Spread the love

By Sonny Jones

Wow! Wow! Wow! College football is back!

Yes, N.C. State and North Carolina both should have lost Saturday, but didn’t. Two exciting games with the Wolfpack edging East Carolina 21-20 in Greenville and the Tar Heels outscoring Appalachian State 63-61 in Boone. Both games had you on the edge of your seat and made you glad you had more than one screen available to watch.

Bottom line: Devin Leary will have to play better for the Wolfpack and the UNC defense has nowhere to go but up.

It was great to see a packed house in Greenville and Boone. It wasn’t long ago as Mike Houston was taking over the Pirates program that Dowdy-Ficklen had a lot of empty seats during games. That’s no longer the case.

• Youth Football and Cheerleading Registration: Through Friday. Bladen County Recreation Department, King Street, Elizabethtown or click here to register online. Information: 910-862-6770.

• The St. Pauls at Northside-Jacksonville football game was canceled Friday because of a fatal stabbing at Northside on Thursday morning. Clinton is scheduled to host Northside on Friday. St. Pauls has a scheduled bye Friday which means the Bulldogs will not play for two weeks heading into their conference opener Sept. 16 against Fairmont. Canceling the game was the right thing to do.

• Did you know that current Texas Rangers manager Tony Beasley played baseball at Louisburg Junior College for Coach Russ Frazier? Beasley graduated from Louisburg in 1986. He was named the Rangers interim manager in mid-August after Chris Woodward was fired. The Rangers are 7-11 since the managerial change.

Here is this week’s Bladen County sports schedule:

TUESDAY
• Boys’ soccer: Whiteville at East Bladen, 5:30 p.m.; West Bladen at North Brunswick, 6:30 p.m.; West Bladen JV at North Brunswick JV, 4:30 p.m.
• Volleyball: Clinton at East Bladen, 4:30/6 p.m.; Elizabethtown Christian at Riverside Christian, 4:30 p.m.; Emereau Bladen at Harrells Christian, 4:30 p.m.
• Girls’ tennis: Clinton at East Bladen, 4 p.m.; South Columbus vs. West Bladen at Bladen County Park, 4 p.m.

WEDNESDAY
• Boys’ soccer: Emereau Bladen at Fayetteville Christian, 4 p.m.
• Volleyball: Emereau Bladen at Fayetteville Christian, 4 p.m.

THURSDAY
• Boys’ soccer: East Columbus at West Bladen, 6 p.m.; Emereau Bladen at Grace Christian, 4 p.m.
• Volleyball: East Bladen at West Bladen, 4:30/6 p.m.; Southeastern Academy at Elizabethtown Christian, 4 p.m.
• Girls’ tennis: East Bladen vs. West Bladen at Bladen County Park, 4 p.m.
• JV football: West Bladen at East Columbus, 6:30 p.m.; East Bladen at Wilmington Laney, 6 p.m.
• Girls’ soccer: Clarkton School of Discovery at Nakina, 4 p.m.; Bladenboro at Elizabethtown, 4 p.m.; Tar Heel at Whiteville, 4 p.m.

FRIDAY
• Football: Wilmington Laney at East Bladen, 7 p.m.; East Columbus at West Bladen, 7 p.m.
• Volleyball: Emereau Bladen at Mintz Academy, 4 p.m.

SUNDAY’S PICK TO CLICK

Kyle Larson to win the Southern 500 and advance to the next round of the NASCAR Cup playoffs. Larson looked strong Saturday night in the Xfinity race and was battling for the lead on the final lap. That run should carry over to the Cup race.

FRIDAY’S PICK: Serena Williams admitted Wednesday after beating Anett Kontaveit in three sets that she has nothing to prove and is just having fun. She’ll have more fun in Round 3 against Ajla Tomljanovic and keep the crowd cheering. RESULTS: Tomljanovic beat Williams 7-5, 6-7 (4), 6-1 in a match that lasted three hours.

WHAT TO WATCH TODAY

• DP WORLD TOUR: Made in Himmerland, 7:30 a.m., GOLF

• FORMULA 1: Dutch Grand Prix, 8:55 a.m., ESPN

• PREMIER SOCCER: Leicester City at Brighton & Hove Albion, 9 a.m., USA

• TENNIS: U.S. Open round of 16, 11 a.m., ESPN

• PREMIER SOCCER: Arsenal at Manchester United, 11:30 a.m., USA

• WOMEN’S SOCCER: UCLA at North Carolina, noon, ACCN

• MLB: Toronto at Pittsburgh, 12:05 p.m., PEACOCK

• WNBA PLAYOFFS: Chicago at Connecticut, 1 p.m., ESPN2

• LPGA: Dana Open, 1 p.m., GOLF

• MLB: NY Yankees at Tampa Bay, 1:30 p.m., MLBN

• IIHF WOMEN: Championship: TBD, 1:30 p.m., NHLN