Queen City Sports Report
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 2021 NFL Draft is now behind us and we would love to hear what you think about the Panthers’ draft selections! In case you missed it, here is the Panthers 2021 draft class:
1st Round, 8th Pick: Jaycee Horn, CB, South Carolina
Jaycee Horn
Credit: Michael Wade/Getty Images
2nd Round, 27th Pick: Terrace Marshall Jr., WR, LSU
3rd Round, 6th Pick: Brady Christensen, OT, BYU
3rd Round, 20th Pick: Tommy Tremble, TE, Notre Dame
4th Round, 21st Pick: Chuba Hubbard, RB, Oklahoma State
5th Round, 14th Pick: Daviyon Nixon, DT, Iowa
5th Round, 22nd Pick: Keith Taylor, CB, Washington
6th Round, 9th Pick: Deonte Brown, OG, Alabama
6th Round, 20th Pick: Shi Smith, WR, South Carolina
6th Round, 38th Pick: Thomas Fletcher, LS, Alabama
7th Round, 4th Pick: Phil Hoskins, DT, Kentucky
Charlotte Hornets
After a pair of losses and a win this week, the Hornets are clinging on to the 8th spot in the Eastern Conference. That would be good enough for a playoff birth if they were to hang on, but there is plenty of work yet to be done. And that starts tonight with a matchup with the 7th place Miami Heat, who are 2.5 games up on Charlotte.
freep.com
But the good news is the Hornets got Lamelo Ball and Malik Monk back from injury, just in time for the game against the Pistons, and they made an immediate impact. Ball dished out 8 assists while scoring 11, while Monk added 11 points of his own. Terry Rozier was the team’s leading scorer with 29 and the Hornets won easily, 107-94.
It was good to see the duo back as the team fights for a playoff birth. Counting tonight’s game against the Heat, only nine games remain on the Hornet’s schedule. At 31-32 on the season, they are 11.5 games back from conference-leading Brooklyn Nets. But the main teams to watch for the remainder of the season are the Hawks (3 games ahead of CHA), Celtics (2.5 games ahead), Heat (2.5 games ahead), Pacers (1 game behind), and Wizards (2.5 games behind). We need all of those other teams to lose as much as possible and the Hornets to take care of business.
Semi-Professional
Charlotte Knights
wccbcharlotte.com
We have finally made it to opening week in minor league baseball! After being pushed back a month earlier in the year, the already much anticipated start is Tuesday for the Knights, when they will kick a 12-game homestand against the Gwinnet Stripers and Nofolk Tides. That’s right, six games with each team. Make sure to come on out to the ballpark to support the home Knights and enjoy a great year of Triple-A baseball. If you missed my article this week about The Knights Top 10 Promotions this season, make sure to click the link!
College Baseball
This week’s final scores:
Charlotte 49ers (31-14)
Tuesday: Charlotte 4, UNC 1
Friday: Charlotte 3, Old Dominion 8
Saturday (Gm 1): Charlotte 6, Old Dominion 2
Saturday (Gm 2): Charlotte 2, Old Dominion 14
Sunday: Charlotte 0, Old Dominion 10
Davidson Wildcats (22-20)
Tuesday: Davidson 12, Wake Forest 17
Friday: Davidson 4, Richmond 6
Saturday (Gm 1): Davidson 4, Richmond 2
Saturday (Gm 2): Davidson 1, Richmond 3
Sunday: Davidson 17, Richmond 7
Appalachian State Mountaineers (16-23)
Tuesday: NC State 7, App State 3
Friday: Louisiana-Monroe 4, App State 6
Saturday: Louisiana-Monroe 10, App State 7
Sunday: Louisiana-Monroe 13, App State 5
High School
Football
Vance vs. Myers Park
Credit: Jeff Siner/The Charlotte Observer
Here are the final scores in our area from the semi-finals of the state playoffs:
Vance Cougars 42
Myers Park Mustangs 7
Butler Bulldogs 21
Grimsley Whirlies 28
Dudley Panthers 20
Mount Tabor Spartans 24
Monroe Redhawks 14
Charlotte Catholic Cougars 24
Salisbury Hornets 24
North Davidson Black Knights 21
Mountain Heritage Cougars 30
Hendersonville Bearcats 29
wbtv.com
The following are the STATE CHAMPIONSHIP matchups:
Salisbury Hornets vs. St. Pauls Bulldogs
Mount Tabor Spartans vs. Cleveland Rams
Grimsley Whirlies vs. Cardinal Gibbons Crusadors
Charlotte Catholic Cougars vs. Havelock Rams
Northside-Pinetown Panthers vs. Murphy Bulldogs
East Surry Cardinals vs. Tarboro Vikings
Mountain Heritage Cougars vs. Reidsville Rams
Garett