Category Archives: Prep polls

How I voted in the statewide NCPreps.com polls, Feb. 11

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The full poll will be released later tonight — here are my votes.

Boys

1A

1. Winston-Salem Prep

2. Rocky Mount Prep

3. Plymouth

4. North Rowan

5. Monroe

6. Hendersonville

7. East Carteret

8. Albemarle

9. Lake Norman Charter

10. Goldsboro

 

2A

1. Kinston

2. East Rutherford

3. Waxhaw Cuthbertson

4. Shelby

5. Wendell Corinth-Holders

6. Burlington Cummings

7. Elizabeth City Northeastern

8. Trinity

9. West Stokes

10. West Caldwell

 

3A

1. Concord

2. Rocky Mount

3. Statesville

4. Fayetteville Westover

5. NE Guilford

6. Wilson Hunt

7. Chapel Hill

8. Oxford Webb

9. Gastonia Ashbrook

10. Gastonia Hunter Huss

 

4A

1. Charlotte Olympic

2. SW Guilford

3. Fayetteville 71st

4. Hoke County

5. Clayton

6. Garner

7. Pfafftown Reagan

8. Raleigh Broughton

9. Charlotte Ardrey Kell

10. Winston-Salem Mount Tabor

 

Girls

1A

1. Lejeune

2. North Wilkes

3. South Davidson

4. Monroe

5. Cherokee

6. Riverside-Martin

7. Salemburg Lakewood

8. Robbinsville

9. Lake Norman Charter

10. East Surry

 

2A

1. High Point Andrews

2. Kinston

3. Catawba Bandys

4. Burnsville Mountain Heritage

5. Reidsville

6. Granville Central

7. Pasquotank

8. North Surry

9. Pittsboro Northwood

10. Jordan-Matthews

 

3A

1. Northern Nash

2. Chapel Hill

3. Morganton Freedom

4. Eastern Wayne

5. West Craven

6. West Rowan

7. Hickory

8. Shelby Crest

9. Southern Vance

10. Northern Guilford

 

4A

1. Raleigh Millbrook

2. Charlotte Myers Park

3. Southeast Raleigh

4. Cary Green Hope

5. Charlotte Ardrey Kell

6. Wilmington Laney

7. Fayetteville 71st

8. Greensboro Page

9. Holly Springs

10. Alexander Central

Kinston boys rise to No. 1 in NCPreps.com 2A poll; Kinston girls up to No. 7 — and how I voted

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For the first time this season, the Kinston boys are No. 1 in the statewide NCPreps.com 2A poll. Additionally, the girls cracked the poll at No. 7.

Click here to see the complete polls.

And here’s how I voted. Incidentally, if you’re wondering why I didn’t post my votes last week … it’s because my dumb ass missed the deadline. Yikes.

Anyhoo — here’s my votes:

Feb. 4 — Boys
1A
1. Winston-Salem Prep
2. SW Onslow
3. Rocky Mount Prep
4. Plymouth
5. North Rowan
6. Monroe
7. Hendersonville
8. East Carteret
9. Albemarle
10. Lake Norman Charter
2A
1. Kinston
2. East Rutherford
3. Waxhaw Cuthbertson
4. Shelby
5. Trinity Wheatmore
6. West Caldwell
7. Monroe Piedmont
8. Wendell Corinth-Holders
9. Burlington Cummings
10. Central Davidson
3A
1. Concord
2. Rocky Mount
3. Oxford Webb
4. Hickory
5. Statesville
6. Fayetteville Westover
7. NE Guilford
8. Wilson Hunt
9. Chapel Hill
10. Gastonia Ashbrook
4A
1. Charlotte Olympic
2. SW Guilford
3. Fayetteville 71st
4. Garner
5. Raleigh Broughton
6. Hoke County
7. Winston-Salem Mount Tabor
8. West Charlotte
9. Clayton
10. McDowell County
Girls
1A
1. Lejeune
2. North Wilkes
3. South Davidson
4. Monroe
5. Cherokee
6. Riverside-Martin
7. Salemburg Lakewood
8. Robbinsville
9. Salemburg Lakewood
10. Warsaw Kenan
2A
1. High Point Andrews
2. North Surry
3. Kinston
4. Catawba Bandys
5. Burnsville Mountain Heritage
6. Reidsville
7. Graham
8. Granville Central
9. Pasquotank
10. Pittsboro Northwood
3A
1. Northern Nash
2. West Rowan
3. Chapel Hill
4. Morganton Freedom
5. Eastern Wayne
6. West Craven
7. Southern Vance
8. Hickory
9. Franklin
10. Winterville South Central
4A
1. Raleigh Millbrook
2. Charlotte Myers Park
3. Southeast Raleigh
4. North Mecklenburg
5. Cary Green Hope
6. Charlotte Ardrey Kell
7. Wilmington Laney
8. Fayetteville 71st
9. Greensboro Page
10. Durham Hillside

