East Lincoln played a smothering, trapping defense that held the Indians to 12 first-half points, and continued to pour it on in the second half and they defeated the Indians by a score of 65-35 in a Western Foothills 3A Conference matchup Friday night in Denver.

The Mustangs were led by Drew Bean’s 18 points and Jeremiah Jones who added 10.

East Lincoln is giving up just 44.2 points per contest. The Mustangs have held opponents under 47 points nine times this season, and have only allowed 60 or more points twice. The East Lincoln defense has forced 20 or more turnovers in eleven of their 14 games, and the team is forcing 23.3

For the second time in three days, the West Lincoln wrestling team knocked off a highly ranked team, defeating Newton-Conover 39-31 in Catawba Valley 2A Conference action on Friday.

Lincolnton also picked up a CVAC win, 55-18 over West Caldwell, along with a pair of non-conference victories over East Rutherford and Alleghany. The results are below.

West Lincoln 39, Newton Conover 31

132: Luke Heavner (WL) over Mason Shook (NC) (Fall 3:57); 138: Kemp Wehunt (WL) over Connor Shumate (NC) (Dec 4-1); 145: Ethan Clark (NC) over Xandor Hedrick (WL) (Fall 0:00); 152: Mason Avery (WL) over Jason

East Lincoln forced a whopping 35 turnovers in Tuesday night’s 74-32 rout of Fred T. Foard in their Western Foothills 3A Conference matchup in Denver.

Led by junior Mason Simmons’ career-high 16 points, the Mustangs built a commanding 35-point lead over the Tigers by the end of the first half. Jackson Fannon, a freshman, added a career-high 14 points for East Lincoln, who improved to 10-2 overall and 3-0 in conference play.

The win, coupled with North Iredell’s loss to Hickory, gives the Mustangs sole possession of first place in the WF3A Conference.

The Mustangs were to host Statesville on Wednesday night in a makeup

The West Lincoln wrestling team knocked off second-ranked Bunker Hill on Tuesday by a score of 53-21.

The Rebels picked up wins in 10 of the fourteen weight classes in their Catawba Valley 2A Conference victory.

West Lincoln will host third-ranked Newton-Conover tonight at 7 p.m.

Results of Tuesday’s match are below.

West Lincoln 53, Bunker Hill 21

106: Lawson Vang (BH) over Andy Saine (WL) (Fall 3:58); 113: Jack

Stuart Cramer used its depth and balanced scoring in the second half to hold off an upset bid by Lincolnton Thursday night in the championship game of the Peoples Bank Holiday Clash at Lincolnton High School.

In the third meeting of the season between the teams, the Storm (10-0) got 21 points from tournament MVP Will Kelly and 10 each from Mason Craig and Justin Rocquemore to beat the Wolves 67-62.

Cramer trailed 32-29 at the half and fell behind by seven at one point in the third quarter.

However, one big play at the end of the period seemed to turn the

The Lady Mustangs came up just short in Thursday night’s championship game of the East Lincoln Winter Jam in Denver.

The Cox Mill Chargers edged past the Lady Mustangs by a score of 44-41 to claim the women’s championship and improve to 10-3 on the season.

Megan Gallegos scored 11 points and Lauren Farrell added 10 to lead Cox Mill, who held off East Lincoln down the stretch for the victory.

Ginny Overbay had 14 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 assists and drew a charge to lead the Lady Mustangs in the championship game.

Taliyah Thomas added 13 points, 2 steals and an assist, and Hailey

Tuesday, Dec. 21

Boys: East Lincoln 86, West Iredell 30

The Mustangs built a 49-17 by the end of the first half and poured it on after the break in their 86-30 Western Foothills 3A Conference win at West Iredell (0-8, 0-3). Senior Drew Bean led East Lincoln with 18 points, while Logan Craig and Eric Runyan added 12 each. This was the first meeting between the two teams since the 1984-1985 season. The Mustangs hold an 8-2 edge in the all-time series. East Lincoln (8-0, 2-0) will next be in action on Tuesday when they host Hunter Huss in the first round of the East

After missing 2020 due to Covid-19, the Peoples Bank Holiday Clash will return this Winter with three full days of high school basketball.

The 19th annual tournament will begin on Tuesday, December 28 at Lincolnton High School and continue through Thursday, December 30.

This year’s participating field will include men’s and women’s teams from Bandys, East Gaston, Forestview, Highland Tech, Lincolnton, North Lincoln, Stuart Cramer and West Lincoln.

