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Looking back at Friday's games: second-round edition

jmikeblake — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 11:19:36 -0500

Two out of three ain't bad, as that's two Tri-Nine teams in the third round (or sweet 16) of the state high school playoffs. Middle Creek defeated Durham Hillside 24-19 and Fuquay-Varina crushed Southern Pines Pinecrest 41-7. Southern Durham clipped Athens Drive by the close shave of 24-21. Now here's looking back at the week that was.

How I did: 3-for-3 (58-of-74 on the year, 81.6%)

Margin of error within 7-points: 1-of-3 (I had Middle Creek by 11, they won by 5)

I'm proud of: Staying a perfect 9-of-9 in the playoffs. Who knew I had this much pull?

I'm embarrassed about: I typed "I think Southern will almost assuredly overlook Athens and make this one close" yet still picked Southern to win by 12. Those two don't make any sense side-by-side. I should've known it would at least have been single digits just like last year. It's a shame Athens couldn't have got them back.

Looking at the games:

Interesting to note: Fuquay is the only Tri-Nine team to notch a road win in these playoffs. The Bengals and Middle Creek will have to hit the road next week, but neither is the lowest seed remaining in their respective brackets — so there's a chance that they may host again, however a slim one. Both teams will be at undefeated foes this week, and we'll have all the coverage next week as I travel to Harnett Central and most likely Fred Dry goes to Wake Forest.

Player of the Week: Hillside entered Friday's game with Middle Creek having allowed no more than 12 points in its last eight games (4.3 average). Through primarily the passing game, the Mustangs hung 24 on the Hornets for a win, and quarterback Garrett Leatham outdueled Vad Lee with 28-of-37 passing for 287 yards and two touchdowns.

Runner-up: Cory Hunter didn't have to do much to steamroll Pinecrest 41-7. The defense and special teams made sure to give the Bengals a short field nearly every time. But in those few chances to do something, Hunter did. He eclipsed the 2,000-yard rushing mark with 53 yards on the ground for two scores (35 TD's on the year) and added a 33-yard touchdown pass to Travis Long.

Stat of the week: We all know Fuquay treats the pass like a trick play. Some criticize it, but I say "whatever gets you 11-2 with two losses coming by a combined 6 points is OK with me." Did I mention the Bengals just won a road playoff game in the second round by 34? Anyway, Cory Hunter's touchdown pass to Travis Long was his first of the year — which ties him for the team lead. In the third week of the season, Long threw a TD to Dylan Montgomery on a trick-play wide receiver reverse pass. A few weeks ago, Nate Budde (you know, the actual quarterback) got his first TD pass on a 82-yard hook-up with Eric Powell. Three guys, one touchdown apiece and they're 11-2. Don't mess with what works folks.

More squabble from USL/TOA spat and Reading between the lines

jmikeblake — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 18:19:39 -0500

The United Soccer League and the owners that form a proposed rival league have traded punch for counterpunch since that team of owners announced plans to start play in 2010.

For a timeline look at things:

Aug. 27 - Nike sells the USL to NuRock soccer holdings instead of the team of owners. The owners are believed to be considering a new soccer league.

Oct. 3 - The USL releases players from Carolina, Minnesota and Miami, stating that they own the contracts to each team and the team's decision to leave the league makes them null and void. Left out of this was Montreal and Vancouver, which were playing in the USL final and are successful enough to plan for jumps to the MLS. However, the players remained with their teams as the owners maintained the USL did not, in fact, own the contracts.

Nov. 3 - Minnesota, mired in debt, releases its players for real this time. It had previously lost its general manager and coach.

Nov. 10 - Carolina, Minnesota, Miami, Vancouver, Montreal, Atlanta and St. Louis submit an application for a new league to the United States Soccer Federation. This is one team shy of the 8-team minimum the USSF normally requires as Tampa was dropped from the initially rumored list.

Nov. 20 - Tampa and Baltimore are added to the list, which is significant because it gives the new league nine teams — one more than eight should Minnesota fold (more on that on Sunday). However, the USL struck back later that day with a release vowing to pursue all (legal?) actions to keep Tampa and Baltimore in the USL. The USL says it believes the TOA is meddling with current USL teams under contract for the 2010 season.

Like I said, we'll have more on this tomorrow, but let's look at something else to watch out for in the coming weeks. Will more teams jump to the new league from the USL? This didn't make it into our Q&A with RailHawks owner Selby Wellman this past week, but it probably should have. Here, he says that there are teams not only looking to jump from the USL, but ones who haven't paid the franchise fee.

Q: Just to be clear, you never paid the [USL franchise fee] for this upcoming year right?

A: No, I got out several months ago.

Q: Was there a team that did pay the fee but is leaving the USL?

A: Not in our group. There's a few others in the league now that still haven't paid the fee. They're kind of sitting on the fence waiting to see what will happen.

So what teams could he be talking about? Read into it what you will, but when I asked him about possibly moving to the FIFA calendar in the new league, the name Rochester came up. This question didn't make it in the story because, well, we'll cross that bridge when it gets there. The new league should have a name before it worries about what months to play in. Maybe Rochester was just a slip-up or an accidental reference, but like I said, I'm just throwing it out there for you to decide. One thing's for sure, the back-and-forth between the spinoff league (get a name already so I can stop calling it "rebel" and "spinoff" over and over!) and the USL is nowhere near done yet.

Q: Is there any talk about switching to the FIFA calendar?

A: There’s nothing serious in the time. Now, FIFA likes that, for everyone to be on the same calendar but you’ve got all these objections. We’ve got teams up in Rochester, Minnesota, Montreal and Vancouver. So there’s some objection to it. Now the answer to it is really not all that difficult. The way they do it over in Europe – they have cold weather over there too – so what they do is basically take two seasons. They usually start about August and end around April. But what they’ll do is split it. They’ll play from August till like December. Then they’ll take a big ol’ break during the cold months and maybe do some friendly matches and things like that in between. And then they’ll start the second half of the season late February/March. That’s how we’d do it in the United States to get around the weather problem. To me, that’s probably several years down the road.

Second-round playoff predictions

jmikeblake — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 07:53:52 -0500

The second round of the playoffs are here, and we've got three teams in it, and all three could win (even though one would certainly be an upset). Let's take a look at the games involving the season's three winningest Tri-Nine teams.

6- Hillside (9-3) at 3-Middle Creek (11-1)

Sixth-seeded Durham Hillside (9-3) will travel to third-seeded Middle Creek (11-1). The Mustangs have not lost at home all season. The Hornets' defense, led by 360-pound defensive tackle Eric Young, has given up just 4.3 points a game in its past eight games, with no team scoring more than 12.Middle Creek's defense also has been on a hot streak, giving up 13.8 points a game in the past five. The Mustangs' offense will put Hillside to the test, however, because junior quarterback Garrett Leatham has thrown for more than 3,400 yards this season. Leatham has attempted 333 passes and completed 62 percent, with 32 touchdowns. Middle Creek has never advanced past the second round. Hillside junior quarterback Vad Lee, who has offers from North Carolina and Duke, has attacked opposing defenses through the air and on the ground. In the end, I think Middle Creek gets just enough to advance past the Hornets and into the third round.

Final verdict: Middle Creek by 11

5-Fuquay-Varina (10-2) at 4-Pinecrest (10-2)

While Pinecrest, a program that was identical to Green Hope's until two years ago, may have doubled the school's playoff win total last week they will not be an easy match-up for Fuquay. These Patriots have been a tough out for nearly every team they've played. The No. 5 Bengals' running game was good enough to get out of the first round, but now a road test awaits Ryan Habich's team in the second round. Junior fullback Cory Hunter is 7 yards from 2,000 rushing yards this season to go along with 31 touchdowns. In the past two years alone, Hunter has 54 rushing touchdowns and 3,881 yards. The big question will be if Fuquay's defense, which has played better in recent weeks, can give its offense the lead late in the game. If that happens, then the Bengals won't have to pass. And if Fuquay attempts 10 passes, believe me, that's not a good thing -- it means they're down and desperate. I think Fuquay will win decidingly because Pinecrest doesn't stop the run well -- and that doesn't bode well for them. Also, the Bengals can expect a raucous atmosphere if Patriot fans show up like they did for their soccer game on Wednesday night.

Final verdict: Fuquay by 14

8-Athens Drive (9-3) at 1-Southern Durham (11-1)

This is a rematch from last year's 4-A playoffs, when then-14 seed Athens Drive (now No. 8) and third-seeded Southern Durham (now No. 1) met in the first round. Athens Drive took a 7-0 first-quarter lead into the dying minutes of the contest, until Southern's Tony Creecy took over. The wide receiver got free for a 23-yard reception that set up a Southern 1-yard touchdown run two plays later, then caught a two-point conversion attempt as he fell out of bounds for an 8-7 lead with a little over four minutes left. The Spartans' only blemish on their record this year came in a 10-0 loss at Wake Forest-Rolesville. The Jaguars have won six of their past seven, and while I think Southern will almost assuredly overlook Athens and make this one close, it won't be enough for Jeff Smouse's team.

Final verdict: Southern Durham by 12

SWakeSports' girls basketball predictions for the year

jmikeblake — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 10:12:03 -0500

As promised, we have preseason basketball predictions and a preseason all-SWakeSports team for the girls basketball season. As we saw last year, Cary Academy and Cary Christian can play at the same level as some, if not most, Tri-Nine teams. That's what makes this sport more fun to rank than the others.

In all our weekly rankings, we're going to tag it under "SWakeSports rankings," a change from last year's "TCN/SWW rankings" which were tagged under "TCN rankings."

Our preseason girls basketball rankings & All-SWakeSports team: Apex had this area in a stranglehold last year, but losing Cassandra Mitchell and Chloe Wells makes the Tri-Nine wide open. Meanwhile, Cary Christian returns everyone from a 28-3 team.

1. Cary Christian - The Lady Knights had no seniors on last year's team, and can only get more dominant with sophomore Dakota Dukes (our preseason SWakeSports Player of the Year).

2. Green Hope - Their record from last year doesn't do this team justice. Once healthy, the Lady Falcons mopped the floor with Athens Drive and everyone else not named Apex. Reigning coach of the year Michael Robinson has several scoring options, starting with sophomore Kristen Gaffney.

3. Athens Drive - I like the unparalleled size the Lady Jags have, but tiny Green Hope showed last year they were the better team. Without playmaker Alyx Ingram, someone will have to step up and learn how to create their own shot.

4. Apex - I know somebody out there will want me to drop them down to 7th or something like that, and I understand why. They lost the two best players in the Tri-Nine Conference. But they didn't make this program, coach Scott Campbell did. They'll do well without Wells and Mitchell.

5. Middle Creek - This team could easily finish in the top two of the Tri-Nine with some solid play and the right breaks. They've got nice mix of size and shooters — but they have to use that size, which didn't happen at times last year.

6. Cary Academy - New coach Danielle Haber isn't walking into the job with the cupboard bare. Kelsey Lee, Haleigh McFarland and other give the Lady Chargers a nice nucleus to build around.

7. Holly Springs - Coach Denitra Hayes might blow a gasket even after wins, but she does win. The Golden Hawks will have to replace some key parts to last year's team that finished second in the Greater Neuse.

8. Fuquay-Varina - The biggest advantage the Bengals have to the teams below them is a go-to player. Raquelle Keeton is capable of 20-point outbursts.

9. Cary - Donald Kent, just four wins away from No. 200 in his career, has most of his team coming back, but who's going to score?

10. Panther Creek - Everyone returns, and we'll see how that translates into wins. The Lady Catamounts are due, as every other P.C. program it seems is making the playoffs in either its third or fourth year.

All-SWakeSports preseason team

G - Camille Forbes, Green Hope

G - Bethany Collins, Apex

G/F - Kristen Gaffney, Green Hope

F - Keisha Gatling, Athens Drive

F - Dakota Dukes, Cary Christian (preseason player of the year)

SWakeSports' boys basketball predictions for the year

jmikeblake — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 07:24:42 -0500

As promised, we have preseason basketball predictions and a preseason all-SWakeSports team for the year. One of the things I enjoy about basketball season is that all 10 of our local schools are on equal ground — the basketball court.

