TireMaxx Scoreboard (8/22-25/2022)

Boys Soccer

East Burke 2, Draughn 0

Andrew Martufi goal

Anthony Ramero goal (Bryant Lao assist)

Freedom 1, East Burke 0

Eduardo Sanchez 6 saves

Patton 2, East Burke 0

Volleyball

Patton 3, Draughn 1

South Caldwell 3, Draughn 1

25-19 D, 25-12 SC, 28-26 SC, 25-13 SC

East Burke 3, Freedom 1

25-10 EB, 25-19 F, 25-11 EB, 25-17 EB

Aubree Grigg 11 kills, 6 blocks

Katherine Greene 10 kills, 4 digs

Addy Fortenberry 16 assists, 6 digs, 5 aces

Reese Abernathy 9 kills, 9 digs

Patton 3, East Burke 0

25-21 P, 25-17 P, 25-15 P

Katherine Greene 10 digs, 6 kills

Aubree Grigg 5 kills, 5 blocks, ace, dig, assist

Reese Abernathy 7 digs, 2 kills, assist

Addy Fortenberry 9 digs, 7 assists, 2 kills, 2 blocks, ace

JV Volleyball

East Burke 2, Freedom 1

East Burke 2, Patton 1

JV Football

Freedom 38, East Burke 19

DJ Weston 121 rushing yards, 2 TD

Zayne Newman 101 rushing yards

Vernon Quintana 42 rushing yards, TD, 5 tackles

Ossie Burkeen 6 tackles, 1 pass breakup

Grant Mauldin 4 tackles, 2 pass breakups

Patrick Hernandez 4 tackles, 2 TFL, sack

Jordan Fox 4 tackles

HS Football (2022 Week Two)

Draughn @ Patton

Last Meeting: Draughn 39, Patton 21 (2021) (13th meeting, 7-5 Patton)

Last Week: Draughn defeated Thomas Jefferson 43-0, Patton lost to East Burke 28-0

Leading Performers

Draughn: Justice Cunningham, Donnell Wilkins, Zach Pinkerton, Eli Tillery 

Patton: Trevor Smith, Randan Clarke, Reid Pons, Colten Dale

East Burke @ Freedom

Last Meeting: Freedom 13, East Burke 12 (2021) (48th meeting, 29-18 Freedom)

Last Week: East Burke defeated Patton 28-0, Freedom lost to Crest 40-22

Leading Performers

East Burke: Ben Mast, Luke Wilson, Eli Carico 

Freedom: BG Hampton, Jaylen Barnett, Sacred Baylor 

From The Coach

"Freedom has improved and Coach (Justin) Hawn has done a good job with his kids."

 "We have to play composed and minimize our mistakes, we've had a good focused week of practice and we're healthy."

"Our guys and our community always gets excited for this game (Fat Friday) and we want to make them proud."

-Derrick Minor 

Scoring Totals 

Eli Tillery (D) 18

Justice Cunningham (D) 14

Zach Pinkerton (D) 12

Ben Mast (EB) 12

Donnell Wilkins (D) 6

Jacob Dellinger (EB) 6

Caden Buff (EB) 6

Eli Carico (EB) 4

Rudy Mendoza (D) 2

Sterling Radabaugh (D) 1

Cavs open with shutout win at home

 Icard- A brand new season began Friday night for the East Burke football team opening with a 28-0 shutout win at home over county rival Patton.

"We won all three phases of the game: defense played lights out, offense moved the ball at will, and special teams got a blocked punt and fumble recovery," said East Burke head football coach Derrick Minor, beginning his third season with the Cavaliers.

Caden Buff struck first for East Burke with a touchdown run followed by quarterback Ben Mast adding two touchdown runs.

Jacob Dellinger later added a touchdown run with Eli Carico completing all four PAT kicks.

Dellinger (88), Buff (85), Levi Coble (40), and Mast (28) all combined for 246 total rushing yards.

With just allowing 126 yards to the visiting Panthers, EB's defense was led by Luke Wilson (13 tackles, 2 TFL, forced fumble), Gavon Franklin (13 tackles, TFL), Cannon Morrison (11 tackles), Chase Greer (8 tackles, TFL), and Asher Gebhard (7 tackles, TFL).

"We have a tough young team with great senior leadership and we wanted to be the toughest team on the field. We have some mistakes to fix but we are right where we should be and we got the win. Very proud of our guys."

The Cavaliers next face another county rival Freedom on the road in the 48th meeting of the legendary Fat Friday rivalry.

