Robinson, First Assembly name new football coaches

Jay M. Robinson and First Assembly announced the hiring of new football coaches this week.

Robinson, which was 3-8 last season, will be led by 26-year veteran John Fitz as the Bulldogs move to 4A this upcoming season to a league that also features A.L. Brown, Hough, Hopewell, North Meck, Mallard Creek, Vance and West Charlotte.

Fitz, who replaces the retiring Bobby Cloninger, coached for 20 years at New Hanover High in Wilmington before spending the last six years at Catawba College, where he served as assistant head coach, offensive coordinator and special team coordinator.

First Assembly will have a familiar face take over for first-year coach Cornelius Street. Craig Kean, who led the Eagles to the 2007 NCISAA Division II championship, will return to coach the team this fall.

Kean was offensive coordinator at Mount Pleasant and served as head coach at Hickory Grove Christian in Charlotte since leaving First Assembly.

The Eagles are coming off a 5-5 season and their sixth consecutive playoff appearance.

Bulldogs lead Wells Fargo Conference Cup standings

Jay M. Robinson sits atop the Wells Fargo Conference Cup standings for the South Piedmont Conference after the fall season.

The Bulldogs lead the league after claiming the SPC girls' cross country title and finishing second in boys' soccer and cross country.

The top three teams are separated by merely 7.5 points. Cox Mill is in second place with Concord not far behind.

The Wells Fargo Conference Cup recognizes schools with the best overall athletic performances within individual conferences. Points are awarded based on participation and standings in conference play. Each conference determines its own method of awarding points.

Here are the complete conference standings:

Jay M. Robinson 267.5

Cox Mill 262.5

Concord 260

Hickory Ridge 235

A.L. Brown 232.5

Northwest Cabarrus 180

Central Cabarrus 132.5

Mount Pleasant 130

Havelock beats Concord for 3A title

WINSTON-SALEM – Havelock used a strong second half to win the 3A state championship by defeating Concord 55-21 Saturday night.

The title is the second straight for the Rams (15-1).

Havelock was first to strike on a Pharoh Cooper 2-yard quarterback keeper, which capped off the Rams’ 75-yard opening drive.

Down 7-0 after the first quarter, the Spiders (13-3) started gaining momentum.

Quarterback B.J. Beecher, who passed for 267 yards on 22-of-36 passing, led the way for Concord in the second quarter by passing for all three of his Spiders’ touchdowns.

Beecher found Alex Asbury, who made a lateral flick to Zosh Heilig for a 30-yard score, to tie the game.

After forcing the Rams to punt, Beecher led the Spiders on an 88-yard drive. The 6-foot-6 senior quarterback capped off the drive with a 37-yard pass to sophomore running back Rocky Reid.

Recovering the ball on a Havelock fumble on the ensuing kickoff, the Spiders seemed to have the momentum on their side despite missing their second extra-point attempt.

But Cooper, also a safety, intercepted Beecher and ran it back 87 yards for a touchdown to get his team within one after a failed PAT.

With 4:07 left in the half, Beecher orchestrated a 72-yard drive that concluded in a 21-yard pass from the Shrine Bowl-bound quarterback to Jerry Burk.

A Logan Sedergren 2-point conversion gave the Spiders a 21-14.

Cooper, the game’s most valuable player after accounting for 146 yards and three touchdowns, led the Rams on a 65-yard scoring drive.

Cooper had two runs – for 28 and 26 yards – before finding Harry Caldwell for an 11-yard touchdown.

Havelock coach Jim Bob Bryant said he made adjustments, including putting six defensive backs on the field to slow down Beecher, after trailing 21-20 at halftime.

“I told them we had 24 minutes left to play,” he said. “We were either going to be the first-place team in the state of the first-place loser.”

Havelock responded, scoring off fumbles in the first two Spider possessions of the half to regain the lead.

“That was a big momentum switch,” said Bryant.

Concord coach Glen Padgett said the two turnovers to start the half changed the game.

“When you play a team with a lot of speed like that, it’s hard to play from behind,” he said.

A.J. Coplon recovered both fumbles, returning the first 61 yards for a touchdown. The Rams found the end zone, on a 2-yard Derrell Scott run, after starting their drive at Concord’s 47-yard line. That increased their lead to 14.

Havelock would add three more touchdowns in the fourth quarter to put the game away.

Concord leads Havelock 21-20 at the half

WINSTON-SALEM – Concord leads Havelock 21-20 after the first half of the 3A state championship game at BB&T Field.

Havelock (14-1) was first to strike, easily moving the ball downfield on its first possession.

Pharoh Cooper’s 2-yard quarterback keeper for a touchdown capped the Rams’ 75-yard opening drive.

Both defenses played well early and forced stops.

Down 7-0 after the first quarter, the Spiders (13-2) started gaining momentum.