As we saw last year, Cary Academy and Cary Christian can defeat 4-A public schools like those in the Tri-Nine Conference. So unlike any other sport, we rank all 10 of those teams every week. We've changed the name to "SWakeSports rankings," which should clear up the confusion caused by last year's moniker "TCN/SWW."

Our boys basketball rankings & team: Apex, Middle Creek and Cary Academy are the only teams that return at least two starters and multiple contributors from a playoff team from last year. Apex has the best player in the area in Weston Murphy (pictured left), and one of the best coaches in David Neal. So Apex will be first to start off the season. Thursday's game at home against Millbrook will be a great one to open the season.

It should be Apex & Lee County for the Tri-Nine title this year.

Our rankings:

1. Apex - Sharpshooter Connor Belicic + Weston Murphy + coach David Neal + winning the UNCW team camp without Murphy = team to beat in 09-10.

2. Middle Creek - They're going to struggle until the football players are added, which will be tough since they'll miss conference games, but the Mustangs will be good with a number or returners despite the loss of Tom Tankelewicz and Garrius Adams.

3. Cary Academy - It's true that they lost three starters from their first playoff team since '01, but junior Cameron Walton is the area's best PG.

4. Cary Christian - They return almost everybody from a team that got red-hot last year, and junior Lindsey Johnson is a scoring machine.

5. Green Hope - I know you think I'm crazy for putting them this high, particularly after an off-season that saw the only two returning starters both transfer out. However, the Falcons had an unstoppable JV team, and I'd rather be young & talented than experienced & not. Max Povse was the best player in the program last year -- no idea why he didn't start on varsity.

6. Panther Creek - They'll be young and guard-heavy, but the Catamounts still have a top-notch coaching staff even after the loss of L.J. Hepp. In a depleted conference, Panther Creek is back to square one just like everyone else.

7. Holly Springs - This is the wild card in the new Tri-Nine Conference. The Golden Hawks have some pieces to build around, starting with forward Quinton Underwood.

8. Cary - This team can finish a lot higher than this if the attitude problem from last year is fixed. No way a team with that much talent should've won just four measly games.

9. Fuquay-Varina - They return a lot, but will it matter? It's a weaker conference, and junior Dominique Byrd is ready to break out.

10. Athens Drive - Losing all five starters is rough, and their JV team was average at best last year.

SWakeSports preseason boys basketball team:

G - Cameron Walton, Cary Academy

G - Connor Belicic, Apex

G - Lindsey Johnson, Cary Christian

F - Max Povse, Green Hope

F - Weston Murphy, Apex (preseason player of the year)

Looking back at Friday's games: first-round edition

jmikeblake — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 13:48:25 -0500

I know we've kept you all on pins and needles waiting for this week's edition, and I apologize for the wait. As you may have known, half our of six advancing football teams are now out of the playoffs. (15) Cary lost 7-0 at (2) Hoggard, (14) Panther Creek lost 63-34 at (3) Jack Britt and (12) Holly Springs lost 24-0 at (5) New Hanover. The three home Tri-Nine teams all won their games.

The worst part is while I made predictions for these, I didn't publish a blog on it nor pick by how many points. But just so you know, I had my best week ever, getting all six playoff games correct.

How I did: 6-of-6 (55 of 71 on the year, 77%)

Margin of victory within 7-points: 0... I didn't pick any scores!

I'm proud of: Well, it's my first perfect week in awhile and there were no bad teams on the field. Well, maybe Person County. I knew Cary would give Hoggard a game and Holly Springs wouldn't last against New Hanover because, Hanover is the better team despite the ranking. It's safe to say Cary got the easier draw facing Hoggard than Panther Creek.

I'm embarrassed about: Aside from letting you all down for not posting this in time, nothing.

Looking at the games:

Interesting to note: I've always believed it's all about match-ups in the first round of any playoff series. The ACC can have a great year in basketball, but if paired against red-hot, big-name teams (see Florida State vs Wisconsin and Boston College vs USC) the strength of the conference is no longer a factor. Even though the Tri-Nine had a strong year, some of the losing teams had some tough breaks and rough assignments. For one, Jack Britt is a 3-seed in the 4-AA playoffs because conference champions, like Hoggard, are seeded ahead of runner-ups. So that meant Cary had an easier draw against a 4-loss Viking team than did Panther Creek against a 10-win Buccaneer team.. and sure enough, the Catamounts were down 28-0 at half to Britt and their BACKUP quarterback. Fayetteville schools don't play around.

Holly Springs, although playing a 5-seed, had a very hard draw. Consider that Hanover had more wins than Hoggard, but didn't win the conference, so they had to be seeded as a runner-up. Then consider the 4-A playoffs already included four conference champions in Harnett Central, Middle Creek, Southern Durham and Terry Sanford. The Golden Hawks had a near impossible task, and they found it impossible to score in its first-ever playoff appearance.

Player of the week: Garrett Leatham threw 20 passes and completed 14 of them for 214 yards and four touchdowns as the Mustangs thrashed 2007 state champ New Bern 40-14 on Saturday. Anytime a quarter of your throws go for touchdowns, that's getting it done.

Runner-up: Ben Snotherly and Louis Wilder are co-runner-ups. These two have quite a connection, completing seven passes for 189 yards and a touchdown between them. In all, Snotherly threw for 328 yards and two scores while adding 31 yards on the ground.

Stat of the week: Just thought I'd update what the six playoff teams' all-time record in the playoffs are. We're using the "modern" records, which means since 1972 (which is going to slight Cary a state championship or two).

Athens Drive: 2-5

Cary: 8-18

Fuquay-Varina: 22-24-1

Holly Springs: 0-1

Middle Creek: 3-6

Panther Creek: 0-1

Cary Chargers advance to Pop Warner regional football championships

jmikeblake — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 14:35:24 -0500

The Cary Chargers will represent the Triangle's Consolidated Football Federation in the Pop Warner Little Scholars Mid-South Regional Football Championship on Nov. 28.

Playing in the Division III Junior Midget Division, the Chargers eliminated the Central Virginia Steelers 14-6 on Saturday.

The Chargers were the only one of the final four remaining CFF teams to advance. Cary will play the Middle Tennessee Vols on Nov. 28 in Charlotte, CFF Commissioner Tom Goodwin said. (A full schedule is below.) Several CFF cheerleading squads (a list is below) also will compete that weekend in the Nov. 27 region cheerleading championships in Charlotte.

In the other second-round football playoff games involving CFF teams:

The Division III Junior Peewee Wilders Grove Wolfpack was eliminated by the Smithfield Packers 20-6.
The Division II Junior Peewee Capital City Steelers were stopped by the Stanley Blue Devils 13-6.
And the Division III Wilders Grove Wolfpack was ousted by the High Point Lions 14-0.

POP WARNER LITTLE SCHOLARS
MID-SOUTH REGION FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS
NOV. 28
DIVISION I
Harding High School, 2001 Alleghany St., Charlotte, NC 28208
9 a.m., Junior Peewee, Virginia Beach (Va.) Mustangs vs. Union Road Jaguars
11 a.m., Peewee, Virginia Beach Mustangs vs. Winston-Salem Greyhounds
1 p.m., Junior Midget, Virginia Beach Mustangs vs. Winston-Salem Indians
3 p.m., Midget, Virginia Beach Mustangs vs. Oak Ridge Colts

DIVISION II
North Gaston High School, 1133 Ratchford Drive, Dallas, NC 28034
9 a.m. - Junior Peewee, Winston-Salem, Tiny Rams vs. Stanley Blue Devils
11 a.m. - Peewee, Kernersville Raiders – Union Road Jaguars
1 p.m. - Junior Midget, Blythwood Bengals vs. McAdenville Dolphins
3 p.m. - Midget, Derita Redskins vs. High Point Lions

DIVISION III
Ashbrook High School, 2222 Old New Hope Road, Gastonia, NC 28054
9 a.m. - Junior Peewee, Gaston Boys & Girls Club vs. Huntsville (Ala.) Sting
11 a.m. - Peewee St. John’s Crusaders vs. New Bern Warriors
1 p.m. - Junior Midget, Cary Chargers vs. Middle Tennessee Volunteers

MID-SOUTH POP WARNER CHEERLEADING CHAMPIONSHIPS
NOV. 27
Below are the Consolidated
Football Federation cheerleading teams that advanced to the regional championships in Charlotte.
Junior Pee Wee Novice Small
1. Apex Cougars
2. Garner Trojans
3. Wake Forest Titans
Junior Pee Wee Novice Large
1. Wilders Grove Wolfpack
Pee Wee Novice Small
1. Wake Forest Titans
2. Sanford Sting
3. Capital City Steelers
Junior Midget Novice Small
1. Garner Trojans
2. North Raleigh Bulldogs
Midget Novice Small
1. Capital City Steelers
2. Apex Cougars
Midget Dance Small
1. Tri County Panthers

Alumni watch: Ross gets the start for Auburn

jmikeblake — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 14:33:58 -0500

Thanks to the six Division I recruits from last year, Tri-Nine schools now boast enough active NCAA Division I basketball players to field a team. Drexel senior Evan Neisler (Cary High before reclassifying at Word of God) is the oldest member. In fact, Neisler was a senior the same year I was -- 2004. It was his last-second shot that put us out of the conference tournament in the first round at home and -- let me stop it there.. what an awful memory that is!

Joining Neisler in the D1 ranks are William & Mary's Marcus Kitts (Middle Creek c/o '07), Fairfield's Yorel Hawkins (Apex c/o '07) and the six freshmen. Hawkins is out for the first few weeks after having his appendix removed.

Kitts is a starter for the Tribe and is averaging 7.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.0 blocks as his team is off to a 0-2 start. Neisler, who transferred to Drexel from Boston College, fouled out in the season opener and finished with three points despite getting the start.

Now here's how the freshmen have done in their team's first game of the year:

Earnest Ross, Auburn: 25 min (started), six points 1-of-3 shooting, five rebounds, two steals, two assists

Garrius Adams, Miami: 19 min, three points 1-of-5 shooting (1-of-4 from 3), four rebounds

Tom Tankelewicz, Charleston Southern: 4 min, five points 1-of-3 shooting

Josh Davis, N.C. State: 10 min, 0-for-3 shooting, 3 rebounds

Marques Oliver, Delaware State: 2 min

Brandon Oliver, Delaware State: DNP

All-Conference not announced yet, so let me hand some awards out

jmikeblake — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 06:53:13 -0500

In the print edition of today's The Cary News and Southwest Wake News, I mistakenly said the All-Conference team for the Tri-Nine would be announced Monday.

As I found out later that night (and after deadline), the team was simply decided upon Monday and won't be announced until after the last conference team is ousted from the playoffs (so here's hoping we don't know that list for awhile).

Which brings me to today's column which looked back on the year at-large. If I had to pick a Player of the Year, I'd go with Middle Creek quarterback Garrett Leatham. I wish I knew enough to do an all TCN/SWW team like I do for basketball, but I think I'd shortchange too many defensive players and offensive linemen. It's best to leave that up to the coaches.

While we're handing out meaningless votes and awards, I'd give Holly Springs' Jim Hynus Coach of the Year, Fuquay-Varina's Cory Hunter Offensive Player of the Year, Fuquay's Shawn Underwood Defensive Player of the Year and Middle Creek's Matt Frongello Specialist of the Year.

And if these players don't make first-team all-conference, they might as well do away with the list: Athens Drive's Kyree Green, Rob Crisp, Pete Singer and Louis Wilder; Panther Creek's Graham Love; Fuquay's Isaac Minor and Shawn Underwood as both an offensive and defensive lineman; Holly Springs' J.J. Graves; Middle Creek's Britt Cherry and Jordan Mays.

