Kings Mountain’s Mountaineers opened the state 3A playoffs Friday at John Gamble Stadium with a 37-7 victory over Smoky Mountain.
Quarterback Kandan Zollo threw first half touchdown passes to Jayden Gash and Ja’Qualyn Sanders and Josiah Hill scored on a run to build a 21-7 lead at intermission.
If there was any chance for the visitors to come back, the Mountaineer defense stopped the Mustangs at their own 46 on the first drive of the third period and after a 10-yard penalty Zollo hit Qua Sanders with a 54-yard catch and run down the visitors’ sideline for a 27-7 margin.
Early in the fourth quarter, Zollo hit Jayden Gash for a 67-yard touchdown pass and Matt Rhom added the PAT to make it 34-7.
Rhom added a 34-yard field goal late in the game to account for the final margin.
“We did a good job,” noted head coach Strait Herron. “The players were more relaxed and that helps a lot.
“The defense did a good job,” he added. “They made several third and fourth down stops to help the offense.
“We were holding the ball a lot. Zollo did a good job. On one drive we had like 26 snaps on offense. Zollo had four long touchdown passes and Sanders and Gash made some good catches. Zollo threw for 220 yards.
“We’re still banged up,” Herron noted. “We’ve got a lot of injuries that’s hurt us including a lot of ankle injuries.
“Defensively, we had a lot of our front guys that did a good job. Jason Melton had 23 tackles and that’s pretty impressive. We haven’t been having those kinds of numbers.”

 

Kings Mountain’s Mountaineers finished 20th overall in Saturday’s state 3A cross country championship meet in Kernersville.
Even though the temperature was 45 degrees, the times were fast.
Max Thompson led the Mountaineers with a personal best 16:43 to finish 26th overall. The team finished 20th overall.
“This team was a really special diverse group,” said Coaach Rayvis Key. “We have two football players, a soccer player, a tuba player from the band, a pole vaulter and a 25-hour a week Chick-Fil-A worker to make up this year. Most teams that finished above us had only runners, and that’s all they do.
“With all the things going on in these young men’s lives, they truly outperformed my expectations,” Key added. “Next year we will miss our seniors Hunter Cruise and Elliot Habel, but I think we have a new benchmark of not only making it to the State meet but performing even better than the previous season.”
KM results (5000 meter run):
Max Thompson, 26th in 16:43.69 (his season’s best).
Isaiah Watts, 48th in 17:12.39.
Hunter Cruise, 155th in 19:38.79.
David Johnson, 157th in 19:45.81.
Luke Howell, 159th in 19:54.44.
Luis Cedillo, 165th in 20:40.96.
Elliot Habel, 166th in 21:12.73.
“I’d like to thank everyone for their support this season,” Coach Key said.

Kings Mountain High’s men’s cross country team finished sixth in last week’s 3A West Regional at Freedom High in Morganton and for the first time in history qualified for the NCHSAA 3A state championship.
Twenty-five highly competitive teams participated in the Regional.
The Mountaineers were led by Isaiah Watts who finished 10th overall with a personal best time of 16:47.
Other top finishers for the Mountaineers were Max Thompson 32nd in 17:49, Luke Howell 59th in 18:57.90, David Johnson 70th in 19:12.50, Hunter Cruise 99th in 20:13, Luis Cedillo 108th in 20:20.30 and Elliot Habel 112th in 20:26.20. Howell, Johnson, Cedillo and Habel all had their personal best times.
The Lady Mountaineers finished 16th overall and concluded their season. However, they also had five out of seven season bests.
Sarah Eagle led the way with a 58th place finish in a personal best time of 22:45.
Other top KM ladies were:
Brooke Waseman, 69th in 23:06.90.
Tippy Johsonbaugh, 107th with a season best 25:55.40.
Kallie Hope 108th in 25:56.20.
Parker Wilson, 109th with a season best 25:59.20.
Wren Ballard, 123rd with a season best 27:30.10.
Carmynn Barnes, 138th with a season best 29:58.60.
The NCHSAA championship meet will be held Saturday at Ivey Redmon Park in Kernersville.

