All-SPC swim honors announced

Jay M. Robinson's Tyler Gomez and Hunter Rogers were named the South Piedmont Conference's male and female swimmers of the year, respectively.

Cox Mill's Jamie Carter was voted SPC coach of the year by her peers.

Here is a list of the all-conference team:

BOYS	First	Last	Year
Robinson	Tyler	Gomez	Jr
Robinson	Griffin	Fiedler	Sr
A.L. Brown	Davied	Sanchez	Sr
Concord	Justus	Cochran	Jr
Concord	Greg	Leeman	Sr
H Ridge	Quinn	Montgomerie	Jr
Concord	Sam	Jones	Fr
Northwest	Brian	Gilley	Sr
Concord	Tucker	Wall	So
Robinson	Ryan	Buddendeck	Sr
A.L. Brown	Daniel	Sanchez	So
Robinson	Ben	Masius	Jr
Cox Mill	Austin	Kirby	Sr
Robinson	Dillon	Roey	Jr
Concord	Ryan	Harvey	Sr
Mt. Plesant	Brett	Holland	Sr
Cox Mill	Brett	Cicenia	Sr
H Ridge	Zach	Cary	Jr
Robinson	Graham	Petrea	Sr
A.L. Brown	Luke	Hill	Sr
Concord	Evan	Johnson	So
Cox Mill	Kyle	Kerby	Sr
H Ridge	Nick	Hinojosa	Sr
Concord	Scott	Pless	Jr

GIRLS	First	Last	Year
Robinson	Hunter	Rogers	Sr
Concord	Lucy	Suddreth	Sr
Robinson	Ashton	Brown	Fr
Robinson	Becca	Stanton	Jr
Central	Sydney	Vandenberg	So
Cox Mill	Lexi	Wrist	Jr
Concord	Brianna	Clark	Sr
H Ridge	Anna	Quan	Sr
Concord	Hailey	Knox	Jr
Cox Mill	Mackenzie	O'Brien	Jr
Northwest	Corrine	Enriquez	Jr
Cox Mill	Madeline	Cowart	Jr
Central	Alex	Vandenberg	Fr
Northwest	Emily	Robinson	So
H Ridge	Kristin	Mulchi	Sr
Robinson	Sydney	Kopelic	Sr
Robinson	Taylor	Gomez	Jr
Robinson	Kelly	Jamieson	Jr
Robinson	Kathryn	Lambertsen	Sr
Robinson	Megan	Maglione	Sr
Northwest	Emma	Prager	Fr
H Ridge	Maddy	Goers	So
Central	Sydney	Kramer	Fr
Cox Mill	Mallory	Hinic	So

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.