Others to consider: Green Hope's Blake Scott; Lee County's Dequan Swan; Apex special teamer Darius Lassiter, quarterback Adam Nelson and kicker/punter Stephen Weiss; Cary's Deandre Henry and punter Will Gillfillan; Fuquay's Nate Budde and Eric Powell; Athens' Ben Snotherly; Panther Creek's Isaiah Johnson, Kel Jackson, Kameron Bryant, Jay Townsend, Tyler Bailey and Josh Tann; Holly Springs' Corron Boston, Xavier Bailey, Nick Volk, Nick Hohns and Tremayne Dennis; Middle Creek's Devonte Knox, Matt Laxton, Garrett Rider and Stephen Sladek.

How I did: on the football season

jmikeblake — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 13:11:43 -0500

At the end of the regular season, I correctly called 49 of 65 games (and that includes two Cary Christian playoff games) for a 75% accuracy rate. Say, that'd make me either an awesome quarterback or a decent kicker.

Anyway, at the beginning of the year, I predicted the conference top-to-bottom, and it didn't go as bad as you may think. A three-way tie for second skews this somewhat, but I was exactly right on three teams and only off by a spot on four. Holly Springs made me pay by finishing second when I had them 7th, and Middle Creek finished two spots higher than third for a conference championship.

I even noted that the conference would get six playoff teams, and correctly called five of the six. Here was my preseason with the # of spots off in parentheses.

1. Fuquay-Varina (+1)

2. Athens Drive (E)

3. Middle Creek (-2)

4. Panther Creek (+1)

5. Cary (+1)

6. Apex (+1)

7. Holly Springs (-5)

8. Lee County (E)

9. Green Hope (E)

2009 Tri-Nine volleyball teams released

jmikeblake — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 06:25:19 -0500

For the second straight year, a Green Hope player was awarded the Tri-Nine Conference volleyball Player of the Year. Senior Lindsey O'Connell was named this year's winner after her Falcons finished the year second in the conference with a 17-5 (14-2) record.

Apex coach Nikki O'Connell, no relation to Lindsey, was named the conference's Coach of the Year after guiding the Cougars to a perfect 16-0 conference record. Apex ended the year 20-4 with three of the losses coming to eventual state champions.

1^st Team All Conference

Student School Grade

Morgan Williams Cary 12

Kristen Harris Apex 11

Alston Kearns Apex 11

Jill Edwards Panther Creek 12

Taylor Pritchett Middle Creek 11

Lindsey O’Connell Green Hope 12

Adi Aman Green Hope 12

Camden Spade Athens Drive 12

2^nd Team All Conference

Student School Grade

Megan Gravley Apex 10

Katherine Wu Panther Creek 12

Emily Horton Middle Creek 12

Kaitlin Quinn Green Hope 10

Raquelle Keeton Fuquay-Varina 11

Brandi Anderson Holly Springs 11

Mollie Schrull Lee County 12

Clarke Glendenning Cary 12

Player of the Year: Lindsey O’Connell Coach of the Year: Nikki O’Connell

Week 12 Tri-Nine football predictions

jmikeblake — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 07:11:19 -0500

This is it. The last week of the regular season. Overall, the conference is twice as good as it was last year. It's deeper (no longer Fuquay, Apex and Snow White's dwarfs), it's got better players, and it's done better out-of-conference.

With most of the conference's teams knowing they're playoff-bound, the biggest game in the conference this week is Cary at Panther Creek.

Cary (5-5, 3-4) at Panther Creek (4-6, 2-5)

I know Holly Springs versus Athens Drive may feature two teams with better overall records, but this game has more playoff implications, in that the loser will certainly be sweating it out come "selection Saturday." If Panther Creek loses, its players might as well focus on basketball or whatever else lies ahead. If Cary loses, it's still in good position to still earn a 15 or 16 seed in the East 4-AA, but nothing is guaranteed and Panther Creek would be seeded a spot ahead of it. I'll be at this game, and you can listen to myself and David Maney broadcast live on http://caryhighimps.ihigh.com/. In the end, I think Cary's a better team (PC's defense is in shambles) and they end the Catamounts' once-promising season.

Final verdict: Cary by 13

Athens Drive (7-3, 5-2) at Holly Springs (7-3, 6-1)

I like this match-up a lot. The offensive styles are completely different, but each team features a small, but quick and strong defensive line that has really stepped up in recent weeks. It's funny, at the beginning of this year I had Athens Drive second in the Tri-Nine, and Holly Springs was just trying to get a winning season (check) and a playoff berth (check). Now the Golden Hawks can finish no worse than second-place in the Tri-Nine, win or lose tonight. I gotta go with Holly Springs here, being senior night and all. Oh, and they're on a six-game win streak, the second-longest in the conference. BUT, if Athens Drive wins, I'm going to look like a genius when we roll out my before-the-year predictions.

Final verdict: Holly Springs by 8

Lee County (3-7, 2-5) at Fuquay-Varina (8-2, 5-2)

The Yellow Jackets will try to steal a win on Fuquay's senior night to become playoff-eligible. Fuquay has too much talent to let that happen, but let's not forget that Lee County has been the ultimate hard-luck team this year. Lee lost to Apex by 4, Athens Drive by 1, Holly Springs by 4 and Middle Creek by 3. The Yellow Jackets just picked up a close win over Panther Creek (won by 1 on a blocked "gimme" field goal as time expired), so Fuquay beware. But when's the last time the Bengals lost two in a row? If you said 2005, you'd be correct. Gotta go with Ryan Habich's team in this one.

Final verdict: Fuquay-Varina by 14

Middle Creek (9-1, 7-0) at Apex (2-8, 2-5)

Last week really showed me something about Middle Creek. Twice, I've seen them go up against a tough, grind-it-out attack with a good defense, and twice I saw them win in low-scoring fashion. They've won some blowouts here and there thanks to their explosive offense, but their defense kept them in those two. Oh, and their special teams almost single-handedly won games against Garner and Lee County. Is their a chink in their armor? I think if there is, it'll take a pretty darn good team in the 4-A playoffs to find it. I've got the Mustangs in this one by a comfortable margin.

Final verdict: Middle Creek by 16

NCISAA PLAYOFFS: Cary Christian (8-2) at St. David's (9-1)

You've got to love 8-man football. Only there can you have a team win in the first round of the playoffs 79-38 (yes you read that right) like St. David's did last week. Cary Christian won its first-round game 34-0, but can it handle the St. David's attack? Since their first meeting this year ended in a 56-21 St. David's victory, I guess I'll go with them again here. A very good season by the Knights, however.

Final verdict: St. David's by 20

First round boys soccer playoff scores

jmikeblake — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 06:29:52 -0500

Tuesday's games:

(2) Apex 4, (4) Northern Durham 0

(3) Fuquay-Varina 3, (3) Leesville Road 2

(1) Sanderson 1, (4) Middle Creek 0

(2) Broughton 1, (5) Athens Drive 0

Wednesday's games:

(1) Green Hope 1, (WC) West Johnston 0

Apex will face Durham Riverside on Saturday at 6 p.m. Fuquay will travel to unbeaten-and-untied Durham Jordan. Green Hope will host Sanderson.

All you need to know about the Tri-Nine football playoff picture

jmikeblake — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 17:26:10 -0500

There's just one week in the season, so it's time to get you caught up on the playoff picture. So far we know this about the Tri-Nine Conference:

1. Middle Creek is the outright conference champ.

2. Holly Springs is the outright No. 2.

3. The two teams above plus Fuquay-Varina and Athens Drive are playoff locks.

4. Panther Creek needs to win this Friday to ensure they go to the playoffs, and Lee County needs to upset Fuquay to have that be a possibility.

5. Cary has five wins, which should be good to be in the playoffs.. but as you'll see below, five wins may not be good enough this year.

Got all that? Good. After a ton of research since the NCHSAA released its average daily membership (ADM) numbers, I've determined what playoff bracket our teams are likely to play in when the playoffs start in two weeks. And what needs to happen for Panther Creek and Lee County to get invites to the big dance.

Here's how the selection process works:

1. The NCHSAA selects 64 playoff-eligible teams from each of the classifications, including the 4-A classification.

2. Those 64 teams are cut in half by their ADM numbers. The half with the larger populations is the 4-AA playoffs, and the lower is in the 4-A playoffs.

3. The next step is to split the teams into East and West.

4. Any teams that played 11 games (the first game of the year being an "endowment" game), will have one non-conference game dropped from their record. If a team didn't lose a non-conference game, it will have a win dropped, but everyone else will have a loss dropped.

5. With modified records, the NCHSAA will seed the playoffs, with conference champions (arranged in order from most wins to fewest) being seeded first. The rest of the teams fill in lastly.

It's complicated, and I sure as heck wouldn't want to be the guy who has to figure it all out. Especially since there are currently 75 4-A teams in position to be playoff-eligible going into Friday. There are six three-win teams, including Smithfield-Selma and Clayton — who will play each other. Another eight teams have four wins and will be looking for five. That's 14 teams vying for three spots. Typically, five wins puts you in the playoffs, but if enough of these four-win teams win, that won't be the case.

Now here's what you need to know in regards to the two divisions of 4-A playoffs (the school's ADM rank out of the 96 4-A schools will be in parentheses):

1. Panther Creek (15th) and Cary (27th), should they make it into the playoffs, will be in the 4-AA bracket.

2. Fuquay-Varina (37th) has the 31st-highest ADM for any of the 75 teams in position for the playoffs, which means no matter who makes it, they'll be in the 4-AA playoffs.

3. Middle Creek (55th) and Holly Springs (52nd) are locks for the 4-A playoff bracket.

4. Athens Drive (50th) could go either way. They've got the 40th-highest ADM number of the 75, and nine "bubble" teams are ranked ahead of them. If eight or nine of them fail to reach the playoffs, Athens is in the 4-AA playoffs. Anything less puts them in the 4-A.

5. Lee County (92nd) is destined for the 4-A playoffs should they get in.

Final Tri-Nine soccer standings

jmikeblake — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 08:58:50 -0400

Green Hope captured the conference championship this season.

The five playoff teams are Green Hope, Apex, Fuquay-Varina, Middle Creek and Athens Drive. There could be a sixth if Panther Creek is selected as a wild-card team, but it's difficult since the NCHSAA places more priority on conference finish than conference strength.

Green Hope will play the 3-seeded wild-card team at home. Apex will host the fourth-best team in the PAC-Six Conference (appears to be Northern Durham). Fuquay will host the 3-seed from the Cap-7 Conference (most likely Leesville Road).

Middle Creek will travel to Sanderson, while Athens Drive has a road date with Broughton (both Sanderson and Broughton are from the Cap-7).

Tri-Nine Conference	Overall	Conference	Pts
Green Hope	14-2-4	12-1-3	39
Apex	15-5-0	12-4-0	36
Fuquay-Varina	16-4-1	11-4-1	34
Middle Creek	10-7-4	8-5-3	27
Athens Drive	11-6-4	8-6-2	26
Panther Creek	9-12-1	8-8-0	24
Holly Springs	6-12-2	4-10-2	14
Cary	4-14-1	3-12-1	10
Lee County	0-21-0	0-16-0	0

Week 11 Tri-Nine football predictions

jmikeblake — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 05:30:00 -0400

There's only one game you need to know this week:

Fuquay-Varina at Middle Creek.

If the Mustangs hold serve at home,

they're your 2009 Tri-Nine Conference champions. If Fuquay wins, a three-way tie is on the table.

Game of the week

Fuquay-Varina (8-1, 5-1) at Middle Creek (8-1, 6-0)

It all comes down to this. Or does it? A Fuquay win makes this conference one with three one-loss teams, and then we're going into the last week looking for possible upsets or else name three conference co-champs and a draw for playoff seeding. Both teams have the conference's top two offenses and top two defenses (separated by 4 points on offense and 7 on defense). I like the Mustangs better on offense, because they can run or pass effectively (whereas Fuquay can only run). I also like Middle Creek better on defense, where they have playmakers at every level of the defense (Al Reams on the line, Britt Cherry at linebacker, Jordan Mays and Garrett Rider at corner).I saw that same unit earlier this year hold Holly Springs, which runs a similar offense to the Bengals, to 10 second-half yards. Fuquay has been susceptible to the pass this year, and that doesn't bode well facing a QB like Garrett Leatham who leads our area with 278 yards per game (but expect athletes like Nate Budde and Cory Hunter, pictured above on the right, to see a lot of defensive snaps).

