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ans ae Page 5.A KM At Kings Mountain's football fans may see a lot of different people on the field this Friday night when the Mountaineers travel to Bessemer City for their second straight non- conference game. Coach Denny Hicks says the Mountaineers are going to have to find a way to control the line of scrimmage. "We've got some good running backs and we've got to get them loose," he said. "It all starts up front so we feel like at this point that we're going to have to look at some other possibilities on the ling.” == The Mountaineers gained only 73 yards last week in a 13-8 loss to Canton Pisgah. With the speed the KM backs possess, Hicks feels the team can do much better. "When you get three first downs and 70 yards total offense, that's not even good production for a half, much less a whole ballgame," he said. "We're left with no alterna- tive but took look at some other options." The Mountaineers had hoped to go with more option plays this year but most of their yardage at Canton came on runs up the middle by big fullback Jeff Lockhart. Hicks said he was pleased with the way his defense, kicking and return teams improved after a ner- vous start, but was disappointed in the lack of offense and concentra- tion. "The defense came along as the game went on," he said. "We missed some tackles early and we weren't real physical like you're supposed to be. But they didn't pick us apart like they did last year. BCHS This Friday along. But our punt return team was the only scoring machine we had out there." Hicks said the defense and kick- ing game will have to carry the team until the offense comes around. "We're going to have to find some folks who like to get after it and control the line for us," he said. "Evidently that's going to take more time than we had planned on. The kicking game is going to have to produce some points and field position, and the defense is going to have to keep progressing and keep the opponents under two touchdowns until we get the of- fense going." Hicks said he's very impressed with Bessemer City, which played well against South Point in a scrimmage two weeks ago and de- feated North Gaston 12-6 in its season opener last Friday. "They move the ball very consis- tently on offense, and they're big up front," he said. "They've got three of four players that are just as big or bigger than the ones we faced at Pisgah on the offensive and defensive front." The Yellow Jackets, who won three of their last four games last fall, have gone to a wishbone of- fense this year and have plenty of speed. "They probably have the best skilled people that they've had since 1986," says Coach Hicks. "I'm double worried about them now because we were very im- pressed with their fullback in their scrimmage with South Point and now I read in the paper that he See Bessemer, 7-A KEVIN MOSS Kings Mountain kicker Offense Sluggish | We got better as the game went KM's Fredd Smith Is Double Winner TRACKING THE SMITHS Kings Mountain's Jeff Smith was idle last weekend but will race in the All Pro race at Volusia County Speedway this Saturday. Freddy Smith went North to Kentucky Friday and Saturday, tak- ing on the best on their home tracks and leaving them in the dust of car number OO. Friday night at Danville, Ky., Smith sat on the pole beside Scott Bloomguist and then led every lap of the 50 lap feature. At Glasgow, Ky., Saturday night, Smith won the pole, the "Dash for Cash," and then won the main event. Smith was driving a C.J. Rayburn car in both races. "Everything came together for us," he said. "The car and motor were perfect. The combination that the crew and I have searched for all year was suddenly there, plus we had some good luck." Freddy will run Friday and Saturday at Clarksburg, W. Va., and at Pennsboro, W. Va., on Sunday. "The crew has really worked hard to turn things around and it Jayvees Host EG Kings Mountain High's junior varsity football team opens its sea- son Thursday at home against East Gaston's Warriors. Coach John Bumgardner, begin- ning his second year as head coach, hopes to be very competitive after going 5-3 and sharing - the Southwest Conference title with East Rutherford last year. Bumgardner returns several players off last year's team, but must also fill some key positions with untested freshmen. Jerry Black, a reserve running back last year, will open at quarter- back for the JV Mountaineers. Robbie Ruff, Calvin Logan and Pat Ross have experience in the back- field and experienced linemen in- clude David Jenkins and Phillip Caldwell. Other members of the team are See Jayvees, 6-A br Freddy Smith...Double Winner couldn't have come at a better time, with some big races coming up over the next six weeks,” Smith said. Ernie Irvan out ran Dale Earnhardt and Rusty Wallace at Bristol Saturday night for his first Winston Cup victory. Irvan held off the late threat of Wallace, whose tires were "going away" at the end of the race. Earnhardt had the dominant car, leading 350 of the 500 laps but had «tire trouble on lap 418. After losing a lap in the pits he couldn't get back to the front. Finishing two through five were Wallace, Mark Martin, Terry Labonte and Sterling Marlin. The heat that got to many drivers didn't bother Irvan in the excitement of winning. The feats of Irvan and the Morgan-McClure team would fur- nish a better script than most movies are based upon. The Morgan-McClure team dis- missed new driver Phil Parsons af- ter three races early in March. A number of good drivers were con- sidered for the ride. Irvan had just lost his job with Junie Donlavey when sponsorship money didn't come through, and Morgan- McClure hired him on a one-race deal only. In the first race at Atlanta, Ernie finished third, good enough for an- other one-race deal. Winning poles and finishing well earned him the ride for the year. Abingdon, Va., is the home of the Morgan-McClure Shop, which is 20 miles from Bristol, therefore making it their home track. During the mid-season the team See Racing, 6-A Mounties Drop Opener, Kings Mountain's Mountaineers couldn't get their offense going Friday night in a 13-8 season-open- ing