Kings Mountain Herald

Spicer, Mountaineers
win first BSC golf match

Will Spicer and other Kings Mountain High golfers got their season off to a great start last week with a first place finish in the opening season Big South 3A Conference match at Cramer Mountain Country Club.
The Mountaineers won with a 324 total, beating host Stuart Cramer (332) by eight strokes.
Crest came in third with a 349, followed by Ashbrook 364, Forestview 368, South Point 371, North Gaston 431 and Hunter Huss 501.
Spicer was match medalist with a 77. Thomas Spicer and Cooper Putnam also broke 80 with 79s. Baylor Benton shot 89 and Caleb Marr 91.
All conference teams were scheduled to play at Kings Mountain Country Club Monday at 1 p.m. They will go to Riverbend at 1 p.m. next Monday for a match hosted by Crest.

Screen shot 2022 03 03 at 2.00.20 pm — Kings Mountain Middle School's 2022 Tri-County Conference champions

Patriots go perfect 14-0 to win Tri-County Conference

Kings Mountain Middle School’s Patriots finished off an undefeated 14-0 season to win the Tri-County Conference championship with 56-53 and 59-57 victories over Crest and Shelby, respectively, in the semifinals and finals of the conference tournament last week.
Their banner season began in early January with non-division wins over the same two county rivals – 56-50 over Crest and 51-36 over Shelby.
The Patriots had an easier time with most of their Eastern Division opponents, but did have one close game with North Lincoln which they won 63-55.
Before beating Shelby’s Blue Devils in the conference championship game in Shelby, the Patriots had a close call with Crest on the KM court.
The Patriots got off to a roaring start, jumping ahead on Bradley Floyd’s 3-pointer, Charlie Foster’s lay-up and a finish at the rim by Brayden Mull for a 9-0 lead.
Crest came back to cut the margin to 15-7 at the end of the first period.
The second quarter saw KM grow cold from the field and Crest get hot from the outside. Foster’s four points accounted for two of the three KM buckets as Crest battled back to tie the game at 17-all. The Dragons went on to lead 29-24 at the half.
The third quarter saw KM get going as Tucker Robinette’s steal and finish for a one-and-one cut the margin to two. Robinette and Floyd continued the KM run, combining for 14 points to cut the Crest lead to 39-38 going into the fourth quarter.
The final period saw a frenzy of action as the lead changed hands seven times. KM went on an 8-1 run to start the period as Robinette, Floyd and Foster all finished at the rim, followed by a Caleb Nixon three for a 47-41 KM lead with just under five minutes remaining.
Crest came back with seven straight points to take a 48-47 lead with three minutes to play. Robinette’s three put the Patriots back on top 50-48.
A Floyd put-back and Mull’s steal with just over a minute to go made the score 54-51 and a pair of Floyd free throws with 12 seconds left sealed the win at 56-53.
Robinette finished with 11 points on 4 for 8 shooting, and also dished out four assists. Floyd scored 23 points on 7 for 15 shooting and had 11 rebounds, nine assists and hit 8 of 8 free throws. Caleb Nixon scored three points, Charlie Foster had 12 points and eight rebounds, and Brayden Mull seven points and 14 rebounds.
As a team, the Patriots had 35 rebounds including 12 offensive, 14 assists, hit 12 for 13 from the foul line, and were perfect from the foul line and three-point line in the second half. KM hit 11 of 17 shots in the second half.
“The kids were resilient tonight,” noted Coach Cole. “We could’ve easily folded after halftime when we were down five, but my guys kept fighting back. When Crest hit four threes in a row to end the half it just showed the determination this team has. To be able to keep our poise and shoot the ball the way we did in the second half was just amazing.”

It was another nail-biter in the championship game at Shelby with the lead changing hands numerous times.
Floyd’s steal and pass to Robinette for a lay-up got the Patriots off to a 2-0 start. An offensive put back by Foster and Mull’s finish at the rim and a short jumper by Nixon gave the Pats an 8-2 lead.
Floyd’s layup on KM’s next possession moved the score to 10-5 and KM went on to lead 14-12 at the end of the quarter. All five starters got in the action as KM hit five of six shots.
Shelby went on a 21-4 run in the first four minutes of the second quarter before back to back threes by Floyd and Nixon along with Christian Jarrett’s fast break layup cut the deficit to 33-26 at the break.
KM was able to get within six as Foster’s jumper and Tate’s layup drew KM to within 36-30 with four minutes to play in the third quarter. Shelby finished the quarter on an 11-5 run to lead 47-35 going into the fourth.
Shelby extended its lead to 49-35 with 5:50 to play before KM mounted a ferocious comeback. Floyd’s back to back offensive put backs followed by a Robinette steal and layup and a Foster assist to Mull led to an 11-2 run for the Patriots which cut the lead to 51-46 with under three minutes to play
Thirty seconds later a Robinette three made it 52-49, and KM cut the lead to 55-52 after a Floyd layup and Robinette free throw with just over a minute left.
Two more free throws by Mull made it 55-54 with 33 seconds left. On KM’s next possession Robinette’s pass found Floyd in the high post for a layup to put KM on top for the first time since early in the second quarter, 56-55. After two Shelby free throws put them back on top 57-56 with 13 seconds left, Floyd came back down court and gave the Pats the lead on two free throws with seven seconds left, followed by his steal and another free throw for the final score.
Floyd finished with 19 points on 7 for 13 shooting, and also contributed 10 rebounds, four assists and two blocks. Nixon had seven points and three rebounds, Robinette eight points, three assists, two steals and a block, Foster 11 points, eight rebounds and six blocks, Mull eight points and eight rebounds, Tate two points and Christian Jarrett four points.
KM had 31 rebounds, nine blocks and 10 assists and shot 19 for 38 from inside the arc and 46 percent for the game. KM’s defense held Shelby to 33 percent shooting in the second half and KM was 8 for 12 in the fourth quarter. KM hit 12of 14 from the free throw line in the second half, including 7 of 9 in the final quarter.
“All I can say is wow,” said head coach Chris Cole. “These boys are phenomenal. After we got outscored 24-4 at the end of the first quarter and beginning of the second and not faltering is just a testament to our guys. They never quit all season when things got bad.
“Hats off to Shelby. They played a great game and went down fighting. Our guys were so close the last two years. I’m so proud of them.”
Assistant coach Corey Nixon added, “I’m so proud of this bunch. It was a vision we had with our eighth grade group when they were in the sixth grade. To win the championship while going undefeated, you were definitely able to see our talent and experience meet.”
Coach Brandon Foster noted, “these kids started in the sixth grade with a goal to win the Tri-County championship. Their hard work off the court showed to be the recipe for success.
Whether it was fighting back from being down in a game or pushing through injuries, they found a way to be 14-0. We are Kings Mountain strong.”
The Patriots will be sending six players (Charlie Foster, Bradley Floyd, Ty Howard, Caleb Nixon, Tucker Robinette and Aiden Smith) on to the next level next season and will return seventh graders Coryon Gaines and Chris Hill and sixth graders Silas Tate, Christian Jarrett and Brayden Mull.
Managers were Jamerson Hamrick, Joseph Johnson and Marquise Thomas and score keeper was Maurice Tate.

KM basketball teams bow out
in first round of state playoffs

Kings Mountain High’s basketball teams bowed out in the first round of the NCHSAA 3A playoffs last week at Donald L. Parker Gymnasium.
The Lady Mountaineers fell to a good Canton Pisgah team 63-54 in the opener before the Mountaineers went down to a very tall and talented Southern Guilford squad 65-52.
Despite the losses, both KM teams had very good seasons. The girls shared the Big South 3A Conference championship with a strong Gastonia Ashbrook five and the boys finished second to perennial state power Crest.
Both the boys and girls played tough the entire way and saw their visitors break open close games at the very end.
The Lady Mountaineers, who won their second conference championship in the last four years for two of their three in history, fell behind 18-12 in the first quarter but battled back to take a 31-27 lead at the break.
But, with KM up 46-43, Pisgah had two threes in the final 24 seconds of the third period to take a 49-46 lead into the final chapter.
Leading by just 52-50 with 6:55 to go, Pisgah went on a 7-0 run that basically wrapped up the win at the 3:45 mark. They went on to lead by 10 (62-52) before Wilson got the last bucket of her brilliant career with 2:17 remaining.
With the loss, the Lady Mountaineers still had an outstanding season with all of their losses coming to very good teams.
Wilson led the scoring with 20 points and also had four rebounds and three steals. Khalia King was the only other double-digit scorer with 12 points. She had two boards and three assists.
Alayna Patrick had a triple six (points, rebounds and assists), CoRey Simpson had six points and 12 rebounds, and Austyn Dixon had six points and four rebounds. Tyasya Bell added four points, three rebounds and three assists and London Brown scored one point and grabbed six rebounds.
Pisgah had a very balanced attack with four players hitting double figures. Alyssa Smith had 13, Dot Mills 12 and Emma Deaver and Chloe Burch 11 apiece.
The boys game also was close for 3 1/2 quarters before the visitors broke it open.
Leading by just 44-41 going into the final eight minutes, Southern’s tall inside players dominated the boards and their point guard Khalil Millner hit some big three pointers to win the game going away.
The Southern defense did an outstanding job on KM’s leading scorer, Zeke Cannedy, whose 15 points shared team scoring honors with Jaquaylin Sanders but were 20 points below his per game average.
Cannedy’s three-pointer got the Mountaineers to within 46-44 with seven minutes remaining but the visitors went on an 11-point run to go up 57-44 with three minutes left that put the win in the bag.

Curtis sinpson — Curtis Simpson goes up for two points in last week’s NCHSAA playoff loss to Southern Guilford at Donald L. Parker Gymnasium. Photos by Gary Smart

Baseball home opener Thursday

Kings Mountain High’s baseball team will open the home portion of its 1922 season at Lancaster Field Thursday at 7 p.m. in a special black and gold night against the Shelby Lions.
“This is going to be a good night for us,” says KM Coach Brad Melton. “We’re going to be wearing the old 1989 style gold jerseys with black pants.”
Most longtime Mountaineer fans will remember that uniform, and hopefully that season. That’s when they won their first of two state 3A championship in a five-year period under the late Coach Bruce Clark.
Melton hopes the uniforms bring them some of that same kind of success.
The Mountaineers went through a pair of scrimmages last week and were scheduled to open the regular season last night at Burns.
“We did fine in the scrimmage last Tuesday,” Melton noted. “The pitching did fine. We played everybody and used seven different pitchers. I think we will be okay in the pitching department.”
Melton welcomes back several players that helped the team make the state 3A playoffs last season, and he’s hoping they will not only make the post-season again but also make a strong bid for the BSC title.
Melton has three of last year’s top pitchers returning, including his son Charlie Melton, junior Zane Brockman who committed to NC State his freshman year, and southpaw Peyton Fisher.
Melton was an All-State pitcher last year, Brockman the Big South Pitcher of the Year, and Fisher a key relief pitcher and a starting outfielder.
“Peyton got a late start because he advanced to the championship match in the state wrestling tournament,” Coach Melton noted. “But he’s going to be a big contributor. He just has to get back into baseball shape.”
All three play other positions as well and will be among the team’s leaders at the plate and in the field.
“Brockman is back for his third year as a third baseman and pitcher,” Coach Melton noted.
Some other returning starters who should do well are senior outfielder Maddox Brown, Jacob Hamrick, who was an All-Conference and All-State outfielder, and led the team in hitting last year.
Junior right hander Wyatt Davis led the team in innings pitched last year, and Melton said he will be a starter this time around.
Other versatile returnees include junior catcher/outfielder Cole Irby and second baseman/shortstop/pitcher Blake Broome.
“A new guy who will help us a lot is sophomore Ethan Guy,” Melton noted. “He’s a utility player. He can catch and play anywhere in the infield, and he hits the ball very well.”
Colton Mayes is another sophomore who will be counted on at first and third base. “He also hits the ball really well,” Melton noted.
Brayden Patrick, who has a good arm and good speed, will be in the outfield; and freshman Jack Toney should play a lot at first base and is also a good pitcher, Melton noted.
“It’s going to be a tough race in the Big South Conference,” Melton says. “Crest is always good. They have a new coach this year. South Point has joined the conference and they’re always really good in baseball, and North Gaston is always very competitive.
“The key for us will be pitching,” he added. “It should really be good and will keep us in every game. If we can score four or five runs we can win.
“The other key will be hitting,” he added. “If we’re hitting the ball we’ll be very good. Peyton Fisher is really going to help us this year. We expect a lot of good things out of him. He’s thrown a couple innings in the scrimmages and looked good. It’s good to have an experienced lefthander.
“By far, pitching is our strength but our defense is pretty solid, too. Hitting was our big problem last year. We need to cut down on the strikeouts and put the ball in play. If we can hit the ball we’ll be a big out. Charlie and Brockman will probably be our aces and Fisher and Davis the closers. They’ve all looked good so far.”

