Nick Stevens, a Raleigh native, goes beyond the scores to provide insight and analysis of local high school sports. You can contact Nick by clicking here.
Jan 27, 2010
Wake Forest-Rolesville running back Andy Fairchild poses with athletic trainer Rick Baker nearly five months after he broke his neck in a junior varsity football game (Photo by: Teri Saylor, VYPE High School Sports Magazine)
When football players suit up for games, they know there is an inherent risk of injury. Most football injuries aren't life threatening, but as the state of North Carolina has learned in recent years, sometimes the worst case scenario comes true.
Wake Forest-Rolesville junior varsity running back Andy Fairchild has firsthand knowledge of the risk for serious injury.
On Sept. 10, 2009, Andy, 15, was playing in a junior varsity game against Clayton. The next night, he was supposed to move up to the varsity team, where a series of injuries had created a need for a replacement running back.
The Cougars had the ball as the end of the first half neared. On the final play of the half, Andy took the hand-off and went through the line. He saw a linebacker coming for him, and put his head down and took a helmet-to-helmet hit.
"I went down and there was some really intense pain through my left shoulder for about 30 seconds," he said. "But by the time [athletic
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Jan 13, 2010
Earnest Ross signs his Letter of Intent to Auburn (November 13, 2008)
Most high school athletes think they will go to college on a scholarship. It is, after all, a logical step for a kid who excels at their sport. If one can play the game they love while receiving a free education it is certainly a win-win situation. Mothers and fathers are thrilled when they don’t have to pinch pennies or finance their homes to pay four years of tuition.
It’s an outstanding achievement for those high school athletes that are able to play in college. However, the reality is that the vast majority will end their athletic careers upon graduating high school. It is a very small percentage of high school athletes that compete collegiately, and a tiny fraction of those that get to do it for a living after college.
A recent study conducted by Northeastern University found that fifty-nine percent of high school football and basketball players believe they will get a college scholarship. Their research also showed that ninety-eight percent of high school
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Jan 13, 2010
Keisha Gatling had a tremendous post presence on Tuesday evening when Athens Drive hosted Green Hope. Gatling's defensive presence is what put Athens Drive in what appeared to be a position that all but promised a victory.
That is until Gatling was whistled for fouling Kristen Gaffney with about 30 seconds left to send the Falcon sophomore to the free throw line. Someone on the Athens Drive bench reacted to the call, and the same official handed the Jaguar bench a technical foul.
All of a sudden, Green Hope, which was down five-points, had four shots at the free throw line. Gaffney shot all four free throws, hitting three of them.
The foul wasn't even close, though.
Our camera was in a perfect position to capture the call. You can watch the video above. It will first be shown in full speed, then we will show it a few times in slow motion.
In the video you can clearly see there is no body-to-body contact, and Gatling definitely gets all ball. The ball
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Dec 24, 2009
Crews set up for the GlaxoSmithKline Holiday Invitational (Dec. 21, 2009)
38 years ago, a Christmas tournament was put together to showcase local teams and it was played at Broughton High School.
Over time the tournament evolved into something more, and today it is one of the premiere holiday basketball tournaments in the nation. Year after year, the tournament staff brings in some of the nations top teams and players, as well as prospects that are being courted by local ACC schools.
As the years went by, the tournament was played at different locations. After starting at Broughton, the tournament had stints at Athens Drive High School and the Raleigh Civic Center. As the tournament continued to grow, it was moved to an even larger venue - Reynolds Coliseum.
Reynolds is a great, historical place. There is plenty of parking and plenty of seating. It's even a better setup for the media.
Broughton is notorious for having too few parking spots. And seating just over 2,000 people, the number of spectators is limited.
Last year, a few
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Dec 17, 2009
2009 All-OT Team Players of the Year with their trophies (from left to right). Kendall Moore (Southeast Raleigh), Defensive Player of the Year; Trea Jones (Wake Forest-Rolesville), Player of the Year; T.J. Thorpe (Jordan), Special Teams Player of the Year; Josh Snead (Smithfield-Selma), Offensive Player of the Year.
This past summer when we were having our organizational meetings to get everything prepped for high school football season, I told everyone that I wanted to do an all-area team.
Ever since I have covered high school sports for WRAL, the Triangle has not had a legitimate all-area team. For an area as big as the Triangle, and for an area that is seeing high school football grow the way it is here, an all-area team is a must in my opinion.
At first, some wanted me to do the team on my own. For obvious reasons, I never supported that option! Like I said, I may be stupid, but I'm not that stupid!
I wanted to ensure that this all-area team would be as legitimate as possible. As a result, we got a committee together with representatives from HighSchoolOT.com, WRAL, 99.9 FM The Fan ESPN Radio and VYPE High School Sports Magazine to work on the All-OT Team.
We started the process in October by sending coaches questionnaires, asking them to send us information
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