iredell, he took a team that was 0-11 in 2004 and led them to five wins and a playoff appearance in 2005. In 2006, South Iredell finished 8-6 and reached the third round of the state playoffs.
He later served as the first-ever head football coach at Patton. His teams won three games in their inaugural 2008 season and four in 2009.
After a brief stint as an assistant coach at Salisbury, who won the 2AA State Title in 2010, Adkins was hired as the head coach at East Wilkes ahead of the 2012 season. After three seasons of losing records, East Wilkes started 13-0 in 2015. The Cardinals reached the third round of the 1AA State Playoffs before falling to the eventual West Regional Champion Mitchell.
Adkins was named Mountain Valley 1A/2A Conference Coach of the Year and N.C. 1A Coach of the Year for the 2015 season.
Adkins went 8-4 and 9-3 over the next two seasons. East Wilkes finished as the top 1A team in the split 1A/2A Conference each season, and only lost one regular season game to fellow 1A teams in that time.
The coach is 44-10 since coming to Mount Airy ahead of the 2018 season. The Granite Bears won Northwest 1A Conference Championships in 2018 and 2021, and Adkins was also named NW1A Coach of the Year in both.
According to McDaniel, Adkins’ 44 wins at Mount Airy put him at No. 4 all time. The only coaches ahead of Adkins are: Wallace Shelton, who won 150 games from 1937-1956; Jerry Hollingsworth, who won 177 games from 1969-1990; and Kelly Holder, who holds the Mount Airy school record for wins with 195 achieved 1999-2017.
Adkins now turns his attention to the future as the Granite Bears are the favorites to win the NW1A title in 2022. The team is currently undefeated against 1A competition and already outscored the NW1A’s second- and third-place teams by a combined 105-14 margin.
“I feel like this team has made great progress since week one,” Adkins said. “Our focus is to continue that growth and be the best version of ourselves heading into November.”
October 15, 2022
PILOT MOUNTAIN — East Surry’s seniors put on a show Friday night in their final home game of the regular season.
East Surry locked Forbush down for just 56 yards of offense through the first half, while the Cardinal offense scored six first-half touchdowns with an average of 45 seconds per drive. East added another touchdown to start the second half and a field goal in the fourth to go up 52-0.
The Falcons, who won three straight games coming into the Oct. 14 Foothills 2A Conference clash, added a touchdown on their final drive of the game to make it 52-7.
The Cardinals improve to 8-0 overall and 4-0 in the FH2A Conference. By defeating Forbush, East Surry takes sole possession of first place in the conference with two weeks left in the regular season.
Led by 19 seniors, East has a chance to repeat as FH2A Champions and win the program’s fourth consecutive conference title.
The following Cardinal seniors were recognized prior to Friday’s game: Matthew Keener, Folger Boaz, Dylan Cox, Dougie Lambert, Brett Clayton, Colby Johnson, Kyle Zinn, Hayden Sammons, Gabriel Harpe, Luke Brown, Anderson Badgett, Stephen Brantley, Joshua Parker, Daniel Villasenor, Gavin Atkins, Kole Pruitt, Eli Becker, JT Simmons and Bryson Mcbride.
“These guys have come in and done everything we’ve asked, and in many cases more so,” said East Surry coach Trent Lowman. “They have followed the previous classes and teams that everyone talks about as the best East Surry teams ever and all it’s done is fuel these guys to be better than those teams.
“They’ve battled through the Covid seasons, went through remote school and no workouts, back to full swing offseason work and now back into the flow of what we consider normal football. They have experienced more variations of school and football than anyone before them, and here they are: resilient, 8-0, and working every day to get better.
“I love them. They hear it from me all the time. I love each and every one of them.”
East Surry set the tone for the game right out of the gate. The Cardinal defense forced a punt on Forbush’s opening drive, and Will Jones blocked the punt and recovered it on the Falcon 3-yard line. Zinn barreled into the end zone on the next play to get East Surry on the board.
Forbush went three-and-out on its first four offensive drives, while the Cards scored four touchdowns in the first quarter. Boaz, the Cardinal quarterback, surpassed 100 yards in the air by the end of the first quarter by completing all six passing attempts. Keener and Brown each grabbed their first of two touchdown receptions in the opening quarter.
A personal foul on East as the first quarter ended gave Forbush (3-5, 3-1 FH2A) a first down for the first time. Runs from Regan Ramey, Bryson Taylor and Jesse Wooten led the Falcons on their longest drive of the game – that wasn’t aided by a running clock – which spanned 74 yards over 11 plays and took up 6:47 of game time.
The Cards gave up three first downs on penalties on the drive, which gave the Falcons 35 yards, but made a fourth-down stand on their own 3-yard line to save a touchdown.
East followed with its longest drive before a running clock went into effect. The Cardinals covered 97 yards on seven plays over 1:41 of game time. Only two of East Surry’s six first-half scoring drives spanned more than 37 seconds.
Boaz found Brown for a 40-yard touchdown pass just before halftime, then the senior QB connected with Keener for a 10-yard TD on the opening drive of the second half to increase the lead to 49-0. Forbush punted on its only drive of the third quarter, which allowed East to drive down the field and set Brantley up for a 45-yard field goal as the fourth quarter began.
After East Surry increased the lead to 52-0, Forbush used the better part of the fourth quarter to add 53 yards of offense. East Surry didn’t allow a play of 10 yards or longer all game until Taylor completed a 34-yard touchdown pass to Mckinley Reavis.
East Surry finished with 368 total yards to Forbush’s 115.
The Cardinals have now won 22 consecutive regular season games dating back to the 2020 season.
Only four teams in the FH2A Conference are still competing for shares of the conference title: East Surry (4-0), Wilkes Central (4-1), Forbush (3-1) and North Wilkes (2-2). East Surry has defeated all three of the other teams fighting for the FH2A title and can guarantee at least a share of the conference championship with a victory over West Wilkes (1-4) OR Surry Central (1-3) in the final two weeks of the season.
Scoring
Forbush – 0, 0, 0, 7 = 7
East Surry – 28, 14, 7, 3 = 52
1Q
8:37 ESHS 7-0 – Kyle Zinn 3-yard rush TD, Joshua Parker PAT
5:59 ESHS 14-0 – Matthew Keener 7-yard TD reception on Folger Boaz pass, Stephen Brantley PAT
2:34 ESHS 21-0 – Luke Brown 28-yard TD reception on Folger Boaz pass, Joshua Parker PAT
0:25 ESHS 28-0 – Colby Johnson 2-yard rush TD, Stephen Brantley PAT
2Q
3:57 ESHS 35-0 – Colby Johnson 11-yard rush TD, Joshua Parker PAT
1:12 ESHS 42-0 – Luke Brown 40-yard TD reception on Folger Boaz pass, Stephen Brantley PAT
3Q
9:30 ESHS 49-0 – Matthew Keener 10-yard TD reception on Folger Boaz pass, Joshua Parker PAT
4Q
11:09 ESHS 52-0 – Stephen Brantley 45-yard field goal
3:27 FHS 52-7 – Mckinley Reavis 34-yard TD reception on Bryson Taylor pass, David Guadarrama PAT
Offensive Stats
East Surry
TEAM
225 yards passing and four touchdowns on 13 completions
143 yards rushing and three touchdowns on 12 carries
368 total yards
INDIVIDUAL
Passing: Folger Boaz 12-of-14 for 210 yards, four touchdowns; Luke Bruner 1-of-1 for 15 yards
Receiving: Luke Brown four receptions for 107 yards, two touchdowns; Matthew Keener four receptions for 47 yards, two touchdowns; Colby Johnson two receptions for 36 yards; Kyle Zinn one reception for 16 yards; Dougie Lambert one reception for 15 yards; Stephen Brantley one reception for 4 yards
Rushing: Lindann Fleming two carries for 56 yards; Kyle Zinn four carries for 42 yards, one touchdown; Colby Johnson four carries for 33 yards, two touchdowns; Luke Bruner one carry for 8 yards; Hayden Sammons three carries for 4 yards
Kicking: Stephen Brantley 3-of-3 PATs, 1-of-1 field goals (45 yards); Joshua Parker 4-of-4 PATs
Forbush
TEAM
53 yards passing on five completions
62 yards rushing on 30 carries
115 total yards
INDIVIDUAL
Passing: Bryson Taylor 5-of-9 for 53 yards, one touchdown
Receiving: Mckinley Reavis three receptions for 39 yards, one touchdown; Andrew Hutchens one reception for seven yards; Cristofur Martinez two receptions for 6 yards
Rushing: Regan Ramey 19 carries for 49 yards; Jesse Wooten six carries for 13 yards; Bryson Taylor three carries for 2 yards; Andrew Hutchens two carries for -2 yards
Kicking: David Guadarrama 1-of-1 PATs
Reach Cory on Twitter @MaNewsSports
October 14, 2022
ELKIN — History repeated itself at the 2022 Northwest 1A Conference Tennis Tournament.
Three Granite Bears – Carrie Marion, Kancie Tate and Ella Brant – repeated as individual conference champions. The NW1A Singles Championship came down to two Mount Airy players, and all six of the Bears’ tournament entries qualified for the 1A Regional Championship.
The defending 1A State Champions ran the NW1A gauntlet with an undefeated dual team record once again in 2022. Carrie Marion repeated as NW1A Player of the Year, and Luke Graham repeated as NW1A Coach of the Year.
The following players will represent the NW1A Conference at Regionals.
In singles: Mount Airy’s Carrie Marion, Audrey Brown, North Stokes’ Chandler Sizemore and Elkin’s Julie Cortez; in doubles: Mount Airy’s Kancie Tate/Ella Brant and Audrey Marion/Charlotte Hauser, East Wilkes’ Ava Darnell and Savannah Sparks and Hallie Younger/Emily Spicer.
Singles
After winning the NW1A, 1A West Regional and 1A State Doubles Championship in 2022 with Brant, Mount Airy sophomore Carrie Marion elected to play singles in 2022. Carrie, who was undefeated against NW1A competition during the regular season, was the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament.
Alleghany’s Maci Whitaker defeated East Wilkes’ Valerie Schubart 6-4, 6-4 in the opening round, then Carrie – who earned a first-round bye – defeated Schubart 6-0, 6-0 in the quarterfinals. The Granite Bear then defeated Elkin’s Cortez 6-1, 6-0 in the semifinals.
Mount Airy freshman Audrey Brown earned a first-round bye on the bottom half of the singles bracket. She faced East Wilkes’ Salem Sparks in the quarterfinals and won 6-1, 6-1. Sparks made it to the quarters with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Alleghany’s Alexandra Vestal.
Brown then found herself against North Stokes junior Chandler Sizemore in the semifinals. Sizemore played No. 1 for North Stokes all season and finished with a 12-4 record.