The three-day event will conclude on Thursday, December 30 with the girls championship game at 6 p.m and the boys finals at 8 p.m. The full

The East Lincoln Winter Jam holiday basketball tournament returns to East Lincoln High School on December 28 with 16 teams participating.

The girls tournament will feature teams from Cox Mill, Central Cabarrus, Mallard Creek, West Cabarrus, Lake Norman, Jay M. Robinson, Hough and East Lincoln.

On the boys side, teams from Lake Norman, Ashbrook, SouthLake Christian, Lake Norman Charter, Jay M. Robinson, Hough, Hunter Huss and East Lincoln will compete for this year’s title.

The event will run three days, December 28, 29 and 30, with games being

The East Lincoln Lady Mustangs cruised to their sixth win of the season with a 61-38 victory over South Iredell Monday evening in Denver.

Madison Bissinger knocked down 5 of her seven 3-point attempts, scoring 15 points to help lead East Lincoln to the non-conference win.

Ginny Overbay recorded her second straight double-double with 12 points 15 rebounds, 3 steals and an assist. Madison Self also scored in double figures, finishing with 10 points, 9 boards and a steal. Taliyah Thomas chipped in with 10 points, 5 steals, 2 rebounds and an assist.

The Lady Mustangs, now 6-1, lost only a three-point game at Ashbrook

First year Lincoln Charter coach James Burnett has been working all season to get his team to buy into the Lincoln Charter way – that is, to play suffocating, hard-nosed defense.

Based on the Eagles’ intensity in Friday’s first-ever basketball meeting with Lincolnton, the team may be getting the message.

Lincoln Charter forced 11 turnovers in the first quarter and 20 in the first half on its way to a 75-53 win over the Wolves in front of a lively crowd in Lincolnton’s gym.

“We finally dialed in to play defense, and that is what I was impressed

East Lincoln senior Jeremiah Jones knocked down a pair of free throws to break a tie game and the Mustangs got a key stop in the game’s final seconds to hold on for a 50-47 win over the Red Tornadoes in the Western Foothills 3A Conference opener for both teams Friday night at Hickory High School.

East Lincoln, who improved to 6-0 overall, had three players in double figures, led by senior Drew Bean with 17 points.

Palmer Crichton added 16 points, including a key 3-pointer late in the game to ignite the Mustangs, and senior Logan Craig added 12 points with a key

The East Lincoln Mustangs are off to a 5-0 start after defeating Ashbrook 61-32 in a non-conference home game on Wednesday, and completing a season sweep of the Green Wave for the first time.

East Lincoln opened up a 36-19 halftime lead and continued to pour it on in the second half.

The Mustangs were led by senior Logan Craig with 15 points and Drew Bean, who added 11.

Ashbrook had no players in double figures.

Now, East Lincoln gets their toughest challenge of the young season when

GREENVILLE, S.C. – Lees-McRae College’s Sidney Dollar has been named the Conference Carolinas Men’s Basketball Defensive Player of the Week after tallying two blocks and four steals to lead the Bobcats to a 2-1 record last week with conference wins over rival King on Tuesday and Francis Marion on Saturday.

Dollar, a junior sports management major, averaged 7.3 points/game, 5.3 rebounds/game, 2.0 steals/game, while also tallying two blocks, to lead Lees-McRae during the three-game week. The junior from East Lincoln High School opened the week by tallying eight points and three rebounds in an 81-80 win over rival King on Tuesday, before finishing with six rebounds and two steals in the loss to UNC Pembroke on Friday. Dollar closed out the

Jeremiah Jones scored 20 points and the East Lincoln Mustangs broke open a tight game in the second half of their 56-37 win over Lincolnton Friday night in Denver.

After leading by just a single point (23-22) at the half, East Lincoln outscored the Wolves 33-15 in the second half to pick up the non-conference victory and move to 3-0 on the young season.

Keandre Walker added eight points for the Mustangs, who extended their win streak over Lincolnton to 8.

Jacob McGill led the Wolves (0-3) with nine points.

The Western Foothills 3A recently released the All-Conference football team and individual award winners for the 2021 fall season.

The Catawba Valley 2A has announced the individual postseason awards for 2021 football season, and West Lincoln and Lincolnton combined for a total of 13 players on the All-Conference team, including Defensive Player of the Year Bernard Wingate of the Wolves.

