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

While we wait and see what the offseason will bring in terms of new blood to Carolina, this week was about a couple of players that have brought many good memories to the Panthers franchise over the years. On Wednesday Thomas Davis, one of the most beloved players in franchise history, announced that he will be signing a one-day contract with the Panthers on March 11th so he will be able to retire a Panther. Davis spent 14 seasons in Charlotte, where he was drafted back in 2005. Along with his many accolades, perhaps the thing that Panthers fans remember most about him is the fact that he gave everything he had to the franchise. Enduring many setbacks, he never gave up and seemed to come back stronger than ever every time.

Tight end Greg Olsen retired back in January, but after hearing the Thomas Davis news this week, he messaged Davis on social media about that March 11th date, “sounds fun, see you there.” So it appears that Olsen also has plans to retire a Panther. He spent this last season with the Seattle Seahawks. Unlike Davis, Greg Olsen wasn’t drafted by the Panthers. But like Davis, Carolina is Olsen’s home. After spending his first four years in Chicago, Greg Olsen spent his next nine in Charlotte, and fit right in from the start, becoming the best tight end in franchise history.

Charlotte Hornets

Cruising into All-Star Break, the Hornets went 1-1 this week, with a tough loss to the Trailblazers and a convincing win against the Timberwolves. Monday’s matchup against the Trailblazers was a tough one, as the Blazers are a very strong team out of the powerful Western Conference. The effort was there, but in the end the Hornets didn’t quite have enough for the superior team, though you still see many promising signs of the youthful team. Lamelo Ball led the team in points (30) and assists (8), and is the first rookie in 60 years to lead all rookies at All-Star Break in points, assists, rebounds, and steals. Like Michael Jordan said, he has definitely exceeded expectations so far this season.

The Hornets would bounce back Wednesday with a much easier matchup against the struggling T-Wolves, who have just seven wins on the season. Led by Terry Rozier with 31 points, the Hornets dropped 135 on the night while holding Minnesota to 102. Though it wasn’t the toughest matchup, it was the perfect way to go into the break, keeping confidence high for the youngsters and the fans excited as the team fights for a playoff spot. Currently the Hornets are in 7th place in the East with a 17-18 record, and just 6.5 games behind the leading Philadelphia 76ers. The season will resume this coming Thursday with a games against visiting Detroit Pistons.

Semi-Professional

Charlotte Knights

Just when baseball season is around the corner and excitement is growing every day, news broke this week that the Triple-A baseball season will be pushed back a month and the new opening day will be May 4. We’ve waited long enough to have minor league baseball back, why did they have to push it back even further?

College Basketball

Charlotte 49ers

Continuing with recent struggles, the 49ers dropped their last two games of the regular season this weekend at the hands of Marshall. The final scores were nearly identical, with Friday night’s final being 75-67 and yesterday’s being 75-66. The two losses brings the losing streak to eight games, and with two canceled games during that streak, the 49ers haven’t been on the winning side of things since January 30th against Florida International. That is definitely not how Charlotte wanted to enter the conference tournament, which they will do on Wednesday against UTSA in Frisco, Texas.

Davidson Wildcats

The Wildcats started off the Atlantic 10 Tournament with a convincing win Friday night, 99-67 against George Mason. Yesterday’s game wasn’t meant to be, though. After nearly hitting the century mark on Friday, Davidson could only score 52 against VCU who scored 64. Kellan Grady and Hyunjung Lee both led the team with 13 points apiece and the team finished with nine three pointers, but it wasn’t enough to get past the Rams and into the finals. The loss marks the end of the season for Davidson, who finished with a 13-8 overall record and 7-4 conference record.

Appalachian State Mountaineers

App State had their end-of-season struggles as well, losing six of their last seven regular season games. But the Mountaineers are 2-0 in the Sun Belt Tournament, keeping their hopes alive at a shot in the NCAA Tournament. The Mountaineers topped Little Rock in their opening conference tournament game Friday night 67-60, with Justin Forrest dropping 24 points. Forrest would continue to possess the hot hand yesterday against Texas State, scoring 28 points. And App State needed all of them. The game was knotted 65-65 after regulation, with both teams’ seasons on the line. In the end, it was the Mountaineers who came out on top, 76-73. Next up is Coastal Carolina tonight at 9:00 p.m. App and Coastal did not get to play each other this season since both games were canceled due to Covid. The Chanticleers finished 2.5 games better than the Mountaineers this season in conference play.

College Baseball

This week’s final scores:

Charlotte 49ers (7-3)

Tuesday: Charlotte 7, UNCG 9

Friday: Western Carolina 4, Charlotte 7

Saturday: Western Carolina 5, Charlotte 2

Sunday: Western Carolina 10, Charlotte 5

Davidson Wildcats (5-5)

Tuesday: Davidson 3, Duke 7

Friday: Davidson 5, Coastal Carolina 15

Saturday: UConn 3, Davidson 4

Sunday: Miami (OH) 11, Davidson 3

Appalachian State Mountaineers (6-5)

Tuesday: NC A&T 7, App State 14

Friday: App State 2, East Carolina 13

Saturday: App State 2, East Carolina 5

Sunday: App State 2, East Carolina 10

High School

Basketball

Weddington WarriorsTwitter, @WHSWarriors — Weddington Warriors
Twitter, @WHSWarriors

As of yesterday, the state championship games are in the books…congrats to each state champion. Here are the final scores:

1A

Lincoln Charter Eagles 58

Wilson Preparatory Academy Tigers 66

2A

Hendersonville Bearcats 98

Farmville Central Jaguars 113

3A

Weddington Warriors 56

Northwood Chargers 47

4A

Ardrey Kell Knights 65

Millbrook Wildcats 67

Football

The latest varsity football scores from Week 2:

Mallard Creek Mavericks 24

Lake Norman Wildcats 29

Mooresville Blue Devils 6

Hough Huskies 37

West Charlotte Lions 24

North Mecklenburg Vikings 12

Olympic Trojans 28

South Mecklenburg Sabres 3

West Mecklenburg Hawks 0

North Lincoln Knights 34

A.L. Brown Knights 30

Central Cabarrus Vikings 29

Jay M. Robinson Bulldogs 45

Northwest Cabarrus Trojans 7

Weddington Warriors 7

Charlotte Catholic Cougars 3

Piedmont Panthers 10

Cuthbertson Cavaliers 31

Parkwood Wolf Pack 36

Sun Valley Spartans 19

South Caldwell Spartans 18

Statesville Greyhounds 27

Ronald Reagan Raiders 44

South Iredell Vikings 16

West Rowan Falcons 7

Davie War Eagles 35

East Burke Cavaliers 43

West Iredell Warriors 6

Fred T. Foard Tigers 7

Bunker Hill Bears 32

West Caldwell Warriors 6

Hibriten Panthers 62

Hickory Red Tornados 16

Freedom Patriots 28

Alexander Central Cougars 7

Watauga Pioneers 21

Shelby Golden Lions 38

R-S Central Hilltoppers 22

Crest Chargers 55

Stuart Cramer Storm 24

Garett

Queen City Sports Report