loss to a good Canton Pisgah team in Canton. All eight of the KM points were scored by the defense as the KM offense managed only three first downs and 73 yards of total of- fense. Kings Mountain's only first down in the first half came midway of the second period on a 12-yard burst up the middle by big fullback Jeff Lockhart, who led the KM rushing with 45 yards in 13 carries. The only first downs of the second half came in the third quarter on a two-yard plunge by Lockhart and in the closing minute of the game when quarterback Timmy McClain scrambled for a 18-yard gain out of passing formation. "Obviously, we're very disap- pointed," said KMHS Coach Denny Hicks. "We felt like going into the game we had a much better chance to beat them this year than we did last year. Basically we start- ed out shaky in all phases of the game. As the game progressed we felt like our kicking game and de- fense tightened up and showed some bright spots, but offensively we had nothing the whole night. We had no control of the line of scrimmage whatsoever. While we saw improvement in other areas in the second half, we didn't get that out of our offense." Despite the lack of offense, the Mountaineers were in the game all the way. Pisgah held the lead throughout the contest but with 1:45 remaining, KM's Scottie Hopper blocked a Pisgah punt in the endzone with Pisgah leading 13-6. Several Kings Mountain de- fenders tried to fall on the ball for a touchdown but the officials ruled that it rolled out of the endzone and KM was awarded a safety, making it 13-8. Pisgah had to kick from the 20 and KM wasn't able to connect on any passes during a last-ditch effort to pull out the victory. McClain was able to run 18 yards for a first down at the 27 with 20 seconds left, but was thrown for losses on the next two plays to end the game. Pisgah took a 7-0 lead with two minutes left in the first quarter on a 34 yard run by Brandon Thomasson. The Bears marched 68 yards in five plays following a KM punt, with big fullback Shaun Bryson going up the middle on the first four plays before the Bears sprang Thomasson around end. Jason Skidmore kicked the extra point. The Mountaineer defense halted two good Canton scoring opportu- nities in the first half. Pisgah drove inside the 10 in the first quarter but missed a 32-yard field goal at- tempt, and they drove to the 12 in the second quarter but a fourth down pass in the endzone fell in- complete. Kings Mountain's defense turned the Bears every way but loose ear- ly in the third quarter and the 13-8 RODNEY HOUSER Mountaineers appeared to be gain- ing control of the game. After be- ing stopped on three straight plays to begin the second half, the Bears punted and KM took over at mid- field. However, they weren't able to pick up a first down and were stopped on a faked punt attempt on fourth down. Pisgah still wasn't able to dent the strong KM defense and had to punt after three straight running plays didn't gain a yard. KM's D.J. Williams fielded the punt on his own 24 and handed off to Rodney Houser on a reverse. Houser ran 76 yards down the sideline to score with 3:55 left in the third quarter, but the PAT attempt was wide and Pisgah still led 7-6. The game was a defensive stand- off until the final four minutes when Pisgah drove 53 yards to score on a seven yard burst up the middle by Bryson. The big play in the march was a screen pass to Bryson which picked up 29 yards and a first down at the 12. The Bears missed the PAT fol- lowing that score, leaving the door open for the Mountaineers to come back. 5 Hicks said a lack of concentra- tion earlier in the game severely hurt the Mounties' chances to come back after blocking the punt. KM was left without a first down and had to depend on a long comple- tion for a touchdown or working the ball out of bounds to stop the clock. "A big area of football is con- centration," he said, "We wasted three timeouts during the second half. After the punt return team put us in a position to win the game we didn't have any time outs left. That's a big concer for us." KM had to call one timeout after scoring its touchdown because a member of the PAT team was not on the field, had to call another to get a substitute on the punting team, and had to call another when the defense lined up wrong. See Pisgah, 6-A RRR HAR R IRRRTRTRRS Kevin Blalock (L) boots for KMHS soccer team Mountaineer Booters Lose To Statesville 2-1 Kings Mountain High's soccer team dropped its opening-season match, 2-1 to Statesville Monday night at KM's John Gamble Stadium. But Coach Dan Potter is not disappointed. "This is the best game Kings Mountain has ever played," Potter said after the game. "If the team continues to play at the intensity they did tonight, we'll have an out- standing season." Kings Mountain finished 10-6 overall and fourth in the Western Piedmont Conference in its first season of soccer last year. Potter's team moves into the Southwestern Conference this fall and hopes to contend for the title. "Statesville has an excellent team," he said. "They play as a se- lect team in the spring, all over the state. They also traveled as a team to Ohio this summer to a soccer camp. Our players have nothing to be ashamed of." Kings Mountain battled the Foothills Conference champs to a scoreless tie in the first half. The Mountaineers grabbed a 1-0 lead in the second half on a penalty kick by Sirimaha Rithiphong but Statesville came back to win on goals by Allen Donori and Brent Carrigan. The Mountaineers were sched- uled to play Hunter Huss and Ashbrook last Tuesday and Wednesday but both games were cancelled because of rain. The Mountaineers will compete in the Gardner-Webb Tournament Friday and Saturday. Shelby plays Crest at 3:30 and KM faces Burns at 5:30 in Friday's opening round. Friday's losers play at 10 a.m. Saturday and the winners play for the championship at 12 noon. Next week, the Mounties travel to Crest Tuesday night, host Ashbrook Wednesday and travel to Hunter Huss Thursday.
The Kings Mountain Herald (Kings Mountain, N.C.)
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Aug. 30, 1990, edition 1
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