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Baseball Team
Top ’80 Story
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The year 1980 was one of
records and near misses for
sports teams and individual
athletes in Kings Mountain.
A number of Kings Mountain
High School athletic teams came
within an eyelash of winning
state championships, as did
several individuals.
Some of the ones who missed
out on state championships set
' \ personal or school records.
’ Probably the top story maker
in 1980 was the Kings Mountain
High baseball team, which won
1 the Southwestern 3-A Con
ference championship and ad
vanced to the state 3-A cham
pionship game before losing to
Greene Central.
The Mountaineers compiled a
204 overall record, two of those
losses coming to Greene Central
in the best-of-three state cham
pionship series, which was
played in Snow Hill, N.C. The
only team to defeat the Moun
taineers in the SWC was East
Rutherford, which whipped the
Mounties 1-0 in a non
conference game and 1-0 in a
t regular season contest.
The team had several in
dividual standouts, but the
leader was Tim Leach, a tall, lef
thander who compiled a 13-1
record and set school records for
strikeouts and victories. He was
named the SWC Player of the
Year and shared the KMHS
Athlete of the Year Award with
football star Kevin Mack, and
) basketball standout Debbie Ap
pling.
Joining Leach on the All-
Conference team were catcher
Lyn Hayes, who was the team’s
top RBI man; first baseman Eric
Dixon, who led the team in hit
ting; second baseman Ricky
Chapman, one of the team’s top
defensive players; third baseman
Alan Van Dyke, a big clutch
player; and outfielder Mark
Schuman, who led the team in
runs scored and stolen bases.
Other starters included Tony
I Boyce at shortstop, Eric Moore
in cenMrQeld and Jeff Cloninger
in rightiield. Ricky Proctor and
Todd Blalock joined Leach in
forming one of the top mound
staffs in the state.
The Mountaineers defeated
Bums and South Point in the
SWC playoffs, and then won
state playoff games over
Moorsville, Erwin High of
Asheville, and South Rowan to
reach the finals against Greene
Central.
Leach received a full grant-in-
t aid to pitch at Wingate College,
where he enjoyed a good fall
- ^ season and is expected to be one
of the aces this spring. Schuman
joined the Wingate team as a
walk-on candidate.
Coach Barry Gibson was
honored as the SWC Coach of
the Year for the second straight
year and the fourth time in his
career, more than any other
coach in the conference.
The only other team cham
pionship at KMHS went to the
Mountaineer wrestlers, who ran
roughshod over their conference
opponents to win their second ti
tle in three years under Coach
Steve Moffitt.
The Mountaineers added the
Southwestern Sectional title to
their list of honors, defeating
^ several strong 4-A teams from
^ the Mecklenburg County area
for that honor.
The Mountaineers’ Johnny
Ross was the SWC Wrestler of
the Year and finished second in
the State Tournament. Moffitt
was selected SWC Coach of the
Year.
Maurice Jamerson also
represented KMHS in the State
/I Tourney.
1 •**
Another near-miss in state
competition was track star
Kevin Mack, who finished third
in the 100-yard dash at Raleigh’s
Carter Stadium. He won the
SWC championship and finished
second in the regionals after pull
ing a muscle near the finish line.
Mack, who had enjoyed a
I superb football season in the fall
of *79, went on to play football
at Clemson University, where he
helped the young Tiger team to a
6-S season under Danny Ford.
Mack, although hampered most
of the season with an ankle in
jury, saw action as a reserve
tailback and kickoff return
specialist.
The KMHS girls softball team
won its division title in the spr
ing, but lost the SWC champion
ship in a best-of-three series with
Chase. Both clubs qualified for
the state tournament, but the
Mountainettes lost out in the
first round.
Kings Mountain’s girls tennis
team, which finished second to
Shelby again in the SWC,
qualified its top doubles team,
Bridget Glass and Kim Moss, for
the state tournament, but they
also lost out in the first round.
They were the first girls from
KMHS to qualify for a state ten
nis tournament.
The championship seasons by
the baseball and wrestling teams,
and other good marks by the
girls softball, tennis, golf and
other teams, enabled the Moun
taineers to finish second to East
Gaston in the race for the SWC
All-Sports Trophy, which is
given each year to the school
which has the best overall record
in the conference. The Mounties
lost by one point for the second
straight year.
The high baseball finish also
enabled KMHS to place 10th in
the state in the running for the
coveted Wachovia Cup, which is
given each year by Wachovia
Bank to the school which has the
best overall athletic program in
North Carolina.
For the basketball and foot
ball fans, 1980 wasn’t a good
year but as the year draws to a
close, the Mountaineer cagers
show signs of returning to the
throne in the SWC.
The boys team finished with a
12-12 record for 1979-80, but are
off to a fast start in 1980-81, tak
ing a perfect 8-0 record into the
1981 portion of their schedule.
The girls team finished 8-12
under first year coach David
Brinkley and have a 44 record
heading into the New Year por
tion of their current season.
The year saw a number of
former KMHS athletes active in
college sports and high school
and college coaching.
As previously mentioned,
Kevin Mack enjoyed a good
freshman season of football at
Gemson. Other former Moun
taineers on college rosters includ
ed Chuck Gordon, a defensive
starter at Appalachian; Kelly
Land, starting offensive guard at
Lenoir Rhyne; Avery Smith,
reserve running back at
Gardner-Webb, and Henry
Hager, a tackle who was red-
shirted in his first year at N.C.
