After Further ReviewJOIN US FOR THE 88TH ANNUAL SHRINE BOWLMid-South Sports has once again been named as the official radio voice of the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas. This year’s game pitting the best senior football players in North Carolina versus South Carolina, will be played on December 21st, at Viking Stadium in Spartanburg, SC. The Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas recognizes the very best in High School football talent in the two states. Proceeds from this annual event go to help support the Shriners Hospital for Children, a world-renowned health care facility concentrating on treating children so that they may enjoy the life we all take for granted. The Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas is the nation’s first and oldest high school all-star football game, and is now celebrating its 88th year. Male Athlete of the Year – Davis Molnar – Terry Sanford High SchoolDavis Molnar of Terry Sanford High School has been named the NCHSAA Male Athlete of the Year. Molnar starred on the Bulldog basketball and soccer teams, earning all-conference honors in each sport. On the soccer field, he had a career record of 65-19, and was a member of the 2021 all-state team and the All-American Athletic Conference Player of the Year. He led Cumberland County in goals scored with 36 on the year. He was even more impressive on the hardwood, racking up Conference Player of the Year honors, All-State Team honors. He led the team in points per game with 18.6 per contest while grabbing 11.8 rebounds a game and dishing out 4.6 assists per contest. Over his four-year career, he scored 1281 points and averaged 14.1 points per game, grabbing 815 career rebounds, totaling 9 per game in four years on the varsity team. He did all of that while maintaining a 4.33 GPA. He is committed to Furman University and will continue his academic and athletic career with the Paladins this fall. FOOTBALL IS BACKIt’s been a couple of crazy, mixed up years, but this fall football is back! I’m talking about Friday night and Saturday afternoon in-person football. Fans, cheerleaders, concessions – the whole enchilada! 2020 saw the football season being canceled due to the Covid-19 virus. Instead, we had a limited spring football season for both high school and Methodist University. We were unable to broadcast the high school Game of the Week contests because of virus protocols, and mandatory social distancing in the press boxes. However, we were able to air the Methodist University home games, and saw the Monarchs go undefeated, and claim the East Division Champions title of the USA South Athletic Conference. High School Spring Football?Yes, you heard it correctly, there will be a 2021 High School Football Spring season, and it begins on February 26. Covid 19 forced the cancellation of the 2020 football season here, and in many states across the country. Some states chose to play their games as normal, while others chose to play a reduced schedule. Following guidelines from the CDC and the Governor’s recommendation, the NCHSAA (North Carolina High School Athletic Association) chose to cancel fall football, and play instead a limited spring schedule. At this time, local teams will play a seven game schedule mainly against teams in the same conference or in the immediate vicinity. At the same time, Cumberland County Schools and the CCS administration, have decided that there would be no, or perhaps limited, spectators at the games, and have left it up to the individual school principals on whether to allow broadcasting crews in their press boxes. Social distancing would be required and many of our local stadium press boxes are just too small to allow for game officials, PA announcers, clock operators and broadcast crews. Read more High School Football Playoffs – A Community HappeningBy Karissa Niehoff, Executive Director of the National Federation of State High School Associations and Que Tucker, Commissioner of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association. Many people would agree that their years in high school were some of the best years of their lives—particularly those individuals who were members of a sports team or participated in other activities such as the marching band or debate team. In many cases, team members become lifelong friends. Reunion parties are held from time to time as teammates return to remember the fun—more so than the outcome of games or events—they had participating in high school activities. Quite often, reunions for sports teams are staged during the highlight of each sports season—the state playoffs. Read more Parents and Adult Fans: The Biggest Challenge Facing High School Sports TodayBy Karissa Niehoff, Executive Director of the National Federation of State High School Associations and Que Tucker, Commissioner of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association. Inappropriate adult behavior at high school athletic events in North Carolina and across our country has reached epidemic proportion. When more than 2,000 high school athletic directors were asked in a recent national survey what they like least about their job, 62.3% said it was “dealing with aggressive