SportsTalk: Weekend Recap
Scout Hughes and Doc Ayscue recap the weekend that was with high school, college, and pro football.
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SportsTalk: Vance Charter Boys Soccer to Play in Elite Eight
Vance Charter Boys Soccer Head Coach Johnny Yount joins SportsTalk with George Hoyle and Scout Hughes to speak about the Elite Eight Matchup, as Vance Charter travels to Falls Lake on Thursday Night for the 4th round of the NCHSAA Boys Soccer Playoffs.
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TownTalk: Gate City Seahawks Earn Way to East Wake Super Bowl
The Seahawks are in the Super Bowl!
No, not those Seahawks. And not that Super Bowl.
It’s our own local Seahawks team – the 8U Gate City Seahawks with the Henderson-Vance Recreation & Parks Dept. – who will travel to Benson on Saturday, Nov. 15 to face the Strong Center Cardinals of Fuquay-Varina in the East Wake Football League Super Bowl.
And for Michael Faulkner, the 8U head coach, Saturday’s game marks the culmination of months of practice and a great 9-1 season.
The championship game begins at 1 p.m. at West Johnston High School in Benson, but there’s a flag game at 10 a.m., followed by an awards ceremony, then a “fifth quarter” game at 12:30 p.m.
Faulkner – “Coach Mike” to his players – said this team is not only talented, but also hard-working.
“Saturday is only a display of what you do all week,” Faulkner said he reminds the players. They spend about an hour playing a game during the regular season, but put in a couple of hours at practice.
He said he reminds them that if they train hard, they get great results.
And, “if you don’t like something, put in the work to change it.”
Coach Mike said he played rec ball when he was a kid, but all the games were local. This 8U team travels other counties for conference play – Johnston, Wake, Durham and Granville, just to name a few.
“Not only are they displaying that we’re disciplined and hard-working,” Faulkner said. The Seahawks are proving that they’re a team that can compete against other U8 teams in what he called a “very competitive” league.
The team’s only loss this season was to a Durham team, and Saturday’s opponent is 10-0.
He said he tells the team, “We celebrate wins and we learn from losses.”
For Coach Mike, it’s important that he teach the kids about handling adversity and maintaining their composure – on and off the football field.
“I’m working hands-on with the kids every day,” he said. “I see a lot of will, determination – they’re hard working. I like to teach kids and set goals and achievements in life so you have something to work towards.”
Some of these 8-year-old Seahawks will be tomorrow’s players at the middle school, or even go on to play JV or varsity at the high school level.
“Henderson is a special place with a special group of kids, very talented,” Faulkner said. When they put their minds to what they want to do, there’s nothing they can’t achieve.
Good luck to the Gate City Seahawks on Saturday!
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SportsTalk: A Little Bit of Everything
Scout Hughes and Doc Ayscue talk about how Vance Charter and Falls Lake will face off in Boys Soccer on Thursday. The guys also talk about the schools that used to have athletics in Vance and Granville Counties.
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SportsTalk: Louisburg College Football Wraps Up Regular Season
Happy Veterans Day!
Louisburg College Head Football Coach Quinderra Spellman joins SportsTalk with Scout Hughes and Steve Lewis to recap the Hurricanes 42-10 win against the Brevard College JV team in Louisburg’s regular season finale. Scout and Steve also talk about Veterans Day and the different service academies in our great nation.
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SportsTalk: Vipers Football Ends 2025 Campaign
Scout Hughes and Doc Ayscue recap Vance County’s playoff loss to South Johnston. They guys also talk about other high school, college and NFL Football action from over the weekend.