Sizemore won the first set 7-6 after winning a tiebreaker 9-7, then Brown won the second set by the same score. The pair went to a third-set which Brown won 6-1.
It was Mount Airy’s No. 1 vs. Mount Airy’s No. 6 in the championship match. Carrie captured the singles title over her teammate by a score of 6-1, 6-0.
Sizemore went on to defeat Cortez 6-1, 7-5 in the third-place match.
Doubles
Tate, a senior, won the NW1A Title, finished fourth at the 1A West Regional Championship and in 2022 and was a 1A State semifinalist in singles last season. She joined forces with Brant, a sophomore, for doubles this postseason. Brant was a state qualifier in doubles both her freshman and sophomore years, and won the conference, regional and state titles in doubles in 2021.
The top-seeded Granite Bear duo earned a first-round bye. North Stokes’ Ila Hassan/Emma Hooker reached the quarterfinals with a 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 win over Elkin’s Kendall Eads/Bronwyn Sloop, then fell to Brant/Tate 6-1, 6-0.
Brant/Tate then beat East Wilkes’ Young/Spicer 6-0, 6-1 to reach the championship match.
Mount Airy seniors Audrey Marion and Charlotte Hauser earned a bye for the opening round on the bottom half of the bracket. The Bears defeated North Stokes’ Ada Hassan/Emma Gunn 6-0, 6-2 in the quarterfinals, then found themselves against East Wilkes’ team of Darnell/Savannah Sparks in the semifinals.
Darnell/Savannah won the first set 6-4, then Hauser/Audrey Marion won the second set 6-4. East Wilkes’ duo advanced to the championship match by winning the decisive third set 6-1.
Darnell/Savannah won the first set of the championship 6-3, but Mount Airy’s Brant/Tate fired back and won the next two sets 6-4, 6-2.
Younger/Spicer defeated Hauser/Audrey Marion 6-1, 6-3 in the third-place match.
October 14, 2022
PILOT MOUNTAIN — The East Surry volleyball team capped off its regular season with a 13-match winning streak.
The Cardinals used their final week of competition before the postseason to recognize three senior players: Lily Watson, Samarin Kipple and Katie Collins.
“These three seniors are a special group because they were a part of one of my first travel ball teams when they were 13-years old, and to get a front row seat to their volleyball careers has been an absolute honor,” said East Surry coach Katelyn Markle.
“They have not had the easiest of times in their four years of high school due to a couple of Covid seasons, but they have still somehow managed to stay positive through it all. East Surry has been extremely lucky to have Samarin, Lily and Katie for four years, and they will be deeply missed next year.”
After playing at home just seven times through their first 19 matches, the Cardinals ended the regular season with three home matches in four days. Two of these matches came against Foothills 2A Conference opponents.
Victories over West Wilkes and Surry Central rounded out the Cardinals’ second consecutive undefeated conference season at 12-0.
East Surry has now won conference regular season titles in six of the past seven seasons. The Cardinals look to win their ninth consecutive conference tournament title next week; East won the Northwest 1A Tournament title 2013-2019, no tournament was held in 2020 and the Cards won the FH2A tourney title in 2021.
East Surry is the top seed in the FH2A Tournament and will have a bye in the first round. Surry Central is the No. 2 seed at 7-5, and there was a three-way tie for third between Wilkes Central, North Surry and North Wilkes at 6-6. Forbush is No. 6 at 4-8 and West Wilkes will be the No. 7 seed at 1-11.
The FH2A Tournament Semifinals and Championship matches will be hosted by Surry Central.
Markle stressed that despite only dropping one set in conference play – that coming against North Surry – East Surry is only concerned with their next match and isn’t looking past any opponent.
“Our main focus for the remainder of the season will be taking it one game at a time,” Markle said. “This season has been all about goals for us, and we just have to keep working to reach them. It’s not going to be easy, but these kids are ready to put the work in.“
October 13, 2022
STATE ROAD — East Surry won the Foothills 2A Conference Golf Tournament Championship held Oct. 10 at Cedarbrook Country Club.
The Cardinals’ win in the conference tournament gave East Surry a sweep of the FH2A’s top team awards, with the Cards also winning the regular season championship.
“I’m really proud of our girls and the growth they had throughout our season,” said East Surry coach Chad Freeman. “We had such a tough year in 2021 in so many ways, but especially with Covid – we only got to play one match last season with a full lineup of girls. This year we had more consistency.
“Every girl on the team was able to contribute to a winning match score and have a hand in helping us win the conference. I’m also blessed that they are great kids and it’s a joy to be their coach.”
East Surry freshman Sophie Harris was the medalist for the championship meet with a low score of 42 strokes. She was also named FH2A Player of the Year for the season, and Freeman was named FH2A Coach of the Year.
“Sophie Harris didn’t play her best in the first two matches of the conference season, but was lights out the rest of the season on her way to earning conference Player of the Year honors,” Freeman said. “She is just a freshman and, with hard work, she has an amazing future ahead of her.”
Cardinals Claire Hardy (57) and Katie Pell (62) were East Surry’s other two scorers in the conference tournament. East Surry won with a team score of 161, followed by Wilkes Central at 186, Surry Central at 187, North Surry at 188 and North Wilkes at 205. Forbush did not compete in the team competition, but did have one golfer take part in the tournament as an individual.
“I’m proud of Claire Hardy, especially with her improvement during the second half of this season,” Freeman said. “She was able to finish her career with a conference championship as well as All-Conference honors.
“Sophie Hutchens did an awesome job for us even though she missed three matches by being a dual tennis/golf participant. Despite missing three matches, she almost placed high enough in the season-long standings to earn All-Conference. Had she been able to play in the conference tournament she would have probably earned All-Conference in golf as well as tennis, but we’re especially proud of her winning the conference singles tennis title”
“Zona Raasch and Katie Pell both showed improvement during the year and both will be able to return for us next year. I look forward to seeing how much each of them can improve for 2023.”
TOP INDIVIDUAL SCORERS
1. Sophie Harris (ES) 42
2. Emma Nobles (WC) 47
3. Kylee Brown (FB) 49
4. Claire Hardy (ES) 57
T5. Gwyn Bode (NS) 61
T5. Josie Tompkins (NS) 61
T7. Ragan Hall (SC) 62
T7. Katie Pell (ES) 62
T7. Cameron Cruise (SC) 62
T10. Kaylin Moody (SC) 63
T10. Ava Hall (NW)
TEAM RESULTS
The top three individual performances per school contributed to team score.
East Surry 161
Sophie Harris 42
Claire Hardy 57
Katie Pell 62
Wilkes Central 186
Emma Nobles 47
Ashlyn Landrum 67
N/A 72
Surry Central 187
Ragan Hall 62
Cameron Cruise 62
Kaylin Moody 63
North Surry 188
Gwen Bode 61
Josie Tompkins 61
Molly Easter 66
Erin Moore 67
Meredith Hicks 67
Forbush
Kylee Brown 49
October 13, 2022
Mount Airy soccer strengthened its hold on the Northwest 1A Conference’s top spot with recent wins over the second- and third-place teams.
The Granite Bears improve to 16-0 overall and 9-0 in conference play. Mount Airy is the only team in the N.C. High School Athletic Association’s four classifications to have not lost or tied a single match in 2022.
Mount Airy is one of only five teams in the state that have not lost this season, though the other five had tied at least once: Williams (15-0-1, 3A East), Wheatmore (13-0-4, 2A West), Forbush (13-0-1, 2A West), James Kenan (16-0-1, 2A East) and Mountain Heritage (8-0-1, 1A West).
The Bears faced heavy resistance in the Oct. 10 match against South Stokes. Although it was Mount Airy that struck first in the game, the Sauras (10-5-2) fired back with two quick goals of their own. Prior to Monday’s match, only two opponents – Ashe County and Elkin – had scored multiple goals on the Bears.
“I think that’s probably the first time all year that we were playing from behind,” said Bears coach Will Hurley. “We made a few mistakes early, and I think it was just kids getting excited. I feel like we created a lot of good chances for them to score by not playing our game. Not taking anything away from South Stokes because they’ve got a really good team.”
Elkin Lopez led an attack up the left sideline in the ninth minute. The senior crossed to Angel Osorno at the top of the 18-yard box, then Osorno one-touched a pass to an open Adrian Rodriguez for the goal.
South Stokes got on the board less than two minutes later. Ethan Moran launched a throw-in from the visitors’ sideline into Mount Airy’s 18, and Cooper Willard headed the throw into the back of the net.
Three minutes later in the 14th minute, the Sauras earned a free kick just outside the Bears’ 18. Tyler Whitaker curved a shot around the wall and inside the near post to take the lead.
South Stokes held on to its advantage until the 27th minute and didn’t allow Mount Airy to take the lead until the 64th. The Sauras played on the defensive for most of the half, being out-shot by the Bears 10-3 in the first 40 minutes, but only surrendered one additional goal before halftime.
Osorno netted the equalizer off a corner kick from Edwin Agabo. Agabo’s kick from the home sideline connected with Lopez in the Sauras’ 18, and Osorno redirected Lopez’s header with one of his own.
“It was rewarding to see Angel attacking so well,” Hurley said of the Bears’ second-leading scorer. “He and Adrian really did a good job creating runs and getting shots of their own.”
At halftime, Coach Hurley, along with assistant coaches Holden and Wes Hurley, spoke with his team about resilience.
“You have to want it more than they do,” the coach said to his team. “When you’re undefeated or having any kind of success you will get everybody’s best game. They have nothing to lose here so it’s up to us to rise to the challenge.”
The Bears continued to battle and held South scoreless in the second half. The defense, still without starting sweeper Carter Bray, stepped up Hurley said. Mount Airy also went with two defensive midfielders in Saeed Saavedra and Vicente Gomez that Hurley said played “tremendously.”
Noah Lambert entered the game off the bench and provided a big spark to the Bears’ offense. In a physical game, fresh legs did the trick for Mount Airy’s midfield.
Mount Airy was able to take the lead for the first time since 1-0 in the 64th minute. Agripino Perez was just across midfield in Saura territory when he sent a monster through ball in the air to a streaking Rodriguez, who finished the pass off for his second goal of the night.
Osorno added a goal for insurance four minutes later on an assist from Lopez.
“I was glad to see our guys fight back into the game,” Hurley said. “We showed a lot of that resilience in the Elkin game when it was like they seemed to score every time we did. It was kind of like a wakeup call, and I’m glad we didn’t just roll over and quit.
Against Starmount, Mount Airy – which averages 5.9 goals a game – only led 1-0 against a Ram defense that allowed just 1.8 goals per game. Like the South Stokes match, Mount Airy showed zeal in the second half and put the game away with four more goals.
Lopez scored a hat trick against Starmount (11-4-1). Rodriguez and Gavin Guerrero each had one goal, and Osorno added an assist.
