Meet new coach May 1 at KMHS KM’s Alex Goff second in SEC championship

A special Kings Mountain High School meet and greet coaches show will be held Monday, May 1 at 6 p.m. at the Brinkley Field House on the KMHS campus.

New head football coach Strait Herron and assistant coaches will be on hand to meet the public. The show will be available on the You Tube beginning at 6:30.

Sports This Week

Wed., April 26

Time TBA – High school men’s tennis, Big South 3A Conference tournament finals at Kings Mountain.

Thurs., April 27

6 p.m. – High school women’s soccer, Kings Mountain at Burns.

7 p.m. - High school baseball, Stuart Cramer at Kings Mountain (Senior Night).

Fri., April 28 6 p.m. – High school softball, Kings Mountain at South Point.

6 p.m. – High school women’s soccer, Kings Mountain at South Point.

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From Page 1B

The Mountaineers scored three runs in the top of the seventh to take a 6-5 lead over the Raiders in Belmont, but they couldn’t hold the Belmont nine off in the bottom of the frame.

Cole Irby went 1-for-4 with three RBIs to lead the Mountaineers. Tucker Cash, Aidan Taylor, Colton Mayes and Zane Brockman also had hits.

South Point led 12-6 going into the bottom of the seventh Thursday at KM. The Mountaineers rallied for five runs but the Raiders got out of the inning to pull into a tie with the Mountaineers. A night later, Crest defeated North Gaston and moved into sole possession of first place with a win over

McDOWELL

From Page 1B steals leader with 463 and the Gaston County single game scoring record holder with 60 points. The Yellow Jackets made the state playoffs in 18 of his 19 seasons with the only miss coming in the COVID year when the playoffs were cancelled.

“When I retired from Kings Mountain I was going to play golf and travel,” he noted. “It didn’t happen. Then I got a call from Charlotte Christian. I was an assistant before getting the head girls job. Charlotte was just too long of a drive, so I retired. I cleaned my golf clubs up getting ready to play but it didn’t happen. Bessemer City High School called.”

McDowell’s accolades at the three schools included:

-8 coach of the year awards.

-head coach of the West/ Midwest all-star game.

-Being inducted into the Kings Mountain Sports Hall of Fame.

-Having a Lifetime Achievement Award and Danny R. McDowell scholarship named in his honor.

- Kings Mountain Man of the Year.

-Numerous church and civic awards.

-10 straight AAU championships.

-2 National AAU runners-up.

-1 National championship.

-1 National Coach of the Year Award.

-Coached numer-

7 p.m. – High school baseball, Champion Night game featuring stars from KM’s 1989 and 1993 state championship teams.

Tues., May 2

6 p.m. – High school softball, Stuart Cramer at Kings Mountain.

6 p.m. – High school women’s soccer, Stuart Cramer at Kings Mountain.

7 p.m. – High school baseball, Kings Mountain at Crest.

Wed., May 3 the Wildcats. ous Players of the Year, All-Conference, All-Star, All-State and All-District athletes.

TBA – High school men’s tennis, first round of NCHSAA playoffs.

Jacob Hamrick went 2-for-3 with three runs scored and three RBIs. Mayes was 2-for-3 with a triple and three RBIs. Broome was 2-for-4 with two ribbies and Brockman went 2-for-4. Cash, Taylor and Ellis had a hit each.

The Mountaineers were scheduled to go to Stuart Cramer last night and will be home Thursday for Senior Night against Stuart Cramer. Their final two BSC games will be on May 2 at Crest and May 5 at home against Crest. An “old-timers” game featuring the stars from Kings Mountain’s state championship teams of 1989 and 1993 will be held Friday at 7 p.m. at Lancaster Field.

-Numerous teaching awards including Fox 18 TV Terrific Teacher, Regional finalist of the year, Kings Mountain District Teacher of the Year, Kings Mountain Rotary Teacher of the Year, Bethware Teacher of the Year, Kings Mountain Math Teacher of the Year, and twotime North Carolina Math Teacher of the Year.

“Anytime your peers think you are worthy, it is an honor,” McDowell noted. “I was able to build a great rapport with faculty, staff, parents and especially my players along the way.

“Seeing guys succeed in sports and life is the biggest reward you can get,” he added. “My parents laid the foundation for me. They’re deceased and if they could see it here at Bessemer City. The torch was passed by my beautiful wife Bendatra. She came to home and away games to support me.

“It was truly a blessing to have been the head coach at three different high schools,” he noted. “I want to thank Dr. Wyont for giving me the keys to the bus to (Bessemer City men’s basketball) and trusting me enough to drive it (BC men’s basketball). I was able to do it my way. And what’s so special, I was told ‘you can stay as long as you want’. That speaks volumns.

“I want to thank everyone for their support throughout my career. I am forever grateful.”

Former Kings Mountain High golfer Alex Goff, now the #1 golfer at the University of Kentucky, shot a 3-under par 67 to finish second in the Southeastern Conference Championship Friday at Seaside Course at Sea island Golf Club in St. Simons Island, Ga.

Goff had three rounds under 70 and his 202 54hole total was second only to Tennessee’s Caleb Surratt who finished 14-under at 196. Goff shot a 3-under 67 in round one Wednesday, followed by a 2-under 68 Thursday and a 3-under 67 Friday.

“This means a lot to me,” Goff told reporters after the tourney. “When you think about college golf, the SEC is the first conference that comes to mind. You play to win an SEC championship and I’m really proud to represent Kentucky the way I did this week. I didn’t come out on top but it’s really encouraging to know that I was close in such a competitive field.”

Goff’s second place score was one of the best in SEC championship history. In earlier years the tournament was 72 holes. In recent history, the previous best 54-hole second place mark was a 1-under 209 by Tyler McDaniel in 2016.

Goff posted a team-high 22 rounds of par or better and 19 under par rounds during the season. His 15 birdies were the second most in the field.

“What a great job Alex did of leading this team at the SEC championship,” noted his coach Brian Craig. “Alex handled the challenge beautifully and was solid all three rounds.”

Kentucky finished 13th with an overall score of 14over par.