Bob Sutton - Randolph Record

28 Feb

New-look Tigers keep lofty goals for baseball season

Bob SuttonSportsClass 2-A, Hunter Atkins, Jake Smith, nchsaa, piedmont athletic conference, Randleman athletics, Randleman baseball, Seth Way

Randleman coach Jake Smith receives a water bath courtesy of Riley Edwards after the Tigers won the 2022 state championship in Burlington. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record) Randleman’s baseball team embarks on another season of high expectations RANDLEMAN – Randleman has been at the top of the Class 2-A baseball world in the state for the past two years. Going into this season, the Tigers are going to look different. The goals haven’t changed. “It’s exciting for the kids, a lot of them waiting their turn,” coach Jake Smith said. “I think we’ve got a lot of guys who are excited about…

27 Feb

New Eastern Randolph baseball coach holds ties in region

Bob SuttonSportsBrent Haynes, Eastern Randolph athletics, Eastern Randolph baseball, Hunter Atkins, Prep baseball, Tyler Parks

RAMSEUR – Brent Haynes figured that he would land a job as a head coach for a baseball team when the right opportunity came around. Eastern Randolph athletics director Foster Cates had the same thing in mind for Haynes. So this week, Haynes begins his first season as coach of the Wildcats. “I’m pumped up. I’ve always wanted to have my own program,” Haynes said. “To have the opportunity present itself is pretty exciting for me.” Eastern Randolph was in need of a coach last summer after Mitchell Frazier stepped away. “I had been telling (Haynes) that when we had…

26 Feb

Shore likes set-up with UCA baseball

Bob SuttonSportsGrant Little, Old North State League, piedmont athletic conference, Prep baseball, Rob Shore, Uwharrie Charter Academy

ASHEBORO – Rob Shore knows what it takes to be successful in high school baseball and he likes what he sees entering his first season as Uwharrie Charter Academy’s coach. Shore moved up to the top spot after one season as an assistant when Lee Kennell stepped down. “I’ve always liked the smaller school and smaller setting,” Shore said. Keeping track of Shore’s credentials is no simple task. He was an assistant coach for six years at Southwest Guilford before an 11-year run as Trinity’s coach. That was followed by four years at Ledford, where his 2018 team reached the…

24 Feb

Prep boys: Special season ends on downer for Blue Comets; Eastern Randolph advances

Bob SuttonSportsAsheboro Blue Comets, Brian Nance, Camden Walker, D.J. Headen, Davonte Brooks, Hakeeme Butler, nchsaa, Pierce Leonard, Prep Basketball, Trinity athletics

Hakeeme Butler tries to get Asheboro on the board in the first quarter of Thursday night’s loss to Greensboro Smith in the Class 3-A state playoffs. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record) ASHEBORO – Asheboro’s special season in boys’ basketball didn’t come to a fitting conclusion. That’s what made losing so hard to grasp for the Blue Comets. Ambushed from the start by Greensboro Smith, Asheboro couldn’t sustain any of its rallies long enough in a 73-46 loss in the second round of the Class 3-A state playoffs Thursday night at raucous Asheboro Recreation Center. “That’s the thing about this team, we all…

24 Feb

Prep girls: Randleman finds right mix in second round; E. Randolph also wins

Bob SuttonSportsBrecken Snotherly, Eastern Randolph athletics, Elizabeth York, Gracyn Hall, nchsaa, Prep Basketball, Randleman athletics, Randleman Tigers

Gracie Beane of Randleman makes a pass in the second half against Hendersonville in Thursday night’s Class 2-A state playoffs. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record) RANDLEMAN – A great start and a splendid second-half span were enough to extend the season for Randleman’s girls’ basketball team. The Tigers did enough in between in the Class 2-A second-round game to defeat visiting Hendersonville 63-54 on Thursday night. “Give (our players) credit for coming ready to play,” Randleman coach Brandon Varner said. “We did a lot of great stuff.” That came in large doses in the opening minutes and in a game-deciding stretch in…

20 Feb

Prep basketball: Teams set to embark on state playoffs

Bob SuttonSportsAsheboro Blue Comets, Eastern Randolph athletics, nchsaa, PAC Tournament, piedmont athletic conference, Prep Basketball, Randleman athletics