Running back/linebacker Mason Avery led a group of seven Rebels making the All-CVAC squad, that also included Zach Daigler, Trace Gilmore, Curtis Goins, Xandor Hedrick, Lathon Sain and Jersey Singletary.

Avery ran for 1,825 yards this past season with 17 touchdowns, helping lead West Lincoln to a 9-3 record and a first-round playoff victory. The

The East Lincoln boys opened the high school basketball season with a convincing 84-41 win over county-rival West Lincoln on November 23 in Denver.

The Mustangs opened up a 55-24 lead in the first half and cruised in the second half of the non-conference contest to win the season opener for both teams.

East Lincoln had five players in double figures, led by junior Palmer Crichton who had a career-high 19 points with 7 steals and 6 assists. Senior Drew Bean added 15 points for the Mustangs, and junior Keandre Walker had a career-high 11 points. Junior Mason Simmons and senior Eric

The West Lincoln wrestling team took first place at the Gaston/Lincoln Invitational over the Thanksgiving holidays at West Lincoln High School.

The Rebels’ Andy Sain (106-pound) and Chade Norman (126-pound) were both champions in their respective weight classes, as West Lincoln scored a team-high 209.5 points.

Forestview (135) finished in second place, followed by Stuart Cramer (127.5) and North Gaston (115.5). Lincolnton and North Lincoln finished in a fifth-place tie with 111 points.

Other local individual champions included Quinlan Hunter of Lincolnton in

The Western Foothills 3A recently released the All-Conference team for the Fall 2021 season, and East Lincoln placed four members on the team, including Defensive Player of the Year Christopher Mileta.

Other Mustangs joining Mileta on the squad were Landon Graden, Jackson Thrap and Connor Henderson.

North Lincoln’s Luke Custer was the Knight’s lone pick for All-Conference.

North Lincoln finished tied for second place in the league with Fred T. Foard. Both teams were two games back of conference champion and 3A

The Lincolnton wrestling team took home first place at the Ironman Invitational at Cherryville High School on Saturday.

The Wolves posted a team score of 184.5, edging out South Point (170) who finished second in the 11-team event.

First-place finishers for the Wolves were Caleb Deaton in the 126-pound division, Issiah Herycyk (132), Quinlan Hunter (145) and Bernard Wingate (220).

Lincolnton’s runners-up were Nathan Huffman in the 113, Ethan Smith

The Catawba Valley 2A has announced the All-Conference men’s soccer team for the fall of 2021, and leading the way with five selections was conference champion Lincolnton.

Zack Zagorski, Aaron Lail, Jesus Tellez-Blanco, Sam Carpenter and Kevin Calvo all represented the Wolves on the All-Conference squad.

Lincolnton finished the 2021 season with a record of 20-1-3, losing only to Shelby 1-0 in last Tuesday’s 2A Western Regional Championship.

West Lincoln’s Alexander Gutierrez was also selected for the All-Conference

The Lincolnton Wolves men’s soccer team fell to Shelby in a heartbreaking 1-0 loss Tuesday night in the 2A West Regional Championship Game at Lincolnton High School.

The loss, the Wolves first and only of the 2021 season, ended a spectacular year for the Lincolnton men’s program that finished with a 20-1-3 record.

The only goal in Tuesday’s contest came in the first three minutes of action. Assisted by Carter Bridges, junior forward Jack Berkowitz gave Shelby a 1-0 advantage, and it held up all night.

The Wolves had several near misses throughout the evening, but just

MAIDEN—Whatever adjustments Maiden made from its first meeting with conference foe West Lincoln, it all came together in impressive fashion Friday night at Thomas E. Brown Stadium.

The Blue Devils, who needed a late touchdown to escape with a 20-14 win when the Catawba Valley Athletic Conference (CVAC) teams met September 24 at West, scored on five straight first half possessions and breezed to a 47-0 victory in the 2A playoff rematch.

Maiden (12-0) advances to a third-round game this week at home against Salisbury, which defeated Bunker Hill, another CVAC playoff team, 49-0 Friday night. Salisbury won the state 2AA championship last year and

STATESVILLE—It is the age old saying: It’s hard to beat the same team twice.

However, the No. 2 Statesville Greyhounds put that saying to bed on Friday night with a 42-3 win over No. 18 East Lincoln to advance to the third round of the 3A state playoffs.

Statesville defeated the Mustangs 23-6 on Oct. 24 to move to 4-0 on the season but were without senior running back JZ Harrison-Connor in that game.

