Johnny Thomas - Randolph Record

25 Jan

Eastern Randolph basketball teams still hope for rewards

Bob SuttonSportsEastern Randolph athletics, Eastern Randolph Wildcats, Johnny Thomas, piedmont athletic conference, Prep Basketball

Coach Johnny Thomas talks to his Eastern Randolph boys’ basketball team during a game last month. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record) RAMSEUR – The win-loss record looks drastically different for Eastern Randolph’s boys’ basketball team from a year ago. But second-year coach Johnny Thomas said there could be a payoff in the coming weeks. Thomas lined up the Wildcats for a stiff schedule this season and the game results have been mixed. “What a lot of people don’t understand,” Thomas said. “They ask the question: Why would you play this team? Why would you play this team? Why would I not?” So…

01 Jan

Plenty of special sports moments to savor in 2023

Bob SuttonSports2023, Brandon Varner, Eastern Randolph Wildcats, Johnny Thomas, Prep baseball, Prep Basketball, prep football, Prep volleyball, prep wrestling, Randleman Tigers, Uwharrie Charter Academy athletics

It was another special season for Southwestern Randolph’s volleyball team and coach Darby Kennedy. (Scott Pelkey/Randolph Record) Here’s a look at some of the top sports-related story topics in Randolph County in 2023: ** The gym at Trinity High School was named in honor of longtime boys’ basketball coach Tim Kelly. ** Uwharrie Charter Academy’s wrestling team won the Class 1-A dual team state championship by defeating Avery County in Greensboro. ** Eastern Randolph’s Brecken Snotherly set a school record for points in a girls’ basketball game by posting 51 against Trinity. Snotherly had a stellar senior season before going…

11 Mar

NOT QUITE ENOUGH: Eastern Randolph boys fall in 1-A state final

Randolph RecordSportsclass 1-A, Devonte Brooks, Eastern Randolph athletics, Johnny Thomas, nchsaa, Prep Basketball

Eastern Randolph coach Johnny Thomas consoles Devonte Brooks, left, as Will Stalker looks on after the Class 1-A state final. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record) RALEIGH – The greatest basketball season in the history of Eastern Randolph had a sour ending. The Wildcats needed one more comeback and couldn’t quite generate it, falling 84-73 to Wilson Prep in the Class 1-A state championship game for boys' basketball Saturday afternoon at Reynolds Coliseum. “These boys have dedicated everything they possibly could to the sport of basketball the last four months,” Eastern Randolph coach Johnny Thomas said. “We have nothing to be sad over.”…

10 Mar

Ex-Globetrotters guide Eastern Randolph, Wilson Prep to Class 1-A state final

Randolph RecordSportsclass 1-A, Eastern Randolph, Eastern Randolph athletics, Johnny Thomas, nchsaa, Prep Basketball

Coach Johnny Thomas has his Eastern Randolph team in the Class 1-A state final. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record) The coaches for the two teams in the Class 1-A state championship game for boys’ basketball own a common background. Johnny Thomas of Eastern Randolph and Anthony Atkinson Jr. of Wilson Prep both played for the Harlem Globetrotters. Eastern Randolph is going for the school’s first state championship in basketball when it plays Wilson Prep on Saturday afternoon. The state final is scheduled for noon at Reynolds Coliseum on the North Carolina State campus in Raleigh. The only previous appearance in a state…

05 Mar

Wildcats to play at noon Saturday in Raleigh in basketball title game

Bob SuttonSportsclass 1-A, Eastern Randolph athletics, Johnny Thomas, nchsaa, Prep Basketball, Wilson Prep

Eastern Randolph hopes to add state-championship hardware to the West Region prize claimed Saturday. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record) RAMSEUR – Eastern Randolph’s bid for its first state championship in boys’ basketball comes in the Class 1-A final at noon Saturday at Reynolds Coliseum on the North Carolina State campus in Raleigh. The Wildcats (29-2) meet East Region champion Wilson Prep (26-7) in the title game. The North Carolina High School Athletic Association announced game times and sites for the eight championship games – four for boys and four for girls – on Sunday afternoon. Eastern Randolph is coming off two comeback…

04 Mar

Huge comeback propels Eastern Randolph boys to state final

Randolph RecordSportsclass 1-A, Davonte Brooks, Eastern Randolph, Johnny Thomas, nchsaa, Pierce Leonard, Prep Basketball

Eastern Randolph team members and coach Johnny Thomas – with arms raised – celebrate the Class 1-A West Region title. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record) MORGANTON – Eastern Randolph rallied from a 21-point halftime deficit to keep its season alive and advance to a state championship in boys’ basketball for the first time. The Wildcats pulled out a 62-59 victory against Bishop McGuinness in the Class 1-A West Region final Saturday afternoon at Freedom High School. “As the coach, even I’m at awe at what they just did,” first-year Eastern Randolph coach Johnny Thomas said of his players. Eastern Randolph (29-2) will…

01 Mar

Prep basketball: Eastern Randolph boys keep season going, win regional semi on road

Randolph RecordSportsclass 1-A, Class 2-A, Devonte Brooks, Eastern Randolph athletics, Elizabeth York, Gracyn Hall, Johnny Thomas, nchsaa, Pierce Leonard, Prep Basketball, Randleman athletics, Timothy Brower

Coach Johnny Thomas makes a postgame video with his Eastern Randolph boys’ basketball team after winning the Class 1-A West Region semifinal at South Stokes. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record) WALNUT COVE – Pierce Leonard scored 10 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter and Eastern Randolph rallied past South Stokes to continue its best postseason in program history. The Wildcats put together a strong second half to pull out the Class 1-A West Region semifinal, winning 74-71 on Tuesday night. “I told them, ‘I am proud of you. We’ve had a long season, but this is not it,’ ” first-year…

10 Feb

Eastern Randolph boys find way to outright PAC title

Bob SuttonSportsChase Whitaker, Connor Carter, Davonte Brooks, Eastern Randolph athletics, Johnny Thomas, piedmont athletic conference, Pierce Leonard, Prep Basketball, Providence Grove athletics

Eastern Randolph’s Davonte Brooks ties the game with a dunk late in the third quarter at Providence Grove. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record) Wildcats withstand Providence Grove for rare basketball prize CLIMAX – Eastern Randolph had to make changes to figure out how to topple Providence Grove in Thursday night’s unexpected down-to-the-end tussle in boys’ basketball. Just mark it up as another accomplishment for this group of Wildcats. They’re outright Piedmont Athletic Conference regular-season champions, collecting the school’s first league title of any sort in boys’ basketball in seven years and only second regular-season title in 29 years. “We wanted to bring…

22 Jan

A new way of doing it works fast for Eastern Randolph boys’ team

Bob SuttonSportsConnor Carter, Davonte Brooks, Eastern Randolph athletics, Johnny Thomas, piedmont athletic conference, Pierce Leonard, Prep Basketball

Members of the Eastern Randolph boys' basketball team have come together for a special season. MEBANE – No longer in a rut, the Eastern Randolph boys’ basketball program is doing it on its own terms. That’s fast – and to the point. “We practice fast,” senior Davonte Brooks said. “We come to the games just like practice. All fast, all fast. We all knew from the get-go what we were getting into, from Day 1.” Turns out this means getting all sorts of victories under first-year coach Johnny Thomas. The Wildcats are a rapid-paced, action-filled group all the way to…