Mountaineers sweep Wildcats, 
Stuart Cramer here on Tuesday

Kings Mountain High’s basketball teams swept North Gaston in a Big South 3A Conference doubleheader Friday night at KM’s Parker Gym.
The KM girls won easily, 59-23, but the Mountaineers had to come from behind in the final two minutes to defeat the Wildcats 55-49 and hold onto a share of first place in the BSC with the Crest Chargers. Both teams were 8-2 in the BSC heading into Tuesday night’s action at home against the Forestview Jaguars.
The North Gaston boys scored the first four points of the game and led most of the way until the Mountaineers made a charge in the final three minutes to pull out the win and maintain their share of the BSC lead with the Crest Chargers. Hunter Huss, which had been tied for first, dropped to third with a loss to the South Point Red Raiders.
KM was down 45-39 with 4:41 left on the clock but rallied to come within 47-45 with just over three minutes left. The Mountaineers went to a pressing defense and Zay Smith canned a pair of free throws to tie the score at 47-all with 2:51 remaining.
It was still tied at 49-all when North Gaston lost the ball out of bounds with 1:26 remaining. Bradley Floyd, who was limited to three points on the night, canned a pair of free throws to put the Mountaineers up 51-49 with 39.1 seconds remaining.
After a North timeout, the Wildcats missed a field goal attempt and KM rebounded. Bryson Brown sank two free throws in a five-second span to put KM up 54-49. Smith’s steal that led to a Floyd free throw with 3.3 seconds left rounded out the scoring.
Smith finished with 14 points, six rebounds and five assists to lead the KM attack. Simpson added 10 points.
In the opening contest the KM ladies broke on top early and led the entire game to run their record to 3-7 in the BSC and 9-10 overall.
CoRey Simpson had one of her best games of the season with 18 points and Khalia King was right behind her with 16. Tyasya Bell added six, Aaliya Miller five, Alayna Patrick four, Allysia Pettis three and Mia Bridges one.
The Lady Mountaineers rolled to a 28-6 halftime lead and were up 40-11 after three quarters of play. The lead stretched to 30 points (43-13) with 5:40 remaining and went to a high of 51-15 with 2:52 left on the clock.
The Kings Mountain teams will travel to South Point Friday which is a key game in determining post-season playoff seedings. The KM teams will be at home for their final two regular season games. Stuart Cramer comes to Parker Gym on February 7 and the regular season ends with a doubleheader against county rival Crest on Friday, Feb. 10
BOYS BOXSCORE
KM (55) – Smith 14, Simpson 10, Robinette 9, Brown 7, Foster 4, Floyd 3, Osborne 3, Lenair 3, Sanders 2.
NG (51) – Byers 15, Simmons 15, Lomick 8, Murrell 4, Huggins 4, Payne 3.
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Rusty Bumgardner is inducted into the National Softball Hall of Fame.

Kings Mountain slugger Rusty Bumgardner inducted into National Softball Hall of Fame

Kings Mountain native Rusty Bumgardner’s sports career came full circle recently when he was inducted into the National Softball Hall of Fame at its 41st annual ceremony in Shreveport, LA.
His list of Hall of Fame inductions include the Kings Mountain Sports Hall of Fame and the USSSA, ISA, WSL, ASA, USA and North Carolina USSSA Halls of Fame. Bumgardner says this latest honor and his hometown hall of fame inductions are the most special.
“Any Hall of Fame is truly awesome,” Bumgardner said, “but my hometown and this means more to me. This is the original. I’m privileged to be in it. It dates back to the sixties when they had teams like Howard’s Furniture and other big time teams that paved the way. That makes this award even more meaningful.”
Longtime Kings Mountain High School fans can remember Bumgardner’s exploits on the football and baseball fields. He went on to play four years of football at Wake Forest University under Coach Bill Dooley and he and his high school teammate Aubrey Hollifield helped the Deacons post some of their best records back then.
“We were both red-shirted our freshman year and then started every year,” he recalled. “We graduated Kings Mountain High School in ’87 and we had really good teams there in 1985 and 1986. In the fall of ’86 we won the conference championship for the first time since 1964. Both of us played four years and were winners our last season.
“Some of my best memories were at Kings Mountain Junior High and High School,” he said. “David Heffner was our coach at the junior high and Denny Hicks at the high school. Then I helped Coach (Bruce) Clark in high school baseball. My father (the late Bud Bumgardner) helped him from ’89 to ’93 when we won state championships. I had just started at Wake Forest when dad got sick. I took a semester off in the spring of 1989 and helped Coach Clark that year. I also helped Coach Clark in ’93. In ’89 we had people like Paul Brannon and Dale Greene and in ’93 people like Stephen Fisher, Todd Ware, Rick Marr, Damon Putnam and others. The ’89 team wasn’t expected to win. We didn’t even win the conference. South Point did. Once the playoffs started we got on a roll. Paul Brannon hit 20 home runs and Chad and Chris Plonk had double digit home runs. Our pitching staff fell in place with Todd McDaniel, Robert Wingo and Sharee Hopper. Wingo was a sophomore and pitched the state championship game. The hitting and pitching just all came together at the right time.”
Always a heavy hitter in baseball, Bumgardner was a natural for softball. He got his start with Coach Mike Grayson, whose wife Suzanne would later join the coaching staff at KMHS and lead the girls volleyball and softball teams to state championships.
Looking back on his Wake Forest career, Bumgardner said it was “just overwhelming. You started having fun and the football team just took off under Coach Dooley.
“As far as baseball, I just played my senior year because football was over. But I wish I’d played all four years. It was a memorable time. My freshman year of football our left tackle got hurt and they put me in there and I became a starter.”
His first start is one he will always remember.
“It was against Michael Dean Perry at Clemson,” he noted. “On film I saw him just picking up people and throwing them out of the way. I was determined he wasn’t going to do that to me. It ended up he made just one tackle that day.”
As for softball, he said the highlight was playing on teams that won 24 world titles and had 34 all-star selections. Bumgardner was All-World four times and was a two-time World Series MVP.
All-World, he said, was like an All-American team. He was All-American
18 straight  years  beginning in 1994. He is 11th on the list of the top 50 home run hitters of all time with 2,344 home runs. Nine of those top 11 were people that played on barn storming teams like Howard’s Furniture of Denver that traveled all over the country several days a week playing softball. Bumgardner always played for teams that just played on weekends, thus he had fewer at-bats than sluggers on barn storming teams. For example, a slugger on a barn storming team would average about 2,400 at-bats a year while Bumgardner and others on weekend teams would average about 250 to 300 at-bats per year.
“The dimensions of the fields back then were a lot smaller than when we played,” Bumgardner noted. “And, they were swinging wooden bats. I remember seeing a Shriners tournament at the Kings Mountain Community Center and saw people like Stan Harvey and Don Arndt of Howard’s Furniture. It was crazy watching those guys hit the ball so far. I said ‘one day I’m going to be like that.’”
Bumgardner quit playing travel ball in 2015. He said his life was “built around softball but my body was telling me I’d had enough. My kids had started playing ball and I wanted to watch them. I don’t miss softball at all.
“Plus, the game had started changing,” he said.  “There was a lot of drama in the game. The best time of my career was in the ‘90s and early 2000s when softball was still softball. We were always battling to be number one. That was a goal for the team. The home runs weren’t the main thing. Yes, I could hit them but I wanted the team to win championships.
“Yes, I led the team in home runs, batting average and being named Player of the Year many times. But it’s not a one man deal. I was always about the team, not myself.
“I’m glad I went in the Hall of Fame with the people I did. They were three of the best of all time – Steve (Pup) Shortland, Brett Helmer and Christian Dowling. Christian Dowling passed away about a year ago. She was the one that pretty much changed women’s softball.”

See more photos in the E-Edition of KM Herald Page 1B (January 25, 2023)

KMHS relay team qualifies for state

Last Thursday night the Kings Mountain High indoor track and field teams participated in the Titan II indoor track meet in Winston Salem.  This is a true indoor facility and the location of the 3A state championship on February 10. 
The men’s 4x800m relay finished second and qualified for the state meet by running a new school record of 8:43.  The team consisted of Max Thompson, Marty Lovingood, Isaiah Watts, and Hunter Cruise.  Also qualifying in the pole vault was Nicolas Horne with a vault of 10’0”.  Andre Willis added two second place finishes in the 55m high hurdles and the 55m dash. He had already qualified in the 55m hurdles earlier this season.
The highest-finishing Lady Mountaineer was Divinity Ervin finishing second in the 1600m run with a 6:01.  She also was in the fourth place 4x800m women’s relay with teammates Brooke Waseman, Sarah Eagle, and Sindy Ulloa.

Mountaineers regain share of lead
with 61-55 victory over Ashbrook

 Kings Mountain’s Mountaineers regained a share of first place in the Big South Conference Friday night. While the Mountaineers were defeating Ashbrook 61-55 the previously undefeated Crest Chargers were losing to the Hunter Huss Huskies in Boiling Springs.
Those results left the Mountaineers and Chargers tied for first, but they were facing another big obstacle last night when they were in Gastonia again, this time playing the Hunter Huss Huskies who were looking to avenge an earlier close loss to the Mountaineers at Parker Gym.
Kings Mountain got the upper hand early and led the Green Wave 17-7 after the first period and 38-18 at the half. But the Green Wave got on a roll in the third period and outscored the Mountaineers 24-11 to trail by just 49-42 heading into the final eight minutes.
The Mountaineers were able to hold them off with good defense and an offense featuring three players in double figures. Freshmen Bradley Floyd and Tucker Robinette led the way with 17 points each and junior Zay Smith scored 13 including five of nine from the free throw line. The Mountaineers were also strong on the boards with Floyd grabbing 12 rebounds, Bryson Brown nine and Curtis Simpson seven.
The Ashbrook girls stayed in a tie for first place with Stuart Cramer by turning back the Lady Mountaineers 41-27 in the opening game. Khalia King led the KM ladies with 13 points and also grabbed four rebounds. CoRey Simpson had five points and seven rebounds, Farri Martin four points, Tyasa Bell two points and six rebounds and Austyn Dixon one point and five rebounds.
BOYS BOXSCORE
KM (61) – Floyd 17, Robinette 17, Smith 13, Simpson 7, Osborne 3, Brown 2, Sanders 2.
A (55) – Greene 19, Leslie 11, Patton 8, Clark 7, Miller 3, Bess 2, June 2.

Chargers sweep KM

Kings Mountain High’s varsity basketball teams were defeated by county rival Crest in the final game of the first half of the Big South Conference schedule Tuesday night at Ed Peeler Gymnasium in Boiling Springs.
The Crest women came out on top 64-27. In the men’s game, the Chargers and Mountaineers were deciding who would take sole possession of first place and the hosts prevailed 69-51.
The Crest men were obviously on fire fueled with the goal of winning in memory of the school’s all-time winningest coach Ed Peeler, who passed away several days prior to the game. The Mountaineers stayed with them – and actually led on several occasions – early but the Chargers gradually pulled away in the second half.
Crest led by just 13-11 after the first period and 30-21 at the half. The biggest damage was done by A.J. Adams who scored all of his 19 points before intermission. Tylik Briscoe and D’various Surratt also hit double digits with 15 and 11 points, respectively.
Kings Mountain, which fell to 6-1 in the BSC, got a game-high 20 points from freshman Bradley Floyd but he was the only Mountaineer to hit double digits.
The Crest ladies were also dominant. Monica Surratt and Neveah Blackwell led the winners with 14 and 13 points, respectively. Their defense limited KM’s top scorer Khalia King to just two points. CoRey Simpson led the Lady Mountaineers with 12 points and eight rebounds. Tyasia Bell had eight points and five rebounds. Myracle Davis had four points and four boards and Aaliya Miller rounded out the scoring with one point.
BOYS BOXSCORE
KM (51) – Floyd 20, Simpson 8, Linney 7, Robinette 6, Smith 4, Sanders 4, Brown 2.
C (69) – Adams 19, Briscoe 15, Surratt 11, Goodlett 8, Pass 5, Hemphill 3, Whisnant 3, Mitchell 2, Thurmond 2, Huskey 1.

