Girls Hoops: Playoffs...?

     Friday night's game against West Stokes was a crucial one because of the possibility that only two of the Conference's three 2-A teams will make the State Playoffs.  The Lady Eagles and the Wildcats were tied for that second spot and 4th overall in the Northwest 1-A/2-A conference.  After a long night for Surry Central, West Stokes hit their foul shots late to secure a win.  This loss has put the Lady Eagles in a tight spot.  In order to get back into playoff contention, Central needs to win their last three regular season games and have West Stokes lose at least one game.
     So, tonight's game versus Mt. Airy has the Golden Eagles' season on the line.  "A win would be the first against Mt. Airy in 10 or so years", says Coach Mandy Holt.  Going into the Bears' house and coming home with a victory will be no easy task, but the Eagles are ready to "bear" down to save their season.

-Forest Kimbrell SCSID

Mens Hoops: Eagles Suffer Tough Loss, Face Road Test

From the opening tip, the Golden Eagles looked to give West Stokes their best shot. The two teams came into the game as the 2^nd and 3^rd place teams in the Northwest 1A/2A Conference. The gym just wasn’t loud, it was electric.  West Stokes had suffered only one conference loss all season, to none other than Winston-Salem Prep. So, to pull off the upset would have been huge.  The first matchup between these two was in King last month, and it didn’t go well for the Eagles, losing by 19 points.  But, something felt different about this game.  The Eagles played at a high level and didn’t back down from the challenge.   The Eagles can play like a top level team as they have done in the recent home games with Prep and West Stokes. There was a spark in the team that didn’t go out until the final buzzer.   But on this night, West Stokes executed more efficiently and won 58-53.  Yadkin Valley Sports reported that this was the closest Conference victory for the Wildcats so far this season, which really is something to take from this game. 

Notable performers from the night for the Eagles were Ethan Wilmoth and Gabe Leftwich scoring 23 and 14 points respectively.  Wilmoth also tallied eight rebounds and four assists while his younger cousin Zach Wilmoth added five points and grabbed seven boards.   Josh Spainhour with 15 points and Austin Fleming with 13 came up big for West Stokes.  Spainhour was perfect at the line in the fourth quarter hitting eight, and he kept the game just inches out of reach.  The Wildcats improved to 16-3 overall, 12-1 conference play.  The Golden Eagles fell to 13-8 overall, 7-6 conference play. 

The Eagles face a tough road test against the Granite Bears of Mount Airy High tonight.  The Bears will be out for vengeance after losing by nine at The Nest on December 16.  It should be an exciting night of hoops.

                                                                                                 Alex Fowler

                                                                                                 Staff Reporter               

Lady Eagles Come Up Empty On Gold Rush Night

     The Lady Eagles faced a very physical team in undefeated-North Surry Tuesday night. The Greyhounds seemed to overpower Central in the paint. It was certainly the difference in the game.

     Tess Dockery's three-pointer at the beginning of the fourth quarter made the score at 40-39, North Surry. Then, the Greyhounds put on the pressure. A constant fastbreak was too much for the Eagles. Throughout the entire fourth quarter, North's Morgan Midkiff connected countless times with Kristina Rumplasch. This steady squeeze put Central in a hole that they couldn't shoot out of. Final score 66-56, Greyhounds.

-Forest Kimbrell SCSID

Surry Central Football Busy Preparing for Next Season

        After finishing up the 2011 regular season at 7-3, the Golden Eagles are looking for another good season in 2012. Offseason workouts began a couple of weeks ago. Turnout has been good so far, but numbers are expected to continue to grow. Three players; Wes Brown, Nicholas Thomas, and Chance Beck; are preparing for their third Varsity season. Brown and Thomas have both been named All Northwest 1A/2A the past two seasons.
        Those wanting to participate in offseason workouts can do so every Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from 3:15pm - 4:30pm.

Nicholas Thomas
Staff Reporter

 

Baseball Gearing Up For 2012 Campaign

        Surry Central Baseball is always looked at as one of the top programs in North Carolina.  Mostly, this is because of the great players and one of the most outstanding coaching staffs in all of high school baseball.  They also play great baseball and contend in the Northwest 1A/2A Conference every year.  For the past four years, Surry Central has finished either 1^st or 2^nd in the conference and continued their season well into the playoffs.

        I talked to Head Coach Matt Scott this past week, and he filled me in how he feels about this season and the team he will be putting out on the field this year.  He says that early on in preseason workouts, he has noticed that there are lots of men that are going to be battling for a chance to be one of the starting nine.  Also, that he feels that this is one of the deepest teams that we’ve had at this school, and that with this he expects to be competitive every night.  The Golden Eagles have two of their top pitchers returning for their Senior seasons along with the man who’ll be catching them, all-conference catcher Austin Stevens. 

I  also talked with Senior outfielder Ethan Coe and he stated “I  as well as my fellow returning Seniors would love to see the stands filled for our final season of playing for the Golden Eagles”.   The season outlook is a favorable one for the Golden Eagles, and they will surly be a team to come and watch this season.