Final verdict: Middle Creek by 10

Panther Creek (4-5, 2-4) at Lee County (2-7, 1-5)
As almost every team should be when they face Lee County, Panther Creek is on upset alert this week. Especially since Lee County is home to the Tri-Nine's third-best defense, and Panther Creek has been turnover-happy in the last two games (five in each of their last two). If QB Kameron Bryant can't protect the ball, it's going to be a long night down in Sanford. The Catamounts will be able to drop a loss when it comes to playoff seeding, but will they be invited? At four wins, it's hard to say. This is a big game for PC. Get that fifth win, and you're feeling a lot better about a playoff berth than you would otherwise.. However, I'm waiting on Lee to get an upset and running out of weeks. I'm thinking PC wins, but only by a few.

Final verdict: Panther Creek by 2

Athens Drive (6-3, 4-2) at Apex (2-7, 2-4)
Athens played better than most (except yours truly) expected against Fuquay last week. Now the Jags will go to Apex to try to pick up win No. 7. It's been a pretty good bounce-back year for Athens. The same can't be said for Apex, which is one loss away from being eliminated from playoff contention. The Cougars have been led to a winning record in each of the last 11 years by coach Bob Wolfe, a streak that can only be matched in Wake County by Garner. The Jags' defense has been playing at a very high level lately (its special teams that cost them against Fuquay) and considering Apex is averaging around 60 yards per game on the ground, the one-dimensional attack will be easy to prepare for. I'm taking the Jags, who will have a big game next week against Holly Springs.

Final verdict: Athens Drive by 8

Holly Springs (7-2, 5-1) at Green Hope (0-10, 0-7)
It's almost here. For Holly Springs, it's just a few weeks and a little help from Fuquay away from a co-conference championship. By the way, isn't it odd the Golden Hawks will be forced to cheer on Fuquay (in what is the 2nd-best rivalry in the Tri-Nine in my opinion)? For Green Hope, the end of the year is this week (the bye week is next week). The Falcons have came close in some games this year. Their 24-14 loss to Durham Jordan was as close as they've come to victory in awhile. Green Hope is in danger of ending its second consecutive winless season. Its losing streak is at 26 with a chance to go to 27. At some point, this program will break through. It'll require a lot of patience from the players, however, which is hard to come by at the 4-A level in Wake County. If the going gets tough, players get going... to another school. And that's got to stop for the Falcons to stop this streak soon. Unfortunately, "soon" will have to be next August, as Holly Springs will win this one handily.

Final verdict: Holly Springs by 28

NCISSA PLAYOFFS: Word of God (3-6) at Cary Christian (7-2)
Now that the NCISAA playoffs are here, it's time to check in on our local 8-man team, Cary Christian. The Knights have been pretty dominant this year, earning the 3-seed in the 2-A playoffs. Cary Christian actually played their first round opponent, the Holy Rams of Word of God, earlier in the year and smoked them 45-8. Don't expect this one to go much differently unless C.J. Leslie shows up in pads.

Final verdict: Cary Christian by 30

Kandinata defeats Wang for Mideast title

jmikeblake — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 20:28:58 -0400

Melissa Kandinata is having quite an impact on the state tennis picture in her first year in North Carolina.

The sophomore won the Mideast Regional on Monday over fellow teammate Helen Wang. Kandinata won the first set 6-0 before Wang retired in the second.

Both members of the Falcons' team will be in the state singles tournament, which starts this Friday.

A quick back look at Friday (10/26)

jmikeblake — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 16:12:50 -0400

How I did: Winners called correctly: 2-of-4 (42-13 this year, 76%)

Margin of victory within 7-points: 1-of-4 (I had Apex by 20 — they won by 19)

I'm proud of: Realizing before all others that Athens Drive would give Fuquay one heck of a contest. I had the Apex score almost to a tee, which makes me feel better about...

I'm embarrassed about: Whiffing on my two upset picks. Lee County did not defeat Cary and Athens couldn't overcome miscues in the special teams to hold on against Fuquay. Sadly, my picking percentage has dropped to only about 3 out of every 4 correct.

Looking at the games:

Interesting to note: It all comes down to this. Wins by Fuquay and Middle Creek set up the biggest game of the conference year when the Bengals visit the Mustangs on Friday. If the Mustangs win, they'll clinch the conference championship as only Holly Springs could tie, and Middle Creek won the head-to-head. If the Bengals win, a three-way tie is on the table with HS, FV and MC all finishing with one loss in the conference. Just as we saw last year with the conference's third spot, numbers would be drawn out of a hat to determine seeding and all three schools would be awarded co-conference championships.

Player of the week: Every school in the conference has had a player either win POTW or runner-up except one. That is, until now.

Apex's Shawn Knox gashed Green Hope's defense for 214 yards on 24 carries and two touchdowns. He also caught three passes for 25 yards and a score.

I know what you're thinking. "Yeah, but it was against winless Green Hope." Well, what makes Knox's outburst truly special is Apex — as a team — had not even ran for more than 150 yards in a game all season. In fact, they were averaging just 66 yards per contest entering the Green Hope game and 55 per game before a season-high 144 yards against Panther Creek the previous week.

Runner-up: Malcolm Thaxton of Fuquay-Varina. Why you ask? Sure, Thaxton had just two carries for 10 yards, but he returned a kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter to tie the game at 6, then returned another one to the Athens Drive 16-yard line with under three minutes to play in the fourth. Two plays later, Fuquay broke open the tied game with a touchdown and two-point conversion. Who's to say the Bengals make it that far in that little time without a great return (especially with how little they throw the ball)? Give that man a game ball.

Stat of the week: Thanks to a number of sacks and despite being blessed with good running backs and slightly mobile quarterbacks, Panther Creek and Middle Creek combined for 15 yards on 52 carries (0.3 yards per carry!). You read right. PC got four yards on 23 ( 0.2 yards per carry) while MC got 11 on 29 carries (0.4 yards per carry). I don't think I've ever seen a game where two teams did so poorly in that department. Maybe that explains why a game most figured would be in the high 30's was a pedestrian 31-17 final.

Kandinata, Wang alive in Mideast Regional

jmikeblake — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 11:27:11 -0400

A number of local high school tennis players participated in the NCHSAA individual girls tennis Mideast Regional last week. Play was halted before the semi-finals could be started, and will resume today.

The only local players still alive are in singles, and it's two Green Hope teammates in Melissa Kandinata and Helen Wang.

Here is how the rounds have played out (as found on http://nchighschooltennis.pbworks.com), with local players in bold:

Singles:

ROUND 1

Kandinata (GH) def. A. Huang (ECH) 6-0, 6-0

Alford (ND) def. Gay (LC) 6-3, 6-3

Prior (WF) def. Payne (PC) 6-0, 6-0

Sasser (RV) def. DelForge (AD) 7-5, 6-3

Robertson (BR) def. Sun (ECH) 6-1, 6-3

Brown (MB) def. Zaccardelli (AD) 7-5, 6-3

Runyans (BR) def. Ansley (LC) 6-3, 6-0

Wang (GH) def. Garimelli (E) 6-3, 6-2

ROUND 2

Kandinata (GH) def. Alford (ND) 6-1, 6-0

Prior (WF) def. Sasser (RV) 6-1, 6-2

Robertson (BR) def. Brown (MB) 6-2, 6-2

Wang (GH) def. Runyans (BR) 6-1, 6-1

*** Semi-finals and finals postponed until Monday 10/26 at 3 pm at Cary Tennis Center

Melissa Kandinata (GH) vs. Ally Prior (WF)

Laura Robertson (BR) vs. Helen Wang (GH)

Doubles:

ROUND 1

Iyengar/Kane (BR) def. Williams/Channell (GH) 6-1, 6-1

Orlando/Kohls (WF) def. Klanz/Sedlak (DJ) 6-2, 6-1

Bickel/Bowser (APX) def. Busch/Weischedel (LVL) 6-4, 6-3

Johnson/Flynn (ECH) def. Menius/Reister (AD) 6-0, 6-1

Davidson/Lovett (BR) def. A. Nuguyen/Namboodri (PC) 6-3, 6-0

Ervin/Albrecht (WF) def. Boyd/Gerepka (ND) 6-1, 6-1

Stokes/Steele (GH) def. Peters/Tucker (FV) 6-0, 6-0

Hill/M. Huang (ECH) def. Wach/Q. Nguyen (PC) 6-0, 6-0

ROUND 2

Iyengar/Kane (BR) def. Orlando/Kohls (WF) 6-1, 6-0

Johnson?Flynn (ECH) def. Bickel/Bowser (APX) 6-2, 4-6, 6-4

Davidson/Lovett (BR) def. Ervin/Albrecht (WF) 6-2, 7-5

Hill/M. Huang (ECH) def. Stokes/Steele (GH) 6-2, 6-2

*** Semi-finals and finals postponed until Monday 10/26 at 3 pm at Cary Tennis Center

Asha Iyenger and Katie Kane (BR) vs. Tessa Johnson and Tegan Flynn (ECH)

Katie Davidson/Hamiton Lovett (BR) vs. Tamara Hill and Megan Huang (ECH)

Legend:

GH = Green Hope, ECH=East Chapel Hill, ND=Northern Durham, LC=Lee County, WF=Wakefield, PC=Panther Creek, RV=Riverside, AD=Athens Drive, BR=Broughton, MB=Millbrook, E=Enloe, DJ=Durham Jordan, APX=Apex, FV=Fuquay-Varina, LVL=Leesville

Hunter no longer with Cary

jmikeblake — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 20:42:20 -0400

Cary coach Ben Kolstad suspended a number of starters before last week's 34-5 loss to Middle Creek. One of them was his most highly-touted player, offensive/defensive lineman Fre'Shad Hunter.

However, Hunter will not be returning to the team. While other starters were suspended for missing practice, Hunter broke an undisclosed team rule.

Hunter’s mother and Kolstad met, and decided it would be best for Fre’Shad to sit out the rest of the year.

“What happened is, there were some team rules broken, and it kind of became a mutual decision between me and his mom that he was going to focus on academics and nothing else,” Kolstad said.

The senior ranks among the best players in the state and recently committed to N.C. State. He projects as a defensive lineman at the next level, and is ranked by major recruiting databases Scout.com and Rivals.com as a four-star player.

“It’s probably not easy for him, but he’s doing fine,” Kolstad said. “This is something that we’ve been talking about for awhile anyway. It’s not that sudden of a thing for him. He’s handled it well I think.”

The Imps are 4-4 (2-3) heading into this Friday's game at home against Lee County. Hunter, meanwhile, will spend his time readying himself for college.

“He’s just preparing for next year,” Kolstad said. “And this gives him a chance to work on his academics and get himself prepared physically and mentally for next year.”

First round volleyball matches set

jmikeblake — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 19:02:32 -0400

No. 1 Apex vs Northern Durham (6 p.m.)

No. 2 Green Hope vs Purnell Swett (1 p.m.)

No. 3 Panther Creek vs Broughton (6 p.m.)

No. 4 Cary at Enloe (6 p.m.)

No. 5 Middle Creek at Wakefield (1 p.m.)

Cary's Hunter no longer with team

jmikeblake — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 11:33:01 -0400

Cary coach Ben Kolstad suspended a number of starters before last week's 34-5 loss to Middle Creek.

One of them was his most highly-touted player, offensive/defensive lineman Fre'Shad Hunter.

However, Hunter will not be returning to the team. The senior ranks among the best players in the state and recently committed to N.C. State.

It's not known why Hunter was kicked off the team. The Imps are 4-4 (2-3) heading into this Friday's game at home against Lee County.

TOA-USL to meet today

jmikeblake — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 08:00:32 -0400

(Sorry this is a day late, we've had some issue with the blogs, and apparently it didn't post yesterday)

Not much was decided in last weekend's meeting with ownership groups in the Team Owners' Association, a group that includes the Carolina RailHawks and represents franchises willing to separate from the United Soccer League and form their own league.

It was more of a social gathering than anything else, but that changes today. The USL leadership and TOA will meet again, hoping to change the stagnant state of current negotiations.

