Welcome to the weekly sports roundup in the greater Charlotte area presented by The Sports Chief. Every Sunday, let The Chief be the one to catch you up on all the latest sports happenings in and around the Charlotte, NC area. We take a look at professional sports, as well as semi-professional, college, and high school. If you like what we’re doing, make sure you give us a follow on Twitter at @thesportschief where you’ll be notified of all our latest postings, and visit our website at www.thesportschief.com.

Professional

Carolina Panthers

The Panthers lost their third straight game last night, dropping the contest 24-16 in Green Bay against the Packers. Carolina couldn’t stop running back Aaron Jones, who racked up 145 yards and a touchdown. They did, however, hold potential MVP Aaron Rodgers to just 143 passing yards and one passing touchdown. But it didn’t matter at the end of the day. It’s no secret the Panthers have really hit hard times, with just one win in their last nine games. At 4-10, they are dead last in the NFC South and may hold that position alone if the Falcons were to win today. The Panthers’ final two games will be against Washington and New Orleans.

Charlotte Hornets

Since last weekend, the Hornets have wrapped up their shortened pre-season play with a 1-3 record. They dropped both games against the Raptors, while splitting two games with the Magic. Terry Rozier led the team in scoring two of those games, with 15 last Monday against Toronto and 20 on Thursday against the Magic. In yesterday’s loss to the Magic, it was North Carolina native Devonte Graham who led the team in scoring, with 25 points. Terry Rozier had 24 while Miles Bridges added 12 with an impressive 15 boards.

Now that pre-season is officially over, the Hornets will begin their regular season slate this coming Wednesday night in Cleveland against the Cavaliers. It will be interesting to see how the team fares this year with several new faces that should contribute heavily and young players that continue to grow. Obviously, all eyes will be on Lamelo Ball with his much anticipated rookie season. But a healthy Gordon Hayward will automatically improve this team as well. I predict Charlotte to finish 8th in the East and sneak back into the playoffs.

College Football

After finishing 8-3 overall and 6-2 (2nd) in the Sun Belt, Appalachian State earned their sixth straight bowl bid since moving up to the FBS level from FCS. They will play North Texas in the first bowl game of the season, kicking off tomorrow (Dec. 21) in the Myrtle Beach Bowl in Conway, South Carolina. The game will take place at 2:30 p.m. on ESPN.

While App lost a few games they shouldn’t have this year and didn’t win the conference, I believe they got a pretty terrible bowl game. At 8-3 overall, they will square off against a North Texas team who went 4-5 this season and shouldn’t even be in a bowl game. But it is what it is and the Mountaineers still have a game to play. According to ESPN’s Power Index, App State has a 90% chance to win. And if they do, they’ll be 6-0 all-time in bowl games. Go Mountaineers!

College Basketball

Charlotte 49ers

The 49ers had a big win on Tuesday night, beating local rival Davidson 63-52. It was a really impressive defensive performance holding the Wildcats to just 52 points. Jahmir Young led the way for Charlotte with 18 points, while Kellan Grady had 23 for Davidson. Charlotte went on to beat another in-state opponent yesterday in North Carolina A&T with a score of 76-72. Charlotte’s record is now 3-3.

Davidson Wildcats

With the loss against Charlotte this week, the Wildcats now stand at 4-3 this season. Their other two losses have come to the hands of Texas and Providence. The Wildcats bounced back from their loss Tuesday night, however, with a win against Rhode Island. That score was 67-58. Carter Collins led the way with 22 points, while Hyunjung Lee had 16, going 4 of 6 from the three-point line.

Appalachian State Mountaineers

App State is off to a 6-2 start this season, which is a pleasant sight for Mountaineer fans who have experienced less-than-stellar basketball seasons lately. They picked up two more wins this week, although they weren’t exactly against great competition. They beat Greensboro College (not UNCG) by 40 points on Thursday and beat Columbia International by 36 on Friday. For the lack of talent they faced in those two games, they’ll make up for in their next game against Auburn on Tuesday. Hopefully that game won’t get too out of hand. Then they will start conference play against Troy on New Year’s Day.

High School

While we wait for public school basketball to begin in January, private and prep schools have played many games, some up to ten games through Monday. Carmel Christian (boys) is the number one ranked team in the state, followed by Cannon School, Greensboro Day, Greenfield Christian, and Charlotte Christian to round out the top five.

In other big high school news this week, national signing day took place on Thursday. Let’s take a quick look at where some of the Charlotte-area’s best players are heading this fall to play football:

Myers Park quarterback Drake Maye on National Signing DayLuke Buxton/Inside Carolina — Myers Park quarterback Drake Maye on National Signing Day
Luke Buxton/Inside Carolina

Ryheem Craig (Alexander Central): University of Louisville

Cam Hicks (Charlotte Christian): Wofford University

Sam Hedrick (Charlotte Country Day): University of Richmond

Kiylan Miller (Chase): Coastal Carolina University

Julian Gray (Hopewell): NC State Univeristy

Sean Brown (Hough): NC State University

Jesiah Davis (Hough): University of Virginia

Greyson Houchins (Hough): Campbell University

Mario Love (Hough): NC State University

Bralyn Oliver (Hough): University of Louisville

Evan Pryor (Hough): Ohio State University

Kaci Seegars (Hough): Liberty University

Coen Sutton (Hough): Appalachian State University

Tyrin Taylor (Hough): University of Colorado

Isaac Walker (Hough): Georgia Southern University

Tyson Clawson (Independence): UNC Charlotte

Kobe Paysour (Kings Mountain): University of North Carolina

DayDay Wilson (Kings Mountain): University of Missouri

Jake Johnson (Lake Norman): Charleston Southern University

Coleman Jeffcoat (Mallard Creek): Temple University

Elijah Metcalf (Mallard Creek): Middle Tennessee State University

Caden Noonkester (Marvin Ridge): NC State University

Andrew Threatt (Metrolina Christian): US Naval Academy

Gabe Stephens (Mountain Island Charter): University of North Carolina

Jordan Bly (Myers Park): Old Dominion University

Matt Dennis (Myers Park): Wake Forest University

Tahj El (Myers Park): Old Dominion University

Zaire Falls (Myers Park): Delaware State University

Drake Maye (Myers Park): University of North Carolina

Brandon Johnson (Newton-Conover): Duke University

Travali Price (North Lincoln): NC State University

Jayden Tate (North Lincoln): NC State University

Cameron Smith (Olympic): US Naval Academy

Eddie Czaplicki (Providence): Arizona State University

Korion Sharpe (Rocky River): North Carolina A&T University

Tyler Arrington (Shelby): Gardner-Webb University

Jack Hollifield (Shelby): Virginia Tech University

Bryson Nesbit (South Meck): University of North Carolina

Michael Gonzalez (Sun Valley): University of Louisville

Gavin Blackwell (Sun Valley): University of North Carolina

Avarion Cole (Vance): North Carolina A&T University

Power Echols (Vance): University of North Carolina

Nathaniel Spindle (Vance): North Carolina A&T University

Dante Casciola (Weddington): University of Dayton

Alex McLaughlin (Weddington): North Carolina State University

Jalen Newman (Weddington): Princeton University

Bryson Parker (Weddington): University of Richmond

Austin Pronk (Weddington): Davidson College

Zach Reda (Weddington): Elon University

Will Shipley (Weddington): Clemson University

Zeek Biggers (West Rowan): Georgia Tech University

Jordan Poole (West Stanly): North Carolina State University

Garett

704 Sports Report