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KM Middle basketball
unbeaten in conference play

Kings Mountain Middle School’s Patriots remained undefeated in conference play and ran its overall record to 4-1 with wins last week over North Lincoln and West Lincoln.
Coach Shane Cole’s Patriots were 3-0 in the East Division and 4-1 overall heading into a game against East Lincoln yesterday. They host Burns on Thursday.
The Patriots defeated North Lincoln 46-23 on Monday.
The Pats took a 4-0 lead as King Moore took Amir Parker’s opening tip in for a layup; and two possessions later when Antonio Gomez’s pass found a wide-open Moore for his second layup of the quarter.
Gomez’s three from a Carlos Boyce pass closed out the scoring 8-8 at the end of the first period.
KM picked up its defensive intensity, holding North to just one field goal in the second period. Kavion Byers’ two steals helped KM extend its lead to 18-11 at the half. Boyce led the first half scoring with seven points.
KM went on a 13-2 run to start the second half and increase the lead to 33-17. Parker’s and Moore’s three pointers led the way.
The fourth quarter saw seven Patriots get into the action. Myles Parks and Aja Fagan led the team on a 13-6 run to account for the final score.
KM had 10 assists and a season-high 15 steals. KM’s role players once again came through with 12 points.
“This was the best defensive game we played all year,” Coach Cole noted. “To have 15 steals as a team means everyone is making an effort.”
The Patriots followed that victory with a 56-7 win over West Lincoln.
After West scored the first basket, KM’s Kavion Byers sparked a 16-0 run as KM ended the quarter up 16-2. The Pats were 7 for 10 inside the arc.
KM continued its offensive onslaught by scoring the next 13 points to go up 29-2. Myles Parks (two steals) and Desmond Noland (three rebounds and a steal) led the run as 10 Pats scored in the first half for a 33-4 lead.
In the third period, the Pats starting five scored six quick points before going to the role players. Carlos Boyce, Amir Parker and Gomez rounded out the lead to 39-4 heading into the fourth quarter.
During the fourth period the visitors finished on a 13-3 run as eight Patriots finished off the scoring. Jaden Byrd hit the only three of the night. Mani Andeson had two points and two assists during the run for the final score of 56-7.
Kavion Byers scored 10 points on four for six shooting and also had five rebounds and three steals.
Carlos Boyce had seven points on 3 for 4 shooting to go with four boards and two steals.
Bryce Wilson had six points on 3 for 4 shooting and also had three rebounds and two assists. Jaden Byrd scored five points, King Moore four, Amir Parker four points on 2 for 2 shooting, Myles Parks four points on 2 for 2 shooting, four boards, three assists and one blocked shot; Antonio Gomez four points, four rebounds, three assists and four steals; Aja Fagon four points, Mani Anderson two points, three assists and two steals, and Elijah Long two points.
KM shot 25 for 45 from inside the arc, had a season high 15 assists and 18 steals, and 33 rebounds. All 12 KM players scored and reserves scored 33 points.
Offensive Player of the Week was King Moore with 16 points on five for five shooting, and four steals.
Defensive Player of the Week was Myles Park with six points on three for three shooting, four rebounds, three assists, three steals and a blocked shot; and Kavion Byers with 12 points on 5 for 8 shooting, 10 rebounds, five steals and a blocked shot.
Sixth Men of the Week were Ajay Fagan with six points and three rebounds; Desmond Nolan with four points, five rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots; and Mani Anderson with two points, two boards, three assists and two steals.
“We had a total team effort with all 11 players contributing,” said Coach Cole. “We are starting to come together.”
KM was 3-0 and in first place in the East Division and 4-1 overall heading into this week’s game.
Making its season debut, the KM fifth quarter team won 11-2. Leading the way was King McClain with five points on two for three shooting and two steals. Bryce Wilson had four points and six rebounds, TJ Dawkins scored two points and Kherian Little and Michael Rice played solid defense. The team hit five of 10 shots inside the arc.

Kings Mountain shines in Polar Bear Meet
 

Kings Mountain High’s track and field teams delivered dominant performances in the 2025 KM Polar Bear Meet Wednesday.
Competing against Ashbrook, Burns, Davidson Day and Hunter Huss, both the KM men’s and women’s teams showcased their strength and determination despite less than ideal weather conditions.
The Lady Mountaineers had a tremendous day, securing nine first place finishes, six second places and achieving several personal records from six individuals.
Alanna Snelson was a standout, contributing an amazing 28 points. She earned top spots in the pole vault and high jump and was second in the shot put.
Jaylee Woodward finished first in the 55 meter hurdles with a personal record, second in the long jump with a personal record, and third in the high jump. She totaled 24 points.
Sarah Eagle finished first in the 3200 meters, 1600 meters and as part of the 4x800 relay team, earning 22.5 points.
The Lady Mountaineers decisively outpaced their competition with a final team score of 166 points. Ashbrook finished with 53, Burns 38, and Davidson Day and Hunter Huss did not score.
The KM men dominated as well with 132 points. Ashbrook finished with 71, Huss 34, Davidson Day 33 and Burns 13.
Reigning 3A state 800 meter champion Max Thompson and two other Mountaineer standouts, Isiah Watts and David Johnson, were competing in the VA Showcase in Virginia Beach over the weekend. The next scheduled meet is February 1 when the Mountaineers will compete in Polk County High’s WNC championship.
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ALWS Bat Kids wanted for 2025

By Loretta Cozart

Get ready to step up to the plate! The American Legion World Series Executive Committee is on the hunt for awesome kids to be the official bat boys and bat girls for the 2025 ALWS! If you’re between the ages of 10 and 12 as of August 1, 2025, this is your chance to shine! Don’t strike out—make sure to get your application in by April 15, 2025!
   All applicants are required to play in an organized baseball or softball program for the 2025 season. (Little League, Dixie, City Parks, and Recreation program). Bat kids are determined by a live drawing held on Veterans Field at Keeter Stadium during the Wake Forest vs Appalachian State game on April 29, 2025. There are a total of 16 bat kids and 2-4 alternates drawn for these prestigious roles. (The Executive Committee reserves the right to appoint two bat kids before the drawing) Bat kids can apply and serve for multiple years if their name is selected, provided they fulfill the age and application criteria.
The American Legion World Series action happens August 14-19, 2025, at Keeter Stadium, located on the Shelby High School campus. Bat kids play a crucial role in supporting the players and coaches. Some of their duties involve:
• Retrieving bats left in the dugout or on the field
• Collecting arm and shin guards dropped by batters
• Participating in team pregame warm-ups as directed by the coach
 Being a bat kid is an honor. With this honor comes big responsibility and a huge time commitment. The fun kicks off Sunday before the games begin and continues through the series end. Out-of-town families are required to send proof of hotel accommodation during the series to ensure availability for participation. Two Bat Kids are assigned to each team and will remain with that team throughout their team’s eligibility. (Each team is guaranteed at least three games).
There is no application process for Shaggers.  Shaggers are typically boys and girls 13 years old or older as of August 1, 2025, who have previously served as bat kids and have demonstrated exemplary skills/knowledge/leadership and safety awareness of being on the baseball diamond. Shaggers are selected by committee and are contacted separately from the applicants for bat kids.
Jean and Chris Horne coordinate the bat kids and shaggers each year. Jean Horne says their experience is as memorable as the experiences of the boys and girls. “The players become like big brothers to some of the bat boys/girls and continue their friendship even after the World Series, through social media. We hope some of these players will make it to the big leagues and that many of the bat kids’ dreams will be realized as well.”
The application for bat kids can be found on the ALWS website, www.alws.us, and on the ALWS Facebook page. Questions can be directed to the ALWS office at 704-466-3103. (9:00 AM – 5:00 PM weekdays)

Mountaineers
beat East,
lose to Gaston Day

Kings Mountain’s Mountaineers split their first two games in their annual Holiday Tournament and were scheduled to take on Palisades in the final round Monday.
The Mountaineers defeated East Rutherford 75-24 in the opening round before falling to Gaston Day 66-59.
Kee’donn Linney led the scoring against East Rutherford with 20 points. Ethan Daniel added 14.
J’Mun Huskey scored 17 and Linney 13 in the loss to Gaston Day. Braylen Todd led the winners with 18.
The Mountaineers will resume regular season play at Shelby on Friday. They begin Big South 3A Conference play at Ashbrook on January 7 and will host Hunter Huss on January 10.

 

Mountaineers fall to Robinson,
end season with a 9-3 record

 
J.M. Robinson scored on its opening possession and rolled to a 41-14 victory over Kings Mountain in the second round of the state 3A playoffs Friday night at Robinson.
The loss ended Kings Mountain’s season with a 9-3 record. The Mountaineers were Big South 3A Conference co-champions with the South Point Red Raiders who also fell out of the playoffs last week with their second loss of the year to Gastonia Ashbrook.
Robinson returned a fumble for another TD to go up 13-0 after the first period, then scored again twice more in the second quarter for a 27-0 halftime lead.
The Mountaineers got a touchdown reception by Tex Vaughn to cut the margin to 27-7 with just over a minute left in the third period.
Eli Lipscomb caught a TD pass for a 22-yard TD to cut the margin to 27-14 but Robinson scored twice more to put the win in the bag.
Robinson advances against a powerful Greensboro Dudley team this week. Ashbrook and Crest will continue as the only BSC teams still in the running for a state crown.
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Carter Roberts has signed to play baseball with North Carolina A&T. Pictured front row L-R: Mandy Roberts (mother), Carter Roberts, Rickson Roberts (father). Back row L-R: Trey Robinson (Asst. Principal), Wil Sellers (KM Coach), Hudson Roberts (brother) and Matt Bridges (Athletic Director).

