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 search for a new general manager is over. Welcome to Carolina Scott Fitterer. On Thursday the Panthers and Fitterer agreed to a five-year deal to replace Marty Hurney as GM. So, who is Scott Fitterer? He’s been involved in the Seattle Seahawk’s organization since 2001, where he began as a scout. From there, he climbed the “company ladder” until he reached the position of vice president of football operations. The Panthers hope he can help them win a Super Bowl, just as he did for Seattle in 2013.

The Panthers were highly impressed with Fitterer, who was a late addition to the GM search. He was chosen over three other finalists, Ryan Poles, Adam Peters, and Monti Ossenfort. Apparently Fitterer is a data-driven GM, which is what the Panthers were looking for and what seems to be very popular nowadays in every major sport. A fun fact about Scott Fitterer: he spent three years in the Toronto Blue Jays minor league system before his involvement in professional football.

Charlotte Hornets

It’s the law of physics. What goes up must come down. Last Sunday in my report, the Hornets were rolling, having won three straight and looking very impressive. Now as I type this, they are currently on a three-game losing streak.

Now, the Hornets did win this past Monday, beating the Knicks by 21 points and pushing their win-streak to four games. Impressive in Charlotte. But on Wednesday the Mavericks got revenge from an earlier drubbing from the Hornets. For the first time in seven games, the Hornets failed to score 100 points and lost 104-93.

Matched up with the Toronto Raptors on Thursday and Saturday, the Hornets looked to get back to their winning ways. It was a great opportunity to do so, as the Raptors had won just two games up to that point. But it wasn’t to be the case. With both games played in Tampa, Florida, the Hornets dropped both by a combined six points (three point defeat each game). Rozier led the way in scoring in the first contest with 22, while Hayward did the same last night with 25. You have to love the way Hayward is playing so far this season. He’s giving the team great production, not to mention the veteran presence he provides around all the young guys.

It will continue to be interesting watching this team night in and night out because of their youthful inconsistencies. For a more in-depth look at the Hornets, make sure to check out Yacs’ most recent Charlotte Hornets Report by clicking here.

College Basketball

Charlotte 49ers

The 49ers hit the court twice this week against Conference-USA foe UAB and the games couldn’t have been any more different from one another. Friday night’s game was a nightmare for Charlotte as they scored just 37 points in a 61-37 defeat. Brice Williams led the way with 13 points, but no one else scored in double-digits. Overall the team was just 12 of 38 from the floor and 3 of 15 from the three-point line.

But the players must have quickly forgot that performance because the next night they poured in 70 points, holding UAB to 55 for the win. This game they hit 10 three-pointers, with Jhery Matos and Brice Williams each having three apiece. It was a great bounce-back win against a very tough conference opponent, and the 49ers should build on that going forward. Next up on the schedule is a two-game slate against Florida Atlantic next weekend.

Davidson Wildcats

With three games scheduled this week, the Wildcats won both of the ones they played. The third, the Friday matchup against Saint Louis, was postponed. On Tuesday Davidson defeated Saint Josephs at home 80-66. Five players scored in double digits in the easy win for the Wildcats with Kellan Grady leading the way with 21. Traveling to the land of the cheesesteaks for a game yesterday, Davidson continued where they left off with another easy win against La Salle. This time it was Carter Collins who filled up the scoring sheet with 24 points while hitting four three-pointers. The final score was 77-53 and gives the Wildcats an overall record of 8-5 (4-2 in conference). Next up is a Wednesday afternoon game against Fordham at home.

App State Mountaineers

Appalachian State played two games this week, both against Sun Belt Conference opponent South Alabama. Friday night’s contest between the two schools saw South Alabama coming out on top, 73-64. Though the Mountaineers made eight threes, they couldn’t stop the Jaguars, who drained ten three pointers. In particular, they couldn’t stop Michael Flowers who went off for 31 points on the night.

When the two teams squared off again the next night, it was a different story. The Mountaineer offense came alive with Adrian Delph scoring 28 points and the team finishing with a total of 83. Going 21 of 22 from the free throw line was very impressive, but arguably the most impressive stat of the night was the total of 16 three-pointers made by App State. The Jaguars’ Michael Flowers still went off with 27 points, but the rest of the offense was held in check for the most part. With the series split, Appalachian State now stands at 10-5 with a 4-2 conference record. Next weekend’s series will be against Georgia State in the Holmes Center.

High School

Bad news for Charlotte-area high schools this week came when it was announced that Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools will put athletics on pause due to Covid. No team (with a few exceptions) will be allowed to play or practice until at least February 15th. This means:

Basketball teams won’t be allowed to play or practice until the 15th, and when they resume play, there will be just a week left in the regular season. Most teams have played just three games at this point.

Swimming season is now over for CMS students, who won’t get to participate in the NCHSAA regionals and finals, scheduled for early February.

Soccer and lacrosse will lose about half of their regular seasons due to the pause.

Volleyball and cross-country teams will continue play, because they are in playoffs, but will not be allowed to practice.

This is a tough break for CMS athletes. I can’t imagine being a high schooler during these times and not being able to compete alongside your friends. For seniors it’s even rougher since most of them won’t go on to play after high school. Their athletic careers are over and it’s sad to think about this is how it ended.

Let’s take a look at some of this week’s scores from teams who DID play around the Charlotte-area:

Tuesday, January 12

South Iredell 64

Statesville 67

East Rowan Mustangs 72

West Rowan Falcons 92

Mooresville Blue Devils 53

Vance Cougars 87

Hopewell Titans 70

North Mecklenburg 99

Mallard Creek Mavericks 49

West Charlotte Lions 69

East Mecklenburg Eagles 47

Garinger Wildcats 46

Wednesday, January 13

Hough Huskies 50

Lake Norman Wildcats 40

Myers Park Mustangs 84

Butler Bulldogs 90

Thursday, January 14

South Rowan Raiders 54

South Davidson Wildcats 44

East Rutherford Cavaliers 40

South Point Red Raiders 66

East Rowan Mustangs 62

Jesse Carson Cougars 55

Friday, January 15

Lincolnton Wolves 82

West Lincoln Rebels 61

Cherryville Ironmen 62

Bessemer City Yellow Jackets 70

East Gaston Warriors 69

Chase Trojans 48

Weddington Warriors 75

Charlotte Catholic Cougars 61

Salisbury Hornets 64

Thomasville Bulldogs 45

West Rowan Falcons 74

South Iredell Vikings 54

Saturday, January 16

Lake Norman Christian Storm 113

Shining Light Knights 77

Cannon Cougars 84

Charlotte Christian Knights 56

Garett

704 Weekly Sports Report