How I voted, NCPreps.com poll Jan. 21

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My votes for the poll, which will be released later today at ncpreps.com, for Week 3. One major change: I elevated Raleigh Millbrook from No. 4 to No. 1 in the 4A girls’ poll.

Boys

1A

1. Winston-Salem Prep

2. SW Onslow

3. Rocky Mount Prep

4. Plymouth

5. North Rowan

6. Albemarle

7. Monroe

8. Hendersonville

9. East Carteret

10. Lake Norman Charter

 

2A

1. Waxhaw Cuthbertson

2. Kinston

3. Shelby

4. Trinity

5. West Caldwell

6. Monroe Piedmont

7. Wendell Corinth-Holders

8. South Lenoir

9. East Rutherford

10. Clinton

 

3A

1. Statesville

2. Fayetteville Westover

3. Concord

4. Chapel Hill

5. Rocky Mount

6. Oxford Webb

7. North Forsyth

8. NE Guilford

9. Newton Fred T. Foard

10. Wilson Hunt

 

4A

1. Charlotte Olympic

2. Winston-Salem Mount Tabor

3. West Charlotte

4. Clayton

5. SW Guilford

6. Fayetteville 71st

7. Garner

8. Charlotte Mallard Creek

9. Raleigh Broughton

10. Hoke County

 

Girls

1A

1. Lejeune

2. North Wilkes

3. Cherokee

4. Salemburg Lakewood

5. South Davidson

6. Monroe

7. Plymouth

8. Riverside-Martin

9. Robbinsville

10. Warsaw Kenan

 

 

2A

1. Reidsville

2. High Point Andrews

3. East Burke

4. Pasquotank

5. North Surry

6. East Davidson

7. Jordan-Matthews

8. Kinston

9. Catawba Bandys

10. Burnsville Mountain Heritage

 

3A

1. Northern Nash

2. West Rowan

3. Chapel Hill

4. Southern Vance

5. Morganton Freedom

6. Hickory

7. Eastern Wayne

8. Winterville South Central

9. Raleigh Cardinal Gibbons

10. West Craven

 

4A

1. Raleigh Millbrook

2. Charlotte Myers Park

3. Charlotte Ardrey Kell

4. Southeast Raleigh

5. North Mecklenburg

6. Greensboro Page

7. Cary Green Hope

8. Wilmington Laney

9. Holly Springs

10. West Forsyth

How I voted, NCPreps.com poll Jan. 14

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I am once again honored to be voting in the NCPreps.com basketball polls, which will be released later today. Here’s how I voted in Week 2 — if you want to see how I voted last week, let me know and I’ll throw them up here.

Boys

1A

1. Winston-Salem Prep (14-1)

2. SW Onslow (11-2)

3. Rocky Mount Prep (13-3)

4. Plymouth (9-0)

5. North Rowan (12-3)

6. Albemarle (10-1)

7. Monroe (8-3)

8. Hendersonville (9-2)

9. Bessemer City (11-2)

10. East Carteret (12-5)

 

2A

1. Waxhaw Cuthbertson (14-1)

2. Kinston (12-2)

3. Shelby (14-2)

4. Trinity (12-2)

5. East Rutherford (11-3)

6. West Caldwell (10-2)

7. Monroe Piedmont (13-1)

8. Burlington Cummings (10-0)

9. Wendell Corinth-Holders (12-1)

10. South Lenoir (9-4)

 