NG Wildcats
here Friday

 After the last of five straight road games tonight in Shelby, Kings Mountain High’s basketball teams will get back into Parker Gym Friday night for a Big South Conference doubleheader with the North Gaston Wildcats and will remain at home next Tuesday against the Forestview Jaguars.
While the Lady Mountaineers have had a bumpy road lately, the KM men have stayed in the thick of the Big South Conference race as the regular season hits the home stretch.
After Forestview, the BSC schedule will be down to three games as the Mountaineers have games at South Point on Feb. 3 and end up at home against Stuart Cramer on February 7 and Crest on February 10. Between those last two games, on Feb. 8, they will go to Cox Mill for a non-conference contest.
The BSC tournament will be held Feb. 13, Feb. 15 and Feb. 17 at a site to be determined. The state tournament begins on Tuesday, Feb. 21

KM YMCA winter
basketball scores


Scores for Kings Mountain Family YMCA Winter Basketball for January 13 – 14 are:

January 13
11-12 Boys
Mavericks 9 vs Storm Breakers 30
Mavericks – Lecrae Toney 6 points
Storm Breakers – AJ Ross 14 points

January 14
5-6 Co-Ed
Hornets 24 vs Steelers 26
Hornets – Moses Anderson 8 points
Steelers – Elijah Douglas 10 points

7-8 Boys
Tigers 17 vs Hornets 16
Tigers – Mason Nicholson 11 points
Hornets – Weston Biggers 6 points

Campbell 12 vs Burgess 18
Campbell – Quantavious Sharpe 12 points
Burgess – Bennett Burgess 8 points

Panthers 15 vs Fireball 4
Panthers – Jailah Clinton 9 points
Fireball – Braxton Corbett 2 points

7-9 Girls
Wildcats 26 vs Ruby C Hunt YMCA 20
Wildcats - Sadie Bert 10 points

9-10 Boys
Ballers 15 vs Roberts 17
Ballers – Brody Ciaschini 7 points
Roberst – Aiden Adams 8 points

Aces 32 vs Bulls 20
Aces – Carson Epps 11 points
Bulls – Knox Toney 9 points

10-12 Girls
Underdogs (KM) 22 vs Cherokee County YMCA 9
Underdogs – Jasmine Wilson 14 points

16-18 Boys
Kings (KM) 46 vs Ruby C Hunt YMCA 43
Kings (KM) – Jayden Byers 18 points
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Paxton Heinbach makes the pass to a teammate. 
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 Legend Biddix Dribbles to the basket. Photos by Heath Walker

Patriots defeat
Panthers, Burns

The Kings Mountain Middle boys basketball team won two hard-fought basketball games this past week.
In the first game, KM took on the Panthers of North Lincoln, in the division opener for both teams.  KM’s Silas Tate scored four of his 11 points in the first quarter to give the Patriots a slim 11-8 lead.  During the second  period, KJ Bell hit two deep threes to give Kings Mountain a one-point lead heading into halftime.
 Christan Jarrett scored five of his 11 points during the third quarter to extend their lead to seven at 30 to 23.  KM was able to fend off a late North rally as Christian Hill made back-to-back threes to give KM a four-point lead with less than two minutes to go.  Tate finished off the scoring with four late free throws to give KM a 42 to 32 win.
In the second game of the week, KM took on county rival Burns in its home opener, securing a two-point win.  KM got off to a very slow start only scoring two points over the first 10 minutes of the game as the Eagles took a 15-2 lead.  Nazire Davis hit a three-point shot late in the second quarter to pull KM to within 12 heading into the half.  After some halftime adjustments, KM finally was able to put some good offensive possessions together as Silas Tate led the way with five points.  The Patriots also picked up the tempo on defense as they out-scored their opponents 18-2 during the period to take a 23-19 lead heading into the final stanza.  Burns was able to pull to within one point at 27-26 before KM sealed the deal on a KJ Bell free throw for a final score of 28-26. 
Offensive player of the week:  Sias Tate (20 points).
Defensive player of the week:  Nazire Davis (outstanding “D” and leadership. He took on the other team’s best player).
Sixth man of the week:  KJ Bell (provided a spark off the bench and hit some big shots).
KM is 3-1 overall and 2-0 in East Division.
KM is at West Lincoln on Wednesday and at East Lincoln on Thursday.
“The team took a big stride this week, they kept believing and fighting and at the end, it all fell into place,” said Coach Shane Cole.

Willis, Cruise to compete
at state Indoor Track Meet

Kings Mountain Highs indoor track teams hosted a Polar Bear meet Wednesday at John Gamble Stadium. A polar bear meet means that indoor events are contested on an outdoor facility.
The highlight for the Mountaineers was that Andre Willis ran a time of 7.94 seconds over the 55 meter high hurdles to qualify for the 3A State Indoor Championships on February 10. He will be joining fellow qualifier Hunter Cruise who bettered his pole vault height to 10’6”.
Barely missing qualifying was Max Thompson in the 1000 meter run with a 2:43. He needed a 2:42.
Marty Lovingood was the top point winner, finishing first in the high jump, long jump and 500 meter run.
For the Lady Mountaineers, Divinity Ervin brought home three first places by winning the 1600 meter, 1000 meter and 3200 meter runs. Brooke Waseman finished first in the 500 meter and 300 meter dashes.
Kings Mountain’s men finished with a 203 team score. Shelby had 50, Forestview 28 and Ashbrook 10.
The Lady Mountaineers finished with 145 points, Shelby 56 and Ashbrook 10. Ashbrook’s Camryn Massey qualified for the state meet in the shot put.

KMHS ladies defeat Burns 55-36, 
Mountaineers come up shy 59-54

Kings Mountain High’s basketball teams split a non-conference doubleheader with Burns Thursday night at Parker Gym with the Lady Mountaineers winning 55-36 and the Mountaineers falling 59-54.
Senior Khalia King led the scoring for the KM ladies with 20 points, coming up just five points shy of 1,000 points for her four-year varsity career. Tyasya Bell added nine points, CoRey Simpson and Austyn Dixon six each and Farri Martin and Allysia Pettis five apiece.
Burns held a slim 21-20 lead at the half but the Lady Mountaineers dominated the final two quarters. By the end of the third period the Lady Mountaineers were on top 35-28 and they opened the fourth period on an 8-0 run to break the game open.
While they were in high gear on offense, the defense was holding the Lady Bulldogs to one shot at the basket on most of their second half possessions. KM stretched the lead to 15 points (43-28) on a Tyasya Bell basket with 4:40 left in the third quarter and King’s coast to coast lay-up with 1:30 left increased the margin to 16 (50-34) with a minute and a half left in the quarter. A pair of King free throws followed an Austyn Dixon bucket in the final minute to account for a 53-36 margin and two King free throws with just 20 seconds left resulted in the final score.
Bell followed King in the scoring department with nine points. CoRey Simpson and Dixon added six apiece and Farri Martin and Allysia Pettis chipped in five each.
The Mountaineers had one of their coldest shooting nights of the season (18 of 55 field goals for 33 percent and 14 of 28 free throws for 50 percent) and were also hampered by numerous players riding the pine in foul trouble. Freshman Bradley Floyd led the scoring with 16 points but he sat out most of the first half in foul trouble. Point guard Zay Smith also spent a lot of time on the pine in foul trouble but also hit double figures with 11. Curtis Simpson led the rebounding effort with nine.
Burns began taking advantage of the situation early in the third quarter and finally got the lead 31-29 at the 3:30 mark of the quarter. By the end of the quarter they were up 37-32. KM couldn’t get any closer despite some late steals that created a run that led to baskets but not enough to get over the hump.
MEN’S BOXSCORE
KM (54) – Floyd 16, Smith 11, Robinette 8, Sanders 8, Simpson 7, Linney 3, Brown 2.
B (59) – Norris 15, White 14, Thompson 13, Wilson 9, Surratt 6, Johnson 2.

Mountaineers hold off Raiders
to stay unbeaten in Big South

Kings Mountain and South Point had an old-fashioned slobber-knocker Tuesday night at Donald L. Parker Gymnasium with the Mountaineers overcoming a strong Red Raider comeback bid late in the fourth quarter to win 66-62 and remain unbeaten in the Big South 3A Conference.
The Mountaineers led most of the game but the Red Raiders made a strong run in the final five minutes before the home team took command in the final minute with outstanding defensive play and some key baskets.
The Red Raiders overcame the Mountaineers on a three-pointer by Garrett Hunt for a 53-51 lead with 3:15 remaining. KM regained the lead at 54-53 on a free throw by Zay Smith at the 2:35 mark but South Point answered seconds later to go up 55-54.
Bradley Floyd hit a pair of free throws with 2:12 remaining to put KM back up top 56-55 but Sean Gore’s three got the Raiders back on top 59-58 with 1:24 left. That would be their last lead but the Mountaineers had to make some big plays late to send their fans home happy.
Smith’s running layup gave the Mountaineers their final lead at the 1:03 mark. With the clock under 40 seconds, KM’s Curtis Simpson stole the ball and got it to Bradley Floyd who was fouled with 34.6 on the clock. Floyd calmly sank both free throws for a 62-59 lead and another steal set up Sanders for a layup and a 64-59 margin.
A South Point three cut the margin to 64-62 with 4.1 seconds left. The Raiders had to foul again but Smith calmly sank two free throws to wrap things up.
Floyd led the Mountaineers with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Smith played a tremendous all-around game with 12 points, six rebounds and five assists. Eli Osborne, who was called upon late in the first half to sub for Priest Wilson who was injured while fouled going in for a fast-break layup, contributed 12 points.
South Point came on strong in the final three periods to knock off the Lady Mountaineers 59-48 in the first game. The Lady Raiders improved to 4-2 in the BSC and 10-6 overall while dropping the KM ladies to 2-4 and 7-6.
Kings Mountain led 16-12 after the first period and 26-17 at the half. The visitors outscored them 16-11 in the third quarter to cut the difference to 37-33 and 26-11 over the final eight minutes to win going away.
Khalia King led the KM ladies with 26 points. Tyasya Bell added 13 points and five rebounds, Myracle Davis six points and 10 rebounds and Austyn Dixon one point.
The Kings Mountain teams were scheduled to close out first round BSC play last night at Crest. They go to Ashbrook Friday and Hunter Huss next Tuesday.
MEN’S BOXSCORE
KM (66) – Floyd 20, Smith 12, Osborne 12, Wilson 9, Sanders 5, Brown 4, Simpson 4.
SP (62) – Cole 23, Bradley 9, Hunt 8, Rumph 7, Blee 6, Absher 5, Harris 2, Williams 2.
 
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Khalia King topped the 1,000 career point mark in last week’s Big South loss at Stuart Cramer.

King tops 1,000 career points
in KM’s loss to Stuart Cramer

Despite losing to a strong Stuart Cramer team Friday night in Belmont, Kings Mountain High’s senior standout Khalia King passed a personal milestone by topping the 1,000 point mark for her four-year varsity career.
King needed five points to reach thousand but she finished with a game-high 27 in a 70-41 loss. That increased her career point mark to 1,022 points.
King was the only double digit scorer for the Lady Mountaineers. Tyasha Bell, Farri Martin and Mia Bridges added four each and CoRey Simpson added two. Hadley Womack led the Storm with 20.
Kings Mountain’s men kept their conference winning streak going in the nightcap with a 65-53 win over the Purple Storm. That set up a Cleveland County head-to-head battle with the Crest Chargers last night at Crest for sole possession of first place in what was the final first round game of the season.
The Mountaineers stay on the road Friday for a Big South battle with the Ashbrook Green Wave and go to Hunter Huss on Tuesday. They don’t have another home game until they open second round BSC play with North Gaston on January 27 at Parker Gym.
The KM men led most of the way, leading the Storm 17-11 after one period, 30-19 at the half and 44-34 going into the fourth quarter.
The Mountaineers placed four players in double figures, led by Tucker Robinette with 16. Bradley Floyd scored 12 and Curtis Simpson and Bryson Brown 10 each.
The win left the Mountaineers with a 6-0 conference and 9-5 overall mark while Cramer fell to 2-4, 6-10.
GIRLS BOXSCORE
KM (41) – King 27, Bell 4, Bridges 4, Simpson 2, Martin 4.
SC (70) – Womack 20, Holland 12, Duncan 14.
BOYS BOXSCORE
KM (65) – Robinette 16, Floyd 12, Simpson 10, Brown 10, Smith 6, Lenair 4, Osborne 3, Sanders 2, Linney 2.
SC (53) – Rocaqumore 16, Hill 10, Sloan 10, Joyner 9, Rybczyk 4, Whitley 4. 