parents and adult fans.” And the men and women who wear the black and white stripes, our officials, agree. In fact, almost 80% of officials quit after the first two years on the job, and unruly parents are cited as the reason why. As a result, there is a growing shortage of high school officials here in North Carolina, and in some sports like wrestling, swimming, and track and field, the shortage is severe. No officials means no more games. Read more FOOTBALL IS BACK!Football begins this week, both high school and college. Thousands of kids will strap on their pads for the first time – or maybe the last time – this season. Thousands more will participate as cheerleaders, dance team members, marching band members, and boosters. Adults will number in the thousands, or hundreds of thousands, as well – coaches and referees to parents, alumni, concession stand workers, and boosters in general. And nerves will be sky high for everyone. And then, there are the media – print, TV and radio. For our sake, let’s concentrate on the radio aspect of the season. Work has been going on for months in the radio broadcasting game. Radio station contracts had to be firmed up, sponsors had to be courted and signed up, and broadcast teams had to be lined up. And so, we’re ready. Mid-South Sports is beginning its 30th year of broadcasting “the best in high school football” with its Game of the Week format. But our history goes back even farther. Read more Fayetteville Officially Back on Professional Baseball Map by Thad MumauWell, it’s official now … Fayetteville is back in the baseball business, back in the Carolina League and back in the victory column. The latter taken care of with the 15-0 pounding our Woodpeckers administered on Potomac in Woodbridge, Virginia, in the season opener. The BIG opener, of course, is the April 18 unveiling of Segra Stadium, with more than 5,000 folks on hand. That will mark the return of professional baseball to Fayetteville after a 19-year absence triggered by the departure of the Cape Fear Crocs following the 2000 season. As for the Carolina League, the last time a local team was part of that was in 1956 when the Highlanders finished fourth in the regular-season standings before knocking off High Point and Danville in the playoffs to win the league championship. AGE IS JUST A NUMBERAt 5’ 11” and 210 pounds, I’m the same size as the average NFL cornerback. But, at 65 years of age, those pounds are distributed a little differently. In fact, my doctor says I’m officially obese. Nonsense! In my mind, on the field, I can still run an out and up pass pattern. On the court I can still lead a fast break, and I can still jump and touch the rim. And on the diamond, I can still run down that deep fly ball, and steal second base – standing up. In my mind – but not in my heart. In my heart, I know those days are behind me. I know it, I understand it, but I have a hard time accepting it. It’s tough getting old – mentally as well as physically. But that’s okay. I can still live vicariously through the local high school and college teams. I can reminisce and remember as I sit in the stands or press box and watch the kids on the gridiron, the court, or the field. I can watch my grandsons as they are learning the fundamentals and basics of sports, and revel in their simple joy of playing a game. Any game. And I can tell stories of old heroics, and even impart my wisdom, such as it is, and hope it makes a difference. When did it all change? Overnight, it seems. Read more Dear Mom and Dad: Cool ItHere’s an important message from the NC High School Athletic Association: If you are the mother or father of a high school athlete here in North Carolina, this message is primarily for you. When you attend an athletic event that involves your son or daughter, cheer to your heart’s content, enjoy the camaraderie that high school sports offer and have fun. But when it comes to verbally criticizing game officials or coaches, cool it. Make no mistake about it. Your passion is admired, and your support of the hometown team is needed. But so is your self-control. Yelling, screaming and berating the officials humiliates your child, annoys those sitting around you, embarrasses your child’s school and is the major contributing reason North Carolina has is experiencing shortage of high school officials. Read more |
Sports FlashThe Game of the Week »Friday, October 1, the Valley Auto World High School Football Game of the Week will see the Seventy First Falcons visit the... READ MORE » Methodist University Football »Saturday, October 12, our Monarchs host the Huntingdon College Hawks in a conference match up! Pregame starts at 12:30 PM... READ MORE » INSIDE THE HUDDLE »Inside the Huddle is Mid-South Sports longtime weekly coach’s show. Each Friday night prior to game time, Steve... READ MORE » Lloyd Foster Extra Effort Award »Each Friday night of the High School football season, Mid-South Sports will be naming a recipient for the Lloyd Foster Extra... READ MORE » AREA COLLEGE SPORTS »From time-to-time we’ll bring you highlights about newsmakers from other sports in our area colleges and Universities.... READ MORE » |
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