SportsWeek
November 21, 2013
East holds steady
BY CRAIG T. GREENLEE
FOR THE CHRONICLE
Consistency at quarterback and steady improve
ment in other facets of the game propelled East
Forsyth's junior varsity to an 8-2 record. The Eagles
were undefeated in five games against city-county
teams. Their only losses came at the hands of two
Greensboro schools - Page and Northwest Guilford.
East Forsyth managed to stay afloat in spite of
injuries and losing several players who were moved up
to tne varsity squaa. this team
faced some adversity, but found a
way to persist and overcome,"
said Coach Ronnie Horton.
"They embraced hard work and
they found out how much it paid
off in helping us win close
games. Over the course of the
season, our kids continued to
grow and mature and they never
gave up on each other."
The Eagles got solid results
from a productive ground game
spearheaded by center Caleb Maine, who served as a
steadying force on the offensive line. Opposing teams
had their hands full in attempting to slow down a
^ mini-committee of running backs, which included D.J.
Holland, Rashon Goode and Antwan Rhyne.
At quarterback, Noah Smith performed well in his
first year as a starter. Smith's knowledge of the
offense and his leadership, Horton explained, is the
key reason behind the Eagles' offensive proficiency.
"Noah is very consistent. You know what he's going to
give you day in and day out," said Horton. "He made
everybody around him better."
The passing game got a big boost later in the sea
son with the development of Levon McCullum and
Rhyne, who stepped in when injuries and player pro
motion decimated the Eagles receiving corps.
McCullum, a 6-feet-3 freshman, emerged as a reliable
target. Over the last four games of the season, Rhyne
gwi muic piajmg
time as a slot
receiver, who
excelled in gain
ing yards after
making the
catch.
"We had a
good season, but
it could've been
better," said |
Ryhne, a sopho- I
more. "I feel like
we played up to
our potential.
What I enjoyed
the most was
being able to run
the ball and
being able to j
step in hen need
ed "
On defense, Jayquan Thompson was the key figure
on the front line. Tim Fiore, Chandler Brinson and
Stephen Badger emerged as a formidable threesome at
the linebacker slots. In the secondary, Sadarius
Crump, Brandon Tate, Patrick Stanfield and LaShay
Surratt delivered tight pass coverage and solid support
in stopping the run.
"All season long when we really needed stops,"
said Horton, "the defense came through for us."
Horton
Submitted Photo
tunning back Antwan Rhyne.
Another winning season for Aggies
Pboio by Charte* I W*kim
Freshman Tarik Cohen reached
the 1 fiOO-yard mark for the sea
son.
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
Once he got rolling, it didn't take
Tarik Cohen long to reach a signifi
cant milestone in A&T history.
Cohen rushed for 98 yards and
two touchdowns on 10 carries as
North Carolina A&T eased to victory
over Savannah State, 41-14, in foot
ball action at Aggie Stadium
Saturday afternoon. In the process of
having another stellar performance,
Cohen became the first Aggie fresh
man to put together a 1,000-yard
rushing. He became the seventh over
all Aggie to have a 1,000-yard sea
son, joining James White, Milton
Shaw. Maurice Smith. Maurice
Hicks, Michael Ferguson and Mike
Mayhew.
Cohen had 129 yards rushing in
the first four games of his collegiate
career. But over the past six games,
he has rushed for 894 yards, and the
Aggies still have one more game to
play.
"He's made a lot of plays for us,"
said A&T Head Coach Rod
Broadway. "He's a tough little suck
er. He's tough, he has a great attitude
and a great work ethic. This is the
type of kid that I love to coach and
have in any program. "
Cohen made his run to the 1,000
yard plateau an entertaining one. He
started out going right, ran into three
Tiger defenders, he then did a spin
move out of a tackle, cut back to the
left, confronted another Tiger
defender, broke free from him with
hop-step before turning up field and
going down the sideline for a breath
taking 49-yard touchdown run that
gave A&T a 21-0 lead in the first
quarter.
