Football
Havelock 37 New Hanover 7
New Hanover suffered a forgettable setback for the second straight week as the Havelock Rams built off a three-score lead in the first half en route to a 37-7 victory against the Wildcats on Thursday.
Coming off a 3A North Carolina High School Athletic Association Championship appearance, Havelock carried a 15-7 lead until late in the second quarter and punched in another touchdown just before the break.
The Rams added to their cushion with 16 points in the third period to improve to 3-0 on the year.
At 1-2 overall, New Hanover will get a much needed bye week before closing a three-game road swing with a trip to 4A powerhouse Scotland on Friday, Sept. 16. The Wildcats have scored just two offensive touchdowns over the past two games, having been outscored 71-20.
Pine Forest 28 Hoggard 26
Big plays on the offensive side of the ball by unbeaten Pine Forest (3-0) proved to be the difference as Hoggard fell to 1-2 overall following a 28-26 heartbreaker in Fayetteville.
Both teams were in a seesaw battle for most of the night, but Pine Forest had an answer for every momentum change as the Vikings allowed a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns in the setback.
Josh Jones hit Austin Edwards on a fourth down two-yard touchdown pass to cap the opening drive of the game to put Hoggard on the board, but huge chunks of yardage guided Pine Forest throughout the opening 12 minutes of play. A 57 yard scoring run by Willis Anthony tied the game before Jones connected with Rashod Wallace down the seam for a 50-yard strike to give the Vikings a 13-7 edge. Pine Forest immediately responded as Lavonte Carter took the ensuing kickoff untouched for 99-yards to put the home team in front 14-13 moving into the second quarter.
Wallace had nearly 200 yards of total offense in the opening half and the Hoggard defense held Pine Forest scoreless for two periods of play before the final 12 minutes of the game.
Tony Allen found the end zone twice in the second half, but the effort was not enough as the Trojans used a 47 yard touchdown by Anthony for his third score of the night with 3:37 remaining in the game to grab the result.
Hoggard dropped to 1-2 overall. The Vikings return home for a date with Carolina Forest on Friday, Sept. 9.
Hoggard 13-0-7-6=26
Pine Forest 14-0-0-14=28
North Myrtle Beach 23 West Brunswick 0
Turnovers plagued West Brunswick throughout the night and North Myrtle Beach posted a defensive shutout Thursday by handing the Trojans a 23-0 setback on the Grand Strand.
North Myrtle Beach punched in a first quarter touchdown and converted a pair of field goals to grab a 13-0 cushion at the break. A field goal and 55 yard scoring drive during the third period put the game away.
West Brunswick fell to 2-1 on the year. The Trojans return home to play Whiteville on Friday, Sept. 9.
W. Brunswick 0-0-0-0=0
N. Myrtle Beach 7-6-10-0=23
Topsail 36 Dixon 24
The Pirates have now put up exactly 100 points over their last two games as Topsail upended Dixon 36-24 on Thursday.
Trailing 12-7 early in the second quarter, Topsail put together a 70 yard scoring drive with 8:07 left in the frame before Dixon took the ensuing kickoff deep into Pirates’ territory and capped it off with a quick touchdown. Topsail responded three minutes later to make it 21-18 in favor of the Pirates.
With a three-point edge at the half, the Pirates scored 15 straight points to gain separation for the win.
Topsail is now 2-1 overall heading into a home game against Croatan on Friday, Sept. 9.
Topsail 7-14-3-12=36
Dixon 12-6-0-6=24
Pender 34 South Brunswick 12
Justin Hooper took a 59 yard run into the end zone to grab an early lead for Pender as the Patriots never looked back in a 34-12 victory against South Brunswick. Hooper was at 120 rushing yards after 12 minutes of play and guided Pender to a 20-0 advantage at halftime.
Coming off a 64-12 setback in their season opener, Pender moved to a 1-1 overall. South Brunswick has now dropped two straight falling to 1-2 this season. The Cougars get back on the field with a trip to cross-county rival North Brunswick (1-1) on Friday, Sept. 9.
Soccer
Clinton 1 New Hanover 0
Ashley 1 Coastal Christian 1
Brian Cooke found the equalizer for Coastal Christian late in the second half as the Centurions played to a 1-1 draw with Ashley on Thursday.
Volleyball
New Hanover 3 Ashley 1
(25-14, 25-20, 23-25, 25-17)
Alyssa Gowdy and Julia Rhine combined for 23 kills to guide New Hanover’s attack in a 3-1 result against Ashley.
Junior Syndey Eavey recorded five aces from the service for the Wildcats and played a big role in the defense with 35 digs. Senior setter Courtney Loughran finished with 25 assists in the passing game.
South Brunswick 3 Topsail 1
(25-11, 23-25, 25-17, 25-13)
Hoggard 3 West Brunswick 0
(25-20, 25-10, 25-13)
Hoggard rolled to a perfect week in conference play following a straight set sweep against West Brunswick. Kirby Smith led the way with 10 kills, while senior libero Madie Schider recorded 13 digs. Samantha Shuffler led the passing game with 13 assists.
Tennis
Topsail 5 Laney 4
Topsail edged out Laney 5-4 in a nail biter on Thursday. Caroline Harris teamed up with Sierra Dougherty as Topsail’s number one tandem, while Kinsley Beverage and Kasey Pfaff clinched the match with a 9-7 at No. 2 doubles to secure the win.
Harris edge Jessica Tucker 6-4, 6-3 on court number one during singles play, but Kendall Hanks, Grayson Smith and Anna Duckworth kept things interesting through individual competition.
Singles: No. 1 Caroline Harris (L) def. Jessica Tucker (L) 6-4, 6-4; No. 2 Kendall Hanks (L) def. Sierra Dougherty (T), 6-1, 6-1; No. 3 Grayson Smith (L) def. Kinsley Beverage (T) 6-0, 6-2; No. 4 Kasey Pfaff (T) def. Sophia Koosman (L) 6-3, 2-6 (10-6); No. 5 Olivia Kelly (L) def. Chely Preitt (T) 6-2, 6-1; No. 6 Anna Duckworth (T) def. Olivia Swivel (L) 6-2, 7-5
Doubles: No. 1 Harris/Doughtery (L) def. Tucker/Hanks (L) 8-2; No. 2 Beverage/Pfaff (T) def. Tucker/Hanks 9-7; No. 3 Kelly/Swivel (L) def. Pritt/Duckworth (T) 8-5
Golf
Caroline Cahill topped the leader board for the second time this week after the Laney standout posted a 71 on Thursday to guide the Bucs’ to their second conference victory of the fall season. Cahill hit 36 on the front nine from the green tees at Porter’s Neck Country Club and scored 35 after the turn to finish seven strokes ahead of runner-up Jayla Rogers.
Cahill and Rogers guided Laney to another strong performance, while Anna Moore of Hoggard hit 88 to finish third.
Team Scores
Laney: Caroline Cahill, 71; Jayla Rogers 78; Kasside Rode, 109 = 258
Hoggard: Anna Moore, 88; Tia Johnson, 105; Bethany Rasmussen, 120 = 313
Ashley: Livy Tran, 94; Claire Headlee, 110; Ana Zeljkovic, 111= 315
West Brunswick: Powell Palmer, 102; Sadie Smeltzer, 113; Alexis Fulford, 115= 330
South Brunswick: Caroline Bland, 94; Katy Kerns, 115; 126= 335
Topsail: Angela Linehan, 108; Kate Flowers, 119; Liz Sharpe, 119= 346
New Hanover: Shelby Hudson, 121; Mimi Martin, 124; Madison James, 124= 369