Week 10: Tri-Nine Friday Football Predictions

jmikeblake — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 07:43:11 -0400

Can you believe there's only three weeks left in the year? Three weeks and that includes this Friday? Although my weekly predictions have been a lot of fun, and I've been extremely accurate (78%), I'm not Nostradamus by any means. As Athens proved last week, even if you're predicted to lose by 6, you can still win by 40.

Game of the week

Athens Drive (6-2, 4-1) at Fuquay-Varina (7-1, 4-1)

Can either team stop the other one? I'd never thought I'd say this, but Athens' defense has looked better than Fuquay's in recent weeks -- wait, did I just say that? The Jaguars have changed up how they do things since the beginning of the year. Some players thought to only play defense have been in on offense and vice versa. A roster that had six transfers at the beginning of the year has gelled, and the talent is showing. This will be Fuquay's first home game since the heartbreaker to Holly Springs. The Bengals' pass defense had better come ready to play. Even if the Jags don't return 6-foot-3 wideout Louis Wilder, they'll have some success throwing the ball. This is a hard prediction to make, but based on what I've seen, Athens is more than capable of winning this. I'm going with the upset.

Final verdict: Athens Drive by 7

Middle Creek (7-1, 5-0) at Panther Creek (4-4, 2-3)

Until Athens' 46-6 shredding of Panther Creek last week, this game had a big red circle around it for conference supremacy. Now the Catamounts, at 2-3 in the Tri-Nine, are out of the championship race. Doesn't mean they can't play the role of spoiler. The best "Battle of the Creeks" (football) contest to date will feature lots and lots of passing. Garrett Letham (MC) and Kameron Bryant (PC) are two junior quarterbacks who know how to sling it. n to the wire (again). I know PC suffered through some team-wide flu last week, but if Athens can hold them to six points, force five turnovers and notch seven sacks -- Middle Creek can certainly do enough to win. Panther Creek's defense has given up team-high totals in points in three of their last five games (Fuquay with 52, Apex with 22, Athens with 46). It's for that reason I think MC wins and wins big.

Final verdict: Middle Creek by 27

Lee County (2-6, 1-4) at Cary (4-5, 2-4)

Consider this one my next upset pick. Both teams are about dead-even, despite the difference in record. Lee County has lost their four conference games by no more than four points. Those losses include a last-second field goal miss, a last-minute touchdown pass and a last-second field goal make by the other team. That misery ends this week in another tight one. The Imps are a good team, but Lee County is due.

Final verdict: Lee County by 9

Green Hope (0-9, 0-5) at Apex (1-7, 1-4)

If I told you teams with a combined 1-16 record were meeting, you'd probably think it's going to be a close game. Apex has had its share of rough times, but ultimately I think they're a better team than Green Hope right now. The Cougars have actually been more competitive as the year goes along, as noted by eight-point losses to Holly Springs and Fuquay-Varina. Green Hope may have regressed as games earlier in the year were far closer than now. This is the Falcons' only real chance to snap a 25-game losing streak this year. They close out the year next week against Holly Springs at home.

Final verdict: Apex by 20

Green Hope advances in 4-A dual-team playoffs

jmikeblake — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 10:00:53 -0400

Out of three Tri-Nine girls tennis teams advancing to the 4-A NCHSAA dual-team playoffs, only Green Hope advanced to the second round on Tuesday.

The Falcons (19-2) were 6-0 winners over Wakefield after sweeping all six singles matches. The teams agreed to not play doubles after the match was in hand.

Green Hope will now face East Chapel Hill, the team that bounced Athens Drive (14-9) from the tournament by an 8-0 score. East Chapel Hill defeated Green Hope earlier in the year by a 6-3 margin. That match will take place at East Chapel Hill thanks to conference seeding priority.

Panther Creek (16-4) saw its year end in the first round as well, losing to Durham Riverside by a relatively slim 6-3 margin. It was the first time the Catamounts advanced to the state tournament in the school's short four-year history.

Athens dominates regional, Green Hope qualifies for state

jmikeblake — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 07:53:01 -0400

Athens Drive's girls golf team appears to be on the warpath to repeating their state title of a year ago.

The Lady Jags won the East Regional by 18 strokes, and their score of 233 was 28 strokes lower than the next-best team in the West or Central regionals.

Freshman Sarah Bae led the Jags by winning the East Regional with a 74. Katherine Perry was close behind, coming in third with a 78. The Jags' Sydney Shackleford finished fifth with a 81 and Mandy Monchick tied for sixth with an 82.

All those four can post something similar, the Jaguars will be hard to beat in Tuesday's state title at Foxfire Country Club in West End, N.C.

Green Hope, which finished second in the Tri-Nine Conference to Athens Drive, came in with the third-lowest team score and qualifed for the state championship as well.

The Falcons were led by Andrea Estes, who finished 10th with an 84.

Apex may have missed the cutoff to qualify as a team, but they will send one individual qualifier in Michelle Pilo. Pilo tied Athens' Monchick for sixth.

Apex not in dual-team bracket

jmikeblake — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 14:34:52 -0400

Earlier, we claimed that the Tri-Nine had four teams in the NCHSAA girls dual-team tennis playoffs with four. The brackets have since changed, and Apex's wild-card spot has been taken away and awarded to Person County.

The Cougars will not be in the postseason this year, despite tying for third in the conference with Athens Drive, which did receive a wild-card spot. Green Hope and Panther Creek automatically qualified.

Apex and Athens split their two meetings this year. No word on why the change was made. We apologize for the misprints coming in Wednesday's paper.

Tri-Nine teams split up in girls lacrosse, boys have a new commute

jmikeblake — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 09:03:00 -0400

The NCHSAA released its final draft of girls and boys lacrosse conferences this morning. The result will split up the Tri-Nine Conference in girls lacrosse, and add a long road trip for boys lacrosse.

With not as many schools participating in women's lacrosse, it was harder for the NCHSAA to keep together traditional conferences. As a result, Athens Drive has been separated from the Tri-Nine in girls lacrosse.

Athens will join Broughton, Enloe, Cardinal Gibbons and Wakefield in "Conference 3."

Holly Springs, Panther Creek, Middle Creek, Green Hope, Cary and three-time state champion Apex were grouped in "Conference 2."

In boys lacrosse, seven Tri-Nine lacrosse-playing teams (everyone but Lee County and Fuquay-Varina) were kept together. But an eighth team was added to the mix in Triton, located just outside of Dunn, N.C.

Triton will complete the eight-team "Conference 2," and with it, bring a travel time of no less than 27.6 miles (from Holly Springs High).

According to Google maps, the fastest route from Panther Creek to Triton is an hour and eight minutes. That's if the Catamounts take the interstate, which would also mean a 64-mile one-way trip. The shortest route for Panther Creek (which is the farthest area school from Triton) would shave about 20 miles, but add 20 minutes.

This marks the longest commute any area school has had to make since Western Harnett was a member of the Tri-Seven Conference in 2004-05. Green Hope High and Western were separated by 56 miles.

Four Tri-Nine teams make dual-team playoffs

jmikeblake — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 14:44:09 -0400

The Tri-Nine Conference, with two automatic berths and two wild-card bids, leads all conferences in the state with four schools in the NCHSAA dual-team playoffs.

Green Hope and Panther Creek, by finishing first and second respectively in the conference, received automatic bids.

Apex and Athens Drive, which split with one another in the conference to tie for third, each received two of the state's three wild-card spots.

Only Green Hope (18-2) will play at home on Tuesday in the first round against Wakefield (11-4). The Falcons have only lost to Broughton and East Chapel Hill this year, and hope a tougher out-of-conference schedule will have them better prepared for the postseason than last year.

Panther Creek (16-3) will hit the road to face Durham Riverside (12-3).

Apex (11-6) has the unenviable task of playing at Broughton (15-0) and Athens Drive (14-8) must play at powerhouse East Chapel Hill (20-2).

The winner of Green Hope-Wakefield will play the winner between East Chapel Hill-Athens Drive. Meanwhile, the winner of Panther Creek-Riverside will play the winner of Apex-Broughton.

Looking back at Friday's games: 10/17 edition

jmikeblake — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 13:31:08 -0400

How I did: Winners called correctly: 3-of-4 (40-11 this year, 78%)

Margin of victory within 7-points: 1-of-4 (I had Holly Springs by 7 — they won by 8)

I'm proud of: Finally getting on the Holly Springs bandwagon before it left the station. And they didn't disappoint, except for not winning in the final 61 seconds for a fifth-straight week.

I'm embarrassed about: Isn't this obvious? I picked Panther Creek to win by six... they lost by 40. No really, by 40. They don't make predictions much worse than that.

Looking at the games:

Interesting to note: Apex has been about as hard-luck of any team in the area this year (throw Lee County in there with them). With their fourth loss by eight points or fewer, they must win out to become playoff eligible. The Cougars currently have an 11-year streak of reaching the playoffs, tied with Garner for the longest active streak in Wake County. With Middle Creek and Athens Drive left, it's looking bleak for Bob Wolfe's team.

Next week will be one of the most evenly-matched weeks we've seen all year in the Tri-Nine. Athens and Fuquay, both with one-loss in the Tri-Nine, will do battle as will Cary and Lee County and Panther Creek-Middle Creek.

Player(s) of the week: I'm going to hand out co-players of the week because you can't have one put up the numbers without the other. Step on down, Athens Drive's Ben Snotherly and Louis Wilder.

Snotherly ran for 49 yards and threw for 334, accounting for five of his team's six touchdowns. Two of his touchdown tosses went to the 6-foot-3 Wilder, who ran simply go-routes all first half against Panther Creek before leaving with a shoulder injury.

Wilder said his shoulder popped in-and-out as he hit the ground with less than a minute in the first half. Although he didn't return, he had six catches for 182 yards. Snotherly started out the year shaky, but is quickly asserting himself as one of the best QB's in the area.

Runner-up: This could go a number of ways this week, but the most impressive things to me were how certain defenses played. Middle Creek's D gave us a field goal and 111 yards of offense. Fuquay's posted a shutout. Cary's held Middle Creek to nine yards rushing on 23 attempts. And the most impressive defense was how Athens' defense took Panther Creek's explosive offense behind the woodshed, forcing five turnovers (two fumbles, thee INT's) with four of them coming in the first half. The Jags added seven sacks for good measure to completely take the Catamounts out of the game (PC had scored no fewer than 20 points going in).

Stat of the week: This should've been named "blowout Friday." In addition to strange scores like Wake Forest-Rolesville's 47-0 win over Wakefield in the CAP 7 Conference, the Tri-Nine had three games decided by 29 points or more. Parity has been good to the conference, but not this week. If you take away the Apex-Holly Springs game, the other three contests were decided by a combined 127-11 (average final score of 42-4).

Kandinata wins Tri-9 singles, Apex duo repeats doubles

jmikeblake — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 18:32:21 -0400

Four days after it began, Tri-Nine Conference girls tennis championships were decided today.

Green Hope junior Melissa Kandinata defeated teammate sophomore Helen Wang for the singles title with 6-0, 6-1 scores.

In doubles, Apex juniors Shelby Bickel and Nikki Bowser repeated their conference doubles title by defeating Green Hope's Kayla Stokes and Brianna Steele in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3. Stokes and Steele finished runner-up in last year's tournament to Bickel and Bowser.

We'll have more coverage of this tournament in the future, so keep watching carynews.com/sports and southwestwakenews.com/sports for the full story!

Volleyball playoff seeds almost finished

jmikeblake — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 08:58:04 -0400

The volleyball playoff picture for the Tri-Nine Conference is coming together with one game left in the regular season. All five playoff teams have been decided, and almost all seedings have as well.

Apex locked up back-to-back conference titles on Tuesday with a 3-1 win over Green Hope. The Cougars dropped just three games in 15 conference wins and will be the top seed heading into the playoffs.

Green Hope will come in second, losing just to Apex twice. Aside from the Apex losses, the Falcons only surrendered three games in 14 conference wins.

Middle Creek clinched the fifth and final playoff spot this week after wins over Lee County and Fuquay-Varina. The Mustangs are now 7-8 in the conference with the season finale coming at home against Apex on Tuesday.

