1Carteret: Students. Sports. Success.

West Girls Sweep East in Regular Season

ECHS Wins One for the Ages

The East Carteret / West Carteret sports rivalry pre-dates Gordy Patrick. And Friday night’s East-West B-Ball shootout ranks among the classic contests in this rivalry tradition. In a double-OT battle of attrition, the fleet feet and steely nerves of East proved to be the difference over the inside height of West.

New ECHS b-ball coach Billy Anderson has his team executing the fundamentals, and that kind of discipline can win the close ones. Down the stretch, the Mariners exhibited patience on offense, scrappiness on D, and near perfection on the foul stripe.

East Carteret took all of the joyous moments from that point on as the Mariners opened the overtime period taking the lead and never gave it up. West tied the game at 56 with 1:15 to go, but turnovers, fouls and missed shots doomed the Patriots as East eked out a 59-56 win, hitting three free throws in the final 30 seconds to seal the victory.

Conversely, the Patriots—in their third OT contest of this young season— struggled at the line and inside the paint. Three Patriot starters fouled out.

“Our kids played hard,” said Patriot coach Craig McClanahan. “But like I told our kids in the locker room, you have got to knock down free throws, you have to make layups and execute on the offensive ends. You have to be able to handle pressure, and we did not do as good of a job as East Carteret did.”

True to form, the gym was packed with fans from both sides of the bridge. And, as in any storied rivalry, the fanbase wasted little time in getting into the action. In an ironic 1Carteret twist, harmony existed between the fans during the 3.5 minute halftime dance performance by the WCHS Dream Team.

Outside of that, it was classic Friday night cross-county rivalry to the nth degree on the floor and in the stands. Advantage ECHS.

“I think that when you have 30 turnovers and give up 19 offensive rebounds, you are going to lose. We lost,” McClanahan said.

Fortunately for West, the Patriots do not have to wait long to try and get their revenge. The two teams will renew the series Tuesday night at East Carteret.

“We are all going to go home and get a lot of rest and a lot of water,” said Anderson. “It is going to be another dogfight Tuesday. I am new to the area, but I know rivalries, and this is a good one.”

Prep Sports Eject More Players

From the N&O:

CHAPEL HILL – Ejections for bad behavior in high school sports have more than doubled so far this year statewide, thanks to stricter enforcement of sportsmanship rules.

Unsportsmanlike conduct — which can include fighting, on-field celebrations, diving into the end zone and taunting opponents — has become a greater concern in North Carolina partly because of increased emphasis on improving athletes’ behavior by the National Federation of High School Athletic Associations, which sets the rules that the state association must play by.

Mark Dreibelbis, the association’s head of officials, cited “the brazenness of our young people” during winter board meetings Tuesday. “We don’t want to take spontaneous celebration out of the game,” he said. “But we have to make our students accountable.”

Mark Dreibelbis is scheduled to come to Carteret County on February 18 to do the first 3.5 hours of the National Federation of High School Athletics Associations “Fundamentals of Coaching” workshop.

We need at least 20 coaches for the workshop to make.  We can take no more than 40.  If you are interested, send me an e-mail at jpoletti@co.carteret.k12.nc.us

Croatan Matmen Come to Fight

Croatan wrestling coaches David Perry and Gerry Meaney brought their team to the WCHS mat on Wednesday night. And the Cougar matmen brought the fight to the Patriots in a 56-18 man-handling.

The Patriots spotted the Cougars 18 points on forfeits and could never recover.

The match was an hour-and-a-half of power, finesse, strategy, clock management, and ultimate conditioning by both teams.  Kudos to all wrestlers and coaches for their commitment to pushing the limits of human potential in this extreme sport.

The Cougars are now 7-1 in this young season.

Fresh Energy Fan Base

It all started with Duke’s Cameron Crazies. Now, a colorful display of school spirit is on display in the stands of the local hardboards.

Students, decked out in Mardi Gras chic, are showing up in numbers to cheer on their basketball gym heroes. The energy is refreshing . . . as long as it doesn’t denigrate into controversial, confrontational and mean-spirited taunting. Period.

So, in case you missed it—here is this year’s edition of the Croatan Crazies:

Not to be undone, the Patriot Militia is “in the house” this year:

Go, team, go!

WCHS Boys Win at Home

The first time WCHS and CHS met this season, the fans were treated to an OT thriller in which WCHS walked away from the Cougar Dome with the victory. This time around, Coach McClanahan’s boys didn’t need overtime—but the scrappy Cougars made a fight of it to the end.

Final: WCHS 52 CHS 48. WCHS is 4-0 to start the season.

Hustle was the name of the game on both sides as the sound of gym music—and supercharged fans—filled the air.

CHS iced a couple of three-pointers late in the game to keep it close. West used inside muscle and some clutch free throws down the stretch to seal the victory.

