Thinking big picture

Fall sports season is rolling around, even though it's still oppressively hot outside.

This time of year, I always begin to wonder: Which team, or teams, has the best shot of bringing a state championship back to Iredell County. [Fall has been particularly good to us here lately.]

KEEP AN EYE ON THEM: Three-time county runner of the year Alexa Van Epern returns for her senior season to lead a talented Lake Norman girls cross country team. Kaitlyn Ferguson and rising sophomores Jenny Gallagher and Rebecca Roman all finished inside the top 40 at last year's state championship meet, paving the way to the Wildcats' fourth-place finish. A note of interest: State champion Asheville Roberson graduated its two best runners, both of whom placed in the top five at the state meet.


QUEST FOR 3: Lake Norman's boys soccer team and Mooresville's boys cross country team will be pursuing a third consecutive state title. Both have immense voids to fill. Lake Norman graduated forward Matt Foxx, midfielder Ryan Mertes and defender Matt Gwilt, all of whom were named all-state last year, when the Wildcats capped back-to-back undefeated seasons with a second straight 3A state championship. Mooresville lost Patrick Campbell and Nathan Craig, who are now going to be running at North Carolina State and Brigham Young, respectively. If I had to pick which team I thought had the better chance to extend the streak, I'd take Mooresville because of the Blue Devils' stockpile of developing distance runners.

DIG THIS: North Iredell's volleyball team could be scary good. The Raiders will have one of the best front lines in the area -- perhaps region or state -- in outside hitter Molly Rhyne and middle blocker Taylor Clendenin. The duo helped the Raiders earn a piece of the 2007 North Piedmont Conference title. They shared it with eventual 3A state runner-up West Iredell. The Warriors graduated three marquee starters from that squad, opening the door for North Iredell to make a run at the state title this season. For the Raiders to become a legitimate championship contender, I believe three things must happen: (1.) There has to be a commitment to great defense, because a potent offense will only take you so far; (2.) They need to cultivate a pin-point accurate setter to replace Anna Wells, who graduated; and (3.) There must be confidence amongst teammates that they're good enough to go all the way, and a determination to see it through.

Football is in the air

The N.C. High School Athletic Association set an Aug. 1 date for the first official day of high school football practice.

That means we're a week away, folks.

Opening night is just around the corner, too. The season kicks off Aug. 22.

I love it. Nothing gets my blood pumping in this profession quite like Friday night football.

Wednesday night's East-West All-Star football game in Greensboro only increased my anticipation.

Let the countdown begin.

Black and gold suits Rucker

Quan Rucker elected to play football for Wake Forest once his high school career is over at West Iredell High School.

The receiver has given the university a verbal commitment. (More on this story can be found in Wednesday's edition of the R&L).

"Wake Forest was high on his list," West Iredell coach Mark Weycker said.

Higher than Clemson, Illinois, North Carolina State and Virginia, just to name a few. Those schools pursued his services, too.

I think this is a great decision by an athlete I have a lot of respect for. Wake Forest is a fine academic institution with a football program on the rise. The Demon Deacons are 20-7 over the last two seasons, which includes an 11-3 mark in 2006, when they won the Atlantic Coast Conference title.

It always pleases me to see good things happen for good people, and Rucker is definitely one of those. If you've ever had the fortune of speaking to the young man, you know what I'm talking about. He's very grounded, a yes sir, no sir, yes ma'am, no ma'am, type of guy.

In addition to his tremendous athletic skill set -- he is a three-sport athlete at West Iredell -- Rucker will bring a good work ethic and strong leadership qualities to Wake Forest.

Those attributes have to be valued as much as his big-play ability, which keyed West Iredell's come-from-behind win over North Piedmont Conference champion West Rowan last season. After falling behind 12-0 midway through the third quarter, Rucker hauled in a slant pass from Jared Thompson, split two defenders and took it the rest of the way for a 72-yard touchdown. The Warriors' 20-18 win over West Rowan was the Falcons' only regular season loss.

Yes indeed, Wake Forest will be getting an all-around talent.

That's for sure.

Iredell blanked in East-West girls soccer showcase

For the first time since 2005, Iredell County isn't sending anyone to compete in this summer's N.C. Coaches Association East-West All-Star girls soccer game.

Rosters for this year's event were released this week to the media.