Six great athletes to be
inducted into Hall of Fame

Six former Mountaineer greats will be inducted into the Kings Mountain Sports Hall of Fame Saturday, May 7 at 6 p.m. at Central United Methodist Church.
They are former KMHS basketball stars Sharon Gold and Sheryl Goode, the late KMHS and Appalachian State University football standout Jim Cloninger, former Mountaineer All-State football great Mariko Feemster, former KMHS state championship wrestler Tony Young, and former KMHS and Gardner-Webb three-sport standout and current KMHS assistant principal Tandra Leftwich.
Gold was a three-time All-Conference basketball star at KMHS in the 1960s. During that time, the only sport for women was basketball. She scored a school-record 1,029 points, breaking Hall of Famer Judy Medlin’s school record by a point.
Cloninger was also a star in the sixties. His senior year he helped lead the KMHS football and basketball teams to conference championships. An end and punter, he was All-Conference, All-State and played in the Boys Town All-Star game in 1965. He started as a freshman at Appalachian State in 1965 before injuries ended his career.
Goode was an All-Conference basketball player at KMHS in 1981, helping the team to its best record in school history at that time. She went on to play four years at Johnson C. Smith where she scored 428 points with 314 rebounds in 91 games. She helped lead her team to a 17-9 record and an appearance in the NCAA tournament in 1985.
Feemster, an offensive lineman, was All-Conference and All-State for Ron Massey’s 1998 state runner-up football team at KMHS. He capped off his high school career as a North Carolina all-star in the annual Shrine Bowl game. He gained significant playing time his freshman year at UNC Chapel Hill before injuries ended his career.
Leftwich was a three-year All-Conference volleyball and softball player at KMHS from 1989-92 and was state diving champion in ’92. She was a three-year All-Conference volleyball and softball player at Gardner-Webb from 1992-94.
Young registered 112 wins as a heavyweight wrestler at KMHS from 1989-92. He was a three-year conference and Western Regional team and state champ and All-State in 1992. He led the Mountaineers to three straight conference and regional championships and a state runner-up in 1990. His senior year, his back-up at heavyweight was Dremiel Byers who would go on to win numerous state and national championships and compete for the U.S. in the Olympics

KM basketball teams bow out
in first round of state playoffs

Photos

Alayna patrick — Alayna Patrick (11) breaks past the Pisgah defense in last week’s playoff game at Parker Gym.

Khalia King (12) fires for the Lady Mountaineers in last week’s NCHSAA playoff loss to Canton Pisgah at Parker Gym.

Bryson brown — KM’s Bryson Brown (10) is double-covered as he goes inside against the Southern Guilford defense in last week’s playoff game at Parker Gym.

Jaquaylin sanders — Kings Mountain’s Jaqualyn Sanders puts up two of his 15 points in last week’s playoff loss to Southern Guilford at Parker Gym. Photos by Gary Smart

KMHS wrestler Peyton Fisher
second in state 3A tournament

Kings Mountain High wrestler Peyton Fisher sat out his junior season last year to concentrate on his baseball skills.
That paid off for him as he received a full scholarship offer to play collegiately when he leaves here.
He completed his high school wrestling career Saturday in Greensboro by advancing to the championship battle in the 3A division.
He lost 8-3 to Jonathon Hance of Central Davidson. Even though he fell short in that match, he still accomplished something that many wrestlers do not.
In just three years, he posted an even 100 victories. He accomplished that the night before with a third round 6-1 decision over Colby Mace of Fred T. Foard.
He opened tournament action on Thursday with a 6-1 victory over Michael Locklear of Scotland County, and followed that with a 6-5 win over Joshua Knipe of West Carteret.
Kings Mountain was also well represented by 106-pound sophomore Trevor Moore who posted a 2-2 mark. He will be working hard for the opportunity to make two more trips to the state finals.
He opened the tournament with a 7-3 victory over Cole Hunt of Jacksonville before losing a tough decision to Kyle Simpson of Parkwood 11-6.
The Mountaineers tied for 25th in the team standings with 21 points. Fred T. Foard won with 177. The Big South’s Stuart Cramer was fourth with 73.
Other BSC finishes included North Gaston, tied for 18th with 29 points, Hunter Huss tied for 35th with 16, Ashbrook tied for 41st with 14, Crest tied for 53rd with six and South Point tied for 67th with two.
The KM wrestlers were coached by head coach Shane Short, who will be leaving the program to become head football coach at Bessemer City High School, and assistant and former Hunter Huss wrestling and football standout Michael Kennedy.

Screen shot 2022 02 24 at 10.20.12 am — Senior Peyton Fisher, left photo, and sophomore Trevor Moore, right photo, represented KMHS in the state 3A wrestling tournament last week in Greensboro.

Screen shot 2022 02 24 at 10.20.30 am — Saniya Wilson ran her KMHS career point total to 1,672 in Big South Conference tournament loss to Ashbrook and was ready to add to her total as the Lady Mountaineers opened state tourney action last night.

KMHS basketball ends season,
advances to state tournament

Kings Mountain High’s men’s and women’s varsity basketball teams ended their regular season last week with second place finishes in the annual Big South 3A Conference tournament and are playing in the state 3A tournament this week.
Both local teams were scheduled to open post-season play last night at home. The women, ranked #16, were to face #17 Canton Pisgah with the winner advancing to a Thursday bout against the winner of the #1 Jesse Carson vs. #32 West Charlotte game; and the men, ranked #14, were to battle 19th seed Southern Guilford with the winner advancing to the winner of the #3 Crest vs. #30 Ashe County contest.
The Lady Mountaineers, who tied with Ashbrook for the regular season conference championship, dropped a tough rubber-match decision to the Lady Green Wave 62-61 in the conference tournament finale Friday at Crest High School.
The Mountaineers, who finished a strong second to Crest in the men’s race, lost to the mighty Chargers again in the tournament finals, 69-59.
Like their two regular season games, the women’s tournament finale was a barn-burner. Ashbrook jumped out to a big 24-15 lead in the first quarter and was on top 37-27 at the half and 52-47 going into the fourth quarter. But, the KM ladies made it interesting at the end.
A Saniya Wilson layup with under a minute to play tied the game at 60-60. Ashbrook threw the ball out of bounds with 22 seconds left. Wilson was able to take a baseline inbounds pass from Alayna Patrick the length of the floor and was fouled with nine seconds left.
She hit one of the two free throws to give the Lady Mountaineers the lead, but Ashbrook’s Kennette Bess was able to get to the free throw line with 4.5 seconds to play and hit both ends of a one-and-one to give the Lady Green Wave their victory margin. Wilson missed a buzzer beater from just beyond the arc as time expired.
Wilson finished with another spectacular night with 34 points, giving her a record 1,672 in four years on the KM varsity. She also had six rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocks.
Khalia King had 13 points and three rebounds, Tyasya Bell seven points and four rebounds, Alayna Patrick four points, nine rebounds and four assists, CoRey Simpson three points and five rebounds, Austyn Dixon nine rebounds and Jacie Jarvis three rebounds.
The Crest men basically led wire to wire in the nightcap. The Chargers were on top 16-12 after the first quarter, 40-25 at the break and 47-40 going into the fourth quarter.
Kings Mountain put up a good fight in the fourth, scoring the first six points and cutting the margin to 47-46 on a three-pointer by Zeke Cannedy with six minutes left. Crest widened the margin again but Kofi Boakye’s free throw brought the margin to within 59-56. With time running out the Mountaineers were forced into a fouling situation and the Chargers iced the win at the charity stripe.
In semi-finals action Wednesday night, the KM ladies beat a very good Hunter Huss team 59-49 and the men eliminated a good Stuart Cramer team 72-61.
The Lady Mountaineers placed three players in double figures, led by Wilson with 24. Simpson scored 11 and King 10. Wilson also had six rebounds, three assists and five steals, Simpson 15 rebounds and King two rebounds.
Jacie Jarvis had five points and two rebounds, Alayna Patrick four points, five rebounds and five steals, Tyasya Bell four points, nine rebounds and two steals, and Austyn Dixon one point, 10 rebounds, three assists and three steals.
The Mountaineers advanced to the championship game by defeating a good Stuart Cramer team, 72-61.
Cannedy and James were a strong 1-2 punch for the Mountaineers with 23 and 22 points, respectively. Zavian Smith had nine points, Curtis Simpson seven, Bryson Brown and Jaqualyn Sanders two each and Priest Wilson one.
Cannedy had 11 rebounds and five assists, James seven boards and six assists, Simpson 14 rebounds and two blocks and Sanders four steals.
The Mountaineers broke away from a 39-all tie late in the second period to lead 52-41 going into the fourth period.

Patriots beat Burns
to go 12-0, playoffs
underway this week

Kings Mountain Middle School’s boys basketball team finished the regular season Thursday with a convincing 57-27 win over county rival Burns.
The undefeated Patriots were scheduled to host Crest in the first round of the conference playoffs yesterday.
The Patriots got off to a slow start against Burns, going 3 for 12 from the field in the first period. But, their free throw shooting and zone defense gave them an early lead.
Caleb Nixon’s floater got the Pats on the board and free throws by Brayden Mull and Charlie Foster gave the team a quick 5-2 lead.
Mull’s two offensive put-backs gave the Patriots an 11-3 lead at the end of the first quarter.
KM was able to get going offensively in the second period as Tucker Robinette and Bradley Floyd scored eight and four points, respectively, and KM picked up its defensive tempo by limiting the Eagles to just three baskets to lead 27-8 at intermission.
In the third quarter, KM came out hot from three point land as Nixon, Floyd and Robinette all contributed to increase the lead to 45-20 entering the final quarter.
Chris Hall scored six points and Coryon Gaines three as the Patriots finished the game on a 6-1 run.
Robinette finished with 11 points and three steals, Nixon five points and two blocks, Floyd 11 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and three blocks, Foster six points, four rebounds and two blocks, Brayden Mull nine points and seven rebounds, Christian Jarrett two points, nine rebounds and two blocks, Christian Hill eight points and three rebounds, Gaines three points, Aiden Smith one point and Ty Howard and Silas Tate combined for three rebounds and an assist.
KM had a season high 44 rebounds, including 15 on offense. The Patriots shot 44 percent overall and 50 percent from inside the arc. They committed only 10 turnovers and blocked nine shots.
The win gave the Patriots an undefeated 12-0 regular season record, including 10-0 in the East Division.
“This team has been awesome all year,” noted Coach Chris Cole. “We hope everyone will come out and support us in the playoffs as we are going to try and finish what we started.”

Patriots beat Lincolnton to take sole possession of first

Kings Mountain Middle’s Patriots took over sole possession of first place in the Tri-County Conference East Division last week with an exciting 74-67 win over Lincolnton.
Both teams went into the game with unbeaten records. Both got off to a great start exchanging baskets.
Brayden Mull’s assist found Charlie Foster in the high post for a quick field goal 30 seconds into the game. Tucker Robinette’s steal and assist to Bradley Floyd gave the Patriots their first lead at 4-3.
Caleb Nixon’s pass to Silas Tate for a deep three gave KM its biggest lead of the first half at 9-7 at the 2:30 mark of the first quarter. The lead exchanged hands nine times during the quarter as Lincolnton took the lead at 17-13.
The fast pace continued in the second period, but the Patriots got cold from the field and the Wildcats grew their lead to 28-17 with three minutes left in the half.
Tate passed to Floyd for a 3-pointer and Floyd passed to Tate for a fast break layup to get the Patriots to within 28-24. Lincolnton went on to lead 39-32 at the half.
The Patriots turned up their defense in the third quarter and limited Lincolnton to just three free throws over the first 3 1/2 minutes. Nixon’s floater tied the game at 42-all before Lincolnton went back up 47-42. Two free throws by Mull, Nixon and Mull lay-ups and a Nixon three gave the Pats their first lead since the first quarter, 51-48 going into the fourth quarter.
Jumpers by Nixon and Floyd extended KM’s lead to 55-52. The Patriots tightened up their defense and held to Wildcats to just one bucket in the first three minutes.
A Floyd jumper and a Nixon three-pointer gave KM its biggest lead of the game, 62-55, with just over 3:30 to play. Foster’s offensive rebound helped KM maintain its lead at 64-58.
The Wildcats were able to pull within 64-62 before Floyd’s put-back gave KM a two possession lead with two minutes to play. Mull’s layup and Floyd’s tip-in finished the scoring.
The win clinched the number one seed for KM in the East Division.
Floyd led the KM attack with 25 points on 11 for 14 shooting. He also had eight rebounds, five assists, two steals and five blocks.
Nixon scored 22 points on 8 for 15 shooting. He hit two threes and dished out three assists.
Brayden Mull had a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds, and also had two steals.
Charlie Foster scored six points to go with nine rebounds and a block, Tucker Robinette four points, Silas Tate five points and three assists, Christian Jarrett two points and Ty Howard two rebounds and a steal.
KM hit 34 of 40 shots, including 30 of 56 inside the arc. The Patriots turned the ball over only 11 times and had 37 rebounds, including 18 on offense, 14 assists and six blocks.
“This was one of the most intense games I’ve ever been a part of,” said Coach Shane Cole. “Two teams battling for first place. We were fortunate to win. LJ Smith for Lincolnton was unconscious. We threw everything at him. We slowed him down a little in the second half. He had 41 points, so we didn’t slow him down much.
“It was a great team win,” Cole added. “Robinette and Tate on defense put the team first. And our bench came through again. The combination of Tate, Jarrett and Howard (seven points, five rebounds, three assists and one steal) were a tremendous lift for us.”
Kings Mountain was scheduled to host Crest Tuesday in the first round of the conference playoffs.