Roberts signs to play with NC A&T

Carter Roberts has signed to play baseball with North Carolina A&T. Pictured front row L-R: Mandy Roberts (mother), Carter Roberts, Rickson Roberts (father).  Back row L-R: Trey Robinson (Asst. Principal), Wil Sellers (KM Coach), Hudson Roberts (brother) and Matt Bridges (Athletic Director).
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KMHS head coach Strait Herron talks to his players after a big win over East Lincoln Friday night at Gamble Stadium in the opening round of the NCHSAA 3A playoffs. Kings Mountain travels to Jay M. Robinson Friday for a tough second round match. Photo by Charlie Smith

Kings Mountain advances with win over East Lincoln,
travels Friday to face a super talented Jay M. Robinson

Kings Mountain’s Mountaineers cleared their first hurdle in the NCHSAA 3A football playoffs Friday night at John Gamble Stadium, defeating East Lincoln’s Mustangs 38-28 but they will face a much bigger challenge Friday night when they travel to Jay M. Robinson for a 7 p.m. second round contest.
The Mountaineers trailed the Mustangs for most of the first half last week but scored on a Josiah Hill touchdown and Matt Rhom PAT with 20 seconds left in the second quarter to tie things up at 21-21.
The Mountaineers added two TDS in the third period to open a 35-21 lead that the Mustangs couldn’t overcome.
“It was a big win against a good team,” noted Coach Strait Herron. “I’m really proud of our players. We made some defensive mistakes early. We had to play four quarters and I was really pleased with our players. We lost our defensive end Semaj Odems in practice last week with a broken leg. That hurt us and will hurt us down the road. It was a good win even without him and I am proud of our effort.”
The visitors took a 7-0 lead on their first possession after stopping the Mountaineers at the East 17 yard line. A steady dose of running by Chris Daley, who gained 32 yards in six carries, set up an eight-yard pass reception by Jaxon Dollar at the 3:33 mark of the first period.
Kings Mountain took advantage of two pass interference penalties and got a 15-yard touchdown pass from TJ Armstrong to Josiah Hill, followed by a Matt Rhom PAT, to tie the score at 7-all.
That score stood until the end of the first period but the visitors scored again on a touchdown reception by Jalen Fletcher-McClain to go back up 14-7.
William Vaughn returned the ensuing kickoff to the KM 42 and eight plays later Armstrong scored from two yards out and Rhom added another PAT to tie things up at 14-all. After a change of possession the Mustangs scored with 1:10 left in the half on a reception by Javon Dollar for a 21-14 lead.
Kings Mountain answered quickly, though, driving 63 yards to tie the game on a 13-yard reception by Hill and Rhom’s point after with 20 seconds left in the half. Along the way Vaughn caught three passes for 19 yards, Jayden Gash one for two, Antonio Armstrong one for 24 and Josiah Hill one for 13 and the TD. Rhom’s PAT sent the teams to the halftime break at 21-all.
Kings Mountain’s defense came up big in the second half and so did the offense. After the D held the visitors to a three and out to open the third period, the Mountaineers drove 74 yards and ate more than 10 minutes off the clock to take the lead for good at 28-21 on a five-yard run by Armstrong. Hill had an 11-yard run and freshman Xavier Hutchens had a big catch for 14 yards to get things going. Hill would carry the ball seven times for 40 yards, Gash carried twice for 16 yards and Armstrong went the final five yards for the TD. Rhom added the PAT.
KM’s defense got some big stops from Eli Lipscomb, Jayden Gash and others and the visitors had to punt the ball away. The punt went for just five yards and the Mountaineers took over at the East 44. A 32-yard pass reception by Hutchens gave the Mountaineers a first down at the eight yard line and two runs by Hill and Rhom’s PAT put the Mountaineers ahead 35-21 with 14.1 seconds left in the third.
A Lipscomb interception in the end zone at the 10:53 mark of the fourth quarter set up a long KM drive that didn’t end with a touchdown but did take almost six minutes off the fourth quarter clock. Taking over at the 4:19 mark, the Mustangs were able to get off a four-play drive sandwiched around a 15-yard roughing the passer penalty and Beam scored from 27 yards out to cut the margin to 35-28.
Antonio Armstrong recovered an onside kick at the East Lincoln 49 and KM ran the clock down to 1:09 before Rhom came on to kick a 32-yard field goal to end the scoring. Along the way Hill carried the ball four times for 34 yards to set up.
Quarterback sacks by Eli Lipscomb and Lathan Feemster secured the win. Lipscomb would finish with 16 tackles and Feemster 11. Antonio Armstrong came very close to double-digit tackles with nine.
“They had us down 21-14 with 1:10 left in the half and our offense goes seven plays in 50 seconds and tied the game. That gave us momentum going into the second half,” Coach Herron said. “In the second half we got some big plays from freshman Xavier Hutchens who had two big catches (for 46 yards) to keep a drive going and we got a field goal to seal it.”
Hill finished with 182 yards rushing on 22 carries and also caught three passes for 30 yards. Armstrong hit 12 of 22 passes for 115 yards and two TDs.
Herron said the Roberson offense will be a huge challenge for the KM defense.
“Their quarterback is really good and they’ve only had one loss in two years,” he noted. “One of the keys for us will be the defense stepping up and getting stops. Last week we gave up three easy touchdowns. We can’t do that.
“Our offense needs to control the game and get first downs. East Lincoln did give us some problems but our players stuck it out and I’m really proud of them.”

Mountaineers end BSC with win at North,
host East Lincoln Friday in state 3A playoffs

Kings Mountain’s Mountaineers defeated the North Gaston  Wildcats 54-6 Friday night in Dallas to complete their regular season as Big South Conference co-champions with the South Point Red Raiders.
The Mountaineers will begin the 3A state championship playoffs Friday night at home against an old nemesis, East Lincoln, at 7:30 p.m. at John Gamble Stadum.
The Mustangs have been a thorn in the Mountaineers side several times in the past but Coach Strait Herron hopes his troops will come out fired up and ready to put the Mustangs back in the stable.
“East Lincoln came down here and beat us in 2020-21,” Herron recalled. “They’ve got a good team. This is a tough draw for a first round game. They’re 7-3 and a pretty good football team. Their quarterback throws the ball well and they have several good receivers. They’re good on defense, too.
“I just think, number one, we have to have good pass coverage. That’s going to be a big factor.
“This is going to be a good challenge. They have a good receiver who is hard to stop.
“We’ve got to score points and keep the ball away from them.”
The winner of this game will have another tough test next week against the winner of the Robinson and Northeast Guilford game.
“AC Reynolds and Dudley are also in our bracket, so we have a pretty tough road ahead of us,” Herron said. “But we’ve got to get this one first. East Lincoln is very good. It’s not like you’re the home team when you play a team like them in the first round.”
Kings Mountain had little trouble with North Gaston last week. The Wildcats have had an outstanding season under new head coach and former KM assistant Darrell Wilson.
“We talked before the game and they had some guys missing so going in we felt pretty good,” Herron said. “We had a game that was tough but all of our starters got us off to a good start and that allowed us to put a lot of other guys in the game.
“TJ Armstrong was 5 of 8 passing for 147 yards and a 26 yard touchdown, and Jayden Gash had four catches for 96 yards and a touchdown.
“In the second half we got good scoring from a lot of other guys. Freshman Cam Houser had nine carries for 53 yards and a touchdown.
“We did some great things,” he added. “Defensively we got off to a good start and we pretty much did what we wanted to do.”
The Mountaineers took charge from the beginning, returning the opening kickoff to the North 48 and scoring in just six plays on a run by Jayden Gash and PAT by Matt Rhom.
They went up 14-0 on their second possession on a Gash TD.
After another North three and out, William Vaughn scored on a 51-yard pass down the left side and it was 21-0.
A partially blocked punt put the Mountaineers on the North 20, and after a holding call Josiah Hill scored to make it 28-0 with still 1:41 left in the first period.
After the kickoff, the Wildcats had a high snap which KM recovered for a 35-0 lead. Another TD, followed by a safety when North snapped a ball over the punter’s head, ran the tally to 44-0 at the 3:25 mark of the second period.
The Wildcats finally got on the board late in the second period and KM scored a TD and field goal in the second half to wrap things up.
The win left the Mountaineers and South Point still in a tie for first place with 6-1 league marks, followed closely by Crest and Ashbrook at 5-2 each.
Heading into Friday’s game, Armstrong has 1,652 yards passing and Hill has 846 rushing. William Vaughn has 831 yards receiving and Jayden Gash 705.
Hill leads the scoring with 132 points and Rhom has 58 points kicking.
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Patriot wrestlers
win opener 78-24

 The Kings Mountain Middle wrestling team opened its season with a 78-24 win over North Lincoln.
 Winning matches for KM were Christian Ward, Ayden Smith, Ezra Barber, Devin Hord, Marvin Moore, Lecrea Toney, Timahzje Phillips, Joziah Montgomery, Hunter Stinchcomb, Brantley Lawson, Kavion Byers, Yazeem Williams, Daniel Martinez, and Jamarion Williams.
 KMMS is 1-0 on the year and will face West Lincoln at home on Thursday!

 

Mountaineer JVs run
the table in BSC with
win over Forestview

Kings Mountain High’s JV football team completed an unbeaten season against Big South Conference teams and finished with a 9-1 overall record with a 14-6 win over the Forestview Jaguars Thursday night at John Gamble Stadium.
It didn’t come easy, though, as the visitors took an early 6-0 lead and played tough the entire game but not good enough to get into the end zone again.
The Jaguars stopped the Mountaineers at their own 32-yard line in the opening series and after a KM punt drove 67 yards to take a 6-0 lead.
After Ivey Ingram returned the ensuing kickoff to the 49-yard line the Mountaineers went on 17-play drive to take a 7-6 lead on a two-yard run off left tackle by Khareem Coleman and an extra point by Refugio Gonzalez. Coleman carried eight times for 34 yards during the drive and AJ Parker caught three passes for 20 yards. That scored held until the second half.
Forestview answered with a decent drive that reached the KM 42 but the Mountaineers’ Silas Tate intercepted a pass to end it.
Kings Mountain had another drive going late in the third quarter but lost a fumble at the Jaguars’ 11 yard line.
The Mountaineer defense wouldn’t budge and took possession on a Jaguar bad snap on a punt attempt at the Jaguars’ 33. The offense was able to make to the Jaguars’ 11 with a first down but fumbled the ball away with 1:05 left in the quarter.
The fourth quarter began with the Jaguars at their own nine. A delay penalty pushed them back to the four and they were forced to punt with 9:36 left on the clock. Silas Tate returned the kick to the Jaguars’ 25 and four plays later KJ Bell hit Ethan Tran with a 28-yard touchdown pass to complete the scoring.
Forestview managed to get back to KM 43 late in the game but a pass interception by Ingram with 30 seconds left wrapped things up.
Kings Mountain’s only loss this year was 14-8 to 4A Cox Mill in the second game of the season. The Mountaineers swept their Cleveland County non-conference opponents (Shelby 39-12 and Burns 28-0) and their BSC opponents Huss 26-6, North Gaston 40-0, South Point 7-0, Cramer 38-6, Crest 23-6 and Forestview 14-6.

KMHS Winter Sports

WRESTLING

NOVEMBER
13 – Vs. Olympic, Mountain Island and West Charlotte at Olympic. (Time TBA).
16 – Plowboy Individual at Chase, begins at 9:30 (14 teams, individual opponents TBD).
19 – at Shelby vs. Shelby, East Burke, and Lincoln Charter. (Times TBD).
23 – at Bandys 8-team tournament, matches and times (begin at 9 a.m.
27 – Tri-County Invittional at Ashbrook, (18 teams).

DECEMBER
 3- KM quads (Teams TBD).
13 and 14 – at Newton Conover (10 teams).
23 – at Reindeer Rumble in Lincolnton, begins at 9:30.
JANUARY
 3-4 – at Bear Cat Brawl Invitational at Rock Hill (numerous teams involved).
8 – Mt. Pleasant at KM
 10 – at North Gaston
17 – at North Gaston vs. North Gaston, Huss, South Point and Ashbrook.
22 – BSC quads at Stuart Cramer
25 – BSC tournament (site TBD).

FEBRUARY
1 – 1st and 2nd founds of  dual team tournament, site TBD.
5 – 3rd and 4th rounds of dual team tournament.
8 – Dual team state tournament, site TBD.
14 -15 – 3A West Regionals, TBD.
20, 21, 22 – Individual state tournament, Greensboro Coliseum, 1921 W. Gate City Blvd., Greensboro.

BASKETBALL
(All games begin at 4:30 for JVs followed by varsity girls and boys unless otherwise noted).