Wildcats shutout Gryphons

Valdese- A 23-point swing of momentum brought the Draughn football team's offense to life after a sluggish first quarter.

With rushing scores by Eli Tillery and Justice Cunningham and two scoring connections from Tillery to Zach Pinkerton, the Wildcats were able to celebrate a 43-0 win over visiting Thomas Jefferson Academy.

"It was just the O-Line that helped me out," said Cunningham, finishing with a career-high 111 rushing yards on 15 carries.

Following an interception on defense by Connor Pinkerton, Tillery found a new groove of momentum taking off on a 77-yard quarterback keeper to give Draughn a 7-0 lead after the PAT kick by Sterling Radabaugh.

It all followed with a Cunningham 18-yard run, a Tillery to Zach Pinkerton 53-yard connection, and a safety off a botched Gryphons punt to build up a strong lead.

The Wildcats just kept it rolling in the third quarter with Tillery and Zach Pinkerton hooking up again on an 80-yard reception and Cunningham adding a five-yard touchdown run.

Donnell Wilkins added a three-yard rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter set up by a 14-yard pass between John Robert Abernathy and Skylar Hudson.

Wilkins was also a key Wildcat defender along with Connor Pinkerton (TFL, INT), Kelton Mitchell (sack), Luke Rector (TFL), Elijah Pritchard (pass breakup), Marshall Brinkley (INT), Will Price, Bryan Sanchez, and Hampton Blackwell.

Rudy Mendoza also shared kicking duties with Radabaugh making two PATs in the second half.

"Overall defense played more aggressively than last year, we played well as a team," said Wilkins.

Draughn head football coach Chris Powell, beginning his fifth season at the helm of the Wildcats, was overall pleased with this win.

"It took us a quarter to get going and the guys up front made it a different ball game," said Powell. "I was pleased with the way our kids played."

The Wildcats next venture to Patton for a week two county rivalry matchup

DRAUGHN 43, THOMAS JEFFERSON 0

TJ 0 0 0 0 - 0

D 0 23 13 7 - 43

First Quarter

None

Second Quarter

D - Eli Tillery 77 run (Sterling Radabaugh kick)

D - Justice Cunningham 18 run (kick failed)

D - Zach Pinkerton 53 pass from Tillery (Cunningham run)

D- Safety

Third Quarter

D- Pinkerton 80 pass from Tillery (Rudy Mendoza kick)

D- Cunningham 5 run (kick failed)

Fourth Quarter

D- Donnell Wilkins 3 run (Mendoza kick)

Rushing

Cunningham 15-111, 2 TD

Tillery 4-80, TD

Wilkins 6-23, TD

Passing

Tillery 8/20, 217 yards, 2 TD, INT

John Robert Abernathy 1/1, 14 yards

Receiving

Pinkerton 3-137, 2 TD

Elijah Pritchard 2-35

Radabaugh 2-25

Tywan Nemorin 1-20

Skylar Hudson 1-14

TireMaxx Scorebard (8/15-18/2022)

Boys Soccer

Draughn 1, East Burke 1

Patton 7, Draughn 0

Freedom 6, Draughn 0

Patton 6, East Burke 0

Freedom 2, East Burke 1

Raleigh Slutsky goal

Jaydon Fair 1 save

Eduardo Sanchez 1 save

Volleyball

Draughn 3, East Burke 2

30-28 D, 25-18 EB, 25-13 D, 25-22 EB, 15-12 D

Draughn

Madison Powell 13 kills, ace

Helena Hatley 4 aces

Speed Hatley 2 aces

Ella Heavner 2 aces

East Burke

Katherine Greene 11 kills, block, dig

Reese Abernathy 11 digs, 9 kills

Aubree Grigg 8 kills, 7 blocks, 5 digs, 2 aces

Caroline Pruitt 13 assists, 4 aces, dig

Addy Fortenberry 12 assists, 7 digs, 2 kills, 2 aces, block

Draughn 3, Hibriten 1

South Caldwell 3, East Burke 1

25-17 EB, 25-12 SC, 25-20 SC, 26-24 SC

Katherine Greene 8 kills, 4 digs, 2 aces, block

Aubree Grigg 8 blocks, 4 kills, dig

Reese Abernathy 6 digs, 4 aces

Addy Fortenberry 9 digs, 5 assists, 2 aces

Patton 3, East Burke 1

25-13 P, 25-23 EB, 25-10 P, 27-25 P

Katherine Greene 8 kills, 2 aces, 2 blocks, 2 digs 

Reese Abernathy 7 digs, 6 kills

Aubree Grigg 9 blocks, 6 kills, dig 

Roxy Taylor 5 kills, 3 aces, dig 

JV Volleyball

East Burke 2, Draughn 0 

South Caldwell 2, East Burke 1

East Burke 2, Patton 0

HS Football (2022 Week One)

