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Prep Football: Wildcats move on; Patriots fade at Reidsville

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RAMSEUR – Eastern Randolph began what it hopes is a long journey in the state playoffs with a 28-12 victory against visiting Mountain Heritage on Thursday night.

The Wildcats (10-1), which received a first-round bye in Class 1-A, received two touchdowns apiece from Ervodd Cassady and Lucas Smith.

Cassady ran for 205 yards.

Next for the Wildcats, who are the top seed in the West Region, is a home game next Friday night against eighth-seeded Robbinsville (9-3), which topped No. 24 seed Cherokee 39-12 in the second round for its second win of the season against that foe.

Mountain Heritage ended up 5-7.

Class 2-A

At Reidsville, Providence Grove led late in the first half before top-seeded Reidsville took over in a 51-25 second-round game in the West Region.

Andrew Canter threw two touchdown passes for Providence Grove (8-4), which a week earlier won a playoff game for the first time by prevailing at McMichael.

Zander Cheek and Chase Whitaker scored on receptions and Karson Bowman had a rushing touchdown. Tucker Batten’s second-quarter field goal gave Providence a 10-7 edge.

Reidsville (11-1) scored the first 15 points of the second half.

It’s the most points allowed by Providence Grove since a 2019 home loss to Randleman.

Reidsville eliminated Randleman last year in the first round.

PG football Andrew Canter throws

Three area teams land in state playoffs for football

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Andrew Canter throws a pass for Providence Grove, which is in the state playoffs again.

Eastern Randolph’s football team is the top seed in Class 1-A’s West Region for the second year in a row.

Randleman and Providence Grove are in the states in Class 2-A West Region.

Eastern Randolph (9-1), the Piedmont Athletic Conference champion, receives a first-round bye and will play Nov. 11 at home against the winner of this Friday night’s game between South Stokes (4-6) and Mountain Heritage (4-6).

In Class 2-A, Randleman (7-3) is the No. 10 seed with a home date Friday night against No. 23 seed Lincolnton (5-5). The winner faces either No. 7 seed Monroe or No. 26 seed North Stanly, which edged Randleman 40-34 in the regular season.

Providence Grove (7-3) is the No. 17 seed, so it has a game at No. 16 seed McMichael (7-3).  If the Patriots win, they could be heading to Rockingham County for the second week in a row to face top-seeded Reidsville, which takes on No. 32 seed Madison in the first round.

Randleman vs Trinity football photo Oct2022

Prep football: Wildcats, Tigers win routs to set up title clash

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Randleman’s Amarion Moton leaps Trinity’s Jacob Hodges on the way to a touchdown. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record).

The showdown for the Piedmont Athletic Conference football championship is set for Friday night.

That comes after more blowouts across the league, including romps for co-leaders Eastern Randolph and Randleman last Friday night.

Those teams meet for the title in Ramseur.

Here’s a look at games from the second-to-last week of the regular season:

Eastern Randolph 62, Wheatmore 0: At Trinity, the visiting Wildcats posted their highest point total of the season in their last road game as Stratton Barwick threw for four touchdowns.

Barwick was 9-for-14, with two of the scoring passes going to Ethan Frye. D.J. Thomas and A.J Randle also caught touchdown passes. Running back Ervodd Cassady ran for three touchdowns as part of his 88-yard outing on the ground.

Eastern Randolph (8-1, 4-0) will try to repeat as PAC champions in the the regular-season finale. Cassady is a transfer from Randleman.

Wheatmore (2-7, 1-3) suffered its fourth shutout of the season in its home finale.

Randleman 70, Trinity: At Randleman, the Tigers continued their impressive turnaround from last season by winning their regular-season home finale.

Amarion Moton ran for four touchdowns and Tyshaun Goldson scored on a reception and a punt return.

Randleman (7-2, 4-0) notched its third shutout of the season, holding Trinity (4-5, 0-4) to 32 yards of total offense.

Moton had 55 yards on seven carries. Christian Long threw for two touchdowns on 8-for-10 passing for 156 yards.

Moton’s touchdowns came on runs of 13, 17, 10 and 1 yard. Daylan Atkins scored on an 11-yard carry.

Goldston made an 18-yard touchdown catch and returned the punt for 50 yards.

Aiden Robinson and Amari Ferdna also match touchdown catches, the latter on a pass from Logan Laughlin.