DECEMBER
3 – at  Cox Mill (JV and varsity)
6 – Lincolnton
7 – Clover (girls only), time TBD
9 – Burns
11 – Shelby
13 – South Point
14 – vs. Bandys at Maiden (varsity boys only).
19 – at Stuart Cramer
26 – 28 - at Freedom Christmas tourney (varsity girls only).
27, 28 & 30 – Mountaineer Classic (varsity boys only).

JANUARY
3 – at Shelby
7 – at Ashbrook
8 – at Carson (Varsity girls only).
10 – Hunter Huss
14 – North Gaston
17 – Forestview
21 – at Crest
24 – at South Point.
28 – Stuart Cramer
29 – at Burns (boys only).
31 – Ashbrook

FEBRUARY
4 – AT Huss
7 – at North Gaston
11 – at Forestview
14 – Crest (Senior Night).
25 – 1st round playoffs (TBA)
28 – 2nd round playoffs TBA)
MARCH
4 – 3RD round playoffs (TBA)
7 – 4th round playoffs (TBA).
10-13 – Western Regional playoffs (TBD).
14-15 – State championship (TBD).


SWIMMING

NOVEMBER
14 – North Gaston, South Point and Crest at KM
21 – Cramer, Highland Tech and Crest at KM.
DECEMBER
5 – Huss, Ashbrook and Crest at KM.
JANUARY
7 – Cleveland County championship, site TBD
9 – Forestview and East Gaston at KM.
FEBRUARY
1 – Regionals at Mecklenburg Aquatic Center.
6 – State championship in Cary
INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD
DECEMBER
7 – Cool Wave Kickoff in Gastonia, Time TBA.
13 - at Northwest Cabarrus Invitational, Winston-Salem.
JANUARY
11 – at Polk County Polar Bear Meet, begins at 4 p.m.
15 – KM Polar Bear Meet, 4 p.m.
25 – at WNC championship for field events, 10 a.m. at Tryon Equestrian Center in Mill Springs.
27 – at WNC championship for running events, at Polk County High in Columbus, NC.
FEBRUARY
14-15 – 3A Indoor championship, teams TBA.
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JV Mountaineers
beat Crest,
host Forestview Wednesday

Kings Mountain High’s JV Mountaineers can run the table in the Big South 3A Conference when they host the Forestview Jaguars in their regular season finale at 7 p.m. tonight at John Gamble Stadium.
The Mountaineers overcame a 20-7 deficit after Crest scored its final touchdown by L.C. Bradley with 7:14 left in the third quarter.
Silas Tate returned the Crest kickoff to the Mountaineers’ 37 and Xavier Hutchens ran the ball twice for a first down at the Chargers’ 47. A holding penalty set the Mountaineers back to their own 43 but on third and 20 Hutchens scored on a 43-yard pass reception and Khareem Coleman ran a two-point conversion to cut the margin to 20-15.
Kings Mountain’s defense then began taking control of the game and held the Crest offense to three and out. After Crest punted KM took over at the Chargers’ 40 with 2:09 left on the third period clock. Two runs by Coleman and a 9-yard run by Houser for a first down at the Crest 27 sparked a drive that ended with KJ Bell’s touchdown and two-point conversion reception to give the Mountaineers a 23-20 lead with 9:48 left in the game.
The Mountaineer defense had the Chargers backed up to their own 19 yard line facing a fourth and six. Their punter shanked his kick out of bounds at the KM 30 with 6:25 left on the clock and the Mountaineers were able to run all but 2:51 off the clock before turning the ball over.
Again, the KM defense came up big and Crest was forced to try a fourth down pass from its own 33 with 1:17 left.  The Mountaineers sacked the Chargers’ quarterback at the Crest 24. Crest had already used up all of its timeouts so the Mountaineers took a knee three times to end the game.
Before the late heroics the Mountaineers drove the opening kickoff 68 yards16 plays to basically eat up the first quarter clock. Khareem Coleman scored from a yard out at with 46.4 seconds on the clock and Refugio Gonzalez added the point-after for a 7-0 lead.
Crest answered with a 78-yard, 13-yard drive to tie the score at 7-all on a five-yard keeper by QB Malachi Gamble.
KM’s second half kickoff went out of bounds and Crest took over at its own 35. Gamble immediately circled left end and the Chargers went up 14-7.
The Mountaineers couldn’t get anything going and had to punt from their own 25 and the Chargers took possession at their own 48. On first down, QB CJ Bradley circled left end and went the distance to  the Chargers were up 20-7. That would be the last time they hit paydirt.
Silas Tate returned the ensuing kickoff to the KM 37. Two carries by Hutchens put the Mountaineers at Crest 47. After a penalty, the Mountaineers faced third and 20 from their own 43 but Bell found Hutchens wide open for a 57-yard touchdown. Coleman added a two-point conversion to give the Mountaineers a 20-15 lead that they wouldn’t relinquish.

 
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These six Mountaineers led the defense in last week’s big victory over the Crest Chargers. Left to right, Semaj Odums had 18 tackles, Latham Feemster 10, Antonio Armstrong nine and Eli Lipscomb and Thomas Fair eight each. Matt Rhom had a big fumble recovery.

Big second half propels KM to 24-23 win over Crest and tie for BSC lead

Kings Mountain’s Mountaineers overcame a 23-10 halftime deficit to defeat a good Crest team 24-23 Friday night in Boiling Springs to go into the final Big South regular season finale Friday at North Gaston tied with South Point for first place.
Both the Mountaineers and Red Raiders will be heavily favored Friday. South Point will be facing Hunter Huss.
“We don’t want this to be one of those trap games,” Coach Strait Herron said of North Gaston. “We’ve played at a high level two weeks in a row and both of them (Ashbrook and Crest) were hard fought games. You just have to keep playing hard. This is a scary week. We can’t have a letdown. We’ve got to get prepared and play. We need to win this one and come out healthy. We want to use this week to make us better. It’s not so much about them, it’s more about us.”
Herron said last week’s win over Crest was a big one.
“It feels good for our guys to win a big game two weeks in a row,” he said. “I am real proud of them.”
The Mountaineers got in high gear on the third play of the second half when Josiah Hill rambled untouched 83 yards for a touchdown to cut the deficit to 23-17.
“Jo Jo had a good game with 24 carries for 166 yards and two TDs,” Herron said. “That gave us a momentum boost.”
Armstrong hit eight of 16 passes for 112 yards
The Mountaineers recovered an onside kick at the Crest 49 and six plays later Eli Lipscomb tallied the winning touchdown from nine yards out. A big 31-yard reception by Jayden Gash on which Crest was flagged for a face mask penalty set it up.
The Mountaineer defense bent a little after that but didn’t break.
“The defense did a heck of a job shutting them down,” Herron said. “Everybody played extremely hard and that’s the way it should be.”
After the kickoff and a penalty, the Chargers were on their own 23 but a sack by Lathan Feemster backed them up to the 16. A quick out pass resulted in a one-yard loss and a loss of downs at the 1:55 mark of the third period.
Crest did threaten after intercepting a KM pass at the Crest 31. The Chargers made it to the 45 but penalties set them back to their own 24 and they had to punt the ball away with 9:05 left on the fourth quarter clock.
Good running by Hill and a key 15-yard reception by Gash got the Mountaineers to the Crest seven before they lost the ball on downs with 3:17 remaining.
The KM defense stood firm and Dakota Smith intercepted a pass at the Crest 36 with 1:25 showing on the clock. Crest didn’t have any time outs remaining and the Mountaineers took a knee twice to end the game.
The Mountaineers never led in the first half but did answer Crest’s first touchdown when Hill’s three-yard run and Matt Rhom’s PAT made it 7-7 at the 3:03 mark of the first quarter.
Crest added a safety when the officials ruled that the KM punter’s knee touched the ground in the end zone.
The Chargers went up 16-7 on the sixth play of the second quarter when Carson went around end for a 15-yard touchdown.
After the Chargers’ kickoff, the Mountaineers took over at their own 34. Good running by Hill and a 31- yard pass reception by Gash put them on the Crest 35.
Facing third and six from the 19, the Mountaineers benefited from a pass interference call on the Chargers and had a first and goal at the Crest eight. Facing fourth and goal from the six, the Mountaineers called on Matt Rhom to kick a field goal and cut the margin to 16-10 with 5:59 left in the half.
Crest responded with a 65-yard drive which ended with a Carson 27-yard run around the right side and a 23-10 halftime lead.
“It was a big win for us,” Herron said. “It feels good for our guys to win big games two weeks in a row. I am real proud of them.
“We didn’t lose anybody during the game,” he noted. “We had some guys banged up but it’s not serious.”
He was proud to see his team come out of halftime and pitch a shutout in the second half.
“Jo Jo had a good run for 83 yards and scored a touchdown and gave us a good momentum boost,” Herron said.
“Our defense played extremely hard and that’s the way it should be. We came out healthy,” he said. “Odoms had a good game. Our defense had a lot of production points. We had five solo tackles and 13 assists. A lot of players contributed. The defense held them all night.”
Odoms was in on 18 tackles, Lathan Feemster 10, Antonio Armstrong nine and Eli Lipscomb and Thomas Fair eight each.
Rhom was 3-for-3 on extra points and had a 24-yard field goal.
 

Mountaineers defeat Gastonia Ashbrook 27-19,
big battle for share of first place Friday at Crest

There’s a logjam at the top of the Big South 3A Conference football standings between Crest, South Point and Kings Mountain but there will be only two at the top after Friday night’s Kings Mountain at Crest game.
The Mountaineers outscored Gastonia Ashbrook 10-0 in the fourth quarter of last Friday’s game at John Gamble Stadium to erase a 19-17 deficit and defeat the Green Wave 27-19.
With South Point heavily favored to win its final two regular season games against Forestview (1-5, 1-8) and Stuart Cramer (0-5, 1-7), Friday’s game in Boiling Springs could mean co-champions in the BSC and a third place and possibly just one home playoff game for the loser.
“Crest is really good,” Mountaineer head coach Strait Herron said. “You can see that they have athletes everywhere. They remind me of some of the guys we had at South Pointe in Rock Hill.
“We will have to play hard. They’re going to be tough to beat.  This is a big game for us.”
Ashbrook, which was led at quarterback by sophomore Anthony McClain, whose father Lance McClain quarterbacked the Mountaineers in the late 1990s, gave the Mountaineers a fit and showed that they could have a long run in the upcoming state 3A playoffs.
“I was satisfied and really proud of the effort our players gave,” Coach Herron said. “We did what we had to do and worked extremely hard. We started with a game plan and didn’t change it much. Our guys work hard and do what they have to do and they have a good attitude.
“Ashbrook played hard and had a good game plan, too,” Herron added. “They had guys in there that knew what they wanted to do. I’m glad we had good plays when we needed to.”
Ashbrook took a 19-17 lead on a touchdown by Savion Lindsay with 6:15 remaining in the third period. After holding and unsportsmanlike penalties following the ensuing kickoff KM was backed up to its 11-yard line.
The momentum started to switch sides when the Mountaineers went on a long drive that ended when an apparent touchdown reception by William Vaughn was nullified by an offensive pass interference. The Mountaineers were forced to punt and it went out of bounds at the Ashbrook 10 yard line.
Kings Mountain’s defense came up big and backed the Green Wave up to its own ½ yard line. A good punt return by Jayden Gash put the Mountaineers’ offense in business at the Ashbrook 26. A 19-yard pass reception by Vaughn and two runs by Hill resulted in what would be the winning touchdown and a 24-19 lead at the 9:19 mark of the fourth period.
The KM defense continued big the rest of the night, not allowing another Green Wave first down.
Thomas Fair’s fumble recovery at the Ashbrook two-yard line set up the final score. Ashbrook’s defense wouldn’t budge so Rhom came on to kick a field goal to complete the scoring.
Before the final heroics the Mountaineers survived a missed field goal by Ashbrook late in the first period and went on an 80-yard, six-play drive capped by a two-yard touchdown run by Josiah Hill for a 7-0 lead. It was set up by a 76-yard catch and run by William Vaughn. Matt Rhom kicked the point-after.
A one-hand pass interception by Jayden Gash at the KM 39 set up Vaughn’s 61-yard TD catch and run and Rhom’s PAT for a 14-0 lead at the 9:49 mark of the second quarter.
Ashbrook responded with a two-yard TD run by Martino Smith, followed shortly thereafter by a pass interception that set up quarterback AJ McClain’s 43-yard roll around end to make it 14-12 at the half.
Rhom’s 39-yard field goal put the Mountaineers up 17-12 early in the third quarter before Ashbrook took the lead on a Savion Lindsay 37-yard TD and Uziel Garcia’s PAT.
After this week’s game at Crest the Mountaineers will end their regular season with a makeup game at North Gaston.

