Section
The State Port Pilot
Sports
■ TV schedule 7C
■ Classifieds 9C
Society and
self-control
More important lessons
are learned from defeat
It’s unfortunate that Friday’s football game between
South Brunswick and East Columbus will be remem
bered for one thing — the bench-clearing fight that
stopped the game. It was going to be South coach Kirk
Brozy’s first conference win, and it still is.
Only there is an asterisk beside the 28-18 score for it
was halted in the third quarter when six Cougar players
and a host of Gators were tossed from the game as offi
cials decided it was too risky to continue playing with
emotions high and the anger level a bit too intense.
“The game was one of our better performances, both
offensively and defensively,” said coach Brozy. “We were
holding their running back from gaining yards. We were
boxing them in. We executed what we wanted to.”
But late in the third quarter, players turned the contest
into something football games are not suppose to be.
Ironically, about 40 miles away in Leland, North
Brunswick had just whipped up on Lejeune, 43-14, to
take over sole possession of first place and the field over
flowed with sportsmanship.
Nothing to be ashamed of
After the game, Lejeune coach Tom Childs gathered his
players at the 50-yard line along with the North
Brunswick players. Together they knelt on one knee and
listened as Childs spoke. He told North Brunswick play
ers that they were an excellent team and played with a lot
of class. He told his own players they had nothing to be
ashamed of. It was a hard-fought football game and not
one ugly incident resulted in the lopsided score.
Then he led the teams in reciting the Lord’s Prayer. I
thought at the time, “Wow. What class. What a show of
sportsmanship.” Two teams that just went after one anoth
er for first place are now reacting to one another as best
friends. Childs went around the group and gave big hugs
to Pedie Byrd and other key Scorpions and congratulated
them on the win.
Over at Lake Waccamaw, the game there had already
been halted following a fight in a game where the loser
would remain at the bottom of the Waccamaw 2A
Conference. I have covered South Brunswick’s football
team all season and I have watched as coach Brozy
preached sportsmanship to his team. I have watched his
young and inexperienced team get pounded by West
Brunswick and let games slip away at East Bladen and to
West Columbus.
Blame to go around
But never have I seen this Cougar team, or its players,
come close to doing anything like what erupted at East
Columbus on Friday. If that kind of violence was there, I
have not witnessed it. That is not to say there isn’t enough
blame to go around, despite who started the fight or
which players got involved. I do know that the coach and
athletic director at South Brunswick was still upset on
Monday when I visited with him.
He didn’t want to talk about the incident itself, and
that’s understandable. It is an issue that the state must
make a judgment on. Brozy did reflect on what makes a
player turn to violence during the heat of a sporting event.
“After we lost last week, Monday’s practice was as
enjoyable as any we’ve had,” said Brozy. “Realistically,
probably the most important lessons you learn from sports
occur following a loss instead of a win. But the percep
tion of society in how you view winning or losing has its
effect on the game and the players.”
There is a stigma attached to losing, and sometimes it
takes more class to accept a loss than it does to celebrate
in victory. The penalties are high, and should be, for play
ers who get out of hand. It is a shame when something
like this happens, but it’s also unpredictable. I never
would have believed it.
► AT A GLANCE
PGA qualifiers
Wrightsville Beach resident Brian Hepler was one of 24
golfers who advanced Friday to the next stage in the PGA
Nike Qualifying Tournament after shooting a 2-under-par
290 in the first stage at Magnolia Greens Golf Plantation in
Leland.
Hepler shot a 1-over-par round Friday and just slipped into
23rd spot. The second stage will be held in two weeks at four
locations around the country. Golfers who finish among the
top there will advance to a third and final stage, which allows
entry to the PGA Tour.
Chip Sullivan of Maudlin, SC, finished as tournament
medalist at 14-under-par and with an even-par 72 round on
Friday under windy conditions at Magnolia Greens.
Cougars appeal to state
Game-ending fight gives South a joyless 28-18 win
By Terry Pope
County Editor
South Brunswick coach Kirk Brozy
didn’t want his first 2A Waccamaw
Conference win to end this way.
He pictured a victory celebration but
instead saw that scenario ruined as a
game-ending fight halted the contest at
East Columbus with South Brunswick
ahead, 28-18.
“I’m really disappointed in the out
come, said coach Brozy. “This is not
what high school athletics is all about.
It s not a war between two teams. It’s an
athletic event. I can guarantee that our
boys learn just as much from a losing
situation as from a winning situation.
It’s just the way society perceives it that
produces a problem.”
Six South Brunswick players were
ejected from the game by officials, and
nine players from East Columbus were
also disqualified following the fight. It
occurred with 2:29 left in the third quar
ter when a South Brunswick turnover
resulted in a change of possessions and
also an altercation as tempers flared:
At that point, the Cougar defense also
took the field on the transition, and it is
unulear whether players left the bench
area to participate in what turned into an
ugly situation. An appeal filed by South
Brunswick with the North Carolina High
School Athletic Association on Monday
See South, page 7C
Stallions in
|Top 10 poll!
South Columbus brings its
high-powered offense to Jack
Campbell Stadium at Boiling
Spring Lakes for a 7:30 p.m.
kickoff Friday.
The Stallions are undefeated
at 8-0 and 5-0 in league play
and have allowed just 31
points all season. In one poll
this week, the team is ranked
8th in the state among 2A
teams. It was the Stallions’
first ranking of this season.