3A

1. Statesville (10-2)

2. Fayetteville Westover (11-3)

3. Concord (13-1)

4. Chapel Hill (12-3)

5. Rocky Mount (12-2)

6. Erwin Triton (13-2)

7. Oxford Webb (11-3)

8. North Forsyth (12-3)

9. Hickory (11-2)

10. Gastonia Hunter Huss (13-2)

 

4A

1. Charlotte Olympic (14-0)

2. Winston-Salem Mount Tabor (15-0)

3. West Charlotte (11-1)

4. Clayton (13-0)

5. Charlotte Mallard Creek (13-2)

6. SW Guilford (14-0)

7. Fayetteville 71st (14-1)

8. Garner (11-2)

9. Raleigh Broughton (12-3)

10. Hoke County (12-2)

 

Girls

1A

1. Lejeune (13-0)

2. North Wilkes (11-1)

3. Cherokee (13-1)

4. Salemburg Lakewood (13-0)

5. South Davidson (11-2)

6. Robbinsville (8-3)

7. Monroe (10-1)

8. East Surry (12-2)

9. Plymouth (8-1)

10. Manteo (9-1)

 

2A

1. Reidsville (12-0)

2. High Point Andrews (13-1)

3. East Burke (11-2)

4. Pasquotank (11-0)

5. North Surry (13-1)

6. Burnsville Mountain Heritage (14-0)

7. East Davidson (11-3)

8. Jordan-Matthews (14-1)

9. Kinston (11-4)

10. Catawba Bandys (12-1)

 

3A

1. Northern Nash (12-0)

2. West Rowan (14-0)

3. Chapel Hill (14-1)

4. Southern Vance (12-1)

5. Morganton Freedom (13-2)

6. Hickory (13-1)

7. Eastern Wayne (15-1)

8. Winterville South Central (14-1)

9. Raleigh Cardinal Gibbons (11-4)

10. West Craven (10-4)

 

4A

1. Charlotte Myers Park (15-0)

2. Charlotte Ardrey Kell (14-1)

3. Southeast Raleigh (15-0)

4. Raleigh Millbrook (14-0)

5. North Mecklenburg (14-1)

6. Raleigh Broughton (12-2)

7. Greensboro Page (14-0)

8. Cary Green Hope (14-1)

9. Wilmington Laney (12-1)

10. Holly Springs (14-2)

This week’s NCPreps.com poll and how I voted

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Here is a link to this week’s statewide NCPreps.com basketball polls; I’ll spoil it for you and let you know Kinston’s boys are still No. 2 and Kinston’s girls are still No. 8 in the 2A poll.

Also, East Duplin’s girls are at No. 9 in the 2A poll, while Jones Senior — who I voted No. 1 — is at No. 8 in the 1A girls’ poll.

How I voted this week:

Boys

4A

1. Charlotte Olympic

2. Garner

3. Wilmington New Hanover

4. Fayetteville Pine Forest

5. South Mecklenburg

6. Apex

7. West Charlotte

8. Raleigh Millbrook

9. North Mecklenburg

10. Hoke County

 

3A

1. Chapel Hill

2. Morganton Freedom

3. Rocky Mount

4. Erwin Triton

5. West Craven

6. Charlotte Harding

7. Concord

8. North Forsyth

9. Hickory

10. Winterville South Central

 

2A

1. Waxhaw Cuthbertson

2. Kinston

3. Bunn

4. Ashe County

5. Trinity

6. Lincolnton

7. East Rutherford

8. Shelby

9. Reidsville

10. Wilkes Central

 

1A

1. Winston-Salem Prep

2. Hendersonville

3. Hayesville

4. Northampton-West

5. South Davidson

6. Rocky Mount Prep

7. North Rowan

8. Lejeune

9. Warsaw Kenan

10. Ayden-Grifton

 

Girls

4A

1. Charlotte Myers Park

2. Hope Mills South View

3. Cary Green Hope

4. Raleigh Millbrook

5. McDowell

6. Raleigh Broughton

7. Winston-Salem Mount Tabor

8. Southeast Raleigh

9. Durham Hillside

10. Greensboro Dudley

 