 

KM volleyball advancing
In state 3A tournament

Kings Mountain High’s volleyball team is off to another great run in the NCHSAA playoffs and are seeking their second straight state championship.
They won two more games this week, beating Stuart Cramer 25-10, 25-9, 25-13 and Asheboro 25-19, 25-13, 25-15.
Camden Pasour had 28 assists, four kills, nine digs, a block and two service points against Cramer. Denet Houey added 11 kills and a block, Alexa Jones seven kills, nine digs, 15 serve receptions and 14 service points. London Brown and Ruby Osborne had eight kills each.
Jones had 23 serve receptions, five digs, 17 kills and seven service points against Asheboro.
Pasour had 32 assists, 11 digs, three kills, a block and two service points.
Brown and Osborne each had eight kills and two blocks.
Ava Tipton had nine serve receptions, eight digs and seven service points and Denet Houey had six kills and a block.
Madi Broome had 14 digs, three serve receptions and four service points.
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TJ Armstrong fires a pass for the Mountaineers in last week’s win at Stuart Cramer. KM will host a strong Gastonia Ashbrook team Friday at Gamble Stadium. Photo by Charlie Smith

Mountaineers blast Stuart Cramer 41-0,
final regular season home game is Friday

Kings Mountain’s Mountaineers are back in the chase for the Big South Conference championship after beating Stuart Cramer 41-0 Friday night.
At the same time, the Ashbrook Green Wave was knocking off first place South Point 17-14 to create a four-team race for the BSC championship between the Raiders, Ashbrook, Kings Mountain and Crest. All four have just one conference loss.
“It was a good win,” said Mountaineer Coach Strait Herron, “especially when you win that big with only nine offensive snaps in the first half. Cramer ran 40 seconds off the clock every time they took the snap. That makes for a boring game but we got some defensive plays that were big for us.”
The Mountaineers’ defense came up with some big turnovers to help the offense get going.
The rout began with Josiah Hill’s one-yard touchdown and Matt Rhom’s PAT late in the first quarter. Antonio Armstrong’s pick six for 27 yards put the Mountaineers up 13-0.
“Armstrong had a great game for us defensively,” Herron said. “He was in on 15  tackles. He was all over the place.”
Early in the second period Dakota Smith’s pass interception and 67-yard return and Rhom’s extra point sent the Mountaineers into the halftime break with a 20-0 lead.
Jayden Gash, who had a good all-around performance, scored on a 16-yard reception from Armstrong in the third period. Rhom’s PAT made it 27-0.
Hill and Camren Houser added fourth quarter touchdown runs of nine and six yards, respectively, and Rhom split the uprights after both scores to round out the scoring at 41-0.
“Gash had a good night,” Coach Herron added. “He had six catches for 98 yards and TJ Armstrong was 10 for 12 passing. That’s pretty accurate.
“We didn’t have anyone banged up and that’s good,” he added. “This week we hope to get some people back. We’ve had five or six out.”
The Mountaineers will need a strong performance from every player when they take on a strong Gastonia Ashbrook team Friday night at John Gamble Stadium. They go to Crest and North Gaston for their final two regular season games. Winning out would give the Mountaineers several state playoff games at home.
“Ashbrook is strong and fast and very physical,” Herron said. “They like to hit you. They won last week at South Point. If we had gotten South Point we would be in great shape. Ashbrook is very good. We have to execute and protect the ball. We have to manage the clock and keep the ball away from them.”
Kings Mountain has had some first unit players hurt lately but Herron hopes they will be back for this week’s game.
 “I think we’re healthy as far as I know,” he said. “I’m not sure if we’ll get Eli Lipscomb and Thomas Fair back. I hope we do. We’ve got some young kids that we’re really excited about. Houser stepped up and scored a touchdown for us last week and freshman Christian Jarrett made three tackles in his first game on varsity.”
With the four-team log jam at the top of the conference standings, Herron said every game is huge.
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Xavier Hutchens scored three touchdowns in JV Mountaineers’ win over Stuart Cramer Thursday at John Gamble Stadium.

JVs roll over Stuart Cramer,
travel to Ashbrook Thursdays

Following a good return of the opening kickoff by Khareem Coleman, Kings Mountain High’s JVs drove 50 yards for a touchdown and rolled to a 38-6 victory over Stuart Cramer Thursday night at John Gamble Stadium.
Coleman actually returned the kick to the Storm 40 but the Mountaineers were penalized 10 yards for a holding penalty. It took them just four plays to score on an 11-yard pass reception by Xavier Hutchens for a 6-0 lead.
Cramer’s next possession ended with a fumble when the Storm went for a fourth and one at its own 33, the Mountaineers drove 32 yards to score on a two-yard run by Cam Houser to go up 12-0.
That score stood until the end of the first period but Cramer was facing a fourth and 16 from its own 30. KM took possession at the Storm 44 and took just five plays to score on a 24-yard pass reception by Hutchens. Coleman added a two-point conversion to run the score at 20-0 with 6:08 left in the half.
After another three-and-out, the Mountaineers drove 60 yards in seven plays to take a 28-0 halftime lead on a 28-yard reception by Hutchens and Cam Houser’s two-point conversion run.
The Storm was able to reach the KM 38 after taking the third period kickoff, but they fumbled again and KM recovered it at the 33. Seven plays later KJ Bell hit Ethan Tran with a 12-yard touchdown pass and Gonzalez added the PAT to make it 35-0.
Cramer’s Phillip Coburn returned a pass interception 15 yards for the Storm’s only score at the 7:57 mark of the fourth quarter.
Kings Mountain closed out the scoring with 1:57 remaining on a 32-yard field goal by Refugio Gonzalez.
Since the only Cramer score came on a pass interception, Kings Mountain’s defense recorded its fourth shutout of the season.
Coach Shane Cole’s Mountaineers will travel to Gastonia Ashbrook Thursday and end their season October 31 at home against the Crest Chargers. Both games begin at 7 p.m.
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JOSH GILLESPIE (Photo provided by Lizzie Ingram)

KM High golfer Josh Gillespie
commits to Greensboro College

Kings Mountain High senior golfer Josh Gillespie has committed to continue his education and golfing career at Greensboro College.
This spring will be his fourth year as a starter for the Mountaineers where he has been All-Big South Conference two years running and hopes to make a state championship run in the spring.
He helped the Mountaineers win the conference and regional tournaments his freshman year. They were second in the conference and regionals last year.
Overall, he will be in his sixth year of playing golf at the middle and high school level.
He will be the only senior coming back this spring. “We will be young overall but I still hope to get to the state as an individual,” he said.
Gillespie said he began learning golf at the age of two and has played in tournaments since he was six.
Over the past two years he finished high in the regionals and state tournaments.
He said the Mountaineers will begin practice in February and competition will begin in March.
He is excited to continue his golfing and education at Greensboro College.
“They’ve wo two Division 3 championships,” he noted. “They’re one of the most competitive Division 3 schools. They’ve won tournaments in Florida and Georgia and have won two national championships. I’m excited.”
After college, he said he would love to play at the professional level. If that doesn’t work out he would “love to go into business in the golf industry.”

KM volleyball remains unbeaten
in Big South Conference

Kings Mountain High’s women’s volleyball team remained undefeated in Big South 3A Conference play last week with sweeps of Forestview and South Point.
The Lady Mountaineers hosted their Mountaineer Invitational Friday and Saturday and were scheduled to resume conference play last night at Stuart Cramer. They will remain on the road for their next four games before returning to Parker Gym on October 1 against North Gaston. After Cramer, they will go to Crest on September 19, Ashbrook September 24 and Hunter Huss on September 26 in conference games and participate in the Falcon Bash Invitational at West Henderson on September 27-28.
The KM ladies swept Forestview Tuesday with the JVs winning 26-24 and 25-22 and the varsity winning 25-15, 25-14, 25-15.
The ladies got good all-around performances from several players in both contests.
In JV action, Avery Cruise had 15 serve receptions, 17 digs and four service points. Campbell Benton 13 kills; Elyn Phongsa eight serve receptions, eight digs and four kills; and Avaclaire Moss 18 assists, four digs and nine service points.
For the varsity, Alexa Jones had 10 serve receptions, 12 kills, there blocks and 10 service points; Camden Pasour 34 assists, six kills and eight digs; Ava Tipton 13 serve receptions, 13 digs and seven service points; and London Brown and Denet Houey nine kills each.
On Thursday the Lady Mountaineers swept South Point 2-0 in JVs and 3-0 in varsity games.
For the JVs, who won 25-8 and 25-20, Campbell Benton had 11 kills and four serve receptions; Avery Cruise six serve receptions, 13 digs and four service points; Jillian Patton 16 assists and four digs; and Elyn Phongsa 22 service points, 10 digs and four kills.
The varsity won 25-11, 25-15 and 25-16.
Leaders included Alexa Jones with 11 serve receptions, seven digs, nine kills, a block and eight service points. Ava Tipton had 21 serve receptions, 18 digs and three service points; Camden Pasour 40 assists, 11 digs, five kills, two blocks and seven service points; and London Brown and Denet Houey 13 kills and two blocks each.