"My goal is to not let one person
tackle me," said Cohen, who has
rushed for 1,023 yards and eight
touchdowns in 2013. "I want to get a
first down every time 1 touched the
ball."
A&T (6-4, 3-4 MEAC) secured
its second straight winning season
with the victory. The last time the
Aggies had back-to-back winning
seasons was in 2000 and 2001. The
Aggies will try to secure consecutive
7-4 seasons next Saturday when they
face archrival N.C. Central at Aggie
Stadium at 1 p.m. The Aggies will
recognize players, managers and
trainers for Senior Day.
Veterans to be honored at Bobcats' games |
Bobcats Photo
Sergeant Alan Suggs
SPECIAL TO THE
CHRONICLE
The Charlotte Bobcats
and Wells Fargo have initi
ated the Yellow Ribbon
program to honor veterans
for their unwavering serv
ice during one Bobcats
home game per month.
"We are proud whenev
er we get the opportunity to
honor those who serve our
country." Bobcats Sports &
Entertainment President &
COO Fred Whitfield said
"Recognizing our heroes
through the Yellow Ribbon
program is only a small
token of appreciation for
everything they do."
Each month, a veteran
will be honored before the
game, prior to national
anthem, and given six tick
ets to the game for them
and their family. The
Bobcats and Wells Fargo
will also present the vets
with a $1,000 check.
"It is an honor for us to
join the Bobcats in recog
nizing veterans who have
bravely served our coun
try," said Kendall Alley,
Community Banking
Regional president for
Wells Fargo in Charlotte.
"This connects directly
with the vision and values
of our company. Wells
Fargo takes great pride in
supporting local heroes in
our communities."
The program kicked off
Nov. 8, when Sergeant
Alan Suggs was celebrated
for his service in the North
Carolina National Guard.
Suggs served nine years in
the National Guard, is a
veteran of Operation Iraqi
Freedom and an avid
Charlotte Bobcats fan. In
his current role, Sgt. Suggs
recruits top quality soldiers
and trains them prior to
basic training so that they
are well prepared for the
challenges to come.
Because of this, his soldiers
have had a perfect comple
tion rate at basic training
and many have graduated
with honors.
Tiny Rams,
Raiders headed
to Nationals
BY CRAIG T. GREENLEE
FOR THE CHRONICLE _
Two area teams are headed south for the American
Youth Football National Tournament scheduled from Dec.
7-15 in Orlando, Fla.
The Tiny Rams (8th Grade Unlimited) and
Kernersville Raiders (Cadet) earned their berths to the
nationals by posting victories in the finals of the Division
I AYF Atlantic Regional Championships played last
weekend in Virginia Beach, Va. These teams qualified to
play in the regional competition by winning AYF state
titles a week earlier. Here's a game summary by division:
8th Grade Unlimited: The passing game was
nowhere to be found, so the Winston-Salem Tiny Rams
relied on their bruising ground attack, which produced a
12-0 regional championship victory over the Manassas
Mutiny (Va.).
Rams running back Marcus Caldwell scored on a 30
yard run and Emmanuel Lewis added a five-yard touch
down run in the second half to close out the scoring.
The Mutiny was never able to establish any offensive
consistency. On two occasions, Manassas got inside the
Rams' 20-yard line, but came up empty each time.
Linebacker Adonis Jones and safety Mekhi Dunlap both
naa interceptions to
key Winston-Salem's
defense.
In the semifinals,
the Rams went on
cruise control in a 35-0
shut-out of the Upper
Marlboro Mustangs
(Md.). Rorie Braxton
ran for a touchdown
and caught a touch
down pass. Anthony
Hicks scored on a
short run and threw a
pair of touchdown
passes. Mahlik Games
caught a scoring pass
and Jones scored on a
one-yard run.
Cadet: The
Kernersville Raiders'
crunching ground
game paved the way for a 32-7 win over the Prince
Georgt .County Chargers (Va.). The Raiders bolted to a
26-0 lead at the half and never looked back.
