Associated Press Top 10 N.C. football 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 October 9, 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)           (7-0)  130 1
† 2. New Bern                       (7-0)  112 2
† 3. Richmond County                (7-0)  103 3
† 4. Indian Trail Porter Ridge      (7-0)  79 4
† 5. Charlotte Mallard Creek        (6-1)  73 5
† 6. Garner                         (8-0)  66 6
† 7. East Forsyth                   (8-0)  59 7
† 8. Scotland County                (7-1)  29 8
† 9. North Davidson                 (8-0)  14 NR
†10. Fayetteville Smith             (7-1)  10 NR
¶ 
¶   Others receiving 10 or more points: None.<
^Class 3-A=
† 1. Northern Guilford (13)         (7-0) 130 1 
† 2. Belmont South Point            (8-0) 109 2 
† 3. Havelock                       (7-1) 103 3 
† 4. Statesville                    (7-1) 74 5 
† 5. Charlotte Catholic             (6-1) 66 4 
† 6. Clayton Cleveland              (8-0) 60 7 
† 7. Wilson Hunt                    (7-0) 50 9 
† (tie) Kannapolis Brown            (7-1) 50 8 
† 9. Shelby Crest                   (7-1) 28 10
†10. Concord                        (7-1) 18 6 
¶ 
¶   Others receiving 10 or more points: None.<
^Class 2-A=
† 1. Tarboro (13)                   (7-0) 130 1
† 2. Jacksonville Northside         (8-0) 110 T2
† 3. East Lincoln                   (8-0) 107 T2
† 4. South Iredell                  (7-1) 85 4
† 5. Edenton Holmes                 (7-0) 80 5
† 6. Boonville Starmount            (7-0) 59 7
† 7. Carrboro                       (8-0) 53 8
† 8. East Duplin                    (7-1) 39 9
† 9. South Columbus                 (7-1) 28 10
†10. Reidsville                     (6-2) 11 6
¶ 
¶   Others receiving 10 or more points: None.<
^Class 1-A=
† 1. Swain County (13)              (8-0)  130 1
† 2. Warsaw Kenan                   (7-0)  108 2
† 3. Murphy                         (7-1)  93 3
† 4. Southwest Onslow               (6-1)  84 4
† 5. Manteo                         (7-0)  72 5
† 6. Hendersonville                 (7-1)  64 7
† (tie) Albemarle                   (7-1)  64 6
† 8. Plymouth                       (7-1)  36 8
† 9. Ayden-Grifton                  (6-1)  27 9
† (tie) Goldsboro                   (6-1)  27 10
¶ 
¶   Others receiving 10 or more points: None.<

Porter Ridge K Matt Wogan has HUGE game against Parkwood (plus a feature story)

Well, I've seen a lot of great kickers working here at the Observer for what is now my fourth decade (no old man jokes, y'all).

I've not seen many like Porter Ridge's Matt Wogan.

I was at Porter Ridge a couple weeks back when the Pirates beat Providence Day and saw Wogan make a 40-something yard kick that -- when it cleared the goalpost -- was nearly as high as the top of the posts.

It would've easily, EASILY, have been good from 60. This kid is going to Oregon and he's got a major college leg right now before any additional training.

As far as kickers go, he could get scary. And check out what he did Friday:

In a 69-0 win over Union County rival Parkwood, Wogan had one of the best nights I've ever seen from a kicker.


Wogan made two field goals, of 47- and 55-yards. He was 9-for-9 on PATs and smashed all 12 of his kickoffs for touchbacks. He had one punt for 47 yards.

In fact, I'm not sure why teams even line up when Porter Ridge kicks off. Every one of his kicks I've seen in person or on YouTube fly -- fly -- out of the back of the end zone.

I've not seen three guys in my career with a stronger leg than Wogan's.

Here's a story I wrote on him last August:

Matt Wogan, Porter Ridge’s atypical kicker, ready to mix it up

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/08/10/3447773/atypical-kicker-ready-to-mix-it.html#storylink=cpy

INDIAN TRAIL Porter Ridge’s Senior Matt Wogan is a kicker, only at 6-foot-2, 200 pounds, he doesn’t look like – or play like – a typical high school kicker.

Wogan played soccer from the time he was 5 years old until 8th grade, when he switched to football full-time because he discovered that when you hit somebody, you don’t get a red card for it.