The West team is as follows: Kelly Adams (Porter Ridge), Kristin Alderin-Fleagle (East Forsyth), Sarah Caldwell (Watauga), Heather Carter (North Stanly), Sarah Christman (Asheville Roberson), Eleanor Davidson (Pfafftown Reagan), Caroline Dickson (Greensboro Page), Meghan Gilmore (Asheville Roberson), Molly Kuchar (Asheville Reynolds), Casey McCormick (Charlotte Catholic), Taylor Norman (Pfafftown Reagan), Rachel Patton (Charlotte Providence), Joy Pittman (Charlotte Ardrey Kell), Corinne Smith (Greensboro Grimsley), Lena Suarez (Huntersville Hopewell) and Mélise Welbourn (West Henderson). West Henderson's Craig Long will coach the West team.

This wasn't a particularly strong year for seniors in Iredell -- underclassmen by and large grabbed the headlines -- but there were a few solid East-West candidates who were passed over in favor of the aforementioned 16 players. Below are my top three seniors, in no particular order:

• Caroline Moffett. The Lake Norman forward was an all-conference, all-region selection. Her 13 goals were tied for most on a Wildcats team that advanced to the regional final of the 3A state playoffs. Moffett could score with her feet or head, making her a dual threat.
• Tiffany Wilson. The Mooresville midfielder was all-conference and all-region. She tallied 12 goals and 12 assists to help the Blue Devils win 19 games and reach the second round of the 3A state playoffs. Wilson scored in big games. The hat trick against Statesville comes to mind. Her goal in the 63rd minute on April 16 tied the contest with Lake Norman at 2-all, but Lake Norman would eventually prevail 3-2.
• Brittney Dailey. The Mooresville midfielder was all-conference and all-region. Her offensive numbers don't scream at you (four goals, six assists), but she was reliable with the ball at her feet. Dailey was an excellent defender, too; you couldn't just drive right past her.

Countdown to All-County

This week the R&L sports department staff will discuss who we think should be on the All-County teams, which will be announced the week of June 9.

There are six spring sports, and nominations have been streaming in from Iredell County high school coaches who want us to consider their athletes.

The process is a challenging one for the simple fact there always tends to be an outstanding pool of nominees to choose from. (That goes for fall and winter sports seasons, too.)

This year is shaping up no differently.

The R&L also selects a county player of the year (or athlete of the year, in the case of track and field) in all sports. Those will be announced the week of June 9, as well.

'Bittersweet' ending for Wildcats

I'm not convinced the voters got it right when they voted Asheville Roberson No. 1 in the nation in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America poll, which was released Tuesday.

Having said that, the Rams are still REALLY good.

They had enough offensive punch to fend off a valiant effort by Lake Norman (24-2-1) in Wednesday night's 3A West Regional final. Roberson (28-0) won 2-1 and advances to play for the state championship Saturday.

Rams keeper Rachel Jennings made eight saves, and Roberson had nine for the game.

Lake Norman keeper Mollie Zimmer stopped three shots. The first goal she allowed wasn't really her fault. Marrisa McCord's shot off a Roberson throw-in was unchallenged. She had a clean look and buried it for a 1-0 lead with 10 minutes, 30 seconds left before halftime.

"There were a couple of defensive errors," Lake Norman coach Jon Mertes said, "and you can't do that when you're trying to get to the title game."

Mertes was hard-pressed to find many flaws in his team's execution and effort, though, and rightfully so.

The Wildcats played probably the best 30 minutes of the season in the second half. Of course, that was after they fell behind 2-0 to the Rams, who have now outscored their opponents 137-3 in 2008.

And so, Lake Norman will have to settle for making the state semifinals for the first time in program history.

"It's very sad that we didn't make it to the final," senior Caroline Moffett said. "But we had a great season. It's the farthest we've ever gotten (in the playoffs). Bittersweet, I guess."

Wildcats shine in pressure situation

Lake Norman's girls soccer team is one victory away from playing for the first state championship in the program's six-year history.

The Wildcats defeated Marvin Ridge in Saturday's 3A state quarterfinals thanks to a 3-1 advantage in penalty kicks. The teams battled to a scoreless draw in regulation. No one scratched in the two 10-minute overtimes or two five-minute sudden death periods either.

Shootouts are usually intense (this one was no different). There is pressure on the goalies to make saves, but the shooters face a lot of pressure, too. No one wants to be remembered for missing the entire net, trust me.

Lake Norman goalkeeper Mollie Zimmer set the tone with a magnificent diving save on Marvin Ridge's first PK.

