HOLLY SPRINGS--It didn't take long for Panther Creek to flex its collective muscle against Holly Springs, using a 16-4 run to close the first quarter and a 16-0 run to end the first half. The Catamounts didn't look back either, cruising to a 78-45.

Panther Creek's  Earnest Ross, who has signed to play with the Auburn Tigers next year, had a 9-0 run by himself in the middle of the first quarter's scoring frenzy.

Ross finished with 29 points on the night, including 3-for-3 on his free throws, four 3-pointers and one emphatic, baseline slam over a Golden Hawks defender.

"He was on tonight," PC coach L.J. Hepp said. 

At the half, the score was 41-12 Panther Creek, as Holly Springs was baited into turnover after turnover. Some coming in the half-court, others due to full-court pressure.

Super sub T.J. Fitzmaurice had three first-half steals and Ross added quite a few himself.

"At the top of our keys to the game, every game it's create turnovers," Hepp said. "We've had these guys for three years now and they've bought into that."

Also standing out was the post play of Panther Creek. In order to win a conference or state championship, Hepp knows his team has to have others raise their level of play so teams can't key in on Ross.

Forwards Marques Oliver and Aaron Toney combined for 20 points and were dominant on the boards and defending the paint.

"We need guys to play good for us," Hepp said. "Not many teams have two 6'6 guys who can score."

The Golden Hawks had few bright moments, but sophomore center Quentin Underwood did dunk over Oliver for Holly Springs' first bucket. He finished with eight points,and Terrence Walker had a team-high with nine.

The lowlight of the night on either side was the scary knee injury to Holly Springs' B.J. Gaskins.

Gaskins went up for a contested lay-up in transition and landed awkwardly with one knee behind the other as the ball bounced off the rim. Underwood tried to follow-up the miss and was knocked on top of Haskins' legs, causing injury. 

Haskins stayed on the ground after Panther Creek got the ball, causing the game to be stopped. His blood-curdling scream made the crowd go from whisper to silent. Although he put no weight on his knee as he was helped off the court, coach Thurman Jordan was sure it was not as serious as it all looked.

"It's just a bruise," Jordan said. "He's had some problems with his knee in the past and I think this one just scared him."

Here are the four changes to the draft reassignment plan that were announced by staff at Monday's CEM meeting at Cary High.

One change is to reassign areas along Harrison Avenue to Cary High instead of to Athens Drive High. Administrators acknowledged families, now attending Panther Creek High, who said they should go to Cary High because that’s where they had previously attended.

A second change is to drop the reassignment of 117 students to Cary High from attendance nodes 657.1 and 657.2. Administrators sided with families who argued they should stay at Green Hope High because they live so close to the school and don’t live near areas assigned to Cary High.

It's appropriate that Cary High is the host for tonight's community engagement meeting considering how central it is to many of the groups that will be speaking.

As noted in today's article, one group doesn't want to be reassigned out of Cary High. Two groups don't want to be forced to attend the school. A fourth group wants to be sent to Cary High.

Based on the expected turnout, it's probably a good idea to get there as early as 6 p.m. tonight when the signup sheets are distributed.

It's looking more likely that parents will have to lobby the school board to allow rising sophomores to be able to avoid being reassigned to another existing high school.

Asst. Supt. Chuck Dulaney told board members on Tuesday that he didn't want them to make a decision on high school grandfathering without knowing how it would impact the capacity at those schools. He went on to single out Panther Creek and Wakefield high schools.

Reading between the lines, it's not looking so good that grandfathering in high schools will be extended beyond rising seniors and juniors.

Opposition is forming to the draft reassignment plan.

At least two groups will hold meetings on Sunday to rally parents and to help them lobby for changes to the plan. These parents are complaining about moves that would send students out of Panther Creek and Apex high schools.

Click here for a flier for the parents of 119 students who are upset about being reassigned from Panther Creek High to Athens Drive High. They want to go to Cary High, where they had previously attended.

Q: What does this day mean for you? I'm sure it's a dream to play Division I basketball.

A: "Yes sir, actually it's a wonderful day for my family, my coach to get together. We've all been waiting for this moment to get together so I can sign. I feel real comfortable with my decision and I just think this is a real special moment not only for me but my family and my coach."

Q: What were some of the things that stood out about Auburn and playing in the SEC?

A: "I think what made Auburn different from all my other choices was coach Jeff Lebo, I really like him, with him playing at UNC and stuff like that. The campus, I really loved it down there, the stadium, the new things that are being brought to the campus, new things being brought to the college and they just showed me a great time when I went there on my official visit."

As if getting your name in the paper and getting to play in college wasn't enough, here's the list of LOI signings for the early signing period.

You guys have definitely been interested in viewing the draft reassignment plan.

Over the first two hours since the plan went live at 9 a.m., there were 59,489 page views. The most viewed schools were Panther Creek and Broughton high schools.

There were 195 comments registered online in the first two hours.

I'm going to try to hit some of the high points of the plan here.

First, the three-year plan affects 26,771 students. It starts with 8,162 students in 2009-10, 14,200 in 2010-11 and 4,409 in 2011-12.

Administrators are recommending unconverting Knightdale Elementary School for the 2009-10 school year. But it comes with a catch.

UPDATE

Click here for the link to the plan. Demand on Wake's site is high now so be patient. 

It's apparently not easy getting modular classrooms moved quickly, as the folks at Panther Creek High School in Cary can attest.

School administrators told the board this week that the projected completion date for installing 22 modular classrooms at Panther Creek is now Jan. 30. The original projected date had been Aug. 15.

Back in September, administrators said they hoped to have the units ready by Dec. 18.