3A

1. West Craven

2. Hickory

3. R-S Central

4. Rocky Mount

5. Gastonia Forestview

6. China Grove Carson

7. Winterville South Central

8. Charlotte Berry Academy

9. Burlington Williams

10. Northern Nash

 

2A

1. Wilkes Central

2. Salisbury

3. Jordan-Matthews

4. Kinston

5. North Stanly

6. North Surry

7. Catawba Bandys

8. East Duplin

9. Newton-Conover

10. North Lincoln

 

1A

1. Jones Senior

2. Chocowinity Southside

3. Goldsboro

4. Riverside-Martin

5. Robbinsville

6. Salemburg Lakewood

7. Mount Airy

8. South Davidson

9. Kernersville Bishop McGuinness

10. Warsaw James Kenan 



NCPreps.com hoops poll … and how I voted

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Click here for this week’s NCPreps.com media basketball poll; Kinston’s boys are up two spots to No. 2 in the 2A poll, while Ayden-Grifton’s boys are up one spot at No. 9 in the 1A poll.

The Kinston girls remained at No. 8, while East Duplin’s girls moved up one to No. 9, both in the 2A poll. Jones Senior’s girls remained seventh in the 1A poll.

Many thanks to Don Hines for compiling this, the only statewide prep basketball poll in North Carolina. It’s a lot of work and he has dumb monkeys like myself sending him my votes two hours past his deadline … so, thanks, Don! And thanks to NCPreps guru/webmaster/all-around great person Deana King for tirelessly working on her site to make it the best statewide prep site in the state. 

Here is how I voted in this week’s poll:

Boys

4A

1. Charlotte Olympic

2. Apex

3. Hoke County

4. Garner

5. Wilmington New Hanover

6. Fayetteville Pine Forest

7. South Mecklenburg

8. West Charlotte

9. Raleigh Millbrook

10. Greensboro Page

3A

1. Chapel Hill

2. Concord

3. Morganton Freedom

4. Rocky Mount

5. Erwin Triton

6. West Craven

7. Charlotte Harding

8. North Forsyth

9. Asheboro

10. Hickory

2A

1. Waxhaw Cuthbertson

2. Kinston

3. Bunn

4. Shelby

5. Ashe County

6. Trinity

7. Croatan

8. Lincolnton

9. East Rutherford

10. West Stokes

1A

1. Winston-Salem Prep

2. Hendersonville

3. Hayesville

4. Rocky Mount Prep

5. Lejeune

6. Northampton-West

7. South Davidson

8. Ayden-Grifton

9. Goldsboro

10. North Rowan

Girls

4A

1. Charlotte Myers Park

2. Hope Mills South View

3. Winston-Salem Mount Tabor

4. Cary Green Hope

5. Raleigh Millbrook

6. McDowell

7. Raleigh Broughton

8. Southeast Raleigh

9. Greensboro Page

10. Durham Hillside

3A

1. West Craven

2. Hickory

3. China Grove Carson

4. R-S Central

5. Rocky Mount

6. Gastonia Forestview

7. Northern Nash

8. Winterville South Central

9. Charlotte Berry Academy

10. Southern Lee

2A

1. Wilkes Central

2. North Surry

3. Salisbury

4. Jordan-Matthews

5. Kinston

6. North Stanly

7. Catawba Bandys

8. East Duplin

9. Jacksonville Northside

10. Newton-Conover

1A

1. Riverside-Martin

2. Jones Senior

3. Chocowinity Southside

4. Goldsboro

5. Kernersville Bishop McGuinness

6. Robbinsville

7. Salemburg Lakewood

8. Mount Airy

9. South Davidson

10. Warsaw James Kenan

The boys over at the Wilmington Star-News always post their votes in the poll, too, so when they do it today, I’ll post a link here. Speaking of Powell Latimer and his crew — they do a pretty damned good job in that neck of the woods; if you’re inclined to read Wilmington-area sports, check out Powell’s blog here (or click on the link to your right).

