Southwestern Randolph’s Madelyn Smith spikes the ball against West Stanly’s Addi Barbee during the Class 2-A state playoffs at Southwestern Randolph in Asheboro on October 28, 2021. PJ WARD-BROWN/NORTH STATE JOURNAL
ASHEBORO — Southwestern Randolph will be home against McMichael in the fourth round of the Class 2A state volleyball playoffs at 11 a.m. Saturday. The Cougars advanced to the regional semifinals with a straight-sets victory against West Stanly on Thursday night. Southwestern Randolph took the three sets 25-9, 25-18, and 25-19 over the visiting Colts..
Southwestern Randolph’s Josie Allrerd spikes the ball against West Stanly’s Addi Barbee during the Class 2-A state playoffs at Southwestern Randolph in Asheboro on October 28, 2021. PJ WARD-BROWN/NORTH STATE JOURNAL
Payton Shiflet had 15 kills and 10 digs, Madelyn Smith had 10 kills, Josie Allred had seven kills and two blocks, Carleigh Whitson had 17 digs, Coley Shiflet has 11 digs and Reagan LeRoy had 39 assists and four aces.
Southwestern Randolph’s Coley Shiflet and the rest of the Cougars jump after beating West Stanly during the Class 2-A state playoffs at Southwestern Randolph in Asheboro on October 28, 2021. PJ WARD-BROWN/NORTH STATE JOURNAL
Southwestern Randolph defeated Patton in the second round of the state playoffs in straight sets with scores of 25-18, 28-26, 25-14 on Tuesday to advance. Payton Shiflet had 29 kills and 13 digs, Josie Allred had 16 kills, Madelyn Smith added four kills and four digs, Raegan LeRoy had 44 assists and nine digs, Coley Shiflet had 11 digs and Carleigh Whitson added 9 digs.
Na’heim Lilly runs for a touchdown during Eastern Randolph’s road victory at Randleman on Friday night. PJ WARD-BROWN/NORTH STATE JOURNAL
ASHEBORO — Eastern Randolph completed an undefeated regular season by whipping host Randleman 46-0 on Friday night.
The Wildcats (9-0 overall, 5-0 Piedmont Athletic Conference) received four touchdowns from Na’heim Lilly and two touchdowns from Elias Alston in securing the outright league title.
Eastern Randolph coach Burton Cates walks on the sidelines in the fourth quarter against Randleman during the final regular-season game at Randleman on October 29, 2021. PJ WARD-BROWN/NORTH STATE JOURNAL
Lilly’s 34-yard run opened the scoring in the first quarter. He added a 2-yard run in the second quarter. He finished with 174 rushing yards on 20 carries.
Alston caught two touchdown passes from Stratton Barwick, the latter on a 52-yard play.
The Wildcats have posted shutouts in back-to-back games.
Randleman’s Errvod Cassady rushes for a first down against Eastern Randolph during the final regular-season game at Randleman on October 29, 2021. PJ WARD-BROWN/NORTH STATE JOURNAL
Randleman (4-6, 2-3), which lost three of its last four games, was limited to 136 yards of total offense.
The Tigers had won the past three meetings with Eastern Randolph.
Providence Grove 66, Wheatmore 12: At Trinity, Luke Thomas threw for three touchdowns as Providence Grove won its third game in a row to complete the regular season.
The Patriots (8-2, 4-1) will be the top seed out of the PAC for the Class 2-A state bracket because Eastern Randolph is a Class 1-A team.
Zane Cheek and Caleb Rogers both scored two touchdowns for the Patriots. Zander Cheek, Zach Lohr and Lemuel Coltrane all caught touchdown passes. Chase Whitaker and Logan Fox had touchdowns on interception returns.
Providence Grove led 35-0 in the second quarter.
Wheatmore (3-6, 0-5) received touchdowns from Reece Linton and Perry Welch.
Southwestern Randolph 53, Trinity 6: At Asheboro, Easton Clapp scored three touchdowns and had a big game on defense as Southwestern Randolph capped the best regular season in school history with a home romp.
The Cougars (8-2, 3-2) ended up in third place in the PAC.
Clapp scored on runs of 40, 33 and 20 yards as part of gaining 127 rushing yards. He also intercepted two passes and made a tackle for a safety. He was credited with 10 tackles.
Teammate Adam Cole compiled 107 yards of total offense, scoring on runs of 7 and 5 yards. Keaton Reed, who threw for a touchdown and ran for a touchdown, passed for 150 yards. Bryson Reid made a touchdown catch.
