Tag Archive for: #sportstalk

SportsTalk: KVA Prepares For Holiday Tournament

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Mike Joyner, Kerr Vance Academy athletic director, has reason to be happy with the school’s Fall sports programs.  “Every team made the playoffs,” Joyner stated on Thursday’s SportsTalk.  Now that fall sports have come to an end, the winter sports season is kicking into high gear.  The Spartans have one win to their credit in boys basketball and the girls team is struggling with injuries at the moment but an upcoming holiday tournament at the school will give both squads a chance to rebound.  The tournament takes place next weekend.  “Big crowds and lots of alumni are expected,” Joyner said.

Joyner also singled out cheerleading coach Elizabeth Wilson.  “The cheerleading squad has tripled in size,” Joyner said.  One of the highlights of the upcoming basketball tournament will be the Spartanettes who are cheerleaders from lower grades, Almost like a JV cheerleading squad.  They have several opportunities to perform routines with the older girls throughout the season and the tournament will provide the Spartanettes a chance to show off their skills.  Again, the tournament begins Friday, December 15th at Kerr Vance Academy.

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SportsTalk: Area Schools Getting Winter Sports Underway

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Area schools are now getting winter sports underway.  At Vance Charter School basketball has just started, according to athletic director Lance Stallings.  They’ve only played two games this year including Wednesday’s game against Granville Central.  The boys were unable to pull out a victory but the girl’s team did.  There’s no rest either as Vance Charter will return to the court Friday taking on Falls Lake in the first home game of the season.  “Regardless of the sport or the time of the year Falls Lake is well prepared,” Stallings said.  “It’s a Green Out Game.  We will raise awareness about school violence,” Stallings added.

Meanwhile Stallings says they have approximately 10 students on this year’s swim team which has its first meet on December 7th.  Additionally, cheer leading will be headed to a competition event Saturday at the Raleigh Convention Center where they will face off against ten other area schools.

It’s much the same at Crossroads Christian as the Colts basketball teams are off to a terrific start.  The boy’s team is undefeated at 5-0 and are ranked #1 in the state and the girl’s team is 3-1 and ranked third in the state.  Alyssa Phillips leads the girls team who will play Lawrence tonight.  The boys return to action Saturday against St. Thomas with seniors Ben Gladdio and Robert Jenkins leading the way.

“If we win both games, I will have 400 career wins,” said Scottie Richardson. Richardson, in addition to his athletic director duties also coaches basketball at the school.  The Colts will also play against 11 other teams in the Battle of the Bull tournament at Falls Lake over the holidays.  Once those holidays are over spring sports will begin workouts at both Crossroads Christian and Vance Charter.

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SportsTalk: Adcock Reflects On First Season With Mariners

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Ty Adcock never imagined himself as a pitcher.  At South Granville he threw a couple of innings for fun but pitching never really interested him.  He was a catcher and an outfielder.  It wasn’t until his junior year at Elon that a coach noticed his arm strength and felt his talents were better suited on the mound.

In June of last year after a minor league game Adcock got the call to head for Seattle where he would throw his first pitch in the Major Leagues.  “It was a bizarre experience,” Adcock said of receiving the call.  Adcock was a guest on Wednesday’s SportsTalk. “I knew I had what it takes to play in the big leagues,” Adcock continued.  “It doesn’t feel real.  It was everything you dream of as a kid,” Adcock explained about his first game in a Mariners uniform.

He doesn’t remember the name of the first batter he faced from the Miami Marlins but does remember the batter grounded out on the first pitch.  He threw for two innings in that game as a member of the Mariners’ bull pen.

Now that his first season is under his belt he is busy preparing for spring.  He will head to spring training in late January and hopes to be one of the eight pitchers the Mariners keep in their bull pen when the 2024 season starts.  “It’s up to management to see if they feel I’m a good fit for the organization,” Adcock concluded.

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Vance County High School

SportsTalk: Elliott Reflects On Vipers Season

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Vance County Vipers Head Football Coach Aaron Elliot summed up the school’s loss to Terry Sanford in the first round of the state high school playoffs with three words “Too many mistakes,” he said on Thursday’s SportsTalk.  The 34-27 loss followed an undefeated regular season for Vance County.  “We knew they were a good team.  Certainly not a 26th ranked team,” Elliott commented.  After the loss Elliott gave his team one week off but now they are back to work preparing for next season.  The Vipers have already headed back to the weight room.

