NY Giant Hakeem Nicks donates shoes to his high school coach's team

Hakeem Nicks: Former Independence star and Super Bowl champion N.Y. Giants’ receiver donated shoes to Dutch Fork (S.C.), which is coached by Nicks’ high school coach, Tom Knotts.

Read more at this link

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/09/27/3561468/high-school-football-gameday.html#storylink=cpy

Associated Press Top 10 state polls

BC-FBH--North Carolina Prep Poll
¶   AP prep football poll for N.C.
¶   AP prep football poll for North Carolina
¶   By The Associated Press
¶    RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) _ The Associated Press state high school football poll for the week of September 25, first-place votes in parentheses, records and total points as voted upon by a statewide panel of prep sports writers:
^Class 4-A=
† 1. Matthews Butler (12)           (5-0) 120 1
† 2. Richmond County                (5-0) 106 2
† 3. New Bern                       (5-0) 92  3
† 4. Indian Trail Porter Ridge      (5-0) 72  4
† 5. Charlotte Mallard Creek        (4-1) 63  5
† 6. Garner                         (6-0) 54  6
† 7. East Forsyth                   (6-0) 47  8
† 8. Wilmington New Hanover         (5-0)  46  7
† 9. Scotland County                (4-1) 27  9
†10. Fayetteville Britt             (5-1) 9   10
¶ 
¶   Others receiving 10 or more points: None.<
^Class 3-A=
† 1. Northern Guilford (12)         (5-0) 120 1
† 2. Belmont South Point            (6-0) 101 2
† 3. Havelock                       (5-1) 92  3
† 4. Charlotte Catholic             (5-1) 77  4
† 5. Statesville                    (5-1)  60  6
† 6. Kannapolis Brown               (5-1)  56  5
† 7. Concord                        (6-0)  48  8
† 8. Clayton Cleveland              (6-0) 41  7
† 9. Shelby Crest                   (5-1) 22  9
†10. Wilson Hunt                    (5-0) 20  NR
¶ 
¶   Others receiving 10 or more points:  West Rowan 15 (5-1). <
^Class 2-A=
† 1. Tarboro (12)                   (5-0) 120 1
† 2. East Lincoln                   (6-0) 104 2
† 3. Jacksonville Northside         (6-0) 89  3
† 4. South Iredell                  (5-1) 74  4
† 5. Reidsville                     (5-1) 69  5
† 6. Edenton Holmes                 (6-0) 61  6
† 7. Boonville Starmount            (6-0) 42  7
† 8. Carrboro                       (6-0) 32  10
† 9. East Duplin                    (5-1)  29  8
†10. South Columbus                 (5-1)  25  9
¶ 
¶   Others receiving 10 or more points: None.<
^Class 1-A=
† 1. Swain County (12)              (6-0) 120 1
† 2. Warsaw Kenan                   (6-0)  101 2
† 3. Murphy                         (5-1) 87  3
† 4. Southwest Onslow               (4-1) 75  4
† 5. Manteo                         (5-0) 66  5
† 6. Albemarle                      (5-1) 59  6
† (tie) Hendersonville              (5-1) 59  7
† 8. Plymouth                       (5-1) 30  9
† 9. Ayden-Grifton                  (4-1) 26  8
†10. Goldsboro                      (4-1)  14  NR
¶ 
¶   Others receiving 10 or more points: None.<

York, East Lincoln join Sweet 16 party

The Sweet 16 appears to be settling down.

This week, the top 13 teams remain pretty much the same, with nationally ranked Butler still sitting atop the poll.

Hough, a third-year school, continues it amazing run since a season-opening loss and the team jumps up two spots to No. 14, its higher-ever ranking. Hough has won five in a row since losing 31-14 to No. 13 Independence to start the season.

Country Day, an unbeaten private school power, moved up a spot to 15 and two new teams join the team, in a tie for No. 16.

East Lincoln, a 2A school in Denver, is 6-0 and averaging 45.33 points per game. York, a 4A school in South Carolina, is 5-0, and allowing just 9.6 points per game. York has held three teams to seven points or less.

Rk. School (No. 1 votes) Cl Rec Pts Prv
1. Butler (3) 4A 5-0 48 1
2. Rock Hill South Pointe 4A 5-0 44 2
3. Porter Ridge 4A 5-0 40 3
4. Mallard Creek 4A 4-1 39 4
5. Charlotte Catholic 3A 5-1 34 5
6. Crest 3A 5-1 32 6
7. A.L. Brown 3A 5-1 30 T7
8. Rock Hill Northwestern 4A 4-1 29 T7
9. South Point 3A 6-0 25 9
10. Concord 3A 6-0 21 10
T11. Statesville 3A 5-1 18 T11
T11. West Rowan 3A 5-1 18 T11
13. Independence 4A 5-1 12 13
14. Hough 4A 5-1 8 16
15. Charlotte Country Day IND 5-0 6 T16
T16. York 4A 5-0 2 NR
T16. East Lincoln 2A 6-0 2 NR

Dropped Out: Providence Day (IND, 4-2); Ardrey Kell (4A, 4-1). For rules on the poll and eligible teams visit charlotteobserver.com/preps; a three-man panel of Observer sportswriters voted

11th annual serve for Cure volleyball highlighted by Ardrey Kell-Latin match

The 11th Serve For the Cure volleyball tournament is Saturday at Charlotte Latin School. All proceeds go to the Charlotte affiliate of the Susan G. Komen foundation, which is dedicated to fighting breast cancer.