Trinity (4-6, 1-4) finished the season on a three-game losing streak.
Montgomery Central 32, Asheboro 14: Wednesday night at Troy, Asheboro ended its season with a road loss and its ninth straight defeat overall.
The Blue Comets (1-9, 0-5 Mid-Piedmont Conference) won their opener at Randleman but never repeated that kind of result.
Asheboro scored on a Charles Perry run and on Tyshaun Goldston’s touchdown catch on a pass from Khyland Hadley-Lindsay in the finale.
Montgomery Central (1-8, 1-4) snapped a 12-game losing streak.
Uwharrie Charter Academy’s Max DeNamur takes a shot on goal against Wheatmore during their conference soccer game last month in Asheboro. PJ WARD-BROWN/NORTH STATE JOURNAL
ASHEBORO — Four boys’ soccer teams from Randolph County schools will open the state playoffs with home games Monday.
Asheboro tops the list as a No. 4 seed in the West Region bracket for Class 3-A. The Blue Comets (14-1-3) take on North Lincoln in the first round.
Asheboro gained the top spot for seeding out of the Mid-Piedmont Conference after it tied with Ledford in the regular season. Both teams had 8-0-2 records, though the Blue Comets won a postgame shootout after Tuesday night’s tie to determine a seeding tiebreaker should one be needed. It turned out to be necessary after each team completed its regular season by winning again.
Asheboro defeated visiting Montgomery Central 5-0 in Wednesday’s regular-season finale, with two goals from Diego Valdez Plata and one each from Julio Ruiz, Daniel Gutierrez Resendez and Jose Cortes.
In Class 2-A, No. 9 seed Trinity (11-6-1) is home against No. 24 seed North Surry. Wheatmore (9-8) is the No. 28 seed with a trip to fifth-seeded North Forsyth.
In Class 1-A, No. 6 seed Uwharrie Charter Academy (10-3-1) is home against No. 27 seed Avery County. Eastern Randolph (10-4-2) is the No. 12 seed with a home matchup with Cornerstone Charter.
UCA and Eastern Randolph were tied at 9-2-1 in Piedmont Athletic Conference play. They split two games, with Eastern Randolph winning 3-1 and UCA claiming the rematch by 5-1.
Eastern Randolph scored four or more goals in nine of its last 11 games. The Wildcats are 6-0-1 in home games.
ASHEBORO — The Southwestern Randolph volleyball team is headed into the fourth round of the Class 2-A state playoffs after defeating West Stanly on Thursday night at Jack Castelloe Gymnasium.
The Cougars won 25-9, 25-18, 25-19. It was their third sweep in the playoffs.
Reagan LeRoy was credited with 39 assists and four aces, Payton Shiflet had 15 kills and 10 digs, Madelyn Smith racked up 10 kills, Carleigh Whitson provided 17 digs, Coley Shiflet made 11 digs and Josie Allred had seven kills and two blocks.
Southwestern Randolph (25-5) is home against McMichael (24-6) at 11 a.m. Saturday.
Also in Class 2-A, Randleman suffered a 25-18, 25-17, 17-25, 25-9 loss at fifth-seeded Brevard. The No. 13 seed Tigers finished with a 20-7 record.
ASHEBORO — Uwharrie Charter Academy’s volleyball team has advanced to the fourth round of the Class 1-A state playoffs after a 25-21, 25-18, 24-14 victory against visiting Gray Stone Day School on Thursday evening.
Greene also had 12 kills, Madi Duval supplied seven kills and two blocks, Bre Brooks posted six kills and two blocks and Dacia Lowery added four kills and two blocks.
The Eagles have swept all three playoff matches.
UCA (20-5) travels to Murphy (22-2) for Saturday’s next round.
Uwharrie Charter’s Gabi Greene serves against Andrews in the NCHSAA 1A West bracket playoffs at Uwharrie Charter in Asheboro, NC on October 23, 2021. PJ WARD-BROWN/NORTH STATE JOURNAL
GABI GREENE
Uwharrie Charter Academy | Senior | Volleyball
The senior outside hitter was a key contributor as the Eagles won all four of their matches.
The first three triumphs came on consecutive days in the Piedmont Athletic Conference Tournament as UCA was a surprise winner. Then came the opening round of the Class 1-A state playoffs against Andrews. Greene was charted for a total of 51 kills, 41 digs, 11 aces, seven blocks and strong serve receiving in those matches.