Mount Airy leads the NW1A Conference with a 9-0 record. South Stokes, Starmount and Elkin are all still in the race for the NW1A title, but will be eliminated from title contention if Mount Airy can win one of its final three conference matches.
October 12, 2022
Three volleyball seniors were honored by Millennium Charter Academy prior to an Oct. 11 home match against Greensboro Homeschool: Ava Utt, Lydia Horton and Abigail Hodges.
“These seniors are a tight knit group of girls that I have loved getting the opportunity to coach,” said Lions coach Nichole Ashburn. “They each work diligently both academically – taking college classes and advanced high school classes – and in the sport they love.
“Abigail Hodges is a great leader who is always encouraging to her teammates and she leads by example on the court. Lydia Horton is the player that never complains, is never negative and always pushes herself to get grow. Ava Utt is an amazing player who, even pushed outside her comfort zone, steps up and she helps teach others.”
Following Tuesday’s match, the Lions are 8-13 overall and 7-4 in the Northwest Piedmont 1A Conference. Millennium sits at No. 3 in the conference with one match remaining in conference play. The NWPC Tournament begins next week.
With a strong performance in the NWPC Tournament, the trio of seniors have a good chance to extend their final volleyball season with a bid to the NCHSAA 1A State Playoffs.
“It was an honor to get to coach them this year; these girls hold a very special place in my heart,” Ashburn said. “I am so thankful to them and their families for this wonderful season. I can’t wait to see where they go!”
October 12, 2022
North Surry High School recognized seniors Aniya Joyce and Kyra Stanley prior to an Oct. 11 match against Surry Central.
“These two seniors have really persevered through some unusual events over their four years,” said Greyhound coach Shane Slate. “We have dealt with two seasons impacted by Covid, and this year we had to make significant changes to our routine due to changes in staffing. I just can’t say enough about how much I appreciate the fact they continued to come in, work and keep a positive vibe going for the team.
“I also had both of them in Civics during our modified learning environment and that attitude extended to the classroom as well, so the good things I see from them in volleyball are the same everywhere else.”
Joyce and Stanley helped lead the Hounds over Surry Central on Senior Night 3-1. The Golden Eagles won the opening set 25-22, but the Greyhounds won the next three: 25-21, 27-25 and 25-19. Tuesday’s win marks Joyce and Stanley’s first win over Surry Central as high schoolers and North’s first win over Central since 2018.
The Greyhounds improve to 10-10 overall and 6-5 in the Foothills 2A Conference with the win. If the Hounds can defeat North Wilkes (12-9, 5-6 FH2A) in the season closer AND Surry Central (9-9, 7-4 FH2A) loses to East Surry (18-3, 11-0 FH2A) the same day, North Surry and Surry Central will tie for second.
North Surry looks to carry momentum from its victory over Surry Central into Thursday’s match against North Wilkes, as well as the upcoming conference tournament and, potentially, the 2A State Playoffs.
“Consistency is still our biggest issue. We play at a really high level at times and then have a number of plays where our lack of focus on the details costs us a set or a match,” Slate said. “I hope we found something to build on last night because I would like for these two seniors to finish the year with the team playing at a high level.”
October 12, 2022
Mount Airy High School honored two volleyball players prior to an Oct. 11 match against Elkin: Morgan Mayfield and Kennedy Gwyn
“Our seniors have impacted this program so much,” said Granite Bear coach Shelby Bryant. “Kennedy and Morgan continue to set the bar for Mount Airy volleyball. Morgan runs the court defensively, and Kennedy is extremely smart with her offense and attacking the ball. They have grown tremendously as athletes and leaders; I have been blessed to be with them these past two years.”
With the 3-1 comeback win over Elkin, Mount Airy (13-6, 11-0 Northwest 1A) secured at least a share of the Northwest 1A Conference Regular Season Championship. This is the team’s first NW1A Title since winning the title outright in 2015.
The Bears can win the regular season championship outright with a victory in the season finale at Alleghany (16-3, 10-1 NW1A). Otherwise, Mount Airy and Alleghany would share the conference championship.
Alleghany’s only conference loss came against Mount Airy on Sept. 20.
“Our season has definitely been one for the books,” Bryant said. “This team works continuously every day at practice. They challenge themselves and it shows up when we go into game day. It is amazing at the things this team has accomplished so far this season. I know they want more and their effort will allow them to achieve that.
“I am so proud of them as athletes and as people. We have a lot more to do this season, it isn’t over yet.”
October 11, 2022
WILKESBORO — East Surry tennis players took home the top honors at Monday’s Foothills 2A Conference Championship.
The championship, held at Wilkes Central High School, saw representatives from all seven FH2A teams compete: East Surry, North Surry, Surry Central, Forbush, West Wilkes, North Wilkes and Wilkes Central.
Athletes competed for singles and doubles titles in the conference as well as the right to qualify for the Midwest 2A Regional Tournament. Any that reached the semifinal round of either the singles or doubles bracket qualified for regionals.
Both tournaments were won by East Surry competitors. The senior duo of Tara Martin and Evelyn Ruedisueli repeated as FH2A Doubles Champs, marking their third conference title as a unit, and junior Sophie Hutchens won the FH2A Singles Championship.
The Cardinals were also recognized for winning the FH2A Team Championship by finishing 12-0 in the conference for the second consecutive season. Martin repeated as FH2A Player of the Year, and coach Alison Hooker went back-to-back as FH2A Coach of the Year.
In addition to the tournament winners, the following athletes qualified for regionals: North Surry’s Whitley Hege; Surry Central’s McKenna Merritt and Karlie Robertson; Forbush’s Lauren Rockett, Caroline Myers and Salem Parker; North Wilkes’ Taylor Wood, Mallie Carson and Sarah Gambill.
Singles
North Surry’s Hege was the No. 1 overall seed in singles. Following a first-round bye, Hege reached the semifinals with a 6-2, 6-3 win over North Wilkes’ Louise Degeves.
Hutchens and Emma Bryant both won their first round matches, with Hutchens taking down Forbush’s Kate Starling 8-0 and Bryant beating Wilkes Central’s Meagan Black. Hutchens advanced to the semifinal against Hege with a 6-0, 6-1 win over Bryant.
Hege, North Surry’s No. 1 seed during the regular season, won the opening set over Hutchens 6-4. Hutchens, who primarily played No. 3 singles for East, rallied to win the next two sets 6-2, 6-4 to advance to the championship match.
Rockett was the high seed on the other side of the bracket. The No. 2 seed took on Central’s Priscilla Gentry, who defeated East Surry’s Chloe Koons 8-2 in the opening round, and won 6-2, 6-2.
North Surry’s Katie Butler defeated Wilkes Central’s Whitney Webster 8-0 in the opening round, and North Wilkes’ Taylor Wood defeated West Wilkes’ Mallory Hollars by the same score. Wood best Butler 6-2, 7-6 to reach the semifinals, but fell to Rockett in the next round.
Hutchens defeated Forbush’s top singles player 6-2, 6-0 to win the singles title.
Doubles
Martin and Ruedisueli were awarded the top spot in doubles after going undefeated during the regular season. Following a first-round bye, the Cardinal duo defeated Forbush’s Emma Sorrell and Jane Helton 6-1, 6-0 in the quarterfinals and North Wilkes’ Mallie Carson and Sarah Gambill 6-0, 6-1 in the semifinals.
On the other side of the bracket, Forbush’s Myers and Parker advanced to the semifinals with a 6-1, 6-3 win over East Surry’s Taylor Bullington and Mallory Estrada. North Surry’s Molly Reeves and Mattie Bare faced Merritt and Robertson in the other quarterfinal, with the pair of Golden Eagles going over 6-1, 6-1.
Myers and Parker defeated Merritt and Robertson 6-2, 6-1 to reach the championship match. Martin and Ruedisueli won the doubles crown by a score of 6-0, 6-0.
October 11, 2022
North Surry High School honored five senior golfers prior to an Oct. 6 match at Mount Airy Country Club.
Coach Jonathan Sutphin and the golf program recognized Gwen Bode, Molly Easter, Meredith Hicks, Sky Estrada and Cassie Noonkester.
“This group of seniors have made great strides to improve their game,” Sutphin said. “They have worked swing to swing and match to match, and learned how to compete and play this game. I have enjoyed each minute with these players and look forward to seeing what they do in the future.”
October 10, 2022
Six local student-athletes captured individual state championships during the winter season of the 2021-22 school year.
The sextet of athletes competed for three different schools – Mount Airy, North Surry and Surry Central – competed in three different sports – wrestling, swimming and indoor track – and came from three different graduating classes: 2022, 2023 and 2024.
All six have been recognized at their respective school’s football games this season where they also received their state championship rings.
Here’s another look at the six state champions.
Connor Medvar – Mount Airy Class of 2022
Including the dual team championship, Medvar finished the year with a 34-1 record. Of his 34 wins, he won: 14 via fall, four via technical fall, nine by decision – including three major decision wins – and seven via forfeit.
He won the Northwest 1A Championship, 1A West Regional Championship and 1A State Championship at 170 pounds – marking his second state championship in as many years. He previously won the 1A State Title at 152 pounds.
Medvar only had one close match throughout the regional and state tournaments, which he won via 9-5 decision. His other matches were: a 32-second win, a 17-0 tech fall, a 60-second win, a 13-4 major decision and a 10-3 decision.
Medvar was one point away from winning the state championship match via major decision while already wrestling up a weight class.
Matheson Williams – Mount Airy Class of 2022
Williams became Mount Airy’s first state champion swimmer in 16 years when he secured the 2021-22 1A/2A 100-yard Backstroke State Title.
Matheson never finished lower than first in a 100 backstroke race this season. He won every race during the regular season before winning the 100 backstroke title, as well as the 500 freestyle title, at the Northwest 1A Conference Championship.
He went on to win the backstroke championship at the 1A/2A Central Regional Championship and qualify for the state meet with the No. 2 overall time: 55.38 seconds. He continued his undefeated stretch by winning the preliminary race with a time of 55.25 seconds, then went on to win the state title with a time of 54.80 seconds.
Jared Hiatt – North Surry Class of 2023
Hiatt qualified for the NCHSAA 1A/2A State Championship Meet in all three jumping events: triple jump, high jump and long jump.
Jared’s top finish came in long jump. His mark of 22-06.00 feet earned him a state championship, and the second-place finisher was 15 inches behind him.
Hiatt’s distance was the third best in the state among all classifications. The 4A champion posted a mark of 23-01.00, and the 4A runner-up finished 22-10.25.
His mark of 41-03.50 feet earned fifth place in triple jump, and he posted a leap of 6-00.00 to win a bronze medal in high jump.
He followed his championship-winning performance in indoor track by winning the 2A Outdoor Track Long Jump Championship in the spring.
