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SPORTS
Thursday, October 13, 1983
FIRST DOWN - Kings Mountain quarterback Todd Cloninger (5) rolls around right end for a
seven yard gain and a first down in Friday's Southwestern 3-A Conference game at North
Gaston. The Mountaineers won 27-0. Kings Mountain hosts South Point Friday night at 8 p.m.
Photos by Gary Stewart
GOING AFTER FUMBLE - Kings Mountain and North Gaston players go after a Wildcat
Pressley Nearing 1,000 Yards
Mounties Whip North, Raiders
Kings Mountain’s Moun-
taineers marched the opening
kickoff 42 yards for a
touchdown and went on to
defeat North Gaston 27-0 for
their first shutout of the season
Friday night in Dallas.
The victory gives the Moun-
taineers a 4-1 Southwestern 3-A
Conference record and 4-2
overall mark heading into Fri-
day’s game at John Gamble
Stadium against an improving
South Point eleven. Kings
Mountain is tied for second
place with Shelby.
Curt Pressley of the Moun-
taineers and Buster Benton of
the Wildcats, the top two rushers
in the SWC, went head to head
last week. Pressley won that in-
dividual battle, gaining 130
yards in 16 carries and scoring
the opening touchdown. The
hard-hitting KM defense limited
Benton to his season’s low of 52
yards. He had an 147-yard per
game average going into the con-
test.
Kings Mountain’s Tracy.
Johnson, the number three
rusher in the SWC, added 96
yards in 13 carries and scored
three touchdowns for the Moun-
taineers. Kings Mountain finish-
ed with 254 yards rushing and
North Gaston had 84 rushing
and 22 passing.
Mack
Game
Kings Mountain’s Kevin
Mack had his biggest day in a
Clemson uniform Saturday
when he led the Tigers toa 42-21
homecoming victory over
Virginia at Death Valley.
The 197-pound senior
fullback picked up 109 yards
rushing in 13 carries and scored
two touchdowns.
Mack, who was voted ACC
Back of the Week following his
96-yard performance in a recent
17-17 tie with nationally-ranked
Georgia, bruised his knee early
in the game with Georgia Tech
two weeks ago and sat out after
that.
The Tigers had a week off last
week and the talented former
Kings Mountain Mountaineer
used it to whip back into shape.
He carried the pigskin six
times for 80 yards in the first
half as the Tigers built up a 21-6
lead. Both of his touchdown-
which gave him three for the
year—came during the first half
of play.
When he wasn’t carrying the
Eric Odem of the Moun-
taineers returned the opening
kickoff to the 45 yard line, and a
15-yard penalty against the
Wildcats for tackling him out of
bounds gave KM possession on
the North Gaston 42. The
Mounties went the 42-yard
distance in eight plays, with
Pressley carrying the ball seven
times for 41 yards and a two-
yard touchdown dive over the
North Gaston ' defensive line.
Jarvis Young added the point-
after from placement to give KM
a 7-0 lead.
With Benton gaining most of
the yards, North Gaston took
the ensuing kickoff and marched
to the KM 11, but the Moun-
taineer defense took charge of
the game and held the Wildcats
on downs. They didn’t enter
Kings Mountain territory again.
Big defensive plays set up the
final three KM touchdowns, all
by Johnson. Steve Falls
recovered a North Gaston fum-
ble at the Wildcat 24 late in the
half and Johnson scored from a
yard out to make it 13-0 at inter-
mission. A 23-yard run by
Pressley set up the TD.
With Pressley watching from
the sidelines most of the second
half, the Mountaineers put the
game on ice against a worn
down North Gaston crew.
Danny Moore intercepted a
Has Biggest
With Tigers
KEVIN MACK
Gridgraph
KM NG
First Downs 10
Yds. Rushing 261 84
Passes 0-2 1-11
Yds. Passing 0 22
Passes Int. By 1 0)
Fumbles Lost 0 4
Punts 540 127
Yds. Penalized 110 21
Score by quarters: T
KM 7:6 0:14:27
NG 0:0:0.:0 :0
Scoring:
KM - Pressley, 2-run (Young kick)
KM - Johnson, 1-run (kick failed)
KM - Johnson, 7-run (Young kick)
KM - Johnson, 21-run (Y oung kick)
MOUNTAINEER RUSHING
Player Carries Yds.
