Both Sides of the Ball

Here are some extra quotes that I did not use with my story and column of former Jacksonville High basketball standout Jamal Shuler now slated to soon graduate after four years of being on the Virginia Commonwealth hoops team.

Shuler on Wednesday had his No. 32 JHS jersey retired.

“VCU is in the nation’s top 10 in nursing and for doctors. A lot of quality education there.

I am now a fan favorite of the basketball team.

Coach (Jeff) Chapel recruited me, but coach (Anthony) Grant will always be my coach. I will always be his player rest of my life.

In my heart I knew he would stay at VCU. He is a down-to-earth earth guy and I’m hoping he will make VCU the new Gonzaga.  

It means a lot being a role model as well as congratulating the (Jacksonville High) team for being successful. I am very proud.   

Coach Grant took me in his office and told me my role would change. He wanted me to be consistent.

During senior year in high school making it to Minges for regionals was (most memorable). We set history and that team will forever be in my heart. I still have friends and family from that team.”

At home, the Swansboro High girls track and field team finished in first place on Saturday in the NCHSAA 2-A Eastern Regional championship.

Sparked by several solid individual outings, including from Samantha Hammonds and Carrie Dail among others, the Pirates tallied 153 points, 93 better than second place Red Springs.

I anticipated Swansboro’s girls having a good shot of claiming another regional crown. The Pirates returned many from last season’s regional title team and had found much success this season.

Look for the Pirates to make some noise next week in the state meet.

Also, congrats to Swansboro’s Cornelius Watkins, who threw 186 feet, 10 inches in the discus. The reigning state 2-A champion in the event would have set the state mark if this had been the state meet.

The Pirates finished third in the boys meet.

I came into the office on Saturday thinking pairings for the high school state soccer playoffs would be posted on the NCHSAA’s Web site.

I was wrong.

According to the state site, the reporting deadline is Monday, May 5, meaning that is the day the pairings will be posted.

My question is this. If all of the games have been completed by Friday what’s the reason the conference positions can’t be gathered Saturday and postseason pairings can’t be posted on the same day?

If there are make-up games needed to be played, why can’t the state go ahead and post the pairings for those clubs who have complete regular seasons?

So with first round games needed to be completed by Wednesday coaches will really only have two days to prepare. Thing is some squads like to play a day earlier in case of inclement weather.

I recently spoke to athletic directors Ron Holtsford of Jacksonville and Southwest’s Phil Padgette regarding their school’s realignment into different conferences starting in 2009.

Jacksonville, along with White Oak, have one more year in the Mideastern 3-A/4-A Conference before moving into the Coastal 3-A Conference while Southwest has another year in the East Central 2-A Conference before dropping down to the Coastal Plains 1-A Conference.

Here are some extra quotes from Holtsford and Padgett that I didn’t use in my realignment story.

Ron Holtsford –

“We will still be playing good football teams (in the Coastal 3-A Conference). When you won just three football games all year and make the playoffs it can be a confidence factor. We just have to wait and see how we stack up in a legit 3-A Conference.”

Phil Padgett –

Our move from 2-A to 1-A “affects football more at Southwest, but it does affect all sports.

Football is going to be tough because of of scheduling, there will be six non-conference games.

We have always been friends with the 1-A guys and we have had rivalries with a lot of them. At one time those teams were our biggest rivals.”

1. White Oak (14-1-1)

2. Swansboro (13-3-1)

3. Jacksonville (13-4-1)

4. Dixon (14-2-2)

5. Richlands (12-5-2)

6. Southwest (9-6-1)

7. East Duplin (11-7-1)

8. Croatan (7-9-1)

9. Northside (3-9-1)

10. Lejeune (2-6-2)

The East Central 2-A Conference baseball standings just got a little tighter.

Both East Duplin and Croatan recorded very big league victories on Friday to help them in their quest for better conference positioning.

The Panthers upset visiting South Lenoir 4-1 while the Cougars fought off host Clinton 8-5. Here are now the standings for these top four teams in the ECC.

1. South Lenoir 9-1

2. Clinton 8-2

3. East Duplin 7-3

4. Croatan 7-3.

1. White Oak (11-1-1, 7-1)

2. Jacksonville (13-2-1, 6-2)

3. Swansboro (12-3-1, 10-0)

4. Dixon (10-1-2, 4-0)

5. Richlands (9-5-2, 7-2-1)

6. Southwest (9-5-1, 7-2-1)

7. East Duplin (9-8-1, 4-4-1)

8. Croatan (5-8-1, 3-6-1)

9. Northside (3-8-1, 2-8)

10. Lejeune (2-5-2, 0-3)

It’s taken me a couple of days but I have finally got caught up on rest following the Touchstone Energy Baseball Classic in Richlands.