Nightly News Report; Oct. 11, 2011

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ROMNEY CALLS ON PERRY TO REPUDIATE ATTACKS ON MORMONISM

Republican presidential Mitt Romney, a Mormon, has asked fellow GOP presidential candidate Rick Perry to disavow comments from a minister who introduced Perry last week and implied the LDS Church is a cult.

My take: There is absolutely NO PLACE in politics for this. I’ll say this much — if Perry doesn’t repudiate these comments, I cannot consider him as a presidential candidate.

Why? If you’re going to spend your time hating others because of their religion (or race or sex), or supporting those you spend their time hating others because of their religion, you’re not worthy of being a leader of our melting pot country.

LIONS IMPROVE TO 5-0; APOCALYPSE COMING SOON?

The Detroit Lions are now 5-0 after whipping Chicago last night.

My take: I don’t know about y’all, but I’m getting my affairs in order. With Buffalo at 4-1 and the Lions beating all comers, the Apocalypse might certainly be upon us!

Seriously, though, congrats to my favorite Lions fan (Katie Marshall) and Bills fan (Charlie Kraebel) — both former Free Pressers who are in football heaven right now.

KINSTON UP TO NO. 6 IN AP 2A POLL; A-G NO. 6 IN 1A

After defeating two-time defending 2A champ Tarboro in overtime last week, the Kinston High School football team jumped from 10th to No. 6 in this week’s Associated Press 2A poll. Tarboro fell from fourth to ninth.

The only other local team in the AP poll is Ayden-Grifton, which remained No. 6 after its huge win at Spring Creek.

The Vikings are also 12th in the ncpreps.com 2A poll, while Ayden-Grifton is No. 7 in the 1A poll.

My take: Congrats to the Vikings and Chargers for their statewide recognition. It’s good to finally see Kinston getting some football love around North Carolina, though.

The iPod shuffle

Stories For Boys — U2

Duke Of Earl — Gene Chandler

In Your Eyes — Peter Gabriel

Paul Revere — Beastie Boys

Life Goes On — Poison

P.S.: A very special happy birthday to Keith Spence, one of the true “good guys” in Eastern North Carolina. He has made me feel like a native since the minute I got here almost nine years ago. Keith is a hell of a sportswriter and The Free Press has been lucky to have his byline since the 1980s. He’s also a great dad and one of the most trustworthy dudes I know. Simply put, he’s a great guy. Happy birthday, dude!

Preseason prep football rankings

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NCPreps.com has the preseason coach’s polls and players of the year for our area conferences, as voted upon by the league’s coaches:

Eastern Plains 2A:

1. SW Edgecombe
2. Tarboro
3. Kinston
4. Beddingfield
5. Farmville Central
6. Greene Central
7. North Pitt

POY:RB Quandre Pittman – SW Edgecombe

East Central 2A

1. East Duplin
2. Northside-Jacksonville
3. Croatan
4. South Lenoir
5. Clinton
6. Richlands
7. Topsail
8. Swansboro

POY: QB Garrett Bridges – Croatan

Eastern Carolina 3A

1. South Johnston
2. C.B. Aycock
3. Triton
4. Eastern Wayne
5. Southern Wayne
6. North Lenoir

POY: WR Craig Murdock – C.B. Aycock

Carolina 1A

1. Goldsboro
2. Ayden-Grifton
3. North Duplin
4. Princeton
5. Rosewood
6. Spring Creek

POY: RB/LB Andre Montgomery – Goldsboro

Coastal Plains 1A

1. Southwest Onslow
2. Jones Senior
3. Pamlico
4. East Carteret
5. Dixon
6. Lejeune

POY: RB Chris Hairston – SW Onslow

My take: Funny how something as small as this gets my old blood pumping!

I’m not at all surprised that Kinston is picked third in the EP2A, North Lenoir is picked to finish last in the EC3A, Jones Senior is picked second in the CP1A or that Ayden-Grifton is picked second in the C1A.

However, I am pleasantly surprised that South Lenoir is picked fourth in the East Central; when’s the last time SL was picked to finish ahead of Clinton? AWESOME. And I’m a little surprised that Greene Central is picked so low in the EP2A; there’s a ton of talent in Greene County — when are they going to turn it around up there back to the days of Jim Bob Bryant?