KM sweeps Forestview,
Burns here on Thursday

Kings Mountain High’s varsity basketball teams opened Big South 3A Conference play Friday night with a sweep of the Forestview Jaguars in Gastonia.
The Mountaineers were scheduled to host a pair of good South Point teams last night and will remain home Thursday for a non-conference battle with the Burns Bulldogs. KM will resume BSC action Friday at Stuart Cramer and will go to Crest Tuesday for a big test against the team that went into this week tied with the Mountaineers for the Big South Conference lead.
The Mountaineers grabbed the lead early at Forestview and were up 25-10 after one quarter and 39-24 at the break. They took a 55-39 lead into the final eight minutes.
Freshmen Tucker Robinette and Bradley Floyd led the Mountaineers with 22 and 16 points, respectively. Twelve of Robinette’s points came from three-point land. Ja’Qualyn Sanders had nine points, Curtis Simpson five points and 10 rebounds, Eli Osborne five points, Bryson Brown four, Priest Wilson three and Charlie Foster two.
Daris Byers scored 16, Alex Helton 14 and Deviyus Byrd 10 for the Jaguars, who fell to 2-2 in the BSC and 7-5 overall. KM improved to 4-0 in the BSC and 7-4 overall.
The KM ladies evened their BSC record at 2-2 and improved to 7-4 overall with a 48-37 win in the opener. Forestview fell to 1-3 in the conference and 7-6 overall.
CoRey Simpson had a big game for the Lady Mountaineers with 14 points and 15 rebounds. Khalia King had 12 points and nine boards, Alayna Patrick nine points and four rebounds, Myracle Davis seven points and a game-high 16 rebounds, Farri Martin four points and four rebounds and Austyn Dixon two points and three rebounds.

Patriots beat Crest 45-23,
Burns here Thursday at 5:15

 Kings Mountain Middle School’s boys basketball team got its season started last week by splitting a pair of games with county rivals Shelby and Crest.
In the first game, Shelby was able to outlast the Patriots 36-30. This was a defensive battle in the first half as Shelby held a 12-8 lead. The second half saw both teams starting to hit some shots.
Kings Mountain took its first lead of the second half 15-14 after Silas Tate made three free throws midway of the quarter. The game was tied at 22 all with four minutes left in the game before Shelby hit back to back shots to take a 27-22 lead. KM got as close as three points but was not able to sustain a late rally.
Leading the Patriots were Tate with 10 points, Xavier Hutchens nine, Christian Hill seven and Christian Jarrett and Nazire Davis two points each.
The second game of the week saw KM get off to another slow start as the Patriots only made one basket off a layup by Nazire Davis.
During the second period the Patriots were able to get on track offensively and took a slim five-point lead into halftime as Silas Tate hit a buzzer beating three as time expired to put KM up 15-10.
 During the second half KM turned up its man-to-man defense and limited the Dragons to five points over a 10-minue period to take a commanding 38-15 lead. Seven Patriots got in on the scoring action, led by Nazire Davis with six points and Qua Ingram with seven for a final score of 45-23.
Huchens led the scoring with nine points. Davis and Tate added eight points each, Qua Ingram seven, Braylon Brown five, Christian Jarrett four, KJ Bell three and Christin Hill one.
The offensive player of the week was Xavier Hutchins with 18 points in the two games. Defensive player of the week was Silas Tate with 10 steals. The sixth man of the week was Braylon Brown who provided a spark off the bench and ignited the defense in both games.
KM was scheduled to open division play on Monday at home against North Lincoln and will host county rival Burns Thursday at 5:15 p.m.

First week KM Elite Trailblazers
basketball results

By Loretta Cozart

PAWS, the mascot for North Elementary School Tigers, got a major update that was unveiled to students on Friday, January 6 during its first semester awards day program.
It appears PAWS has been working out over the Christmas break and came back to school sporting a more muscular physique, thanks to Flooring America.
The old PAWS, circa 1980, needed an upgrade and a former North School student answered the call.
The school thanked Ty Toney from Flooring America for his donation for the new Tiger Mascot costume! Once a Tiger, Always a Tiger! 
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Priest Wilson puts up a short jumper in last week’s game with Rock Hill in the Mountaineers’ holiday tournament. Photos by Gary Smart

Mountaineers go 1-2 in tournament, resume
Big South Conference play Friday at Forestview

Kings Mountain’s Mountaineers finished 1-2 in their annual Christmas tournament last week at Parker Gym, getting a 61-53 win over East Rutherford sandwiched around losses of 54-50 to Harding and 66-58 to Rock Hill.
Harding jumped out front 16-12 after the first period and 26-25 at the half in Wednesday’s opening round. The teams were tied at 36-all after three periods but an 18-14 scoring advantage over the final eight minutes gave Harding the win.
KM freshman Bradley Floyd was the game’s top scorer with 20 points. Freshman Tucker Robinette added 11 and junior Curtis Simpson 10. Kendarian Thomas led Harding with 17, Elton Davis scored 16 and Chase Bryson 14.
The Mountaineers bounced back Thursday to edge the East Rutherford Cavaliers 61-53 behind the 1-2 scoring punch of Floyd with 19 points and Charlie Foster with 14.
Dacen Petty led the Cavaliers with 20 points and Tyler Barksdale and Grayson Burleson added 11 apiece.
Friday’s battle with Rock Hill was close before the visitors pulled away in the second half. The Mountaineers were led by Floyd with 19 points, Foster 15 and Robinette 10. Byrd and Huston scored 18 and 11, respectively, to lead the visitors.
The Mountaineers will resume Big South 3A Conference action Friday at Gastonia Forestview and will host a strong South Point five Tuesday, January 10 at Donald L. Parker Gymnasium. They will stay at home on Thursday, January 12 for a non-conference game against county rival Burns.
GAME ONE
KM (50) – Floyd 20, Robinette 13, Simpson 10, Wilson 5, Brown 4.
Harding (54) – Thomas 17, E. Davis 16, Bryson 14, K. Davis 4, Bradshaw 3.
GAME TWO
KM (61) – Floyd 19, Foster 14, Robinette 8, Simpson 4, Cole 4, Wilson 3, Brown 2, Smith 2.
ER (53) – Petty 20, Barksdale 11, Burleson 11, Atkins 5, Pinkerton 2, Hunter 2, Watkins 2.
GAME THREE
KM (58) – Floyd 19, Foster 15, Robinette 10, Sanders 6, Simpson 4, Linney 3, Brown 1.
RH (66) – Byrd 18, Huston 11, Carter 9, Webb 8, Wilson 5, Cormell 3, Young 3, McKinney 2.
Sports

Mountaineers place nine players, coach on All-Conference team

Kings Mountain’s Mountaineers placed nine players on the All-Big South Conference team, including three that were Players of the Year, and Coach Greg Lloyd was voted BSC Coach of the Year for the recently-completed 2022 football season.
First team selections were offensive linemen Isaiah Eskridge and Michael Lubas. First team defensive selections were linemen AJ Richardson and Curtis Simpson and defensive back Jake Lloyd. Richardson was also selected Defensive Player of the Year, Eskridge was selected Offensive Lineman of the Year and Simpson was named Defensive Lineman of the Year.
Making the second team were running back/defensive back Bryson Brown, running back Teddy Jeffries, quarterback Lamont Littlejohn and receiver/defensive back and return specialist Zavian Smith.
Simpson, who has already received numerous major college offers, Brown, Jeffries and Smith will return next season to lead the Mountaineers to another run for the conference championship. Richardson, Lubas, Eskridge, Littlejohn and Lloyd will graduate in the spring and hopefully continue their football exploits in the collegiate ranks.
Hunter Huss sophomore Jayden Gash, whose father Daryl played for the Mountaineers in the late eighties and early nineties, made the first team as a return specialist and was also named Special Teams Player of the Year. He returned the opening kickoff in the Huss at Kings Mountain game which was the only time the Mountaineers were behind in a regular season game.
The Offensive Player of the Year was Ny’Tavious Huskey of Crest.
First team All Conference:
QB, Ny’Tavious Huskey, Crest.
RB – Carmelo Bess, Ashbrook.
OL – Isaiah Eskridge, Kings Mountain; Michael Lubas, Kings Mountain; Sullivan Absher, South Point; Tymon Childs, Ashbrook; Myles Jackson, Forestview; Trent Mitchell, Ashbrook.
Athletes – Malachi Addison, Crest; Javarius Green, Crest; Christian Holland, Forestview; Isaiah Johnson, Cramer; Cam Medlock, South Point, Justin Rocquemore, Cramer.
DL – AJ Richardson, KM, Curtis Simpson, KM, Devon Biggers, Ashbrook, Davonyae Pettus, Crest.
LB – Daimean Fernandez, Cramer, Dezmun Porter, Crest, James Taylor, Huss.
DB – Jake Lloyd, KM, Gene Neely, Huss, Will Ross, South Point, Sincere Sanders-Moss, Ashbrook.
Specialists – Charlie Birtwistle, SP, Jayden Gash, Huss, JJ Gordon, North Gaston.
Second team:
Bryson Brown, KM, Teddy Jeffries, KM, Lamont Littlejohn, KM, Zavian Smith, KM, AJ Adams, Crest, Nathaniel Aguilar, Forestview, Patrick Blee, South Point, Noah Comer, Forestview, Chaynce Ford, South Point, Derek Mitchell, Crest, Christian Mixter, Forestview, Kenneth Odugba, Forestview, Jaquis Rumph, South Point, Josh Smith, North Gaston, Hudson Spargo, South Point, Tyler Ward, Cramer.
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Big plays late lift KM over Green Wave


Kings Mountain freshman Bradley Floyd’s running jumper from the baseline with five seconds remaining in the game, along with his steal of Ashbrook’s inbounds pass capped an exciting 50-48 victory over Ashbrook’s Green Wave in the two teams’ opening Big South 3A Conference battle Friday night at KM’s Donald L. Parker Gymnasium.
A big defensive steal by KM’s Zay Smith with 27.3 seconds remaining resulted in a timeout by the Mountaineers to set up the winning shot and KM’s third win in four games overall.
Kings Mountain’s girls weren’t as fortunate in the opener. Leading by just 38-33 going into the fourth quarter, Ashbrook outscored the Lady Mountaineers 22-5 to cap a 60-38 victory.
Floyd would finish with 13 points to lead the Mountaineer scoring against a veteran Ashbrook five. Priest Wilson scored 10, Tucker Robinette eight, Charlie Foster seven, Smith and Kee’Donn Linney four each and Bryson Brown and Ja’Qualyn Sanders two each. Ashbrook was led by Kenneth Greene with 13 and Jashuan Clark with 10.
The game was close throughout. Neither team could get anything going in the first period. Two free throws by Foster gave the Mountaineers an 11-9 lead heading into the second stanza. KM held the lead most of the second period but Ashbrook’s Gabriel June ran the baseline for a basket that put the Wave on top 22-21 at the half.
After the Wave built a 32-25 lead in the first three minutes of the third period, the Mountaineers got late baskets by Tucker Robinette and Floyd to go into the final quarter up 37-34.
Ashbrook scored the first two baskets of the fourth quarter to take a 38-37 lead. KM got even at 43-all on a basket by Floyd with three minutes remaining, and went on top 46-43 on a bucket by Sanders with 2:14 left.
Ashbrook regained the lead at 48-46 on a bucket by Jashuan Clark with 1:13 remaining but Brown’s baseline runner knotted the score at 48-all with 1:13 to play. Ashbrook was whistled for a charge with a minute left but got the ball back following a KM missed shot. The Green Wave was running the clock down for a last shot of their own but Smith made the steal of the game to set up a time out and Floyd’s late heroics.
The girls’ game was just as close and exciting in the first three periods, but Ashbrook proved itself to be a championship contender by dominating the fourth quarter.
After KM got off to a 5-3 lead on two baskets by Khalia King, the visitors got on track and led 18-15 at the quarter break. Consecutive threes by King got the KM ladies back on top 21-19 but Ashbrook answered with buckets by Tori Brooks and Madison Cole to regain the lead at 23-21. The visitors wouldn’t trail again.
Down 37-26 at the half, KM rallied behind buckets by King, CoRey Simpson and Alayna Patrick to pull to within 38-33 heading into the fourth period. Ashbrook began pressing on defense and turned the game into a rout.
King led the KM scoring with 13 points. Simpson had a double-double with 11 points and 16 rebounds. Patrick added seven points, Bell two and Myracle Davis four.