Kings Mountain High’s volleyball team was scheduled to face AC Reynolds last night for the Western NC Regional Championship and a berth in the state 3A championship game on November 4.
The Lady Mountaineers ran their overall record to 30-1 last week with 3-0 victories over West Rowan, North Henderson and Lake Norman Charter. They swept West Rowan 25-11, 25-16, 25-19 last Tuesday, Lake Norman Charter 25-11, 25-8, 25-7 on Thursday and North Henderson 25-22, 25-17, 25-19 on Saturday.
All three wins were team efforts with all the Lady Mountaineers playing very well.
In Tuesday’s match with West Rowan, Camden Pasour dished out 37 assists to go with three kills, eight digs, a serve reception, a block and two service points. Myracle Davis had 14 kills, three digs and two blocks and Meile Songaila had 16 kills, eight digs, 10 serve receptions and 12 service points.
Mary Grace Hogue added seven kills, four digs, a serve reception and a service point and Alexa Jones had 17 digs, 12 serve receptions, five assists, a kill and 14 service points.
Against Lake Norman Charter, Davis had 10 kills and five blocks; Songaila 16 kills, two blocks, eight serve receptions, seven digs and 11 service points; Pasour 35 assists, 11 digs, two kills and 11 service points, Jones 11 serve receptions, 13 digs, four blocks, five kills, an assist and 13 service points and Jessie Ozmore three serve receptions, 12 digs and 12 service points.
Against North Henderson, Davis had 11 kills, Songaila seven kills, seven digs and nine serve receptions, Pasour five digs and 24 assists, and Jones 11 serve receptions.

Crest scored on its first three possessions to grab an early 19-0 lead and rolled to a 39-14 victory over Kings Mountain to win the Big South 3A Conference Friday night at KM’s John Gamble Stadium.
Kings Mountain rebounded later in the game to come within 19-14 in the third quarter but AJ Adams, who had scored the visitors’ first TD on a two-yard run, returned KM’s kickoff 55 yards for a touchdown with less than four minutes left in the third period for a 26-14 margin that was too much for the Mountaineers to overcome.
The win left the Chargers with an undefeated 10-0 record and the league title while KM finished the regular season in second place with a 9-1 mark.
“It was a tough game,” said Mountaineer head coach Strait Herron. “They were better that we thought they were.
“They’ve got some athletes and were better up front what we could tell on film,” he added. “They have a good team and played extremely hard.”
The Chargers broke out front 7-0 by driving the opening kickoff 71 yards in six plays. A KM face mask penalty got them going but the big blow came when the Chargers’ Aiden Carson went around end for a 68-yard gain to the KM one yard line. Two plays later AJ Adams took it in for the score and Carson Grier booted the point after.
Kings Mountain answered with a good drive behind the running from Josiah Hill and Robert Kendrick and a 21-yard reception by Hill and an eight-yard catch by Rodney Unnasch. Facing third and five from the Crest 40, the Mountaineers went to the air and the Chargers’ D’Various Surratt intercepted it and sped 70 yards to the end zone to put the visitors up 13-0.
A pass interception by Surratt and a return to the KM 21 set up a 12-yard reception by Javarius Green and a 19-0 Crest lead.
A pass interception in the end zone by KM’s Robert Kendrick put the Mountaineers in business at their own 33 with just 1:32 left in the half. A 9-yard reception by Jayden Gash and a 21-yard reception by Xzorion Lenair which was followed by a 15-yard Crest penalty for roughing the QB gave the Mountaineers a first down at the Chargers’ 11. Facing fourth and goal at the nine, Teddy Jeffries caught a short pass and zig-zagged through the Charger defense for a nine-yard touchdown. Matt Rhom’s PAT made it 19-7.
KM took possession at its own 23 following an early third quarter Crest punt and used the running of Jeffries and Kendrick, plus a personal foul penalty against the Chargers, for a first and goal at the Crest 10. Hill covered the distance in two carries and Rhom added the PAT to get the Mountaineers to within 19-14.
With the huge KM crowd thinking comeback, Adams returned the ensuing kickoff 55 yards for a touchdown and a 26-14 Crest lead that would prove too much to overcome.
Huskey capped a 74-yard drive with a two-yard run to put the Chargers up 32-14 on the fourth play of the fourth quarter and the visitors added their final TD with 2:57 left on an eight yard run by Aiden Carson.
The Mountaineers had several players leave the game with injuries, including CJ Houser and some
others  who may  miss this week’s playoff game against Smoky Mountain.
“We’ll just have to move some guys around and we’re going to bring up some JV players that will help us,” Herron said.
“We had our chances. We just blew it. We had three interceptions in a row early and got behind. We got it back to 19-14 and were in good shape and then had another penalty and had it returned for a touchdown.
“You have to give Crest credit,” he said, “but we didn’t play the way we’ve been playing.”