Lauren Vawter buried Lake Norman's first attempt.

The Wildcats made two of their next three kicks, while the Mavericks missed two of their next three -- one shot went too high and another clanked off the crossbar.

It had to be demoralizing for previously unbeaten Marvin Ridge (20-1-1), which outplayed Lake Norman (24-1-1) most of the game and had a goal disallowed in the 77th minute on an offside call.

I admire the Wildcats' ability to hang in there and find a way to get the job done.

Don't write off Lake Norman baseball in the next round either

Lake Norman's baseball team had never won a playoff game before this season.

Now the Wildcats have won a pair and are in the 3A state playoffs' Round of 16.

They earned their place, too, beating last year's 3A state runner-up Southeast Guilford 6-5 in the first round followed by Tuesday night's 5-3 come-from-behind win over Southwest Guilford, the No. 2 seed from the Piedmont Triad Conference.

Lake Norman faces a familiar opponent in the next round. They travel to Granite Quarry to battle North Piedmont Conference champion East Rowan (24-2).

The Wildcats (13-13) finished tied for sixth in the NPC, but owned the head-to-head tiebreaker with Carson and North Iredell for the league's last playoff berth.

They HAD to win their last two games of the regular season just to get in, so the Wildcats have essentially been in playoff mode for about two weeks.

"That sense of urgency at the end of the season has carried us these past two games," Lake Norman's Joe Faist said following the Southwest Guilford victory.

Lake Norman is getting contributions from everyone.

Garrett Braun, Tyler Lewis and Eric Manser each homered and Nick Lomascolo struck out 13 in the Wildcats' first-round victory.

Jordan Farrell almost hit for the cycle in the second round. His sixth-inning leadoff triple set the stage for the go-ahead runs. Right fielder Donnie Burt's diving grab on a line-drive to right-center prevented Southwest Guilford from taking an early 2-1 lead, possibly more.

And sophomore Scottie Williams, making his first playoff start Tuesday, pitched solidly - not mention picked off three baserunners -- before giving way to Ross Whitley with the game knotted at 3-all in the bottom of the fifth. Whitley slammed the door on the Cowboys. He didn't allow a single hit over the final three innings. Whitley also struck out six of the 11 batters he faced.

I may be naive enough to believe this, but I think Lake Norman may just pull off the stunner of all stunners Friday. They're playing well. They're confident. And East Rowan, winner of 20 straight, is due for a loss.

My prediction: Lake Norman 5, East Rowan 4; Wildcats move on to the state quarterfinals

Gridiron Cup farewell tour

Statesville and Mooresville will discontinue their series in football beginning in 2009.

The Blue Devils, who will be joining a new 4A league consisting of five Mecklenburg County schools and Lake Norman, opted not to keep Statesville on the schedule as a nonconference game.

Statesville wanted to prolong the series.

Mooresville football coach Barclay Marsh says it's not that they didn't want to, but that when they were working on their schedule "we felt like it was in our best interest to go with the schools we did."

That would be Alexander Central, Bandys, Northwest Cabarrus, South Rowan and West Rowan.

Farewell, Gridiron Cup.

It's sad, because in 2001 Mooresville and Statesville renewed a rivalry that had been dormant since 1985. The annual winner receives the Gridiron Cup, a trophy sponsored by the R&L and Mooresville Tribune.

Statesville captured the cup for the first time since 2001 this past season. Mooresville won the other five meetings.

The 2008 winner will be the last.

Personally, I would prefer to see Mooresville continue playing Statesville. There's always a lot of buildup, and the games are typically exciting.

However, I have no problem with Mooresville deciding not to play Statesville. The program should be free to choose whoever they want to play. Their hands shouldn't be tied.

Anyway, I think Statesville and North Iredell or Statesville and West Iredell make a better rivalry game. That's just my opinion.

Diamond notes

The N.C. High School Athletic Association state baseball playoffs begin May 9.

Unless they implode during the final five North Piedmont 3A games of the season, the Mooresville Blue Devils are a lock to qualify. At 9-4, they are currently tied for second in the NPC standings.

Iredell County has two other legitimate playoff hopefuls in the NPC, but Lake Norman (6-7) and North Iredell (6-7) are jumbled together with Carson (6-7) and West Rowan (5-8). Of those four, only two are probably going to make it.