KM sweeps
R-S Central
in basketball

Kings Mountain High’s varsity basketball teams swept RS Central in a non-conference doubleheader last week in Spindale.
The Lady Mountaineers placed four players in double figures in a 63-23 victory and the Mountaineers had four double digit scorers in their 70-64 win.
CoRey Simpson had a double-double for the KM ladies with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Tyasya Bell and Myracle Davis added 12 points each and Farri Martin contributed 10.
Khalia King scored six points, Austyn Dixon and Mia Bridges four each and Jailen Moore one.
The Mountaineers were led by a pair of freshmen as Tucker Robinette scored 16 points and Bradley Floyd added 14 points and nine rebounds. Kee’Don Linney scored 11 points and Thomas Spicer 10. Priest Wilson barely missed double digits with nine points.
Other KM scorers were Zay Smith with four points and Ja’Qualyn Sanders and Charlie Foster with three each.
The Mountaineers led 21-15 after the first quarter but were behind 37-35 at the break. The teams were tied at 51-all heading into the fourth quarter when the Mountaineers outscored the Hilltoppers 19-13 to capture their second straight win.
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Lovingood signs a scholarship with CCC

Marty Lovingood signs a scholarship to continue his cross country and track career at Cleveland Community College. He is pictured in front row with his father Eddie Lovingood, mother Cheryl Lovingood and brother Justin Lovingood. Back row, left to right, KMHS athletic director Matt Bridges, CCC coach Steve McCachren, KMHS XC and track coach Rayvis Key, and KMHS assistant principal Melissa Wilson.  
                                                                                           Photo by Gary Smart

KM Middle VB going for championship

Kings Mountain Middle School’s volleyball team was hosting North Lincoln for the Tri-County Conference championship Tuesday afternoon.
Winners of the East Division, Coach Lindsay Ellis’s KM ladies took an undefeated record into the game and was playing in the overall conference championship for the fourth straight year.
The top-seeded KM ladies advanced to the finals Thursday with a 25-12, 25-8, 25-10 first round victory over East Rutherford.
Kings Mountain was led by Campbell Benton with 11 service points, six aces, two digs and 14 kills; Avaclaire Moss with five service points, an ace, a dig and 18 assists; Avery Cruise with 17 service points, five aces, 15 digs, an assist and a kill; Jillian Patton with 14 service points, five aces, 15 digs, four assists and a kill; Ava Broome with five service points and 14 digs, and Jaylee Woodward with five kills.
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KMHS football players visit North School to read with students. See more photos on page 4B. Photo by Anna Hughes

KMHS football players
visit North School

By Loretta Cozart

Coach Greg Lloyd and 32 of the Kings Mountain High School football players visited North Elementary School on November 10.
The high schoolers partnered with North students to read with them as part of our PALS program. Football players visited the classrooms and read to the students.
North students lined the hallway and cheered on the Mounties who are in the state playoffs and ranked number one in their division this year.

KMHS women’s tennis team wins Big South Conference

Kings Mountain High’s women’s tennis team recently won its fifth Big South Conference championship in eight years.
The Lady Mountaineers’ record during that time was 70-6.
“I couldn’t be more proud of a group of young ladies, especially our seniors led by Hannah McCall, Katelyn Fleming, Hailey McCall and Railey Bolt,” said Coach Rick Henderson. Other members of the team were Katherine Fleming, Katie Murray, Melissa Brooks, Lillie Bolin and Khalia King.
In their opener, the Lady Mountaineers edged county rival Shelby 5-4 in a non-conference game. Winners were Fleming, Brooks and Murray in singles and Fleming/Bolt and Frye McSwain in doubles.
KM defeated Ashbrook 9-0. Winners were Hannah McCall, Katelyn Fleming, Katherine Frye, Hailey McCall, Katie Murray and Railey Bolt. Doubles winners were the McCalls, Fleming and Bolt and Frye and McSwain.
KM also dominated Hunter Huss 9-0 with wins by both McCalls, Fleming, Frye, Brooks and McSwain in singles and the McCalls, Fleming and Bolt and Frye and McSwain in doubles.
The Lady Mountaineers had their first tough BSC match, beating North Gaston 5-4. Winners were Frye, Hailey McCall, Murray and Brooks in singles and Fleming/Bolt and Frye/McSwain in doubles.
KM defeated Forestview 6-3with wins by Fleming, Frye, Hailey McCall, Murray and Bolt in singles and Fleming and Bolt and Brooks and Murray in doubles.
KM whipped South Point 7-2. After Hannah McCall lost, the Lady Mountaineers wrapped up the match with singles wins by Fleming, Frye,  Hailey McCall, Murray and Bolt. The McCalls lost their #1 doubles match but Fleming and Bolt and Brooks and Murray finished things up with victories.
The Lady Mountaineers defeated Cramer 8-1, sweeping after Hannah McCall lost at the #1 position. Winners were Fleming, Frye, McCall, Murray, and Bolt and doubles winners were the McCalls, Fleming and Bolt and Brooks and Murray.
In a head-to-head battle with county rival Crest to end the regular season, all of the KM ladies were in top form and won 9-0. Winners were Hannah and Hailey McCall, Fleming, Frye, Brooks and Bolt. Doubles winners were the McCalls, Fleming and Bolt and Brooks and Murray.
In the post-season BSC tournament, the ladies were represented by Frye and Murray. Frye was ousted in the first round by Lauren Lucas of South Point 9-0 while Murray fell to Jazmin Higley of Hunter Huss 8-3.
Hannah and Haley McCall and Fleming and Bolt represented the KM ladies in doubles and both teams advanced to the championship match. Hanna and Hailey took an early lead and won 6-2, 6-1 but both teams advanced to the Western Regionals in Hickory along with Fleming and Bolt. Unfortunately both teams fell in the first round.
“I was so proud of each of these four seniors who led our tennis team over the last four years by example on and off the courts,” said Coach Rick Henderson. “These continued their winning ways as they helped lead the KM women’ tennis program into the record books. Over the last eight years our women’s program has a conference record of 70-plus wins and eight losses.”
Participating on this year’s team were Hannah McCall, Katelyn Fleming, Katherine Fleming, Hailey McCall, Katie Murray, Melissa Brooks, Railey Bolt, Lillie Bolin and Khalia King.
Bolt, Brooks, Fleming, Frye and Hailey and Hannah McCall were selected to the All-Conference team.  Henderson was named Coach of the Year for the sixth time in the last nine seasons – 2014, ’15, ’16, ’17, ’18 and ’22.

Lions Here Friday

West Charlotte’s Lions will be roaring into John Gamble Stadium Friday night for a third round NCHSAA 3A playoff date with the Kings Mountain Mountaineers and according to KM head coach Greg Lloyd this will be the home team’s biggest test so far this season.
“They are impressive, for sure,” he said. “They’re electric as far as speed. They have excellent size. They are very athletic and they played in one of the toughest conferences in the state.”
The Lions tuned up for their 3A opponents by playing very tough Charlotte area 4A teams in pre-season so no one should look at their overall record and think there’s going to be another 42-0 blowout.
“It’s going to be a big test and a great game,” Lloyd says. “The team that plays better will win.”
The Lions are led by one of the best quarterbacks around in Kamron Roberts and he has plenty of outstanding teammates to throw to and hand off to. “Their number one (Caleb Barringer) is really fast and can score on any play,” Lloyd said.
“They’re also an excellent defensive team – one of, if not the best, we’ve seen,”
Lloyd added. “They’re going to be a big challenge. We’re going to try to execute better and play hard and try to keep the ball. On defense we’ll have to keep the pressure on them and play just as hard as we can play. This one’s not going to be easy.”
The Mountaineers hope to have junior defensive end/wide receiver Curtis Simpson back at full strength this week. He took part in just a couple plays in last week’s win over Smoky Mountain.
“I think he’s okay but you just never know about those nagging injuries,” Lloyd said. “We sure hope he will be playing.”
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Kings Mountain running back Caleb Holland turns the corner for some of his 126 rushing yards in Friday’s win over Smoky Mountain. Photos by Gary Smart

Mountaineers shutout Smoky Mountain for 12th win

The defense set the tone early and often in the Mountaineers’ 42-0 win over Smoky Mountain in the second round of the state 3A playoffs Friday at John Gamble Stadium.
After winning the pre-game coin toss, the Mountaineers opted to go on defense. After an early first down by the visitors Bryson Brown, Jason Melton, Zay Smith and Jake Lloyd applied the pressure for three incomplete passes and Antonio Armstrong supplied a quarterback sack to force a punt which big AJ Richardson partially blocked and Lloyd returned it to the visitors’ 19 yard line. It took just two runs by Caleb Holland to get the Mountaineers into the end zone and with less than three minutes into the game they were on the way to their 12th straight win.
The defense was far from through as it had a hand in every touchdown scored the rest the night by making big plays to set things up for the offense. The offense had one of its most impressive nights finishing with 444 yards of total offense including 254 rushing and 190 passing.
Special teams were also doing their part. Kicker Jaden Ellis put several kicks into the end zone to make the visitors start at their 20, and on other occasions he supplied high kicks that resulted in short or zero returns. The defense held the previously high-scoring Mustangs to just 192 yards total offense – 100 on the ground and 92 in the air.
After the two teams exchanged a couple possessions after that initial score, the KM defense came up big again when Lloyd intercepted a pass at the KM 22 yard line late in the first period. With Holland and Teddy Jeffries running the ball three times each, the Mountaineers worked their way to the visitors’ one yard line on the final play of the first quarter. KM put big linebacker AJ Richardson on offense and on the first play of the second period he bulled his way into the end zone and Ellis booted the PAT for a 14-0 lead.
“It was a good win,” noted KM head coach Greg Lloyd. “We got off to a pretty good start but Smoky Mountain came to play. We stopped them on two early drives. The second quarter, we came out to play. We had a defensive turnover in the red zone and that gave us the momentum.”
Another interception by Smith put KM in business again at its own 33 with 10:32 on the second quarter clock. Again, Holland and Jeffries took turns running the ball to get in scoring range but a fumble (which KM recovered) and an incomplete pass on third and 14 forced a fourth and 14 from the visitors’ 27 yard line. Quarterback Lamont Littlejohn found Holland wide open in the end zone and Ellis’s PAT made it 21-0 with 7:41 on the clock.
After another punt by the visitors, it took KM just three plays to score as Ja’Qualyn Sanders streaked down the home sideline for a 59-yard catch and run that along with Ellis’s PAT sent the Mountaineers into halftime with a 28-0 lead.
The Mountaineers scored on their first two possessions of the second half to put the win in the bag. After SM kicker Nathan Porter put the kickoff into the end zone, the Mountaineers ate up almost half of the third period clock on an 80-yard, 11-play drive that ended with Jeffries’ two yard run. Along the way Littlejohn completed passes of 27 yards to Xorion Lenair and 28 to Sanders who made a highlight reel leaping reception at the Smoky Mountaintwo from which point Jeffries took it into the end zone and Ellis added the PAT for a 35-0 lead.
This time, Ellis went with a pooch kick which the visitors put in play at their own 33. They were forced to punt from their 35 and their kicker’s punt went into the end zone forcing KM to start at its own 20. A 15-yard run by Holland, a SM face mask penalty, and a 22-yard run around right end by Jeffries got the Mountaineers to the SM 22. After a bad snap resulted in a loss and a three-yard run by Littlejohn created a fourth and 10 at the 33, Littlejohn found Holland all alone at the five yard line for a pass and he back-peddled into the end zone for the final TD. Ellis’s PAT rounded out the scoring.
“Our offensive line blocked really well and Lamont had some timely throws,” Lloyd said. “Our special teams had one of its better games. We were good in every area.”
KM played all but one or two plays without the services of one of their top defensive standouts, Curtis Simpson, who hurt his ankle the week before. He is expected to be back for this week’s game with West Charlotte.
“Smoky Mountain presented us some problems, especially early,” Lloyd said. “We knew their quarterback was good and that number five (Damare Williams) was a threat. But our guys played hard and made some good plays on them.”
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Kings Mountain quarterback Lamont Littlejohn gets good pass protection in Friday’s opening playoff win over St. Stephens at Gamble Stadium. Photos by Gary Smart