 
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Mountaineers open Big South Conference play
Friday at home against the Hunter Huss Huskies

 After taking a week off after going 2-1 in their non-conference games, Kings Mountain’s Mountaineers will open a tough Big South 3A Conference schedule Friday night when they host the Hunter Huss Huskies at John Gamble Stadium. Kickoff is at 7:30.
Players that were injured over the first three games have had time to heal so the Mountaineers should be at full strength going into seven straight conference games.
“We had three good days of practice last week,” head coach Strait Herron said. “We slowed things down trying to get back and get better.”
Herron and his staff had plenty of time to look at the Huskies on film and said “they look good on film…better than last year. They have a real good quarterback who makes their offense go and guys that can run on defense too.
“The first thing have to do is battle up front in the trenches,” he said. “We have to make sure we get them blocked and withstand their pressure.”
He noted that special teams must perform well too.
“The Huss quarterback is tough to stop,” he noted. “He throws the ball well and he can pull it down and run it. We have to keep him contained.”
Herron hopes some of the Mountaineers who were injured earlier will be able to see some action.
“Dom Davis started on the offensive line last year and he’s been gone since practice and he may be able to go this week,” he noted. “Wiley Rainey’s also been injured and hopefully he will be back.”
Herron said the team “practiced hard” during the off week. “We just slowed things down. When we were running drills full speed we really concentrated on being specific in certain things.”
With this being the first conference game, Herron said it is a “big game and we want to play well.”
Herron said the Huss quarterback will be hard to contain. “He can run it and throw it,” he said. “It’s tough to get your hands on him. We have to keep him contained.”
After this week the Mountaineers will hit the road for conference games at North Gaston on September 27 at 6:30 p.m. and Forestview on October 4 at 7:30 p.m. Their next home game is October 11 against the South Point Red Raiders.
KMHS volleyball off to fast start in BSC
Kings Mountain High’s women’s volleyball got off to a fast Big South 3A Conference start last week with sweeps of Hunter Huss and North Gaston.
In between those Tuesday and Thursday BSC victories the KM ladies took down non-conference foe East Gaston.
Kings Mountain was slated to go to Gastonia Forestview last night and South Point will come to Parker Gym Thursday.
The Lady Mountaineers will host their Mountaineer Invitational September 13-14 and will resume conference play on September 17 at Crest.
The Lady Mountaineers swept Huss 25-5, 25-6, 25-7 as Camden Pasour dished out 18 assists to go with two kills and eight service points.
Ruby Osborne had five kills and 15 service points and Alexa Jones had 16 service points, four serve receptions and five kills.
The Lady Mountaineers turned back East Gaston 25-12, 25-9 and 25-12 after the JVs defeated the Lady Warriors 25-18 and 25-16.
Campbell Benton, Avery Cruise and Jillian Patton had big games for the JV ladies. Benton had nine kills, seven service points and two digs; Cruise 12 digs, eight serve receptions and three service points; and Patton 23 assists, four digs and six service points.
Camden Pasour led the varsity with 35 assists, six digs, five kills and 21 service points. Alexa Jones had 11 kills, six serve receptions and nine digs. Denet Houey had nine kills and two blocks, London Brown 11 kills and Ava Tipton 11 digs, nine serve receptions and nine service points.
Alexa Jones had a big all-around game in the win over Huter Huss with 12 kills, four serve receptions, five digs and 13 service points.
Camden Pasour dished out 31 assists to go with four kills and six service points.
London Brown had seven kills. Denet Housey and Ruby Osborne six kills each and Sarah Bouchard had 25 service points.
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Josiah Hill rushes for some of his 146 yards in Friday’s Mountaineer win over Burns. (Photos by Charlie Smith)

Mountaineers beat Burns,
host Huskies September 20

Kings Mountain’s Mountaineers ended their non-conference season Friday night at John Gamble Stadium with a 41-20 victory over the Burns Bulldogs.
It was the second straight victory for the Mountaineers since their season-opening loss to the Shelby Golden Lions. They rolled over 4A Cox Mill in their other non-league bout.
Kings Mountain will be idle this week and return to action in their Big South Conference opener against the Hunter Huss Huskies at Gamble Stadium on Friday, September 20.
The Mountaineers moved the ball almost at will but did see their opening drive stopped by a fumble at the Burns two-yard line. The drive had begun with a good mix of running and passing.
Burns took advantage and moved downfield with a good mix of running and passing. Kenyon Surratt covered the final 28 yards for a 6-0 Bulldog lead.
That would be all the Bulldogs would produce in the first half as Kings Mountain dominated with good defense and an offensive mix of running and passing to go into the half with a 24-6 lead.
Led by the running of Josiah Hill, who would finish with 146 yards on 27 carries, and the passing of TJ Armstrong who would hit 13 of 23 passes for 257 more, the Mountaineers won going away. William Vaughn hauled in eight passes for 163 yards and Dakota Smith four for 75 yards.
KM’s first points came on a 32-yard Matt Rhom field goal at the 2:49 mark of the first quarter. The drive began at the KM 23 after the Mountaineers were flagged with a holding penalty on Jayden Gash’s kickoff return.
A pass reception by Gash for 15 yards on a third and six got the drive off to a good start at the 42. Hill went around left end for 50 yards but an offside penalty and two incomplete passes brought up a fourth and eight at the Burns 11. Rhom’s 33-yard field goal cut the margin to 6-3.
A sack by Semaj Odums forced the Bulldogs to punt from their own 18 and the punt just carried 18 yards and KM was in business at the Bulldog 36 to end the first period. On second and ten, Hill took a handoff and was hit in the backfield but rolled away and circled right end for the TD and Rhom’s PAT gave the Mountaineers a 10-6 lead at the end of the first period.
The KM defense held the visitors to three and out again and after a punt and penalty took over at its own 22. On the second play from scrimmage, William Vaughn flew past the Burns defense and Armstrong hit him in stride for a 77-yard catch and run touchdown and a 17-6 lead.
 After the defense held Burns again, the Mountaineers were facing a fourth and six at the Burns 47. They lined up in punt formation but faked it and Lipscomb went 12 yards for a first down at the Burns 39. After a 15-yard reception by Vaughn Hill took care of the rest and scored from 15 yards around left end and Rhom’s PAT made it 24-6 at the half.
Rhom’s second half kickoff went into the end zone and Burns took possession at its 20. After a three and out the Dogs punted from their own 13. KM took possession at the Bulldog 45 and Vaughn caught three passes in a row to put the Mountaineers at the Burns 15. After a holding penalty KM faced fourth and 15 at the Burns 21 and Vaughn nailed a 38-yard field goal for a 27-6 lead.
Burns rallied briefly to cut the margin to 27-13 on a four-yard run by Zavion Wilson. Gash returned the ensuing kickoff for 49 yards to the Burns 13 but the Mountaineers coughed up the pigskin and the Bulldogs took over at their own nine.
Facing third and nine, the Dogs went to the air and Dakota Smith intercepted the pass and returned it to the Burns five. After Hill lost six yards back to the 11, he took the handoff again and bulled his way into the end zone and Rhom’s PAT made it 34-13.
The Bulldogs got a 78-yard Warlick reception to the KM two and McGowan scored from there to make it 34-20 with 8:04 left on the clock.
After Gash returned the ensuing kickoff to the 45, KM moved 55 yards on six plays to wrap up the scoring with a 14-yard Hill run on which he bounced off three big hits. Rhom’s PAT accounted for the final 41-20 margin with 5:05 remaining.
JV Mountaineers
Defeat Burns 28-0
Kings Mountain High’s JVs shutout county rival Burns 28-0 Thursday to run their pre-season record to 2-1.
The Mountaineers are idle this week and will return to action on Thursday September 19 at Hunter Huss.
In last week’s game the Mountaineers’ kickoff team recovered a fumble on the opening kickoff to set the tone.
KJ Bell paced the Mountaineers with four touchdowns, including two to Cayden Smith and one each to Deshawn Camp and Ethan Tran.
Khareem Colman added two two-point conversions.
Nasir Epps and Ayven Ingram each had a pass interception as the Mountaineer defense stymied Bulldog drives.
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SPORTS THIS WEEK

Wed., Sept. 11
6 p.m. – High school soccer, Kings Mountain at West Iredell.
Thur., Sept. 12
TBA – High school volleyball, South Point at Kings Mountain.
TBA – High school women’s tennis, Ashbrook at Kings Mountain.
Fri., Sept. 13
TBA – High school volleyball, Mountaineer Invitational at Parker Gym.
Sat., Sept. 14
TBA – High school volleyball, Mountaineer Invitational finals at KMHS gym.
Mon., Sept. 16
6 p.m. – High school soccer, Ashbrook at Kings Mountain.
Tue., Sept. 17
TBA – High school volleyball, Kings Mountain at Stuart Cramer.
TBA – High school women’s tennis, Hunter Huss at Kings Mountain.
Wed., Sept. 18
6 p.m. – High school soccer, Hunter Huss at Kings Mountain.
 
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Josiah Hill carries the mail for Kings Mountain in non-conference victory over Cox Mill

Kings Mountain defeats Cox Mill 42-17,
county rival Burns comes to town Friday

In a game that was stopped by rain on Friday and resumed Monday at John Gamble Stadium, the hometown Mountaineers defeated non-conference foe Cox Mill 42-17.
The Mountaineers will have a much tougher test Friday when they host county rival Burns at 7:30 p.m. It will be the Mountaineers’ final non-conference game and they will be open the following week before beginning Big South Conference play.
Friday’s game was halted at the 8:19 mark of the second quarter because of lightning and the teams hoped to resume it later. However, at 9:30 p.m. a severe storm ended those hopes.
Kings Mountain was leading 14-7 at the time.
Cox Mill took the opening kickoff to the KM 43 yard line and took just three plays to go up 7-0 on a touchdown catch by Marcus Sales and PAT by Cooper Lemon.
Kings Mountain lost the ball on downs at the Cox Mill 27 on its first possession, but their sec-ond possession ended with a five-yard touch-down run by Josiah Hill and PAT from Matthew Rhom to make it 7-7.
In the second period KM’s Antonio Armstrong recovered a fumble at the Cox Mill 13 and Hill took it in from there. Rhom added the PAT for a 14-7 lead.
KM was in scoring position again at the Cox Mill 31 at 8:19 p.m. when the game was called due to lightning in the area. The storm wouldn’t go away and at 9:30 p.m. the game was suspended.
After the game resumed Monday KM’s Jayden Gash returned a punt to the Cox Mill end zone but during the run the Mountaineers were pe-nalized and had to take possession at the 40. A face mask penalty by Cox Mill put the Moun-taineers in business at the 25 and four carries by Hill put them at the 11. Matt Rhom’s field goal increased the lead to 17-7 with 3:21 left in the first half.
After the KM defense held the visitors again the offense took over at its own 36 and Armstrong hooked up with William Vaughn for a 64-yard TD and Rhom’s PAT made it 24-7 at the half.
The Mountaineers continued to pour it on as Gash returned the second half kickoff from the KM one to the Cox Mill 48. It took the Mountaineers just six plays to score with Hill and Vaughn catching passes of 10 and 14 yards, respectively, and TJ Armstrong carrying once for seven yards and Hill three for 17 yards including a four-yard touchdown run. Rhom’s PAT made it 31-7.
The visitors actually stopped the Mountaineers on their next drive but KM’s Dakota Smith scored a safety to run the score to 33-7.
Cox Mill’s kickoff went out of bounds and the Mountaineers took over at the visitors’ 45. Four plays later Armstrong hit William Vaughn for a 35-yard TD pass and Rhom added the PAT for a 40-7 lead that stood until the fourth quarter.
The visitors’ Cooper Lemon kicked a 36-yard field goal to cut the margin to 40-10 at the 11:48 mark of the fourth period.
KM’s final two points came on a safety with 5:17 left in the game. Cox Mill got a three-yard touchdown run by Mason Emory with 1:18 left to account for the final margin.
KMHS volleyball
sweeps Ashbrook
in BSC 3A opener
Kings Mountain High’s volleyball teams opened Big South 3A Conference play last week with a sweep of the Ashbrook Lady Green Wave.
The JVs won 25-5, 25-9 and the varsity won 25-5, 25-6, 25-13. Both teams’ overall records are 1-0 in the conference and 5-1 overall.
Both teams got outstanding play from all play-ers.
For the JVs, Elyn Phongsa had three kills, three serve receptions, two digs and nine service points.
Elyn Phongsa had three kills, three serve recep-tions, two digs and nine service points and Jil-lian Patton had 16 assists and four service points.
For the varsity, Alexa Jones had 23 service points, five serve receptions, six kills and three digs.
Camden Pasour had 27 assists, four kills and a block.
Ruby Osborne had 11 service points and three kills and London Brown and Denet Houey had 11 and 7 kills, respectively.
The Lady Mountaineers were scheduled to host Hunter Huss in a BSC match Tuesday and will host East Gaston in a non-conference match Wednesday.
After that the teams will resume conference play with matches at North Gaston on Septem-ber 5 and Forestview on September 10. Their next home game will be against South Point on September 12. All matches begin at 6 p.m.
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Cox Mill here Friday for KM home opener