Providence Grove 48, Southwestern Randolph 21: At Asheboro, the visiting Patriots jumped out to a 17-0 first-quarter lead on the way to ruining the Cougars’ home finale.

Zane Cheek scored on two runs while gaining 111 yards on 17 carries and Zander Cheek had one touchdown run as part of 131 rushing yards on 10 attempts. Zander Cheek also scored on a touchdown pass from Andrew Canter.

Karson Bowman scored on a run and returned a fumble for a touchdown.

Providence Grove (6-3, 2-2) also received a big game on defense from linebacker Chase Whitaker, who made nine tackles, caused two fumbles and intercepted a pass. Tucker Batten kicked two field goals.

Southwestern Randolph (5-4, 1-3) has lost two games in a row for the first time this season. Quarterback Easton Clapp rushed for 112 yards and threw a touchdown pass to Eli Gravely. Clapp also made 15 tackles on defense.

Ledford 56, Asheboro 7: At Ledford, the visiting Blue Comets (1-8, 0-4) trailed 35-7 at halftime. The Panthers (8-1, 3-1) bounced back from a road loss to Oak Grove a week earlier.

Asheboro scored first on Michael Brady’s 10-yard run.

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Week 11 schedule

Friday’s games

Randleman at Eastern Randolph

Southwestern Randolph at Trinity

Wheatmore at Providence Grove

Montgomery Central at Asheboro

Randleman Moton v SWR football Oct2022

Prep Football: Randleman, E. Randolph win key road games

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Amarion Moton tries to run away from Southwestern Randolph’s Jentezen Cox and the rest of the Cougars. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)

Randleman and Eastern Randolph won road games Friday night to move closer to a huge Piedmont Athletic Conference showdown in two weeks.

Randleman rocked Southwestern Randolph, while Eastern Randolph knocked off neighbor Providence Grove.

Here’s a look at Friday night’s games.

Randleman 34, Southwestern Randolph 7: At Asheboro. Amarion Moton ran for two touchdowns and Tyshaun Goldston scored on two passes from Christian Long for the visiting Tigers (6-2, 3-0 PAC).

Christian McLeod kicked field goals from 33 and 24 yards for Randleman.

The Long-to-Goldston connections were for 29 and 34 yards in the third quarter, allowing the Tigers to break away from a 10-7 halftime edge. Long was 9-for-15 for 123 yards.

“We told our (players) keep answering what they did,” Randleman coach Shane Timmons said.

Easton Clapp scored the game’s first points on a 2-yard touchdown run for Southwestern Randolph (5-3, 1-2). After that, the Cougars largely stalled.

“Our defense was flying around making plays,” Timmons said.

The Tigers made it tough on Southwestern Randolph.

“Their defensive line was in control the whole time,” Cougars coach Seth Baxter said. “We couldn’t block them.”

Moton, who finished with 132 rushing yards on 19 carries, had Randleman’s first touchdown on a 52-yard run. He scored from 2 yards out in the fourth quarter for the game’s last touchdown.

“He just wore us down,” Baxter said.

Eastern Randolph 28, Providence Grove 7: At Climax, Devonte Brooks scored three touchdowns as the visiting Wildcats won their seventh game in a row.

Lucas Smith returned an interception 70 yards for a touchdown for Eastern Randolph (7-1, 3-0). That was one of five pick-offs for the Wildcats.

Brooks gained 145 yards on the ground.

Providence Grove (5-3, 1-2) scored on Brady Collins’ 19-yard pass to Lemuel Coltrane.

Wheatmore 27, Trinity 26: At Trinity, the Warriors (2-6, 1-2) came back from a double-digit deficit in the second half for their first PAC win in two seasons.

For Trinity (4-4, 0-3), Dominic Payne threw two touchdown passes to Jacob Hodges. Chance Grogan scored a touchdown and rushed for 154 yards.

North Davidson 49, Asheboro 6: At Asheboro, the Blue Comets stumbled on homecoming in the Mid-Piedmont Conference.

Asheboro (1-7, 0-3) has lost four games in a row. North Davidson is 3-5, 2-1.

ER Brooks vs SWR Sept2022

Prep Football: Wildcats fend off SWR; Providence Grove, Randleman cruise in PAC openers

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Davonte Brooks of Eastern Randolph heads for the end zone against Southwestern Randolph. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)

ASHEBORO – Davonte Brooks scored three touchdowns and Eastern Randolph relied on its defense in a 20-12 road victory against Southwestern Randolph in a Piedmont Athletic Conference football opener Thursday night.