 

The Kings Mountain Family YMCA’s 13th Annual Golf Tournament was held on Friday, September 29th. The Y thanked Presenting Sponsor Albemarle, and all their amazing sponsors for a successful event.
Thirty-two teams and 128 golfers played at Kings Mountain Country Club on Friday, October 7th.
The annual event raised over $26,000 for the YMCA’s financial assistance programs. All proceeds go to youth, teen, and senior programs.
Winners of the tournament were:
• 1st Place team: Thomas Spicer, Baylor Benton, Reed Burton, Caleb Marr
• 2nd Place team: Matt Rollins, Matt Bradley, Tommy Gales, Jason Nestlerode
• 3rd Place team: David Estridge, Mal Brutko, Gerald Putnam, William Mabry
• 4th Place team: Mayor Scott Neisler, Eric Sanders, Brent Guin, Mike Baker
• Closest to Pin winners: Mike Baker (5) Cathy Moore (8) Mayor Scott Neisler (12) Tony Wells Sr. (16) Geno Chavira (17)
• Longest Drive Winners on hole 2: Will Spicer (Men), Joey Barrett (Seniors), Kaitlyn McNeilly (Women)
• Longest Drive Winners on hole 11: Cathy Moore (Women), Eric Moore (Senior), Jason Nestlerode (Men)

Kings Mountain drew first blood but the Ashbrook defense held the Mountaineers scoreless the rest of the game to take a 20-8 victory in JV football action last week at John Gamble Stadium.
After both teams’ offenses were stopped on the game’s first two possessions, the Mountaineers grabbed an 8-0 lead when they recovered a bad snap on an Ashbrook punting attempt at the Green Wave 10 yard line. Three plays later Anijai Nash scored on an eight-yard run and Lathan Feemster caught a two-point conversion pass.
That score stood until the 1:47 mark of the first half when Ashbrook quarterback Anthony McClain, the son of former KMHS quarterback Lance McClain, went 13 yards on a keeper to pull the Green Wave within 8-6.
A high snap from center on a KM punt attempt on the second play of the third quarter sailed out of the end zone for a safety that tied the game.
Early in the fourth quarter the Mountaineers were forced to punt from their own 23 and it was returned to the KM 32. A 26-yard run by McClain put the visitors on the KM 31. A 26-yard McClain keeper around right end gave the Green Wave a first down at the KM five, and facing fourth and inches from inside the one McClain scored on a sneak for a 14-8 Ashbrook lead that proved to be the winning TD.
McClain threw a 22-yard touchdown pass with 1:46 remaining to account for the final margin.
The JVs will travel to Crest Thursday for their season finale.

Kings Mountain broke open a close game in the second half to defeat Gastonia Ashbrook 24-3 Thursday night in Gastonia and set up a winner take all regular season-ending bout with the Crest Chargers Friday at 7:30 at KM’s John Gamble Stadium.
Kings Mountain and Crest are guaranteed a berth in the state 3A playoffs but Friday’s winner will not only be the conference champion but will have several home games in the playoffs. Other BSC teams will also be fighting for playoff berths Friday because North Gaston, Hunter Huss, South Point and Ashbrook are all tied for third place with 3-3 league records.
The Mountaineers never trailed at Eccles Field but the Ashbrook eleven kept the game within striking distance until the final quarter. The victory was the sixth in the Big South Conference and ninth straight overall for the undefeated Kings Mountain eleven while Ashbrook slipped to 3-3 and 3-6.
 “It was a good game,” noted Mountaineer head coach Strait Herron. “Ashbrook is a little better than their record shows. We were missing so many offensive linemen but the guys hung in there. Penalties hurt us but we worked through them.”
After the Mountaineers jumped out to a 10-0 lead the Green Wave made it interesting after a field goal cut the margin to 10-3 at the half. Kings Mountain got some breathing room with a late third period TD and then got an insurance tally in the fourth.
Behind good blocking by the offensive line, Kings Mountain backs continued to put up big numbers. Josiah Hill rushed for 124 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries, and Robert Kendrick had a TD and 55 yards on 10 carries.  Quarterback Kandan Zollo connected on 16 passes for 176 yards.  Xzorion Lenair caught six of them for 44 yards and Thomas Feemster one for 40. Rodney Unnasch caught two for 34 yards and Jayden Gash one for 33.
Unfortunately, Gash was injured. “We’re reevaluating him and we’ll see where he is for this week,” Coach Herron said. “We’ve had to use a lot of different guys up there (on the line) this year because of injuries,” Herron said.
Kings Mountain went up 7-0 in the first quarter on Kendrick’s 16-yard run and Max Thompson’s extra point. Thompson’s field goal made it 10-0 late in the quarter. Penalties hurt the Mountaineers in the second period and the score stood until halftime.
The Mountaineer defense was almost immovable, limiting the Green Wave to just 124 yards total offense. Martino Smith was about their only weapon, carrying the ball 20 times for 89 yards to account for all but 17 yards of the Ashbrook ground game. But the home team managed to trim the margin to 10-3 early in the third quarter behind some good defense, numerous KM penalties and a 21-yard field goal. Kings Mountain took possession with 4:41 left in the third period and quickly moved down field behind a mixture of running and passing. Hill ran for the final 20 yards at the 2:23 mark and the Mountaineers took a 17-3 lead into the final quarter.
The Mountaineers wrapped things up with 4:45 remaining when Hill scored from the one to cap a 49-yard drive.
Kings Mountain’s defense was led by Jason Melton with 10 tackles and Antonio Armstrong and Thomas Fair with nine each. CJ Houser had eight and Zay Smith and Javier Currie six apiece. 

