Bertie High School • Bethel Assembly Christian Academy • Lawrence Academy • Bertie Middle School
CO
Sports
JL WEDNESDAY • MARCH 1,2017
Inside:
BACA boys 3rd
■ Rec signups
■ Church Briefs
HHHEBU
w
V-
.--n tgg- "“i
David Friedman
Heels make
me nervous
The nervous feeling
I can’t shake serves as
a reminder just how
spoiled 1 am as a UNC
fan.
As 1 write this, my
beloved Tar Heels are
one of the best teams
in the country. They
are coming off im
pressive wins against
Virginia and Louis
ville with upcoming
rematches against the
Cavaliers and Blue
Devils to end regular
season play.
With a 25-5 record,
a likely top five rank
ing and a piece of the
ACC regular season
championship already
clinched, 1 should be
elated.
If N.C. State fans
found themselves in a
similar situation, they
would be planning
parties and parades. 1
on the other hand am
waiting for something
bad to happen.
Will we lose any op
portunity we have a
number one seed in
the NCAA tournament
by falling to Virginia or
Duke this week? Will
we have an injury dur
ing ACC tournament
play that impacts us
during the big dance?
Will we have a bad
shooting day against
a team who, by fac
ing UNC in the early
rounds of the NCAA
tournament, is play
ing he biggest game
in the history of their
program?
These things are
not just possible, they
have already hap
pened.
Sixty Eight teams go
into March Madness
and only one doesn’t
lose the last game of
their season. Winning
a Siemens Trophy re
quires a unique and
concentrated blend of
coaching, talent, expe
rience and luck.
Coaching is some
thing my Heels have.
Not just in Roy Wil
liams, but one of the
best benches in col
lege basketball.
They also have tal
ent and experience,
and in the right places.
Talent is required at
all five positions and
at least three deep on
your bench. Carolina’s
rotation thus far in-
Bertie girls break ‘curse’
Falcons stop Jackets, reach 4th round
BYTHADD WHITE
Bertie Ledger-Advance
WINDSOR - More than
talk.
The buzz surround
ing this year’s varsity
girls basketball team at
Bertie High School was
never about winning
the league title or earn
ing 20 victories. While
both were important to
first-year skipper Kel
vin Hayes and his staff,
many fans wondered
if it would be the year
the Lady Falcons could
“break the third round
curse.”
It was.
The Lady Falcons
broke open a close
game and pulled away
for 56-41 victory to earn
a place in the North
Carolina High School
Athletic Association
Eastern Semi-Final.
That contest, played at
home against Bartlett
Yancey, finished too late
for press time Tuesday
night.
Bertie had beaten
Roanoke Rapids twice
in the regular season -
50-30 at home in early
December and 53-37 at
Roanoke Rapids two
weeks later.
Winning a third time
didn’t come easy.
The teams battled in
the first quarter, with
neither team able to
gain more than a four-
point edge, and the Fal
cons leading 13-12 at
the end of the stanza.
Anna Vann started the
scoring with an early
hoop for the Lady Yel
low Jackets, but Autum
Morings answered with
a pair of free throws for
the Lady Falcons. Af
ter two shots from the
charity stripe gave the
Jackets a lead, Akia Jor
dan scored from behind
the arc seconds before
Carlisa Spivey did the
same as Bertie pushed
ahead 8-4.
Roanoke Rapids ral
lied with free throws
from Vann and Michelle
Steward before Vann hit
a floater with 3:02 to
See BERTIE, page 62
ABBY PARKER / The Bertie Ledger-Advance
Bertie senior Autum Morings controls the tip during the Fal
cons’ third-round victory over Roanoke Rapids.
Falcons land at ECSU
Williams follows father, brother onto college gridiron
BY JIM GREEN
Bertie Ledger-Advance
WINDSOR — Greg Wil
liams always dreamed
of playing college foot
ball as he watched his
brother, Desmond Wil
liams at Old Dominion
University, and most
recently, Bertie High
School alum Malcom
Cherry, who was a
standout at Elizabeth
City State University.
Now, Williams - the
18-year-old son of Greg
Williams Sr. and Tina
Mitchell of Lewiston
Woodville - gets his op
portunity, as he com
mitted to play for ECSU
this fall.
GREG WILLIAHS JR
.-r-
JIM GREEN / The Bertie Ledger-Advance
Joining Greg Williams (seated center) were (front row, left) grandfather Curtis Mitchell and sister Kristin Mitchell; (back rov\^
See WILLIAMS, page 63 father Greg Williams Sr. and mother Tina Mitchell.
Cherry gets second chance after recovering from injtuy
BY JIM GREEN
Bertie Ledger-Advance
WINDSOR — Corey
Cherry is getting a sec
ond chance to play col
lege football.
•Cherry, a 5’9” run
ning back at Bertie
High School, will attend
Elizabeth City State Uni
versity this fall and con
tinue his career on the
gridiron.
Cherry, the 18-year-
old son of Andre Cherry
and Tarvara Pugh, had
several offers from Divi-
sion-1 schools, but suf
fered a season-ending
MCL injury on Aug. 6 -
his birthday.
“It was the first day
we had practice with
pads,” Cherry said. “It
.
JIM GREEN/The Bertie Ledger-Advance
See FOURTH, page 63
Joining Corey Cherry (seated, center) were his parents, Andre Cherry and Tarvara Pugh; (second row) Daphne Williams (Bertie
STEM Principal), Dora Harris (grandmother), Patrick Berryman (uncle), Katrina Berryman (aunt) and James Cherry (grandfa-
See CHERRY, page 63 ther).
^ DUCK THRU A
VJ^OOD STORESy
Duck Thru Food Stores congratulates
this week’s Athlete of the Week.
«
lOIL & PROPANE
Athlete
of the
week
BACA
Daniel Castello
Basketball