“He’s always been on the aggressive side,” Wogan’s father, Ron, said. “He didn’t mind (contact) on the soccer field. He played center mid and because of his size, when someone tried to break through, let’s just say, a lot of times they weren’t very successful.”

Matt Wogan started football in seventh grade and initially planned to run back punts and kickoffs. Only one day, he fielded a punt and decided to punt it back so he could get more reps. Only, Wogan’s return kick had a rarely seen pace and trajectory, something his middle school coach noticed immediately.

“He turned around and said, ‘Who kicked that,’ ” Wogan said. “I got pulled into it. I liked it. It had a soccer type thing to it with the kicking, but I could also hit someone. I’d always get red cards in soccer for fouling people. In football, it didn’t matter.”

Advance the story a few years, and the guy who got the job on a whim has become one of the nation’s best.

National kicking guru Chris Sailer ranks Wogan No. 3 nationally among kickers and punters. Last season, Olympic’s Cason Beatty ranked No. 5 in Sailer’s national rankings and Charlotte Latin’s Paul Griggs ranked third. Beatty is now at Florida State; Griggs is at Purdue.

Wogan picked Oregon, choosing the Ducks over schools like Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, North Carolina, Ohio State, Tennessee and South Carolina. How did he get so far from home? Wogan participated in a kicking camp at Oregon and really liked it. When he went back for a recruiting visit, he absolutely fell in love with the place. He also plans to major in sports marketing, and Oregon has a strong sports business program.

“It felt right,” he said. “It’s a long way from home, and people say I’m leaving family, but I’m also gaining a lot of people who genuinely want to be part of my life. Football there is tops in the nation. Academics are top notch. Plus, my dad says the only way to really get better is to face a challenge. He said I can only benefit from a challenge and that it’ll make me stronger. This is like that.”

By most accounts, he loves challenges.

He carries better than a 4.0 GPA while taking a combination of honors and advanced placement classes. When his private kicking coaches and football coaches at Porter Ridge told him his lack of flexibility was affecting his kicking progress, Wogan got dedicated enough that he can not only touch his toes while keeping his straight legs, but he can put his forearms flat on the ground, too.

That kind of work ethic has shown on the field. In his sophomore season, Wogan averaged 39.2 yards per punt. Last year, his average improved to 43.1. Now, most of his punts fly better than 45 yards in the air and they sail impossibly high. In practice last week, he hit a few punts that flew nearly 60 yards.

Last season he made 67-of-69 extra-point attempts and of the 93 kickoffs he took, 80 went for touchbacks – even though Wogan secretly didn’t mind if more than that were returned by the opposing team.

“My goal is to put (the kickoffs) out of the end zone every time,” he said. “At the same time, I would almost rather get out there and block and hit and pancake someone and put them on their butt. I like to do the dirty work and work hard in the trenches. I love to get in the weight room and all that stuff, too.”

Wogan’s longest field goal last season was 44 yards, but he regularly kicks them from 55 yards in practice. Porter Ridge coach Blair Hardin, whose team has reached two straight N.C. 4A semifinal games, said he would have no problem letting Wogan try a 60-yard kick this season in a game.


“He’s a 4.0 (academic) kid for a reason,” Hardin said. “He’s a worker. He’s a weight room guy. He bench presses 300 pounds as a kicker. He kicks on the weekends. He’s always trying to improve some facet of the game, off the field or on the field.”

Wogan will also play wide receiver for the Pirates this season, a position he’s played throughout his high school career. Initially, Hardin thought he had a wunderkind and just wanted to let him develop, but eventually he realized that Wogan’s aggressive nature wouldn’t limit him to special teams.

“He’s going to start for us,” Hardin said. “He’s played (wide receiver) every year. When he was younger, we wanted to bring him along in the process so he could gain confidence in his kicking, but he’s actually a football player first and a kicker second. And he’s a good football player, too.”

Wogan also has his hobbies. He goes at hunting and fishing just as hard as football. He’s caught an 8-pound bass and is such an avid deer hunter that he, his older brother, Paul, and his father will put cameras in the woods three or four weeks ahead of when they plan to hunt in order to help tract deer movement patterns.

“I love hunting,” Wogan said. “I love it a lot, but nothing compares to football. I love hitting. I love kicking. And I can’t wait to get started this year.”