East Lincoln came out strong, driving down inside the Greyhound’s 5-yard

After a year without a banquet due to Covid-19, the Lincoln County Sports Hall of Fame welcomed the Class of 2020 and the Class of 2021 at Saturday evening’s induction ceremony at the James W. Warren Citizen Center in Lincolnton.

Nick Bazzle, Jimmy Cherry, Jay Heafner, Nancy Little and Joanne Potts made up the LCSHOF Class of 2020, while the Class of 2021 included Mark Beam, Jayme Barkley Craig, Cheron Farley, Kane Haynes and Jim Smith.

Bazzle was a standout football player at East Lincoln, and went on to play at Guilford College. Following his playing days, he became a well respected high school coach, spending 24 years at Newton-Conover before moving to

The Western Foothills 3A recently announced the All-Conference teams for several fall sports.

Women’s Tennis

League champion North Lincoln placed four players on the SF3A All-Conference squad. Emma Carver, Meghan Restino, Anna Gore and Madison File all earned All-SF3A honors, helping the Knights win the conference championship.

East Lincoln’s Hannah McGuirk and Molly McGuirk were also on the All-

VALE—The rematch of Catawba Valley Athletic Conference rivals is set for the second round of the state 2A playoffs.

Mason Avery rushed for 211 yards and five touchdowns as West Lincoln defeated Surry Central 41-7 Friday night in only the second home playoff game in school history. The Rebels (9-2) are 2-0 at home in the postseason, with the other win coming against South Point in 2019.

Meanwhile, CVAC champion Maiden (11-0) beat Mount Pleasant 37-7 Friday night to advance to a second meeting with West Lincoln this week at Thomas E. Brown Stadium in Maiden.

When the teams played on Sept. 24 at West in the conference opener, the

KERNERSVILLE, NC – The 3A women’s cross-country team championship went to North Lincoln, which cruised to the title with a 59-150 tally over Carrboro in the race. The Knights collected their second straight Women’s Cross Country title after winning the 2A Championship a year ago.

North Lincoln was led by sophomore Bella Wood, who clipped the line at 19:20.79 in fifth overall. She was closely followed by teammates Lori Glavan and Bella Green who finished in 11th and 12th respectively with times of 19:53.92 and 19:54.10. The Knights’ scoring five closed out with Kelbi Pierce at 20:10.46 in 16th overall and Cara Castro in 22nd at

North Lincoln High School has announced approval to start up a lacrosse program beginning this coming Spring.

Work has been in the process with Jared Jacobs and local lacrosse coach and Eagles Club Lacrosse leader Dave Butlak on all aspects of beginning a Club and eventually turning into a varsity lacrosse team at North Lincoln High School.

After Jacobs met with North Lincoln High School Principal Chip Cathey and Mr. Dave Butlak, a plan was developed to begin lacrosse at North Lincoln High. It was then presented to the athletic director and the school board,

The North Lincoln men’s soccer team defeated North Iredell (13-6-1) in double overtime Wednesday night, outscoring the Raiders 5-3 in penalty kicks to decide a 2-2 tie.

Luke Custer and Lawson Hare scored the regulation goals for the Knights (11-12), and Custer, Hare, Belil Boyd, Hunter Kossler and Maxx Rhyne all had goals on penalty kicks.

This marks the first time in school history that the North Lincoln men’s soccer team will advance to the third round.

In Monday’s first-round action, the Knights got goals from Boyd and Custer

The Western Foothills 3A Conference recently recognized the All-Conference Women’s Golf Team for the 2021 season, and leading the way was East Lincoln’s Kyla Callahan who earned the league’s player of the year award. Callahan was the individual runner-up in the 3A Western Regional.

Conference champion North Lincoln placed three team members on the All-Conference squad, including Adeline Todd, Reagan Smith and Hailey Klein.

In addition to Callahan, the Mustangs were also represented by Hannah Mehrmann and Aspen Greene.

North Lincoln’s Brad Mangum was named the Western Foothills 3A

Behind a physical running game and a stingy defense, the North Lincoln Knights overcame a four-point halftime deficit and rolled to a 37-14 victory over rival East Lincoln on Friday night in Pumpkin Center.

The win secured the Western Foothills number-two seed for North Lincoln and the 3A West 13th overall seed, earning a home game against No. 20 seed West Rowan this Friday.

The Knights opened the scoring following a Mustang turnover when quarterback Kyle Kovalchuk hooked up with Reed King for a 52-yard scoring pass on just their second snap from scrimmage. Liam Sutton’s