The Vipers will lose 10 seniors from this year’s team when the hit the gridiron late next August but Elliott sees a bright future for the Vipers.  “Our team will work personnel.  We will put kids in the right place to be successful,” Elliott said.  He says he expects the conference to improve next year.  Louisburg went to the second round of the playoff, J.F. Webb had their best season in years and there’s always Southern Durham to contend with.

While naturally disappointed that the Vipers lost he continues to look favorably on this past season and should have another great year in 2024.

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SportsTalk: Local High School Basketball Prepares For Tipoff

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Area high school basketball teams will be tipping off the local basketball season in a few days and coaches have high expectations for the season.

At Vance Charter, head basketball coach Taron Downey is optimistic about the Knights.  “The future is bright,” Downey said on Wednesday’s SportsTalk. “We have young guys but one of the best groups I’ve had,” Downey continued.  Only three seniors will return to the Knights this season.  While he has high expectations of his team he knows that teams from Voyager and Henderson Collegiate will pose problems.  “Our young guys don’t know what to expect.  If I can get a guy to make a jump shot we will be OK,” Downey stated.  They start off the season with a matchup on the road against East Wake Academy on Monday night.  Tomorrow (Thursday) they will take part in a Night Out with The Knights, 6pm, at the Vance Charter Gym with plenty of food and some fun on the court to give players, students, parents and kids a chance to enjoy a fun evening.

J.F. Webb’s head coach, Alex Tharpe, expects his team will improve from last year’s 14-10 regular season record.  While they made the state playoffs last year, he says it will be a somewhat different team this year.  “We will have a different look.  We want to run and push the tempo,” Tharpe said on Wednesday’s SportsTalk.  Of course J.F. Webb will have to contend with a strong Southern Durham team this season that usually dominates the conference.  The Warriors will return six seniors, one of whom is a starter.  Webb is also preparing for the South Granville holiday basketball tournament next month.  Before that can happen, they must prepare for opening night this Friday at Oxford Prep.  “It’s one of the best Oxford Prep teams I’ve seen,” Tharpe said of his opening game opponent.

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Vance County High School

SportsTalk: Vipers Prepare For Terry Sanford In First Round Of Playoffs

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The Vance County Vipers open the playoffs Friday night at home against Terry Sanford High School.  The Bulldogs are 6-4 this season while the Vipers are a perfect 10-0 but Vipers Head Coach Aaron Elliott knows that the Bulldogs will be a challenge.  “We don’t look at them as a 26 seed.  They play in a strong conference,”  Elliott said on Thursday’s SportsTalk.  The Vipers will have to play strong on defense as the Bulldogs’ quarterback Jaylen Wright has thrown for over 1900 yard and 26 touchdowns this year.  The Bulldogs have scored 387 points this year so they know how to get in the end zone.

The Vipers have relied on great running all season long as well as a potent passing attack of their own but Elliott knows where his team’s bread is buttered.  “Defense will be the key.  I always hear defense wins championships,” Elliot said.  His defense has been stellar all season and the Vipers are coming off a 61-6 victory over rival J.F. Webb.  Terry Sanford is on a three game winning streak and should prove to be the toughest opponent the Vipers have faced since Southern Durham.

Join WIZS for Vance County Friday Night Football starting with the pregame at 6:50, immediately following the Joy Christian Center broadcast with kickoff at 7pm.

 

Crossroads Christian School

SportsTalk: Crossroads Wins Boys Soccer Championship

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Since Spring of 2021 Crossroads Christian School has won five state championships. The school added their fifth last Saturday as the boy’s soccer team defeated conference rivals Bradford Academy 5-1.  “It’s boy’s soccer’s first championship,” said Crossroads AD Scottie Richardson on Wednesday’s SportsTalk.  “Holden Coghill won two games his first season and now a state championship,” added Richardson.  Coghill is the head coach at Crossroads.

Crossroads also had to face another conference rival, Cape Fear, to get to the championship game. “Familiarity with those two schools makes playing them more difficult because it’s harder to keep the kids focused,” Richardson added.  Last year Crossroads lost to Cape Fear in the semi-finals and this year Richardson was determined that would not happen this season.  To keep them focused the team spent the night in Rocky Mount where the tournament was played.  The ate meals together and Richardson said he felt that helped the team stay focused.

Crossroads will lose three seniors off of a team that lost its first game of the season and then peeled off 19 straight wins.  Congratulations to the Crossroads Christian Boy’s Soccer team for winning that state championship.