Mountaineers whip Indians 42-6


Kings Mountain’s Caleb Holland returned the opening kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown to spark a 42-point first quarter and a 42-6 victory over St. Stephens in the opening round of the state 3A playoffs Friday night at John Gamble Stadium.
Before four minutes were gone off the clock, the Mountaineers had built a 21-0 lead and it was evident the Indians would be no match for the top-ranked KM eleven.
Following Holland’s return and Jaden Ellis’s PAT for a quick 7-0 lead, the Mountaineer defense held the Indians to three and out and Xzorion Lenair returned a punt to the visitors’ 44. Teddy Jeffries took a handoff from quarterback Lamont Littlejohn and went off right tackle for a 14-0 lead.
With the Indians facing third and 22 from their own 21 on the next series, Jake Lloyd broke in front of the Indians’ intended receiver for an interception and a 36-yard burst down the visitors’ sideline for a 21-0 lead with just 3:55 gone off the clock.
Following another three and out highlighted by a five yard tackle for loss by AJ Richardson and a nine yard loss on Antonio Armstrong’s sack, the Indians had to punt again and Lenair returned it 42 yards for a touchdown to make it 28-0 with 6:25 still left in the first period.
Another three and out forced the Indians to punt again. This time, the Mountaineers took possession at their own 49. Following two carries by Holland for 17 and five yards – sandwiched around a 13-yard reception by Ja’Qualyn Sanders - Littlejohn hit Bryson Brown on a slant for a 35-0 lead with 3:38 on the clock.
The Indians picked up their initial first down on a face mask penalty against the Mountaineers, but the defense quickly took charge again and held them at midfield. After a holding penalty on KM, Littlejohn hit Jake Lloyd with a pass for 19 yards and a first down at the Indians’ 41 and Jeffries took care of the rest for a 42-0 lead with still 1:17 left on the first quarter clock.
That would be the end of the Mountaineer scoring, largely because the home team did not wish to run up the score. The coaching staff began substituting and all starters were on the sidelines in the second half supporting the second unit.
“We got everybody in the game and that’s good,” noted Coach Greg Lloyd. “We were able to rest some people. I doubt if the first team offense played maybe 12 plays. They didn’t get a lot of work but getting the lead helped us keep people fresh for this week. Simpson rolled his ankle but otherwise we’re pretty healthy. I think he’ll be able to play Friday.”
The Indians were able to finally get into KM territory late in the half but Lloyd’s interception stopped them at the 43, and after another change of possession the Indians were able to make it from their own 26 to the KM 46 but Micah Ward’s interception ended their hopes on the last play of the first half.
With the running clock rule in effect, the Indians ate up most of the third quarter on a 15-play, 80-yard drive that ended with a quarterback Peyton Young’s 11 yard TD run with 35 seconds on the clock.  Facing fourth and seven at the KM 22, the Indians first went for a field goal, which was good, but KM was penalized on the play for roughing the kicker which set up Young’s TD.
Josiah Hill gained 37 yards on five carries and Ward 22 on four totes to take the game clock down to 5:11 and guys like Dariyon Black, Jason Melton and Jakarri Roberts held St. Stephens at bay the rest of the night.
Because of the outstanding defensive and special team efforts, the Mountaineers had very few running plays by the first unit. Jeffries had just two carries for 89 yards and Holland two for 22. Lloyd had one reception for 19 yards, Brown one for 16, Zay Smith one for 14 and Sanders one for 13.
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CHRIS JOHNSON

Chris Johnson
returns home
for Friday game

One of Kings Mountain High’s all-time great athletes was in the stands and pulling for St. Stephens in the Indians’ opening round 3A playoff game Friday against the Mountaineers at John Gamble Stadium.
Chris Johnson, who was assistant principal at St. Stephens for many years before being recently moved to the Alternative School as its principal, was one of the Mountaineer greats in both football and baseball during his youth. He played football under Coach Bob Jones and baseball for Coach Barry Gibson. He was very versatile in football playing tailback,  defensive  back,  wide receiver, corner and safety and returning kickoffs and punts. He made trips to Kings Mountain and to their opponent’s field every Friday night when his son Xavier was playing for Coach Greg Lloyd’s Mountaineers in mid-teens. Xavier is now living in Raleigh.
Before going into administration, Johnson taught and coached some in Bessemer City and schools in Catawba County.
A member of the Kings Mountain Sports Hall of Fame, Johnson was three-time All-SAC8 and Honorable Mention All-American during a great four-year career at Gardner-Webb. He intercepted 25 passes that’s still a school record. He is the only football player ever to be named Kings Mountain’s most valuable player two years straight.
“Sports has been good to me,” Johnson said prior to Friday’s playoff game. “It made me what I am today. What lessons you learn as an athlete come back to you. You go through rigors and it makes you a better person.”
He recalled that the 1975 and ’76 KMHS baseball teams won the conference championship. He played in the outfield and was one of the team’s best all-around players standing out in the field, at bat and on the base paths.
“I had a lot of good teammates,” he noted. “The 1975 team went to the state tournament. That’s the year we had David Lancaster, Tony Payne and a lot of other good players. We went deep in the third round. We beat Shelby twice during the regular season and then lost to them in the playoffs.”
He also played on some good basketball teams under Coach Allen Dixon.
“I had good teammates in basketball, too,” he noted. “People like Jim Thompson, Tommy Manning, Charles Bell and Butch Blalock. They were really good athletes.
“My son Xavier played football for Greg Lloyd at Kings Mountain,” he noted. “I saw a lot of their games then. 2014 was his senior year and we went up to West Henderson in the playoffs and almost froze to death. I think that’s the coldest I’ve ever been.
“Just to be on the ball field is great,” he said. “That’s where my heart was. Sports is still a family thing for me. I grew up without a dad and people in sports really embraced me. It’s always been a tradition for me.”
Friday was the first time Johnson has been back to Gamble Stadium since the new Brinkley Field was built and artificial turf put down on the playing field.
“This is very nice,” he said.

Blazettes in Big South competition

The Kings Mountain Elite Trailblazers “Blazettes” competed in the Big South Youth Cheer League competition Sunday at East Lincoln High School and had an outstanding showing in each age division.
The 6U Tiny Mites and 8U Mighty Mites both finished first place. The 10U junior varsity cheerleaders finished second and the 12U varsity cheerleaders were fifth.
Out of the 21 teams that participated, the KM Elite Tiny Mites won the overall highest score award. The Blazettes are led by cheer coordinator Brandy Tate and staff.
The staff, left to right, are Kela Jackson, Mashayla Hopper, Ashanti Whittenburg, Porshia Whittenburg, Brandy Tate, Angel Capel, Victoria Lawson, Octavia Young and Mindy Reynolds.
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elite coaches
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elite cheerleaders and coaches

Elite Trailblazers advance
in Big South YFL playoffs

The KM Elite Trailblazers advanced three of four teams to the semifinals of the Big South YFL playoffs Saturday. All semifinal games will be played Sat., Nov. 12 at St. Stephens High School in Hickory.
In the 6U division, the Trailblazers Tiny Mites earned the #2 seed and a first round bye. They will face the #3 Cramerton Panthers in the semifinal round.
The 8U Trailblazers Mighty Mites got a 14-6 victory over the Boger City Steelers. Jasir Garner rushed for a touchdown and Nazareth Long ran a touchdown and two-point conversion.
The defense gave an outstanding team effort, getting big plays from Garner, Long, G’Hailyn Smith, O’Brian Smith Jr., Khyier Marable, Dallas Hamrick, Jeffrey Brown, Zuri Brown, Jordan Goode, Michael Thompson Jr. and Zayden Mintz. The 8U team will play #2 West Carolina Ducks in the semifinals.
The 10U Junior Varsity Trailblazers suffered a tough 20-0 loss to the Carolina Bears from Cabarrus County. The 10U team finished the season fifth in their division.
The 12U Varsity Trailblazers got an early 45 yard touchdown run from Cayden Smith to take the lead 8-0 against the East Lincoln Mustangs. East Lincoln would score in the fourth quarter but the Elite’s A’mon Parker got a big hit on the opposing quarterback and Javen Wilson intercepted the pass to stop the conversion. An interception by Braylon Brown later in the quarter and some good hard-nosed running by Kavion Byers helped the Trailblazers seal the 8-6 victory. Smith, Tyvegas Goode Jr., Zykeem Hamrick, Jace Currence, Westley Barnes and Desmond Nolan also helped anchor the KM defense. The Trailblazers will play the Iredell Bandits in the semifinals.
The schedule for Saturday, Nov. 12 is:
10:15 a.m. – 6U Division, #2 KM Elite vs. #3 Cramerton Panthers.
11:30 a.m. – 12U Division, #2 KM Elite vs. #3 Iredell Bandits.
12:45 p.m. – 8U Division, #2 West Carolina Ducks vs. #4 KM Elite.
The winner of each game will advance to the BSYFL championship game.
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Kohen Johnson

KM's  Johnson All-Region 10

Running for the Cleveland Community College Yetis, 2022 Kings Mountain graduate Kohen Johnson made the NJCAA all region 10 cross country team. Kohen held off regional champion Spartanburg Methodist's fourth runner by 6 seconds to make the all-region team.   Region 10 consists of junior colleges from NC, SC, and Virginia.  Kohen Johnson is a freshman at Cleveland Community College and will be competing in the National Junior College cross country championship this Saturday, November 12th in Tallahassee Florida.                                                                           
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Former KMHS football players

Former KMHS football players (left to right) Tommy Black, George Harris, Charles Yelton, Palmer Huffstetler and Ken Cloninger at last week’s 100th Mountaineer football celebration at Gamble Stadium. All of these men helped the ‘50s and ‘60s teams pack City Stadium.
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Alexa Jones is strong on the nets for Lady Mountaineers in playoff win over East Lincoln at Parker Gym.

Volleyball ousts East Lincoln,
West Henderson from playoffs

The Lady Mountaineers defeated East Lincoln 25-14, 25-18 and 25-10 in second round action last Tuesday night at Parker Gym.
Meile Songaila had 13 kills, eight serve receptions, 20 digs and two service points.
Myracle Davis had 17 kills and two blocks.
Paige Bagwell had 12 assists, seven kills and four digs.
Camden Pasour dished out 25 assists and had 21 service points, two kills, two serve receptions and 12 digs.
Carolina Barber had 21 serve receptions, eight service points, three assists and 14 digs.
On Thursday, the Lady Mountaineers defeated a good West Henderson team in a close match 25-16, 22-25, 25-23 and 25-19.
Songaila had nine service points, 20 serve receptions, 21 digs and 18 kills.
Davis had 23 kills, five blocks and two digs.
Pasour had 12 service points, 24 assists, eight digs and three kills.
Bagwell had six service points, 24 assists, 19 digs and 12 kills.
Barber had six serve receptions, 29 service points and 27 digs.
The Lady Mountaineers fell 3-1 to Fred T. Foard Saturday afternoon in a match to decide the Western Regional representative for the state tournament.
 
