Class 2-A - Randolph Record

05 Nov

Prep Football: Patriots win for first time in state playoffs; Randleman falls in OT

Randolph RecordSportsClass 2-A, piedmont athletic conference, prep football, Providence Grove athletics, Providence Grove football, Randleman athletics, Randleman football, Zander Cheek, Zane Cheek

Randleman’s Chase Farlow chases Lincolnton's Andre Bost during Friday night’s game. (Scott Pelkey/Randolph Record) MAYODAN – Providence Grove won a football game in the state playoffs for the first time in school history Friday night. The visiting Patriots topped McMichael 48-14 in the Class 2-A first round. Next, Providence Grove (8-3) aims for an even more monumental task by going to state power Reidsville, which is the No. 1 seed in the West Region, for a second-round game. Zander Cheek and Zane Cheek both scored three touchdowns. Zane Cheek ran for three touchdowns and Zander Cheek had two rushing touchdowns…

04 Nov

Soccer scenes: Photos and results from key recent games

Randolph RecordSportsAsheboro Blue Comets, Class 2-A, prep soccer

Asheboro’s Cristisn Ortiz Benitez goes airborne in a game against Ledford that helped clinch the Mid-Piedmont Conference title in the final week of the regular season. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record) ASHEBORO – Asheboro was the only boys’ soccer team in Randolph County to make it through the first two rounds of the state playoffs. The Blue Comets, who are the top seed in the Class 3-A West Region, turned back No. 17 seed West Henderson 2-1 in Thursday night’s home game. Brandon Santos and Cristisn Ortiz Benitez scored in the first half for Asheboro (21-1-2), which was slated for a third-round…

31 Oct

Prep volleyball: Cougars’ bid for repeat dashed

Randolph RecordSportsClass 2-A, Prep volleyball, Southwestern Randolph

Southwestern Randolph’s Madelyn Smith makes a play near the net against Brevard. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record) ASHEBORO – There’s no repeat for Southwestern Randolph’s volleyball team in the Class 2-A state playoffs. The defending state champion Cougars were eliminated in the fourth round with Saturday’s 21-25, 25-923-25, 25-17, 21-19 home loss to Brevard. The Cougars, who were seeded second in the West Region, finished the season with a 26-4 record. Brevard advanced with a 23-5 record. Madelyn Smith had 13 kills and Riley Key added 10 kills in the last match for Southwestern Randolph. Raegan Leroy added 26 assists and Carleigh…

18 Jul

Randleman’s Brannon: ‘Feels like a dream’ after Red Sox select him in draft

Bob SuttonNews, SportsBaseball amateur draft, Boston Red Sox, Brooks Brannon, Class 2-A, College baseball, nchsaa, Randleman athletics, Randleman baseball, UNC Chapel Hill

Brooks Brannon had an award-winning high school career with Randleman. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record) RANDLEMAN – Catcher Brooks Brannon of Randleman was selected by the Boston Red Sox in the ninth round of baseball’s amateur draft Monday. “It felt like a dream come true,” Brannon said Monday night. “Excited isn’t even the word. It was ecstasy.” Brannon, 18, is enrolled at North Carolina, where he’ll play for the Tar Heels if he decides to pass on this pro opportunity. Brannon was selected with the 279th pick overall during the second day of the three-day draft that concludes Tuesday. In that spot,…

04 Jun

Tigers cherish title repeat in state finals

Bob SuttonNews, SportsBrooks Brannon, Burlington Athletic Stadium, Class 2-A, nchsaa, Randleman athletics, Randleman baseball, Ryan White

Randleman baseball players celebrate after the final out of the Class 2-A state finals. (PJ Ward-Brown/North State Journal) Randleman finishes remarkable postseason run BURLINGTON – It was even better this time for Randleman baseball players. They should know. With the core of the team intact, the Tigers repeated as Class 2-A state champions with another emphatic result. “Senior year, a good way to go out,” center fielder Braylen Hayes said. Randleman capped a sterling season with Saturday afternoon’s 12-5 victory against Whiteville in Game 2 of the championship series at Burlington Athletic Stadium. “My last game is winning another state…