Kings Mountain’s Mountaineers shook off some early penalties to roll to a 51-3 victory over Stuart Cramer in their homecoming game Thursday night at John Gamble Stadium.
The offense was chalking up big yards from the opening whistle but three penalties resulted in a Max Thompson punt rolling dead on the Cramer one yard line. Two plays later with the Purple Storm in a shotgun, the center snapped the ball out the back of the end zone for a safety for a 2-0 KM lead and the rout was on.
The Mountaineers returned Cramer’s kickoff from the 20 back to the Cramer 40 yard line and three carries by Josiah Hill put them in the end zone and Max Thompson’s PAT ran the score to 9-0.
On the second play following Matt Rhom’s kickoff, Eli Lipscomb scooped up a Cramer fumble and took it 17 yards and all of a sudden the score was 16-0.
A sack by Thomas Fair and Jason Melton for 10 yards put the Storm in trouble again and tackles by Currie and Fair forced a punt that put the Mountaineers in business on the Cramer 39. Hill, who would finish with 153 yards rushing on 14 carries, accounted for all of the yards on five totes, the last one for a yard. Thmpson’s PAT made it 23-0 at the end of the first period.
A tackle by Bryson Brown and Tyler McIntyre after a nine-yard Cramer pass completion forced another punt which Xzorion Lenair returned 23 yards to the Cramer 28. A 25-yard keeper by quarterback Darreon Dixon-Valez on a fourth and 13 gave the Mountaineers a first down at the seven. Two runs by Teddy Jeffries, who was making his first appearance since an early-season injury, put the ball in the end zone and Rhom’s PAT extended the lead to 30-0.
Penalties hurt the Mountaineers on their next possession, but the defense forced the visitors to punt from their own eight yard line with 1:13 left in the half. The kick went out of bounds at the Cramer 23. Jeffries covered the distance in two runs and the Mountaineers went into the break up 37-0.
Big tackles by Thomas Fair and Jason Melton and a pass interception by Bryson Brown at the Mountaineers’ 46 led to another TD and a 44-0 lead that put the running clock rule into effect with 8:52 still left in the third quarter. Hill carried four times for all 46 yards and Rhom followed with the PAT.
Again, the defense held Cramer to three and out and Gash returned the punt 32 yards to the Cramer 36. Jeffries covered the distance in just one run and Rhom added the PAT for a 51-0 lead with 2:32 in the third period.
Cramer managed to drive to the KM two yard line and called time out with three seconds left. Drew Crotts kicked a field goal to end the game.
Jeffries finished with 66 yards on six carries and three TDs in his return.
Kings Mountain travels to Gastonia Thursday night to take on a dangerous Ashbrook eleven before returning home the following week to host the undefeated Crest Chargers in a game that should determine the conference championship and a very high seed in the upcoming state playoffs.

Kings Mountain’s Mountaineers started out slow but sped up for a 49-7 Big South 3A Conference victory over the Forestview Jaguars Friday night at John Gamble Stadium.
The win moved the Mountaineers to 3-0 in the BSC and 6-0 overall heading into what will probably be their toughest test thus far Friday night at South Point.
“You have to give it to Forestview,” Mountaineer Coach Strait Herron said. “They played really hard but our guys did a good job. We saw some things they did that we really liked. It ended up to be a good night but we’ve got to get better.”
Chris Medlin’s Jaguars forced the Mountaineers to punt on the game’s opening possession and then marched all the way to the KM 27 before being stopped on a pass interception by Ja’Qualyn Sanders with 3:27 showing on the first quarter clock.
That sparked a quick six-play scoring drive that featured a 74-yard catch and run by Sanders to the Jaguars’ 13. Three runs by Robert Kendrick – the final from a yard out – followed by Max Thompson’s point-after from placement put the Mountaineers up 7-0 and they were never headed.
Forestview did have a little spunk left and drove the ensuing kickoff to the KM 39 before having to punt. The punt was downed on the KM two yard line but it took just two runs by Kendrick – the latter for 96 yards – to cover the distance and put the Mountaineers up 14-0.
The Mountaineers added another TD with 3:01 left in the first half and went into the break up 21-0. It came on the first play after Forestview lost the ball on downs with Josiah Hill going 53 yards and Thompson adding the PAT.
After each team had trouble moving the ball to begin the third quarter, KM’s Jason Melton intercepted a pass and returned it from the KM 40 to the Forestview 22. Behind strong blocking from the KM offensive line, Josiah Hill covered the distance and Thompson’s PAT made it 28-0 at the 8:23 mark of the third period.
On the second play of the fourth quarter, Forestview’s David Howard caught a 10-yard touchdown pass and Plamedi Warskinsky kicked the PAT to make it 28-7.
An illegal touching of the kickoff by Forestview put the Mountaineers in business at the Jaguars’ 49.
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 A run of six yards by Hill and 43 by Kendrick followed by Thompson’s PAT made it 35-7 with 7:25 on the clock.
On the first play after Jaguars’ kickoff return, KM’s Kamari Houze intercepted a pass at the Forestview 33 and four runs later KM quarterback Darreon Dixon-Valez scored from nine yards out. Thompson’s PAT made it 42-7.
The Mountaineers’ final TD came with 2:49 remaining on a nine-yard run by Thomas Feemster that put the running clock rule into effect.
Kings Mountain had a big overall performance. Offensively, Kendrick had 200 yards rushing on 11 carries and Hill added 145 yards on nine carries. Sanders caught three passes for 82 yards.
Curtis Simpson led the defense with 10 tackles, closely followed by Jason Melton and Javier Curry with eight each and Antonio Armstrong with seven.
Matt Rohm averaged 50 yards with eight kickoffs for 501 yards and Thompson punted four times for a 37.3 average.

