Moments after J.D. Dinwiddie resigned as Wakefield’s football coach, he wanted to speak with his offensive coordinator Rod Sink. In that small amount of time before the news reached his players, Dinwiddie gave Sink a message:

“You need to apply,” Dinwiddie said.

Sink took Dinwiddie’s advice and today he was named the Wolverines’ new coach.

“I’m very excited,” Sink said. “When the opportunity arose, I was inspired to be the head coach and take that next step. It’s truly an honor for me to get this opportunity.”

For the past four years, Sink was the offensive coordinator. In that time he helped shape the Wolverines into one of the most powerful offensives in the Triangle. Last year, the Wolverines averaged 46 points a game.

Dinwiddie resigned on Jan. 4. He was named head coach at North Henderson High in Hendersonville on Jan. 9.

The Cap Eigth 4-A conference season resumed this week after a number of teams participated, and performed well, in holiday tournaments. As we begin the new year, here are my power rankings for the boys side:

Millbrook (10-4): The Wildcats have played the toughest schedule of anyone in the Cap Eight. That should led Millbrook to succeeding in the conference season where the Wildcats will be the team everyone is gunning for. Shi’Chee Moore (pictured left) has proved to be the best point guard in the conference. If the Wildcats can continue to turn teams over, they’ll win a lot of games.

Wake Forest-Rolesville (10-2): Give a lot of credit to first-year coach Mickey Bissette. He has the Cougars believing in his system and themselves. The Cougars gave Garner its first loss – and this is the same Trojan team that won the premier Holiday Invitational tournament. The Cougars rolled off eight straight wins after a 66-61 win over Wakefield. Will Perry and Jordan Ayscue are making WF-R a real contender.

The Cap Eigth 4-A conference season resumed this week after a number of teams participated, and performed well, in holiday tournaments. As we begin the new year, here are my power rankings for the girls side:

Millbrook (13-1): Coach Chris East said his entire team cried last week when the Wildcats fell to Charlotte Myers Park in the championship game of the Holiday Invitational. That’s a good sign. Millbrook had dominated every team it faced before that game, and now East shouldn’t have to worry about his Wildcats getting complacent. Briana Day played well in the tournament, but Millbrook should play better with Ryan Flowers and Katelyn Mitchell returning from suspensions.

Sanderson (9-3): The Spartans are near the bottom of the standings, but no one should overlook this team. Derricka Lewis (center of photo) is averaging 13 points a game and has improved her play from last year. Bria Gibson has also being solid with 10 points a game. Sanderson defeated Athens Drive for the third time this year to win the Athens Drive Invitational Tournament.

J.D. Dinwiddie has resigned his position as the head football coach at Wakefield High.

Dinwiddie said he will take another coaching position in the western part of North Carolina. He declined to say where he will be coaching because his hiring has not been announced yet.

RALEIGH – Both Sanderson and Wakefield have used defense to win games this season. So it came as no surprise that their first meeting of the season went down to the final minutes as visiting Wakefield escaped with a 47-44 victory.

Leading 44-37 with less than two minutes remaining, Wakefield seemed to have the game wrapped up.

The lead quickly closed as Sanderson’s Parker Fennema scored five quick points to cut Wakefield’s lead to just one.

Wakefield (5-0, 1-0 Cap Eight 4-A) though hit two of four free-throws in the final minute to create the three-point margin. Sanderson inbounded the ball with six seconds remaining, but the Spartans were unable to get off the 3-pointer they needed as Wakefield’s defense smothered Gloire Biongo.

Cap Eight 4-A all-conference football team

Players of the year: Austin Berrios, Leesville Road; Connor Mitch, Wakefield

PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Karelov Sasha, Leesville Road

COACH OF THE YEAR
Taine Mergenthaler, Leesville Road

The state Republican Party is telling voters in a last-minute campaign mailer that Wake County school board candidate Heather Losurdo has "the right priorities for our children."

The mailer says that "Heather believes in neighborhood schools and parental choice and will use proximity as the number one priority for school assignment." The GOP also says "the new Choice Plan will be the foundation for providing parents and students with stability and provide an opportunity to improve every school."

The mailer says "Heather will listen to the people and be responsive." Referencing the Bedford reassignment controversy, the mailer also says that "in contrast, Heather's opponent responded to over 300 parents concerned about busing their children to another school by saying he intended to 'stonewall' them."

The third round of the N.C. High School Athletic Association volleyball playoffs will be played Thursday night. Below show who is left in the 4A, 3A, 2A and 1A East brackets. In cases where teams have the same seed from different conferences, we've placed the host team on top.

There are several intriguing match-ups left in each area.

There's some good news and bad news for parents about potential changes in the Wake County student assignment plan.

Staff is recommending today that North Ridge Elementary now feed into Sanderson High instead of Millbrook High. Staff says there's capacity at both schools and it will free up more magnet seats at Millbrook, create more seats for students who live near that school and still give proximity priority to some North Ridge families who want Millbrook to Sanderson.

Staff said they can't recommend the proposal from parents to do a 40-40 split for both high schools or sunset current North Ridge students because it would set a precedent they'd feel would have to be offered to families at other schools as well. They said offering a mix of base assignments with a choice plan got Charlotte-Mecklenburg in trouble.

UPDATE

The assignment plan was approved as recommended by staff with no changes.