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Watts to run in state XC meet

The 3A West Regional cross country championship was held at Freedom High School in Morganton last week.
The Big South Conference individual champion Isaac Watts of Kings Mountain High School had another personal best time of 16.59 to finish 13th overall and qualify as the third individual form the West for the State 3A Championship meet Saturday in Kernersville.
Other scores for the Mountaineers were Max Thompson who finished 47th with an 18:37, Marty Lovingood finishing 75th with a 19.31, Nathan Inthavong 99th with a 20:22, Elliot Habel 140th with a 22:08, Hunter Cruise 153rd with a 23:08, and Nicholas Horn 155th with a 23:31.
For the KM women, Divinity Ervin finished 36th overall with a 20:57 but a heartbreaking eighth place as an individual just missing the seventh spot by two seconds. Brooke Waseman finished 56th with a 22:24, Sarah Eagle 73rd with a 23:16, Nicole Poston 115th with a 25:40, Kinley Putnam 117th with a 25:52, Kallie Hope 118th with a 25:53 and Cindy Ulloa 126th with a 26:51.
Both teams finished 15th out of the 29 in the region. ‘
“There were six seniors running for Kings Mountain,” noted Coach Rayvis Key. “Their leadership, faithfulness and perseverance will truly be missed next year.”

St. Stephens here Friday
for first playoff game

Kings Mountain’s Mountaineers are ranked as the #1 team in the Western 3A playoff bracket and will play all of their Western playoff games at home, beginning Friday night when the #32 St. Stephens Indians come to town.
Although they come here with a 4-6 overall record, they have played some very good Western NC teams and turned in a big victory over Fred T. Foard in their season finale last week to nail down a playoff spot
“They played very well Friday and they played very well against Statesville,” Lloyd noted. Kings Mountain and Statesville have had some classic post-season battles over the years.
“They’re very competitive,” Lloyd continued. “They have a balanced offense (averaging 139 yards passing and 168 rushing per game). Their quarterback (Peyton Young, who is 94 of 184 passing for 1,373 yards) is a good one. They are very similar to Franklin last year. We can’t afford to look past anybody. We have to focus on St. Stephens.”
Mountaineer fans will recall that last year the Mountaineers had to drive 99 yards in the final two minutes to defeat a Franklin team that had a similar record to St. Stephens.
The Indians have a good running game led by Bryan Gaither who has 1,145 yards rushing and last week burned the Fred T. Foard defense for 288 yards on 19 carries to help his team grab the playoff spot.
They have a couple standout receivers in 6-1 senior Dayton Anderson (33 catches for 427 yards) and Brycen Gaither (sophomore running back) who has caught 17 passes for 253 yards.
The Mountaineers have had some nagging injuries, but Lloyd said everyone will be ready to go Friday.
“Winning all 10 regular season games is really a great compliment for the players,” he said. “They’re really good players to coach. We want to take this momentum into the playoffs, get better every day and make a deep run.”
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Mountaineers defeat Chargers 35-20 to finish
regular season 10-0 for the first time since 1964


Kings Mountain’s Mountaineers scored on their first three possessions to take a 21-0 lead and went on to defeat the Crest Chargers 35-20 Friday night at Crest and wrap up the Big South Conference championship and their first 10-0 regular season since 1964.
A victory by the Chargers would have created a three-way tie for first place between the Mountaineers, Chargers and South Point but the KM victory sent Crest to a third place finish with a 5-2 conference record and 7-3 overall mark while South Point claimed sole possession of second place with a 6-1 mark in the league and 9-1 overall.
“We got off to a great start,” said Mountaineer head coach Greg Lloyd, a former player and assistant coach at Crest. “We were minus a player or two but we played very well. We had a fantastic first half in all three phases of the game. We did a good job running the ball and passing. We were very balanced.”
The Mountaineers drove the opening kickoff 60 yards in 12 plays to score on a two-yard run by Teddy Jeffries, who would go on to finish with 138 yards on 16 carries before being injured late in the fourth quarter.
The Chargers stopped Caleb Holland for no gain on the game’s first play from scrimmage, and the Mountaineers drew a five-yard illegal procedure penalty before senior quarterback Lamont Littlejohn passed 19 yards to Bryson Brown and 10 to Ja’Qualyn Sanders to put the Mountaineers on the Crest 37. Passes of 14 yards to Jeffries and 16 to Sanders got them to the four and carries of two yards each from AJ Richardson and Jeffries got them into the end zone. Jaden Ellis’s PAT made it 7-0.
On the Chargers’ first possession from scrimmage, Sanders intercepted a pass to put the Mountaineers in business at the Chargers’ 26. After a holding penalty and a one-yard loss, Littlejohn hit Bryson Brown for a 19 yard reception to get the offense rolling again. Richardson’s one yard burst at the 4:28 mark and Ellis’s PAT made it 14-0.
Jason Melton covered Ellis’s pooch kickoff at the Crest 34. After two carries for 18 yards by Jeffries put KM on the Charges’ 19, Holland took it to the house and Ellis’s PAT with still 3:19 left in the first period put the Mountaineers up 21-0. Holland would finish with 74 yards on 13 carries as he and Jeffries each gained more yards rushing than the entire Crest running corps that had 48 yards on 20 carries.
“I thought Lamont, Bryson Brown and Zavion Smith did a really good job,” Lloyd said. “Our offensive line was really aggressive. The defensive backs made some really big plays.”
The Crest defense blocked a punt to give the Chargers possession at the KM 17 with 11:38 left in the second quarter and the hosts got on the board on a 14-yard reception by DeShaun Curry. The PAT failed and KM led 21-6.
The Mountaineer defense came up big forcing the Chargers to punt from their own 25. Xorian Lenair returned it to the Crest 38 yard line. It took just three plays to score as Jeffries broke a 30-yard run and Ellis again added the PAT for a 28-6 lead.
With 2:42 left in the half, KM’s Jason Melton tackled Crest QB Ny’tavious Huskey on a fourth and two and KM took possession at its own 33. Two runs by Holland netted 18 yards and Littlejohn passed to Lenair for a 35-yard gain to the Crest 21. After a two-yard gain by Jeffries, Littlejohn passed 19 yards to Sanders for a 35-6 halftime lead.
That completed the Mountaineer scoring but Crest caused some anxious moments with two touchdowns in the second half. The Mountaineers were on the Crest 13 yard line when the Chargers recovered a high snap all the way back to the Crest 31. That gave the hosts some momentum
and five plays later their Malachi Addison caught a 46-yard pass for a touchdown to cut the margin to 35-14.
Another snap sailed high over the KM punter’s head early in the fourth period and the Charges took possession at the KM 48. Adams’ 37-yard TD reception on a fourth and three play cut the margin to 35-20 with still 8:34 on the clock.
“The bad snaps kept them in the game, but we still kept them at bay,” Coach Lloyd noted. “We played very well and I am very pleased with the regular season. We let them back in the game. We had more to do with them coming back than they did. Our two blunders kept their drives going. We just have to stay away from mistakes. We have to use that as a lesson learned and aim for 100 percent concentration.”
A pass interception and return to the KM 37 put the Chargers in scoring position again but this time Curtis Simpson came up with a big sack to force a Crest punt.
With KM backed up to its own eight yard line facing third and 13, the Mountaineers pulled off several big plays to clinch the win. Littlejohn threw a quick pass to Sanders who rambled 27 yards for a first down at the 35 with 4:44 remaining.  The Mountaineers moved steadily down the field and Jeffries’ 24-yard run gave them a first down at the Crest 11 from which point Littlejohn took a knee twice to end the game.
Kings Mountain played exceptionally well in all areas of the game. The Chargers’ TD plays accounted for most of their yardage as the KM defense and special teams played lights out. Crest had only 29 yards on seven kick returns and zero yards on three punt returns. The Chargers’ biggest weapons were Huskey who hit on 10 of 20 passes for 161 yards and all three of their TDs and Addison who caught five passes for 89 yards.
 
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Kings Mountain High’s All-Conference cross country runners, left to right, Coach Wilson, Isaiah Watts, Max Thompson, Hunter Cruise, Marty Lovingood, Divinity Ervin, Brooke Waseman, Sarah Eagle and Coach Rayvis Key.

KM XC teams second in Big South,
Watts wins individual championship

Kings Mountain High’s cross country teams finished second to South Point in last week’s Big South Conference championship and the Mountaineers’ Isaiah Watts won the individual championship.
Watts took an early lead and never looked back as he controlled the race with a consistent 20-second lead for a final time of 17:54.
Max Thompson and Stuart Cramer’s Jordan Granados were in a photo finish for second at 18:05 with Granados winning by a lean. South Point finished with 39 points, KM had 45, Hunter Huss 81, Crest 113 Forestview 114 and Ashbrook 130.
Also finishing with All-Conference honors for the Mountaineers were Hunter Cruise, who ran eighth with a 19:38 and Marty Lovingood running 16th with a 20:40. Other KM finishes were Nathan Inthavong 21st, Elliot Habel 25th, Nicholas Horn 31st, Luis Cedillo 36th, Nathaniel Kiser 45th, Marcus Williams 46th, Eric Bell 54th and Hayden Huss 57th.
The girls race was a huge surprise as Forestview’s Emily Raspanti finished first in 21:13.71, barely edging out Kings Mountain’s Divinity Ervin with a 21:23.90
Again, South Point poured in the numbers with six All-Conference girls to win the team championship with 28 points to KM’s 54. Forestview ran third with 57, Crest 96, and Ashbrook 144.
Other Kings Mountain runners making All-Conference were Brooke Waseman with a sixth place finish in 22:58, and Sarah Eagle who was 12th in 23.55. KM’s other finishers were Sindy Ulloa 23rd, Nicole Poston 29th, Kallie Hope 30th, Parker Wilson 32nd, Wren Ballard 40th and Emily Phelps 43rd.
The next race for the Mountaineers will be the NCHSAA West 3A Regional Saturday, October 29 at Freedom High School in Morganton.
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Eric Spicer, former pro basketball standout Al Wood, Jimmy ‘Smoke’ Brown and Paul Ingram finished second in last week’s Rotary golf tournament. KG Etters, Will Spicer, Eric Moore and Bob Dixon finished first. Photo contributed

Rotary golf tournament

Eric Spicer, former pro basketball standout Al Wood, Jimmy ‘Smoke’ Brown and Paul Ingram finished second in last week’s Rotary golf tournament. KG Etters, Will Spicer, Eric Moore and Bob Dixon finished first. Photo contributed
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Kings Mountain Middle’s Silas Tate (left) is ready to intercept a pass in last week’s Tri-County Conference playoff loss to RS Central at Gamble Stadium. Photo by Lizzie Ingram 

Patriots fall
in playoffs

Kings Mountain Middle School’s football season ended Wednesday at John Gamble Stadium in a 20-0 loss to RS Central in the first round of the Tri-County Conference playoffs.
The Patriots had several players that stood out on defense. Nasir Epps and Silas Tate had interceptions. Malachi Powell forced a fumble and Christian Jarrett and Nasir Epps had fumble recoveries.
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100th football anniversary
at John Gamble Stadium

Left to right Ken Baity, Anthony Hillman and Kevin Mack - three of Kings Mountain’s all-time great running backs - at last week’s 100th football anniversary at John Gamble Stadium.
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Pictured above are former KMHS players and supporters who were honored with special awards at last week’s 100th football anniversary. Left to right Bob Hullender, Jack Ruth, Kevin Mack, Gary Stewart, George Harris, CJ and Yolanda Stephens (representing the late Calvin Stephens), Zack Massey and Sherry Massey (representing the late KMHS coach Ron Massey), Keith Falls and current KMHS head coach Greg Lloyd.

400 attend Mountaineers’
100th football celebration

A crowd of approximately 400 people attended the Kings Mountain Touchdown Club’s 100th anniversary celebration of Mountaineer football Thursday night at John Gamble Stadium.
Danny Ford, retired head football coach at Clemson, was the guest speaker. He was introduced by Kevin Mack, one of his star running backs on Clemson’s 1982 team which defeated Nebraska for the NCAA championship.
Mack, who still lives in Cleveland where he was Rookie of the Year and the leading rusher for the Browns in the 1980s, introduced his coach and both he and Ford recalled Mack’s adjustment time after joining the team right out of KMHS in 1980. But, after that adjustment early in his freshman season, Mack became one of the Tigers’ all-time leading rushers.
Before introducing Ford, Mack said football taught him a lot from the high school to the professional level and he thanked his high school coach, Dan Brooks who was in attendance, and Ford for molding him as a player and a man.
Speaking of Ford, he said “he drove his team to be good. The first couple of days I didn’t know if I’d make it. I had to adapt.”
Mack recalled that his freshman year at Clemson the Tigers went 6-5 but Ford was laying the groundwork for the next three years when the Tigers lost just three games and won the national championship.
“He produced some of the great teams in Clemson history,” Mack noted. “In his first game as head coach Clemson won the Gator Bowl over Woody Hayes and Ohio State.”
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Myracle Davis kills for a point in KM’s win over Crest in the Big South finale last week at Parker Gym.