KM Middle continues
to roll in conference

Kings Mountain Middle School recently played three games in eight days to remain undefeated in the Tri-County Conference, plus picked up a forfeit over West Lincoln.
The Patriots had their toughest test to date, edging a good North Lincoln team 64-60.
The lead changed hands nine times in the first quarter as KM’s Tucker Robinette scored seven of his 20 points to put the Patriots on top 14-13.
The Patriots extended their lead to 28-22 early in the second quarter and took a slim 30-27 lead into halftime. Bradley Floyd and Robinette scored 12 of the Pats 16 points during that period.
KM extended its lead to 37-31 in the third period and then went on an 11-2 run to make it 42-38 with 2:30 left in the quarter. Christian Jarrett hit a lay-up and Floyd a buzzer beater for a 48-47 KM lead going into the final quarter.
Brayden Mull scored five points to help KM to a 53-49 lead but the Panthers battled back to tie the game at 54 all. Foster gave KM a 56-54 lead and lay-ups by Floyd and Robinette sealed the win.
Floyd finished with 21 points, 10 boards and seven assists. Robinette had 20 points, Mull 14 points and nine rebounds, Foster six points, Caleb Nixon one point and four assists and Christian Jarrett two points.
KM hit 59 percent (20 for 34) from inside arc and had only nine turnovers.
“North is a good team,” noted KM Coach Shane Cole. “We were pushed to our limit. When they hit five straight threes from the third period to the fourth to put us down four points, it showed what our team is made of. Our guys never quit and they kept pushing.”
Later in the week, the Patriots had a much easier time in defeating West Lincoln 54-11.
Foster’s tip to Nixon for a quick layup got the KM assault started and they went on to lead 18-0 after just three minutes of action. All five starters took part in the scoring with Nixon leading with eight points.
The second unit continued to dominate as they outscored the Chiefs 14-0 to run the score to 32-0. Silas Tate, Coryon Gaines and Aiden Smith all connected from downtown.
Coach Cole rotated his entire roster in the third period as Floyd and Nixon scored 10 of the team’s 11 points for a 45-9 lead.
Nixon led the scoring with 13 points and Floyd added 11. Mull had five, Robinette three, Foster two, Gaines three, Aiden Smith three, Tate eight, Chris Hill three, Ty Howard two, and Christian Jarrett grabbed four rebounds.
In their third game of the week, the Patriots defeated Burns 45-26.
Foster’s tip to Floyd got the scoring underway and KM built a 5-0 lead en route to a 14-8 advantage after the first period.
KM turned up its defensive intensity in the second period and caused eight turnovers. That, plus two blocked shots sent the Patriots into the halftime break with a 14 point lead.
Both teams were cold in the third quarter but KM was able to maintain its 14 point lead going into the fourth period. KM started the fourth on a 9-0 run to win going away.
Floyd and Foster scored 10 points each, Robinette seven, Nixon five, Mull six, Jarrett two, Hill three, Howard two and Tate one.

Patriots edge North, playoffs begin Monday

Kings Mountain Middle’s boys basketball team posted one of its biggest wins last week when it defeated a very good North Lincoln team for the second time in two weeks, 63-55.
This win ran the Patriots’ record to 10-0 on the season and clinched a spot in next week’s conference playoffs.
“Wow, another classic game between these two teams,” said KM coach Shane Cole. “We’ve had some battles since I’ve been here, a play-in game, a five overtime game, a 64-60 game last time we played and now this one.
“I want to give praise to my bench; they really came up big in the first half when we got in foul trouble. The combination of Silas Tate, Chris Hill, Christian Jarret and Ty Howard was phenomenal. We could’ve easily been down six or seven points at the half but they held their ground.”
Charlie Foster led the KM attack with 16 points, including 6-for-6 shooting from the field and 4 of 5 free throws. He also had nine rebounds, two steals and two blocks.
Caleb Nixon added 15 points and was 5-for-8 from twos, and grabbed five rebounds.
Tucker Robinette added 11 points including 6 for 8 free throws, three assists and three steals.
Bradley Floyd scored 10 points and had 12 rebounds, five assists, two steals and three blocks.
Brayden Mull scored five points, including 3 of 4 free throws and also had three rebounds.
Silas Tate had four points, a steal, a block and an assist, and Christian Jarrett hit 2 of 2 free throws and had one block.
KM grabbed a quick 7-1 lead on Robinette’s deep three, Mull’s two free throws and a Mull basket on an assist from Foster. Floyd’s tip-in and Nixon’s layup gave the Patriots a 16-13 lead after one quarter.
The second quarter saw both teams get into foul trouble and KM had to go deep into the bench as three starters had multiple fouls.
KM led 21-15 with four minutes left in the half but North went on an 11-4 run to take their first lead a minute before the break. Two free throws by Jarrett and a lay-up by Tate helped KM stay in the game as the two went into the break tied at 29.
Lay-ups by Floyd, Tate, Nixon and Robinette and a put back by Foster gave the Patriots their biggest lead, 42-33, with less than a minute left in the third period.
The start of the fourth quarter saw the Patriots get into deeper foul trouble and North took a 46-45 lead with 4:30 remaining. Nixon’s free throw tied the game at 46 and Foster’s put-back gave the Patriots a two-point lead.
With a four-point lead and four minutes left, KM went to a box-and-one on NL’s best player. Tate provided pressure to stifle the three-point possibility and KM was able to build the lead back to clinch the win.
KM finished with 33 rebounds, including 19 on
offense and had 11 assists, 11 steals by seven different players, eight blocks by five different players, hit 19 of 31 from inside the arc and made 19 free throws.
In their second game last week, the Patriots got off to a torrid start and defeated East Lincoln 67-39.
Floyd scored 18 points on 8 for 12 shooting, Robinette 13, Nixon 11, Foster six, Mull 10, Coryon Gaines four, Ty Howard three and Aiden Smith two.
Floyd added five boards, four assists and five steals; Robinette six assists and two steals; Nixon seven steals; Foster two assists; Mull seven boards and two steals, Gaines four rebounds, Tate two boards, one assist and two steals and Hill two rebounds.
KM hit 53 percent inside the arc, starters outscored East Lincoln 45-16 and Nixon, in the first quarter, Floyd in the second and Robinette in the third had buzzer-beater shots.
“I’ve been here 11 years and I don’t ever remember shooting that well to start a game,” Coach Cole said. “We made our first eight shots from inside the paint on seven assists. That just shows you how good this team really is when they are focused and play together.”

Four-way standout Fisher
Mountaineers’ 2021 MVP

Peyton Fisher’s all-around performance on the football field during the fall earned the Kings Mountain High senior the team’s most valuable player trophy at Thursday’s annual awards presentation at B.N. Barnes Auditorium.
Fisher, an All-Big South Conference performer, seldom came off the field. When he did it was early in the season when the Mountaineers had their opponents blown out and the coaches were working reserves into the game.
“We had a lot of excellent players,” Mountaineer coach Greg Lloyd said, “and Peyton stood out in everything he did. He could have been All-Conference at four different positions.”
Fisher was not just an outstanding receiver with 342 yards on 30 catches, and an outstanding punter with a 40-plus yard average, but he was an excellent defensive player with a huge number of tackles and quarterback sacks. And, no doubt, he will probably be best remembered when he took a pass interception to the house to clinch a very important victory at South Point, which head coach Greg Lloyd noted was the first KM win over South Point in Belmont in many years.
“He was a hard worker and a great leader,” Coach Lloyd said. “He had a lot of big touchdowns, big catches and big sacks.”
Prior to the trophy presentations, Lloyd recognized players that made post-season all-star teams, including:
All-Big South – Seth Neal, AJ Richardson, Jaden Ellis, Peyton Fisher, Isaiah Eskridge, Jake Lloyd, D’Andre Hoyle and Tykel Smith. All of them also made the All-Area team.
Hoyle and Smith were named All-State.
Other awards presented included:
Outstanding defensive lineman award – Seth Neal. Coach Michael Kennedy said he was privileged to have a “very young group with a lot of talent.”
Neal, who transferred in to KMHS, was a tackling machine, registering 54 solo tackles, including 18 for loss and 12 quarterback sacks.
“He was one of those every day, team-first guys,” Kennedy pointed out. “We had a lot of guys like that that played many different roles.”
Defensive back awards – D’Andre Hoyle and Jake Lloyd.
Hoyle, an outstanding two-way player, was also the team’s leading receiver with 29 catches for 659 yards. He had a team-leading six pass interceptions. “He was the spark of the team,” Kennedy noted. “He made big plays in crucial situations.”
Lloyd was another player that stood out on both offense and defense.
On defense, he led the team in tackles with 98, including three tackles for loss and an interception. He also had several blocked punts, including two for touchdowns.
“He had a knack for the ball,” Coach Kennedy said. “He was always a step ahead of the offense.”
Jeff Putnam Linebacker of the Year – Micah Ward.
“He gave his heart and soul, just like Coach Putnam did,” Coach Wilson said. “He was a hard worker and he was tough.”
Wilson pointed out that Ward had 81 tackles and two interception, “and the best thing about him is that he is a junior and will be back in the fall.”
Wilson also presented the Defensive Coaches Award to sophomore standout Zavian Smith.
“He always played his best,” Wilson said. “He can play any position. He loves to be challenged. He’s special and we expect good things from him for two more years.”
The defensive MVP award was presented to junior standout AJ Richardson, who was a monster on defense and was also called

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upon anytime the Mountaineers needed tough rushing yards on offense.
“He is very determined to be successful,” Wilson said. “He has an infectious energy and leads by example. He always plays hard and wants to make the big plays.
“Late in the year he was injured, but he was still important to us as he was always on the sidelines talking to the players and helping them give their best. He’s a player coach.”
Junior placekicker Jaden Ellis received one of the Special Teams MVP awards from assistant coach Mike Harris.
“He had two huge field goals that gave us leads in two big games,” Harris pointed out.
Jake Lloyd received the other Special Teams MVP Award.
“You could count on him every game to return punts and kickoffs,” Harris said. “He led us in special teams tackles and also blocked two punts for TDs that broke open close games.”
First-year varsity quarterback Lamont Littlejohn Jr. received the Outstanding Offensive Back Award.
Littlejohn, whose father Lamont Littlejohn Sr. also played quarterback for the Mountaineers, quarterbacked the JVs to a 4-0 record during a COVID-shortened spring season. Those four wins were over Shelby, Burns, South Point and Crest.
He stepped into the varsity QB role in the fall and improved each week to become one of the best quarterbacks in the area.
He had a 95.2 quarterback rating.
“He’s a student of the game,” Coach Lloyd pointed out. “He’s always calm and prepared to lead the team. He made some really big plays for us in the playoff games.”
Assistant Coach Diron Bell presented the Outstanding Wide Receiver Award to D’Andre Hoyle.
“We had five good receivers who were always making plays,” Bell said. “He put in his time and led our receivers in yards and touchdowns.”
Line Coach Kevin Cruise presented the Blocking Award to Isaiah Eskridge.
“It was a very tough choice because we’ve been very balanced the last couple of years,” he said. “This year our offensive line paved the way for over 2,000 rushing yards and 2,000 passing yards. Every one of our linemen had a tremendous work ethic and great attitude.
“We have several that will be playing at the next level. Isaiah has a very bright future. He has the size, the strength and the footwork.”
The first annual Brent Bagwell Offensive Coach’s Award went to Bryson Brown.
Coach Cruise called Brown “an excellent student who comes to work every day committed to be second to none.
“He made some big time catches,” Cruise noted. “He scored the first touchdown in the Franklin playoff game, and the last one to win the game.” That one, came in the final seconds after the Mountaineers drove 99 yards with just over a minute remaining that allowed the team to go three rounds in the state playoffs before being eliminated by the eventual state champion Greensboro Dudley eleven.
Making the blocks to achieve such success as the above-mentioned nail-biter were a host of good offensive linemen. And, it was fitting that the Offensive Most Valuable Player Award went to All-State lineman Tykel Smith.
“He was a dominant blocker and a great leader,” Cruise said. “He plays the game the right way – in practice and games. He has a great attitude in every situation.”
The Weightlifter of the Year Award was presented by Coach Ted Trahan to senior Jonah Patrick.
“This is a prestigious award,” Trahan noted. “He came in as a freshman and spent a lot of time becoming a good varsity player. He worked extremely hard.”
The Tough Man of the Year Award, given in memory of longtime sideline manager Donnie Mace, went to offensive lineman Micah Lubas.
Coach Cruise pointed out that in previous years Lubas had some ailments that would keep a lot of people away but he “worked hard and was one of the strongest and best linemen out there.”
The Career Achievement Award went to running back Rashaard Brooks, who broke his leg during the spring season and had to have an operation that prevented him from playing in the fall.
“When you lose your senior season it takes a mature individual to work hard to recover,” Coach Lloyd said. “He was tough inside and out. He was a fantastic running back – small but with a big heart. He played his best in big games and he will be missed.”