Central. Tennis star Tim Riddle
helped Presbyterian College win
the District 6 championship.
Chris Johnson, a former
Mountaineer defensive back
who had a big career at Gardner-
Webb, was an assistant coach
with the Bulldogs last fall.
Mike Ware, a lineman here in
the late fifties and early sixties,
coached still another conference
champion at Newberry High
School, Jerry Adams coached
East Gaston’s football team to a
64 record, Jim Kimmell coached
football at Latta, S.C., and Dar
rell Van Dyke took over the
coaching chores of the East
Gaston baseball team.
Bobby Hussey, former KMHS
basketball coach, coached his
Belmont Abbey Crusaders to its
second straight 20-victory season
and the finals of the District 26
tournament.
***
One Kings Mountain athlete
had the honor of setting a world
record.
Freddy Smith, veteran stock
car driver, set the world speed
mark on a dirt track when he
toured the half-mile oval in
Rome, Ga., at better than 115
miles per hour.
Smith continued his winning
ways on area dirt tracks and also
had a banner year on the Na
tional Dirt Track facing
Association tour.
*•*
The year was another good
one for city recreation as more
people than ever participated in
programs sponsored by the
Kings Mountain Parks and
Recreation Department.
All-Star teams in Little
Leatue, Babe Ruth and other
sports, performed well, but miss
ed out on state championships.
The 13-year-old Babe Ruth team
went to the finals of the state
tournament at Grover before
falling to a strong Union County
team.
(Turn To Pago 2-B)
■#
MOUNTIE LEADERS — These two veteran periormera will help
lead Kings Mountain High's cagers into holiday tournament
action Friday and Saturday night. Tammy Bolton, left, and the
KMHS girls will be competing in the Holiday Tournament at
West Mecklenburg High School in Charlotte and Terrence
Photos by Gary Stewart
Blalock, right, and his Mountaineer mates will be the favorites
in the annual Cleveland County Tipofi Tournament at Burns
High School. The KMHS teams resume Southwestern 3-A Con
ference oction Tuesday night at home against R-S Central.
KM Cagers Compete
In Holiday Events
Area teams return to action
this week as the world of prep,
sports cranks back up after a
brief Christmas break.
Both Kings Mountain High
School basketball teams will be
in action this weekend in Holi
day Tournaments.
The Mountaineers, 6-0 in the
Southwestern 3-A Conference
and 8-0 overall, will be the
favorites in the annual
Cleveland County Tipoff Tour
nament set for F riday and Satur
day at Burns.
The Kings Mouintiin girls, 3-3
in the conference and 44
overall, will participate in the
Holiday Tournament at West
Mecklenburg High in Charlotte,
also scheduled for Friday and
Saturday.
The Mountaineers will face
Burns Friday at 8 p.m., follow
ing a 6:30 opener between
Shelby and Crest. Friday’s losers
meet at 6:30 Saturday for third
place'^d the winners play for
the championship Saturday at 8
p.m.
The Kings Mountain girls
play West Mecklenburg Friday
at 8:30. Shelby faces South
Mecklenburg in the opening
game at 6:30.
Directions to West Meek are
as follows: Take 1-85 North to
the Little Rock Road exit. At the
bottom of the exit ramp, turn
left and go to the first traffic
light. Turn left again. The school
is about one-half mile on the
right.
' The Mountaineers will be
seeking their third championship
of the Cleveland County event.
Coach John Blalock’s charges
are off to their fastest start in 10
years, and their fastest ever
under Blalock, and have had on
ly three close games to date.
They played a pair of close non
conference games against 4-A
power West Charlotte and took
a three-point victory over arch
rival Shelby in an early-season
SWC game. In their last outing,
the Mounties bombarded East
Rutherford 10048.
In an earlier meeting with
Burns, the Mountaineers played
probably their best game of the
year in claiming a 76-54 victory
in the KMHS gym. But Coach
Blalock expects the Bulldogs to
be much tougher on their home
floor.
The Kings Mountain girls
have been an up-and-down team.
They have established a [lattem
of winning one and losing one.
They split non<onference mat
ches with West Chtnlotte, and in
SWC play defeated East Gaston,
North Gaston and Chase, and
lost to Shelby, Burns and East
Rutherford.
The two KMHS teams resume
conference play at home next
Tuesday night against R-S Cen
tral. The R-S boys, defending
state 3-A champions, have won
40 games in a row going into a
Holiday Tournament this
weekend in Morganton, and the
Hilltoppers are rated the 10th
best high school basketball team
in the nation.
Kings Mountain High’s
wrestlers, defending SWC cham
pions, return to action Monday
night at the KMHS gym against
South Point’s Red Raiders.
The Mountaineers, in a
rebuilding year under Coach
Steve Moffitt, are 2-0 in the
SWC and tied for the league lead
with East Gaston, another team
which is said to be rebuilding.
The Mountaineers edged
North Gaston and Shelby in
their first two conference
outings.
\ t
■f" . i-i
NEAR PIN — King* Mountain High wroatlor Koith Pronloy Is
picturod abovo on his way to o pin ovsr Shslby's Richard
Conlpo in ths hsovywoight bout of o rocont match at th#
KMHS gym. Proslsy's pin onablod tho Mountainoors to win
Photo by Gory Stowart
thoir socond straight Southwsstsm 3-A Conioroncs match,
31-21. Ths Mountiss rssums oction Monday night ot home
against South Point.