Jeremiah Price – Surry Central Class of 2023
Jeremiah won his third 2A Wrestling State Championship as a junior, this time in the 152-pound weight class after his previous two came in the 145 class. His state championship victory in 2022 makes him the first three-time state champ in Surry Central history and just the second in Surry County history.
Price finished the year with a 42-0 individual record. Out of 42 total matches, he won: 27 via fall, seven via technical fall, six via forfeit and just three via decision. Similar to his freshman and sophomore years, Jeremiah swept the individual honors in his respective weight class. He won the Foothills 2A Conference Championship, 2A Midwest Regional Championship and 2A State Championship in the 152 class.
Price’s dominant performance at the State Championship Tournament earned him the title of Most Outstanding Wrestler of the 2A Division. He won his first two matches in a combined 36 seconds, then won his semifinal and championship matches via technical fall (25-10, 26-9).
Hope Horan – Mount Airy Class of 2024
Mount Airy’s Hope Horan got her first taste of gold as a sophomore by winning the NCHSAA Women’s Wrestling Invitational Championship for the 114-pound weight class.
Horan’s victory came just one season after she made history for Mount Airy High School. She was not only the first female from the school to qualify for the NCHSAA State Championship Wrestling Meet – where wrestlers are not separated by gender – but she was also the first female to ever medal at the state meet as a freshman by finishing fourth at 106.
Horan also competed in the Women’s Wrestling Invitational in 2021, finishing second. She wrestled in the 114-pound weight class in 2022 with the goal of taking down the competitor that beat her the year before.
Hope won her first two matches of the tournament via fall: one in the first period and the other in the second. She got her rematch in the semifinals and went up 7-0 before her opponent defaulted with an injury.
Horan then won the 114 Championship via major decision.
Jacob Price – Surry Central Class of 2024
Jacob won his first 2A Wrestling State Championship as a sophomore in the 145-pound weight class. He was a state qualifier as a freshman, but competed with an injury that took six more months to fully recover from.
Price finished the season with a 32-2 overall record. Of his 32 victories, he won: 24 via fall, three via decision, one via technical fall and four via forfeit.
Jacob won the Foothills 2A Conference Championship, was named Most Outstanding Wrestler of the conference championship, then went on to win the 2A Midwest Regional Championship – both at 145. At the state tournament, Jacob won his first match via first-period fall, then posted back-to-back wins via major decision and technical fall. He won the 145 Championship Match via 8-2 decision.
October 10, 2022
KING — Mount Airy improved to 7-1 overall and 4-0 in the Northwest 1A Conference with a 62-0 win over North Stokes.
The Oct. 7 game, which served as coach JK Adkins’ 100th career win as head coach, was held at West Stokes High School due to construction at North Stokes.
The Granite Bears maintained their one-game hold on first in the NW1A Conference with their second shutout in three weeks. Mount Airy’s rock solid defense held North Stokes to negative total yardage for the game while also scoring the team’s first two defensive touchdowns of the season.
Caleb Reid led the Bears with three total touchdowns. The junior recovered a fumble for a touchdown on defense, then added two rushing touchdowns behind his team-high 90 yards on seven carries.
Josh Chavis had the team’s other defensive touchdown by returning an interception 23 yards to the end zone.
Tyler Mason and Ian Gallimore each had two touchdowns for the Bears.
Gallimore, who went a perfect 3-of-3 passing for 88 yards, threw two touchdowns passes: a 25-yard pass to Mario Revels for the first score of the game, then a 44-yard pass to Walker Stroup in the second quarter.
Mason had a quiet night rushing by his standards. He carried three times for 60 yards and a touchdown and also had a 57-yard punt return for a touchdown.
Mount Airy’s remaining touchdown was scored by Nas Lemon on a 4-yard run.
According to Mount Airy sports historian Doug McDaniel, Friday’s victory was the program’s 313th shutout win all time. It was also Mount Airy’s 51st time shutting out an opponent while also scoring more than 50 points, 36th time scoring 60 or more and – with the win – the Granite Bears have won seven games in a season for the 64th time.
Mount Airy heads into its bye week for its first week off since August. The Bears hold a one-game lead over East Wilkes (3-1) for first in the conference, and Starmount (2-1) is only 1.5 games behind. However, the Granite Bears have already defeated both those teams.
Following their bye week, the Bears will travel to Elkin (1-6, 1-2 NW1A) on Oct. 21 then return home on Oct. 28 for Senior Night against Alleghany (2-5, 1-2 NW1A).
October 08, 2022
EAST BEND — Forbush moved to 3-0 in the Foothills 2A Conference with a 22-14 comeback victory over Surry Central.
The Falcons rode a wave of momentum in the second half and turned a 6-7 deficit into a 19-7 lead. Forbush was held to just 73 yards of offense in the first half – 35 of which came on its final play of the second quarter – before exploding for 187 yards in the second half.
The opposite was true for Surry Central. The Golden Eagles racked up 113 yards of offense in the opening half but only recorded 50 in the second. Central had just three first downs in the entire second half compared to Forbush’s 12, with turnovers and penalties proving costly for the Eagles.
Despite the disparity in second-half first downs, Central found itself down just five points for most of the fourth quarter.
After a three-and-out and interception on their first two possessions of the second half, the Golden Eagles (2-5, 1-2 FH2A) started on their own 46 with 11:17 to play. Quarterback Mason Jewell completed a 9-yard pass to Cole Snow then Allen Huffman moved the chains with an 11-yard run on fourth down.
Huffman’s 11-yard run was the first of back-to-back-to-back double-digit gains on the ground. He went for 11 yards twice, then barreled through defenders for a 21-yard gain to put Central on the Falcon 3-yard line. Huffman led Surry Central with 16 carries for 99 yards.
Brian Williams plugged in the 3-yard touchdown for his second score of the game, and Chris Nava made his second PAT in as many attempts to cut the lead to 19-14.
What followed was Forbush’s longest possession of the game. The Falcons (3-4, 3-0 FH2A) started on their own 20 after a Nava touchback with 7:48 left in the game. Bryson Taylor and Jesse Wooten went to work on the ground as Forbush looked to keep the clock running, then workhorse Regan Ramey came in for four consecutive runs to put the home team in Golden Eagle territory.
Taylor and Ramey combined to rush 41 times for 175 yards and three touchdowns. The duo accounted for 88% of Forbush’s rushing offense and 67% of the team’s total offense against Central.
Central finally began to burn timeouts after a holding the Falcons up on a first down run with 2:20 to play. The Eagles stopped the Falcons again on second down, but a personal foul called on Central after the play threw in wrench in the Eagles’ plans.
Surry Central was able to keep Forbush from moving the chains again in the game, but the personal foul allowed the clock to tick all the way down to 1:20. Also, a 38-yard field goal from David Guadarrama increased the lead from five to eight.
Huffman had a great return on the ensuing kickoff to put Central at midfield. The Eagles never got the chance to force overtime, however, as the Falcons’ Andrew Hutchens picked off Jewell to put the game on ice.
The turnover was the third forced by Forbush as Austin Choplin grabbed two interceptions earlier in the game. Jewell was held to a season-low 4-of-16 completions (25%) for 15 yards passing after throwing for at least 150 yards in Central’s three previous games.
Surry Central only forced one turnover in the game – a third-quarter fumble picked up by Reid Danley – but nonetheless the Eagles were able to contain Forbush’s offense for most of the first half.
The Falcons punted on their first five possessions of the game, with four ending as three-and-outs. In the first half: Taylor only completed one pass, the Falcons only moved the chains twice and Forbush didn’t have a play of double-digit yards for the first 23 minutes of the game.
After Central scored the game’s opening touchdown with 1:38 left in the second quarter, a short kickoff allowed Forbush to start on its own 46. The Falcons made it to midfield thanks to a Taylor run before the quarterback looked to throw a deep ball. Central was flagged for pass interference to put the Falcons on the Eagle 35, then Taylor ran for 35 yards to the end zone.
This change in momentum carried into the second half when Forbush scored on three of its first four possessions.
Forbush is one of two undefeated teams remaining in the Foothills 2A Conference. The Falcons will test themselves against the other unbeaten FH2A team on Oct. 14 by traveling to East Surry (7-0, 3-0 FH2A). The Cardinals won both meetings against Forbush in 2021, winning 40-14 during the regular season and 37-20 in the second round of the 2A State Playoffs.
Surry Central looks to bounce back in a road game against North Wilkes (4-3, 1-2 FH2A). The Golden Eagles bested the Vikings 45-20 in their 2021 meeting.
Scoring
Central – 0, 7, 0, 7 = 14
Forbush – 0, 6, 13, 3 = 22
1Q
No scoring
2Q
1:38 SCHS 0-7 – Brian Williams 1-yard rushing TD, Chris Nava PAT
0:26 FHS 6-7 – Bryson Taylor 35-yard rushing TD, 2-point conversion no good
3Q
9:05 FHS 12-7 – Regan Ramey 5-yard rushing TD, 2-point conversion no good
2:03 FHS 19-7 – Bryson Taylor 35-yard rushing TD, David Guadarrama PAT
4Q
7:50 SCHS 19-14 – Brian Williams 3-yard rushing TD, Chris Nava PAT
1:20 FHS 22-19 – David Guadarrama 38-yard field goal
Offensive Stats
Surry Central
TEAM
15 yards passing on four completions
138 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 25 carries
163 total yards
INDIVIDUAL
Passing: Mason Jewell 4-of-16 for 15 yards, three interceptions
Receiving: Cole Snow 2 receptions for 16 yards; Ayden Wilmoth two receptions for -1 yard
Rushing: Allen Huffman 16 carries for 99 yards; Brian Williams six carries for 20 yards and two touchdowns; Mason Jewell two carries for 19 yards; Ayden Wilmoth one carry for 0 yards
Kicking: Chris Nava 2-of-2 PATs, 0-of-1 field goals
Forbush
TEAM
61 yards passing on three completions
199 yards rushing and three touchdowns on 49 carries
260 total yards
INDIVIDUAL
Passing: Bryson Taylor 3-of-7 for 61 yards
Receiving: Cristofur Martinez two receptions for 55 yards; Austin Choplin one receptions for 3 yards
Rushing: Bryson Taylor 21 carries for 115 yards, two touchdowns and one fumble; Regan Ramey 20 carries for 60 yards and one touchdown; Andrew Hutchens three carries for 13 yards; Jesse Wooten five carries for 11 yards
Kicking: David Guadarrama 1-of-1 PATs, 1-of-1 field goals
October 07, 2022
PILOT MOUNTAIN — A 29th-minute goal off a free kick proved to be the difference maker in Wednesday’s Foothills 2A Conference match between East Surry and North Wilkes.
The Cardinals out-shot the visiting Vikings in both halves but couldn’t find the back of the net. East’s defense had a strong performance as well, but one momentary lapse allowed the match-winning goal to be scored.