Area High School Football Scores from Friday:
- South Johnston 47 Vance County 7
- Franklinton 28 Gray’s Creek 6
- Wake Forest 59 North Brunswick 28
- New Hanover 28 Heritage 14
- Sanderson 41 East Wake 6
- Person 68 J.F. Webb 56
- South Granville 20 Western Alamance 12
- Wake Prep 37 Bartlett Yancey 0
- Mecklenburg County, VA 37 Tunstall, VA 0
Area High School Football 2nd Round Playoff Games:
- 12Franklinton @ 5Burlington Williams- 6A Playoffs
- 13Wake Forest @ 4Garner – 7A Playoffs
- 19Person @ 3Northside-Jacksonville – 5A Playoffs
- 23South Granville @ 7Rocky Mount – 5A Playoffs
- 2Warren County vs. 18Rosewood – 2A Playoffs
- 4Louisburg vs. 13Farmville Central – 3A Playoffs
- 6Bunn vs. 11Southwest Edgecombe – 4A Playoffs
- 12Wake Prep @ 5Martin County- 3A Playoffs
Area College Football Scores for Week 11:
- North Carolina 20 Stanford 15
- UConn 37 Duke 34
- Wake Forest 16 Virginia 9
- East Carolina 48 Charlotte 22
- Georgia Southern 25 App State 23
- NC Central 31 Norfolk State 28
- Louisburg College 42 Brevard College JV 10
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SportsTalk: Vipers Football Prepares for Round 1 vs. South Johnston
UPDATE – FINAL SCORE
South Johnston 47
Vance County 7
Vipers finish the season at 2-9
RECAP MONDAY ON SPORTSTALK
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When Vance County Vipers Head Coach Aaron Elliott took a look at the state playoff bracket, he counted nine – NINE – of the 10 teams the Vipers had faced during the regular season.
And that 10th team that didn’t make the playoffs? In Elliott’s opinion, it should have. They’ve got the best quarterback in the state, he said of the Knightdale Knights.
The Vipers travel to Four Oaks Friday for a 7 p.m. matchup against the South Johnston Trojans in the first round of the 6A state playoffs.
“We’ve got teams in the state that have more wins than we do, and they’re sitting at home this week,” Elliott told WIZS’s Scout Hughes and George Hoyle on Thursday’s SportsTalk.
The Vipers had stiff competition through the regular season, and Elliott said that was by design.
“We wanted to win a playoff game,” he continued. “We were tired of being successful and then losing out in the first round (of playoffs). I feel real good about us being able to compete.”
Although the regular season ended with a loss to the Franklinton Red Rams, Elliott said he was pleased with the team’s effort, especially in the first half.
“We’ve just got to do that for a whole four quarters,” he said.
The team practiced this week under the lights and Elliott said he and his staff have developed a game plan for South Johnston running back Holt Langston. Elliott said Langston is one of the fastest running backs he’s seen.
He’s brought up 16 JV players to join the team for the trip to Four Oaks, and Elliott said they’re a good group.
“They’re 110 percent effort on everything they do,” he said.
Elliott’s teams have made the playoffs each of the four years he’s been head coach, and he said he feels like the coaching staff has done a good job of preparing the Vipers for Friday’s contest.
“We just have to execute,” he said.
First Round High School Football Playoff Games in our Area:
- 23Vance County @ 10South Johnston – 6A Playoffs
- 12Franklinton vs. 21Gray’s Creek – 6A Playoffs
- 13Wake Forest vs. 20North Brunswick – 7A Playoffs
- 19Heritage @ 14New Hanover – 7A Playoffs
- 21East Wake @ 12Sanderson – 7A Playoffs
- 14J.F. Webb vs. 19Person – 5A Playoffs
- 23South Granville @ 10Western Alamance – 5A Playoffs
- 12Wake Prep vs. 21Bartlett Yancey – 3A Playoffs
- Mecklenburg County, VA vs. Tunstall, VA – VA Regular Season Week 11
Vance County travels to Four Oaks to take on South Johnston for the 1st round of the NCHSAA 6A State Playoffs on Friday, November 7th and you can hear all the action on WIZS 1450AM, 100.1FM, and online at wizs.com with pregame starting around 6:50 p.m. and kickoff at 7:00 p.m.
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SportsTalk: South Johnston hosting Vance County for First Round of Football Playoffs
South Johnston High School is hosting the Vance County Vipers in the first round of the state 6A football playoffs Friday.