The third and fourth seeds are the only ones left in question. Panther Creek and Cary come in tied for third with 10-5 conference records. These two teams will face off Tuesday night, with the winner earning a first round home match in the playoffs and the third seed.

The loser will take the conference's No. 4 spot and play on the road. Panther Creek will host the match and defeated Cary in their previous meeting 3-0.

Cary Academy defeats Cary High, stays undefeated

jmikeblake — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 08:25:49 -0400

In a rare cross-town, private school vs public school match-up on Wednesday, the Cary Academy volleyball team remained undefeated. The Lady Chargers won the "Battle of Cary" in four games, keeping their undefeated season alive.

The match, held at Cary Academy, was the first-ever meeting between the two programs.

Cary Academy (27-0) won the first game 25-17. The Lady Imps came back and took the second game 25-22.

The Lady Chargers won a tiebreaker game 29-27 in the third, and closed out the match with a 25-19 win.

Cary High (11-7, 10-5) has just one game left in the regular season with Panther Creek on Tuesday. The winner of that game will claim third place in the Tri-Nine Conference.

The Lady Chargers have two more games left before the TISAC tournament begins on Friday, Oct. 23.

Tri-9 Friday Football predictions: Week 9

jmikeblake — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 06:53:44 -0400

Holly Springs coach Jim Hynus is cartwheeling with joy to bring you this week's Tri-9 football predictions.

Game of the week

Panther Creek (4-3, 2-2) at Athens Drive (5-2, 3-1)

Expect a shootout in this one, as two of the conference's most high-powered offenses go head-to-head. Athens Drive has scored no fewer than 26 points after its 21-14 win over Sanderson in week one. Panther Creek has scored no fewer than 28 points in any week. Athens has won four of its last five, and seems to be finally coming together to be as good of team on the field that they appear on paper. The Catamounts, on the other hand, have had to deal with a number of injuries on defense, but last week the team was stout against Green Hope (don't laugh, the Falcons were held to 18 points less than their previous game). In a barn-burner like this one, you have to go with the team with the better skill players, so it's Ben Snotherly-KyRee Green-Louis Wilder-A.J. Stewart vs Kameron Bryant-Kel Jackson-Graham Love-Jay Townsend. I'll take the latter, but not by too much.

Final verdict: Panther Creek by 6

Apex (1-6, 1-3) at Holly Springs (5-3, 4-1)

Look, I haven't picked Holly Springs much this year. In their four-game winning streak, I've picked them once. It's been amazing to see how many close games they can pull out. Winning four consecutive games in the final 61 seconds is rarely done on any level of football. For the record, I think they're better than Apex. J.J. Graves is punishing tacklers and Mike Roach has proven himself as a gutsy and poised quarterback. Their defense has stars all over it that don't get enough credit (hello!? they held Cory Hunter to 82 yards, no run longer than 22!). But, I'm sure coach Jim Hynus (seen cartwheeling above) knows his team has been equally close to four straight losses. I'm not making the mistake of picking against the Golden Hawks, but I'm guessing Apex forces this game to come down to the wire (again).

Final verdict: Holly Springs by 7 in the final minute, of course

Cary (4-4, 2-3) at Middle Creek (6-1, 4-0)

After learning how Cary's defense was torched for 34 second-half points in a 34-28 loss to Athens, Middle Creek quarterback Garrett Leatham (1,896 yards, 18 TD's) had to be licking his chops. The Mustangs need to bounce back stronger, much stronger, than they did against Lee County. The Mustangs were lucky to have won the game in regulation on a 46-yard Matt Frongello field goal to keep the game from going into OT. Cary has three running backs who are capable of running anywhere from 75 to 180 yards, but the Mustangs should have enough defense to key in and limit the Imps in that regard. I think this'll be a pretty good road win for Middle Creek, which will face Panther Creek next week in the first meaningful 'Battle of the Creeks' game to date.

Final verdict: Middle Creek by 14

Fuquay-Varina (6-1, 3-1) at Green Hope (0-8, 0-4)

I'll make this short and sweet. Fuquay lost last week. At home. In conference play. For the first time since 2005. You heard that correctly, right? Since 2005. Since the end of that season, Green Hope has won two games, period. And one came on a forfeit for using an ineligible player. One interesting note, however, will be former Green Hope coach Tim Paluzzi is now an assistant at Fuquay.

Final verdict: Fuquay-Varina by 35

Lee County is on its bye week. They will probably still lose by single-digits.

Tri-Nine girls tennis tournament

jmikeblake — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 22:51:25 -0400

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

GH = Green Hope AD = Athens Drive FV = Fuquay-Varina HS = Holly Springs LC = Lee County Cary = Cary High School APX = Apex High School MC = Middle Creek PC = Panther Creek

Singles – Round 1

Melissa Kandinata (GH) def. Rachel Schillo (FV) 6-0, 6-0

Elizabeth Gay (LC) def. Ashley Demsko (APX) 6-1, 6-4

Cammie DelForge (AD) def. Maggie Weiner (HS) 6-1, 6-1

Ashley Payne (PC) def. Caitlin Kim (Cary) 6-0, 6-1

Jill Zaccardelli (AD) def. Joy White (MC) 6-1 6-3

Jan Ansley (LC) def. Jasmine Brown (HS) 6-4, 6-4

Huda Khayrallah (APX) def. Jenna Gross (PC) 6-4, 6-0

Helen Wang (GH) def. Britanny Mason (FV) 6-0, 6-0

Singles – Quarterfinals

Kandinata (GH) def. Gay (LC) 6-0, 6-0

DelForge (AD) def. Payne (PC) 6-3, 6-1

Ansley (LC) def. Zaccardelli (AD) 6-3, 6-0

Wang (GH) def. Khayallah (APX) 6-0, 6-0

Singles – Semifinals

Kandinata (GH) def. DelForge (AD) 6-0, 6-1

Wang (GH) def. Ansley (LC) 6-1, 6-0

Finals: Melissa Kandinata (GH) vs. Helen Wang (GH)

Doubles – Round 1

Bickel and Bowser (APX) def. Czar and Hickman (LC) 6-0, 6-0

Peters and Tucker (FV) def. Newman and Newman (MC) 6-7, 6-2, 10-7

Williams and Channel (GH) def. Johnson and Sredl (HS) 6-2, 6-0

A. Nguyen and Namboodri (PC) def. Gintis and Orn (AD) 6-1, 6-1

Hincks and Blum (LC) def. Dolan and Moore (APX) 6-2, 7-5

Reister and Menius (AD) def. Holt and Pritchard (MC) 7-5, 7-5

Q. Nguyen and Wach (PC) def. Parker and Biddix (FV) 6-0, 6-1

Stokes and Steele (GH) def. Burda and LaVacca (HS) 6-0, 6-0

Doubles – Quarterfinals

Bickel and Bowser (APX) def. Peters and Tucker (FV) 6-1, 6-2

Williams and Channell (GH) def. A. Nguyen and Namboodri (PC) 6-2, 6-2

Reister and Menius (AD) def. Hincks and Blum (LC) 6-3, 6-7, 12-10

Stokes and Steele def. Q. Nguyen and Wach (PC) 6-4, 6-4

Doubles – Semifinals

Bickel and Bowser (APX) def. Williams and Channell (GH) 6-1, 6-3

Stokes and Steele (GH) def. Reister and Menius (AD) 6-2, 6-4

Finals: Bickel and Bowser (APX) vs. Stokes and Steele (GH)

A Quick Look Back at Friday (10/11 edition)

jmikeblake — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 13:53:27 -0400

How I did: Winners called correctly: 2-of-4 (37-10 this year, 79%)

Margin of victory within 7-points: 1-of-4 (I had Panther Creek winning by 21 — they won by 27)

I'm proud of: Making sure I watched the classic that was Holly Springs vs Fuquay-Varina.

I'm embarrassed about: Missing enough games to drop my prediction percentage below 80 for the first time all year. Why have I yet to realize Lee County is always going to lose by about 1-7 points and Holly Springs is going to win in the final minute?

Looking at the games:

Interesting to note: The conference was a missed Matt Frongello field goal and an overtime away from being turned completely on its head. Holly Springs toppling Fuquay was huge, but a Lee County win over Middle Creek would've meant four teams with one loss in the conference, and Panther Creek with two. Nontheless, I think we've made a change from Fuquay and the eight dwarfs, to a three-tier conference with Middle Creek, Fuquay, Holly Springs and Athens Drive in the top, Panther Creek and Cary in the middle, and the rest in the bottom.

Player of the week: For yet another week, the Tri-Nine player of the week goes to Garrett Leatham.

The Middle Creek quarterback did everything he could to keep the Mustangs out of the loss column with 418 yards passing and 4 touchdowns. His late throw to Devonte Knox put the Mustangs within field goal range as Matt Frongello nailed a 46-yarder as time expired. Three different Mustang players had more than 100 yards receiving as leading wideout Jon Moore was out-of-state due to a death in the family.

Runner-up goes to Cary's Deandre Henry, who ran the ball 20 times for 193 yards and three touchdowns.

Stat(s) of the week: Here's some stats to prove this is the best top-to-bottom conference in the eastern part of the state. Holly Springs could easily be 0-5 in the conference, but it's 4-1 with FOUR CONSECUTIVE wins in the final 61 seconds.

Lee County could easily be 5-0, but it's 1-4 with those four losses coming by a combined 12 points.

How many close games have there been in the league? Too many to count. At this rate, our end-of-year award for "Best game" will HAVE to come from football. Eleven games have been decided by 8 or fewer points — most of them coming down to the final play.

Also, Holly Springs' upset was Fuquay's first conference loss since 2007 — span of 14 games. It was the first home conference loss handed to Fuquay since Nov. 4, 2005 at the hands of Lee County.

Tri-9 Fearless Friday Football predictions: Week 8

jmikeblake — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 07:55:25 -0400

Apex is on its bye week.

Game of the week

Holly Springs (4-3, 3-1) at Fuquay-Varina (6-0, 3-0)

There won't be many passes in this one. These two rivals play almost the exact same way — trying to control the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, and use an option attack that relies heavily on a star fullback. Even though I expected Holly Springs to be a playoff team this year, nobody could've expected them to be eligible for the playoffs this early. The Golden Hawks haven't scored more than 28 points this year, but have done the right things necessary to win and stay in ball games. Last week's final-second upset of Panther Creek was the third time this year CONSECUTIVE week the Golden Hawks had won in the 61 seconds (47-yard touchdown pass with 1:01 left, 55-yard fumble return against Cary with :58, 22-yard FG against Panther Creek with :00). They'll need that confidence boost needed going to Bengal Stadium and playing in front of the raucous "Orange Crush" student section. The Bengals are extremely talented, but have suffered injuries to seven different starters (and when considering some starts two or more positions, it comes out more like 10-11) in its last two games. Last week's 21-13 win over Apex was about 20 points closer than it looked like it would be going in. Against Cary, Holly Springs played its mirror image and gave up 14 points but 152 yards to the Imps' primary back. Can the Golden Hawks have the same 'bend-but-don't-break' results against Fuquay? Not so long as Cory Hunter (1,244 yards, 16 TD's) is running. Not to mention the excellent play from quarterback Eric Crouch — I mean Nate Budde (630 yards, 11 TD's) — who gives the Bengals an extra element they didn't have last season. I have a lot of respect for Holly Springs and that program in general. But the Bengals are for real this year. If anyone knocks off Fuquay this year, I think it'll have to be either on the road or in the playoffs.