Lady Mountaineers
defeat Crest 72-57
to share BSC title

For the second time in four years and just the third time in school history, Kings Mountain High’s girls basketball team can lay claim to at least a co-championship following Friday night’s regular-season ending 72-57 win over Cleveland County rival Crest.
The result left the Lady Mountaineers and Ashbrook tied at the top spot with 13-1 conference records. The Ashbrook ladies came into KM’s Donald L. Parker Gymnasium last week to knock off the KM ladies for their only conference defeat.
All BSC teams are involved in their annual conference tournament this week and both KM varsity teams will be entering the state playoffs next week. With their high standing – the KM men finished second in the BSC – they should both be at home for at least the first playoff game.
The Lady Mountaineers grabbed a 17-10 first quarter lead and were never headed at Crest. They were on top 33-22 at the half and 51-33 going into the final eight minutes.
Saniya Wilson continued her torrid scoring pace with 31 points, and junior Khalia King added 25.
Both ladies had exceptional all-around games. Wilson hit 14 of 14 from the free throw line, grabbed six rebounds, dished out six assists and stole the ball three times. King hit all six of her free throws and had four rebounds and two assists.
CoRey Simpson had six points and six rebounds and Myracle Davis added four points, seven boards and blocked two shots. Alayna Patrick had two points, five rebounds, and six assists; Austyn Dixon two points and three rebounds; and Tyasya Bell two points, a team-leading 10 rebounds and three assists.
A 71-68 loss to Ashbrook on the previous Tuesday prevented the Lady Mountaineers from winning the conference outright.
Kennetta Bess scored 32 points and Madison Cole 21 to lead the Ashbrook attack, but it was really the Green Wave defense that provided the win. Although Wilson had her usual lights-out game with 41 points, only three other Lady Mountaineers dented the scoreboard. Patrick scored 15, King nine and Simpson three.
Wilson had nine rebounds, two assists and three steals to go with her 41 points. Patrick had five rebounds and seven assists, Simpson six boards, Davis five and Dixon four.
Ashbrook led most of the game, but was always fighting off a charge by the KM ladies. Wilson’s bucket gave the KM ladies a 15-13 lead after the first period, but Ashbrook scored the first nine points of the second quarter and went on to lead 33-29 at the half. They led 50-45 going into the fourth quarter.
KM was able to get to within three, 66-63, with 1:13 remaining after a bucket and two free throws by Patrick and cut it to three again (68-65) following a pair of free throws by Wilson with 10.3 remaining. Wilson’s three cut it to 70-68 with 2.4 seconds left, but the KM gals were forced to foul and Ashbrook wrapped it up at the line.
Kings Mountain’s other two conference championships came in 1983 and 2019. Wilson, who was a freshman starter in ‘19, became the first Lady Mountaineer to play on two championship teams in basketball.
The KM men went 1-2 in their final regular season action, losing to Ashbrook and Crest and beating Huss 77-50.
Zeke Cannedy continued his torrid scoring pace against Huss with 46 points, all of them coming in the first three quarters. He rode the pine the entire fourth quarter as the Mountaineers worked everyone into the game.
Cannedy also grabbed eight rebounds and dished out seven assists.
Curtis Simpson had a double-double with 15 points and 15 rebounds. He also blocked six shots.
Zavion Smith continued his fine all-around play with eight points and six assists.
In the 73-66 upset loss to Ashbrook, which ended any KM hopes for a share of the regular season title, Cannedy again led all scorers with 32 points. Smith added 14 and Maddox James 12. Kenneth Greene led the Wave with 27 points.
KM led 20-17 after the first period, 40-32 at the break and 54-48 going into the fourth quarter but Ashbrook went on a 7-1 run to take the lead at 55-54 with 5:13 remaining.
That run obviously gave the Green Wave a ton of confidence. KM was able to regain the lead at 65-64 on a pair of free throws by Cannedy with 42 seconds left but Ashbrook answered with two free throws of their own to go up 66-65, then immediately stole KM’s inbounds pass and went up 68-65. KM was forced to foul and the visitors clinched the upset at the foul line.

Mountaineers
sweep Cramer

Kings Mountain High’s basketball teams swept Stuart Cramer to stay in the fight for the Big South 3A Conference with regular season-ending games this week.
The Lady Mountaineers remained undefeated in the conference with a 63-20 victory before the Mountaineers turned back a strong Cramer five 89-77 in the nightcap.
The KM teams were scheduled to host a pair of very good Gastonia Ashbrook teams last night at Parker Gym. Heading into that game, the KM girls held just a one-game lead over the Ashbrook ladies and were needing a victory to wrap up the conference championship.
The locals end their regular season Friday night at Crest. Heading into last night’s game the Mountaineers still were within striking distance of the Chargers in the race for the conference championship as a narrow win by the Chargers January 18 was KM’s only defeat in the league.
Big South Conference tournament action will be held on Monday, Wednesday and Friday of next week. State playoff action begins on Tuesday, Feb. 22.
The KM girls got their usual 1-2 scoring punch from Saniya Wilson and Khalia King at Cramer, but all of Coach Nicholas Inman’s ladies made big contributions.
Wilson had 25 points, three rebounds, six assists and two steals. King contributed 25 points which included 7 of 11 shooting from three point range. She also pulled down five rebounds and dished out seven assists.
Myracle Davis added six points, a team-leading 10 rebounds and three steals.
Alayna Patrick had three points, five boards, six assists and six steals; Jacie Jarvis two points and two rebounds; and Austyn Dixon one point and seven boards.
The Mountaineers led the entire game, but it was close throughout.
Zeke Cannedy continued to put up Player of the Year statistics with 28 points, 11 assists and six rebounds.
And, he had plenty of help as Zay Smith swished the nets for 21 points. Bryson Brown had 12 points, three blocks, four steals and six rebounds, Maddox James 11 points and Jaqualyn Sanders 10.

Mountaineer swimmers
to compete
in state meet

Four individuals and a team from Kings Mountain High School will compete in the NCHSAA 3A state swim meet Friday.
The team competed in the West Regional meet Saturday at the Mecklenburg County Aquatic Center in Charlotte.
The swimmers going on to the state are Alex Barr in the 100 freestyle and 100 backstroke, Trinity Price in the 200 freestyle and 100 backstroke, Mason Demetro and Dalton Messenger in the 100 butterfly; and Barr, Turner Brown, Demetro and Messenger in the 400 yard freestyle relay.
KM results in the Western Regional included:
Girls 200 medley relay – Abbey Ogle, Callie Stimpson, Trinity Price and Tianna Kaiser, 23rd.
Boys 200 medley relay – Nash Bachman, Alex Hayes, Turner Brown and Hunter Ruppe, 23rd.
Girls 200 free – Trinity Price fifth with a time of 2:05.36 to qualify for the state meet.
Boys 200 free – Dalton Messenger, 15th in 2:03.60, and Mason Demetro 16th in 2:06.00.
Boys 100 butterfly – Messenger sixth in 57.95 and Demetro eighth in 59.86, both qualifying for the state meet.
Boys 100 free – Alex Barr fifth in 50.33, qualifying for the state meet.
Girls 500 free – Trinity Price fourth in 5:37.24, qualifying for the state.
Girls 200 free relay – Trinity Price, Callie Stimpson, Abbey Ogle and Tianna Kaiser, 21st.
Boys 100 backstroke – Alex Barr second in 54.76, new school record and qualifying for state meet.
Boys 400 free relay – Dalton Messenger, Turner Brown, Mason Demetro and Alex Barr, seventh in 3:41.38 and qualifying for the state meet.

Screen shot 2022 02 10 at 11.28.39 am — Alex Barr set a new KMHS record of 54.76 to finish second in the boys 100 backstroke in last week’s West Regional meet at the Mecklenburg County Aquatic Center in Charlotte.

Screen shot 2022 02 10 at 11.28.23 am — Kings Mountain’s 2022 swim team competed in last week’s Western Regional meet in Charlotte.

Screen shot 2022 02 10 at 11.27.24 am — Priest Wilson fires a jumper for the Mountaineers in last week’s win over South Point’s Red Raiders. Photos by Gary Smart

Mountaineers sweep South Point

Kings Mountain High’s varsity basketball teams swept the South Point Red Raiders in Big South 3A Conference action last Tuesday at Donald L. Parker Gymnasium.
The Lady Mountaineers remained atop the conference standings with a sound effort from all players, 70-37, and the Mountaineers held on to their strong second place standing in the nightcap, 78-65.
The ladies led by just 11-8 after the first period but they quickly took charge in the second quarter and won easily. In the second quarter, the Lady Mountaineers got a big lift from Khalia King and Saniya Wilson on offense and all of their players on defense to allow the Lady Red Raiders just one point until the two minute mark. By that time the locals were up 30-9 and had the game in hand by halftime, 34-15.
Coach Nick Inman’s team placed four players in double figures and every player performed well on defense, most notably CoRey Simpson who pulled down a career high 18 rebounds to go with her three points.
King led the scoring attack with 16 points, with 12 of them coming on a 4-for-5 shooting performance from three-point land. She also had three rebounds.
Senior standout Saniya Wilson once again had a double-double with 11 points and 10 assists. She also pulled down five rebounds and had three steals.
Alayna Patrick had one of, if not the best game of her career with 11 points, 10 rebounds, two assists and two steals. Her points and rebounds were both career highs on the varsity level.
Jacie Jarvis also had career highs of 11 points and eight rebounds.
Tyasya Bell scored eight points to go along with three rebounds and two steals, Austyn Dixon had six points and five boards and Myracle Davis had four points, five rebounds and three assists.
Lexi Birtwistle led the Lady Raiders with 11 points and Maddie Frank added 10. Toney Melton and Claire Huv scored six apiece and Leah Cha and Lily Gregory two each.
In JV action, Kings Mountain improved to 5-1 with a 12-8 win over the Lady Raiders. Mia Bridges had six points, Maggie Honeycutt four and Desirae Thombs two.
Although the final score may not indicate it, the men’s game was also a blowout as the Mountaineers led by 24 points (76-52) with three minutes left when Coach Grayson Pierce took all starters out of the game. Even before that, many starters were being taken out from time to time to work everyone into the game.
The game was tied in the opening minute after KM’s Zeke Cannedy and SP’s Jackson Blee traded buckets. But by the end of the first quarter KM was up 22-7 and the game was basically in hand.
Cannedy’s free throw put the Mountaineers up 39-19 at halftime. He scored 18 of his game-high 41 points in the first half.
The Raiders scored the first six points of the third quarter to get the margin down to 39-25, and rallied again later in the period to cut it to 55-38 but the Mountaineers rallied to take a 61-42 lead into the final eight minutes.
With KM up 78-54 after a lay-in by Keedon Linney with 2:25 left in the game, the Raiders scored the last 11 points of the game to make it more respectable.

Last second goal in OT
lifts Lions over KMHS

Kings Mountain native Drew Hollifield stole an inbounds pass and hit a lay-up with just a second remaining to give the Lions a 76-74 overtime victory over Kings Mountain in a non-conference game Wednesday night in Shelby.
It gave the Lions a sweep of the varsity doubleheader after the Lady Lions rolled to a 77-39 win in the opener.
Hollifield’s heroics overshadowed yet another outstanding performance by Kings Mountain senior Zeke Cannedy, who finished with a game-high 30 points. Hollifield and DeMario Allen led the Lions with 18 apiece.
Drew’s cousins, Kate and Ally Hollifield, played a huge part in the Lady Lions’ victory. Maraja Pass led all scorers with 21 points but Kate Hollifield was right behind with 18, followed by Ally Hollifield with 15.
Saniya Wilson led the Lady Mountaineers with 17 points and also had three assists, two rebounds, one steal and took two charges.
Khalia King had eight points, three assists and a steal; Alayna Patrick six points, six rebounds, three steals and an assist; Tyasya Bell four points, three rebounds and an assist, Austyn Dixon two points, three rebounds and an assist and CoRey Simpson two points, nine rebounds and two blocks.
It was just the third loss of the year for the Lady Mountaineers, the other two coming in pre-season tournaments.
In the JV game, Shelby handed the KM ladies a 15-10 defeat to drop their record to 5-2.
Mia Bridges led KM with four points. Brooklyn Long and Jailen Moore scored two points each and Maggie Honeycutt and Desirae Thombs one each.

KMHS Interact Club selling bands helping international student

By Loretta Cozart

Kings Mountain High School Interact Club is tackling an international project by selling bracelets to help a student from Guatemala with her education expenses. Lucy’s father died last year of COVID, and the family is struggling financially.
Her story touched the hearts of the Interact members and they have worked hard selling YUDA bands to their friends and family. These bracelets were hand made in developing countries and their sale also benefits the artisans who produce them. Club members are proud to be able to send the proceeds to help Lucy with her education. The club’s top seller was Kalin Brooks.
Kings Mountain High School Interact Club is primarily a leadership and service -oriented club. It is an offshoot of the Kings Mountain Rotary Club. The KMHS faculty club sponsor is Margot Plonk.
The club volunteers at many City-sponsored events and is involved with several annual projects such as the Rotary Spaghetti Supper, Rotary Thanksgiving meal at the Patrick Senior Center, as well as many other community events like the Jingle Bell Run.

Screen shot 2022 02 03 at 10.19.52 am — Kings Mountain High School Interact Club is selling YUDA bands to help an international student with expenses. Top seller, Kalin Brooks, pictured at the bottom right. (Photos provided)

Screen shot 2022 02 03 at 10.20.00 am — Kings Mountain High School Interact Club’s beneficiary, Lucy.