Thomas Jefferson @ Draughn

First Meeting

Leading Performers

Thomas Jefferson: Holden Weatherford, Jonathan Hargro 

Draughn: Eli Tillery, Justice Cunningham, Luke Rector, Will Price

Patton @ East Burke

Last Meeting: East Burke 14, Patton 6 (14th meeting, 7-6 E Burke)

Leading Performers

Patton: Randan Clarke, Trevor Smith, Noah Goodman 

East Burke: Luke Wilson, Brady Bostain, Jacob Dellinger, Ben Mast

From The Coach

"Non-conference means in county rivals. We know Patton will be well coached and prepared."

"We’ve taken the scrimmage and cleaned up some mistakes and we’re ready for week 1."

"Our guys are healthy and have been working extremely hard. This group is focused and determined to be ready to kickoff the season."

-Derrick Minor 

2022 East Burke Football: Cavs walking through the Fire

Icard- The Cavaliers were tested in the fall 2021 season with early season complications and ran the gauntlet in the competitive Catawba Valley Athletic 2A Conference to finish with a two-game winning streak away from the friendly confines of Danny Williams Field.

As this year's theme for the third season under head coach Derrick Minor is "Forged in Fire" the Wild Bunch looks to have another season of walking through the fiery furnace.

"The biggest thing for us this season is we were able to have a full spring skill development and summer off-season to be in the weight room and just have that advantage in returning to normalcy," said Minor.

This year's Cavalier offense will have quite a few fresh new faces including quarterback Ben Mast, going back under center since playing the position on the JV level.

"He's done a fantastic job this off-season spending extra time in skill development."

Jacob Dellinger returns in the Cavalier backfield with seven other players deep in depth including Luke Wilson being placed in the fullback position along with playing linebacker.

"We got a stable of them this year and that will be an advantage to us."

The passing game for the Cavaliers the last couple of years has been an Achilles heel but looks to reverse that this season with fresh new receivers.

Matthew Smith, Brady Bostain, and Chase Greer return on the offensive line as CVAC all-conference honorable mention selections.

Smith, Bostain, and Greer will also be serving on the EB defensive line.

Wilson leads the returning linebacker core with 94 tackles and 10 tackles for loss and Dellinger returns for the Cavaliers as an outside linebacker.

The Cavalier secondary looks to also have new fresh faces with returners Mast and KJ Byrd.

Here are the projected starters as presented by head coach Derrick Minor (w/ last season's stats)

QB: Ben Mast, Asher Gebhard

RB: Jacob Dellinger (29-114), KJ Byrd, Caden Buff, Cannon Morrison, Mason Robison, Hayden Parker, Luke Wilson (fullback), Levi Coble (fullback)

WR: Alan Barnes, Avery Fraley, Corbin McNeil

TE: Darren Hammons, Davis Wall, Gavon Franklin, Palmer Ballard

OL: Matthew Smith (Tackle), Alberto Juarez (T), Michael Hathcock (T), Brady Bostain (T), Connor Smith (T), Diego Ramos (T), Joshua Hess (Guard), Jacob Hodges (G), Chase Greer (G), Tanner Ivey (G), Chris Moore (Center)

DL: Brady Bostain (48 tackles, 9 TFL, 4 sacks), Chase Greer, Brady Bostain, Michael Hathcock, Matthew Smith, Alberto Juarez, Connor Smith, Diego Ramos

LB: Luke Wilson (94 tackles, 10 TFL), Hayden Parker, Jacob Hodges, Tanner Ivey, Davis Wall, Jacob Dellinger, Gavon Franklin, Darren Hammons, Caden Buff

DB: Ben Mast, Asher Gebhard, Avery Fraley, Cannon Morrison, KJ Byrd, Mason Robison

Special Teams: Darren Hammons (long snapper), Ben Mast (holder), Levi Coble (kicker), KJ Byrd (punter)

2022 Draughn Football: Clawing & Climbing up the 1A ranks

Valdese- The first season as a 1A team started in chaos with having to scramble to find a new opponent for the first three weeks followed by entering the unknowns of playing in the Western Highlands 1A/2A Conference.

With a strong foundation of experience returning, this year's Wildcats team is expected to make moves in an uphill climb among the 1A rankings.

