Sports – Moore County Edition

Dec

14

2023

North Moore girls top the power rankings

Union Pines sees streak snapped The Union Pines girls team saw its four-game winning streak come to an end last week. After winning at Douglas Byrd, 65-30 and beating Gray’s Creek in overtime, 48-45, the Vikings came back from South Johnston with a 48-31 defeat and a 4-4 record on the year. Sophomore Savannah McCaskill had a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds against Byrd. Junior Taryn Pekala (13 points) and junior Sashay Thompson (10) were also in double figures. McCaskill, senior Natalie Auman and Pekala all had at least four steals in the game, led by Pekala’s 6.…

Dec

13

2023

By North State Journal Staff

ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Colby Pennington

Sportsathlete of the week

Colby Pennington is a junior for the North Moore basketball team … among other things. Pennington just finished a football season that saw him earn first-team All-Conference honors after finishing as the leading receiver and second leading scorer for the Mustangs. He’s stepped things up on the hardwood, leading North Moore in scoring and rebounding so far this season. Last week, he was top scorer in all three of the Mustangs’ games. He scored 21 against Grey Stone Day, 16 of the team’s 30 points in a loss to Northwood and 30 points, including 4-of-6 from three, against South Stanly.…

Dec

07

2023

By Randolph Record

ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Justin Travers

Sportsathlete of the week

Justin Travers is a senior in the 132 lb. weight class for the Pinecrest Patriots wrestling team. Justin posted a big win during Pinecrest’s senior night win over Fuquay Varina last week. He recorded a win by pinfall during his match. (He’s shown with his family during senior night ceremonies in the photo above.) It was part of a hot streak on the mat for Travers who recorded three wins, two by fall and one by decision, during the Mason Wagner Memorial Duals over the weekend. He also recorded four wins, all by fall, at the Pirate Round Robin in…

Nov

29

2023

By Randolph Record

ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Zanodiya McNair

Sports

Zanodiya McNair is a junior guard for the Pinecrest Patriots girls basketball team. McNair was the game’s top scorer in the Patriots’ 55-43 loss to Jack Britt last week, pouring in 19 points in 20 minutes. She hit 8-of-14 shots from two-point range and added a game-high 5 steals. She was also the leading scorer for Pinecrest in the season opener, with 9 points, adding 5 rebounds in that game. ‌

Nov

29

2023

By North State Journal Staff

Pinecrest boys post lone win for county schools this week

Sports

Before a brief break for the Thanksgiving holiday, four of the county’s six boys and girls basketball teams were in action last week, with mixed results. Union Pines boys, girls swept by South View After a season opening win over Montgomery Central, the Vikings dropped to 1-1 on the young campaign with a 85-72 loss to South View last week. Senior Trent Hilburn led the way for Union Pines, scoring 31 points on 10-of-25 shooting from the field. He was 4-of-8 from three-point range and had 9 rebounds and 5 assists. Junior Aiden Leonard was also in double figures with…

Nov

21

2023

By Randolph Record

Athlete of the Week: Nathaniel Dyer

Sportsathlete of the week

Nathaniel Dyer (4) is a senior quarterback and free safety for North Moore’s football team. The Mustangs saw their season end in a loss to Wilson Prep on Friday, but Dyer led North Moore to a conference title and into the NCHSAA playoffs’ third round. In addition to quarterbacking the team and leading the North Moore offense, Dyer was also a big play contributor on defense and special teams. He had a pass defense and fumble recovery during the regular season, and he recovered a blocked punt in the end zone against Wilson Prep to cut the deficit to seven…

Nov

21

2023

By Randolph Record

North Moore football finishes season, basketball opens play across county

SportsMoore County sports

Football comes to an end North Moore saw its season end in the third round of the state playoffs. The 6-seed Mustangs lost to 3-seed Wilson Prep in the round of 16 by a 42-15 score. North Moore had no answer for the Wilson Prep run game, which featured three 100-yard backs. The Tigers scored six touchdowns on the ground in the contest. The Mustangs got on the board with a pass from Colby Pennington to Kolby Ritchie, then tightened things up when Nathaniel Dyer recovered a blocked punt in the end zone. North Moore could never close the gap,…

Nov

15

2023

By North State Journal Staff

ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: William Miller

Sportsathlete of the week

Pinecrest, football William Miller is a junior kicker and defensive back on the Pinecrest football team. Pinecrest saw its undefeated season end after 11 straight wins with a loss to Clayton in the second round of the playoffs on Friday, but Miller did a bit of everything to try to carry his team into round three. Miller kicked a 30-yard field goal to move Pinecrest within one score of the lead, while also adding an extra point. On defense, he added an interception, returning it 29 yards. Miller led Pinecrest in interceptions this year and was third on the team…

Nov

15

2023

By Randolph Record

Playoff roundup: North Moore football, soccer advance

Sports

Men’s Soccer playoffs North Moore got goals from Ricky and Christian Betancourt to defeat East Wake Academy in Zebulon, 2-0. The win earned the third-seeded Mustangs a berth in the NCHSAA 1A soccer playoffs final four, where they played the top seed, Hobbton, Tuesday night after press time. The game was marred by a fracas with just over 11 minutes to go. North Moore’s leading scorer, Ricky Betancourt was fouled on a play that occurred right in front of the Mustang bench. Several members of the team felt it was an overly violent foul, and a shoving match ensued. North…

Nov

08

2023

By Moore County Staff

Pinecrest, North Moore open playoff runs with victories

Sportsnorth moore football, pinecrest football

Both local teams were victorious in the first round of the state playoffs on Friday and will advance to round two this week. Pinecrest 45, South Garner 31 The Pinecrest Patriots stormed back in the second half to defeat South Garner 45-31 on Friday night in the first round of the state playoffs. Pinecrest trailed 24-14 at the half, with the scoring coming from two Jaylin Morgan touchdowns. The Patriots erupted for 21 points in the span of about three minutes in the third on two touchdowns by Zymire Spencer and a blocked punt in the end zone recovered by…