Leonard Throws Duke Past Wake, 34-31

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— text and picture by Patrick Magoon freelance writer for WIZS

Duke’s offense demonstrated resilience to defeat visiting Wake Forest, snapping a three-game losing streak to the Demon Deacons and securing the team’s eighth regular-season win. After a tremendous turnaround season, Duke is looking forward to its first bowl since 2018.

During a crisp Saturday evening, both fanbases exchanged chants and cheers as their team fought to maintain its lead. Considering the lead changed hands multiple times, neither Duke nor the Deacons had complete control. A crucial mistake by one team resulted in a successful series for the other. Therefore, fans anxiously sat on the edge of their seats, and coaches paced back and forth as a game-winning drive was imminent.

The Deacons played catch-up for much of the game. After Duke scored, they moved the ball swiftly to keep the win within reach, waiting for the perfect opportunity to pull ahead. Wake Forest’s Sam Hartman responded well under pressure, completing 26 of 42 pass attempts for 347 yards and three touchdowns.

Duke heavily relied on its offensive playmakers to pick apart Wake Forest’s discombobulated secondary and consistently put points on the board. Riley Leonard threw for a career-best 391 yards and four touchdowns, and wide receivers Jalon Calhoun and Sahmir Hagans caught a combined 19 passes for 313 yards and three touchdowns. Hagans’ 20-yard touchdown reception late in the fourth quarter secured the win.

“Our quarterback was special,” said head coach Mike Elko. “He’s had a special year.”

Duke’s defense, led by linebacker Shaka Heyward, amassed 72 tackles, three sacks, and deflected six passes. Defensive back Darius Joiner intercepted Hartman in crunch time to regain possession with just 1:22 to play.

Vance County High School

SportsTalk: Aaron Elliott Looks Back On Vipers Season

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The Vance County Vipers were eliminated from the state high school football playoffs last week by Southern Durham, but the Vipers have nothing to be ashamed of after finishing 7-4.  According to Coach Aaron Elliott, turnovers and weather were factors in the loss. Some of the turnovers were weather related as rain continued on and off throughout the game. Elliott also said some questionable calls were likely a factor as well. “We had a fumble recovery for a touchdown that was called back by an early whistle,” Elliott said.  “It’s all part of the game,” he continued.

The Vipers will lose 14 seniors, but Elliott feels that will be overcome by incoming players from the JV squad next season. Additionally, his coaching philosophy will have a whole off-season to be absorbed by players both new and returning.  “We play together as a family. When your players trust and believe in you they will do anything,” Coach Elliott said on Wednesday’s SportsTalk with Bill Harris and George Hoyle.

With both running backs and the entire offensive line returning, the Vipers will have an excellent core for the 2023 season.

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Crossroads Christian School

SportsTalk: Scottie Richardson Previews Winter Sports At Crossroads

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Scottie Richardson wears a couple of hats at Crossroads Christian. He is the men’s basketball coach but also oversees a very successful athletic program for the entire school as athletic director.  “We are coming off of the winningest fall season in the school’s history,” Richardson said on Wednesday’s SportsTalk.  From success on the volleyball court to a final four finish for the boy’s soccer team, things have been going well for Crossroads.

Winter sports are now here and Crossroads is off to a great start as both girl’s and boy’s basketball are undefeated so far this season. The boys are coming off a huge victory against crosstown rival Henderson Collegiate and are now preparing for holiday tournaments.

The Colts will be heading for Wilson for one tournament and then an MLK Event in Greene County is also upcoming.

The key to all of this success, according to Richardson, is developing younger talent and use that to build on.  The Colts certainly excel at that.  “Our middle school girl’s basketball team has not lost since 2019,” Richardson said.  With that kind of talent rising to varsity level athletics, it’s no wonder Crossroads continues to be a team opposing coaches fear when they appear on the schedule.

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Duke Heading to Pitt Looking 4th Straight ACC Win

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— text and picture by Patrick Magoon freelance writer for WIZS

Duke Bounces Back in the Second Half to Defeat Virginia Tech 24-7

Duke overcame early offensive woes to defeat Virginia Tech and extend its win streak to three.

Duke’s offense, led by sophomore quarterback Riley Leonard, struggled to find a rhythm for most of the first quarter. Their first drive stalled after three plays resulted in a gain of five yards. The Virginia Tech Hokies, on the other hand, got off to a hot start. Their first play went for two yards. Then Virginia Tech quarterback Grant Wells connected with wide receiver Da’Wain Lofton for an explosive 53-yard score.