Southwestern Randolph’s Lexi Auman putts on the 11th green during Day 1 of the Class 2-A state tournament at Longleaf Golf and Family Club in Pinehurst on October 25, 2021. PJ WARD-BROWN/NORTH STATE JOURNAL
Salem Lee of Asheboro placed fifth in the Class 3-A state tournament for girls’ golf.
Lee shot 88 in Tuesday’s second round to finish with a two-day total of 20-over-par 164 at Foxfire Resort and Golf Club’s Grey Course.
After a first-round 76 on Monday, Lee was just one shot behind first-round leader Emily Mathews of Eastern Alamance.
Mathews went on to win the title, posting 69 on Tuesday to win the championship for the second season in a row. Lee and Mathews are both juniors.
Second place went to Sanaa Carter of Jacksonville with 156 after a pair of 78s. Jullian Fatkin of South Brunswick was third at 157 and Emma Niebauer of High Point Central placed fourth at 163.
In Class 1-A/2-A, the top finisher from Randolph County was Providence Grove’s Carline Wright in ninth place at Longleaf Golf and Family Club.
Wright shot round of 81 and 86 for a 23-over 167.
The winner was Gray Stone Day School’s Katelyn Griggs at 153 (74, 79).
Randleman’s Paulina Palmer ended up tied for 28th after two scores of 95 for 190 total.
Providence Grove’s Morgan Heilig tied for 31st place with scores of 96 and 97 for 193.
Southwestern Randolph’s Lexi Auman tied for 47th with 208 (96, 112) and teammate Lindsey Auman was 68th with 225 (113, 112).
Asheboro’s Salem Lee hits out of the green side bunker on the 18th during Day 1 of the Class 3-A state tournament at Foxfire Resort and Golf Club’s Grey Course in Foxfire Village on October 25, 2021. PJ WARD-BROWN/NORTH STATE JOURNAL
Providence Grove’s Caroline Wright lines up her putt on the 12th green during Day 1 of the Class 2-A state tournament at Longleaf Golf and Family Club in Pinehurst on October 25, 2021. PJ WARD-BROWN/NORTH STATE JOURNAL
Girls’ tennis
Tuesday at Hendersonville, Wheatmore’s bid for a title run in the Class 2-A dual team state playoffs ended with a 6-0 loss to Hendersonville.
Hendersonville won all six singles matches, with the Nos. 2-5 matches resulting in shutouts.
Wheatmore’s Kara Comer returns the ball against Providence Grove’s Anna Money during a PAC tennis match earlier this month. PJ WARD-BROWN/NORTH STATE JOURNAL
At No. 1 singles, Hendersonville’s Olivia Pursley topped Kara Comer by 6-1, 6-3. At No. 6 singles, Reece Redden of Hendersonville defeated Carmen Turgeon by 6-1, 6-3.
Doubles weren’t contested because the team outcome had been determined.
Wheatmore finished with a team record of 12-3-1.
Hendersonville heads to next week’s third round with a 15-0 mark.
Boys’ soccer
At Ledford, Asheboro and Ledford didn’t solve a whole lot with their showdown Tuesday night.
The teams tied 1-1 in two overtimes, making it two draws in two meetings for the Mid-Piedmont Conference leaders.
Both teams scored second-half goals. Jose Cortes had the Asheboro goal. The game was rescheduled from Monday night.
Both teams hold 7-0-2 league records with one game to play. They tied earlier in the month 0-0 at Asheboro.
Asheboro (13-1-3) is slated to finish the regular season Wednesday night at home against Montgomery Central.
Uwharrie Charter Academy’s Carter Duggins spikes the ball against Andrews’ Rylie McDonald in the first set in the Class 1-A West state playoffs in Asheboro on October 23, 2021. PJ WARD-BROWN/NORTH STATE JOURNAL
ASHEBORO — Coming off of a conference tournament championship, Uwharrie Charter Academy volleyball coach Lee Kennell hoped his team would maintain its momentum in the the first round of the Class 1-A state playoffs.
The Eagles did just that with a three-set victory against Andrews on Saturday, winning 25-8, 25-9, 25-14.
The third-seed Eagles were tied at 12-12 in the third set before turning up the tempo to clinch the outcome.
Uwharrie Charter Academy players cheer after their victory in straight sets against visiting Andrews in the Class 1-A West state playoffs in Asheboro October 23, 2021. PJ WARD-BROWN/NORTH STATE JOURNAL
Kennell said he was worried early that some post-season jitters were affecting his team. “I figured there would be a little bit of nerves early,” he said. “We had a lot of momentum coming from the conference tournament, beating three really good teams.”