Trojans Head Coach Lee Webb said his team is coming off a big rival win against West Johnston, but they’ll be ready for the Vipers. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. at Ronald Avery Stadium in Four Oaks.
Webb’s team is the #10 seed in the 6A playoffs, and the Vipers are the #23 seed, but the fifth-year head coach said he and his staff have been getting the team ready to face a very physical Vipers team.
“They’ve played a tough schedule,” Webb told WIZS’s Scout Hughes and George Hoyle on Wednesday’s SportsTalk.
“Every team that you play is going to be tough in the playoffs,” he said, adding that the Vipers are a well-coached team, “physical and fast up front,” and ready on offense, defense and special teams.
“We have to be ready for anything,” he said.
With 20 seniors on this year’s team, Webb said he’s proud of the way they’ve stuck together the past four years.
“The relationship that these guys have with each other and the underclassmen and the things that they’re showing them with their leadership – the way they do things…As a community, as a staff, we’re very proud of how they’re representing South Johnston,” Webb said.
In preparation for Friday’s matchup, Webb said he and his coaching staff continue what they’ve said all season long – not focusing on the next W, but focusing on the team’s identity and players’ character.
“If we stay true to who we are, I don’t think we can lose,” Webb said, no matter what the scoreboard says.
He said he wants his players to focus on one play at the time, making sure they’re doing things the right way to prepare, so they’ll respond in a positive way when things go awry.
The Trojans use three words to keep them focused, motivated and ready: humility, love and determination.
Keeping those words in mind, on and off the field, is what Webb said he wants his players to do. “You’re going to make mistakes on the football field, just like in life,” he said, adding that it’s what you do after you make those mistakes that show a person’s true identity and character.
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SportsTalk: Hurricanes Football Enters Final Stretch
Louisburg College Head Football Coach Quinderra Spellman joins SportsTalk with Scout Hughes and Steve Lewis to recap the road win over Nassau County Community College and to preview the final game of the regular season as the Hurricanes take on the Brevard College JV Team for this weeks game. Scout and Steve also talk about Game 7 of the World Series in which the Dodgers finish things out.
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SportsTalk: Vance County Football Qualifies for Playoffs
Scout Hughes and Doc Ayscue recap the weekend that was at all levels of football. High School, College, and NFL! The guys also talk about the NCHSAA Football Playoffs that were released on Sunday.
High School Football Scores from Week 11:
- Franklinton 44 Vance County 13
- Wake Forest 24 Heritage 3
- Knightdale 48 East Wake 14
- South Granville 20 J.F. Webb 8
- Warren County 49 Northwest Halifax 12
- Wake Prep 26 Louisburg 0
- Bunn 42 Roanoke Rapids 8
Area College Football Scores for Week 10:
- North Carolina 27 Syracuse 10
- Duke 46 Clemson 45
- NC State 48 Georgia Tech 36
- Florida State 42 Wake Forest 7
- Virginia 31 California 21
- Louisville 28 Virginia Tech 16
- East Carolina 45 Temple 14
- NC Central 35 Howard 14
- Louisburg College 38 Nassau Community College 10
High School Football Playoff First Round Matchups:
- 23Vance County @ 10South Johnston – 6A Playoffs
- 12Franklinton vs. 21Gray’s Creek – 6A Playoffs
- 13Wake Forest vs. 20North Brunswick – 7A Playoffs
- 19Heritage @ 14New Hanover – 7A Playoffs
- 21East Wake @ 12Sanderson – 7A Playoffs
- 14J.F. Webb vs. 19Person – 5A Playoffs
- 23South Granville @ 10Western Alamance – 5A Playoffs
- 2Warren County – First Round Bye – 2A Playoffs
- 4Louisburg – First Round Bye – 3A Playoffs
- 6Bunn – First Round Bye – 4A Playoffs
- 12Wake Prep vs. 21Bartlett Yancey – 3A Playoffs
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