Men’s tennis tryouts
begin Feb. 14 at KMHS

Kings Mountain High men’s tennis tryouts will be held Mon., Feb. 14 through Fri., Feb. 18 at 4 p.m. at the KMHS tennis complex.
Each student athlete is required to have an updated physical form on file prior to participating in any practices.
All participants are required to take tennis gear such as a racquet, tennis apparel and individual bottled water.
The Mountaineers lost five seniors off last year’s team. Four players return including Adam Guy, Mark Petrilli, Tyler Smith and Manoah Allen.

Football awards
on February 10

The annual Kings Mountain High School football awards ceremony, originally scheduled for last Thursday, had to be postponed.
The event has been rescheduled for Thursday, Feb. 10 at 7 p.m. at B.N. Barnes Auditorium.
Trophies and other awards will be presented to some of the many outstanding student-athletes on the 2021 fall team that finished second in the Big South Conference and went three rounds in the state playoffs. The team that eliminated them from the playoffs, Greensboro Dudley, went on to win the state championship.
Because of health concerns, food will not be served.

KM
sweeps
Wildcats

Kings Mountain High’s varsity basketball teams swept North Gaston in Big South 3A Conference action last week in Dallas.
The girls came out strong in the second half en route to a 49-32 win to keep them undefeated in the conference. The boys dominated from the get-go and rolled over the Wildcats 77-36.
As has been the case in most games this year, the North Gaston defense couldn’t do a thing with KM senior Zeke Cannedy who stripped the nets for 31 points. Maddox James added 18.
The North Gaston girls held the edge early, leading the Lady Mountaineers 10-8 after the first period before KM outscored them 12-8 in the second quarter to go up 20-18 at intermission.
Led by senior standout Saniya Wilson, the Lady Mountaineers widened the gap to 35-23 going into the fourth period.
Wilson finished with 20 points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals and Khalia King also hit double digits with 14 points.
All of the KM ladies had good all-around games. Austyn Dixon scored four points and hauled in 10 rebounds. CoRey Simpson had four points, four rebounds and two blocks. Tyasya Bell added three points, five boards, two assists and two steals, Alayna Patrick two points, four rebounds, four assists and five steals, and Myracle Davis two points and three rebounds.

Screen shot 2022 02 03 at 10.19.28 am — Kings Mountain’s Maggie Honeycutt (5) goes in for two in last week’s JV game with Crest at Donald L. Parker Gymnasium. Photos by Gary Smart

Girls win, boys lose
in big county game
with rival Chargers

Kings Mountain High’s women’s basketball team continued its roll through the Big South Conference but the Mountaineers dropped their first conference game to a very good Crest team Wednesday at Donald L. Parker Gymnasium.
Lady Mountaineer coach Nicholas Inman got a good all-around performance from all of his ladies as they held off a big second half comeback by the Lady Chargers, 62-57. The KM ladies led 42-22 at halftime but the visitors from Boiling Springs outscored them 17-9 in the third period and 18-11 in the final eight minutes to make it a close one.
Senior standout Saniya Wilson again led the KM attack with 25 points, six rebounds and five assists.
Khalia King had 15 points and three assists, and Tyasya Bell barely missed double figures with nine points. She also grabbed four rebounds.
CoRey Simpson also had a good all-around game with eight points and five boards. Myracle Davis added three points and five rebounds and Austyn Dixon two points and three rebounds.
Surratt led Crest with 22 points and Davis had 13. Blackwell and Hamrick added eight apiece to help spark the Lady Chargers’ comeback attempt.
The JV Lady Mountaineers suffered their first loss of the season, 22-15. They had gone into the match with a 4-0 record.
Maggie Honeycutt led the KM scoring with 10 points. Brooklyn Whitlock had three and Desirae Thombs two.
The Mountaineers led at the end of each of the first three quarters but Crest took command late for an 85-82 victory that kept the Chargers unbeaten in the BSC while dropping the Mountaineers to 6-1 in the league.
The game changed hands several times in the fourth quarter but the Chargers went to a zone defense late and it paid off.
A.J. Adams came off the bench to lead the Chargers with 19 points, including 5-of-6 free throws to seal the win. Kings Mountain led 62-50 in the third period before Adams and his teammates began their big comeback.
The Chargers’ season leading scorer, Mari Adams, got into early foul trouble and was riding the pine when his younger brother and fellow teammates were pulling their big comeback. Three other Chargers were also in double figures with Kevin Kollock also scoring 19, Tylik Briscoe 14 and Amareio Goodlett 10.
Kings Mountain’s Zeke Cannedy continued to put up big numbers, finishing with 48 points with 38 of them coming in the first three periods before the Chargers switched to their zone.
Maddox James continued his great play of late with 15 points, and Curtis Simpson added 11.

Kaylee Lavin signs with CCC

Kings Mountain High senior Kaylee Lavin signs to continue her softball career and education at Cleveland Community College. Looking on are her parents, Gina Lavin and Tommy Lavin.

Photo by Gary Smart

Saniya Wilson signs
with Catawba College

Kings Mountain High senior basketball standout Saniya Wilson signs to continue her education and playing career at Catawba College. She is pictured with her high school coaches, head coach Nicholas Inman, left, and assistant coach Darrel Wilson, her father.

Photo by Gary Smart

KM Family YMCA Basketball

Screen shot 2022 01 27 at 2.37.07 pm — Players scramble during a recent basketball game at the YMCA. Photos provided

Screen shot 2022 01 27 at 2.37.38 pm — This young player prepares for a pass.

Screen shot 2022 01 27 at 2.37.32 pm — Referees hustle to keep up with these young players as they head down court.

Football awards
night Thursday

Kings Mountain High’s annual football awards night is Thursday at 7 p.m. at Barnes Auditorium.
Players from the fall 2021 team that went 10-3 and three rounds in the state 3A playoffs will be recognized and trophies will be presented to many players for their outstanding contributions.

Adjusted schedule
for KM basketball

Because the recent snows forced postponement to many basketball games, Kings Mountain High School has adjusted its schedule for the remainder of the regular season:
Wed., Jan. 26 – Crest at Kings Mountain, 4:30. (The home game against Shelby has been cancelled).
Fri., Jan. 28 – Kings Mountain at Forestview, 4:30.
Tue., Feb. 1 – South Point at Kings Mountain, 4 p.m.
Wed., Feb. 2 – Kings Mountain at Shelby, 4 p.m.
Fri., Feb. 4 – Kings Mountain at Stuart Cramer, 4:30.
Sat., Feb. 5 – Forestview at Kings Mountain (JV and varsity boys only), 1 p.m.
Tues., Feb. 8 – Kings Mountain at Ashbrook, 4 p.m.
Wed., Feb. 9 – Hunter Huss at Kings Mountain, 6:30 (varsity boys only).
Fri., Feb. 11 – at Crest, 4 p.m.
Week of Feb. 14 – Conference tournament (times and pairings TBD).
*Note: A 4 p.m. start means there is a girls JV game; a 4:30 start means there is no JV girls game.

Screen shot 2022 01 27 at 2.36.41 pm — TYASYA BELL

KMHS ladies
edge Huss in OT,
Crest here today

Kings Mountain High’s girls basketball team was able to play their first game in a week Friday night, defeating a very good Hunter Huss team 59-54 in overtime at Donald L. Parker Gymnasium to maintain sole possession of first place in the Big South Conference.
However, with snow coming down outside the KMHS gym the KM-Huss boy’s game was postponed and will be played at a later date.
Heading into this week, both KM teams had a makeup game against county-rival Crest. That game, which would have concluded first round play, was snowed out last Tuesday. The KM men also have a makeup game with Forestview that was postponed earlier in the season.
Girls coach Nicholas Inman got a super performance from all of his players in Friday’s win over a Huss team that was mentioned as one of the pre-season favorites in the Big South Conference.
Senior Saniya Wilson continued her super all-around play with 28 points, seven rebounds, six assists and five steals. She also took five charging calls.
Khalia King contributed 10 points, three rebounds and two assists.
Wilson and King have been the 1-2 scoring punch for the KM ladies all season – and several seasons before this one.
But every Lady Mountaineer contributed greatly to Friday’s win.
Tyasya Bell barely missed double figures with nine points, and she also pulled down seven rebounds.
CoRey Simpson had eight points and eight rebounds, and Austyn Dixon had seven rebounds.
Alayna Pastrick had five rebounds and three assists, Myracle Davis two points and three rebounds, and Jacie Jarvis two points.
In the afternoon JV game, the KM ladies also were taken to the wire before prevailing 18-13. They improved their record to 4-0.
Kamari Odems led the scoring with seven points. Jailen Moore and Mia Bridges had three each,
Brooklyn Long and Maggie Honeycutt two each, and D’Aundra Ford one.
All Kings Mountain teams will be at home this afternoon and tonight to face arch rival Crest in .conference action.
Kings Mountain returns to BSC action Friday night at Forestview and will host the South Point Red Raiders next Tuesday. JV girls action gets underway at 4 p.m., followed by the JV boys, varsity girls and varsity boys.

Long-time KM Hall of Fame coach
Jimmy Littlejohn will be remembered

Kings Mountain lost one of its all-time best coaches when Jimmy Littlejohn passed away last week at the age of 80.
For more than half of those years, he was a coach of local youth football teams and later was the Athletic Officer for two of KM’s best American Legion baseball teams.
When Littlejohn was inducted into the Kings Mountain Sports Hall of Fame in 1994 he had already amassed 34 years as a coach in midget football. He continued for many years after that while also serving as the Athletic Officer for Kings Mountain Post 155 American Legion baseball.
Although Littlejohn did not coach legion baseball, he was a key figure in what were probably KM’s two finest teams in 1990 and 1991. Featuring players like Paul Brannon, who would later be drafted by the Seattle Mariners, Chad and Chris Plonk, Keith Allen and others, the Post 155 Juniors went all the way to the Area IV finals before falling to two teams, Caldwell County which won the state and played in the Eastern Regionals, and Taylorsville that finished second in the state.
Just a year before that, Post 155 had folded its legion program and its players were split between Shelby and Bessemer City depending on how far they lived from those posts.
In a story in the Herald when he was inducted into the Kings Mountain Sports Hall of Fame, Littlejohn recalled that he and Gene Tignor had gone to a Shelby-Bessemer City Area IV playoff game and talked about how great it would be to revive the legion program. They were told by Shelby officials that they would not release any players back to KM, but Littlejohn learned from a state legion baseball officer that if the players signed an affidavit they could play for Post 155. KMHS coaches Bruce Clark and Ronny Funderburke coached the team.
When he was inducted into the Hall of Fame, Littlejohn said he learned his coaching skills from his high school coach, John Gamble. Although he was not one of the team captains, anytime Coach Gamble met with his two captains he would ask Littlejohn, who was not a starter, to join them.
“I guess he considered me to be the captain of the second team,” Littlejohn noted at the time. “Coach Gamble taught me all the football I know.”
The only coaching experience he had prior to the Optimist programs was helping his friend David Marlowe with the West School community team. Although the original four midget teams were named after schools, schools were not allowed to sponsor youth teams. The original midget teams were West, East, North and Central. A few years later Grover and South (Park Grace) joined the league.
When the school system went to a middle/junior high/senior high school concept midget football ceased to exist and the Optimist Club and city began co-sponsoring junior pee wees, pee wees and junior midget teams that still exist today.

Screen shot 2022 01 27 at 2.36.36 pm — Jimmy Littlejohn during his football playing days at Kings Mountain High School.

Screen shot 2022 01 27 at 2.36.49 pm — Jimmy Littlejohn driving one of his classic cars in last year’s Kings Mountain Christmas parade. (Photo by Gary Smart)

KM teams win Polar Bear track meet at Gamble Stadium

Seven area schools participated in the first Polar Bear Indoor Track Meet Thursday at Kings Mountain High’s Gamble Stadium, and both KM teams came out on top.
The Mountaineers compiled 156 points. Shelby was second at 56 followed by R-S Central 33, East Lincoln 24, Cherryville, 14, Paddyforte Learning Center 10 and Burns 1.
The Lady Mountaineers racked up 233 points, followed by Shelby 43, East Lincoln 26, S Central 25 and Burns four.
Fully automatic timing (FAT) was used. Even though the temperate was cool, KM coach Rayvis Key was very impressed with the Mountaineers’ and Lady Mountaineers’ performances.
For the Mountaineers, DJ Black finished first in the 55 meter dash, 300 meter dash and led the 4x200 relay.
Other first place finishers were Andre Willis in the 55 meter high hurdles, Parker Key in the 3200 meter run, Nicholas Harrison in the pole vault and Marty Lovingood in the long jump. Other members of the winning 4x200 team were Andre Willis, Hunter Cruise and JJ Thurman.
Alexis Jackson was a triple winner for the Lady Mountaineers, taking the high jump, long jump and triple jump.
Other first place winners were Rayna Brown in the pole vault, Taylor Smith in the shot, Divinity Ervin in the 3200 meters, Taniya Brown in the 55 meter high hurdles, Brooke Waseman in the 300 meter dash, Navaeh Brown in the 55 meter dash; and the 4x200 meter relay team consisting of Navaeh Brown, Nyadria Phillips, Lawren Thomas and Brooke Waseman.
The KMHS indoor track teams will be traveling to the only true indoor meet at the JDL Fast Track in Winston Salem on January 20.