Final verdict: Fuquay-Varina by 13

Athens Drive (4-2, 2-1) at Cary (4-3, 2-2)

How fitting that a game taking place right off Jim Valvano Drive will include three future N.C. State players? However, a little luster has been taken off this match-up since Cary moved Fre'Shad Hunter to offensive line. I hoped to see Hunter go against the massive Rob Crisp (also headed to NCSU) in a battle of one of the country's top defensive ends and one of the nation's top offensive lineman — but there won't be much of that Friday (so please stop yelling "Let's Go Fre'Shad!!" when the Imps are on defense -- he's #72 now). Athens has yet to translate how good they've looked on paper to the playing field (needing an extra point to beat Lee, losing by 20 to Middle Creek). Cary, led by a defense that's been stingy even without Hunter, should pose a big test for junior running back Kyree Green (1,022 yards rushing, 7.4 per carry). Athens is completing just 48 percent of its passes, and Pete Singer — the third NCSU commit — has been playing more offense with hopes of sparking the passing game. His 4.5-speed has come in handy as he had two TD receptions against Lee. In the end, I think with three running backs already over 350 yards this year, the Imps will do enough damage on the ground against Athens (see loss to Enloe) to win the game. By controlling the clock more, they'll force Athens to turn to the air, which takes the ball out of Green's hands and plays right into Cary's.

Final verdict: Cary by 9

Middle Creek (5-1, 3-0) at Lee County (2-5, 1-3)

Another week, another loss by fewer than five points for the Yellow Jackets. Give Lee County two touchdowns worth of points, and they're sitting at 5-2, 4-0. How crazy would that be? Lee had a great opportunity to get back in the win column, but a last-second field goal sailed wide against Athens. Lee appeared to have some good things going in the passing game as Carson Wilson threw for four TD's and 201 yards on 20-for-25 passing. I think the Mustangs, who are coming off a bye week, put that to bed quickly. However, Middle Creek would be unwise to think going into Paul Gay Stadium and coming out with a win would be easy — particularly after its close call with Holly Springs a few weeks back. Garrett Leatham will try to post huge numbers as he has all year (1,478 yards, 14 TD's), and the Mustangs should — key word being "should" — win this one easily..

Final verdict: Middle Creek by 18

Green Hope (0-7, 0-3) at Panther Creek (3-3, 1-2)

Brett Favre beat the Packers on Monday. Now Kameron Bryant gets his shot. Bryant transferred to Panther Creek from Green Hope after being named to the Tri-Eight honorable mention list as a sophomore quarterback. The junior surely hasn't regretted the decision now that he's one of the area's top passers with no shortage of weapons on offense. I worry some about Panther Creek's defense. They've allowed season-high point totals to Apex (22) and Fuquay-Varina (52) in two of the past three weeks. Green Hope is capable of putting up points in the passing game, as shown in last week's loss to Cary. Quarterback Will Nassif threw for 201 yards — 183 of them going to wideout Blake Scott. If Green Hope collects more than three scores, PC will be in need of some help to make it through the rest of its schedule. Green Hope's losing streak has now reached 23. But don't worry Falcon fans, you're far from the state record — 59 straight losses by the now-defunct Gumberry High.

Final verdict: Panther Creek by 21

Wellman: USL-TOA talks have "stabilized" tension for now

jmikeblake — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 13:11:07 -0400

RailHawks president Brian Wellman said meetings called by United States Soccer Federation president Sunil Gulati may have "stabilized" a lot of the tension between the new ownership of the United Soccer League (USL) and Team Owners Association (TOA).

Wellman said his father and majority owner Selby Wellman was representing the RailHawks at the meetings in New York City that were scheduled for Tuesday and have continued into today.

It was the first time the USL leaders, Alec Papadakis and Rob Hoskins — the ownership team of NuRock Soccer Holdings that purchased the USL in late August — and USL president Tim Holt had met with all representatives of the TOA under the same roof.

"It seemed like at least a lot of the tension has stabalized because everyone finally got to meet face-to-face and everyone knows what everyone's goals are," Brian Wellman said.

Outside of that, Wellman said most everything else is up in the air.

"Outside of that, there's nothing definitive."

The dispute between the league and the TOA hit a boiling point on Friday when the USL e-mailed players from the RailHawks and other TOA member franchises saying that not only were those respective franchises no longer in the USL, its players had been released from their contracts.

"I think a lot of positives just came out of a face-to-face meeting as opposed to e-mails, phone calls and things that... communication can get out of context when it's done over the internet and not the old-fashioned way."

If you think it's odd that this is the first time those face-to-face meetings have taken place, Wellman said the TOA requested a face-to-face meeting immediately after NuRock's purchase of the USL. The USL leader group insisted they meet with each individual team instead.

"We definitely wanted to meet with them first and foremost, but they wanted to do it a separate way," Wellman said. "So yesterday was the first time they all got together."

So where does this leave the RailHawks? Are they any closer to forming a separate league with other TOA members or is a return to the USL more promising? Wellman, who has said the RailHawks will play next year in some capacity, said those answers are too far off to determine presently.

"I couldn't give that now. I wouldn't know where to begin with that. There's still a lot of work to be done, but at the same time there's still a time factor so a lot of work is going to have to get done in a short amount of time."

In an interview on Monday, Wellman noted that a decision needs to be reached within the "next 30 days." The fall is when teams must re-sign players (the RailHawks have "6-8" players they are hoping to re-sign according to Wellman) and create next year's schedule, among other things.

With USSF officials due in London within the next 24 hours, Wellman said it may be towards the end of the week before anything resolute is determined. For now, at least cooler heads have prevailed.

"I don't know what the next step is. Again, I haven't gotten enough information from the guys. I'm sure after today and into tomorrow we'll get an idea what the next step is for sure."

Tri-Nine football standings

jmikeblake — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 06:44:51 -0400

With four weeks to go, here are the Tri-Nine Conference football standings. We'll have a preview of this Friday's games on Thursday here on the SWakeSports blog.

Team/Rank	Overall	Conference W/L
T-1. Fuquay-Varina	6-0	3-0
T-1. Middle Creek	5-1	3-0
3. Holly Springs	4-3	3-1
4. Athens Drive	4-2	2-1
5. Cary	4-3	2-2
6. Panther Creek	3-3	1-2
7. Apex	1-6	1-3
8. Lee County	2-5	1-3
9. Green Hope	0-7	0-4

This Friday's games:

Holly Springs @ Fuquay-Varina

Athens Drive @ Cary

Middle Creek @ Lee County

Green Hope @ Panther Creek

Apex - bye week

Tri-Nine boys soccer standings (10/7)

jmikeblake — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 06:25:48 -0400

Tri-Nine Conference boys soccer standings:

The top 5 teams will advance to the NCHSAA playoffs at season's end. As of now, there are five teams in the Tri-Nine that can finish anywhere from 1-5.

Team/Rank	Overall	Conference W/L
1- Fuquay-Varina	13-1-0	8-1-0, 24 points
2- Apex	10-3-0	7-2-0, 21 points
3- Green Hope	8-2-3	6-1-2, 20 points
4- Middle Creek	7-4-3	5-3-2, 17 points
5- Athens Drive	8-2-3	5-2-1, 16 points
6- Panther Creek	4-9-1	3-6-0, 9 points
7- Holly Springs	4-8-2	2-6-2, 8 points
8- Cary	3-9-1	2-7-1, 7 points
9- Lee County	0-15-0	0-10-0, 0 points

Monday's scores: Athens Drive-Sanderson 0-0; Apex 3, Cary 0; Fuquay-Varina 3, Panther Creek 1; Green Hope 1, Middle Creek 0; Holly Springs 4, Lee County 0

Wednesday's games: Panther Creek @ Apex; Lee County @ Green Hope; Middle Creek @ Athens Drive; Cary @ Holly Springs

Thursday's games: Fuquay-Varina @ Apex

Saturday's games: Panther Creek @ Green Hope

Monday, Oct. 12 games: Apex @ Fuquay-Varina; Cary @ Green Hope; Lee County @ Athens Drive; Panther Creek @ Holly Springs

Wednesday, Oct. 14 games: Fuquay-Varina @ Holly Springs; Cary @ Athens Drive

Thursday, Oct. 15 games: Green Hope @ Athens Drive

Friday, Oct. 16 games: Cardinal Gibbons @ Panther Creek

Tri-Nine volleyball standings (10/7)

jmikeblake — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 05:56:00 -0400

Tri-Nine Conference volleyball standings.

The top 5 teams will advance to the playoffs at season's end. (standings are fully updated for all games on 10/6 or before)

Team/Rank	Overall	Conference W/L
1 - Apex	15-3	12-0
2 - Green Hope	14-3	12-1
3- Panther Creek	11-4	8-4
4- Cary	9-6	8-5
5- Middle Creek	8-8	4-7
6- Athens Drive	6-10	4-8
7- Holly Springs	6-10	4-9
8 - Fuquay-Varina	6-10	2-10
9- Lee County	3-14	1-11

Thursday's games: Holly Springs @ Apex; Athens Drive @ Panther Creek; Middle Creek @ Cary; Green Hope @ Fuquay-Varina

Tuesday, Oct. 13 games: Apex @ Green Hope; Fuquay-Varina @ Athens Drive; Cary @ Lee County; Panther Creek @ Middle Creek

Wednesday, Oct. 14 games: Middle Creek @ Lee County

Thursday, Oct. 15 games: Athens Drive @ Apex; Fuquay-Varina @ Middle Creek; Green Hope @ Holly Springs; Lee County @ Panther Creek

Tuesday, Oct. 20 games: Apex @ Middle Creek; Holly Springs @ Athens Drive; Panther Creek @ Cary; Fuquay-Varina @ Lee County

Wellman: "no chance we don't play" next season

jmikeblake — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 07:51:27 -0400

Carolina RailHawks owner Brian Wellman said in an interview yesterday that there was "no chance [the RailHawks] don't play" next season. This after the most recent developments in an ongoing dispute between the United Soccer League and the team.

In what league, however remains unknown. Wellman contends that the team is open to returning to the USL, but USL president Tim Holt said the RailHawks had "notified us several times of their decision to remove themselves from the USL.

The United States Soccer Federation called a meeting for today in New York City that will involve the USL and team owners. Wellman said he will be there.

To read the latest on the situation, click here for the story.

Mitchell joins Wells in Cali exodus

jmikeblake — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 22:02:36 -0400

According to a report by the Riverside (Calif.) Press-Enterprise, junior Cassandra Mitchell has transferred out of Apex High girls basketball program, moved cross-country and enrolled at Fontana's Miller High School. This makes her the second player to leave the Cougars this summer for Miller High, the first being Chloe Wells.

As a junior, Wells averaged 19.1 points per game for Apex on her way to conference player of the year honors. Mitchell averaged 11.2 points per game as a sophomore and totaled almost as many rebounds. Both were named to the Tri-Eight Conference's first team as they led the Cougars to a perfect 21-0 record in the regular season.

For Wells, a move the east coast meant working out with her father and being able to visit powerhouses Duke and North Carolina. She quickly grew homesick and unhappy with the change of scenery, however, and re-enrolled at Miller this summer.

Rumors swirled last season that when, not if, Wells decided to go back home to California, she would take the 5-8 Mitchell with her.

Mitchell's loss means Apex's top returning scorer is now BethanyCollins — who averaged 10 points per game as a freshman. The LadyCougars will compete in this year's GlaxoSmithKline HolidayInvitational in December.

Miller High was the antithesis of Apex, going 0-21 in their only year without Wells' services.

A Quick Look Back at Friday (10/3 edition)

jmikeblake — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 17:32:11 -0400

Don't you hate it when some writer makes a bunch of predictions but never follows up on it? I'm bucking that trend each Saturday morning with "a quick look back at Friday." I'll also name the "stat of the week" and "player of the week."

How I did

Winners called correctly: 3-of-4 (35-8 this year, 81%)

Margin of victory within 7-points: 1-of-4 (I had Athens Drive winning by six — they won by one)

I'm proud of: Saying that Athens was on "upset alert" against Lee County, but not going through it and calling an upset.

I'm embarrassed about: Not realizing this week of "upset alerts" was not limited to just Athens-versus-Lee. Holly Springs stunned Panther Creek and Apex gave Fuquay-Varina all it could handle. Is this a great conference or what?

Interesting to note: In a conference that's had little parity thus far, three of the four games on Friday were decided by single digits. Lee County has lost three Tri-Nine games by a combined nine points. If the Yellow Jackets had defeated Apex (lost 17-13) or Holly Springs (lost 10-6 in final minute) or Athens Drive (missed field goal in final seconds to lose 26-25) then guess what? They'd have clinched a playoff spot and be 4-0 in the conference. But then again, if a frog had wings... you know the rest.