The Cards (0-8-2, 0-6-1 FH2A), who feel they’re getting closer and closer to their first win of the season, have now suffered back-to-back one-goal losses.
“I’m feeling very discouraged at the moment,” said East Surry coach Samuel Lowe. “Our guys played really hard and we had shot after shot, we just couldn’t buy a goal. We hit the post a couple times and thought we had them on a handball in the box, but at the end of it we still lost 1-0. We had a little mistake there on the free kick and that was the difference.”
Lowe stressed that his disappointment didn’t stem from his players’ efforts, as they did everything he asked them to. However, he said he hates that they came so close to a victory and just couldn’t come away with it.
“I truly believe that if we could just get over this hump and win that first game that more victories will come,” Lowe said. “I’m proud of them and the way they played. This group has fought hard this whole year.”
East Surry’s progress from the first half of the season is evident when comparing scores. When the Cards first played the Vikings in Hays on Sept. 13, North Wilkes scored five times in the FH2A opener. This time around East Surry out-shot North Wilkes in both halves and only allowed one goal.
“Oh it was a lot different to the first time we played them,” Lowe said. “Not only did we out-shoot them, but we had more possession and more legitimate chances to score this time. They just put one away and we didn’t.”
A lot changed between meetings, including swapping players to different positions and letting more players see the field in various spots. Chemistry was the team’s issue early in the season because they had so few games, Lowe said, but now that they’ve had multiple weeks with two or more matches the Cards are starting to get used to each other.
East Surry’s defense is one position group Lowe applauded for their efforts in Thursday’s match.
“Alex Galvan has really stepped up in that center back position,” Lowe said. “Of course he’s one of our seniors and one of the fastest guys on our team. He and Logan [Fagg] work really well together, and when Logan pushes up Levi [Watson] and Kevin [Blakeney] stay back and they’ve got to where they play really well together.”
North Wilkes (8-7-1, 4-3 FH2A) tested East’s defense right off the bat by staying on the Cardinals’ defensive half for most of the first 15 minutes. Despite occupying East Surry territory and taking three corner kicks in the opening minutes of the game, North Wilkes was only able to attempt one shot during this time – which was saved by East Surry keeper Michael Youngblood.
A free kick put on target from Lupe Chavez in the 15th minute helped shift momentum in the Cards’ favor. Chavez, Erik Perez and Mario Flores helped East navigate the midfield while setting striker Jonathan de la Cruz up for runs.
Cruz took a through ball from Chavez in the 19th minute and shot to the far post. The Cardinals thought the ball hit the post and went over the goal line, but the official signaled that it did not.
Six minutes later, Flores took back-to-back corner kicks and Chavez had headers hit the cross bar. Kade Talton redirected a corner not long after North Wilkes’ goal, and once again the Cardinals thought a goal had been scored but the official said no goal.
North Wilkes’ scored on its second shot of the game. A foul was called on East 35 yards out from the goal, and the Vikings floated a kick over the defense to be headed into the net.
With the exception of the goal, all of North Wilkes’ five other shots were saved by Youngblood. The Vikings’ best chance to add to its lead came in the 58th minute when a through ball left the opposing striker one-on-one with Youngblood. The keeper charged and blocked the shot, but the Viking quickly jumped on the rebound and saw an open net in front of him. Before the player could shoot, Fagg swept in at the last possible second and cleared the ball out for a corner.
Cruz and Flores sent shots at the Viking keeper in the second half but couldn’t score.
Fagg pressed up with less than five minutes on the clock. Sid Sutphin found Chavez for a pass near midfield, and Chavez floated a ball into the box for Fagg and the Viking keeper to fight for. This happened three times in the final five minutes, but all three instances ended with North Wilkes in possession.
Fagg had one last shot in the final minute of play, but it too was saved. Cruz was in position for the rebound had the keeper bobbled the catch.
Lowe said the Cardinals would go back to the drawing board the next day and keep refining their skills. He did mention that the team is expected to get senior Juan Caro back in less than a week, and said “it’ll be big having him come back for sure.”
East Surry returns to action Oct. 10 at North Surry. This is the beginning of a three-game road trip for East, with the Cards not playing in David H. Diamont Stadium again until Oct. 24.
Scoring
North Wilkes – 1, 0 = 0
East Surry – 0, 0 = 0
Goals
1H
29’ North Wilkes 0-1, Ivan Duran on Mathew Pardo assist
October 07, 2022
DOBSON — Surry Central capped off its Senior Night celebration with a 3-2 win over North Wilkes.
The Golden Eagles secured at minimum a share of second place in the Foothills 2A Conference with Thursday’s five-set victory, which avenged a loss to the Vikings earlier this season.
After dropping the first set 25-22, Central stormed back and won the next two sets with scores of 25-14 and 25-23. North Wilkes battled back from a deficit in the fourth set to win 25-21, but Surry Central jumped out to a big lead in the decisive fifth set before winning 15-9.
Central is now 9-8 overall and 7-3 in conference play.
The Oct. 6 victory served as the final regular season home game for six Golden Eagle seniors: Emma Davis, Ashley Santamaria, Erica Coe, Aubrey Hodges, Marissa McCann and Laken Coe.
“I’ll tell you what I told them last night: they are special to me,” Central coach Maddison Payne said of the Class of 2023. “When I started coaching and coming in knowing they have had a different coach every year they have played, I really didn’t know what I was coming into. But, they welcomed me with open arms and I’ll forever be grateful for that.
“All of them will always hold such a special place in my heart. I wish we got more than one year together.”
The season didn’t get off to an ideal start for Surry Central when the Eagles dropped their first four matches. It took time for the team to adjust to playing without five of its players from the previous season, three of which went on to play collegiate volleyball.
Once the team gained that chemistry it showed in the win column. The Golden Eagles have won five of their past six matches and are set to finish higher in the conference than they did in 2021.
“I’ve learned a lot this season. We all have, and we are definitely not the team we were at the beginning of the season,” Payne said. “We had to learn what our strengths and weaknesses are. We’ve learned how to play smart and how to communicate better; that was our big thing at beginning of the season.
“I’m honestly so proud of how the girls have turned our season around and now are number two in the conference. I couldn’t be any prouder of them. They deserve it.”
Central has now avenged two of its three conference losses from earlier in the season.
Thursday’s Senior Night game looked to be a repeat of the first match against North Wilkes (11-9, 4-6 FH2A), which the Vikings won 3-0, early in the second set. An 8-1 run by North gave the visitors the first set, then the Viks began the second set with a 5-0 run.
Central came out of a timeout and won the next six points to force the first of three lead changes in the set. Strong serving set the tone for Golden Eagles, who finished the night with 15 aces and just five service errors on 105 attempts. North Wilkes cut the lead to 9-8 and 11-9, but a 7-0 Central run put the Eagles’ advantage out of reach.
An ace from Aubrey Southern ended the set at 25-14 and tied the overall score at 1-1.
The second set only had three lead changes and three ties, but the third set featured seven lead changes and 12 ties. Neither side led by more than three points in the third.
The back and forth set went the way of the Golden Eagles 25-23. Central had one of its best attacking sets in the third with Lily O’Neal shining at outside hitter. O’Neal finished with a team-high 11 kills.
McCann joined in on the attacking fun in the fourth set as Central got off to a 10-3 start. North Wilkes’ offense hit its high point as the Vikings chipped away at the lead to come back and eventually tie the score 19.
North Wilkes used its biggest run of the match, scoring 10-of-12 points, to turn a 19-15 deficit into a 25-21 set victory.
Tied two sets to two, Payne said she was confident in her girls’ abilities and they’d already proven how good they could play against North Wilkes.
“My message to them going into the fifth set was ‘Go out there and play our ball like we do,’ and that’s exactly what we did,” Payne said.
Kills from Mallie Southern and O’Neal forced a North Wilkes timeout with Central leading 5-2. Kylee Schendel served the Eagles on a 5-0 run after the score was tied 2-2. The Vikings scored on a well-placed attack to break the streak, and then Central went on a 4-0 run.
The Eagles led 12-4 when North Wilkes responded with a 5-0 run, prompting Payne to call a timeout. McCann won the next point with a kill, then a North Wilkes attack error set the Eagles up for the win. Hodges put the match away with a kill and the Eagles went wild.
Surry Central can finish second in the conference outright with a victory in one of its final two regular season matches, though they both come against top teams in the FH2A league. The Golden Eagles first face North Surry (9-10, 5-5 FH2A), who is the only other team still contending for second place.
A win over North Surry gives second place to Central, but a loss to North Surry means Central either has to beat conference champion East Surry (16-3, 10-0 FH2A) on the road OR count on a North Surry loss at North Wilkes in the regular season finale.
Scoring
North Wilkes – 25, 14, 23, 25, 9 – 2
Surry Central – 22, 25, 25, 21, 15 – 3
October 06, 2022
PILOT MOUNTAIN — A sweep of Surry Central completed East Surry’s perfect season in the Foothills 2A Conference.
Led by a pair of seniors competing in their final regular season home match, the Cardinals defeated the Golden Eagles 9-0 on Oct. 5 to repeat as FH2A Champions. East finishes the regular season 13-1 overall and 12-0 in conference play.
East Surry recognized its senior duo – Tara Martin and Evelyn Ruedisueli – prior to the match. Both girls are four-year starters on the team that have competed in the top three for most of their careers. In addition to winning back-to-back team conference titles, Martin and Ruedisueli have the following accolades as a doubles team: two All-State selections, 1A State Runner-up, 2A State Semifinalists, 1A Midwest Regional Champions, 2A Midwest Regional Runners-up and two-time conference doubles champions.
Martin was also named All-State her freshman year with doubles partner Sarah Mann.
“Words can’t describe the journey I have experienced with Tara and Evelyn over the past four years,” said East Surry coach Alison Hooker. “These ladies have shown great dedication to the game, and have become great role models for the rest of the team. It has been a great honor to coach them for the past four years.
“Because of their personal sacrifice to their craft, I have grown as a coach and mentor. They are tremendous athletes, and even better people. I will thoroughly miss having them on our team, but can’t wait to see what the future holds for them.”
Martin and Ruedisueli completed undefeated regular seasons with victories over Surry Central. Martin defeated McKenna Merritt 6-1, 6-0 in No. 1 singles, and Ruedisueli defeated Karlie Robertson 6-0, 6-1 in No. 2 singles. The No. 1 doubles team of Martin/Ruedisueli defeated Merritt/Robertson 8-0.
Sophie Hutchens won No. 3 singles for East with a 6-0, 6-1 win over Priscilla Gentry, and Cardinal Taylor Bullington bested Madelyn Wilmoth 6-1, 6-1 in No. 5 singles.