The league gets six automatic bids. In addition to Mooresville, South Rowan and Northwest Cabarrus are not in too much danger of missing out, and league-leading East Rowan has already clinched a spot.

Important dates for Lake Norman: April 29 at West Rowan; May 2 vs. North Iredell

Important dates for North Iredell: Friday vs. Carson; May 2 at Lake Norman

Coach shouldn't be fired

OK, so let me get this straight: The Carolina Hurricanes are considering letting go of Peter Laviolette, the coach who led them to the 2006 Stanley Cup title?

I guess missing the playoffs twice in as many years since that time lends itself to serious scrutiny.Hurricanes general manager Jim Rutherford told The Associated Press this week there isn’t a rush to decide on Laviolette’s future.

“Everything is under review, as it should be at the end of any season,’’ Rutherford told the AP.

“Even under the best of times, there (are) changes that are made,’’ he added. "And then when you miss the playoffs two years in a row, you have to consider ... the things you can do to try to change, and bring about change, in your team and give you a better chance to make the playoffs and win the Stanley Cup.’’

I could see how missing the playoffs in back-to-back years after winning the Cup could get a coach fired in a place like Detroit or New Jersey. But the Hurricanes don’t have the tradition of the Red Wings or Devils, so this bantering about handing Laviolette the pink slip is disturbing.

Besides, it’s not like Carolina completely tanked after winning the Cup like it did in 2003-04 — under then-coach Paul Maurice — following its 2002 Stanley Cup Finals loss to Detroit.

The Canes barely missed the playoffs this season and last. In fact, this year Carolina finished two points shy of winning the Southeast Division with a record of 43-33-6. It did so despite mounting injuries to key players throughout the season.

Laviolette shouldn’t be skating on thin ice just yet. Cut the guy some slack.

Phones ringing off the hook for Gillespie

Statesville history teacher Todd Jones got a phone call during his planning period Monday morning. A University of Miami women’s basketball coach was on the other line and wanted to speak to the Greyhounds girls basketball coach.


We would like to have Keyrra Gillespie come to Miami, Jones said the coach told him.

Small piece of advice, Hurricanes: Take a number and get in line.

Clemson, Florida and Charlotte have already offered Gillespie scholarships. Duke, Wake Forest and Kansas are a few other big names in the recruiting mix.

But interest in the junior point guard swelled in a short period of time, and it’s no coincidence the spike comes on the heels of Gillespie’s first team All-State selection March 27. College coaches around the country have been so advised.

Jones said he received 90 phone calls over the weekend from programs like California, Creighton and UCLA.

Even LSU — you know, the team that’s in the Final Four for the fifth straight year.

"I had to keep recharging my phone. It rang all weekend," Jones said. "It was crazy."

Pretty soon, those coaches can contact the three-time R&L county player of the year, and Jones brought that to Gillespie's attention.

"I said, 'You have your phone on ... I want you to answer every phone call,' "Jones said. " 'And you better be able to come back and tell me who called and everything else. I don’t care if it’s 100 of them, write down names. You need to come up with some questions you’re going to ask them, and I’ll help you with the questions if you want.’ She knows it’s coming."

Absolutely. The buzz comes with the territory.

Hopping on the Davidson bandwagon

How about those Davidson Wildcats?

I admit I wasn't bold enough to pick Davidson to beat Georgetown in my NCAA tournament bracket -- although I did have it beating Gonzaga in the first round -- but that's exactly what the Wildcats did Sunday. They knocked off the second-seeded Hoyas 74-70 to advance to the Sweet 16.

As a proud Appalachian State graduate, it has never been my style to root for the Mountaineers' Southern Conference rival.

Well, those days are gone.

What's not to like about a well-coached, fundamentally-sound basketball team?

That's the Wildcats in a nutshell. Oh, and they just happen to have probably the best shooter in the nation in guard Stephen Curry, who followed up his 40-point performance in their first-round win over Gonzaga with 30 against the Hoyas.

People are talking about a possible North Carolina-Kansas showdown in the Final Four.

Don't count out those talented 10th-seeded Wildcats from winning the Midwest Regional this week.

I won't be.

Some headscratching selections

The North Piedmont 3A released its winter sports all-conference award winners to the R&L on Monday. There are some more questionable selections this year. (SHOCK!)

Sometimes you wonder if the people voting on these things actually have a clue as to what's going on.

You can tell some let their jealousy or disdain for another school influence their voting.