Kings Mountain High’s men finished first and the women third in an 11-team cross country meet last Wednesday at Betty G. Ross Park in Lincolnton.
The Mountaineers dominated with 44 points to second place Bandys’ 20.
Isaiah Watts led the Mountaineers with a first place finish in 17:47, followed closely by teammate Max Thompson at 17:52.
Senior Hunter Cruise followed by freshmen Luke Howell and David Johnson were other high scoring runners for the Mountaineers.
The Kings Mountain women also had several runners with season and personal best finishes. Brooke Waseman led the way with a fourth place finish of 24:05. Sarah Eagle was 10th, Kallie Hope 14th, Tippy Johnsonbaugh 37th and Wren Ballard 38th.
Kings Mountain and over 30 other schools competed in the Freedom High School Cross Country Invitational Saturday and had another good showing.
“This is the location for the 3A West Regional meet later in the season, so this was an excellent opportunity to establish yourself as a possible state qualifier,” Coach Rayvis Key noted. “Max Thompson did exactly that running a 16:49 over the 3.1 mile course and finishing eighth overall.
As a team, the Mountaineers were a very respectable fifth place overall.
Other Mountaineers with good showing were Isaiah Watts in 17:40, Hunter Cruise 19:06, Luke Howell 19:36 and David Johnson 19:39.
The Lady Mountaineers were once again led by Brooke Waseman finishing 51st with a season best time of 23:02. The team finished 13th out of a highly competitive field. Other scorers were Sarah Eagle 23:43, Kallie Hope 24:24, Tippy Johnsonbaugh 27:37 and senior Parker Wilson with a 27:52.
Kings Mountain’s next race will be October 7 at the Wendy’s Invitational at McAlpine Creek Park in Charlotte. There will be hundreds of runners from across the southeast competing.

 

Kings Mountain High’s JV football team shook off some early penalties on its first two drives to roll over the Burns Bulldogs 36-0 Thursday night at John Gamble Stadium.
Penalties hurt both teams on their early possessions but Jakelan Littlejohn’s 22-yard punt return to the Burns 22 yard line got the Mountaineer offense fired up. After a personal foul penalty the Mountaineers took possession at their own 42 and took just four plays to score on a one-yard run by Savion Lindsay.
Along the way the Mountaineers got a 10-yard run by Lindsay for a first down and a 26-yard pass reception by Lindsay for a first and goal at the one. Lindsay scored on the next play and Ethan Reed’s point after split the uprights for a 7-0 lead.
The Bulldogs put themselves in another big hole after an illegal block on Reed’s kickoff made them start from their own 14. Facing fourth and six from the 16, the Bulldogs decided to go for a first down but KM’s Jayden Williams picked off the pass and took it the house. Reed’s PAT made it a quick 14-0.
KM’s Wiley Rainey blocked a punt on the Bulldogs’ next possession and the Mountaineers had to go just 10 yards to score on a six-yard keeper around end by quarterback Micah Byers and a four-yard run by Lindsay. Again, Reed split the uprights to put KM up 21-0.
The Mountaineer defense got into the scoring act on the Bulldogs’ next possession when Semaj Odems blocked a punt and Wiley Rainey took it to the house. Reed added another PAT for a 28-0 lead.
Kings Mountain drove 62 yards in six plays to account for the final margin. Jakelan Littlejohn took it in from the two and Daeshawn Camp passed to Lathan Feemster for a two-point conversion. An 18-yard run around left end by Lindsay set it up. Along the way Lindsay had three carries for 34 yards and Littlejohn two for 32.
The Mountaineers have an open date this week and will begin Big South Conference play Septem-ber 14 at home against the Hunter Huss Huskies. Game time is 7 p.m.