Curt Pressley : 16 130
Tracy Johnson 13 86
Eric Odems 6 38
Todd Cloninger 1 7
KMHS PASSING
Player Att. Comp.
Cloninger 0
ball for big yardage, he was using
his outstanding blocking ability
to clear the way for the running
of tailback Stacey Driver and the
passing of quarterback Mike Ep-
pley.
During the last three games in
which he has played the whole
ballgame, Mack has gained 94,
96. and 109 yards. Saturday’s ef-
fort was his first 100-yard game
since going to Clemson.
Announcers calling the game
for playback Saturday night on
the Raycom Sports Network
noted that Mack “has not only
developed into one of the
premier running backs in the
ACC, but one of the finest in the
country.”
Mack set single game and
season rushing records his senior
year at Kings Mountain High
School, when he gained 287
yards in a game against R-S Cen-
tral at 1,585 for his senior year.
His records are now being
threatened by Curt Pressley,
another talented runner who is
being eyed by Clemson and
several other major colleges.
2
—THE WINNERS
North Gaston pass and returned
it to the Wildcat 35 late in the
third period and Johnson scored
from two yards out to make it
20-0. Jeff Stokes recovered a
fumble at the North Gaston 30
midway of the fourth period,
and Johnson scored from 21
yards out and Young booted the
PAT to make it 27-0.
Coach Denny Hicks was hap-
py with his team’s performance
against a physically tough North
Gaston team. The Mountaineers
did not commit a turnover but
did have 12 penalties for 110
yards.
“We felt good about the way
our players came back after last
week’s letdown at Crest,” Hicks
said. “It was a total team effort.
“Our defense did a heck of a
job,” he went on. “It was our
first shutout and it came against
one of the best running backs in
the league.
“Offensively, we were pleased
with our determination. We got
some good down field blocking.
We showed a lot of patience.
They played us real tough for
1% quarters. They probably hit
us as hard as anybody we've
played. It was a good, tough,
hard-nosed football game.”
Things won’t get easier this
week as the Mountaineers face a
fumble in Friday's Southwestern 3-A Conference game at North Gaston. The Mountaineers
recovered four fumbles and intercepted a pass as the defense led the team to its fourth win
in six outings, 27-0.
Here Friday
South Point team which is
always tough and is getting bet-
ter every week. The Red Raiders
have won their last two games
after getting off to a 1-2 start.
“They’re about identical to
North Gaston, except that South
Point has a real good quarter-
back in Mark Young. He throws
the ball well. South Point’s a real
sound, bellytype offense that
uses the option well and puts a
lot of pressure on the defense,”
Hicks said.
“It should be a real good
ballgame for the fans to watch,”
he added. “Both teams like to go
after their opponent.”
The game could be the one
that gives Pressley his 1,000th
yard rushing. The talented KM
senior thus far has 953 yards in
114 carries, an average of 8.4 per
carry. He’s been over 100 yards
in every game except the loss to
Ashbrook, when he gained 81
yards in 19 carries. He’s been
over the 200-yard mark twice,
against Burns and East Ruther-
ford.
Johnson, a junior, also has a
good shot at going over the
1,000-yard mark this year.
Through six games, he has 708
yards in 90 carries, an average of
7.9 per carry. He’s been over 100
yards in four of the six games
and gained 96 in the other two.
CORNER
Kings Mountain High football players turning in a winning effort in last week's 27-0 victory
over North Gaston are pictured above. Front row, left to right, Steve Falls, Gerald Gladden,
Roderick Boyce, Shawn Rainey, Doug Ramsey and Todd Cloninger. Second row, Tracy
Johnson, Rocky Lutz, Brad Reynolds, Shane Burton, Danny Moore, Curt Pressley and Tim
Elder. Back row. Dale Moore, Thomas Putnam, David Parker, Therndon Brown, Jarvis Young
and Jeff Stokes.