Last year, Lake Norman swimmer Austin Johnson won a state championship in the 100-yard butterfly. He also was a regional champion, a county champion and a conference champion.

Somehow, a majority of NPC powers that be managed not to vote for him as NPC swimmer of the year. I know there were some other talented swimmers in the league, but not the caliber of Johnson.

It was absurd.

Mooresville's Ellen Velte got hosed in the girls swimmer of the voting in 2008. I think Statesville's Shannon Hayes is an outstanding swimmer, but Velte is better and the results back that up.

The NPC swim coaches have more of a swimming background than do the writers here at the R&L. Nevertheless, we will get it right when we unveil our county swimmers of the year in the coming days.

NPC shows its stuff

Coaches always love to defend the strength of their conference. Often times it blows up in their faces when the state playoffs arrive, because teams from other conferences eliminate them quickly.

So far it looks as though North Piedmont 3A boys basketball coaches who were bragging about the depth of the NPC this season look justified in doing so.

The top four seeds won their first-round playoff games Tuesday night, and three of them triumphed on the road.

Northwest Cabarrus (NPC champion) defeated visiting Eastern Randolph (Mid-Piedmont Conference No. 4) 64-51

East Rowan (NPC No. 2) upended St. Stephens (Catawba Valley Conference No. 2) 83-65

West Rowan (NPC No. 3) knocked off Asheville Roberson (Mountain Athletic Conference champion) 60-56 in overtime

Mooresville (NPC No. 4) toppled Kings Mountain (Southwestern Conference No. 1) 76-66

And don't forget Lake Norman (NPC No. 5) took defending 3A state champion Concord to the wire before losing 74-70.

Statesville (NPC No. 6) had a rough go, losing at Trinity, ranked second in the state, 78-55, but all in all I'd say that was an impressive statement by the NPC.

If the same four can win Thursday in the second round that would mean 1/4 of 16 remaining teams in the 3A playoffs would hail from the NPC. Now that would be something to brag about.

Clearly, there's no shame in East Lincoln's game

Before I get started, take a couple of moments to look over this box score from Tuesday night's high school girls basketball game between South Iredell and East Lincoln, which was played in Denver ...

South Iredell 6 12 2 16 -- 36
East Lincoln 23 23 43 12 -- 101
SOUTH IREDELL (36): Tish McCombs 13, Saddler 9, Kay. Kerley 5, Hoover 5, Kas. Kerley 3, Morris 1.
EAST LINCOLN (101): Kiandra Long 22, Lindsy Wright 22, Sonny Marthers 15, Kristen Wakefield 13, Megan Savidge 11, King 9, Denton 4, Davis 2, Mordas 1, Ashley 1.

NOW, I ask, was that necessary against a 1-21 team?

Answer: Absolutely not.

Outscoring your opponent 43-2 in the third quarter when you led 46-18 at the half was classless, East Lincoln.

At 16-7 -- and 12-1 in a really weak conference -- the Mustangs are nothing to write home about. But they found time to run up the score on a struggling team. C'mon.

Some people have no shame.

Hurricanes have some work to do

The Carolina Hurricanes play at the Washington Capitals tonight. They trail Washington by a point in the Southeast Division standings.

The Hurricanes need to pick up the pace or they're going to find themselves sitting out of the playoffs for the second straight year -- and they won the Stanley Cup in 2006 for crying out loud.

Currently, the Hurricanes have 56 points. Good grief, the fourth-place teams in the Atlantic and Northeast Divisions have more points than that.

If the NHL playoffs began today, the Eastern Conference seeds would look like this:

1. Ottawa (leads Northeast Division) 70 points
2. Philadelphia (leads Atlantic Division) 65
3. Washington (leads Southeast Division) 57
4. Montreal 67
5. Pittsburgh 65
6. New Jersey 64
7. N.Y. Rangers 60
8. Boston 59

On the outside looking in: Buffalo 57, Carolina 56, Atlanta 56, Florida 55, N.Y. Islanders 54, Toronto 53, Tampa Bay 51.

A match truly worth watching

Fans came in droves to Lake Norman High School on Wednesday to see Lake Norman and Mooresville wrestle for the North Piedmont 3A championship.

It was worth the price of admission. It’s doubtful you could have found better entertainment, and judging by the turnout, those in attendance sensed a special battle.

Mooresville prevailed 38-27 to clinch its third consecutive NPC title and deny Lake Norman from obtaining the program’s first.