Quarterback B.J. Beecher, who passed for 189 yards and three touchdowns on 13-of-19 passing, led the way for Concord in the second quarter.

The Spiders’ first touchdown happened after Beecher found Alex Asbury, who made a lateral flick to Zosh Zeilig for the 30-yard score.

After forcing the Rams to punt, Beecher led the Spiders on an 88-yard drive. The 6-foot-6 senior quarterback capped off the drive with a 37-yard pass to sophomore running back Rocky Reid.

Recovering the ball on a Havelock fumble on the ensuing kickoff, the Spiders seemed to have the momentum on their side despite having missed their first extra point attempt.

But Cooper intercepted Beecher after the Spiders had reached the red zone, returning the pick-six 87 yards to get his team within one.

With 4:07 left in the half, Beecher orchestrated a 72-yard drive that concluded in a 21-yard pass from the Shrine Bowl-bound quarterback to Jerry Burk.

A Logan Sedergren 2-point conversion gave the Spiders a 21-14.

Cooper, who ran for 57 yards and pass for 52 more, led the Rams on a 65-yard scoring drive.

Cooper had two runs – for 28 and 26 yards – before finding Harry Caldwell for an 11-yard touchdown.

Concord quarterback wins $40,000 scholarship

Concord High quarterback B.J. Beecher was named the first recipient of the Charlotte Touchdown Club’s Michael A. Kahn Scholarship.

The $40,000 scholarship, named after the owner/CEO of the Charlotte Checkers, celebrates community service as well as academic and athletic accomplishments.

Beecher is a four-year starter at Concord, having taken over at quarterback for the Spiders midway through his freshman year. That season, he led an 0-6 team to six consecutive wins and a trip to the second round of the state playoffs.

Beecher, a 6-foot-7, 200-pound senior, threw for 2,606 yards and 32 touchdowns as a sophomore to lead Concord to a 9-5 season. He followed that up with 2,957 yards and 32 scores for the 10-4 Spiders last year.

He has thrown for 3,786 yards and 48 touchdowns this season, making him only the third player in North Carolina high school football history to amass 10,000 career passing yards. Independence’s Chris Leak (15,593) and Burlington Cummings’ Ernest Tinnen (10,836) are the other two.

Beecher, who also plays basketball and tennis at Concord, maintains a 3.3 grade-point average while also being involved in his school’s Young Life organization. As a junior, he traveled to the Dominican Republic as part of a medical mission team.

Concord (13-2) will play in the 3A state football championship Saturday against Havelock in Winston-Salem.

Spider coach Glen Padgett told the Observer that Beecher will be a game-time decision for Saturday's game after injuring his right thumb - on his throwing hand - in the second quarter of the 3A semifinal against Morganton Freedom.

Cougars win state golf title

From left: Pat Whisenant,Taylor Bunten, Anna Redding, Annie Collom
 and Kate Collom. COURTESY OF BETH COLLUM

Cannon School repeated as private school girls’ golf champions, winning by 26 shots over second-place Durham Academy Oct. 24 at Mid Pines Golf Club in Pinehurst.

The Cougars, under the direction of first-year coach Pat Whisenant, shot a combined low score of 249.

Junior Kate Collom and sophomore Anna Redding led the way, tying for second place with their 18-hole score of 82.

Sophomore Annie Collom shot an 85 while classmate Taylor Bunten posted a 94.

The Colloms sisters and Redding were named to the all-state team.

“It's been a real honor to be a part of this run and these girls, who are great players and people,” Whisenant said. “They lifted each other up when they weren't putting well today and pulled it together for a state championship.”

Cannon was equally as impressive last year, when the Cougars won by 22 shots. The Cougars have beaten 25 of their last 26 opponents in the two-year span. Their only loss on the course was to defending 2A state champion Salisbury last year.

- Jay Edwards

Concord upsets Cox Mill to earn spot in SPC finals

Concord's volleyball team knocked the No. 2 seed in the South Piedmont 3A volleyball tournament to reach Wednesday's finals against top-ranked Hickory Ridge.

After dropping both regular season meetings to the Chargers, the Spiders defeated Cox Mill 3-0 (25-22, 28-26, 25-22) Tuesday in the semifinals.

Hickory Ridge defeated Northwest Cabarrus 3-0 (25-18, 25-19, 25-22) in the other semifinal and will host Concord at 6 p.m. for the tournament title.

Trojans roll to second round

Northwest Cabarrus, the SPC girls' tennis champions, reached the second round of the N.C. High School Athletic Association dual team playoffs after a 5-4 win against Gastonia Ashbrook Tuesday.

Jay M. Robinson, the conference runners-up, dropped its first-round match-up against Hickory 9-0 to wrap up its season.

The Trojans will host Marvin Ridge Oct. 23 in second-round play.

The 3A midwest individual regionals will be held Friday and Saturday at Concord. The top six singles and doubles players from the conference will participate.