 

 Kings Mountain’s Mountaineers struggled at times against a good Burns defense and faced one of the best quarterbacks in the state in the Bulldogs’ Ben Mauney, but never trailed in winning their third straight game of the new season 23-14 Friday night in Lawndale.
The defense managed to control Mauney early, holding the Bulldogs to three and out to begin the game only to fumble the punt and give the Dogs another series. The Dogs were then able to move to the KM 23 before KM’s Thomas Fair recovered a fumble.
It took the Mountaineer offense just six plays to take a 7-0 lead on an eight-yard run by Ja’Qualan Sanders and Max Thompson’s PAT.
But Mauney and the ‘Dogs proved quickly they were also one of the best teams around regardless of classification. The four-year starter Mauney led a 78-yard, nine-play drive that culminated with a three-yard run by Jeremiah Norris. The Mountaineers were able to stop a Bulldog two-point conversion attempt and held on to a 7-6 lead.
The second quarter was almost all-Mountaineers as they put two touchdowns on the board to go into halftime up 21-6.
First, they went on an 80-yard, 17-play drive that culminated with a one-yard Teddy Jeffries TD with just 3:10 left on the halftime clock. Along the way the Mountaineers got key pass receptions by Sanders, Josiah Hill, Jayden Gash and Xzorian Lenair to drive to the Burns 21. Behind good blocking, Jeffries took care of the final 21 yards on four carries. Thompson’s PAT made it 14-6.
Burns went three-and-out and KM took possession at its own 49 with 2:02 on the first half clock. Sanders streaked far past the Burns secondary and Zollo hit him in full stride for a 51-yard touchdown and Thompson kicked the point-after for a 21-6 lead that held up until halftime.
The Bulldogs took a big bite out of that lead in the third quarter, stopping the Mountaineers short on a faked punt to set up a 51-yard, 10-play drive that ended with a one-yard touchdown run by Zavion Wilson. Jonny Johnson caught a two-point conversion pass to cut the score to 21-14.
Burns recovered a fumble at the KM 45 with 1:19 left in the third period and drove to the 25 before losing the ball on downs. The ‘Dogs regained possession on a KM fumble, but two plays later fumbled themselves and KM’s Jason Melton recovered it at the KM 49 with 6:02 left.
Neither team was able to provide much offense after that. With 1:56 remaining and KM at the Burns 37 facing fourth and seven, Thompson got off a punt that was downed at the five yard line. Trying to scramble for a possible deep throw downfield, Mauney was being stormed by the KM defense and intentionally grounded the ball. However, he was in the end zone which resulted in a safety to account for the final score.
The Mountaineers are idle this Friday and will open Big South 3A Conference play on Friday, September 15 at Hunter Huss. Their next home game is September 22 against the North Gaston Wildcats.

A fake punt for a 40-yard touchdown run by Robert Kendrick on the first play of the second quarter broke a 7-7 tie and propelled Kings Mountains Mountaineers to a 34-17 opening season victory over the Shelby Golden Lions Friday night at KM’s John Gamble Stadium.
The win was the Mountaineers’ fourth in the past five seasons over their rivals from across the creek and the first for new head coach Strait Herron, who came to KM after a remarkable career as a five-time state championship coach at South Point High School in Rock Hill, SC.
Like any other coach, Herron was pleased with the victory but knows there’s still a lot of work to do as the team gets ready for the Big South 3A Conference race.
“It was fun,” he said of his debut here. “We went out with a great attitude and a lot of motivation. But after watching the film we did a lot of great things but also some things we need to fix.”
Each team scored on its first possession to end the first quarter 7-7. Shelby won the pre-game coin toss and deferred to the second half. With transfer quarterback Zandan Zollo calling the shots the Mountaineers drove the opening kickoff 80 yards in nine plays to score on a three-run run by Teddy Jeffries and a Max Thompson extra point. Jeffries, who was the Mountaineers’ leading rusher last year when they went 13-1, was injured in the second half and his status for this week was unknown at The Herald’s press deadline.
“We don’t know how bad it is yet,” Coach Herron said. “We don’t want things like that to happen but you have to plan for the next game. We’ll know more about it later this week.”
Shelby answered that early score with a 53 yard kickoff return to the KM 44 yard line. Four plays later Triston Tate caught a 33-yard touchdown pass and Jose Lopez kicked the point-after.
With Jeffries and Jeramiah Hill doing the bulk of the running with a pass each to Jayden Gash, Ja’Qualyn  Sanders and Xorian Lenair mixed in, the Mountaineers made it to the Shelby 32 before a sack by the Lions’ defense put them back to the 40 as the first quarter came to a close.
Facing fourth and 18, Coach Herron decided it was the “perfect situation” to fake the punt.
“We felt like we could pick up the first down,” he said. “If we punted it would probably have gone in the end zone and they would’ve gotten the ball at the twenty anyway. Things just opened up and it went for a touchdown. Our quarterback called for it and the whole team handled it well.”
From there, the Mountaineers built a 17-10 lead on a 30-yard field goal from Max Thompson that zoomed to 34-10 before the Lions tacked on a final TD on a 17-yard reception by Triston Tate with 2:20 remaining in the game.
Kings Mountain took just three plays to stretch the lead to 24-10 on a 29-yard TD pass from Zollo to Lenair with 49.3 seconds left in the half.
A pass interception by Kameron Adams with four minutes left in the third quarter put the Mountaineers in business at the Lions’ 34. Three plays later Thompson kicked a 39-yard field goal to run the KM lead to 27-10.
The Lions were on their own nine yard line facing fourth and 12 when they got off just a 20-yard punt. Gash caught a 27-yard pass to two yard line and Hill scored from there to make it 34-10.
Shelby got its final TD with 2:20 remaining on a 17-yard reception by Tate.
“I was really pleased with our offense,” Coach Herron said. “We spent a lot of time trying to decide on a starting quarterback. Zollo did a good job but we still have some things to work on.
“Defensively, we made a ton of mistakes. We have to be able to play sound football to win the big games.
“I was really pleased to win this one. I’ve gotten a lot of texts.”