KMHS volleyball
finishes perfect
in Big South 3A


Kings Mountain High’s women’s volleyball team wrapped un another undefeated Big South 3A Conference championship last week at home with a 25-11, 25-18, 25-15 victory over county rival Crest.
Kings Mountain’s JVs also wrapped up another undefeated conference slate with a 25-18, 25-21 victory.
Meile Songaila had her usual all-around great game with nine digs, 12 service points, 16 kills and four blocks.
Myracle Davis finished with 17 kills, six blocks and four digs.
Paige Bagwell contributed 18 assists, 15 digs, five service points and two kills.
Camden Pasour had 14 assists, eight digs, five service points and three kills.
Caroline Barber provided six assists, 10 digs and 22 service points.
They JVs had a good all-around performance from Abigail Hedgepath, Ruby Osborne, Megan Harrison and Kenzlie Morris.
Hedgepath dished out 13 assists to go with five kills, five digs and three service points.
Osborne contributed four kills and three blocks.
Harrison had six kills and six digs.
Morris had three kills, a block and six service points.

Spikers open  state tourney
with a sweep of St. Stephens

Kings Mountain High’s women’s volleyball team swept North Davidson 25-10, 25-11, 25-9 in the opening round of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association state tournament Saturday at Donald L. Parker Gymnasium.
The Lady Mountaineers were scheduled to host East Lincoln last night at Donald L. Parker Gymnasium. The Lady Mustangs advanced with a 3-0 first round win over St. Stephens.
The winner of last night’s contest will advance against the winner of the North Lincoln-West Henderson game. Those teams swept Rockingham County and South Point, respectively, in the first round.
Kings Mountain jumped out front early to put away North Davidson as all of Coach Heather Pasour’s ladies turned in an outstanding performance.
Meile Songaila led the way with 20 kills, one block, six serve receptions, 12 digs and 11 service points.
Camden Pasour provided 24 assists, 12 digs, 10 service points, two kills and two serve receptions.
Myracle Davis led in kills with 21 and also blocked a shot.
Paige Bagwell dished out 20 assists to go along with a kill, nine digs and eight service points.
Jessie Ozmore had 15 service points, four serve receptions and 11 digs.
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Teddy Jeffries is in the clear and heading for another touchdown in last week’s big win over the Ashbrook Green Wave at Gamble Stadium. Photos by Gary Smart

Mountaineers clinch at least a tie for Big South championship,
face Crest Friday for chance to go 10-0 for first time since 1964


Kings Mountain’s Mountaineers scored on their first three possessions for a quick 21-0 lead and went on to defeat the Ashbrook Green Wave 48-14 on Senior Night Friday and clinch at least a tie for the Big South Conference championship.
The win improved the Mountaineers’ record to 6-0 in the conference and 9-0 overall going into their final regular season game Friday at Crest. A win there would give the Mountaineers their first 10-0 regular season record since 1964. Kings Mountain did go undefeated in the conference and overall in the regular 2020 season that was shortened to seven games and played in spring ‘21 because of Covid 19. The Mountaineers played two playoff games at home, beating Robinson before falling to Monroe to finish 8-1 overall.
A victory over Crest would likely keep the Mountaineers in Gamble Stadium for all of their Western division playoff games.
“We played well in all areas,” Coach Greg Lloyd said of his team’s win over Ashbrook. “We had too many penalties but both lines played well, the running backs did well and Lamont (Littlejohn) did a good job at quarterback.”
Led by strong blocking, the Mountaineers’ offense was strong all night and rolled up 404 yards of total offense – 208 through the air and 196 on the ground. Teddy Jeffries gained 120 yards on 14 carries to lead the rushing and the passing was shared by five receivers including Ja’Qualyn Sanders with four catches for 56 yards, Jake Lloyd two for 67, Casey Holland one for 26, Zay Smith one for 32 and a TD and Xzorion Lenair with one for a 31-yard TD.
The Mountaineers showed their dominance on the opening kickoff as Casey Holland returned the kick to the Ashbrook 21. A penalty set them back to the 38 where Teddy Jeffries took a handoff from Littlejohn and went around left end for a touchdown with just 22 seconds gone off the clock. Jaden Ellis’s PAT made it 7-0.
The defense showed up big, holding the Green Wave to three and out and forcing a punt. The short kick was downed at the Ashbrook 46. KM tested the Ashbrook defense with four straight running plays and then Littlejohn found Smith behind the Wave defense for a 32-yard touchdown pass. Ellis added the PAT for a 14-0 lead
Moving behind the running of their ace back Carmelo Bess, the Green Wave was able to pick up a first down but after the KM defense threw Sincere Sanders Moss for a seven-yard loss to set up a fourth and four punt attempt, KM’s defense blocked the punt and Micah Ward scooped it up at the seven and took it to the house. Ellis’s kick made it 21-0 with still 3:14 to go in the first quarter.
The Green Wave got on the board late in the second quarter on a 50-yard catch and run by Moss.
Kings Mountain drove the ensuing kickoff 89 yards in 10 plays to take a 28-7 halftime lead on an eight-yard run by Jeffries and Ellis’s PAT. Along the way the Mountaineers had big receptions from Jake Lloyd for 32 yards, Holland for 26 and Ja’Qualyn Sanders for 17.
After holding Ashbrook to three and out to open the third quarter, the Mountaineers survived two holding penalties to score in four plays on a 32-yard run around left end by Jeffries to go up 35-7.
Taking over after an Ashbrook punt, the Mountaineers drove 60 yards in six plays to go up 41-7 on a 31-yard touchdown reception by Xzorion Lenair.
The defense held the Wave to still another three and out, and the Mountaineers blocked a punt to take possession at the Green Wave 35. A 28-yard reception by Sanders put them at the three on the last play of the third quarter, and Sanders went around end for a touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter. Ellis’s PAT made it 48-7.
KM’s starters came off the field but the second unit played well. Ward recovered an Ashbrook fumble at the Green Wave 39 and he and Tyler McIntyre handled the running duties to get the Mountaineers to the 24 before they were stopped on downs at the Wave 25. Bess took a pitch and covered the distance to account for the final margin.
Without a doubt, the Mountaineers face their biggest task of the season Friday at Crest which has rebounded from two early-season losses to get in position to grab a share of the BSC title.
“They’ve gotten a lot better since the beginning of the season,” noted Coach Lloyd. “They have a ton of speed and their quarterback (Ny’tavious Huskey) is a dual threat. They have the best receivers we’ve seen and (Javarius) Green is the best receiver we will see all year. Crest is very dangerous and they’re well coached. We will have to play an A game Friday.”
 
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Kings Mountain High’s Kaliyah Watson shot a 43 in last week’s final Big South Conference golf match at Lincoln Country Club and was named to the All Big South Conference team. Photo by Gary Smart

KM’s Watson third
in Big South 3A golf

South Point wrapped up the Big South Conference championship and Kings Mountain’s Kaliyah Watson qualified for the NCHSAA Western Regional in last week’s final BSC tournament at Lincoln Country Club.
Watson shot a 43 and finished third overall in the conference with a season average of 47 and was named to the All-Big South Conference team. Her season average also qualified her for the Western Regional October 18 at Cedar Rock Country Club in Lenoir.
South Point’s Ameila Connors shot a 39 to earn medalist honors and was also selected Big South Player of the Year.
Following South Point’s 130 were Crest at 159, Forestview 180 and Ashbrook 187. No other team had enough players to qualify for a team score. Those four teams also finished in the same order for the season as no one else had enough players for team scores. 

KM volleyball clinches Big South 3A championship

Kings Mountain High’s women’s volleyball team clinched the Big South 3A Conference championship last week with victories over Stuart Cramer and South Point.
While the Lady Mountaineers were winning Thursday against Cramer, the second place Crest Lady Chargers fell to the Forestview Lady Jaguars and that left Kings Mountain with a two-game lead with just one game remaining. Kings Mountain was scheduled to host the Lady Chargers in the regular season finale Tuesday and then will await pairings for the state 3A championship. First round action begins on Saturday, October 22 and the Lady Mountaineers will be at home. Other rounds are October 25, October 27, October 29, Western Regional championship November 1 and State 3A championship November 5.
Lady Mountaineer Coach Heather Pasour continued to get solid play from all of her ladies last week with a 3-0 sweep over South Point Tuesday before the clinching victory over Stuart Cramer.
Against the Lady Red Raiders, KM won 25-9, 25-7, 25-17 with all players turning in outstanding performances.
Camden Pasour dished out 24 assists to go with 11 service points, two kills and two digs.
Meile Songaila provided 15 kills, six service points, a block and seven digs.
Myracle Davis was a killer along the nets with 16 kills and a block.
Caroline Barber provided 15 service points and eight digs.
Paige Bagwell had nine assists, five kills, three digs and a service point.
In JV action, Kings Mountain won 25-13, 25-18.
Abigail Hedgepath had 19 assists and 13 service points, Kenzlie Morris five kills, a block and five service points and Ava Tipton nine serve receptions and six digs.
Thursday afternoon at Donald L. Parker Gymnasium, the Lady Mountaineers swept Cramer 25-12, 25-8 and 25-11.
Songaila had 14 kills, 11 serve receptions, four digs and 13 service points.
Pasour dished out 16 assists to go with 12 service points, four kills and three digs.
Bagwell provided 11 assists, 15 service points, four kills and three digs.
Barber had nine serve receptions, 12 digs and four service points.
Davis had 10 kills and a block.
In JV action, KM won 25-10, 25-9.
Hedgepath had 22 assists, two service points, three digs and two kills.
Ruby Osborne had five kills and four blocks.
Megan Harris led in kills with 10 and also had two digs.
Kenzlie Morris had 16 service points, two kills and two digs.
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KM’s Teddy Jeffries (21) follows the blocking of Michael Lubas (54) for a big gain in Friday’s win over Stuart Cramer. Photos by Gary Smart

KM blows past the Stuart Cramer Purple Storm,
dangerous Green Wave rolls into KMHS Friday