Staff Reporter

Jess Wilmoth 

Swimming Claims Dual Meet Victories

The Lady Eagle swimmers pulled out wins last night over East Surry and West Stokes. Swimming to a first place finishes were: Karmen Gardner in the 200m and the 500m freestyle, Christine Hawks in the 200m Individual Medley and the 100m Backstroke, Karie McLamb in the 50m Freestyle, and the relay team of Gardner, McLamb, Hawks, and Hannah Odum in the 200m medley and 400m Freestyle Relay. Taking second place finishes for the Lady Eagles were: Hannah Odum in the 100m Backstroke, and Karie McLamb in the 100m Butterfly. Placing 3rd for the Eagles were Zoe Eubanks in the 200m Freestyles, Reba Stanley in the 100m Butterfly, and Raven Stanley in the 100m Breaststroke.

On the guys' side, first place finishers were Chase Needham in the 100m Butterfly and the 100m Breaststroke, and Ryan Howlett in the 500m Freestyle. Earning 2nd Place finishes were John Belcher in the 50m  Freestyle, and Ryan Howlett in the 100m Backstroke. Austin Wood placed 3rd in the 100m breaststroke. The medley relay team of Howlett, Needham, Belcher, and Austin Wood placed first.

Marlee Wilmoth
Staff Reporter

Golf Season About a Month Away

Listen up all SCHS Golf fans!!! The Golf season will start on Febuary 21st. The Golden Eagles are coached by Daniel Broughton. He said that he is very excited about the upcoming season. Plus, he said that with returning upper classmen, experience, and practicing at Elkin's Cedarbrook Country Club, he expects the Eagles to have a strong season. The top returning golfers are Ryan High and Dillon Carter, both Seniors. They both finished in the top twenty in the Conference and both made it to regionals. So, be ready to come out and support our SCHS Golf team!                

Nathaniel Blevins
Staff Reporter

Eagle Wrestlers Set for Tonight's Big Matchup With East Surry

The Golden Eagle Wrestling team will host East Surry tonight at The Nest. Matches begin at 7:00pm. These two teams last met on December 6 at East Surry with the Cardinals defeating Surry Central 49-28. The Eagles and Cardinals both have plenty of good wrestlers, some which are ranked in the state according to Retro Rankings (http://www.retrorankings.com/). The Eagles have proven to be a strong squad so far with an overall 21-9 record on the season. Individually, the Eagles are led by Wes Brown (30-1), Nathan Bautista (30-3), and Kevin Pack (31-3). Brown is currently ranked number one in 2A at 220lbs, and Kevin Pack is ranked ninth at 113lbs. The team is looking for a large crowd at The Nest.

Chris Craddock

Staff Reporter

Golden Eagles To Honor Seven Senior Swimmers

The Surry Central Swim Team will be hosting their final home meet Thursday night at the Armfield Civic Center in Pilot Mountain. It will be Senior Night. Seven Seniors will be swimming their last meets as Golden Eagles unless they are able to qualify for Regionals. As part of Senior Night, Coach Dara Kowalcik will honor the Seniors by making brief comments about them and their careers at Surry Central. At the end of the coach’s remarks, they will all dive in and swim across the pool. The seven seniors are Chase Needham, Hannah Odem, Rachel Blevins, Carmen Gardner, Reba Stanley, Raven Stanley, and Karie McLamb. They will be competing against East Surry. Chase Needham says, "I feel like we can win this one if we all do our best.”

Good luck to our SCHS Swim Team.

Trent Day
Staff Reporter  

Men's Hoops: Eagles Move Forward After Loss To W-S Prep

Time has flown for the Golden Eagles in this basketball season.  Now in mid-January, it is coming down to the wire in the battle to show who is boss in the Northwest Conference.  After suffering a 14- point defeat last Friday to the Winston-Salem Prep Phoenix, Men’s Varsity Coach Ken Eiswald is still optimistic.  And why wouldn’t he be?  The Phoenix are  a solid bunch, ranked 26^th in the state by MaxPreps.com, and are undefeated in conference play.  Last Friday’s game included strong performances by Raekwon Harney with 22 points, five assists, and three steals and well balanced play by nationally regarded small forward, Greg McClinton. 

 “We executed and played very well for 28 minutes.  The problem is you can’t just do that for 28 minutes, you’ve got to do it for 32,” Coach Eiswald said.  He said that they (W-S Prep) play with great intensity and that is hard to overcome. But, there are plenty of positive things to take away from the game. 

The Eagles currently sit at 3^rdoverall in the conference (11-6 overall, 6-4 conference play).  This week’s docket includes East Wilkes on Wednesday and East Surry On Friday, (both away).  East Surry is a big conference game and also big for bragging rights.  “We’ve just got to build up on what we’ve been doing and execute Friday night,” Coach Eiswald said.  To me, that is definitely achievable, and there are definitely reasons to be optimistic about Surry Central Basketball in the coming weeks. 

Alex Fowler
Staff Reporter