Kings Mountain’s Mountaineers began fall football practice Saturday morning at Shu Carlton Stadium and are continuing to hit every day this week in preparation for a couple of jamborees this week and the regular season that begins on Friday, Aug. 18 with a 7:30 home game against the Shelby Golden Lions.
New head coach Strait Herron said he was extremely pleased with how things went Saturday and looks forward to several good sessions in the coming days.
The Mountaineers will compete in the annual Cleveland County Jamboree Wednesday at 6 p.m. at Shelby High School. Kings Mountain will get a strong test as it goes up against a very talented AC Reynolds team in the 6 p.m. contest.
Friday night the Mountaineers will travel to Gaffney for a 6 p.m. clash with Catawba Ridge in the McDonald’s Classic.
After those two bouts, the Mountaineers will turn their attention to their longest rival, the Shelby Golden Lions who will come here for a 7:30 p.m. clash at John Gamble Stadium.
Coach Herron said he has been highly-pleased with how the Mountaineers are coming along in his new system and feels they will be at full strength for the beginning of the season. One of the team’s top players, UNC recruit Curtis Simpson, sat out Saturday’s practice with a slight injury but is in top shape this week.
“Everything’s going really well,” he said. “Our quarterback situation is up in the air after just one day of hitting but we have some good, talented kids that know how to play. But we still have a long way to go.”
Three quarterbacks show a lot of promise, including Kandon Zolo who is a senior transfer from Clover, SC; Darion Velez-Dixon, a junior transfer from East Mecklenburg; and TJ Armstrong, a sophomore who was the JV Mountaineers’ QB last fall.
“We’ll try to rotate as best we can and hopefully three or four series on offense will get them all in,” he said.
The Mountaineers have several returning on offense, including last year’s leading rusher Teddy Jeffries. Jaden Gash, Qua Sanders and Bryson Brown are returning receivers and will be good targets for the QBs.
The offensive line looks strong, led by 6-1, 240-pound returnee Alex Jackson who can play any position. Sophomore Dom Davis is “a gritty little player,” according to Coach Herron and he will be joined by other hopefuls like transfer Brayden Barnes, Matt Rikard, Chris Benton and others.
Coach Herron expects his players to get at the top of their game every Friday night as the Big South is always one of the toughest 3A leagues in the state. He sees Crest and South Point as the Mountaineers’ toughest conference foes.
“Crest is a big one,” he said of the Mountaineers’ final regular season foe. “They have the Green kid who is very good and they’re talented as always. And South Point’s going to be really good. What they do is very hard to stop. And, Ashbrook has a lot of good players and they’ll be pretty good.”
But, he knows the Mountaineers have talented players who can be right up there with the best of them.
“We think we’ve got a chance,” he said. “We have a good enough defense to give people some problems.”
The offense has a lot of potential, too, led by the above-mentioned line.
“It’s coming down to who will be the starting quarterback,” he said. “All the quarterbacks are coming along. The quarterback is the key guy on offense. Coach Bolton has them on the right track. Ours is a tough offense to run but Coach Bolton has them on the right track.”
Kings Mountain has good numbers with about 55 players on varsity and 50 on JVs. Fortunately, the Mountaineers haven’t had any major injuries thus far. He said it’s “hard to say” right now if the Mountaineers will be a running or passing team.
“We really need to practice more running but we also put a lot of emphasis on passing,” he said. “We looked pretty good with both Saturday. We were lucky we didn’t get anybody hurt. Coming out healthy is a good sign. We’ve been piddling with injuries all summer but we’re healthy. We just hope the guys learn all these new things we’re doing.
“In the past we’ve gone with a true Air-Raid offense but we may not go as fast with it this year. We still won’t huddle very often but we’ll probably go a little slower.”