After a slow start, Kings Mountain’s Mountaineers blew past the Stuart Cramer Purple Storm 63-24 Friday night in Cramerton.
The win improved the Mountaineers’ record to 5-0 in the Big South and 8-0 overall heading into their final regular season home game Friday against the Ashbrook Green Wave. Cramer fell to 2-3 in the Big South and 3-5 overall.
The Mountaineers never trailed but the Storm answered KM’s opening touchdown drive to tie the game. Kings Mountain went on to lead 28-17 at the half and then broke it open over the final two quarters.
“That was a good win,” said KM head coach Greg Lloyd. “We played okay but it was not one of our best efforts. We left a lot of points on the field in the first half but we played a lot better in the second half.
“Stuart Cramer had a good game plan,” he added. “They were spreading us out with five wide and they played a 2-3 stack on defense. We adjusted well and played much better in the second half. We were happy to win and stay undefeated.”
With the Mountaineers playing without the services of one of their top running backs, Robert Kendrick, and Caleb Holland playing sparingly with an injury Teddy Jeffries took care of business with 163 yards rushing and five touchdowns. One of their best lineman, Eli Lipscomb, also sat out. “All three should be good to go this week,” Lloyd said.
The Mountaineers had one of their best nights passing as six different receivers chalked up 302 yards on 18 catches from quarterbacks Lamont Littlejohn and TJ Armstrong. Bryson Brown led the way with three catches for 92 yards and Zay Smith had six for 71. Ja’Qualyn Sanders had three for 61, Xzorion Lenair two for 36, Jake Lloyd three for 28 and Jeffries one for 14.
Brown took the opening kickoff eight yards to the KM 35 set up KM’s first TD drive. Two passes from Littlejohn to Zay Smith for 12 yards and Brown for nine put the Mountaineers in Storm territory at the 44. From there it took just four runs from Jeffries – the fourth for 28 yards – to get the scoring underway. Jaden Ellis’s PAT made it 7-0 with just two minutes gone off the clock.
Cramer showed some spunk, though, as Kamari Houze returned the ensuing kickoff to the KM 42. Behind the running and passing of senior quarterback Justin Rocquemore, the Storm knotted the score at 7-all on a 24 yard pass over the middle to Isaiah Johnson and Drew Crotts’ PAT.
It took the Mountaineers just four plays from scrimmage to go up 14-7 on a 27-yard pass from Littlejohn to Smith, and another Ellis PAT. A 16-yard run by Holland and a 17-yard Jake Lloyd reception set it up.
That score stood for the remainder of the quarter but Cramer was threatening again early in the second quarter when KM was flagged for a 15-yard pass interference call resulting in a first down at the KM 18. A 12-yard sack by Curtis Simpson and AJ Richardson set the Storm back to the 35 but a 21-yard run around end by Rocquemore resulted in a third and six at the KM 14. Richardson recovered a fumble and returned it to the 27 to get the Mountaineers out of the hole.
After an incomplete pass, Littlejohn found Bryson Brown 30 yards behind the Cramer defense and hit him in stride for a 73-yard touchdown and a 21-7 KM lead.
Backed up to their own 18 facing fourth and six, the Mountaineers punted but it was blocked by a heavy rush and Cramer’s Drew Crotts recovered the ball in the end zone for a TD to cut the margin to 21-14 with 4:49 left in the half.
The Mountaineers responded, though, as Lloyd returned the ensuing kickoff 25 yards to the KM 45. A 21-yard run by Holland and a 16-yard reception by Ja’Qualyn Sanders resulted in a first down at the Cramer 17 from which point it took just two carries by Jeffries and the PAT for a 28-14 KM lead.
Cramer’s Drew Crotts booted a 23-yard field goal to make it 28-17 at the break.
KM turned up the pressure on both offense and defense in the second half, scoring on four of five possessions to go up 56-17.
Taking over after holding the Storm to three and out to open the third, KM drove 53 yards in just seven plays to go up 35-17. Jeffries carried five times for 46 yards and scored from the one.
Following a Cramer punt at the 4:08 mark of the third, KM launched a 77-yard, seven play drive culminating with Jeffries’ fourth TD from the six yard line. Along the way Littlejohn threw passes to Smith for five yards, Brown for 10 and Xzorian Lenair for 28 to put KM on the Cramer 33. After a 13-yard run by Smith, Jeffries covered the remaining 20 on two carries to run the score to 42-17 going into the fourth quarter.
Following a Cramer punt, KM took just seven plays to go up 49-17 on Jeffries’ fifth TD, this one from 49 yards out. Sanders’ 23-yard reception was the other big play.
With 7:14 on the clock, KM pooch kicked and Stuart Cramer took over at its 30. On Cramer’s first play, Curtis Simpson intercepted a pass near the KM sidelines and rambled untouched into the end zone. Max Thompson’s PAT accounted for the final point and a 56-17 lead.
Cramer’s final points came with 4:21 remaining on a four yard run by Darius Sykes and Drew Crotts’ PAT.
Following an 18-yard kick return from Kameron Adams, KM’s reserves marched
44 yards in six plays to score on Micah Ward’s 12-yard run with 1:17 on the clock. Thompson added the point after. Along the way freshman quarterback TJ Armstrong hit Lenair with an eight yard pass and Josiah Hill had runs of 11 and 13 yards.
“Jeffries had a great game. We are very pleased with how he played,” Coach Lloyd said. “Our offense played well minus a few plays. Everybody did a good job. We just didn’t have our A game. We have to play a lot better this week. Ashbrook has a very good team. They’re one of the best teams around. Their record doesn’t show it but they played Crest and South one of their toughest games. They are real big and aggressive on defense. We’ll have to play well against them.
“This is a very important game,” he added. “If we win this we can do no worse than sharing the conference championship. Of course, we want to win them all.”
So far, Ashbrook hasn’t thrown the ball a lot but their running back Carmelo Bess is closing in on a 1,000 yards rushing season, finishing last week with 869 yards on 141 carries. He rushed for 175 yards against South Point and the Raiders had to score late to win 28-19.
 
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TJ Armstrong hands off to Jamerius Williams (14) in last week’s JV game with Stuart Cramer at Kings Mountain High School. The undefeated Mountaineers travel to Ashbrook Thursday and will close out their season against county rival Crest on October 27 at 7 p.m. at John Gamble Stadium. Photo by Charlie Smith

Undefeated Mountaineer JVs calm the Cramer Storm 47-6

Josiah Hill went around right end for a 52-yard touchdown on the first play from scrimmage to spark the Kings Mountain JVs to a 47-6 victory over Stuart Cramer Thursday night at John Gamble Stadium.
The win improved KM’s perfect record to 7-0 heading into a game Thursday at Gastonia Ashbrook. The JV Mountaineers haven’t lost a game since the first game of the 2020 season. They hope to complete another undefeated season with a win over Ashbrook this week and their final game against Crest at Gamble Stadium on Thursday, Oct. 27.
Coach Diron Bell’s charges scored on all but one of their first half possessions to go into the break up 35-0. The half ended with the Mountaineers on Cramer’s 17 yard line.
After Hill’s initial score, the Mountaineers held the Storm to three and out and their punt went just 27 yards to their own 43. Quarterback TJ Armstrong hooked up with fellow freshman William Vaughn for a touchdown and a 13-0 lead.
The Cramer offense was able to pick up a first down but then went three-and-out and punted out of bounds at the KM 35. With 4:35 on the clock, the Mountaineers went on a 65 yard scoring drive that featured an 18-yard run by Jamerius Williams around left end, a 13-yard run by Tyler McIntyre for a first down at the 36, and a pass from Armstrong to Barry Moore to the 31. Hill went the distance on a reverse, but the TD was called back for holding. KM found itself on the 28 facing fourth and three and was stopped short of the first down but Cramer went three and out after a big tackle for loss by Izaiah Jones and was forced to punt. KM’s Jayden Watkins fielded it at the KM 35 yard line and rambled 65 yards for a TD. Dom Davis ran a two-point conversion to make it 21-0.
KM’s defense continued strong, forcing a punt. KM took possession at its own 35. It took the Mountaineers just two plays – a 17-yard Armstrong to Moore pass and a 48-yard touchdown on a catch and run by Tyler Furman on a quick-out from Armstrong with 6:34 left in the half. Vance Johnson added the PAT for a 28-0 lead.
Again, with good defense from the whole team including two big tackles by Mahki Borders and Jamel Lee, the Mountaineers held Cramer to three and out and the Storm had to punt with 4:15 left in the half. KM took possession at its own 14 and needed only five plays to go up 35-0 at the half on a five-yard yard TD by Vaughn and Johnson’s PAT. Other key plays were two runs by Hill for a total of 25 yards and a 56-yard catch and run by Williams to the five.
A pass interception and 31-yard return by Hill set the Mountaineers up at the Cramer 14 on the visitors’ first play from scrimmage in the third quarter. Armstrong hit Vance Johnson with a TD pass with just 58 seconds gone off the clock to put the Mountaineers up 41-0.
Coach Bell turned the game over to his reserves and Cramer was able to drive 69 yards in 10 plays to score on a six-yard reception by Braxton Sample.
With Vance Johnson at quarterback, the Mountaineers second unit moved 61 yards in seven plays to score on a 10-yard run by Kamari Coleman with 1:43 left in the game. Johnson got the drive going with a nine-yard keeper followed by a 17-yard burst by Trenton Pettus to the Cramer 35. Runs of three yards by Watkins and seven by Pettus resulted in a first down at the 25. A penalty of 10 yards after Johnson’s run to the three moved the ball back to the 15. Pettus picked up five and Coleman got the final 10 to end the scoring.
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Eric Hatten on a big gain in Kings Mountain JV’s victory over Forestview last week at John Gamble Stadium. Photos by Gary Smart

JV Mountaineers roll over Forestview 42-0

Kings Mountain’s JV Mountaineers rolled over the Forestview Jaguars 42-0 for their fifth straight victory Wednesday at John Gamble Stadium.
The Mountaineers built a 28-0 lead in the first half with good play on offense, defense and special teams.
The defense set the tone early, holding the Jaguars to three and out on the game’s opening possession. After a punt was downed on the KM 48, the Mountaineers took just four plays to score on a 23-yard pass from freshman quarterback TJ Armstrong to freshman receiver William Vaughn.
Following another Forestview punt, the Mountaineers drove 78 yards in nine plays to go up 14-0 on a 29-yard touchdown pass from Armstrong to Barry Moore. Dom Davis added a two-point conversion.
Again, the defense held the visitors to three and out and Watkins returned a punt from the KM 46 to the Forestview 23. Jeremiah Hill covered the distance on one run and Vance Johnson added the PAT from placement to make it 21-0.
Forestview managed to keep possession for six plays but then had to punt again and KM’s Jayden Watkins returned it 58 yards for a touchdown. Johnson’s PAT made it 28-0 at the half.
Midway of the third period, KM’s Cole Groves recovered a fumble at the Forestview one yard line and Johnson’s QB sneak and PAT made it 35-0. Shortly afterward, the Mountaineers recovered a fumble at the Forestview 18 to set up Johnson’s five-yard TD run with 5:32 left.
Kings Mountain tries to keep its unbeaten streak alive Thursday with a trip to Belmont to face the South Point Red Raiders.

October 10 deadline to sign up
for 100 years of KM football

The Kings Mountain Touchdown Club’s celebration of 100 years of Mountaineer football will be held October 20 at John Gamble Stadium.
A free dinner will be served at 5 p.m. but you must sign up no later than October 10 by contacting Drew Fulton at kmfootball100years @gmail.com. You must be a member of the Touchdown Club, a former player, manager or coach to attend. 
Former Clemson University head football coach Danny Ford will be the guest speaker. Kings Mountain’s Kevin Mack, who was a running back on Ford’s 1981 Clemson team that won the NCAA championship, will introduce him.
Many former players and supporters have already signed up but the Touchdown Club encourages those who have not signed up to do so now. 

Undefeated South Point and Kings Mountain
kick it off Friday at Gamble Stadium
for first place in Big South 3A

Kings Mountain’s Mountaineers face their toughest challenge of the season Friday night when the South Point Red Raiders invade John Gamble Stadium for a battle for the Big South 3A Conference lead.
Both teams come into the contest after defeating the other two teams that were tied with them for the top spot going into last Thursday’s action. While Kings Mountain was defeating previously unbeaten (in the BSC) Forestview in Gastonia the Red Raiders were defeating the previously unbeaten (in the BSC) Crest in Belmont.
Although both teams will have some more challenges ahead, it’s obvious that the winner of Friday’s game will have the inside track on the BSC championship and a very high seed for the upcoming 3A state playoffs.
The Mountaineers and Red Raiders have had some classic battles over the years, and Friday’s will not be an exception.
“They are very good,” Mountaineer head coach Greg Lloyd says. “They’re a state championship caliber football team. They run that option offense and it is very difficult to play against. They have a good fullback and their quarterback is running the ball a lot this year. He is also a good passer.
“They’re going to be tough to defend,” he added. “Their offensive line has good size and they come off the ball really well. Their kicking game is very strong, too. They’re well-balanced and they’re young and they’re going to be our toughest competition to date.
“We have to play really, really well,” he added. “Their quarterback (Patrick Blee, who averages 10 yards a carry) and tailback (Cam Medlock who has 13 touchdowns and is averaging 130 yards per game) are very good. We have to play assignment football. The defense will have to work hard.”
South Point has several other outstanding skill players, including senior end Aaron Chaney, who is averaging 18.6 yards per reception and Colby Hamilton who is averaging 23.5 per catch, and some big, tough defensive standouts like sophomore middle linebacker Chanyce Ford, sophomore free safety William Ross, middle linebacker Winter Kincaid and 6-3, 304-pound senior tackle Hunter Jackson.
“It’s going to be a tough game” Lloyd said. “There will be two good football teams on the field Friday night. We hope we’ll have a great crowd.”