Player of the week: What a weird week this is. My POTW and runner-up will be from Lee County and Green Hope, respectively. And both teams lost.

Player of the week honors go to Lee County quarterback Carson Wilson, who completed 20-of-25 passes for 201 yards and four touchdowns for the Yellow Jackets.

Runner-up will be Green Hope wideout Blake Scott, who had eight catches for 183 yards and three TD's.

Stat of the week: Yes kids, it's true. Special teams do matter. Darius McClain returned a kick for touchdown for Apex -- call him "Hokie" because he's all about special teams. He also has three blocked punts this year and might be the Conference's specialist of the year. Special teams were the difference in the Holly Springs game. Even though the conference's best kicker, Nick Hohns, had an extra point blocked in the fourth quarter, he nailed a game-winning field goal with no time left.

Week 7 Tri-Nine Fearless Friday football predictions

jmikeblake — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 07:39:18 -0400

Middle Creek is on its bye week.

Game of the week

Panther Creek (3-2, 1-1) at Holly Springs (3-3, 2-1)

Talk about two contrasting styles. Holly Springs will grind-it-out on the ground, using bruising fullback J.J. Graves as their main weapon, while Panther Creek resorts to the air attack -- where QB Kameron Bryant has thrown for XBox numbers (390 and 389 yards respectively) in each of his last two games. While I'd argue that Holly Springs has the defensive backs to counter Panther Creek, Xavier Bailey left the Cary game on Friday with a pulled hamstring. He'll need to come back 100% to keep PC's twin towers (6'2 Jay Townsend, 6'3 Graham Love) from gaining big yards. Graves has to be chomping at the bit to attack PC's defense, which gave up 463 yards to the last fullback it faced in a run-oriented offense. Ultimately, I think Holly Springs can keep it close, but fall by 10 due to athleticism -- much like they did against Middle Creek this year. Either way, the team that wins will set a school record for conference wins in a season.

Final verdict: Panther Creek by 10

Fuquay-Varina (5-0, 2-0) at Apex (1-5, 1-2)

You could argue Apex has faced more quality opponents than anyone else in the conferece. There's undefeated Harnett Central (who beat Apex 42-0), undefeated Leesville Road (37-6) and Panther Creek (38-22). And here comes their third undefeated opponent of the year. If prior games are any indication (and if they're not, then what is?), the Apex defense will not be enough to contain Fuquay and certainly won't be able to keep up. Injury-plauged Fuquay will be missing at least one defensive starter (nose guard Ethan Ricci, who broke his growth plate against Panther Creek) and will hope that linebackers Eric Powell, Isaac Minor and Dylan Montgomery all come back this week. All three starters were out for the Panther Creek game two weeks ago. Two more players, Ricky Ferguson and center Joe Hoover, each suffered a concussion during the game. They've had a bye week to rest, and should probably get some more rest after halftime.

Final verdict: Fuquay-Varina by 34

Lee County (2-4, 1-2) at Athens Drive (3-2, 1-1)

Don't look now, but the Yellow Jackets were 10 points shy of being 3-0 in the conference (lost to HSHS and Apex by 4 apiece). That said, their easiest games are all out of the way. If Lee's improvement under Burton Cates is going to show up in the win column again this year, Athens Drive may be one of the better chances. You just might see an upset here. For Athens, it's the same story, different year. The defense can't keep up with the offense -- and the offense is in a down year. The Jaguars have been more run-oriented than in years past due to left tackle/Mount Everest Rob Crisp and the inability to move the chains through the air. Expect Lee to score enough touchdowns with running back Omar Murriell to keep the pressure on Athens to keep up. I give the edge here to Athens, because I think Kyree Green carries his team as he did in the three weeks (and 12 touchdowns) leading up to last week's debacle at Middle Creek.

Final verdict: Athens Drive by 6

Cary (3-3, 1-2) at Green Hope (0-6, 0-3)

Here's two cross-town rivals in need of a pick-me-up. Cary fumbled away their game against Holly Springs, and Green Hope is coming off a disappointing 17-3 loss to Lee County. Simply put, Cary is bigger and more skilled than the Falcons. If the Imps can get Deandre Henry back from sickness, they'll be ready to run the ball for big yardage against a susceptible Green Hope defense. The best action may be tonight, when the team's junior varsities battle in a game that could decide the conference champion.

Final verdict: Cary by 24

Soccer rankings and Tri-9 standings (9/28)

jmikeblake — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 11:17:47 -0400

A big shock this week regarding the statewide soccer poll by eurosportscoreboard.com. Apex, previously No. 4, is now out of the rankings thanks to back-to-back 2-0 losses at the hands of Green Hope and Athens Drive.

Middle Creek is now the highest-ranking Tri-Nine soccer team at No. 6. Green Hope used two wins to move up to No. 10. Fuquay-Varina also moved up two spots to No. 12.

Athens Drive is still listed in the "others receiving votes" category, but still behind Apex on that list as a theoretical No. 18 (Apex would be No. 17).

Here's the Tri-Nine standings entering this week:

Rank	Name	Overall W-L-T	Conference W-L-T
T-1	Middle Creek	7-1-2	5-0-1
T-1	Green Hope	7-2-2	5-1-1
T-3	Fuquay-Varina	9-1-0	4-1-0
T-3	Apex	7-3-0	4-2-0
T-3	Athens Drive	7-2-1	4-2-0
6	Cary	3-6-1	2-4-1
7	Panther Creek	3-8-1	2-5-0
8	Holly Springs	3-7-1	1-5-1
9	Lee Co	0-12-0	0-7-0

MONDAY: Athens Drive @ Holly Springs, Cary @ Panther Creek

TUESDAY: Middle Creek @ Apex, Lee County @ Fuquay-Varina

WEDNESDAY: Lee County @ Apex, Cary @ Fuquay-Varina, Athens Drive @ Green Hope, Middle Creek @ Holly Springs

FRIDAY: Fuquay-Varina @ Middle Creek

On the Recruiting Front: Fre'Shad Hunter

jmikeblake — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 09:53:28 -0400

Fre'Shad Hunter, senior, Cary football

Cary senior Fre'Shad Hunter has committed to play at N.C. State next season. This coming after N.C. State's win over Pitt on Saturday.

Hunter, who's playing primarily offensive line this year for the Imps, is ranked as one of the nation's top defensive ends. He totaled 60 tackles and six sacks last year in his first year at the position.

Cary coach Ben Kolstad said the move to offensive line was based on team need. Cary's defense remains one of the best groups in the conference even without Hunter, allowing just 15.7 points per game.

"We moved him to offensive tackle just because he gives us some really good things at offensive tackle. It's really hard to play both ways," Kolstad said. "We just needed a boost down the stretch and he's a good athletic player, so we'll see what he can do."

"We're just trying to be a better team, and he's doing what we need."

In Friday's 21-14 loss to Holly Springs, however, Hunter did make some spot appearances on defense during the game's final minutes. In those limited opportunities, he made two tackles and a half-tackle for loss.

He displayed a good nose for the ball, and figures to return to the defensive side of the ball in college.

In the Tri-Nine Conference alone, there are three N.C. State football commitments. The other two, Pete Singer and Rob Crisp, are with Athens Drive. Cary plays host to Athens Drive in a "Future Wolfpack Bowl" on Oct. 9th.

A Quick Look Back at Friday (9/26 edition)

jmikeblake — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 10:46:24 -0400

How I did

Winners called correctly: 3-of-4 (32-7 this year, 82%)

Margin of victory within 7-points: 2-of-4 (I had Middle Creek winning by 14 — they won by 21; I had Panther Creek winning by 21 — they won by 16)

I'm proud of: Crossing off the seventh Tri-Nine team I've seen this year — Cary. Oh, and I thought I did a pretty good job in the second half of that game, providing some color commentary on the online broadcast of the game (found at Cary's ihigh.com site). Other than that, I can't take too much credit for anything.

I'm embarrassed about: I didn't have much confidence in saying Cary would win by 6. Holly Springs and Cary are mirror images of each other, and I just didn't know which way to go. I went with Cary, and they fumbled it away.

Interesting to note: Lee County is just eight points away from being undefeated the conference. A Yellow Jacket comeback attempt came up short against Apex (lost 17-13) and they fell in the final 1:04 against Holly Springs (lost 10-6). Now with a win over Green Hope, it's conceivable that Lee could easily be sitting at 4-2, 3-0 right now. The schedule for Lee is very back-heavy, with games against Middle Creek, Panther Creek and Fuquay-Varina all remaining, but no doubt new coach Burton Cates has breathed some life into the dormant program. Holly Springs' Jim Hynus told me Lee County was a lot better than people want to give credit, noting the history of Lee producing great athletes. Now with a coach to bring some discipline on the field, Lee's on the upswing.

Player of the week: Gunslingers Garrett Leatham and Kameron Bryant each claim co-player of the week honors this week after amazing aerial performances. Leatham threw for 409 yards and four scores, while Bryant threw for 389 and one score.

Runner-up will be Holly Springs' defense, who won the game for their squad by forcing two Cary fumbles on the final two drives of the game to win it and clinch it. Tremayne Dennis' strip of Ralph Chapman allowed Kent Burnette to go 55 yards to paydirt to break a 14-all tie with less than a minute left.

Stat(s) of the week: Panther Creek QB Kameron Bryant has thrown for 390 and 389 yards in respective back-to-back games. Is anyone else pumped about the Middle Creek-Panther Creek match-up on Oct. 23? As stated in my most recent blogpost, Apex's Darius McClain has blocked three punts in the past two games. Give that man a trophy. Middle Creek's 27-point outburst in the second quarter was more than Athens Drive scored the entire game (26).

Darius McClain for Specialist of the Year

jmikeblake — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 09:17:02 -0400

Even if he doesn't block another punt this season, Darius McClain should be the Tri-Nine Specialist of the Year.

I know it's an award that typically goes to kickers and punters (see last year when Cary's Will Gillfillan got the nod over punt returner/kick returner/kickoff kamikaze Bryan Wilson), but McClain's earned it.

In the last two weeks, he's blocked three punts. One against Cary resulted in a safety. Two more last night against Panther Creek gives him an unheard-of three in back-to-back games.

While Middle Creek's Matt Frongello is having a great year as is Holly Springs' Nick Hohns, McClain's accomplishments can't be forgotten. The Tri-Nine teams are voted on by coaches, so hopefully McClain can get a few votes this year.

Live Blog: SAS Championship at Prestonwood

jmikeblake — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 17:23:08 -0400

Saturday 11:13 p.m.

It's late, so I'll keep this short & sweet, but here's an update after the second round of play:

Second Round Recap

1. Tom Pernice, Jr. -10

T2. Dan Forsman -9

T2. Russ Cochran -9

T2. Denis Watson -9

T5. Nick Price -8

T5. R.W. Eaks -8

T5. Joey Sindelar -8

T8. David Frost -7

T8. Larry Mize -7

Saturday 11:35 a.m.

The second round is underway, but there are a few groups that haven't teed off just yet. The leaders Russ Cochran and Denis Watson are in the last group, set for a 12:20 tee time.

Fred Funk has made a strong push up the leaderboard, shooting 2-under today to bring him to under-four on the tournament and into the top ten (T-9th). Funk is third on the Champions Tour money list.

Friday 5:10 p.m.

At the end of the first round of play, Russ Cochran and Denis Watson are tied for the leadat the Champions Tour SAS Championship at Prestonwood with six-under-pars (66) on the day.

The field all managed to get in their round without rain, which fell later in the day on Friday.

Cochran is No. 28 on the Champions Tour money list, while Watson is 49. Joe Sindelar, No. 8 on the money list, is tied for third with a five-under.

Leonard Thompson, a native of Louisburg N.C., is at 2-over with a 74. This marks Thompson's 1,000th tournament.

Last year's winner, Eduardo Romero, shot a three-over, which ties him for 62nd in the 78-man field.

The full leaderboard is available at http://www.pgatour.com/leaderboards/current/s609/index.html