Kings Mountain’s Mountaineers will host 4A Cox Mill Friday at 7:30 p.m. non-conference game at John Gamble Stadium.
The Mountaineers as well as Cox Mill will be looking for their first win after dropping their season openers last week to Shelby  and a very strong Charlotte Christian private school.
Coach Breon Holmes will bring a big squad to town, in size and numbers.
“They’ve got some good athletes,” notes Mountaineer head coach Strait Herron. “Number four (wide receiver Jordan Cleaves), number five (wide receiver Marcus Sales) and number nine (running back Jermayne Franklin) look really good. We have to control the game and we have to run the ball better.”
The Mountaineer running game was completely shut down last week at Shelby. Herron and staff will be looking for a much better performance this week.
“We’re in like a catch 22,” Herron noted. “Do we bring JVs up? I hate to mess with them. If you take them up they’re going to struggle. It’s tough. We have to make some big decisions this week.”
Herron said his team played with effort last week, and he said the defensive line did a good job.
“We’ve got to get better in the secondary and the offensive line needs to get better and maintain their blocks.”
He said kicker Matt Rhom did a good job. “We just need to get better overall.
“Cox Mill has some good looking players and we can’t take them lightly.”
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KMHS Football Captains, L-R: Eli Lipscomb (34), Brayden Barnes (52), Antonio Armstrong (11), and Jayden Gash (1). See more photos inside. (Photo by Lizzie Ingram)

Mountaineers lose to Shelby 32-16 in opener

Kings Mountain’s Mountaineers opened their season Friday night in Shelby and fell to a strong Golden Lions eleven 32-16.
The Mountaineers led 10-7 at halftime but the Lions’ offense roared in the second half and the defense shut down KM’s running game.
“I thought we did some good things,” noted Mountaineer Coach Strait Herron. “We made some mistakes at the wrong time. We’re going to have to run the ball better and get some things fixed.”
The Mountaineers were held to just 28 yards rushing but were still in the game at 19-16 Shelby going into the fourth period.
Kings Mountain had losses other than on the scoreboard as some players were injured and may not be back soon.
“We lost a defensive tackle, maybe two, one with an ankle injury and one with a back injury,” Coach Herron noted. “We had already lost an offensive lineman and defensive back. We’re injured but we have to get through it and keep on going.”
The Mountaineers got off to a good start, driving the opening kickoff from their own 44 to the Shelby 14 before having to settle for a field goal.
Shelby answered with a touchdown for a 7-3 lead but the Mountaineers went 65 yards go up 10-7 on a touchdown reception by William Vaughn. That score stood until halftime but Shelby began taking control on the opening drive of the third quarter and took a 13-10 lead. Kings Mountain fumbled on the ensuing kickoff and Shelby recovered at the KM one yard line. A big sack by Eli Lipscomb pushed the Lions back to the 13 and they had to settle for a field goal for a 16-10 lead.
The Lions went up 19-10 with 4:15 left in the third period.
 A pass interception by Jahmere Canady put the Mountaineers in business at their own 40 and six plays later William Vaughn caught a 26-yard touchdown pass from Antonio Armstrong to cut the margin to 19-16.
The KM offense had a hard time getting anything going and Shelby scored with 6 ½ minutes remaining to go up 26-16.
The Lions put the game on ice after intercepting a pass at the KM 47. Five plays later Tristan Tate scored from 15 yards out to complete the scoring.
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Xavier Hutchens had a big night in KM JV’s 39-12 victory over Shelby last Thursday at Gamble Stadium. Photo by Charlie Smith

JV Mountaineers open season
with a 39-12 win over Shelby

Kings Mountain High’s JV football team opened its season in a big way Thursday with a 39-12 victory over the Shelby Golden Lions at John Gamble Stadium.
The Mountaineers got rolling late in the first quarter after freshman Jarrett Linder recovered a fumble at the Shelby 45. Five plays later Javion Hill caught a 16-yard pass for a 6-0 lead.
After the defense held Shelby to three and out, the Lions punted and KM’s Xavier Hutchens returned it from the KM 36 to the Shelby six. A penalty and rushing loss put them back to the 16 but quarterback KJ Bell hooked up with Hutchens for a 67-yard reception and run to make it 12-0.
After Cam Houser recovered a fumble at the Shelby 39, Isaiah Branch caught a 29-yard pass to set up a first down at the Shelby 10. After an illegal procedure penalty set the Mountaineers back to the 15, Hutchens caught a touchdown pass from Bell to make it 18-0.
Shelby rallied briefly to cut the difference to 18-6 at intermission.
Starting at their own 49 after another touchdown run by Hutchens was erased by a penalty, the Mountaineers got a six-yard reception by Hutchens and a pass to Isiah Branch resulted in a 45-yard touchdown. Daeshawn Camp’s two-point run ran the score to 26-6.
A fumble recovery by freshman AJ Parker stopped the Lions at the KM 44 on the last play of the third period. After a Shelby horse collar penalty and an eight-yard loss by the Mountaineers, Bell hit Hill for a four-yard pass and then then hit Hutchens for a 42 yard touchdown pass and a 32-6 lead.
With the Lions facing third and 13 from their own 36, they went to the air and Silas Tate intercepted the pass and took it to the house for the Mountaineers’ final TD at the 6:09 mark of the final chapter.
Shelby scored with 1:14 remaining to account for the final score.
The Mountaineer defense was led by Cam Houser, Christian Jarrett and Ayven Ingram limiting Shelby to 79 total yards through their first 10 possessions.
Bell completed 15 of 18 passes for 237 yards and five touchdowns. Hutchens had five catches for 133 yards and three touchdowns; Branch six receptions for 77 yards and a TD and Javion Hill two receptions for 21 yards and a TD.
The KM defense forced four turnovers and held Shelby to 139 total yards, including just 44 passing on four for 13. Shelby’s first four possessions were three and out with zero yards.
Jason Canady had two fumble recoveries, Cam Houser one and Silas Tate had an interception for a TD. Ayven Ingram forced a fumble and Daeshawn Camp forced a fumble and blocked a PAT.
“We played well overall,” said head coach Chris Cole. “We have to keep working hard and buying into KM football. The coordinators (Coach Jacob Lineberger and Nate Blanton) had their guys ready. Christian Jarrett set the tone on the opening kickoff.”
Kings Mountain will be on the road Thursday at Cox Mill. Game time is at 6:30. The Mountaineers go to Burns on September 5 for a 7 p.m. game that will end the non-conference schedule.
After a week off on September 12, the Mountaineers will open Big South play at 7 p.m. on September 19 at Hunter Huss. Their next home game is September 26 against Big South rival North Gaston.

KM volleyball sweeps
East Lincoln in opener

 Kings Mountain High’s women’s volleyball team opened its season last week with a sweep of non-conference foe East Lincoln.
The varsity won 25-15, 25-19, 25-8 after the JVs prevailed 25-14, 25-11.
Cambell Benton led the JVs with 12 kills, five digs and six service points. Avery Cruise had nine serve receptions, 17 digs and seven service points, Jillian Patton 13 assists and four digs and Elyn Phongsa three serve receptions, two digs, five kills and 16 service points.
Alexa Jones had 12 kills, nine serve receptions and 14 service points for the varsity. Camden Pasour dished out 27 assists to go with six service points, 13 digs and three kills. Denet Houey had eight kills and four blocks and Ruby Osborne had six kills and four blocks.
The Lady Mountaineers were scheduled to go to Highland Monday and will host Maiden August 22 and Sun Valley August 27. They will begin Big South Conference play August 29 at home against the Ashbrook Green Wave.
 
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Josiah Hill heading for a touchdown in Kings Mountain's win in Cleveland County Jamboree at Burns High School. (Photo by Zach Smith)
Mountaineers open football season
this week against longest rival Shelby
The Kings Mountain High School football teams will begin another exciting season this week against their longest rival Shelby.
The JVs will host the Lions Thursday at 7 p.m. at John Gamble Stadium and the varsity will travel to Shelby Friday night for a 7:30 kickoff.
The Mountaineers and Lions have gone through a hot summer workout season and last Friday competed in the annual Cleveland County Jamboree at Burns High School.
The Mountaineers faced the South Mecklenburg Sabres and came away with a 7-2 victory in what amounted to about a half game.
“I was pleased with how we played,” noted Coach Strait Herron. “But I was kind of frustrated for us not doing some things we think we can do. We worked them hard on Wednesday and Thursday and maybe we worked them too hard. We hope we’ll play better this Friday.”
Shelby also left Burns with a win and Herron said the Lions are impressive.
“They look very good and won their game by ten points,” he noted. “They were basic and I’m sure they will do more than what they showed. We just want to get ready to do what we do.
“We ran the ball better than we threw it,” he said of the Mountaineers’ win over a good South Meck team. “I’m not really sure where we are at quarterback right now but we’ll give both of them (Darreon Dixon and TJ Armstrong) a shot in practice and make a decision on Friday.
“We had nothing on South Mecklenburg and went in blind,” he added. “What they ran was nothing like what we expected.”
The Mountaineers lost one of their top returning linemen, Dom Davis, to a knee injury in practice recently and Herron said he will probably be out at least two weeks if not more.
Looking to Friday’s game at Shelby, Herron said it will be a tough challenge.
“They didn’t run a lot of stuff offensively, but they have good athletes in every spot,” he noted. “We have to get ready to play and fix some things on both sides. This should be a very good game. Our kids are working hard and we’ll do the best we can.”
Herron said longtime assistant Shane Cole will take over as head coach of the JV team, replacing longtime head coach Diron Bell who will be working with the varsity defensive backs.
After this week’s game the varsity Mountaineers will have a three-game home stand with Cox Mill coming to town on August 30 and Burns on September 6. After a bye week on Friday, Sept. 13 the Mountaineers will begin Big South Conference play at home against the Hunter Huss Huskies on September 20.