Rayna bown — Rayna Brown pole vaults for the Lady Mountaineers in last week's meet t KMHS.

Km guys 4 and 3 — JJ Thurman, left, and DJ Black, center, of Kings Mountain battle East Lincoln’s Jalen Roseboro.

Nicholas harrison — Nicholas Harris competes for the Mountaineers in the pole vault.

Key3 — Parker Key is in the lead for the KM Mountaineers in last week’s Polar Bear meet at Gamble Stadium.

Divinty ervin — Divinity Ervin (8) of Kings Mountain is in the lead in girls race in Thursday’s Polar Bear meet at Gamble Stadium. Photos by Gary Smart

Ashley gural — Ashley Gural runs hard for the Lady Mountaineers in last week’s Polar Bear meet at Gamble Stadium.

Lady Mountaineers
beat Cramer 67-48

Kings Mountain’s women’s basketball team rolled to its fifth straight Big South Conference victory Tuesday night at home, defeating the Stuart Cramer Purple Storm 67-48.
The Lady Mountaineers got another strong performance from all players, with four of them scoring in double figures.
Senior standout Saniya Wilson led the way with 19 points, six rebounds, five assists and four steals.
Khalia King contributed 16 points and seven boards.
CoRey Simpson had perhaps her best game ever as a Lady Mountaineer, scoring 15 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. It was her first career double-double as a varsity player.
Tyasya Bell was also in double figures with 12 points. She grabbed five rebounds.
Jacie Jarvis had four points and three rebounds.
Alayna Patrick contributed one point, two rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Stuart Cramer’s Dasia Harris was the game’s top scorer with 28 points. Hadley Womack added 17, Madison Lee two and Zoey Morris one.

Screen shot 2022 01 19 at 2.58.11 pm — Jacie Jarvis goes inside for the Lady Mountaineers against Stuart Cramer.

Screen shot 2022 01 19 at 2.58.05 pm — KM’s Alayna Patrick drives to the basket against Stuart Cramer in last week’s game at Parker Gym. Photos by Gary Smart

Screen shot 2022 01 19 at 2.58.16 pm — Corey Simpson fires from the outside for the Lady Mountaineers against Cramer.

Mountaineers sweep
Ashbrook to stay top BSC

Kings Mountain High’s varsity basketball teams went into last night’s game against the Crest Chargers atop the Big South 3A Conference standings.
The KM teams swept Gastonia Ashbrook Friday night on the road with the girls handing the Lady Green Wave their first conference loss in more than two years, 45-41, and the boys rolling 81-50.
The Mountaineers had a good 1-2 scoring punch with Zeke Cannedy stripping the nets for 32 points and Maddox James 18. Zavion Smith added nine points and Curtis Simpson and Eli Osborne seven apiece.
The Lady Mountaineers carried a 6-0 conference record into last night’s game while Crest came to town with a 2-2 conference mark. The Lady Green Wave fell into second place with a 5-1 BSC record.
The KM men came in with a 5-0 mark and Crest 3-0. The Mountaineers still have a first round makeup game with Forestview.

Lady Mountaineer Coach Nicholas Inman got a great overall performance from all of his players.
Khalia King had a super night with a game-high 20 points which included 4-of-7 from three-point land.
Senior standout Saniya Wilson continued her fine all-around play with 16 points, four rebounds and five assists.
Myracle Davis had three points and two boards, Austyn Dixon two points and three rebounds, CoRey Simpson two points and five rebounds, and Tyasya Bell two points and a team high nine rebounds.
The Lady Mountaineers held the lead most of the game, but it was close throughout. KM was on top 11-6 after the first quarter, 19-14 at the half and 28-25 going into the fourth quarter.
The KM JVs also came out a big winner, 32-20.
Kamari Odems led the way with 11 points. Jailen Moore scored seven, Riley Powers five, Brooklyn Whitlock five, and Maggie Honeycutt four.
Goforth led Ashbrook with nine points, followed by Rojhaya with six, Hayes three and Mooring two.
The Kings Mountain teams will remain at home Friday to begin second round action against the Hunter Huss Huskies. Kings Mountain will then travel to North Gaston next Tuesday before returning home for a non-conference game with county rival Shelby on Wednesday.

Screen shot 2022 01 19 at 2.57.50 pm — KM’s Maddox James (4) drives the lane for two points in Kings Mountain’s thrilling 88-82 win over Stuart Cramer last week at Parker Gym. Photo by Gary Smart

Mountaineers weather their
first BSC ‘Storm,’ 88-82

Kings Mountain’s Mountaineers survived a tough battle from the Stuart Cramer Purple Storm in Big South 3A Conference basketball action Tuesday night at Donald L. Parker Gymnasium but remained undefeated in the conference with an 88-82 victory.
After leading most of the game, the Mountaineers ran into foul trouble in the second half and saw Cramer come from behind to earn their first lead since early in the game, 70-69, on a Will Kelly basket with six minutes remaining.
But Maddox James, who played one of his best games of the season with 19 points and numerous rebounds, put the Mountaineers back out front 74-72 and they were able to hold on for the victory.
Cramer stayed within striking distance but, even with KM’s leading scorer Zeke Cannedy on the bench with five fouls, the Mountaineers were able to survive behind clutch play by James, sophomore guard Zavion Smith and others.
Cramer got to within 84-80 with 26 seconds remaining, but had to foul and Smith went to the line to go 4-for-4 and wrap things up.
The Storm scored the game’s first points to go up 2-0 and led 15-14 with 1:25 left in the first period. Cannedy scored the last six points of the period to put KM on top 21-17. The Mountaineers built a 45-35 lead following a Cannedy basket with a minute left in the half, but the visitors rallied to cut the margin to 48-42 at the break.
Will Kelly (24 points) and Francisco Vardezas (11) accounted for 35 of the Storm’s first half points.
The Mountaineers were able to get their lead to double-digits (63-53) on a bucket by James with just over a minute left in the third quarter, but the Storm began brewing again and cut it to 67-60 heading into the final eight minutes. The visitors scored the first seven points of the third quarter to knot things up at 67-all with 6:50 left in the game.
Cannedy’s three put the Mountaineers up 72-70 and they were able to build a 78-72 lead before Smith was hurt and had to go to the bench with 4:05 left.
Things got a little shaky in the final two minutes as a pair of technical free throws by Kelly brought the visitors to within four at 82-78. But, upon getting the ball out of bounds the Storm committed a charge. KM got a big bucket by James for an 84-78 lead. Cramer’s Talen Whitley followed a miss shot with a put-back to make it 84-80 with 26 seconds left.
With the Mountaineers now on offense, The Storm had to foul for a chance to win, but Smith hit 4-of-4 from the charity stripe to seal the deal.
Despite his time on the bench due to fouls, Cannedy still led the Mountaineers with 32 points. He and James were joined in double figures by Linney with 12 and Smith and Simpson with 10 each.

Kohen Johnson signs with CCC

Kings Mountain High School swimmer Kohen Johnson recently signed to continue his education and swimming career at Cleveland Community College.

Patriots open
season with
win over Crest

Kings Mountain Middle School’s boys basketball team opened its season last week with a thrilling 54-48 overtime victory over county rival Crest.
Crest led most of the game and was up 46-45 with 30 seconds to play before KM’s Bradley Floyd hit a free throw to send the game into overtime.
The Patriots hit 4-for-5 from the field in OT to win going away. Charlie Foster hit back-to-back baskets to get the run going.
Brayden Mull led the Patriots with a double-double (12 points and 13 rebounds). Floyd had 11 points and six assists.
Caleb Nixon scored 19 points including 4-for-8 from three point land. Tucker Robinette had five points and five assists, Silas Tate five points, and Charlie Foster four points and five rebounds.
Crest jumped out to a 13-10 lead after the first quarter. KM was led by Mull with six points on 3-of-3 shooting.
The second period saw KM strike back with a pair of threes by Caleb Nixon and one by Floyd for a 25-23 halftime lead.
Kings Mountain turned cold in the third period and Crest hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to take a 37-32 into the fourth period.
For the game, the Patriots went 9-for-18 from three point land.
The Patriots had 15 assists, 30 rebounds and five blocked shots.

Elite Trailblazers
basketball begins

Kings Mountain Elite Trailblazers got their basketball season underway last week with action in four divisions.
Players of the Week were:
K-2nd grade /8U Beginners Division, Xzavier Davis of the Elite Dawg Breeding 9 points;
Third-fourth grade/10U Elementary Division, Harper Hollifield of Clutch Elite, 22 points;
Fifth-sixth grade/12U Intermediate Division, Silas Tate of Big Elite, 18 points; and
Seventh-eighth grade Middle School Division, Tucker Robinette of WACG, 34 points.
Total results for week one included:
Elite Aces 23, Elite Royalty 9 – Leading scorers for Elite Aces, K.J. Moore 10, Sadie Bert 5, O’Brian Smith 4, Mason Pruitt 3, Cameron Twitty 1. Elite Royalty – Justin Bennett 6, Carson Hovis 2, Marku Hutchens 1.
Elite Dawg Breeding 20, #Elite Knicks 18, in OT.
Elite Dawg Breeding: Xzavier Davis 9, Sienna Black 4, Joseph Bell III 4, Kendrick Ford 2, Antonio Elder 1. #Elite Knicks: Zander Smith 9, Jasir Garner 6, Khamoni Marable 2, Legaci Hamrick 1.
3rd-4th grade elementary Division:
Clutch Elite 27, Elite Kings 15.
Clutch Elite – Harper Hollifield 22, G’hailyn Smith 3, Kylen Owens 2. Elite Kings – Antonia Surratt 10, Jeremiah Plummer 3, Michael Rice 2.
Elite Fire 8, Elite Swaggers 7.
Elite Fire – Zoey Burke 5, Ayden Harris 3. Elite Swaggers – Cyrus Smith 4, Seth Tate 3.
5th-6th Intermediate Division:
BIG ELITE 33, Elite Pressure 18.
BIG ELITE – Silas Tate 18, Uriah Lipscomb 13, Trevor Dalton 2. Elite Pressure – K.J. Bell 12, Kingston Moore 6.
Elite Outlaws 31, Elite Warriors 27
Elite Outlaws – Carlos Boyce 12, Mason Powers 7, Ira Thomas 6, Jasmine Twitty 2. Ashtun Hall 2, Cheyanne Cannedy 2. Elite Warriors – Xavier Hutchens 21, Jamarius Hill 4, Timazjhe Phillips 2.
7th-8th Middle School division:
WeAllCanGo 45, Elite Hawkins 36
WACG – Tucker Robinette 34, Ethan Dibruno 6, Silas Tate 3, Brayden Carroll 2. Elite Hawks – Malachi Powell 18, Johnathan Charles 9, K.J. Bell 4, Farri Martin 4, Trevor Dalton 1.
Hoop Dreams 40, Elite Hawks 36
Hoop Dreams – Mack Jordan 18, Braylon Brown 8, Christian Adams 6, Carlos Boyce 5, N. Sol Ohana 3.
Elite Hawks – Malachi Powell 12, K.J. Bell 9, Johnathan Charles 8, A. Hall 4, Farri Martin 3.

Mountaineers sweep South Point,
big tests coming against Wave, Crest

Kings Mountain High’s basketball teams resumed their season Friday night at Belmont with a sweep of the South Point Red Raiders. The girls won 53-38 and the boys 85-73.
The result left the Mountaineers in a tie for first place in the Big South 3A Conference with the Crest Chargers going into a key BSC match-up with a very good Stuart Cramer five at Donald L. Parker Gymnasium last night.
The KM ladies also went into the game in a tie for first place with the Ashbrook Lady Green Wave. The top spots in the conference will begin to play out when the Kings Mountain teams travel to Ashbrook Friday night and return home the following Tuesday against Crest to complete first round action.
Senior standout Zeke Cannedy continued his torrid scoring pace Friday with 48 points, those coming just a few days after his school record 53 against Gaston Day in the Mountaineers’ Holiday Tournament at Parker Gym.
Several other players had great outings for Coach Grayson Pierce’s team, which improved to 3-0 in the conference and 6-5 overall. Curtis Simpson had 14 points and eight rebounds, Maddox James 12 points and seven boards, and sophomore Zavion Smith dished out 10 assists.
The Lady Mountaineers went to 4-0 in the conference and 7-2 overall with a 53-38 victory.
They got off to a slow start, trailing the Lady Red Raiders 10-9 after the first quarter. But they started the second quarter red hot and outscored South Point 19-8 to go into the break with a 28-18 lead. They continued to pour it on in the third period and led 41-26 going into the final eight minutes.
Khalia King led all scorers with 25 points and she also had two steals and a block. Saniya Wilson joined her in double figures with 13 and also had a good all-around game with five boards, seven assists and three steals.
Austyn Dixon contributed six points, four boards, two assists and a steal; CoRey Simpson five points and eight boards; Myracle Davis two points, seven rebounds, two assists and a block; Alayna Patrick two points, three rebounds and a steal, and Tyasya Bell four rebounds and a steal.
Kings Mountain’s JV girls defeated the JV Lady Raiders 26-17 in the afternoon opener. Mia Bridges scored 10 points, Desiree Thomas six, Kamari Odems five, Maggie Honeycutt two, DAundra Ford two and Broklyn Long one.