Sean Adkins of Southwestern Randolph shoots over Wheatmore’s Kamdyn Wood in last week’s PAC Tournament. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record) Randleman’s girls and Eastern Randolph’s boys teams are the highest-seeded teams from Randolph County in the basketball state playoffs. The playoffs begin Tuesday night. All of the teams from the county are in the West Region. Second-round games will be Thursday night and third-round games Saturday, all slated on the courts of the higher seeds. Girls In Class 2-A, Piedmont Athletic Conference regular-season and tournament champion Randleman (24-1) is the West Region’s No. 1 seed with a home game against No. 32…

18 Feb

Wildcats capture another prize, top Trinity boys in PAC final

Bob SuttonSportsDavonte Brooks, Dominic Payne, Dylan Hodges, Eastern Randolph athletics, PAC Tournament, piedmont athletic conference, Piedmont Athletic Conference Tournament, Pierce Leonard, Prep Basketball, Timothy Brower, Trinity athletics

Eastern Randolph’s Timothy Brower goes up for a basket as Trinity’s Jacob Hodges, right, defends. Other Trinity players, left to right, Brandon Campbell, Grayson Earls, Dylan Hodges and Dominic Payne look on. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record) RAMSEUR – Timothy Brower was down on the court in pain in the first quarter of the Piedmont Athletic Conference Tournament’s boys’ basketball championship. The Eastern Randolph guard delivered much of the punishment for the rest of Friday night’s game. Brower’s 28 points helped propel the regular-season champion Wildcats in a 74-64 victory against visiting Trinity that marked their first conference tournament title in seven…

18 Feb

Randleman girls respond, claim PAC Tournament in overtime

Bob SuttonSportsBrandon Varner, Brecken Snotherly, Eastern Randolph athletics, Elizabeth York, Gracyn Hall, Jordan Booker, PAC Tournament, Piedmont Athletic Conference Tournament, Prep Basketball, Randleman athletics

Members of the Randleman girls’ basketball team gather with the hardware after defeating host Eastern Randolph in overtime. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record) Rally from Eastern Randolph creates drama RAMSEUR – Randleman’s recovery from a few late-game glitches made the Tigers’ championship that much more impressive Friday night in the girls’ basketball final of the Piedmont Athletic Conference Tournament. One thing the Tigers weren’t lacking was that internal belief that they would find a way to successfully defend their title. “Coach (Brandon) Varner told us ‘You’ve worked so hard for this,’ ” senior center Graycn Hall said. “We’re going to show how…

17 Feb

Asheboro turns to Eastern Randolph alum as volleyball coach

Bob SuttonSportsAsheboro Blue Comets, Eastern Randolph athletics, Kelly Smith, Kim Black, Mid-Piedmont Conference, Prep volleyball

ASHEBORO – Kelly Smith has been hired as the new volleyball coach at Asheboro. Smith will be the team’s third volleyball coach in three years. She replaces Kim Black, whose third stint as head coach of the program lasted just one year. Smith, an Eastern Randolph alum, was coach of her alma mater’s volleyball team in 2017 and 2018 before going to Southern Guilford for three years. She spent time as volleyball and girls’ basketball coach at Southern Guilford, though without a winning season. She has been away from varsity competition during this school year. “I felt like I wanted…

16 Feb

Chick-fil-A’s new cauliflower sandwich comes to Asheboro location

Bob SuttonNewsAsheboro restaurants, Cauliflower sandwich

ASHEBORO – Chick-fil-A’s cauliflower sandwich has made its way to Asheboro. The area is one of the test markets for the chicken restaurant chain’s rollout of the new offering. “We’re testing it to see what the reaction is,” said Sam Ramsey, franchisee of two Chick-fil-A locations in Asheboro. “We’re going to see how a plant-based sandwich will go over.” The Triad has been designated as one of the test markets, so that will stretch from Winston-Salem to Mebane and includes Asheboro, Ramsey said. The sandwich became available Monday. So far, Ramsey likes the attention that has come with it. “We’re…