Sun Valley, Porter Ridge get new football coaches

Union County Schools got two new high school football coaches Wednesday.

Former Winston-Salem Reynolds coach Paul Hall is the new coach at Sun Valley.

Greg Neuendorf, formerly of Concord’s Cox Mill High, is the new coach at Porter Ridge.

Hall replaces Scott Stein at Sun Valley. Stein left to take the head football job at Myers Park.

Hall, a 17-year teaching and coaching veteran, has been head coach at Reynolds since 2010. Hall, who played at Asheville Reynolds and Mars Hill, holds a undergraduate degree in physical education with a minor in biology. He earned a master’s degree in education at East Tenneessee State while working as a middle school coach and a high school assistant.

Hall was also formerly athletics director at North Iredell. At Reynolds, Hall was 12-21 in three seasons. He did not have a winning season.

At Sun Valley, he takes over Stein, who led Sun Valley to a 9-4 record this year and a third round playoff appearance. Stein was 71-42 in his career at the Union school. Stein is now head coach at Myers Park.

Neuendorf is Porter Ridge’s fourth head coach since the school opened in 2005. He was a record-setting quarter at Denison University and has been Cox Mill’s head coach since the school opened in 2009. Before working at Cox Mill, Neuendorf was head coach at Winston Churchill (MD) High and an assistant in Ohio.

He has a bachelor’s degree in human ecology and a master’s in middle childhood education from Ohio State

Neuendorf replaces Blair Hardin, who left after five seasons to take the head job at Freedom High. In the past three seasons, Hardin’s teams were 40-5 and made the N.C. 4A state championship game in 2011 and 2012.
In five years, Hardin was 50-18.

Nationally ranked Alexander Central wins 8th NCHSAA softball title

Alexander Central, ranked No. 8 nationally by USA Today, won its eighth N.C. High School Athletic Association softball championship Saturday.

Alexander Central (33-1) got three hits from Mia Blochaviak and ran off to an easy 10-2 win over Wake Forest Rolesville in the 4A state final.

Alexander pitcher Bailey Rhoney, who threw a three-hitter Saturday, was named tournament MVP.

Taylor Wike and Kiana Millsaps each had two hits for the Cougars, who had 10 total hits and were in the finals for the 11th time

Alexander Central took Game 1 10-5 Friday night after the Cougars scored four runs in the seventh and final inning. Alexander Central has now won four fast-pitch and four slow-pitch state titles.
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