Duke’s second offensive series also achieved minimal success. A penalty negated a 17-yard pass, and neither Leonard nor running back Jaquez Moore could find ample room to run. Then Duke managed to flip the script during its third possession.

A 13-yard catch by Duke’s Sahmir Hagans moved the chains for the second time in the first half. Leonard quickly found his footing and picked apart Virginia Tech’s secondary, piecing together an exciting 72-yard offensive drive to set up a 25-yard chip shot for kicker Todd Pelino. Pelino’s field goal was the turning point of the game.

“We responded to a little bit of a slow start and then took control of the game,” said Duke coach Mike Elko.

From then on out, Duke outpaced the Hokies. Duke extended its lead to 10 at the start of the third quarter after Leonard used his long legs and strong upper body to force his way into the end zone.

Duke’s ground game, led by running back Jordan Waters amassed 165 yards on 41 attempts. Leonard picked up a total of 48 yards with his legs. Duke compiled an additional 262 passing yards through four quarters of football with stellar performances from wide receivers Jalon Calhoun and Jontavis Robertson.

In this game, Elko relied on the performance of his dominant defense to secure the win. The unit deflected two passes, forced a turnover, and sacked Wells twice. They also limited Virginia Tech to 4 of 12 on third-down conversions and halted two attempts to convert on fourth down.

“Defensively, our best effort of the year,” said Elko.

What’s next?

Duke (7-4) will travel to Pennsylvania for a matchup against Pittsburgh (6-4). Pittsburgh, on the heels of Duke in the ACC Coastal Conference, is averaging 30 points per game.

Vance County High School

SportsTalk: Vipers Preparing For A Southern Durham Rematch

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“We feel good. I would put them up against any team in the state,” Vance Vipers Head Coach Aaron Elliott said on Wednesday’s SportsTalk with Bill Harris.  The Vipers have advanced to round two of the state high school football playoffs after a 28-26 road win against highly touted West Carteret last Friday in Morehead City.  The Vipers were underdogs last week and may be so again Thursday night against conference rivals Southern Durham, who have already beaten the Vipers once this year.

Coach Elliott likes being an underdog.  That, he says, eliminates the team having a target on its back. “As long as we are healthy, we can go a long way in the playoffs,” Elliott added. Right now the Vipers are healthy.  An unexpected week off for the Vipers helped tremendously to get kids back after a round of flu contributed to the Southern Durham loss a few weeks ago.

All season long Coach Elliott has worked to instill the importance of practice with the Vipers and that has seemed to pay off this season, and he said this week has had great practices despite a shortened week.  The game has been moved to Thursday night at Southern Durham with a kick off time set for 7:30 p.m. due to remnants of Nicole making an appearance in North Carolina.  The Vipers and the Spartans may still have to work through some rain Thursday night, but everything is set for a rematch between two great teams looking to advance to round three.

Airtime Thursday night is at 7:20 p.m. with kickoff at 7:30 p.m. from Southern Durham.

Listen Local and Listen Live at 1450 AM / 100.1 FM and online here – https://player.listenlive.co/53101

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SportsTalk: Remembering Eddie Hicks

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Doc Ayscue, George Hoyle and John Rose remember Eddie Hicks, Vance County sports legend and community advocate who died on Monday.

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Threat of School Shooting Cancelled Vance vs Webb; Vipers In Playoffs Now

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Vance County High School’s rival, senior night football game against conference opponent J.F. Webb High School from Oxford was canceled last Friday night.

A social media post Friday threatened a school shooting, according to Vance County Sheriff Curtis Brame.

Brame told WIZS News on Saturday that his office had identified the person responsible. He said, “Due to the responsible party’s age, we can’t release his/her name.”

This week’s game will feature the Vipers in the first round of the state playoffs.

Vance County will compete as a 25 seed and will face eighth seeded West Carteret, which is located in Morehead City.

A total of 64 teams make the state playoffs. Conference champions from each conference are seeded first by their RPI, then any second place automatic qualifiers and all at-large teams are seeded.

Vance County High School

SportsTalk: Vipers Prepare For Last Regular Season Game

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Update — The game was cancelled.  The Vipers will find out Saturday about who and where they play in the state playoffs.  Tune in Monday at 12:30 p.m. for SportsTalk.

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We’ve been hearing about flu and colds and viruses over the last several weeks.  It seems like we’ve all come down with something recently and the Vance Co. Vipers football team is no exception.  With six players, including quaterback Nazir Garrett, suffering from flu and flu-like symptoms, the Vipers struggled a bit against conference rival Southern Durham.  The Vipers did not win last week and Coach Aaron Elliott said that even though he wouldn’t make excuses for the teams loss, the illnesses did play a roll in the game.