PEDIE AT HIS PEAK
North’s Pedie Byrd rushed for 272 yards and four touchdowns in a showdown between two unde
feated Coastal Plains 1A teams to help his Scorpions take over sole possession of first place.
Photos by Jim Harper
Bye-bye Byrd
Senior running back leads Scorpions to first place
By Terry Pope
County Editor
During one stretch of Friday’s
showdown between North Brunswick
and Lejeune in Leland, Scorpion full
back Pedie Byrd rushed four times
and scored four touchdowns — from
21, 54, 48 and 81 yards away. He
made it look easy.
The senior leader had 240 yards at
halftime as North (6-1, 2-0) pulled
out to a 34-6 lead and coasted to a
surprisingly easy win in the battle for
first place in the Coastal Plains 1A
Who’s number one in the Coastal
Plains? Pedie Byrd and the Scorps.
Conference, winning over the
Devilpups, 43-14.
“Our line was doing a good job,”
said Byrd. “They opened up the
holes. I just took advantage of the '
open holes.”
Heading into the game, North
coach Garry Bishop was worried
because of injuries that forced him to
bring up some junior varsity players
to fill key holes along the offensive
line, especially for lineman Will
Yates who is out with a hurt shoulder.
But the younger Scorpions picked up
the slack and the defense held the
Devilpups’ (4-3, 1-1) leading rusher
Brandon Jackson to fewer than 25
yards for the night.
“We had him keyed,” said coach
Bishop. “We had potentially seven
guys on the sweep because they ran
the sweep last week 48 times against
Topsail. At least we had that play
stopped. And it worked. We shut him
down.”
What made Byrd’s performance so
impressive was that he carried the
ball just 12 times and four of those
were for consecutive touchdowns in
the first half. He ran just three times
in the second half as Bishop used a
host of backs to gain them experi
ence, including sophomore Harold
Andrews, who rushed for another
touchdown from 41 yards out.
Byrd performed in front of a host of
relatives who made the trip from
Atlanta, GA, to watch him play. And
he did not let his folks down. He is
North Brunswick’s all-time leading
rusher and surpassed the 1,000-yard
mark for the season Friday on just his
second carry, for 33 yards. The
Scorpions have three more games to
go in the regular season, so Byrd
North Brunswick head coach Garry
Bishop (center) saw a weakness in
the Lejeune defensive front.
could exceed the 1,400 yards he
gained last year.
“Everything was just happening so
fast,” said Byrd. “You go out there,
and I just hit it hard. My brother
came up from Atlanta to see me play.
I had family
from all
around
Atlanta that
came to see
me play. I’d
like to
thank them
for coming
to see me
play.
Everything
just hap
pened the
INSIDE
Jl Jones, Martin
lead South’s soc
cer team - 2C
■ Fishing report,
outdoors with
Doug Cutting -
2C
■ BCC prepares
for season - 2C
way God let it happen.”
Byrd scored his first touchdown
with 9:26 left in the first quarter off a
21-yard run. Lejeune answered by
returning the kickoff to the Scorpion
34 and was able to gain a first down
See North, page 5C
Cougars
nip Pack
Soccer team ends
with 2-1 victory
By Douglas Cutting
Staff Writer
South Brunswick had three
things in its favor Thursday night -
- heart, guts, and a penalty kick.
The unofficial last game of the
Cougar soccer season was a defin
ing moment for coach Gary
Downing’s young program as it
topped Whiteville, 2-1.
Coming off a string of tough
losses, the Cougars desperately
needed a bright spot at the end of
the season, and every piece of the
puzzle seemed to fit Thursday.
v With ankles healed and cuts ban
daged, South looked solid, keep
ing steady pressure on the
Whiteville goal all evening.
The first half ended in a 1-1
deadlock, and neither team could
break free for much of the game.
Finally, on a hard foul in the box,
South’s Daniel Martin blasted a
penalty kick past a Whiteville
keeper who had stunted Cougar
shots all night.
One of the keys to South
Brunswick’s win was midfield ball
control. It was also clear that every
player on the field had his heart in
the game, scrapping for possession
and winning balls in the air.
Normally quiet freshman John
Sledge looked strong in the back
and midfield, adjusting to a new
defensive position. Coach *
Downing was pleased with his
play, and that of the whole team.
“John normally plays up, but he
was super in the back' tonight.
Everyone played hard, and it was a
See Soccer, page 5C
South makes
state playoffs
Extends win streak
South Brunswick’s volleyball
team finished the season last
Thursday with a win over South
Columbus and extended the team’s
winning streak to seven games.
The Lady Cougars improved to 12
4.
The Cougars finished third in the
Waccamaw 2A Conference behind
St. Pauls and Whiteville and earned
a state playoff bid.
On Tuesday, the team traveled to
Swansboro in a rematch of last
year's state playoff game.
"1 don't think our team was pre
pared for the playoffs last year,”
said South Brunswick coach Steve
Clark. "We were just happy to be
there, and we did not focus on the
match.
"We’re glad to be there again this
year, but now we want to take
home a W,” said coach Clark. “I
believe our team has more balance
and depth than we had last year, so
we should perform well in the
playoffs.”
Swansboro placed first in the
East Central 2A Conference this
season. Should South Brunswick
win the match, the Cougars will
return home to play a second-round
match this Thursday, October 22.
SPORTS on the NET: www.southport.net