“We just all came together and played as one and that’s how we got the job done,” Brooks said.

Eastern Randolph (5-1), which is the reigning PAC champion, won despite its lowest point total of the season.

“It was not our best game,” Eastern Randolph coach Burton Cates said. “Too many mistakes – penalties at the wrong time.”

Southwestern Randolph (4-2) couldn’t crank up enough offense.

“I thought our kids gave everything they had,” Southwestern Randolph coach Seth Baxter said.

The Wildcats stuck to a ground attack in the second half after the Cougars intercepted two first-half passes. Cates said windy conditions impacted the game plan.

“Let’s go with our strength, which is the offensive line and running the football,” Cates said.

Brooks gained 160 rushing yards and teammate Ervodd Cassady ran for 128 yards.

Brooks scored on a 25-yard run to open the scoring and later in the first quarter Southwestern Randolph’s Easton Clapp scored on a 1-yard run.

Adam Cole’s 42-yard punt return for a touchdown put the Cougars on top 12-7 in the third quarter.

Brooks scored on a 1-yard run later in the third quarter. Brooks scored again from 1 yard out in the fourth quarter.

“I thought in the second half they dominated the line of scrimmage,” Baxter said.

Providence Grove 31, Trinity 0: At Trinity, Zane Cheek ran for two touchdowns and Providence Grove (5-1) built a 28-0 halftime lead.

Zander Cheek also scored a touchdown. Brady Collins threw a touchdown pass to Joe Coltrane. Andrew Canter kicked a 37-yard field goal.

Trinity (4-2) suffered a shutout to the Patriots for the second time in three seasons. Dominic Pay had 57 passing yards and 53 rushing yards.

Randleman 49, Wheatmore 0: At Randleman, Christian Long threw four touchdown passes – two each to Chesney Welch and Tyshaun Goldston – as the host Tigers rolled.

Long also ran for a touchdown. Amarion Moton’s 10-yard run opened the scoring in the PAC game.

Randleman quarterback Christian Long picks up yards as Wheatmore’s Ethan Roberts, left, tries to make a stop. (Scott Pelkey/Randolph Record)

Randleman (4-2) led 42-0 at halftime. All of Long’s touchdown passes came in the second quarter, hitting Welch for 17 and 10 yards and connecting with Goldston for 9 and 20 yards.

Long finished 11-for-18 for 128 yards. Moton rushed six times for 105 yards.

Wheatmore (1-5) was held to 81 yards of total offense. Jonathan Kelly had 48 rushing yards.

Oak Grove 52, Asheboro 7: At Asheboro, unbeaten Oak Grove in the road victory to open Mid-Piedmont Conference play for both teams.

The Grizzlies (6-0) were up 28-7 at halftime. Asheboro (1-5) scored early in the second quarter after trailing 21-0.

 

SWR Grant Little v South Stanly

Prep football: Wildcats trounce Asheboro; Providence Grove, SWR cruise

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Southwestern Randolph’s Grant Little heads for a big gain against South Stanly on Friday night. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)

RAMSEUR – Ervodd Cassady scored on four touchdown runs as Eastern Randolph bashed visiting Asheboro 69-7 in Friday night’s non-conference football game

The Wildcats improved to 1-1 to maintain dominance in the series under veteran coach Burton Cates.

Eastern Randolph scored 28 points in each of the first and second quarters to build a 56-0 lead by halftime. Stratton Barwick threw for two touchdowns and ran for another.

Nicah Taylor returned an interception for a touchdown, marking one of the three pick-offs for Eastern Randolph’s defense. He also made a touchdown reception.

Asheboro dropped to 0-2.

Providence Grove 42, Southern Guilford 0: At Climax, Andrew Canter threw two touchdown passes and Zane Cheek ran for two touchdowns for the host Patriots (2-0).

Providence Grove benefitted from six Southern Guilford turnovers. Brady Collins, Chase Whitaker, Zach Lohr and Karson Bowman had interceptions.

Lemuel Coltrane and JC Cruz caught touchdown passes. Zander Cheek and Whitaker also scored on touchdown runs.

Southern Guilford is 0-2.

Southwestern Randolph 49, South Stanly 13: At Norwood, Adam Cole scored four touchdowns and Easton Clapp threw for three scores and ran for two more as the Cougars won their road opener.

Cole scored on two receptions, a rushing play and a punt return. Sean Adkins caught the other touchdown throw from Clapp.