The Cardinals wrapped up the overall match victory with a win in No. 4 singles. East’s Chloe Koons led 3-2 in the first set before winning three-straight games. Central’s Emma Bryant went up 2-1 in the second set, but Koons responded by taking a 4-3 lead and winning back-to-back games to secure the victory.
Central’s Mitzy Vasquez led 5-2 in No. 6 singles before Mallory Estrada stormed back to win the first set 7-5. The pair went into a set-tiebreaker for the second set, and Estrada took that victory as well by a score of 7-5.
In addition to Martin/Ruedisueli’s 8-0 doubles win, Bullington/Estrada handled business in No. 3 singles with an 8-1 victory over Vasquez/Kaesi Blythe.
No. 2 doubles was the most competitive of the three, with East’s Hutchens/Koons defeating Gentry/Bryant 8-5.
East Surry and Surry Central will both compete in the FH2A Tournament held Oct. 10 at Wilkes Central.
October 05, 2022
North Surry completed a season sweep of West Wilkes Tuesday with a 3-1 comeback victory.
The visiting Blackhawks capitalized on Greyhound mistakes in the opening set to take a 1-0 set lead. North Surry responded by taking each of the next two sets without trailing, then the Hounds used their biggest run of the evening to come back and win the decisive fourth set.
The Oct. 5 win keeps North Surry in the hunt for the Foothills 2A Conference’s second place automatic playoff bid.
East Surry owns the top spot in the FH2A Conference with a 9-0 record. While Surry Central is still technically in the running for the conference title at 6-3, the Eagles will be eliminated from contention if East wins any of its final three matches. That would leave four teams fighting for second in the conference: Surry Central (6-3), North Surry (5-5), Forbush (4-5) and North Wilkes (4-5).
The Greyhounds needed a win against West Wilkes to stay in the race for second place. North Surry looks to make its first postseason appearance since 2018. The Hounds would’ve made the playoffs in 2020-21 if it had been a normal season as they finished 10-4, but because of the coronavirus pandemic playoff selections were cut from 64 to 32.
The start of Tuesday’s match was less than ideal for North Surry as the Hounds took went down 1-0 out of the gate. The teams were tied at 21-21 in the first set when the Greyhounds gave up three points due to a net violation and two attack errors, paving the way for West Wilkes to win the set 25-22.
North Surry, who improves to 9-9 overall with the win over West Wilkes, regrouped in the second set and took a 12-3 lead. The Greyhounds minimized their own errors and took West Wilkes out of rotation with well-placed attacks. Setter Ella Riggs went all over the floor to set up proper attacks, and multiple Greyhound hitters showed off their accuracy by hitting spots of empty court.
North led 24-13 when West Wilkes stormed back with five consecutive points, but the Hounds were able to put the set away to win 25-18.
West Wilkes’ only lead of the middle two sets came at the start of the third. The 2-1 advantage was short-lived as Reece Niston took over the serve for North and quickly made it 5-2 in the Hounds’ favor. After West Wilkes interrupted the run with a kill, North Surry’s Haylee Smith and Callie Robertson showed off their attacking prowess to increase the lead to 10-3.
North Surry had its best serving set of the night in the third, which made West Wilkes’ returns less effective to allow North the opportunity to set up an ideal play. Zarah Love was a force at middle hitter and helped the Hounds increase their lead to 11 at 20-9.
The Greyhounds finished the set off with a strong statement. An attack from Robertson was blocked straight up, which allowed Sadie Badgett to swoop in and crush a kill down the line.
Kills from Riggs and Badgett gave North another strong start in the fourth set, putting the home team up 6-1. A run from West Wilkes forced ties at 8, 9 and 13 before the Blackhawks finally took the lead at 14-13. West went up 15-13 for the visitors’ first multiple-point lead since the first set.
An attack error gave the serve back to North Surry’s Riggs at 16-15. A Robertson kill tied the game at 16, then Blackhawk attack errors forced the final lead change of the match.
Similar to the third set, the Greyhounds set the pace with their serving. Riggs came out of a timeout at 20-16 and hit an ace, then West failed to return her next two serves.
North went on a 10-0 run to lead 24-16 before giving up a point to an attack error. Robertson fired back the next point with a kill to end the match.
North Surry begins the final week of regular season play with its Senior Night match against Surry Central on Oct. 11. The Greyhounds finish the season two days later at North Wilkes.
Scoring
West Wilkes – 25, 18, 16, 17 – 1
North Surry – 22, 25, 25, 25 – 3
October 05, 2022
There are many noticeable changes to everyday life as calendars are flipped to October every year.
The weather usually gets a little colder, leaves begin to change color and seemingly every food and beverage suddenly has a pumpkin spice variety.
A more significant October change is the flood of pink as different schools and organizations recognize Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Mount Airy High School did its part in raising awareness of the disease with Monday’s “Dig Pink” Volleyball Game. Sponsored by the MAHS Interact Club, the JV-Varsity double header against East Surry helped raise funds to benefit the battle against breast cancer.
Mount Airy wore special pink jerseys to commemorate the occasion on Oct. 3, and shirts were sold with all proceeds benefiting breast cancer awareness.
Mount Airy and East Surry, both undefeated in their respective conferences, took a break from league play to compete in the nonconference benefit match. The visiting Cardinals won the match 3-0 as the school extended its winning streak to nine matches.
The Granite Bears competed in the opening set before falling 25-17, then the Cardinals went into another gear and won the next two sets while only giving up 21 combined points – 25-8 and 25-13.
East Surry (15-3) took control of the match with a big run in the second set. Merry Parker Boaz took the service line with the Cards up 10-3 then served the next 12 points for East. The Cardinals led by as many as 19 on two occasions – 22-3 and 24-5 – but a late trio of points brought the Bears up to eight points before the set ended.
The Cardinals continued to groove into the third set by starting with a 13-2 run. Abby Epperson and Alissa Clabo had blocks for Mount Airy during the run, but as a whole East Surry’s offense couldn’t be slowed down. Boaz, Bella Hutchens and Mckenzie Davis had kills during the strong start to the set, and Lily Watson showed the Cards’ defensive capabilities with a big block.
Clabo ended East’s run with a kill, then an Epperson block of Hutchens brought the Bears back to life. Mount Airy used a 5-2 run to get back into the game before East’s Maggy Sechrist got the Cards going again with a kill. From this point, East led by at least eight points for the remainder of the set.
Following Monday’s match, Mount Airy returned home the following night to defeat North Stokes in Northwest 1A Conference action. The victory put the Granite Bears at 11-6 overall and 9-0 in conference play.
The NW1A Conference race is down to three teams: Mount Airy, in first place at 9-0; Alleghany, who sits at 7-1 with its only loss coming against Mount Airy; and Starmount, who is 4-3. A Mount Airy win in the next two weeks eliminates Starmount from title contention.
East Surry holds a three-match advantage over the rest of the Foothills 2A Conference and is already guaranteed a share of the conference championship. Surry Central is second at 6-3, but will be eliminated from title contention if East Surry wins one of its final three conference matches.
Scoring
East Surry – 25, 25, 25 – 3
Mount Airy – 17, 8, 13 – 0
October 05, 2022
North Surry’s final home tennis match of the 2022 season went down to the wire on Oct. 3.
After a 3-3 split in singles, North Surry and Surry Central competed in a best 2-of-3 in doubles. The Greyhounds not only looked to avenge a loss to Surry Central earlier in the season, but wanted to honor their two seniors by forcing coach Jon Lattimore to recreate his iconic Senior Night pose – which was promised by the coach if the Hounds pulled out a victory.
Victories in No. 1 and No. 3 doubles helped North Surry to a 5-4 win over Surry Central. Monday’s Greyhound victory marked North’s second win over Central in the past decade.
The senior duo of Whitley Hege and Katie Butler led the Hounds to the victory. The duo played No. 1 and No. 2 singles – just as they had for most of their high school careers – then joined forces for No. 1 doubles. Hege and Butler both went undefeated on the day and accounted for three of North’s five wins against Central.
“Today’s match was very special as we celebrated Katie and Whitley,” Lattimore said. “My first year as coach was their freshmen year, and it’s hard to believe it’s been four years. I can’t say enough about the hard work and dedication these two ladies have shown every year I’ve coached them. Today’s match was a testament to that as they both really stepped up in singles and doubles.”
All three of North Surry’s singles victories came in straight sets. Butler was the first to finish in No. 2 singles by defeating Surry Central’s Karlie Robertson 6-0, 6-2 in what Lattimore called, “perhaps her best singles performance I’ve ever seen.”
Hege took down Surry Central’s McKenna Merritt 6-4, 6-1 in No. 1 singles, and North’s Sparrow Krantz defeated Mitzy Vasquez 6-1, 6-1 in No. 6 singles.
North Surry won the first set of all six singles matches. All three of Central’s singles wins came after players rallied to win the second set before taking the match overall with a third-set tiebreaker.
“We knew the match was going to be close and all of our players came out with a sense of urgency,” Lattimore said. “You could tell they were determined to give their very best on Senior Night.
“I’ve got to hand it to Surry Central’s players for being resilient and forcing three matches to third-set tiebreakers and actually coming out on top in all three.”
Golden Eagle No. 4 seed Emma Bryant had Central’s first win of the day. Bryant dropped the first set of her singles match 6-1 to Molly Reeves, but won the second 6-2. The pair were neck and neck in the tiebreaker before Bryant came away with the 10-8 win.
The No. 5 singles match was the only one with multiple tiebreakers. North’s Mattie Bare won the first set 7-6 by winning the set tiebreaker 7-3, then Central’s Madelyn Wilmoth fired back with a 6-2 second-set win. Wilmoth went on to take the third-set tiebreaker 10-5.
Long rallies on court No. 3 made the matchup of North’s Clara Burke and Central’s Priscilla Gentry the final singles bout to finish. Burke pulled out the first set win 7-5, but then Gentry took the second set 6-2 and the third-set tiebreaker 10-8.
After both girls won in singles, Central’s Gentry and Bryant teamed together in No. 2 doubles to defeat Reeves and Bare 8-6.
Burke and Krantz evened the overall score at 4-4 by defeating Wilmoth and Kaesi Blythe 8-6 in No. 3 doubles, and the senior duo of Hege and Butler capped off the team victory with an 8-4 win over Merritt and Robertson in No. 1 doubles.
“I’m extremely proud of how hard everyone played and it’s always great to get a win on Senior Night,” Lattimore said.
October 03, 2022
PILOT MOUNTAIN — East Surry took a step closer to repeating as Foothills 2A Conference Champions by defeating Wilkes Central on Sept. 30.
Wilkes Central used an early trick play to go up 6-0 in the first quarter, joining Starmount and North Wilkes as the only teams to take a lead over East this season. Like both the previous instances, Wilkes Central’s advantage was short-lived as East scored two touchdowns less than 70 seconds after the Eagles’ initial score.