The Wildcats finished in the top 25 1A rankings by Carolina Preps after advancing to the second round of the state playoffs and are currently 11th among 1A western teams on MaxPreps.

"Last year for us became a thing of overcoming adversity, we learned to overcome that adversity and we are proud of our kids for the way they responded," said Draughn football coach Chris Powell.

"Our philosophy changes this year from overcoming adversity to we have to play with a chip on our shoulder (in playing the Western Highlands Conference)."

The Wildcat backfield remains strong with junior quarterback Eli Tillery and junior running back Nigel Dula returning as Justice Cunningham also returns providing a key depth role.

"We're blessed to bring back Eli as our starter, he put in a lot of conditioning time over the off-season. Nigel is a dual-threat running back and Justice is a tough kid able to make moves to make guys miss."

Connor Pinkerton and Tywan Nemorin are returning starters for the receiving core with Zach Pinkerton also returning after a devastating early-season injury.

"Zach worked hard in his rehab to come back and was a great leader for our receivers last season."

The trio of Elijah Pritchard, Kelton Mitchell, and Jacob Mull look to serve at the tight end position.

"Eli has done a phenomenal job in his recovery, after last season's pre-season injury, and Jacob did a phenomenal job and gained valuable experience as a freshman. These guys give us the ability to do more different stuff and add a new dynamic to our offense."

Senior center Luke Rector and "Juice" Josh Elkins, Bryan Sanchez, and Tristan Hines return on the offensive line with Freedom transfer Jesus Becerra and Harrison Williams as key additions.

Over the summer, Becerra was awarded as the best offensive lineman at the VTO Sports All-American camp in Charlotte.

"We got the best up-front around and are overlooked in our county. If we can keep them healthy, we can put them up against anybody."

Will Price leads the defensive core by capturing five interceptions last season, three going for touchdown returns.

Donnell Wilkins, Thomas Lambert, and Luke Rector are returning leading tacklers for the Wildcats.

"Donnell is the anchor on our defense and looks to be at his best (for his senior season), our line will be looking to play both ways, and Will set records last season for us."

The following are projected starters as presented by head coach Chris Powell (w/ last season's stats)

QB: Eli Tillery (113/206, 1659 yards, 16 TD, 12 INT), John Robert Abernathy, Will Price

RB: Nigel Dula (213-1901, 20 TD, School Record), Justice Cunningham (56-306, 2 TD), Donnell Wilkins, Thomas Lambert, Hampton Blackwell

WR: Tywan Nemorin (17-330, 2 TD), Connor Pinkerton (18-193, 2 TD), Zach Pinkerton, Dylan Rhoney, Sterling Radabaugh, Malachi Silver, Trevor Houston, Skyler Hudson, Colton Lukomski

TE: Jacob Mull (10-90, TD), Elijah Pritchard, Kelton Mitchell

OL: Luke Rector (center), Josh Elkins (left guard), Tristan Hines (right guard), Jesus Becerra (left tackle), Bryan Sanchez (right tackle), Harrison Williams (right tackle), Will Seagle, Paul Miller, Xavier Cook

DL: Jesus Becerra (nose tackle), Will Seagle (NT), Paul Miller (NT), Luke Rector (defensive end, 50 tackles, 6 TFL, 3 sacks), Tristan Hines (DE), Xavier Cook (DE), Josh Elkins (DE), Bryan Sanchez (DE), Harrison Williams (DE), Kelton Mitchell (DE)

LB: Donnell Wilkins (inside, 127 tackles, 12 TFL) Thomas Lambert (inside, 89 tackles, 11 TFL, 6 sacks), Ty Matthews (inside), Jacob Mull (inside), Elijah Pritchard (outside), Hampton Blackwell (outside), Kelton Mitchell (outside), Nigel Dula (outside), Colton Lukomski (outside), Marshall Brinkley (outside)

DB: Tywan Nemorin, Justice Cunningham, Malachi Silver, Dylan Rhoney, Skylar Hudson, Connor Houston, Trevor Houston, Deandre Moore, Will Price (safety), Connor Pinkerton (safety), Sterling Radabaugh (safety), Marshall Brinkley (safety), Eli Tillery (safety), Jack Charlet (safety)

Special Teams: Jacob Mull (long snapper), John Robert Abernathy (punter), Rudy Mendoza (kicker), Sterling Radabaugh (K), Dylan Rhoney (K), Tywan Nemorin (kick returner), Will Price (KR), Justice Cunningham (KR), Nigel Dula (KR), Zach Pinkerton (KR)