Clapp racked up 177 rushing yards and threw for 87 yards.

“Defensively, we did a great job flying around the ball,” Southwestern Randolph coach Seth Baxter said.

South Stanly fell to 0-2.

Central Davidson 46, Randleman 21: At Lexington, the visiting Tigers surrendered nearly 500 rushing yards in the setback.

Central Davidson (2-0) led 35-7 at halftime. Amarion Moton had a 12-yard touchdown run in the first quarter for Randleman (1-1), while Tyshaun Goldston caught a 20-yard touchdown pass from Christian Long to open the second-half scoring. Long finished 13-for-21 for 201 yards with an interception. Goldston gained 60 yards on four carries.

Trinity 45, Forbush 21: At Trinity, the Bulldogs are 2-0 after topping visiting Forbush (1-1) behind a strong performance from Dylan Hodges.

Hodges had 216 return yards, 109 receiving yards and 75 rushing yards. Quarterback Dominic Payne ran for 154 yards and threw for 126.

East Davidson 41, Wheatmore 0: At Thomasville, the Warriors were blanked as their record dropped to 0-2. East Davidson is 1-1.

ER Stratton Barwick from 2021

Eastern Randolph Wildcats load up for more football success

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Stratton Barwick will be at the controls of the offense again for Eastern Randolph. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)

Eastern Randolph wants to build on last year’s dominance

RAMSEUR – Remaining the best football team in Randolph County is only part of the quest for Eastern Randolph.

The Wildcats would like to build on that. With a foundation along the offensive line and enough talent swirling around at other positions, they could be on their way.

Third-year starter Stratton Barwick is at quarterback and four offensive linemen are back from a year ago.

Eastern Randolph finished with a 10-1 record last season, exiting in the third round of the Class 1-A state playoffs. Only two Eastern Randolph games ended with a margin closer than 20 points, so the Wildcats were dominant most of the time – especially in the Piedmont Athletic Conference.

“The way we went out (in the playoffs) last year, people are kind of doubting us and think we lost too much,” Barwick said.

Veteran coach Burton Cates, who’s in the fifth season of his second go-around with Eastern Randolph, said the strength of the team should come from the offensive line. That’s anchored by right tackle Jani Norwood, a 320-pound junior.

“I’ve never had anyone batter at that position,” Cates said.

He’s joined along the front by returnees Mason Sechrest, Kolby Wilson and LaDaryan Spinks. Having the combination of linemen still in place is a luxury.

“It’s like one heartbeat up there,” Barwick said. “We just kind of roll with it.”

The playmakers around Barwick should include Davonte Brooks, Jake Fesmire, DJ Thomas and Nicah Taylor. Then there’s running back Ervodd Cassady, a transfer from Randleman who gained 755 yards and posted a team-leading five touchdowns while gaining All-PAC honors last year for the Tigers.

“He’s fast and very quick,” Barwick said.

Barwick figures to be more mobile after dealing with a 2021 knee ailment and slimming down during the offseason. He threw for 39 touchdowns and six interceptions last season.

The defense has Brooks, who has moved to linebacker from defensive end, and Julian Brooks, who has shifted from the line to form the foundation.

“The defense might not have the biggest kids, but we’ve got some speed and they’re not afraid to hit somebody,” Barwick said.

Cates said a few players might play offense and defense at the beginning of the season, but the goal will be limiting those two-way situations.

“Early in the year, you’ve got to give everybody a chance,” he said.

Eastern Randolph is the only Class 1-A team in the PAC. The Wildcats have a non-conference stacked with Class 3-A teams, including an opening date Friday night at Eastern Alamance. Both teams were No. 1 regional seeds in last year’s state playoffs in their respective classes.

“I think our team is smart enough to realize if we improve and stay healthy, we have a chance to do something in November,” Cates said.

Asheboro hoops Khyland Hadley Lindsay,jpg

Area grads head to various colleges for sports

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Khyland Hadley-Lindsay of Asheboro intends to play basketball in college. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)

Here’s where some members of the Class of 2022 intend on playing on college:

From Asheboro: Khyland Hadley-Lindsay and Tramir Martin are set to play basketball for Pfeiffer. Hadley-Lindsay was Asheboro’s starting quarterback for the football team.

Charles Perry IV decided to play football for Averett. Alexander Spruill is heading to Methodist to play football.