Play begins at 9 a.m. and teams will play 30 minute “rounds” or to when one team reaches 60 points. The final round begins at 3:30 p.m.

Event organizer and Charlotte Latin coach Suzie Pignetti is a breast cancer survivor. She was diagnosed with the disease in 1997, but has been cancer-free since treatment.


Admission is $5 for adult and free for students and children. Door prizes will be given away hourly. There will also be raffles and pledge monies accepted.

Participating teams: Ardrey Kell, Charlotte Christian, Country Day, Charlotte Latin, Covenant Day, Hough, Kings Mountain, Mallard Creek, Marvin Ridge, North Meck, Porter Ridge, Providence Day, Providence, South Meck and Weddington.

One of the day’s featured matches will be unbeaten Ardrey Kell playing private school power Charlotte Latin at 10:20 a.m. Latin also plays public school power Providence at 9:40 a.m.

East Burke basketball star Clay Byrd commits to UNC-G

East Burke's Clay Byrd, who averaged 25 points per game last season, has committed to UNC-Greensboro, coach Jon Hancock said.

Byrd, a 6-1 senior, was the Catawba Valley conference player of the year and the N.C. Basketball Coaches Association District 10 player of the year as a junior. He averaged 24.7 points, five rebounds and five assists, helping East Burke to a 20-8 record.

In his sophomore season, Byrd averaged more than 20 points and led East Burke to a 21-7 record.

For his career, Byrd has scored 1,502 points with his senior season to play. Hancock said Byrd was recruited by more than 20 Division I colleges.

North Meck to honor past champions

North Mecklenburg will honor its former champions during the school’s home football game with West Charlotte Sept. 21.

North Meck is asking all former Vikings who have won a high school championship as an individual or a team to come to the game Friday and be honored at halftime. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.

The former athletes will receive a free gift from the school’s athletic boosters.

The school asks any interested athletes to contact athletics director Kevin Wilson at kevin.wilson@cms.k12.nc.us

Associated Press N.C. Top 10 football polls

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) _ The Associated Press state high school football poll for the week of September 11, first-place votes in parentheses, records and total points as voted upon by a statewide panel of prep sports writers:
^Class 4-A=
† 1. Matthews Butler (13)           (3-0) 139 1
† 2. Richmond County                (4-0) 122 2
† 3. New Bern (1)                   (4-0) 108 3
† 4. Indian Trail Porter Ridge      (4-0) 86 6
† 5. Charlotte Mallard Creek        (2-1) 81 5
† 6. Garner                         (4-0) 63 7
† 7. Wilmington New Hanover         (4-0) 60 9
† 8. East Forsyth                   (4-0) 46 10
† 9. Scotland County                (3-1) 14 NR
†10. Fayetteville Britt             (3-1) 10 4
¶ 
¶   Others receiving 10 or more points: None.<
^Class 3-A=
† 1. Northern Guilford (13)         (3-0) 139 2
† 2. Belmont South Point            (4-0) 121 3
† 3. Havelock (1)                   (3-1) 102 4
† 4. West Rowan                     (4-0) 91 6
† 5. Charlotte Catholic             (3-1) 69 10
† 6. Kannapolis Brown               (3-1) 59 1
† 7. Clayton Cleveland              (4-0) 57 9
† 8. Shelby Crest                   (3-1) 32 5
† 9. Concord                        (4-0) 16 NR
†10. Statesville                    (3-1) 15 8
¶ 
¶   Others receiving 10 or more points: Eastern Alamance 12 (4-0), Fayetteville Byrd 11 (3-1), Wilson Hunt 10 (4-0). <
^Class 2-A=
† 1. Tarboro (14)                   (4-0) 140 T1
† 2. East Lincoln                   (4-0) 120 T4
† 3. Jacksonville Northside         (4-0) 111 T4
† 4. South Iredell                  (3-1) 77 6
† 5. Reidsville                     (3-1) 72 7
† 6. Kinston                        (3-1) 55 T1
† 7. Edenton Holmes                 (4-0) 48 T9
† 8. East Duplin                    (3-1) 44 8
† 9. Boonville Starmount            (4-0) 43 T9
†10. South Columbus                 (3-1) 33 3
¶ 
¶   Others receiving 10 or more points: None.<
^Class 1-A=
† 1. Swain County (12)              (4-0) 138 2
† 2. Warsaw Kenan (2)               (4-0) 112 3
† 3. Murphy                         (3-1) 97 T4
† 4. Southwest Onslow               (3-1) 90 T4
† 5. Albemarle                      (3-1) 81 1
† 6. Red Springs                    (3-1) 72 6
† 7. Manteo                         (3-0) 56 7
† 8. Hendersonville                 (3-1) 55 8
† 9. Ayden-Grifton                  (3-1) 34 9
†10. Plymouth                       (3-1) 12 NR
¶ 
¶   Others receiving 10 or more points: None.<

Olympic's B.J. Gladden commits to Akron

Olympic High senior B.J. Gladden, a 6-foot-5 senior forward, has committed to Akron, Trojans coach Ty Baumgardner said.