Kings Mountain High School has announced the following changes for the entry/traffic pattern for spectator parking at KMHS Friday night football games.
“Our aim is to alleviate traffic congestion on Phifer Road and have a quicker and safer entry for all spectators into the parking lot,” said athletic director Matt Bridges. “We’ve designed the new pattern  making it more convenient for all spectators.”
The changes include:
• General home parking, visitor spectator parking and visitor handicapped parking: Spectators will enter at the Phifer Road stoplight entrance leading into the student parking lot like years past.
• All drop-offs. All drop-offs must be made in the front circle of the KMHS main office.
• TD Club parking pass holders and home handicap parking. Spectators will now enter through either Kings Mountain Blvd./Intermediate School Road that is located at the new power station or the Gary Stewart Blvd., situated behind the middle school to access the Brinkley Field House and the Touchdown Club members/TD Club parking pass holders lot located on the middle school intramural field.
 No one will be allowed to drive past the old field house to enter the Touchdown Club parking area. All TD Club parking passes will have to enter those parking areas by the softball and baseball fields

Kings Mountain lost one of its greatest athletes May 18 when basketball star Otis Cole,71, died when a blood clot caused cardiac arrest.
Cole was an All-American basketball player during the Mountaineers’ glory years of the late 1960s and early ‘70s under the late Bobby Hussey. He was the father of one of Kings Mountain’s best ever all-around athletes, Shonda Cole, who was an All-American volleyball player at the University of South Carolina and a star in the pro ranks. From 1968 to 1970 he teamed with other stars such as fellow high school All-American George Adams, Ken Mitchem, Rick Finger, Charlie Barnes and others to post a three-year record of 66-7.
At Florida State he helped the Seminoles to a runner-up finish to UCLA in the 1972 national tournament.
Cole was All-Conference all three of his varsity years at KMHS, and his senior year he was All-American and played in the prestigious East-West all-star game. He scored 1,292 points in his three-year varsity career and went on to score 1,361 points at Florida State.
Although he followed his sports over the years, Cole also took up the game of golf and was good at that,  too. His wife, Joanne, noted that Otis and his KMHS teammates Charlie Barnes, Steve Spencer and Rick Finger would meet at the Cherokee Grill once a week to eat and cherish their long friendship.
Mrs. Cole said Otis called Finger, who is a retired doctor, to tell him about his cancer and Finger, Barnes, and Adams came immediately to help. Upon his death many of his former teammates and friends came to the home and/or funeral including FSU great Ron King and other Seminole teammates. Steve Spencer came all the way from Virginia. She recalled that about 20 years ago UCLA great Bill Walton sent Otis a huge autographed action picture of the two competing against each other in the national championship game.
“Otis was such a loving person,” Mrs. Cole said. “He never met a stranger.”
Mrs. Cole, the former Joanne Kilgore, said she knew Otis when they were students at KMHS but they didn’t date until later. They were married in 1984.
Cole was preceded in death by his father, Otis Cole Sr., sisters Cherlyn D. Cole and Grace Setzer, and granddaughter Taylen Allen.

Twenty-four members of the Kings Mountain High school track and field team competed in the Western 3A Regional meet Friday at North Lincoln High School.
Qualifying for the KM ladies were Ashlee Brooks, London Brown, Alyssa Deal, Sarah Eagle, Kieanna Ellis, Divinity Ervin, Kallie Hope, Janiya Hunt, Kamari Odems, Nicole Poston, Kinley Putnam, and Brooke Waseman.
Competing for the KM men were Hunter Cruise, Nicholas Horn, Vance Johnson, Malik Littlejohn, Jake Lloyd, Marty Lovingood, Kayden Marthers, Tyler McIntyre, Barry Moore, Ja’qualyn Sanders, Max Thompson and Isaiah Watts.
The men’s 4x800 meter relay team qualified for this week’s state 3A championship. Team members are Max Thompson, Marty Lovingood, Isaiah Watts and Hunter Cruise. They set a new KMHS record of 8:20.56.
Max Thompson finished third in the 800 meter run with a personal record 2:02.24.
The women’s 4x100 meter relay team of Brooke Waseman, London Brown, Alyssa Deal and Janiya Hunt finished eighth with a personal record of 52.77.
Janiya Hunt finished sixth in the long jump.
State qualifiers will travel to North Carolina A&T University Friday for the 3A state championship.