WCHS guard D. Blackstock sank those free throws for West down the stretch. His father, a social studies teacher at CHS, reportedly was seen relegated to bus duty the next morning in the Croatan parking lot.

The Patriots take on ECHS Friday night at WCHS to continue the Battle of Braggin’ Rights in Carteret.

CHS Varsity Girls Win Big

CHS Coach Steve Yount brought his Lady Cougar team to the 3rd round of the state playoffs last year. He lost no starters from that team! On Wednesday night, he brought them to the WCHS gym. The Cougar varsity girls used size and speed to chalk up a 30-point victory over the WCHS Lady Pats.

The Lady Pats youth movement is well underway and the future is looking bright. But the Cougars used SOLID inside play, speed on the wing, and a bench that runs deep to overwhelm the young Pats.

CHS point guard M. Bridges once again displayed uncanny floor generalship to lead her team to victory. Her mother, a Spanish teacher at WCHS, reportedly was seen relegated to bus duty the next morning in the West parking lot.

CHS Lady Cougars take on ECHS next Friday to continue their quest for the Carteret crown … and quite probably another storied season.

Cross-Town

In sports parlance, this could be coined “Rivalry Week.” Aside from showcasing local athletic talent, cross-town rivalries can bring out the school spirit of fans . . . and give the winners bragging rights, if only for a time.

On the basketball courts, WCHS faces CHS today at WCHS. The first varsity boys match-up of the season between these two schools ended in an OT win for WCHS. More action and intrigue are on tap tonight.

Having lost only 3 players from last year’s winning team, CHS is locked and loaded for the varsity girls game. WCHS has gone young, with 4 freshmen either starting or seeing significant playing time. CHS handily won the first game, but WCHS is gaining confidence as evidenced by their recent victory over White Oak.

The JV girls action, which tips off around 4:00, marks the first of 4 consecutive games at the updated WCHS gymnasium this evening.

In other cross-town sporting events this week and next—

• WCHS and CHS grapplers take it to the mat on Wednesday at WCHS
• Broad Creek and Morehead Middle boys soccer teams square off at MMS on Wednesday
• ECHS basketballers bring it to WCHS on Friday
• ECHS and CHS go toe-to-toe at the ECHS on Friday, Dec. 7.

‘Tis the season!

Sweat Equity . . . Seasons Shift

For the most part, the fall sports season is in the books and winter is just in the wings. Here’s where we are:

• ECHS football made the playoffs, but was defeated in the first round by Pender.
• CHS soccer made it to the 3rd round of the playoffs, but was eliminated from further play by First Flight.
• WCHS JV’s turned in a respectable 6-4 campaign and knocked off some heavyweights.
• Both CHS and WCHS cross country finished 6th in the state.
• Middle school volleyball is down to 3 more playing dates. Pamlico and BCMS are tied for first at 7-1. MMS and BMS are in contention, each at 5-3. Here’s the remaining schedule.
• Middle school boys soccer is just underway. BCMS and MMS are both 2-0. Here’s the schedule.
• The high school basketballers begin play this week, and the men (and women) of the mat are in full practice for their pending wrestling season.

Getting the MRSA Memo

On Oct. 31, the coaches helped to pack the cafeteria at WCHS for the MRSA workshop.

Grappling Coach Dan Varner of WCHS got the memo and has produced a set of guidelines to help prevent MRSA on his wrestling team.

Coach graciously shares the following:

Infectious Skin Disease Prevention Plan 10/31/2007

Facilities:

1. Mop mats daily w/ Pine-O-Dis mixture, 12oz: 2-3 gal water.
2. No street shoes in matroom.
3. Leave saturated mops at doorway to clean off shoes.
4. Showers to be mopped daily and locker room kept clean.

Hygiene:

1. Athlete must shower using antibacterial soap, washcloth and clean towel prior to weighing out each day.
2. Coach will scan for skin lesions at daily weighout.
3. No sharing of towels, athletic equipment or razors.
4. Athlete will coat w/ germicidal barrier (Kenshield) prior to competition.
5. At tournaments, athlete will wipe down exposed skin w/ skin cleaning pad after each bout.
6. Athlete must wear only freshly washed workout clothing.

First aid:

1. Keep first aid materials on hand in practice room as well as during competition.
2. Immediately clean and cover any skin break which occurs in practice or competition. Monitor closely during the healing process.

Clothing and gear:

1. Provide a numbered “laundry band” to each athlete to secure his workout clothing for washing. We will wash all clothing w/ warm water and appropriate soap.
2. Athlete will wipe headgear daily w/ disinfectant.
3. Athlete will spray kneepads daily w/ disinfectant.

Towels and washcloths:

1. We will provide 2 clean white towels and 2 washcloths weekly to each athlete.

2. Towels and washcloths will be washed with bleach in hot water.