Boys’ soccer players Alex Cruz and Irving Velazquez-Luna will go to Carolina University in Winston-Salem.

From Eastern Randolph: Softball player Charlise Phillips selected Guilford College.

From Providence Grove: Edi Austin, a standout in softball, is going to Louisburg College, a two-year school.

Zane Caudle, who was the Player of the Year for the Piedmont Athletic Conference in boys’ basketball, is going to Brevard.

From Randleman: Lineman Jann Ortiz is going to Guilford College for football.

From Southwestern Randolph: Payton Shiflet of the Class 2-A state championship volleyball team is going to Greensboro College. She was a conference Player of the Year or co-Player of the Year each of the past two season.

From Trinity: Michael Connelly announced that he would go to High Point to participate in track and field. He was the PAC champion in the 110-meter hurdles this year.

From Wheatmore: Baseball player Rylan Smith picked Guilford College.

Bryson Coltrane, also a wrestler and track and field participant, is slated to join the Catawba College football team. He’s a lineman.

Randolph County Sports Council spring banquet 2022

Sports Council honors seniors in spring

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Front row, left to right: Madison Farlow, Kylie Vaughan, David Makupson, Molly Strider, Haley Langley, Haley Hedrick. Back row: Gus Shelton, Brody Gardner, Luke Thomas, Gracie Ballard, Edi Austin, Spencer Hall. (Courtesy photo)

SOPHIA – Area high school athletes were recognized for sportsmanship during the Randolph Sports Council’s spring banquet last month at Snyder Farms Restaurant.

Two senior athletes from seven schools were recipients of the sportsmanship awards, which are accompanied by $500 scholarships. Recipients are selected by each school’s scholarship committee.

The recipients were:

  • Madison Arroyo and Tramir Martin of Asheboro.
  • Haley Langley and Brody Gardner of Eastern Randolph.
  • Edi Austin and Luke Thomas of Providence Grove.
  • Kylie Vaughan and Gus Shelton of Randleman.
  • Molly Strider and Madison Farlow of Southwestern Randolph.
  • Gracie Ballard and David Makupson of Trinity.
  • Haley Hedrick and Spencer Hall of Wheatmore.

Darrell Moody, senior advisor to North Carolina football coach Mack Brown, was the guest speaker. Moody, a former NFL scout and longtime college assistant coach, was on past coaching staffs at Asheboro and Eastern Randolph.

Josie Allred at states May2022

Allred jumps to second in state meet

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Southwestern Randolph’s Josie Allred clears the bar in the high jump in the Class 2-A state meet Friday at North Carolina A&T. (PJ Ward-Brown / Randolph Record)

GREENSBORO – Senior Josie Allred of Southwestern Randolph was the runner-up in the Class 2-A high jump for girls in Friday’s state championships at North Carolina A&T.

Allred cleared the bar at 5 feet, 2 inches – the same height as winner Katarina Kepley of West Davidson along with East Carteret’s Latecyia Johnson and SouthWest Edgecombe’s Jer’Lisha Pridgen.

Based on number of attempts, Kepley was the champion. Johnson and Pridgen shared third place.

Randleman freshman Gracie Beane was seventh at 5-0.

Beane also placed seventh in the triple jump with a bound of 33-5.

Junior Iniyah Mitchell of Randleman was sixth in the shot put at 34-5. Teammate Kylie Vaughn, a senior, was eighth at 33-3.

Mitchell threw the discus 87-6, placing 13th.

On the boys’ side, Southwestern Randolph junior Adam Cole was sixth in the 100-meter dash in 11.50 seconds. That was slightly slower than his time of 11.22 in a preliminary heat.

Senior Chris Gentry of Randleman in the 110 hurdles (17.75) and senior Michael Connelly of Trinity in the 300 hurdles (43.77) failed to advance to the finals.

Class 3-A

Also Friday, Asheboro senior Arianna Lovingood-Smith posted a mark of 36-7 ½ to claim fourth place in the triple jump.

Lovingood-Smith took seventh in the high jump at 5-0.

Class 1-A

On Saturday, junior Brecken Snotherly of Eastern Randolph had place finishes in two girls’ races.

Snotherly took third in the 1,600 in 5:37.73. In the 3,200, she was seventh in 13:22.46.

For the boys, Eastern Randolph sophomore Josh Brady placed eighth in the 110 hurdles in 22.57 after advancing to the finals with a time of 16.67 in the preliminaries. He withdrew from the 300 hurdles.