04 Jun

Tears of joy for Warriors: Wheatmore girls capture state title

Randolph RecordNews, SportsClass 2-A, Ellie Garrison, nchsaa, state record, Wheatmore athletics, Wheatmore soccer

Members of the Wheatmore girls' soccer team celebrate the school's first state championship Friday night in Cary. (PJ Ward-Brown/North State Journal) CARY – The Wheatmore girls’ soccer team fit right in at the state finals. The Warriors, who were the first Randolph County team to play in a state championship game in soccer, completed an unblemished season with Friday night’s 4-1 victory against Clinton to secure the Class 2-A title. “We definitely deserved it,” Wheatmore forward Summer Bowman said. The Warriors ended up with a 25-0-0 record. “You go 25-0, you set the bar so high for anybody,” coach Ricky…

04 Jun

Randleman begins state finals with no-hitter, another record

Bob SuttonSportsBrooks Brannon, Burlington Athletic Stadium, Class 2-A, Drake Purvis, nchsaa, Randleman athletics, Randleman baseball

Here's Drake Purvis of Randleman after his no-hitter against Whiteville to begin the Class 2-A state finals. (Bob Sutton/Randolph Record) BURLINGTON – Randleman’s baseball team wants to repeat its Class 2-A state championship this weekend and the Tigers were in a reminiscing mood based on Game 1 of the title series. How does another no-hitter sound? That’s two in a row in the state finals on the same field, dating to last June. Drake Purvis’ masterful 12-strikeout performance boosted the Tigers in a 10-0 victory against Whiteville on Friday night at Burlington Athletic Stadium. There was yet another state record…

03 Jun

History runs deep for Class 2-A title contenders Randleman, Whiteville

Bob SuttonSportsClass 2-A, high school athletics, nchsaa, Randleman, Randleman athletics, Randleman baseball, Tigers, Whiteville

Powerhouse teams Randleman and Whiteville will meet in the best-of-3 state finals for Class 2-A at Burlington Athletic Stadium. (Bob Sutton/Randolph Record) This Randleman-Whiteville championship matchup, beginning at 8 p.m. Friday at Burlington Athletic Stadium, is ripe with historical overtones. Randleman is in the finals for the sixth time in a 11-season span in which the postseason was conducted. The COVID-19 pandemic wiped out most of the 2020 season, including the playoffs. The Tigers won the 2011 title and then lost in the 2012 finals to Whiteville, were beaten by South Granville in 2015 and fell to North Lincoln in…

02 Jun

With lofty standard, Tigers just roll with it into state finals

Bob SuttonSportsbaseball, Class 2-A, high school athletics, nchsaa, Prep baseball, Randleman athletics, Randleman baseball

Coach Jake Smith has directed Randleman back to another spot in the state finals. A familiar foe awaits. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record) RANDLEMAN — All those lopsided results for Randleman’s baseball team on the way to the Class 2-A state finals don’t mean it has been easy this year for the Tigers. “We can’t take any team lightly,” first baseman Gus Shelton said. “We are expected to win and that is pressure on us, if you want to call it pressure. I don’t think anybody has changed anything. We’re just taking it game-by-game.” It will take two more victories to repeat…

02 Jun

Wheatmore girls hit big stage with spot in state final

Bob SuttonSportsClass 2-A, nchsaa, prep soccer, Wheatmore

Wheatmore’s Kara Comer, left, and Summer Bowman hug Ellie Garrison after her penalty-kick goal against Wilkes Central in the Class 2-A West Region final Tuesday night at Wilkes Central in Wilkesboro. Wheatmore (PJ WARD-BROWN/NORTH STATE JOURNAL) It’s hard to imagine there’s more to accomplish for the Wheatmore girls’ soccer team. Yet the biggest prize is still out there for the Warriors. They hold a 24-0 record and the state record for goals (191) in a season. There’s one more chance to add to those accomplishments. They take on Clinton (25-2) in Friday night’s Class 2-A state championship game at WakeMed…