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 Panthers dropped another pre-season game last night against the Baltimore Ravens 20-3, giving them an 0-2 record. Now we all know that pre-season doesn’t mean much, but for a young Panthers team that features a lot of new faces, things haven’t exactly been too promising so far. With just three pre-season games for teams this year, Carolina has just one final tune up against Pittsburgh before the regular season begins against the Jets. For this reason, I would have liked to see more of new quarterback Sam Darnold, especially in last night’s game. He didn’t see any action in the first game against the Colts, and just played a single series last night, going 1-2 with 16 yards. To me, you have to get him a little more acquainted with his new offense before the season gets here.
The Charlotte Observer
Backup quarterback Will Grier looked good last night however, completing 11 of 14 passes for 144 yards. A problem that is seemingly resurfacing from last season is redzone efficiency. The Panthers couldn’t get into the endzone last night and is something that Panthers fans know needs to improve before the team sees more wins. Chuba Hubbard led the team in rushing last night, with just 24 yards, while Terrace Marshall led the way in receiving with 3 catches and 50 yards. To me it will be interesting to see how many reps the starters get on Friday against the Steelers, since that’s their last pre-season game.
Charlotte Hornets
Last season’s leading scorer, Terry Rozier, signed a four-year, $97 million extension to stay in Charlotte earlier this week. He had a fantastic season last year, averaging 20.4 points per game, 4.2 assists per game, 1.3 steals per game, and 4.4 rebounds per game, all career bests. He is also an important veteran presence on a team full of young players.
Semi-Professional
Charlotte Knights
milb.com
In his debut game with the Knights after being promoted, Romy Gonzalez made it a memorable night for himself and Knights fans. He went 2-4 with two home runs and a total of 5 RBI. But it was his second homer of the night that was the most memorable. The three-run shot in the bottom of the 9th gave Charlotte a walkoff 7-5 win over the Tides of Norfolk. Interestingly enough, it was the Knights’ third walkoff win in the last four games.
Even with the recent flurry of walkoff wins though, the Knights still find themselves in last place in the Triple-A Southeastern Division, with a 35-59 record, 26 games behind division-leading Durham Bulls. The Knights will wrap up their series against the Tides today, before getting a day off tomorrow and beginning a series with the Bulls on Tuesday.
Charlotte Checkers
Countdown to the first game of the season: 55 days
High School Football
Myers Park vs. Hough
Jonathan Aguallo/Charlotte Observer
Final scores from week one in the Charlotte-area:
Myers Park Mustangs 16
Hough Huskies 32
South Mecklenburg Sabres 6
Charlotte Catholic Cougars 13
Ardrey Kell Knights 10
Providence Panthers 28
Olympic Trojans 28
Sun Valley Spartans 14
Charlotte Christian Knights 7
Weddington Warriors 14
Monroe Redhawks 6
Marvin Ridge Mavericks 37
Parkwood Wolf Pack 30
Cuthbertson Cavaliers 47
Mallard Creek Mavericks 35
Butler Bulldogs 28
A.L. Brown Wonders 28
North Mecklenburg Vikings 20
Cox Mill Chargers 31
Hopewell Titans 19
Rocky River Ravens 0
Porter Ridge Pirates 37
Huss Huskies 13
Hickory Ridge Ragin’ Bulls 68
Concord Spiders 0
Robinson Bulldogs 20
Mount Pleasant Tigers 24
Central Cabarrus Vikings 0
Lake Norman Wildcats 37
West Iredell Warriors 0
South Iredell Vikings 51
North Iredell Raiders 7
Statesville Greyhounds 42
Carson Cougars 30
Hickory Red Tornadoes 7
Alexander Central Cougars 21
St. Stephens Indians 7
Bandys Trojans 44
Stuart Cramer Storm 18
Bunker Hill Bears 29
East Burke Cavaliers 14
Patton Panthers 6
T.C. Roberson Rams 0
Watauga Pioneers 33
East Lincoln Mustangs 39
Hibriten Panthers 7
Shelby Golden Lions 37
Kings Mountain Mountaineers 14
Burns Bulldogs 8
Forestview Jaguars 6
Lincolnton Wolves 7
South Point Red Raiders 46
Garett