Jamison Warren and Isaac Sutton ran for two touch
downfjppiece to lead the way. Raneimt Dillworth and
Caden Davis also had touchdown runs for the Raiders.
Defensively, Kemersville held Prince George scoreless
until the waning minutes of the fourth quarter. Brandon
Johnson, Karson Rowley and Arlington Jones spearhead
ed the Raiders' pass defense. ?
Kemersville earned its ticket to the title game with a
19-6 victory over the Dulles Patriots (Va.) in the semifi
nals. The Raiders trailed 6-0 at the half, but took control
in the second half by scoring 19 unanswered points.
Dillworth, Sutton and Warren scored on touchdown runs.
Junior Midgets: Four turnovers in the red zone
doomed the Winston-Salem Tiny Rams in a 15-14 loss to
Falmoth Tide (Va.) in the semifinals.
The Rams went up 8-0 when Khalid Martin took the
opening kickoff and raced 65 yards for a touchdown and
Drel Timmons kicked the extra point. Falmoth Tide ral
lied to score twice and led 15-8 at the end of the third
quarter.
Iimmons caught a 43-yard touchdown pass from
Stephen Brown to narrow the deficit to 15-14 in the fourth
quarter. The Rams went for the win by attempting a con
version kick which is worth two points, but the kick was
blocked.
A few minutes later, Timmons had a 55-yard punt
return to put the Rams in scoring position at Falmoth
Tide's 25-yard line. But all hopes for a title victory van
ished when Falmouth Tide intercepted to nullify the Rams
threat. On defense, the Rams were led by Jalen Maxie,
who had two interceptions, one of which ended a scoring
drive near the goal line.
In another Junior Midgets semifinal game, the
Winston-Salem Tiny Indians lost 27-8 to the WD Wildcats
(Md.).
Cheerleading: The Tiny Indians will send two of its
cheerleader teams to the AYF national competition in
Florida in two weeks. The Pee Wee and 8th Grade
Unlimited teams both won first place in their respective
divisions. The Tmy Indians Unlimited squad was also
voted the "Best New Group in AYF."
Submitted Ptiaco
Rams standout Marcus
Caldwell.
Kids compete in countywide 'punt' competition
Submitted Photo
More than 30 kids took part in the contest.
SPECIAL TO THE
Chronicle
The Winston Salem
Recreation and Parks
Department recently held
the city finals of the Punt,
Pass and Kick contest at
Hanes Hosiery
Recreation Center.
Thirty-six youngsters
from nine recreation cen
ters made the finals after
advancing through small
er competitions at their
homes recs.
In the Boys 8-9 cat
egory, Brice Baker of the
Roscoe Anderson Center
$nished first; he was fol
lowed by second-place
$nisher Jabern McCall of
l)ie Sprague Street Center
and Quincy Hairston of
Belview Center. Katie
Marshall of the Polo Rec
finished first in the girls'
division. Asselah Oneal
of Polo and Shaliya
Williams of Hanes
Hosiery finished behind
her.
The other results are
as follows:
Boys 10-11 winners
1st Place, Kevon Wilson,
Polo Center
2nd Place, Jordan
Timmons, Hanes Hosiery
Center
3rd Place, Phillip Wood.
Polo Center
Girls 10-11
1st Place - McKayla
Ferrell, Hanes Hosiery
Boys 12-13 winners
1 st Place - Darius
Everette, Hanes Hosiery
2nd Place - Jerome
Sykes, Martin Luther
King Center
3rd Place - Khaliq
McCummings
Girls 12-13
1 st Place - Julia
Crippen,
Hanes Hosiery Center
Boys 14-15 winners
1 st Place - Joshua
Crippen, Hanes Hosiery
2nd Place - Jon
Deatheridge, Hanes
Hosiery
3rd Place - Michael
Walker,
W. C. Sims Center
Girls 14-15
1 st Place - Nigeria
Barnes