Wertz: 704-612-9716; Twitter: @langstonwertzjr

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/08/10/3447773/atypical-kicker-ready-to-mix-it.html#storylink=cpy

Alabama coach Nick Saban, touched by Twitter campaign, writes letter to family of late N.C. prep football coach

Last week, South Davidson High football coach Mike Crowell died suddenly. Tonight, on homecoming, the school will honor his memory.

Crowell as an Alabama native and the community began a twitter effort with the hastag #crowellforsaban, in an effort to get the Crimson Tide coach to come to the game. Alabama had a bye this week and wasn't playing.

Saban, who didn't know Crowell, isn't able to attend tonight but a Greensboro-area TV station reports that he's sent a letter to Crowell's family, showing support.

NCAA rules and a busy schedule might keep Saban from appearing, but he did send a personal letter to Coach Crowell's family. Crowell's sister-in-law said he would have been thrilled with the correspondence.

"Mike would just be so delighted," Karen Pierce said. "[Saban] was an idol to Mike, and he would certainly be ecstatic knowing that Saban took the time to recognize him for the work that Mike's done."

Associated Press Top 10 N.C. Prep Football Polls

¶   BC-FBH--North Carolina Prep Poll,Correction
¶   AP prep football poll for N.C.
¶   AP prep football poll for North Carolina
¶   Corrects previous ranking in Class 3A: Northern Guilford rank 1, sted 2, Belmont South Point      2 sted 1.
¶   By The Associated Press
¶   10-02-2012 14:20
¶   RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) _ The Associated Press state high school football poll for the week of October 2, 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)       ‡?(6-0)•‡?120‡?1•‡
† 2. New Bern                   ‡?(6-0)•‡?102‡?3•‡
† 3. Richmond County            ‡?(6-0)•‡?99•‡?2•‡
† 4. Indian Trail Porter Ridge  ‡?(6-0)•‡?74•‡?4•‡
† 5. Charlotte Mallard Creek    ‡?(5-1)•‡?65•‡?5•‡
† 6. Garner                     ‡?(7-0)•‡?61•‡?6•‡
† 7. East Forsyth               ‡?(7-0)•‡?53•‡?7•‡
† 8. Scotland County            ‡?(5-1)•‡?25•‡?9•‡
† 9. Fayetteville Britt         ‡?(6-1)•‡?15•‡?10‡
†10. Wake Forest-Rolesville     ‡?(6-0)•‡?10•‡?NR‡
¶
¶   Others receiving 10 or more points: None.<
^Class 3-A=
† 1. Northern Guilford (12)  ‡?(6-0)‡?120‡?1•‡
† 2. Belmont South Point     ‡?(7-0)‡?103‡?2•‡
† 3. Havelock                ‡?(6-1)‡?94•‡?3•‡
† 4. Charlotte Catholic      ‡?(5-1)‡?74•‡?4•‡
† 5. Statesville             ‡?(6-1)‡?61•‡?5•‡
† 6. Concord                 ‡?(7-0)‡?53•‡?7•‡
† 7. Clayton Cleveland       ‡?(7-0)‡?46•‡?8•‡
† 8. Kannapolis Brown        ‡?(6-1)‡?44•‡?6•‡
† 9. Wilson Hunt             ‡?(6-0)‡?31•‡?10‡
†10. Shelby Crest            ‡?(6-1)‡?30•‡?9•‡
¶
¶   Others receiving 10 or more points: None.<
^Class 2-A=
† 1. Tarboro (12)               ‡?(6-0)‡?120‡?1•‡
† 2. East Lincoln               ‡?(7-0)‡?99•‡?2•‡
† (tie) Jacksonville Northside  ‡?(7-0)‡?99•‡?3•‡
† 4. South Iredell              ‡?(6-1)‡?77•‡?4•‡
† 5. Edenton Holmes             ‡?(6-0)‡?65•‡?6•‡
† 6. Reidsville                 ‡?(6-1)‡?64•‡?5•‡
† 7. Boonville Starmount        ‡?(6-0)‡?50•‡?7•‡
† 8. Carrboro                   ‡?(7-0)‡?39•‡?8•‡
† 9. East Duplin                ‡?(6-1)‡?26•‡?9•‡
†10. South Columbus             ‡?(6-1)‡?14•‡?10‡
¶
¶   Others receiving 10 or more points: None.<
^Class 1-A=
† 1. Swain County (12)  ‡?(7-0)‡?120‡?1•‡
† 2. Warsaw Kenan       ‡?(6-0)‡?101‡?2•‡
† 3. Murphy             ‡?(6-1)‡?87•‡?3•‡
† 4. Southwest Onslow   ‡?(5-1)‡?78•‡?4•‡
† 5. Manteo             ‡?(6-0)‡?68•‡?5•‡
† 6. Albemarle          ‡?(6-1)‡?62•‡?T6‡
† 7. Hendersonville     ‡?(6-1)‡?53•‡?T6‡
† 8. Plymouth           ‡?(6-1)‡?32•‡?8•‡
† 9. Ayden-Grifton      ‡?(5-1)‡?27•‡?9•‡
†10. Goldsboro          ‡?(5-1)‡?19•‡?10‡
¶
¶   Others receiving 10 or more points: None.<