The Cardinals led by as many as 29 before going on to win 41-19.
East Surry’s defense locked Wilkes Central down for most of the game, with the outliers coming on Wilkes’ first and last drives of the game. The Eagles opened with an 88-yard touchdown pass, then went 84 yards on their final offensive possession in the fourth quarter.
These two drives accounted for 172 of Wilkes Central’s 219 total yards. The Eagles completed 10-of-17 passes for 154 yards and rushed 32 times for 65 yards.
East Surry, now 7-0 overall, had its third game of the season with double-digit tackles for a loss with 11.0 against Wilkes Central. Hatcher Hamm led the way with three TFLs, and Brett Clayton, Anderson Badgett, Daniel Villasenor and Kyle Zinn each had two.
Clayton and Badgett each had one sack and one QB hurry, while Lindann Fleming and Will Jones each had pass deflections. Clayton also forced a fumble that was recovered by Jones.
Wilkes Central, who falls to 4-3 overall, only led for 49 seconds in Friday’s game. Following the Eagles’ opening touchdown, the Cards scored quickly on a run from quarterback Folger Boaz. Central muffed the ensuing kickoff to put the ball back into East’s hands, and Boaz immediately found Colby Johnson for a 45-yard touchdown pass.
The Cardinal offense recorded a season-high 352 yards passing against the Eagles.. One week after Boaz became the all-time leading passer in East Surry history, he passed North Surry’s Chase Swartz (Class of 2020) to become the all-time leader in yards passing in Surry County history.
Folger Boaz now sits at 7,257 career passing yards with 348 yards against Wilkes Central. Swartz drops to second in county history with 7,059, and Jefferson Boaz (East Surry Class of 2020) is third with 6,738.
Against the Eagles, Boaz’s 348 yards and five passing touchdowns came on 29-of-41 completions (70.7%). Sophomore Luke Bruner added one completion for four yards.
Boaz would connect for four more passing touchdowns before halftime.
Johnson paced East Surry’s receivers with 135 yards and two touchdowns on a career-high 10 receptions. Eight different Cardinals had receptions, and four had receiving touchdowns.
Matthew Keener followed Johnson with 81 yards and a touchdown on four catches, followed by Luke Brown with 50 yards and a touchdown on three catches, Zinn with 40 yards and a touchdown on five catches, Matthew Edwards with 17 yards on two catches, Stephen Brantley with 15 yards on three catches, Clayton with 8 yards on one catch, Hayden Sammons with four yards on one catch and Gabriel Harpe with one catch for no gain.
The Cardinals added 144 yards rushing on 22 carries to finish with 496 total yards. East Surry has finished with at least 420 yards in 6-of-7 games in 2022.
Boaz led the Cardinal rushers with 88 yards and a touchdown on seven carries. Edwards added 31 yards on five carries, followed by Zinn with 14 yards on four carries, Fleming with 7 yards on one carry, Clayton with 5 yards on two carries, Sammons with 3 yards on one carry, Bruner with one carry for -1 yard and Johnson with one carry for -3 yards.
East Surry takes a BYE week on Oct. 7 before hosting Forbush on Oct. 14. Forbush sits at second in the conference at 2-0 and will face 1-1 Surry Central this week.
Behind Forbush: Wilkes Central is 2-1, Surry Central and North Wilkes are 1-1, and West Wilkes and North Surry are 0-3.
Scoring
Wilkes Central – 6, 6, 0, 7 = 19
East Surry – 21, 20, 0, 0 = 41
October 03, 2022
In a game where North Surry and Forbush combined for more than 800 yards of offense, a play on defense turned out to be the difference in a 42-41 Falcon victory on homecoming Thursday night at Atkins Stadium.
That play came courtesy of a fumble recovery from Forbush’s Dylan Spillman with 1:25 to play in the game, which preserved the one-point lead.
“That was huge,” said Forbush head coach Jeremy Funderburk of the play. “With a special athlete like they have, and they’ve got plenty of them, but a special athlete like Jahreece (Lynch), anytime that he touches the ball, it’s scary; it could go a long way and we were fortunate to make one play there at the end.”
But the Greyhounds, who dropped to 0-3 in Foothills 2A Conference action, had things going their way late in the third quarter.
Jake Simmons, who finished with 164 yards rushing and three touchdowns, put North Surry up 27-20 with a 49-yard rushing score.
Forbush (2-4, 2-0) had a chance to tie the game after an eight-yard gain from Bryson Taylor, put his team in the red zone.
Lynch sacked Taylor on the next play and the Falcons were pushed back to fourth-and-nine from the Greyhound 24. Forbush tried a little trickery as Cristofur Martinez took the pitch from Taylor, looking for McKinley Reavis in the end zone.
But Talan Vernon broke up the pass for a turnover on downs.
North Surry (1-5) used a 68-yard rush from Simmons and Colton Allen found Lynch on a 22-yard touchdown to make it a two-possession game.
Then the Falcons battled back behind the play of Regan Ramey.
The senior, who took over under center after Taylor left the game early in the third with an injury (and did not return), had a hand in all but three of Forbush’s offensive plays over the final 16 minutes of the game.
Ramey finished with a game-high 219 rushing yards and four touchdowns and scored on a 7-yard run to make it a one-possession game. On the ensuing onside kick, Austin Choplin recovered the ball to put Forbush on the North Surry 43.
The senior followed up with a 1-yard touchdown to put the Falcons ahead 34-33 after missing the conversion — leaving the door open for North Surry.
The Greyhounds would capitalize with Lynch’s third touchdown of the night — a 45-yard reception from Allen. Fisher Leftwich added the conversion run to regain the advantage with 9:32 to play.
Forbush once again responded the play of Ramey as the team chewed up seven minutes of clock.
Set up with first-and-goal from the five after an eight-yard gain from Cristofur Martinez, the junior pushed the ball to the one.
On the next play, Ramey plunged into the end zone from a yard out and then added the two-point conversion for the one-point lead.
Lynch set up North Surry in an ideal spot after a 55-yard return on David Guadarrama’s kickoff, all the way to Forbush’s 44 with just a little more than two minutes left, setting up the final defensive sequence.
The senior put North Surry on the board on the game’s second offensive play, but with his arm. Lynch took the handoff from Allen and a found wide-open Leftwich for a 48-yard touchdown pass.
The Greyhounds, who led 21-20 at halftime, will look for its first conference win when it travels to West Wilkes on Friday night.
The Falcons, who have now won two-straight homecoming games on the road, will return home for their own homecoming this coming Friday against Surry Central.
Forbush 42, North Surry 41
Forbush 7, 13, 8, 14 — 42
North Surry 14, 7, 12, 8 — 41
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
NSU—Fisher Leftwich 48-yard pass from Jahreece Lynch (run fail) 11:14
FB — Regan Ramey 4-yard run (David Guadarrama kick) 6:58
NSU — Jake Simmons 24-yard run (Colton Allen run) 3:48
Second Quarter
FB — Bryson Taylor 1-yard run (Guadarrama kick) 10:20
NSU — Simmons 2-yard run (Jimmy Burnett kick) 4:30
FB — Taylor 5-yard run (kick failed) 0:29
Third Quarter
NSU — Simmons 49-yard run (kick blocked) 7:16
NSU — Lynch 22-yard pass from Allen (run fail) 4:35
FB — Ramey 7-yard run (Ramey kick) 1:55
Fourth Quarter
FB — Ramey 1-yard run (run fail) 11:32
NSU — Lynch 45-yard pass from Allen (Leftwich run) 9:32
FB — Ramey 1-yard run (Ramey run) 2:11
Individual Offensive Statistics:
Forbush
Rushing: Regan Ramey 40-219 and 4 TD; Bryson Taylor 11-85 and 2 TD; Jesse Wooten 8-30; Cristofur Martinez 3-18.
Passing: Bryson Taylor 3-3-0 for 61 yards; Cristofur Martinez 0-1-0 for 0 yards.
Receiving: Mckinley Reavis 1-31; Cristofur Martinez 1-24; Regan Ramey 1-6.
North Surry
Rushing: Jake Simmons 12-164 and 3 TD; Jahreece Lynch 7-79; Makiyon Woodbury 1-7; Colton Allen 2-(-16).
Passing: Colton Allen 6-7-0 for 122 yards and 2 TD; Jahreece Lynch 1-1-0 for 48 yards and 1 TD.
Receiving: Jahreece Lynch 2-67 and 2 TD; Makiyon Woodbury 4-55; Fisher Leftwich 1-48 and 1 TD.
September 30, 2022
Mount Airy took sole possession of the Northwest 1A Conference’s top spot with a 43-7 victory over Starmount on Sept. 29.
Moved up a night to avoid the impact of Hurricane Ian, Thursday’s game seemed to have all the ingredients of a defensive battle through the first half. Two teams that averaged more than 33 points per game heading into Thursday – the Granite Bears 46.5 and the Rams 33.4 – combined for just three touchdowns in an opening half that featured two turnovers-on-downs and six punts.
A few touchdowns that were called back due to penalty flags kept the home Bears from running away with a lead in the third quarter, but Mount Airy’s offense was too much to contain in the fourth. A 21-point final quarter lifted Mount Airy to its third NW1A victory.
Neither side was particularly thrilled with the number of offensive penalties called in the game. Each team was flagged nine times total, and seven of those for each team were called on the offense.
Mount Airy had three touchdowns and more than 150 yards called back due to penalties.
The Granite Bears still managed to find the end zone six times and make one field goal in Thursday’s win. Tyler Mason accounted three of those touchdowns to go with his 214 yards rushing.
The junior running back, who surpassed 1,000 yards rushing for the season on Thursday, recorded his third game of the season of at least 200 yards rushing and his seventh scoring multiple touchdowns.
The Rams and Bears each relied on their ground game in the NW1A battle. Starmount finished with 172 total yards, and 170 were rushing. Mount Airy, meanwhile, rushed for 311 of its 425 total yards.
Neither side could break through the opposing defense in the early going. Through the first 11 minutes of the first quarter, the only play of more than 4 yards from scrimmage – for either team – was an 11-yard Ian Gallimore pass to Walker Stroup. Mount Airy’s Third Floyd and Cam’Ron Webster made big stops for the Bears’ defensive line, while Starmount’s Cole Longworth and Caden Abernethy did the same for the Rams.
Mason broke free for the first big play of the game when he scored a 47-yard touchdown with 16 seconds remaining in the first quarter. Starmount’s Zack Dezern, who led the Rams with 104 yards rushing on 16 carries, retaliated by scoring an 80-yard touchdown run before the end of the first quarter.