Mountaineers’ annual Christmas tourney

Screen shot 2022 01 05 at 4.26.56 pm — Curtis Simpson goes inside for a bucket in last week’s Kings Mountain High Christmas Tournament championship game against Gaston Day.

Screen shot 2022 01 05 at 4.26.35 pm — KM’s Maddox James fires over the Gaston Day defense in last week’s annual Holiday Tournament at Parker Gym.

Screen shot 2022 01 05 at 4.26.41 pm — Zeke Cannedy drives past the Gaston Day defense for two of his 53 points in last week’s Christmas Tournament finale at Parker Gym.

Screen shot 2022 01 05 at 4.26.47 pm — Former Kings Mountain High football star Kobe Paysour, left, who was in the area for UNC’s football bowl game against South Carolina in Charlotte, is pictured with KMHS Resource Officer Shon Macopson at last week’s holiday tournament at Parker Gym.

Screen shot 2022 01 05 at 4.26.21 pm — KM’s Amari Smith fires a jumper from the side in last week’s Christmas Tournament finale at Parker Gym.

Screen shot 2022 01 05 at 4.26.08 pm — KM’s Eli Osborne passes off to a teammate in last week’s championship game of the Holiday Tournament.

Screen shot 2022 01 05 at 4.26.16 pm — KM’s Zavion Smith is heavily guarded as he drives the lane in last week’s Holiday Tournament at KMHS.

Zeke Cannedy cans school record 53 points
in Mountaineers’ annual Christmas tourney

Gaston Day defeated Kings Mountain 83-74 in the championship game of last week’s Mountaineer Christmas Tournament at Donald L. Parker Gymnasium, but all eyes were on KM’s Zeke Cannedy who stripped the nets for 53 points and a new KMHS men’s scoring record.
The KMHS women’s scoring mark of 58 points was set by Judy Medlin against Belmont in 1958.
Cannedy’s effort, as well as his teammates’, kept the Mountaineers close to one of North Carolina’s private school powerhouses but the visitors outscored the home team 21-16 in the fourth quarter to clinch the victory.
The Spartans managed to barely lead after each of the first three periods – 21-20 after the first, 46-41 at the half and 62-58 going into the final eight minutes.
Included in Cannedy’s 51 point total were 10 three pointers, also the most any Mountaineer has ever canned in a single game.
The Mountaineers advanced to the title game by rolling past Davidson Day 88-36 in the opening round and squeezing past a very good 4A Charlotte Independence team 61-60 in the semi-finals.
Maddox James’ put back of a missed free throw attempt at the buzzer gave the Mountaineers the semi-finals victory.
James led the scoring with 21 points, Curtis Simpson had 12 and Cannedy 10.
Kings Mountain returns to Big South Conference action Friday at South Point with girls action beginning at 6 p.m.
The KM teams return to Parker Gymnasium on Tuesday, January 11 when the Stuart Cramer Purple Storm comes to town.

REMAINING
SCHEDULE
JANUARY
7 – at South Point
11- Stuart Cramer
14 – at Ashbrook
18 – Crest
21 – Hunter Huss
25 – at North Gaston
26 – Shelby*
28 – at Forestview

FEBRUARY
1 – South Point
2 – at Shelby
4 – at Cramer
8 – Ashbrook
11 – at Crest
14, 16, 18- BSC tournament (place and times to be determined).
22 – State playoffs begin

Rkendrick — KM’s Robert Kendrick tries to get to the outside in Friday’s game with Franklin at Gamble Stadium. Photos by Gary Smart

Late 97-yard drive lifts Mountaineers over
Franklin 21-17 in playoff opener

Coming into their first round NCHSAA playoff opener against the Kings Mountain Mountaineers Friday, the Franklin Panthers’ game plan was obviously to run the clock and keep the ball away from the KM offense.
It almost worked as the visitors took a 17-14 lead into the final two minutes of the game. But with Franklin facing a fourth and two from the KM four-yard line with 2:08 remaining, the Mountaineer defense stopped Panther quarterback Chris McGuire a yard short of the first down marker and then the offense drove 97 yards in 11 plays to score on a 21-yard pass from quarterback Lamont Littlejohn Jr. to sophomore wide receiver Bryson Brown with 17.4 seconds remaining to defeat the Panthers 21-17 and send the Mountaineers to a second round bout with the West Charlotte Lions Friday at 7:30 at the Waddell High School Stadium in Charlotte.
And, if the Panthers had any hope of scoring in those final seconds it was squashed on the ensuing kickoff when they fumbled and KM’s Quay Sanders recovered the ball at the KM 31 to seal the deal.
“That was an exciting finish for sure,” said Mountaineer head coach Greg Lloyd. “We made a great stand on defense, and that winning drive has to be one of the most impressive drives we’ve had since I’ve been here. We were backed up and had to convert play after play to have a chance to win. It was just awesome.”
Littlejohn, who finished with 16 of 26 passing for 223 yards and no interceptions, got the winning drive started with completions of 19 yards to Brown and 30 to D’Andre Hoyle for a first down at the Franklin 48. Facing third and 10 after two incompletions, he hit Jake Lloyd for a 14-yarder to the Franklin 34 with 1:01 showing on the clock.
A four-yard reception by Brown and a first down run for 11 yards out of bounds around right end by Robert Kendrick gave the Mountaineers a first down at the Panther 21 with 36.1 seconds remaining. After two incompletions – one of which was in the end zone - Littlejohn sent Brown down the right sideline and hit him with the game-winning TD. After Jaden Ellis’ PAT, the Mountaineers kicked short toward the KM sideline but the Panthers couldn’t come up with the ball and KM’s Quay Sanders recovered it. With 12.4 seconds on the clock and Franklin out of time outs, Littlejohn took a knee to cap the comeback.
“I thought Littlejohn did a great job of finding his receivers,” Lloyd said. “The offensive line held up very well and the receivers made good catches.”
Throughout the game, the two teams matched yardage about evenly with KM having 209 in the air and 76 on the ground and the Panthers 142 on the ground and 128 in the air, but Franklin had 64 plays to KM’s 45. KM ran the ball just 18 times with Robert Kendrick getting 55 yards on 12 carries and Micah Ward 21 on six totes.
Franklin won the opening coin toss and deferred to the second half. Both teams were stopped on their initial drives, but after taking over following a punt at its own 45 the Mountaineers took eight plays to score on a one-yard run by Ward. Ellis’ PAT made it 7-0 at the 5:37 mark of the first quarter.
Along the way, Lloyd caught two passes for 16 yards, Brown one for 20 and Kendrick had three straight carries for 19 yards to set up Ward’s TD run.
With Franklin facing fourth and four at their own 19 with just 2:14 remaining in the half and facing a punting situation, KM called time-out but upon returning to the field the Mountaineers were penalized for having 12 men on the field. That gave the Panthers a first down at the 24. They got highlight reel plays of 19 yards on a run by Kellen Stiles for a first down at the 48, followed three plays later by a backward pass from McGuire to Pollack back to McGuire for a first down at the KM 19. A 15-yard completion to the two was followed by an incompletion and a late flag for interference, giving the visitors the ball at the one yard line. McGuire’s sneak sent the two teams into the halftime break tied at 7.
The teams traded 3-and-outs to open the third quarter. Following KM’s punt the Mountaineers were penalized 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct and Franklin took possession at the KM 47. Seven plays later, the Panthers were on the KM 31 facing fourth and seven. Pollock then caught a tipped pass for a 14-7 lead with 3:35 on the clock.
After the ensuing kickoff, KM was immediately penalized 10 yards for holding and started from its own 29. Littlejohn hit Brown for a 52-yard catch and run to the Panther 19. Kendrick and Ward worked the ball down to the five and with 0:05 left on the third quarter clock Littlejohn hit Lloyd with a five-yard TD and Ellis booted the PAT to tie the score at 14.
Franklin answered quickly. Helped by a 31-yard reception by Pollock and a holding call on KM, the Panthers worked their way to the 12 before Javier Currie’s nine-yard sack put them at the 21 with a second and 18. After two incomplete passes, Erik Munoz came on to kick a field goal to put the Panthers up 17-14 with just 7:01 remaining.
The Panthers pooch kicked and recovered a fumble at the KM 34. Aided by two penalties – the last of which put them at the KM four with 2:12 left – they called time to decide a play. Instead of going for a field goal – which would have only put them up by six points – they went for what would have been a clinching TD but the Mountaineers stopped McGuire at the three, setting the stage for their big comeback victory.
“Stopping them down there was a great team effort,” Coach Lloyd noted. “The quarterback sort of bobbled the snap and that helped us.”
Lloyd was happy with the play of all of his players, and he pointed out that in the second half the Mountaineers had only two seniors and one junior on defense. The rest were sophomores.
“CJ Houser, a sophomore, did a good job,” Lloyd said. “He made several tackles and that was his first varsity experience. We had a lot of young guys out there that we threw into the fire and we’re really proud of them. Alex Jackson, on the offensive line, blocked really well and Seth Neal came in and played very well at tight end. A lot of people did very good.”

Scenes from Mountaineers Vs. Franklin

Photos by Gary Smart

Brown celebrates — Bryson Brown (10) celebrates with his teammates and fans after scoring the winning touchdown in the final seconds to defeat Franklin 21-17 in the opening round of the state 3A playoffs Friday at Gamble Stadium.

Screen shot 2021 11 11 at 9.57.14 am — The Mountaineers take the field for their opening round playoff game with Franklin Friday night at Gamble Stadium. Photo by Gary Smart

Lj hands to ward2 (2) — Quarterback Lamont Littlejohn (12) hands off to Micah Ward in Friday’s first round playoff game with Franklin at Gamble Stadium.

Four — Injured Mountaineers Zay Smith (2), Rashaard Brooks (21) and Sel Randolph (6) with former teammate Titus Phillips who received his ring for winning a state championship in track in the spring. Photos by Gary Smart

Screen shot 2021 11 11 at 10.05.21 am — Kushman 65th in State meet – Kings Mountain High’s Thalia Kushman finished 65th with a time of 22:01.57 in Saturday’s NCHSAA 3A cross country meet.

Kushman 65th in State meet

Kings Mountain High’s Thalia Kushman finished 65th with a time of 22:01.57 in Saturday’s NCHSAA 3A cross country meet.

FANS, BANDS & STANDS

Photos by Gary Smart

Screen shot 2021 11 11 at 9.54.43 am — Bryson Brown (10) is sky high and so are his teammates who flocked him after his game-winning touchdown reception in the final seconds of last week’s state 3A playoff game with Franklin at Gamble Stadium.

Lady Patriot spikers open
with impressive victories

Kings Mountain Middle School’s volleyball ladies got their season off to a great start last week with 3-0 victories over North Lincoln and Burns.
In their opener on Tuesday, the Lady Patriots defeated a good North Lincoln team at home, 25-19, 25-22, 25-15. Thursday’s game at Burns was a good one, too, with the Lady Patriots sweeping again 25-12, 25-8, 25-4.
In the opener, Camden Pasour led the Lady Patriots with 16 serve receptions, 13 digs, 11 service points, five assists and 20 kills.
Ava Tipton added four serve receptions, 16 digs one assist and 13 service points.
Abigail Hedgepath had two digs, eight service points, three kills and 23 assists.
At Burns, Pasour had another complete game with 13 kills, eight assists, nine serve receptions, eight digs, four aces and 18 serve points.
Megan Harris added four kills, 12 aces and 21 service points.
Hedgepath contributed nine service points, three aces and 16 assists.
“Ava Tipton, Sarah Bouchard and Madi Brooke did their job well controlling the defense and giving our setters controlled passes while Kenzlie Morris and Ruby Osborne were a definite presence on the net both offensively and defensively,” noted Coach Lindsay Ellis. “This win was a great team effort.”
The Lady Patriots were scheduled to play at home Tuesday.
REMAINING
SCHEDULE
Nov. 16 – East Lincoln; Nov. 18 at Lincolnton; Nov. 22 Burns; Nov. 23 at West Lincoln; Nov. 30 at East Lincoln; Dec. 2 Lincolnton; Dec. 7 at North Lincoln; Dec. 9 Playoffs (TBD); Nov. 14 – Conference championship (TBD).

Camden paysour set — Camden Pasour sets up a teammate in last week’s volleyball game at KMMS.

Sarah bouchard — Sarah Bouchard serves for the Lady Patriots in last week’s volleyball match at KMMS.

Abigail hedgepath — Abigail Hedgepath sets up teammate for a kill in last week’s volleyball match at KM Middle.