The Blue Devils did it in front of a near-capacity crowd. Wrestling may get overlooked at times in the sports world, but not Wednesday, that's for sure. The atmosphere was raucous.

“I’ve never seen anything like this,” said Mooresville coach Ben Watson, who could be seen urging the Blue Devils contingent to get loud during crucial moments in the match.

Wrestlers from both teams worked hard to earn the right to tussle for the NPC crown in the regular-season finale. They deserved that kind of support.

If the basketball playoffs started today ...

The N.C. High School Athletic Association state basketball playoffs are still a little more than a month away, but it's not too early to take a look at what potentially lies ahead for some of Iredell's teams.

Six of the North Piedmont Conference's 10 teams (boys and girls) automatically qualify for the playoffs. The crazy thing is that only the conference champions will play home games in the first round.

That's right.

The No. 2 seeds have to travel to the Catawba Valley Conference's No. 2 seeds due to seeding priority. Barring any upsets, seeds 2 through 6 from the NPC won't get to enjoy a homecourt advantage at all in the playoffs. That doesn't seem fair to Nos. 2 and 3, but that's the reality.

Anyway, the following is a look at first-round matchups for Iredell teams IF the playoffs started today. (And I think there's a good chance most of them will shake out this way in the end):

BOYS

Mooresville (9-5, 7-3 NPC) would be the No. 4 seed from the NPC. This is exactly where the Blue Devils want to be in mid-February. They would play the top 3A team from the split 2A/3A Southwestern Conference. Right now that's R-S Central. The Hilltoppers are 6-8.

Lake Norman (10-4, 6-4 NPC) would be the No. 5 seed from the NPC. This is not where the Wildcats want to be come playoff time. In order to advance to the second round of the playoffs, Lake Norman would have to beat the South Piedmont Conference champion. Folks, that's going to be Concord, the top-ranked 3A team in the state. The Spiders are undefeated right now.

Statesville (6-9, 3-7 NPC) would be the No. 6 seed from the NPC. Good luck. You get the Mid-Piedmont Conference champion in the first round. Right now that's ninth-ranked Ragsdale. The Tigers just took over the top spot in the MPC by beating fifth-ranked Trinity.

OUTSIDE LOOKING IN: North Iredell (2-8 NPC) and West Iredell (2-8 NPC) have a shot to overtake Statesville for the last playoff spot, but fifth place seems highly unlikely at this point.


GIRLS

Statesville (14-1, 10-0 NPC) would be the No. 1 seed from the NPC. The Greyhounds, ranked sixth in the state in 3A, would host the Mid-Piedmont Conference No. 4 seed in the first round. That most likely will be Trinity of Southwestern Randolph. Neither team is tearing it up. But the MPC does have two solid teams at the top in Ragsdale and Southeast Guilford, so Trinity and SWR would be battle tested. If it wins, Statesville would host a second-round game as well.

Lake Norman (11-4, 7-3 NPC) would be the No. 3 seed from the NPC. The Wildcats would travel to Asheville in the first round to take on the Mountain Athletic Conference champion T.C. Roberson. The Rams are 13-1 and ranked No. 5 in 3A.

North Iredell (8-5, 6-4 NPC) would be the No. 4 seed from the NPC. The Raiders would travel to Kings Mountain to take on the Mountaineers. Of all the possibilities for the Raiders -- minus missing the playoffs -- this would be the ideal scenario. As the No. 3 or No. 5 seed, North would be guaranteed a tougher first-round games.

OUTSIDE LOOKING IN: Mooresville (3-7 NPC) and West Iredell (1-9 NPC). Playoffs are a long shot for these two.

Vikings knocking on the door

South Iredell's girls basketball team got a sniff of the win column Tuesday night, but not even Tish McCombs' 20 points were enough for the Vikings to taste victory.

Lincolnton outscored South 11-4 in the fourth quarter to win 38-36.

So close.

It might be discouraging that the Vikings -- losers of 15 straight dating back to last year -- had breakthrough in their crosshairs and let it get away. However, it's got to be encouraging that they're drawing closer to the target.

This is a team that lost 77-2 to Lake Norman in its fourth game of the season.

I'm going to roll the dice here and say South's girls (0-13, 0-4 Southern Piedmont 1A-2A) will not finish winless like they did during the 2004-05 season.

At the very least, I like the Vikings to beat Lincolnton when it comes to Barium Springs on Jan. 29.