 
Learn More

Fall Sports Preview  - See August 14, 2024  - B Section

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Coach Strait Herron

Mountaineers open
regular season football
August 23 against their
longest rival Shelby

Kings Mountain’s Mountaineers will face a tough pre-season and Big South 3A Conference schedule this season as numerous Cleveland and Gaston County teams have exceptional talent.
Coach Strait Herron and his coaches and players will be trying to improve on last year’s 10-2 season. They will get their first test against an opponent Friday when they travel to Burns to face South Mecklenburg at 7 p.m. in the annual Cleveland County Jamboree. Other games there will be at 6, 8 and 9 p.m.
Regular season action begins on Friday, August 23 when the Mountaineers travel to Shelby to continue one of the state’s oldest rivalries which began in the 1920s. Their first home game is August 30 against Cox Mill.
After completing the non-conference schedule against Burns at Gamble Stadium on September 6, the Mountaineers will have a week off before beginning Big South Conference play against Hunter Huss at home on September 20.
A lot of starting positions are still up for grabs.
“Quarterback is still not decided,” Coach Herron noted. “We’re working with Darreon Dixon, a senior, and T.J. Armstrong, a junior, who was a backup to Kandon Zollo last year.”
Junior Josiah Hill returns as a starter at running back. He and Robert Kendrick, who graduated, were the top runners last season.
Jayden Williams will be a running back and also start on defense.
Brayden Barnes, a senior, returns at center and Herron said “he will be a leader up front.”
Of course, the success of those players will be a result of the men on the offensive line which the coaches hope will be strong.
“Guard Samarion Dawkins is a sophomore who played some last year,” Herron noted. “Dom Davis brings a lot to the table, too.
Other guys fighting it out up front include Sam Bryson, transfer Grayson Hill, Jamel Lee, Caleb Bumgardner, Adrian Banner and Weston Randall.
The wide receivers are William (Tex) Vaughn, freshman Xavier Hutchens and Jayden Gash, who is a returning starter and one of the top receivers last season.
Defensively, Antonio Armstrong returns at linebacker along with Eli Lipscomb. “They’re doing good in practice and will be fun to watch,” Herron said.
Herron said there are a lot of younger guys up front “but they are working hard.”
“Semaj Odums looks good at defensive end and Wiley Rainey at defensive tackle will be a huge help. Thomas Fair returns at defensive tackle and Keedon Linney is back at defensive end and also plays in the backfield. They’re doing good.”
The secondary includes Tyler McIntyre and Dakota Smith at safety. Jayden Gash, Jayden Williams and Barry Moore will be at the corners and Lathan Feemster at linebacker.
Looking to the season, Coach Herron said the Mountaineers are worried about Shelby right now and will take the entire season game-by-game.
As for the Big South Conference, he said “Crest has good athletes and will be tough as always. South Point is always tough and Ashbrook and Hunter Huss are going to be much better this year. We’ll just to take it week by week and do our very best.”
Kings Mountain’s two losses last season were to Crest in the Big South championship game, and to AC Reynolds in the state playoffs.
“We’re basically covering all the bases,” he noted. “Our offense and defense are pretty much installed. We’re just trying to get it done as a whole unit and get it down to a science.
“I think Ashbrook and Huss are much better this year. We’re young and we just have work hard and get better every day. Our biggest concern is not making mistakes.”
Learn More
Scenes from KM Elite 2nd Annual Golf Tournament
The Kings Mountain Elite 2nd Annual Golf tournament was held on August 2 at KM Country Club. All proceeds will go  towards building the new Community Enhancement Center on Oak Grove Rd.

(All photos by Lizzie Ingram)

 
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Pictured are first place winners: Al Woods, Anthony Solan, Paul Ingram, Jimmy Brown.
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 Maurice Tate, Executive Director of KM Elite.
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Rob Wagner, Mayor of Kings Mountain.
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Alex Goff
Goff to make
pro golf debut
After finishing up his time at the University of Kentucky, Alex Goff will make his PGA Tour debut at Keene Trace Golf Club.
The ISCO Championship will be played on July 11-14 at Keene Trace Golf Club in Nicholasville, Kentucky.
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The Y: Adventure Starts Here

Summer is a time for kids to explore and expand the limits of their imagination. The Davidson Association and Mt. Zion Baptist Church at 220 N. Watterson Street, have partnered with the Kings Mountain YMCA to increase their Summer Camp accessibility across our community at Mt. Zion Baptist Church. Our trained Summer Camp staff will guide the campers through their  day with:
• Devotions
• Games
• Songs
• Arts & Crafts
• Activities
• A day of swimming at the Kings Mountain Family YMCA pool
Lunch and morning snacks will be provided for all participants. All registered participants will receive a camp t-shirt.
Registering for our Summer Camp is as easy as scanning the QR code. Scan the QR code or visit the Kings Mountain Family YMCA, whose Mission Statement is to help all people reach their God-given potential in Spirit, Mind, and body. They look forward to welcoming your child to their Summer Camp at Mt. Zion Baptist Church.

YMCA KM United Soccer Club won the Impact Crossroads Classic Tournament

It was a perfect weekend for both Kings Mountain United Soccer teams in May. The Club, which was started last year in affiliation with the Kings Mountain Family YMCA, sent two teams to Statesville, NC, to play in a tournament featuring over 75 different teams. Both teams left undefeated on Saturday, May 18, sitting at the top of their group ahead of Championship Sunday in the tournament.
The Kings Mountain United U12 team had what some described as the “most exciting tournament game I’ve ever seen,” That weekend saw an explosive offensive performance from the team and goals by several different names, including those who scored their first club soccer goals ever (Evan Moree, Darwin Cardenas, Lucas Hensley, and Holden Brittain).
The team scored 17 goals in regulation in this tournament and was led by star strikers Xander Taylor and Emerson Bishop. While the offensive output was very prevalent, it is worth noting that the team only allowed four goals all weekend because of Captain and Goalkeeper Mathias Tabares and his defense of Cyrus Smith, Chase Phillips, and Lucas Hensley.
The team battled adversity having to play a man down due to a red card given in the first half but found a way to stay in the game at halftime tied at 1-1. The team would drop another goal and be down 2-1 until the final minute of the game where Cyrus Smith would put in a left footed shot to tie the game as the regulation whistle blew.
The teams would go to penalty kicks after a 0-0 double overtime session. Captain Mathias Tabares would make a critical save in the second round of penalty kicks to set up the winning penalty kick that would be taken by Deacon Jackson in sudden death to lead this team to their first-ever tournament championship victory. After the game, Coach Moree said, “I’m so proud of these boys and the way they battled adversity; this was their moment and their story to finish, and they did just that.”
The Kings Mountain United U10 team, led by captain Ty Weeks, capped off Sunday with their second-ever tournament championship. Coach Jay summed it up well in the post-game, “I couldn’t be more proud of these boys and their effort. They truly played as a team and for each other and earned this championship.” The team, of course, needed an entire team effort in the championship, skimming out a 4-3 victory after having a 4-1 lead to hoist their second trophy of the year. Goals also came from Juan-Jose, Carson Alley, and Jake Saenz, and a strong defensive performance from Kai Kadar, Paxton Ingle, and Blake Shelton led this team to a well-deserved victory. This team has yet to drop a game in the Spring, with a perfect record of 7-0 going into the Summer Break.
Kings Mountain United will be holding tryouts for the 2024-2025 season and soccer camps with the Kings Mountain Family YMCA this summer.
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YMCA KM United Soccer Club U10 team: Ty Weeks, Juan Jose, Braxton Skibo, Carson Alley, Brycen Alley, Jake Saenz, Austin Lewis, Blake Shelton, Tyler Wease, Paxton Ingle, and Kai Kadar. Coaches Stephen Moree, Jay Palmer, and Davin Price.

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YMCA KM United Soccer Club U12 team: Emerson Bishop, Xander Taylor, Darwin Cardenas, Chase Brittain, Holden Brittain, Mathias Tabares, Doni Lara-Torres, Lucas Hensley, Cyrus Smith, Evan Moree, Chase Phillips, Drake Wright, Wyatt Canipe, and Deacon Jackson. Coaches Stephen Moree and Kevin Cardenas. Photos by KM Family YMCA

PAC to host
NC S3DA Archery State Championship

Pinnacle Classical Academy will host the North Carolina Scholastic 3-D Archery (S3DA) State Championship on Saturday, June 8, at its grade 4-12 campus on Joes Lake Rd. in Shelby.
Check-in begins at 7:30 AM, with an 8:30 safety meeting and a 9:00 AM shotgun start. Concessions, including various food items, will be available during breakfast and lunch hours.
The North Carolina S3DA State Championship is open to the public with free admission. Members of the community are invited to cheer on the PCA Thunderbirds -- whose archers have won multiple state and national championships -- as well as talented archers from other teams.
Pinnacle Classical Academy is a free public charter school in Shelby that attracts 1,165 students from five counties. PCA's elementary school, middle school, and high school are all ranked among America's best schools by U.S. News & World Report.

KM softball falls to South
Brunswick in state championship

 Kings Mountain High’s women’s softball team was swept by South Brunswick in the best-of-three state championship series last week.
Home runs by Kina Davis and Ty Cummings spelled a 2-0 victory for South Brunswick in the series opener Friday evening at the Duke University women’s softball stadium.
In Saturday’s game South Brunswick won the championship in the bottom of the seventh on a walk-off single by Tabatha Martin that scored Kendra Goodwin from second base for a 2-1 win.
Goodwin led off the winning inning with a single to left-center. She was sacrificed to second on a bunt. KM pitcher Maddie Huffman struck out the next batter before Martin came to bat and got the winning hit.
Huffman hit a solo home run off the flag pole behind the left field fence in the top of the fifth to give the Lady Mountaineers a 1-0 lead.
South Brunswick tied it in the sixth when Davis doubled to right-center. She scored on Carly Clewis’ single to right.
Kings Mountain managed just three hits.  Cheyanne Reynolds and Kayla McSwain had the other hits. Seven different players had a hit for South Brunswick.
This was Kings Mountain’s first appearance in the state championship game since 2006 when the Lady Mountaineers won their second straight championship.
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Gary Smart

Gary Smart, Sr. receives

Paris Yelton Memorial Award
The Fellowship of Christian Athletes honored photographer Gary Smart, Sr., with the Paris Yelton Memorial Award 2024 for his hard work, dedication, and the countless hours spent photographing Kings Mountain Athletics and events. The award reads, “In appreciation for exceptional
contributions and service to athletics in Cleveland County.”
 Congratulations, Gary!
Photo by Stacey Godfrey Smart
Mountaineers edge Wildcats
to remain tied for first in BSC
Kings Mountain’s Mountaineers kept their Big South 3A Conference record spotless last week with a 4-2 victory over the North Gaston Wildcats.
KM jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning but the Wildcats put two runs across the plate in the fourth to take the lead. KM tied it in the fifth and wrapped up the victory with a pair in the sixth.
Braeden Patrick worked the first six innings to get the win. He gave up just three hits and struck out 14. Aidan Taylor pitched the final inning, allowing no hits and fanning one.
Aidan Taylor led the hitting with 2-for-3. Kandan Zollo homered in a 1-for-2 performance and Jason Melton was 1-for-3 with a run batted in. Tucker Cash, Wesley Turner and Colton Mayes also had hits.
The teams were scheduled for a makeup game Monday and the Mountaineers were scheduled to host Forestview yesterday. The Mountaineers will travel to Forestview Friday and South Point next Tuesday. The Raiders will come to KM’s Lancaster Field on Friday.
Kings Mountain will play its final regular season home game Tuesday against Crest and will go to Crest on
May 3.