The annual baseball tournament is enjoyable but also a lot of work. I was there for nearly 10 hours each of the three days. Imagine what Wildcats athletic director and head coach Steve Clarke and his staff feel like. They were out there for all morning, afternoon and night fixing the fields and coaching.

Southwest emerged as the classic champion after comebacks in the first two games and after holding off Topsail in the final. Sophomore Chelton Carter was the Most Valuable Player, but this victory was indeed a team effort.

I’m certain the tournament title will give head coach Dave McLeod and the Stallions a boost as they venture toward the state 2-A playoffs.

Speaking of the tournament, I posted my event predictions on Sunday on the blog, only to have several of my picks prove incorrect.

Also, anyone notice the poll question on jdnvarsity.com has considerable jumped in votes that past week. I remember only a few days ago it being 97 clicks and now its at 305 (as of Friday afternoon at 5:30 p.m.)

The question asked which girls soccer team’s leading scorer was the most prolific offensive player in the area.

Lejeune McKenzie Hallstrom leads with 101 votes, followed by East Duplin’s Jennifer Halso at 98. Swansboro’s Carrie Dail is third at 37, followed by White Oak’s Stephanie Rose at 34. Dixon’s Alex Scott is at 12 votes while the rest have less than 10 votes.

I urge people to vote in the poll. I would like to see the number of clicks increase before we soon change it. 

Game 1: Jacksonville over Swansboro

Game 2: Southwest over White Oak

Game 3: Topsail over Northside

Game 4: Dixon over Richlands

Game 5: Swansboro over White Oak

Game 6: Richlands over Northside

Game 7: Jacksonville over Southwest

Game 8: Topsail over Dixon

Seventh place game: White Oak over Northside

Fifth place game: Richlands over Swansboro

Third place game: Dixon over Southwest

Final: Topsail over Jacksonville 

AFTER WINTER SPORTS
1-A CLASSIFICATION
SCHOOL     POINTS
1. Kernersville Bishop McGuinness    372.5
2. N.C. School of Science and Math    255
3. Hendersonville     242.5
4. Hampstead Topsail     215
5. Mount Airy     165
East Wilkes     165
7. Robbinsville     155
8. Polk County     147.5
9. Raleigh Charter     145
10. Louisburg     142.5
11. East Surry     137.5
Pender     137.5
13. Albemarle     120
South Stokes     120
15. East Montgomery     117.5
 2-A CLASSIFICATION
SCHOOL     POINTS
1. Raleigh Cardinal Gibbons     440
2. East Lincoln     247.5
3. Orange     232.5
4. West Henderson     230
5. Salisbury     227.5
6. Kill Devil Hills First Flight     225
7. Shelby     197.5
8. Durham School of the Arts     180
9. Newton-Conover     167.5
10. West Davidson     165
11. Mount Pleasant     162.5
12. Carrboro     150
13. Hillsborough Cedar Ridge     145
14. Surry Central     137.5
15. Lenoir Hibriten     132.5
Pittsboro Northwood     132.5
Boonville Starmount     132.5
Wilkes Central     132.5
3-A CLASSIFICATION
SCHOOL     POINTS
1. Charlotte Catholic     362.5
2. Asheville     307.5
3. Asheville T.C. Roberson     242.5
4. Lake Norman     215
Pfafftown Ronald Reagan     215
6. Winston-Salem Parkland     195
7. Mooresville     192.5
8. Jacksonville     182.5
Wilson Fike     182.5
10. Greensboro Dudley     180
11. Eastern Wayne     170
12. Hickory     167.5
13. Burlington Walter Williams     165
14. Rocky Mount     145
15. Greenville D.H. Conley     142.5
Cameron Union Pines     142.5
4-A CLASSIFICATION
SCHOOL     POINTS
1. Chapel Hill     337.5
2. Charlotte Myers Park     307.5
3. Morrisville Green Hope     237.5
4. Charlotte Providence     230
5. North Mecklenburg     227.5
6. West Charlotte     222.5
7. East Chapel Hill     212.5
8. Raleigh Broughton     207.5
9. Cary     200
10. Wilmington Hoggard     192.5
11. Raleigh Enloe     190
12. New Bern     177.5
13. East Forsyth     165
14. Greensboro Grimsley     162.5
15. Gastonia Ashbrook     160