Gladden chose the Zips over schools like Wake Forest and Tennessee, according to Olympic coaches. Gladden averaged 17 points and 7 rebounds at Charlotte's Kennedy Charter Public School, helping the Eagles to a 28-3 record last season.

W. Charlotte moving football games back to campus; W. Meck moving off

West Charlotte athletics director Gerald Herbert said the Lions are moving all home games back on campus, including Saturday night’s game with rival Independence. Kickoff is at 7.

West Charlotte, West Mecklenburg and Myers Park were forced to move games off campus this year due to repairs to old wooden bleachers. West Charlotte was one of them.

West Charlotte had two games remaining scheduled for Waddell: Independence (Sept. 8) and Mooresville (Sept. 28).

Herbert said those games, and all other home games, will be held on campus.

West Mecklenburg, originally scheduled to play two more games at Waddell, has now moved all of its home games there, athletics director John Yewcic said.

Myers Park athletics director Rick Lewis said his team’ schedule remains unchanged, with home games going to Memorial Stadium.

Here are remaining CMS home games being moved:

Saturday, Sept. 8: North Mecklenburg vs. Myers Park at Memorial Stadium
Friday, Sept. 14: Harding vs. West Mecklenburg at Waddell; Butler vs. Myers Park at Memorial Stadium
Friday, Sept. 28: Ardrey Kell vs. Myers Park at Memorial Stadium
Friday, Oct. 5: Olympic vs. West Mecklenburg at Waddell
Friday, Oct. 12: South Meck vs. Myers Park at Memorial Stadium
Friday, Oct. 19: Ashbrook vs. West Mecklenburg at Waddell

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/08/07/3437606/cms-moves-8-football-games-due.html#storylink=misearch#storylink=cpy

Mallard Creek DB Anthony Covington commits to Pitt

Mallard Creek defensive back Anthony Covington committed to the University of Pittsburgh Monday, Mavericks assistant coach Aaron Brand told the Observer.

Covington is a 5-foot-11, 190-pound defensive back.

Vance makes huge jump in Observer Sweet 16 football poll

A few days after a shocking shutout of Independence, Vance High's football team makes a big jump in this week's Charlotte Observer Sweet 16 football poll.

The Cougars beat Independence 35-0 Thursday, handing the Patriots their first shutout defeat in 188 games and 13 years. A panel of Observer sportswriters voted and the Cougars moved up four spots this week to No. 10. Vance (3-0) will play No.1 Butler (2-0) at home Saturday night.

Independence (2-1) fell six spots to No. 14.

Also on the move is Rock Hill Northwestern. Unranked in preseason, the Trojans were No. 16 two weeks ago and No. 11 last week. This week, they continue their climb, up to No.9, ahead of Friday's showdown game with Byrnes, which is ranked among the top five of several national polls.

New to the poll this week is Charlotte Country Day, which upset Charlotte Catholic 31-28 Friday. Country Day is in at No.16. Catholic dropped three spots to No.8 and the Cougars must recover quickly. Catholic (2-1) will play Gastonia's Ashbrook High at home Friday. The Green Wave (2-0) has beaten Olympic 45-42 and Shelby 24-10.


Rk.    School (First place votes)    Class    Rec.    Pts.    Prev.
1.    Butler (3)    4A    2-0    48    1
2.    Rock Hill South Pointe    4A    3-0    45    2
3.    Porter Ridge    4A    3-0    41    3
4.    Mallard Creek    4A    2-1    40    4
5.    Crest    3A    3-0    33    T6
6.    A.L. Brown    3A    3-0    32    T6
7.    West Rowan    3A    3-0    27    9
8.    Charlotte Catholic    3A    2-1    25    5
9.    Rock Hill Northwestern    4A    3-0    24    11
10.    Vance    4A    3-0    22    14
11.    South Point    3A    3-0    21    10
12.    Concord    3A    3-0    20    T11
13.    Statesville    3A    3-0    12    13
14.    Independence    4A    2-1    9    8
15.    Albemarle    1A    3-0    6    15
16.    Charlotte Country Day    IND    2-0    2    NR
Dropped out: Burns (3A, 1-2). Also receiving votes: Providence Day (IND, 2-1).
Note: The Sweet 16 is a ranking of the 132 schools in the Observer’s coverage area in North and South Carolina. It is a not a power poll but does consider a team’s strength of roster, its strength of classification and does not consider how ranked teams would fare against each other unless they play. To be eligible for inclusion, schools must belong to a recognized state association and field multiple sports teams. They cannot allow student-athletes to repeat a grade and maintain athletic eligiblity  after that student enters ninth grade. This is commonly referred to as “re-classing.” To be eligible for inclusion, a schools’ student-athletes will have eight consecutive semesters of eligibility after starting ninth grade. Visit http://bit.ly/QgbKKb for a list of eligible teams.