KM softball takes down Crest
for first place in Big South 3A

Kings Mountain High’s women’s softball team posted big victories over Crest and North Gaston last week and now is alone in first place in the Big South 3A Conference.
The Lady Mountaineers ended Crest’s long conference winning streak in front of a packed Mountaineer field Wednesday night 1-0, and followed that Monday with an 11-0 waltz past North Gaston.
Paige Fleming doubled in Maddie Huffman with the walkoff winner in the bottom of the seventh against Crest.
The pitching was strong on both sides as Maddie Huffman struck out 17 Chargers and Aidan Ledbetter struck out 13 Mountaineers.
Kalie Weaver got the win on the mound in Monday night’s victory over North Gaston on the Mountaineers’ field.
Weaver also had a big night at bat going 3-for-3 with one RBI.
Kandance Whitaker went 1-for-3 with two runs batted in. Zaniah Field and Anna Wooten collected multiple hits for the Mountaineers who had 12 hits on the night.
Kings Mountain was scheduled to go to Stuart Cramer last night and will travel to Burns for a non-conference game tonight. They play at Forestview on April 19 and at Ashbrook on April 23. The Lady Mountaineers’ final regular season home game will be against South Point on April 26.

Hillman, Cheshire, Young,
basketball team to be inducted
into Hall of Fame on May 18

The Kings Mountain Sports Hall of Fame will induct three individuals and a team at its annual banquet and induction ceremony Saturday, May 18 at Central Methodist Church.
Honorees include the 1967-68 Kings Mountain High men’s basketball team that finished 24-1 overall, losing to Kannalpolis A.L. Brown in the Western North Carolina High Schools Activities Association championship game; Darron Hillman who was the co-state champion wrestler in 1986-87; Lyn Cheshire, an all-star offensive lineman on the 1963 and ’64 KMHS football teams that won back-to-back Southwestern Conference championships and compiled an overall record of 19-1-1; and Cedric Young, KMHS diver who won two state championships.
Receiving special recognition awards will be the 2023 KMHS women’s volleyball team that won the NCHSAA state championship, and wrestler Jaelan Culp who also won the state championship.
Distinguished Service Awards will go to Bernard Jeffries and Anzell Hunter who organized the successful KM Wolfpack sports program which preceded the present KM Elite.
Advance tickets may be purchased at Paul Ingram’s Barber Shop on Battleground Avenue. Tickets will also be available at the door on the night of the ceremony.
KMHS golfers second at Lincoln CC
Kings Mountain High’s golfers finished second to Stuart Cramer in last week’s match at Lincoln Country Club. North Gaston was the host team.
Cramer shot a 271 to KM’s 306. Crest finished third at 309 followed by South Point 316, Forestview 338, North Gaston 427, Ashbrook 434 and Hunter Huss 458.
Rich Willis of Stuart Cramer was the medalist with a 65.
Will Spicer led the Mountaineers with a 69. Caleb Marr shot 76, Thomas Spicer 80, Baylor Benton 81 and Josh Gillespie 83.
The Mountaineers and other Big South Conference teams will play at Cramer Mountain today. South Point will be the host team.
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Pressley Signs with Pfeiffer

Kings Mountain High’s Karlie Pressley signs to continue her soccer career at Pfeiffer University. Front row, left to right, Karlie’s mother Dana Pressley, Karlie, her father Matt Pressley and grandmother Joyce Pressley. Back row, left to right, KMHS athletic director Matt Bridges, KMHS coaches Jason Myers and Craig Meglii and KMHS principal Dr. Dustin Morehead.
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Evans signs with CCC

Kings Mountain High’s Carley Evans signed yesterday to continue her track and cross country career at Cleveland Community College. She is pictured in the front row with her parents, Charles and Jennifer Evans. Back row, KMHS athletic director Matt Bridges, CCC coach Steve McCachren, KMHS coach Hailey Raza-Spearman and KMHS assistant principal Melissa Wilson.

Mountaineers finish second
in Shelby’s Easter tourney

Kings Mountain High’s Mountaineers finished second to defending state 2A champion Burns in last week’s Easter Tournament at Shelby High School
Burns led 3-1 after five innings but the Mountaineers scored three runs in the sixth to take a 4-3 lead. The Bulldogs came up with two in the bottom of the seventh to claim the title.
Colton Mayes went six innings for the Mountaineers and scattered nine hits. Wesley Turner hurled the final inning.
Aidan Taylor led the KM plate attack with 2-for-4. Brayden Patrick had a double and scored two runs, Lawson Kennedy was 1-for-2 with two RBI. Tucker Cash and Kandan Zollo each had a hit.
In earlier games, the Mountaineers defeated South Caldwell 8-3 and Chase 2-1.
Zollo led the hitting against Chase with 4-for-4 and one RBI. Aidan Taylor and Luke Heavner went 2-for-4 each with an RBI. Braeden Patrick, Colton Mayes and Wesley Turner each had one hit and one RBI, and Jason Melton had a hit.
Patrick went five innings to get the win. He struck out 10.
KM swiped six bases with Anderson getting three and Melton, Taylor and Heavner one apiece.
KM Middle School tennis team
closing in on
undefeated season
Kings Mountain Middle School’s tennis team won three matches before spring break to run its record to 8-0.
The Patriots will face Burns today and Shelby on April 15 in their final regular season games.
The Patriots began their final week before spring break with an 8-1 victory over Crest.
Seanna Simon lost the #1 singles match to Caleb Pless but the Patriots swept the remaining matches.
Singles victories were led by Dominic Allen, Alice Frye, Lancon Webster, Camden Morris and Cindy Tipton.
KM swept all three doubles matches.
The Patriots swept Shelby on Wednesday 9-0. They got excellent play in the singles with #1 Seanna Simon winning 8-2.
Dominic Allen won his match 8-1, Alice Frye won 8-1 and Lancon Webster 8-3. Camden Morris won 8-0 and Cindy Tipton won 8-1.
In doubles play, Simon and Allen won 8-0, Frye and Webster 8-0 and Tipton and Morris 8-0.
The Patriots hosted last year’s championship team, Thomas Jefferson, in their final match before break.
Seanna Simon lost to Abbey Crawford, Dominic Allen won 8-1, Alice Frye won 8-1, Landon Webster won 8-5, Camden Morris lost 8-3 and Cindy Tipton lost 8-2.
After singles play the score was tied at 3-all. KM needed to win two matches to defeat the past champion and take the conference lead. Simon and Allen lost to Crawford and Burges 8-3, Frye and Webster defeated Lench and Brown 8-4, and Morris and Tipton secured the victory with an 8-0 win over Lamettas and Sousa.
Kings Mountain players feel good about their chances to go undefeated since they defeated both Burns and Shelby earlier.
If they do finish first, they will have a pass to the conference championship playoffs.
“We have had great success and support from all players who were not starters but played hard and won many exhibition matches,” said Coach Ed Guy. “Many parents have also given their support with snacks, drinks and the occasional cleaning of leaves from the courts.
“A special thanks to Jason Bridges, KMMS athletic director for his support and Adam Guy, assistant coach, who have helped me for many years. Also, Ryan Webster who has volunteered as a coach and high school players like Coby Brown, Katherine Frye, Melissa Brooks and Manoah Allen who have been a part of helping to develop this team,” Coach Guy added.
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Gastonia Baseball Club’s season opener is on April 25 at CaroMont Health Park. Photo by gogastonnc.gov

Gastonia Baseball Club’s
season opener April 25

Zawyer Sports & Entertainment announced that it has become the new management group for CaroMont Health Park. It owns and operates a new professional baseball team that will compete in the Atlantic League beginning in late April for the 2024 season.
The name of the new professional baseball team for this season is Gastonia Baseball Club. The new team is slated to open the upcoming 2024 season on April 25.
Zawyer Sports & Entertainment owns and operates several sports franchises including the ECHL’s Jacksonville Icemen, Savannah Ghost Pirates, Atlanta Gladiators, Allen Americans and the Tahoe Knight Monsters. Zawyer Sports & Entertainment also owns and operates ice facilities in Savannah, GA, and Jacksonville, FL, which includes the Community First Igloo, which is the official training facility of the Jacksonville Icemen. Zawyer Sports also owns and operates 32 Degrees Marketing, which offers next-level marketing guidance, support, brand building, apparel, and promotional products.
“We are excited to provide Gastonia with family-fun entertainment while also being an active community partner,” said Zawyer Sports & Entertainment CEO Andy Kaufmann. “We would like to thank the City of Gastonia for the opportunity to usher in a new era of professional baseball in the region and grow it into a product the community will enjoy for years to come.” 
   “We are excited to welcome Zawyer to our city,” said Mayor Richard Franks. “This is a new chapter for our ballpark, and we look forward to a new season of sports and entertainment to begin.”
“We are delighted to welcome Zawyer Sports to the league as the operator of the new Gastonia Baseball Club,” said Rick White, President of the Atlantic League. “Andy Kaufmann and the entire Zawyer organization are 100 percent committed to the community of Gastonia and its residents.”
Health Park is in the heart of Gastonia and a part of the Franklin Urban Sports and Entertainment (FUSE) District’s redevelopment plan. The multi-purpose stadium is the home of the Gastonia Baseball Club, with a seating capacity of 5,000.
KMHS baseball undefeated
in Big South Conference
Kings Mountain High’s baseball team remained undefeated in the Big South 3A Conference last week with big wins over the Hunter Huss Huskies.
The Mountaineers shut out the Huskies 16-0 Tuesday at Lancaster Field and took them down 17-2 Thursday at Hunter Huss. The two wins were the Mountaineers’ most lop-sided of the season thus far.
Brayden Patrick continued his early-season success on the mound by striking out 16 Huskies in six innings of work.
He also carried a big stick, getting on base in all five of his at-bats and scoring three runs.
Ky’lei Anderson went 1-for-1, scored twice and stole four bases.
Wesley Turner went 1-for-3, scored twice and stole a base.
The Mountaineers were rolling again in their final pre-Easter game Thursday at Hunter Huss, running their record to 6-0 in the Big South and 9-3 overall with a 17-8 victory.
Wesley Turner started and pitched 1 1/3 innings. Colton Mayes finished up, limiting Huss to just two hits and fanning nine over the final 3 2/3 innings.
Kings Mountain got on the board quickly with five runs in the top of the first. Huss scored both of its runs in the bottom of the inning.
Kings Mountain led 5-2 after the first inning, 8-2 after two, 10-2 after three and 17-2 after four. The game was called in the fifth on the 10-run rule.
Kings Mountain collected 13 hits. Aidan Taylor went 3-for-4 with three runs batted in. Brayden Paterick was 2-for-2 with five RBIs and Wesley Turner was 2-for3. Tucker Cash, Colton Mayes and Kandon Zollo added a hit apiece.
Kings Mountain was scheduled to host South Caldwell Monday night and will face a tough Big South rival North Gaston April 9 in Dallas and April 11 at Lancaster Field.