KM Mountaineers
face West Charlotte
Friday at Waddell

Kings Mountain’s Mountaineers will travel to Waddell High School in Charlotte Friday to face a very good West Charlotte team in the second round of the NCHSAA 3A state football championship playoffs.
The Lions are a perennial power in Charlotte Mecklenburg and have numerous championships to their credit. They are 7-3 on the season but those losses came to 4A powers Mallard Creek, Hough and Chambers.
The Lions and Mountaineers have one common opponent. West Charlotte reached the second round of the state playoffs by defeating a good Stuart Cramer team 34-10 last week while the Mountaineers were defeating a good Franklin Panther team 21-17. In a Big South game earlier in the year, Kings Mountain defeated Stuart Cramer 41-28.
“West Charlotte is a very dangerous team,” says Kings Mountain head coach Greg Lloyd. “They have a lot of great athletes and they play in a very tough conference. They have tons of speed, good size and will be the most athletic team we’ve faced.
“They operate out of a spread and they pass and run the ball very effectively,” Lloyd noted. “Their quarterback is a dual threat. He has a great arm and legs. They run out of a 3-4 defense, and it is very good.
“They are a well-rounded, good team,” he said. “They’ve played a very tough schedule. Two of their losses were to Hough and Chambers, two of the best teams in the state.”
Without a doubt, the Lions are more experienced than the Mountaineers as most of their starters are seniors. Kings Mountain doesn’t have many seniors but their sophomores and juniors have gained valuable experience this year.
“This is going to be a very tough test,” Lloyd said. “We’re happy to be going another round. We look forward to a good week of practice to get ready and hopefully keep advancing in the playoffs.”
Lloyd expects his versatile senior Peyton Fisher, who was injured in the first half of last week’s game, to be back along with Zay Smith, who sat out last week with an injury.
“Zay will help us a lot,” Lloyd said. “Having him out last week really hurt us, especially in the second half.
“Robert Kendrick played with a turf toe last week. Hopefully he will be back at full strength.”

Paige Bagwell & teammates celebrate

Paige Bagwell’s teammates celebrate with her after she reached 1,500 career assists in last week’s state playoff win over Crest at Parker Gym.

Screen shot 2021 11 03 at 4.54.54 pm — Another Myrical Davis spike for the Lady Mountaineers in last week’s playoff win over Crest at KMHS.

KM spikers lose
to North Iredell

Kings Mountain High’s women’s volleyball team fell to a strong North Iredell team 29-27, 25-11, 25-10 in the quarter-final round of the NCHSAA 3A state playoffs Saturday at North Iredell.
The winners advance to the state 3A semi-finals with a 25-1 overall record while the Lady Mountaineers, who won the Big South Conference with a perfect 14-0 record, ended with a 21-3 overall mark.
Aaliyah Byers completed a great high school career with 16 kills and Paige Bagwell ended her career with eight digs and 24 assists.
Meile Songaila had five kills and 11 digs, Myracle Davis four kills and Caroline Barber 19 digs.
Before losing on Saturday, the Lady Mountaineers eliminated East Lincoln 26-24, 25-16, 25-13 in a second round playoff match Tuesday, and county rival Crest 25-17, 25-12, 25-14 in a third round match Thursday.
Against East Lincoln, Songaila had 13 serve receptions, six digs, three blocks, 16 kills and 13 service points.
Byers had two serve receptions, 10 digs, three blocks, two assists, 20 kills and five service points.
Barber had 14 serve receptions, 15 digs, three assists and three service points.
Bagwell had seven digs, five blocks, 38 assists, two kills and five service points.
Davis added four digs,
six blocks and six kills.
Against the Lady Chargers, Bagwell dished out 31 assists to give her over 1,500 for her four-year career. She also added three blocks, two digs and eight service points.
Byers had 21 kills, two blocks, five serve receptions, two digs and four service points.
Songaila added nine kills, one block, eight serve receptions, 12 digs and four service points.
Barber had 13 digs, six serve receptions and 27 service points.

Tough Franklin team here Friday for first
round game in NCHSAA football playoffs

Kings Mountain’s Mountaineers will host a traditionally strong Franklin team Friday night at 7:30 in the opening round of the NCHSAA 3A state playoffs.
While the Mountaineers’ record on paper is a couple games better, Coach Greg Lloyd warns that Franklin is very dangerous and capable of beating anyone.
“They’re traditionally a very strong program,” he noted. “They run and pass very well. Their quarterback is a very good passer. They have a big running back and linebacker that runs hard. They are well coached and a traditionally strong program.”
Franklin, whose long line of good head coaches included former Duke University head coach Fred Goldsmith, faces tough teams on a weekly basis. Those teams include the likes of Tuscola, Canton Pisgah, Smokey Mountain, West Henderson and TC Roberson, all of whom are traditionally strong and have many championships to their credit.
The Mountaineers will be operating at less than a hundred percent as they have a lot of players injured, including their leading tackler AJ Richardson who is probably out for the rest of the season.
Several other players were injured in last week’s Big South Conference championship game with Crest and will also be out this week. They include Zavion Smith. “He was out for the whole second half and it really hurt us when he went out,” Coach Lloyd noted.
Sel Randolph, who had one of his best games of the season last week, hurt his knee and will probably be out as well. He is on crutches with a swollen knee.
Running back Caleb Holland, who had just returned to the lineup for the Ashbrook game, was hurt again against Crest and will also be out.
“It will be running back by committee this week with (Robert) Kendrick, Micah (Ward) and Jake (Lloyd),” Coach Lloyd noted. “Jake also plays slot so he’ll probably stay out there on offense if Sel can’t play.”
Lloyd will look for Andre Willis to get more playing time, and some younger players should see some action too.
“We’re pretty depleted right now,” Lloyd said. “We have a lot of people going both ways. It’s supposed to be cold Friday so that might be a good thing.
“The key for us will be to stop their #15 (junior tailback/tight end Ty Handley (who comes in with 953 yards rushing and nine
TDs),” Lloyd said. “He is a big kid.”
The KM defense will also have to defend well against a good passing quarterback, Chris McGuire, who has passed for 1,420 yards and 14 touchdowns. His favorite target is wide receiver Keagan Pollock (#1) who has 45 catches for 821 yards and nine TDs.
“They move the ball in the air and on the ground and finish drives,” Lloyd says. “We have to get a lot of people to the ball, play hard and have fun. If we do that we have a good shot at advancing.”

Screen shot 2021 11 03 at 4.52.29 pm — Jake Lloyd (4) runs behind the blocking of Alex Jackson (57) and Robert Kendrick (5) in last week’s game with Crest at

Mountaineers fall to Crest 42-20

Two big defensive plays late in the third quarter and early in the fourth and the running of Mari Adams were the big differences as the Crest Chargers broke open a close game for a 42-20 victory over the Mountaineers in the Big South Conference championship game Friday night at Kings Mountain’s John Gamble Stadium.
Adams was an offensive highlight reel, gaining 264 yards rushing which was by far the top offensive output against the Mountaineer D this season; but during crunch time the big plays came when the Chargers intercepted a KM pass in the end zone and recovered a fumble on a potential KM TD drive early in the fourth quarter.
The Mountaineers, down 21-14, were on the Crest five with a first and goal late in the third period but couldn’t get in. Three plays later with the Chargers on the 11, Adams got off a 63-yard run before being chased down by D’Andre Hoyle. But, three plays later Adams went four yards into the end zone and all of a sudden Crest had doubled the score to 28-14.
Kings Mountain was able to answer with a 60-yard drive which featured a 27-yard reception by Peyton Fisher and a 15-yard touchdown pass from Littlejohn to Hoyle to get back to within a TD at 28-20.
KM later made it to the Crest 41 but lost the ball on a fumble with 6:50 left in the game. Two plays later, the Chargers’ Carter Green broke a 29-yard touchdown for a 35-20 lead. After the kickoff, the Chargers’ D held the Mountaineers to three and out and they ran the clock from the 4:29 mark to 52.8 seconds to score on six straight carries by Green to account for the final margin.
Kings Mountain had one of its lowest offensive outputs of the season, gaining just 107 yards rushing and 186 passing for a total of 293 yards but opened with a 74-yard drive to take a 7-0 lead on a 16-yard touchdown reception by Bryson Brown and an extra point kick by Jaden Ellis.
Fisher made three key tackles, and Zaylen Ramos and Curtis Simpson had tackles for loss to hold that lead through the end of the first quarter.
An 18-yard run by Robert Kendrick and 12-yard reception by Hoyle got the Mountaineers to the Crest 43 but they lost the ball on downs. Keyed by a 22-yard sneak by Green, the Chargers drove 56 yards in seven plays with Adams covering the final three to tie the score.
A pass interception by Brandon McCall and return to the KM 42 set up a seven-play drive capped by Adams’ 17-yard run to put Crest up 14-7 with 3:44 left in the half.
Despite an eight-yard quarterback sack, the Mountaineers got big pass receptions by Bryson Brown for 14 yards, Zay Smith for 22 and Sel Randloph for 11 to set up a 26-yard TD pass from Littlejohn to Brown for a 14-14 halftime tie.
Crest took the lead for good on the first drive of the second half, moving 80 yards in 13 plays to score on a six yard run by Adams. KM answered with its drive to the Crest five but couldn’t get it in as a run for no gain followed by two incomplete passes led to the Crest INT in the end zone.

Spicer, Mountaineerswin first BSC golf match

Patriots go perfect 14-0 to win Tri-County Conference

KM basketball teams bow outin first round of state playoffs

Baseball home opener Thursday

Six great athletes to beinducted into Hall of Fame

KM basketball teams bow outin first round of state playoffs

KMHS wrestler Peyton Fishersecond in state 3A tournament

KMHS basketball ends season,advances to state tournament

Patriots beat Burns to go 12-0, playoffsunderway this week

Patriots beat Lincolnton to take sole possession of first

KM Middle continuesto roll in conference

Patriots edge North, playoffs begin Monday

Four-way standout FisherMountaineers’ 2021 MVP

Lady Mountaineersdefeat Crest 72-57to share BSC title

Mountaineerssweep Cramer

Mountaineer swimmersto competein state meet

Mountaineers sweep South Point

Last second goal in OTlifts Lions over KMHS

KMHS Interact Club selling bands helping international student

Men’s tennis tryoutsbegin Feb. 14 at KMHS

Football awardson February 10

KM sweepsWildcats

Girls win, boys losein big county gamewith rival Chargers

Kaylee Lavin signs with CCC

Saniya Wilson signswith Catawba College

KM Family YMCA Basketball

Football awardsnight Thursday

Adjusted schedulefor KM basketball

KMHS ladiesedge Huss in OT,Crest here today

Long-time KM Hall of Fame coachJimmy Littlejohn will be remembered

KM teams win Polar Bear track meet at Gamble Stadium

Lady Mountaineersbeat Cramer 67-48

Mountaineers sweep Ashbrook to stay top BSC

Mountaineers weather theirfirst BSC ‘Storm,’ 88-82

Kohen Johnson signs with CCC

Patriots open season with win over Crest

Elite Trailblazersbasketball begins

Mountaineers sweep South Point,big tests coming against Wave, Crest

Mountaineers’ annual Christmas tourney

Zeke Cannedy cans school record 53 pointsin Mountaineers’ annual Christmas tourney

Late 97-yard drive lifts Mountaineers overFranklin 21-17 in playoff opener

Scenes from Mountaineers Vs. Franklin

Kushman 65th in State meet

FANS, BANDS & STANDS

Lady Patriot spikers open with impressive victories

KM Mountaineersface West CharlotteFriday at Waddell

Paige Bagwell & teammates celebrate

KM spikers loseto North Iredell

Tough Franklin team here Friday for firstround game in NCHSAA football playoffs

Mountaineers fall to Crest 42-20

Spicer, Mountaineers
win first BSC golf match

KM basketball teams bow out
in first round of state playoffs

Six great athletes to be
inducted into Hall of Fame

KM basketball teams bow out
in first round of state playoffs

KMHS wrestler Peyton Fisher
second in state 3A tournament

KMHS basketball ends season,
advances to state tournament

Patriots beat Burns
to go 12-0, playoffs
underway this week

KM Middle continues
to roll in conference

Four-way standout Fisher
Mountaineers’ 2021 MVP

Lady Mountaineers
defeat Crest 72-57
to share BSC title

Mountaineers
sweep Cramer

Mountaineer swimmers
to compete
in state meet

Last second goal in OT
lifts Lions over KMHS

Men’s tennis tryouts
begin Feb. 14 at KMHS

Football awards
on February 10

KM
sweeps
Wildcats

Girls win, boys lose
in big county game
with rival Chargers

Saniya Wilson signs
with Catawba College

Football awards
night Thursday

Adjusted schedule
for KM basketball

KMHS ladies
edge Huss in OT,
Crest here today

Long-time KM Hall of Fame coach
Jimmy Littlejohn will be remembered

Lady Mountaineers
beat Cramer 67-48

Mountaineers sweep
Ashbrook to stay top BSC

Mountaineers weather their
first BSC ‘Storm,’ 88-82

Patriots open
season with
win over Crest

Elite Trailblazers
basketball begins

Mountaineers sweep South Point,
big tests coming against Wave, Crest

Zeke Cannedy cans school record 53 points
in Mountaineers’ annual Christmas tourney

Late 97-yard drive lifts Mountaineers over
Franklin 21-17 in playoff opener

Lady Patriot spikers open
with impressive victories

KM Mountaineers
face West Charlotte
Friday at Waddell

KM spikers lose
to North Iredell

Tough Franklin team here Friday for first
round game in NCHSAA football playoffs