Vance High basketball star Torin Dorn offered by Charlotte

Vance High 6-4 junior basketball player Torin Dorn, has been offered his first scholarship by Charlotte, Vance coach Will Robinson said.

Dorn, the son of former UNC football player Torin Dorn, averaged 7 points per game last season at Vance. He carries a 4.0 GPA.

-- Former Vance player Al'lonzo Coleman is now playing pro ball in Argentina, Robinson said.

Ardrey Kell volleyball stops Butler, stays unbeaten, eyes title

Ardrey Kell’s volleyball team won a big Southwestern 4A conference game at Butler Tuesday, running its record to 18-0 overall, 11-0 in the conference.

It’s the Knights best start in school history and puts the team one game away from at least a share of the Southwestern 4A league championship. The Knights can lock that up Thursday at home against East Mecklenburg on Senior Night.

Ardrey Kell coach Zoe Bell said the key to her team’s season has been its ability to control the ball at all times and stay aggressive defensively. That’s set up by players like right side hitter Madison Wauchope, middle hitters Marshae Bradbury and Serena Jackson, who lead the team in blocks, and Caitlin Watkins and Rachel Eppley who lead the team in kills. Setting everybody up is Sarah Wyczawski.

“It’s a total team effort,” Bell said. “They’re learning that everybody has a part on this team, and the thing that gives us a chance is our ball control and when you can be offensive every time the ball comes over, it’s hard to beat.”

-- The Knights unbeaten season will be tested Saturday at Hough, during a non-conference match with regional powers Hough and Mount Tabor.

-- Here are photos from Tuesday night's match.

South Caldwell joins Observer Sweet 16 poll

Welcome 4A South Caldwell to the Charlotte Observer’s Sweet 16 high school football poll.

Checking in at No. 16, the Spartans are unbeaten at 7-0 and have won five games by shutouts.

South Caldwell running back Zac Pollard ran for 232 yards on 21 carries in last week’s 55-0 win over Fred T. Foard. It was Pollard’s fifth straight 200-yard game. He has 1,559 yards on 127 carries this season.

-- East Lincoln (7-0), No. 16 last week, beat Lincolnton (2-5) 13-8 last week, but fell out of the poll, as did West Rowan (5-2). East Lincoln QB Garrett Young, averaging 311 yards passing per game, suffered a knee injury on his team’s third series.

Freshman Chaz Surratt replaced Young last week, completing 6-of-12 passes for 114 yars, including a 39-yard scoring pass.

Rk.  Sch. (No. 1 votes)			Rec	Pts	Prv
1.	Butler (3)	4A	6-0	48	1
2.	Rock Hill South Pointe	4A	6-0	45	2
3.	Mallard Creek	4A	5-1	42	4
4.	Rock Hill Northwestern	4A	4-2	38	8
5.	Porter Ridge	4A	6-0	32	3
6.	Charlotte Catholic	3A	5-1	31	5
7.	Crest	3A	6-1	27	6
8.	South Point	3A	7-0	27	9
9.	A.L. Brown	3A	6-1	23	7
10.	Concord	3A	7-0	22	10
11.	Statesville	3A	6-1	19	T11
12.	Independence	4A	6-1	15	13
13.	Hough	4A	6-1	10	14
14.	York	4A	6-0	9	T16
15.	Charlotte Country Day	IND	6-0	6	15
16.	South Caldwell	4A	7-0	4	NR

Dropped Out: East Lincoln (2A, 7-0); West Rowan (3A, 5-2). For rules on the poll and eligible teams visit charlotteobserver.com/preps; a three-man panel of Observer sportswriters voted