Finally: thank God for Deana King — the publisher and owner of the state’s best prep football preview/website. Check out all the predictions for every N.C. prep conference here. You can also order the N.C. Prep Football News by going here. I’ve just sent my order in for it!

Kinston, Jones Senior ranked statewide

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With less than two months remaining before the 2010 prep football season begins, two local teams — Kinston and Jones Senior — are in the ncpreps.com 2A and 1A polls, respectively.

There’s one twist here, though, that Ryan Herman eloquently points out – neither KHS or JS have a head coach.

Kinston, ranked No. 16 in the 2A poll, had a handshake agreement with an Onslow County defensive coordinator, but the deal fell through before it went to the school board — which was to take place tonight. Now, the Vikings are working hard to get a coach to replace Battle Holley, who bolted for East Duplin.

Which leads me to this thought — Brian Aldridge is finishing up his venerable career at ED; why was it so absolutely necessary for Holley to go to Beulaville? Why couldn’t Holley have stayed at KHS this final season with the caveat that he’d go to ED in January? I’m sure it had something to do with Aldridge giving up his P.E. position and Holley immediately taking it, but why couldn’t that have happened in January.

Anyhoo, it’s a bad situation for Kinston High School, which has to replace a popular coach mere weeks before its first game in August.

It’s a little better at Jones Senior, where it’s likely that Greg Hampton’s longtime assistant, John Davis, will take over the reins of the Trojans program, which is ranked No. 18 in Deana King’s ncpreps.com 1A poll. Davis was Hampton’s right-hand man and intimately knows the program, so the transition will be smoother at JS than it will be at KHS.

Both situations, though, remind me of South Lenoir, circa 2005 — when a little-known coach named Lee Atkins took over the Blue Devils program that started a historic 6-0 and went to the state playoffs. Both KHS and JS have a ton of talent in their respective programs; if a coach with an iota of talent comes in, Holley and Hampton might be quickly forgotten.

Or if the wrong one comes in (i.e., Ken Whitehurst taking over an 8-4 Kinston team and “leading” it to a 1-10 finish before bolting or Gerald Whisenhunt crashing and burning the South Lenoir program in the late 1990s), it could be a long time before Kinston or Jones Senior return to glory days.

Back to the polls, though: check them out here. Deana always does a fantastic job getting coaches from throughout the state to participate in her polls and I’m beyond excited to get my hands on the 2010 edition of the N.C. Prep Football News yearbook.

Kinston still at No. 1 in ncpreps.com 2A poll; No. 30 in USA Today poll

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The Kinston High School boys’ basketball team remains at No. 1 in this week’s ncpreps.com 2A poll:

1. Kinston (13) 18-3 – 138
2. Shelby 17-2 – 120
3. East Rutherford (1) 18-1 – 117
4. West Caldwell 16-2 – 93
5. West Bladen 18-2 – 82
6. Cedar Ridge 17-2 – 74
7. Smoky Mountain 15-4 – 41
8. Mountain Heritage 13-2 – 30
9. Providence Grove 18-3 – 22
10. Brevard 16-3 – 15

HONORABLE MENTION: Northeastern (17-2) – 12; Pisgah (15-3) – 8; Trinity (17-3) – 6; Jordan-Matthews (19-4) – 5; Salisbury (10-4) – 4; Reidsville (14-4) – 2; Bertie (15-5) – 1; Beddingfield (13-6) — 1

For all eight boys’ and girls’ polls, visit the site by going here.

Kinston moved up one spot in the USA Today poll this week and is now No. 30 in the country. The Vikings have a pretty good opportunity to move up some more for next week’s poll, as they’ll be at home on Wednesday against Tarboro, at North Pitt on Thursday and back home for Senior Night on Saturday against Farmville Central.

Rivals.com hasn’t updated its national poll yet, but when it does, I’ll post it here.

As for hoops around the area, Free Press sports editor Ryan Herman has a nice article today about the 2009-2010 season winding down.

It looks like South Lenoir has already locked up a playoff spot and still has a shot at the East Central 2A title, while North Lenoir has a struggle to make the postseason.