03/28/2024
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By Sonny Jones

Saturday, the column question was “How Many Tobacco Road Teams Will Be 4-0? And … the answer is … one.

It’s N.C. State.

The Wolfpack, as expected, trounced Connecticut 41-10 on Saturday night. Not a season-making victory by any means, but with upsets seemingly no longer as rare as yesteryear — Middle Tennessee whips Miami 45-31, for example — but any win is a good win.

For Duke, North Carolina and Wake Forest, perfect seasons came to an end. The Blue Devils lost at unbeaten Kansas 35-27, the Tar Heels fell 45-32 to Notre Dame for the 21st time in 23 meetings and the Deacons were defeated by unbeaten Clemson 51-45 in double overtime.

None of the losses were a surprise, although felt like one of the three might pull out a win. Duke and Wake came close. UNC had its moments, but the defense still must improve.

It took 130 years for the four Tobacco Road teams to each start the season 2-0 and 3-0. Hopefully, we won’t have to wait until 2152 for all four to open the season 4-0.

East Carolina missed a chance to go to 3-1 with a 23-20 double overtime loss at home against Navy. Pirates should have won that one. That loss may haunt for the remainder of the season.

What happened to knee pads in football pants? Those curved pieces of rubber that would slide into a pocket inside the pants and weren’t very comfortable. Did they not provide any protection? Did they slow down the faster players? Were they all lost because it was hard to keep up with them? Seems like most receivers and offensive and defensive backs are wearing long shorts with thigh pads.

Agriculture Scholarship Golf Tournament: Oct. 8, Shotgun start 10 a.m., Vineyard Golf at White Lake. Four-man Captain’s Choice. Registration begins at 9 a.m. Information: 910-247-6132.

THIS WEEK’S SCHEDULE

MONDAY
• Boys’ soccer: Fairmont at East Bladen, 6 p.m.; Red Springs at West Bladen, 6:30 p.m.; Red Springs JV at West Bladen JV, 4:30 p.m.; Harrells Christian at Emereau Bladen, 4:30 p.m.
• Volleyball: West Bladen at Union, 4:30/6 p.m.
• Girls’ soccer: Nakina at Clarkton School of Discovery, 4 p.m.; Whiteville at Tar Heel, 4 p.m.
• Tot Soccer at Bladen County Park: Rocky vs. Chase, 6 p.m.; Skye vs. Tracker, 6 p.m.; Marshall vs. Everest, 6:30 p.m.; Zuma vs. Rubble, 6:30 p.m.

TUESDAY
• Volleyball: Midway at East Bladen, 4:30/6 p.m.; Riverside Chrsitian at Emereau Bladen, 4:30 p.m.
• Girls’ tennis: Clinton vs. West Bladen at Bladen County Park, 4 p.m.
• Football: Bladenboro at Tar Heel, 6 p.m.
• 5-7 Soccer at Bladen County Park: Cosmos vs. Dynamos, 6 p.m.; Lightning vs. Quakes, 6 p.m.; Silverbacks vs. Mutiny, 7 p.m.; Raptors vs. Titans, 7 p.m.

WEDNESDAY
• Boys’ soccer: East Bladen at Red Springs, 6:30 p.m.; West Bladen at St. Pauls, 6:30 p.m.; West Bladen JV at St. Pauls JV, 4:30 p.m.; East Bladen JV at Red Springs JV, 4:30 p.m.
• Volleyball: Clinton at West Bladen, 4:30/6 p.m.
• Cross country: East Bladen, West Bladen in Southeastern Athletic Conference meet at Red Springs, 4 p.m.

THURSDAY
• Girls’ tennis: West Bladen at East Columbus, 4 p.m.; East Bladen at Clinton, 4 p.m.
• Volleyball: East Bladen at Clinton, 4:30/6 p.m.; Emereau Bladen at Southeastern Academy, 4 p.m.
• Soccer: East Bladen JV at Heide Trask JV, 4:30 p.m.
• JV football: West Bladen at East Bladen, 6:30 p.m.
• Girls’ soccer: Bladenboro at Clarkton School of Discovery, 4 p.m.; Elizabethtown at Tar Heel, 4 p.m.
• 5-7 Soccer at Bladen County Park: Hornets vs. Raptors, 6 p.m.; Sharks vs. Grizzlies, 6 p.m.; Quakes vs. Cosmos, 7 p.m.; Titans vs. Thundercats, 7 p.m.

FRIDAY
• Football: East Bladen at West Bladen, 7 p.m.

SUNDAY’S PICK TO CLICK

Kyle Larson led 256 laps and won last year at Texas Motor Speedway. It’s time for a playoff driver to win a Cup series race after going winless in the first round of the 3-race playoffs. Larson is a solid choice.

SATURDAY’S PICK: Max Homa to make it 3-for-3 in the Presidents Cup. He’ll team with Tony Finau again in foursomes. The duo won 1-up in Thursday’s opening foursomes against Taylor Pendrith and Mito Pereira. In Round 3, Finau and Homa will play Si Woo Kim and Cam Davis in foursomes. RESULTS: Homa and Finau beat Si Woo Kim and Cam Davis 4&3 in the morning foursomes.

TODAY IN SPORTS HISTORY

1962 — Sonny Liston knocks out Floyd Patterson at 2:06 of the first round at Comiskey Park in Chicago to win the world heavyweight title.

WHAT TO WATCH TODAY

• PGA: President’s Cup, noon, NBC

• LPGA: Walmart NW Arkansas Championship, noon, GOLF

• NFL: New Orleans at Carolina, 1 p.m., FOX

• NFL: Buffalo at Miami, 1 p.m., CBS

• MLB: Atlanta at Philadelphia or Toronto at Tampa Bay, 1 p.m., MLBN

• PGA Champions: Pure Insurance Championship, 3 p.m., GOLF

• NASCAR CUP: AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 500, 3:30 p.m., USA

• MLB: NY Mets at Oakland, 4 p.m., MLBN

• NFL: Regional, Green Bay at Tampa Bay, 4:25 p.m., FOX

• MLB: Boston at NY Yankees, 7 p.m., ESPN, ESPN2

• WOMEN’S SOCCER: Duke at N.C. State, 7 p.m., ACCN

• NFL: San Francisco at Denver, 8:15 p.m., NBC

Sonny Jones can be reached at wibbyj@gmail.com and follow on Twitter @FOSonnyJones.

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