In the third set, Andrews called a timeout trailing 16-12. Kennell said he rallied his team and told them to focus on their serving. “We made some uncharacteristic mistakes,” he said. “I thought we did really good serving.”
The Eagles will play host to Cornerstone Charter on Tuesday in the second round. No. 14 seed Cornerstone Charter defeated No. 19 seed Cherokee in four sets in the first round.
Uwharrie Charter Academy’s Dacia Lowery blocks the ball against Andrews’ Brooke Phillips in the Class 1-A West state playoffs in Asheboro on October 23, 2021. PJ WARD-BROWN/NORTH STATE JOURNAL
Wheatmore coach Sarah Beth Campbell talks to her team dueing a timeout in their Class 2-A state volleyball playoff game Saturday, October 23, 2021 (Contributed)
Wheatmore’s volleyball team defeated eighth-seed West Davidson in the Class 2-A first round of the state playoffs Saturday.
The 25th-seeded Warriors advanced with a 27-25, 25-23, 25-20 road victory.
Wheatmore coach Sarah Beth Campbell said the Warriors (10-12) were focused.
“They kept their composure in a very loud gym,” she said. “We executed well at the net and were able to find some holes. We kept serves on the court and made West Davidson work for every pass they got.”
Wheatmore’s Taghan Mooney had 12 assists, 17 digs, five service points and five kills, Taylor Richardson delivered seven kills, three blocks, two digs and seven service points (with two aces) and Payton Routh had 10 digs and 14 service points.
Campbell credited junior varsity call-ups who stood in for a middle player out due to injury.
“The girls rallied around a JV middle that hasn’t played with us before and definitely hasn’t played in a playoff atmosphere,” Campbell said. “The girls worked together and it showed.”
In the second round, the Warriors will travel to Maiden, which defeated Providence Grove on Saturday.
Providence Grove, seeded No. 24, bowed out with a 25-19, 25-20, 25-19 loss at No. 9 seed Maiden. The Patriots finished the season with a 12-11 record.
In other action, No. 26 seed Trinity lost to seventh-seeded West Stanly by 25-14, 25-16, 25-17 on Saturday. Trinity ended up with a 10-13 record.
Randleman’s Hannah Hinshaw spikes the ball against Pine Lake Prep in the Class 2-A West bracket state playoffs in Randleman on October 23, 2021. PJ WARD-BROWN/NORTH STATE JOURNAL
RANDLEMAN — Randleman topped Pine Lake to advance to the second round of the Class 2-A state volleyball playoffs Saturday afternoon.
The 13th-seeded Tigers defeated the 20th-seed Pride in straight sets to improve to 19-6.
Randleman’s Chloe Dixon, left, and Karli Kennington react after winning a point against Pine Lake Prep in the Class 2-A West bracket state playoffs in Randleman on October 23, 2021. PJ WARD-BROWN/NORTH STATE JOURNAL
The Pride opened a 7-2 lead in the first set. Later tied at 16-16, Randleman and Pine Lake traded the lead with the Tigers ultimately taking the set 25-22. Randleman led the entire way in the second set that ended 25-22.
The final set was all Tigers, who cruised in a 25-16 result.
Randleman coach Kerry Mitchell reacts to a point won against Pine Lake Prep in the Class 2-A West bracket state playoffs in Randleman on October 23, 2021. PJ WARD-BROWN/NORTH STATE JOURNAL
Tigers coach Kerry Mitchell said her team had “a lot more energy and focus” than it had in a semifinal loss in the conference tournament to eventual champion Uwharrie Charter Academy.
“Today was win or go home,” Mitchell said.
After falling behind in the first set, Mitchell said she talked to her team during a timeout to remind the players of their scouting report on the Pride.
“We talked about serving tougher,” she said. “I told them to push through.”
Randleman’s Lauren McCain gets the block against Pine Lake Prep in the Class 2-A West bracket state playoffs in Randleman on October 23, 2021. PJ WARD-BROWN/NORTH STATE JOURNAL
Hannah Hinshaw had 22 kills and 14 digs. Chloe Dixon had eight kills, 10 digs and three aces. Kylie Vaughan had seven kills and 19 digs. Gabi Carter had five kills and nine digs. Karli Kennington had 24 digs and Kenzie Roach had 43 assists.
The Tigers will travel Tuesday to face fourth-seeded Lincoln Charter.
“We have to make sure we come off the bus ready to play,” Mitchell said.