 

Vance County High School

SportsTalk: Vipers Tangle With Warriors For Final Regular Season Game

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With the Vance Co. Vipers assured of a playoff spot and at least a share of the conference championship, one could think that the Vipers would be taking it easy in the final regular season finale Friday night against the J.F. Webb Warriors. One could also be wrong. Coming off a dominant performance last week at a rain soaked Carrboro, the Vipers want to finish the regular season at 10-0 and not share the conference championship but win it outright. “We’ve had a good week of practice,” head coach Aaron Elliott said on Thursday’s SportsTalk. That may be a bit of “coach speak” that one expects but Coach Elliott isn’t letting the Vipers relax. “We needed to clean some things up on defense,” Elliott said referring to how Carrboro was able to use a short passing game to move the ball. Win or lose, the Vipers are in the playoffs. “We won’t know who we are playing until lunchtime on Saturday,” Elliott stated. The Vipers can’t look past an improved J.F. Webb team though. “They are disciplined, it’s Senior night and it’s a rivalry,” said Elliott.

J.F. Webb Head Coach Keionte Gainey echoes Elliott’s feelings about the rivalry. He knows, even in his first year at Webb, that the rivalry is important. Gainey only has a handful of seniors on his team and has, much like Coach Elliot has done at Vance County, turned the J.F. Webb program around. Webb is 5-4 this season. “It’s the most wins we’ve had since 2010,” Gainey said on Sports Talk Thursday. While that is impressive, what may be more impressive is that his players have increased their GPA from 1.9 to 3.0. He credits the team’s improvements both on and off the field to players, teachers, administration and community buying into his program.

Expect a packed house Friday night at J.F. Webb High School in Oxford. WIZS’ live coverage will begin around 6:50 p.m. immediately following the Joy Christian Center broadcast with Bill Harris and Doc Ayscue on Vance County Friday Night Football.

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Vance County High School

SportsTalk: Vipers Are Well Rested For Carrboro Game

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When the Vance Co. Vipers football schedule was first released, Head Coach Aaron Elliott wasn’t pleased with where his bye week fell.  “It was late in the season and I was skeptical,” Elliott said on Thursday’s SportsTalk.   However, now that the bye week has occurred, the coach feels it’s worked to the Vipers’ advantage.  “We were pretty beat up.  We had some injuries,” Elliott said.

One of those injuries was to star defensive end Taeshawn Alston.  A shoulder problem has kept him out of several games this season, but he is now cleared to return.  Alston will be a game time decision this week at Carrboro.

The Vipers, according to Elliott, needed a break and the bye week has meant that they have come back to practice refreshed and ready to go.  “We had some great practices this week.  Monday’s was one of the most fun practices all season,” Elliott stated.

Elliott expects Carrboro to throw the ball Friday night but rain may interfere with offensive plans for both teams.  “We are prepared for whatever,” Elliot said.  Carrboro has struggled for much of the season, but it is senior night and nothing would please Carrboro more than to upset the 8-0 Vipers.

Listen below to Coach Elliott from SportsTalk, and tune in to the live broadcast of the game starting at 6:50 p.m. on 1450 AM / 100.1 FM / online here at wizs.com.

 

Vance County High School

SportsTalk: Vipers Take A Week Off Before Facing Carrboro

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The Vance County Vipers are guaranteed to remain 8-0 until, at least, October 20.  Why? Because the team has a late season bye week.

According to Head Coach Aaron Elliott, it’s time for one.  “I didn’t realize how beat up we are,” Elliott said on Thursday’s SportsTalk.  Several players are banged up including quarterback Javion Vines-Holder who has a bruised hip.  That injury occurred in the second half of the Vipers’ 14-0 win over South Granville.  The week off will help not only Vines-Holder but several other Vipers.

Elliott said the win over South Granville was hard fought.  “They were physical and disciplined,” said Elliott of the Vikings. “Their defense really stood out,” Elliott continued.  Things will likely be less contested on the 20th when the Vipers travel to Carrboro which has struggled through much of the season.  “They can throw the ball.  They have a good, solid quarterback,” Elliott said.

Meanwhile, Elliott was happy that the Vipers’ JV team has won the conference championship and is 6-0 with two games remaining on the schedule.  Once the JV team finishes up around 15 of those players will be moving up to the varsity team just in time for the state playoffs.