Neither offense could make it to the red zone again until the final seconds of the second quarter. Starmount went for a fourth-and-2 on Mount Airy’s 40-yard line, but Dezern was stopped by the Bears’ Connor Burrell at the line of scrimmage. Gallimore made two big completions to Walker Stroup – the latter of which was made in double coverage – to put Mount Airy on the Ram 2-yard line with 21 seconds remaining in the half.
Mason plugged in the 2-yard run, but it was called back due to a hold. Gallimore then found Mario Revels for a 10-yard gain and the Bears called timeout with two seconds on the clock. Gallimore and Revels worked their magic again on the next play to give the home team a 16-7 lead at the half.
Gallimore’s mark of 114 yards passing against Starmount is his highest of the 2022 season.
AJ Pardue recovered a Mason fumble on Mount Airy’s opening drive of the second half, but the Rams weren’t able to move the chains. In fact, Starmount started the second half with five three-and-outs. The Bears’ Caleb Reid, Deric Dandy and Caden Joyce all picked up sacks in the half, while Webster and Landon Cox added tackles for a loss.
After the fumble, Mount Airy punted on its next offensive possession after a 60-yard Mason touchdown run was called back. The Bears made another defensive stop and scored on a 39-yard Mason run, which was the first of four-consecutive scoring drives for Mount Airy.
Starmount finally got its initial first down of the second half on the game’s final drive, which came with less than five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.
In addition to Dezern’s 104 yards rushing, Pardue carried 11 times for 25 yards and Preston Williams rushed eight times for 43 yards. Luke Kimmer completed the Rams’ only pass, a 2-yard gain, to Ryan Kimmer.
Gallimore completed 7-of-14 passes for 114 yards and a touchdown. Stroup had three catches for 78 yards, and Revels made four catches for 36 yards and a touchdown.
Mason led all rushers with 16 carries for 214 yards and three touchdowns. Gallimore added 10 carries for 15 yards, Reid had five carries for 30 yards and a touchdown, Traven Thompson rushed twice for 43 yards, Taeshon Martin ran once for 7 yards, Landon Gallimore had one carry for 4 yards and Nas Lemon rushed once for -2 yards.
Mount Airy (6-1 overall) sits atop the NW1A standings with a 3-0 record. East Wilkes is 2-1, with its only loss coming against the Bears during Week 5. Elkin, Starmount and Alleghany are next at 1-1, followed by South Stokes 1-2 and North Stokes at 0-3.
Mount Airy travels to North Stokes on Oct. 7, while Starmount will host Elkin. Mount Airy’s game will be held at West Stokes High School due to construction at North Stokes.
Scoring
Starmount – 7, 0, 0, 0 = 7
Mount Airy – 10, 6, 7, 21 = 43
1Q
5:52 MAHS 3-0 – Walker Stroup 26-yard field goal
0:16 MAHS 10-0 – Tyler Mason 47-yard rushing TD, Walker Stroup PAT
0:00 STAR 10-7 –Zack Dezern 80-yard rushing TD, Alex Mora PAT
2Q
0:00 MAHS 16-7 – Mario Revels 5-yard TD reception on Ian Gallimore pass, 2-point conversion no good
3Q
3:50 MAHS 22-7 – Tyler Mason 39-yard rushing TD, 2-point conversion no good
4Q
11:25 MAHS 29-7 – Caleb Reid 8-yard rushing TD, Walker Stroup PAT
8:54 MAHS 36-7 – Tyler Mason 36-yard rushing TD, Walker Stroup PAT
4:59 MAHS 43-7 – Tyler Mason 36-yard rushing TD, Walker Stroup PAT
September 29, 2022
DOBSON — Four goals from Luke Creed combined with a late scoring push lifted Surry Central over visiting North Surry on Sept. 28.
The Golden Eagles never trailed in Wednesday’s match, but the Greyhounds cut it to a one-score game twice in the second half. A North Surry goal made it 3-2 with 13 minutes left to play.
After the goal, North didn’t take another shot for the rest of regulation. Surry Central kept its offense at full force and finally added a pair of goals in the final 120 seconds to win 5-2.
The rejuvenated Surry Central squad is on the rise after winning three consecutive matches for the first time this season.
The Golden Eagles sat at 3-6-2 on the season coming into this past week. Central had lost three straight and tied once while failing to score in all four matches, prompting a team meeting to discuss the team’s mental toughness.
“Our guys can play; if they couldn’t I’d understand our results, but the fact that they can play and aren’t showing it enraged me,” said Eagles coach Adan Garcia. “I asked them yesterday that for that practice and every day after to come out here hungry. They have to. Because some of these teams can punish you if we keep playing the way we have.
“North Surry is a perfect example of it because they had two quality chances and they took advantage of them because they were hungry. Luckily, our team was just as hungry if not a little bit more. Both teams just played great, and that forced our team to push it up a notch.”
Surry Central, now 6-6-1 overall and 4-1 in the Foothills 2A Conference, scored 11 goals in three matches between Sept. 26 and 29. This came after the Eagles only scored a total of 12 goals in their opening 11 matches from Aug. 17 to Sept. 22.
In addition to the increased strength in mental toughness, Central has been able to create offense more efficently thanks to a new mindset during games. This sprouted from a conversation Garcia had with former Surry Central head coach Blake Roth, who led the program to 247 wins between 2003 and 2018.
“We have a great mentor in Blake Roth,” Garcia said. “He brought it to our attention that we’ve been playing on the defensive all season because of our nonconference opponents even though nonconference is over. We played 3A and 4A teams – Glenn, Davie, Reagan, Statesville, etc – because those are teams that are bigger, faster and stronger than us. We played them to test ourselves and get better, but that pushed our mindset to be almost entirely defensive minded.
“Once we started playing similar programs, that mindset hurt our chances in a lot of those games and we needed to change.”
Part of those changes was an altered formation, which the Eagles used against the Greyhounds. It paid dividends as Central’s Creed struck first in the 25th minute to go put the Eagles up 1-0. Surry Central could tell the difference in their game through just the first half.
Creed found the back of the net again in the 47th minutes, this time using a through ball from Jonathan Avila to beat the Greyhounds’ back line.
North Surry (5-7, 2-3 FH2A) kept up the fight and used the sidelines to spread the field. Edgar Vazquez served as a distributing attacking center midfield and had weapons such as Bryan Martinez, Bali Raya and Oliver Fajardo at his disposal.
Vazquez sent a ball to the left corner for Emiliano Calderon to chase down in the 54th minute. Calderon saw Martinez crashing at the top of the 18-yard box and assisted his teammate’s goal.
It was eight minutes later when Creed completed his hat trick. Just five minutes after Creed’s third goal, Raya scored for North Surry to close the gap to 3-2.
Earlier in the season, Garcia said the Eagles likely would’ve moved to a defensive formation late in the game to keep the 3-2 lead alive. Instead of doing that against the Greyhounds, the Golden Eagles stayed on the attack and cointinued to fire shots on goal. This worked to keep North Surry in its own defensive third, and Raya’s goal was the Hounds’ final shot of the game.
Greyhound keeper Josh Garcia fended off multiple attacks in the final minutes. It was another through ball from Avila to Creed, this time with just 1:51 left to play, that gave the Eagles some breathing room.
Instead of falling back to defend, Central added another goal with less than 60 seconds left on the clock. Cristofer Tello took a free kick 45 yards out and it was finished by Tino Martinez.
“Everything about how we scored today is something we worked on yesterday,” Garcia said. “Coach A (Adrian Gonzalez) and Coach B (Bernardo Leandro) worked with them on it specifically. It looks like they’re starting to think “hey, maybe the coaches are right,” so I hope it’s a step in the right direction.”
Surry Central sits at second in the FH2A standings at 4-1, trailing on 5-0 Forbush. Wilkes Central is third at 3-2, North Surry and North Wilkes are tied at 2-3, West Wilkes is 1-4-1 and East Surry is 0-4-1.
Both North Surry and Surry Central continue FH2A play on Oct. 3. Surry Central hosts East Surry, and North Surry hosts North Wilkes.
Scoring
North Surry – 0, 2 = 2
Surry Central – 1, 4 = 5
Goals
1H
25’ Surry Central 1-0, Luke Creed unassisted
2H
47’ Surry Central 2-0, Luke Creed from Jonathan Avila assist
54’ North Surry 2-1, Bryan Martinez from Bali Raya assist
62’ Surry Central 3-1, Luke Creed unassisted
67’ North Surry 3-2, Bali Raya unassisted
79’ Surry Central 4-2, Luke Creed from Jonathan Avila assist
80’ Surry Central 5-2, Tino Martinez from Cristofer Tello assist
September 29, 2022
PILOT MOUNTAIN — East Surry strengthened its hold on first place in the Foothills 2A Conference with a victory in Wednesday’s league match.
The Cardinals had two of the top five individual scores and three in the top seven.
Six FH2A schools sent golfers to the meet, and five had enough to compete as a team. East Surry, North Surry, Surry Central, Wilkes Central and North Wilkes all had enough to compete as a team, while Forbush had one golfer compete as an individual.
Surry Central’s 2022 girls golf team is the school’s first in the past handful of years.
East Surry won the team competition with a combined score of 154 strokes. The Cards are currently first in the FH2A regular season standings and lead Wilkes Central by 59 strokes.
Surry Central finished second with a team score of 178 stokes, and North Surry wasn’t far behind at 179. Wilkes Central finished fourth at 186 strokes, and North Wilkes rounded out the team competition with 201.
East Surry’s Sophie Harris was the medalist for the meet with a nine-hole score of 41 strokes.
TOP INDIVIDUAL SCORERS
1. Sophie Harris (ES) 41
2. Kylee Brown (FB) 44
3. Emma Nobles (WC) 46
4. Zona Raasch (ES) 55
T5. Gwen Bode (NS) 57
T5. Ragan Hall (SC) 57
7. Claire Hardy (ES) 58
T8. Cameron Cruise (SC) 59
T8. Meredith Hicks (NS) 59
T10. Sophie Hutchens (ES) 60
T10. Keelee Bradley (NS) 60
TEAM RESULTS
*The top three individual performances contribute to team score. Teams with only two girls competing were given an automatic 70 for the third spot.
East Surry: 154
Sophie Harris 41*
Zona Raasch 55*
Claire Hardy 58*
Sophie Hutchens 60
Katie Pell 63
Surry Central: 178
Ragan Hall 57*
Cameron Cruise 59*
Kaylin Moody 62*
North Surry: 179
Gwen Bode 57*
Meredith Hicks 59*
Keelee Bradley 60*
Molly Easter 63
Cassie Noonkester 65
Josie Tompkins 67
Sky Estrada 67
Erin Moore 70
Wilkes Central: 186
Emma Nobles 46*
Abbygail Farrish 70*
n/a 70*
North Wilkes: 201
Ava Johnson 61*
Autumn Blankenship 70*
n/a 70*
Forbush
Kylee Brown 44




© 2018 The Mount Airy News

source