Unless Southern Durham has an uncharacteristic slip up against Carrboro, the Vipers will be the number 2 seed in the conference for the playoffs but before that the Vipers have one more game in the regular season and that’s at home Friday (tonight) against JF Webb.  Webb only has one win on the year and would seem like an easy win for the Vipers but this is a long standing rivalry and Coach Elliott knows Webb will be coming to play.  “They have nothing to lose,” Elliott said of the Warriors. “They have good athletes. This is not going to be the same old Webb team,” Elliott continued.

It’s also Senior Night and Elliott wants it to be a big deal.  “It’s important to me,” Elliott commented on SportsTalk on WIZS Thursday afternoon.  He would like to start a new Senior tradition with his team as well to make the last year a special one for his players.  With 14 seniors on the Viper squad this season that will take some work.

The Vipers will play JF Webb tomorrow night at Viper Stadium for the final regular season game.  Airtime on WIZS is 6:50 with kick off at 7pm.

 

Vance County High School

SportsTalk: Vipers Go For Conference Championship Friday Night – Tune In!

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After another huge victory last week against Granville Central, the Vance County Vipers are poised to win a conference championship this Friday night.

In Henderson, listen local at 1450 AM / 100.1 FM and anywhere with your connected device or speaker listen here – https://player.listenlive.co/53101. Or tell Alexa to “Listen to WIZS.com on Tunein.”  Or say, “Hey Google, Listen to WIZS.com on Tunein.”

The 6-2 Vipers have been on a roll the last several weeks, but the competition stiffens this week as the Vipers have to hit the road for another trip to Durham to face the defending conference champs Southern Durham.

“We’ve never beaten Southern Durham. We’ve never won a conference championship,” said coach Aaron Elliott on SportsTalk on Thursday.  Southern Durham is 4-4 so far this year but played a tough early schedule and has been winning as of late.  Right now the Vipers control there own destiny and with a win on the road will secure the school’s first conference championship while a loss muddies the picture considerably.

Southern Durham cannot be taken lightly according to Coach Elliott.  “They have athletes on both sides of the ball,” he said. Elliott hopes the Vipers’ speed will be a deciding factor along with the continued strong play of the defense. He also feels if the Vipers can score early and get a lead and can be balanced on offense, then they will be in good shape Friday night.

Airtime on WIZS for Vance County vs. Southern Durham is at 6:50pm with kickoff at 7pm.

 

UNC Executes Fourth-Quarter Comeback to Defeat Duke 38-35

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— text and picture by Patrick Magoon freelance writer for WIZS

Tens of thousands of energized football fans in the vicinity of The Triangle gathered at Wallace Wade Stadium on Oct. 15 to witness the annual Duke-UNC clash. While the game remained close for much of the game, and both teams exchanged the lead multiple times, the resiliency displayed by a Drake Maye-led offense late in the fourth quarter propelled UNC to victory.

In a game of inches, UNC’s offense took advantage of multiple miscues by Duke’s offense late in the fourth quarter. A chop-block penalty eliminated a 15-yard touchdown catch by Duke receiver Jalon Calhoun. Then Duke kicker Charlie Ham missed a 45-yard field goal, and UNC’s offense took over with 2:09 on the clock.

Maye stepped up when it mattered. His 74-yard game-winning drive lasted nine plays, and it took less than two minutes to reach the end zone. The final drive yielded an 8-yard touchdown catch by wide receiver Antoine Green. Maye threw for a career-high 380 yards and rushed for 70 more.

Although UNC’s offense flourished at times, we must not discredit the work of Duke’s stout defensive front. The unit recovered two fumbles, deflected two passes, and applied continuous pressure to force Maye outside the pocket. Duke’s strong defensive effort, led by junior captain DeWayne Carter, amassed three sacks and four tackles for a loss.

Despite an unfavorable result, Duke’s offense advanced the ball efficiently. Quarterback Riley Leonard accumulated 245 yards through the air and earned an additional 130 yards with his legs. Leonard’s exciting 74-yard touchdown run in the second quarter helped to secure a Blue Devils lead at the half.

“I told our kids: I couldn’t be more proud with the way we battled,” first-year coach Mike Elko said.

UNC extended its series win streak to four to keep possession of the Victory Bell. With a win Saturday night, UNC is also the front-runner in the Coastal Division.