Winning out west

Field events dominated by Panthers en route to second place finish

Charles City garnered individual wins from Steven Crewe, Mason Jefferson, Kyle Jones, and Royal Washington en route to a second place finished at its home track meet on Mar. 30. The Panthers claimed each of the jumping events at the six-team meet. Jones won the high jump with a clearance of 6’0”, automatically qualifying him for the Group 1A State Track & Field meet. Jefferson emerged on top of his competition with a leap of 18’10” in the long jump, while Crewe launched himself 39’4½” to win the triple jump. Washington claimed gold in the shot put with a heave…
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York second half spurt turns back Lady Trojans in home soccer opener

For most of the first half, New Kent’s Lady Trojans and York’s visiting Falcons slugged it out in basically an even soccer contest. As halftime approached, a scoreless tie seemed certain, but with under two minutes left, the Falcons moved in front. After the break, three Falcon goals over a 15-minute span spurred the visitors toward a 5-1 final. Lady Trojan first year head coach Steve Grech labeled the first half tie-breaker as devastating for his team. “What happened is that goal with less than two minutes left in the first half brought the team down,” he said. “Then in…
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Jamestown submariner sinks New Kent in 7-0 shutout

Unable to solve the submarine-style delivery of Jamestown pitcher Ryan Devine, New Kent’s host Trojans could not muster the offense needed to overcome the Eagles in Wednesday baseball action. Devine went on to toss a four-hit shutout on the way to a 7-0 final. “[Devine] has a very unorthodox delivery, and we struggled with it,” said Trojan coach Michael Kuper. “It’s just something we don’t see very often.” The Eagles roughed up Trojan starter Wyatt Delong in the second inning, capitalizing on two hits and a pair of errors to take a 4-0 lead. The visitors added another run in…
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New Kent bats erupt too late to overtake Jamestown

New Kent’s Lady Trojans ruined Jamestown pitcher Madelyn Morton’s no-hitter bid in the sixth inning with three hits leading to a pair of runs in Wednesday’s softball encounter. By then, however, the visiting Eagles had built a 6-0 advantage. New Kent could not cash in the rest of the way, enabling the Eagles to post an 8-2 victory. “I feel like we’re not coming in focused,” New Kent coach Maria Bates said after her team fell to 1-6. “We’re in a little hitting slump, but at least we were able to fight back. “We’ll get there,” she added. “We’ve just…
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‘The Warriors Way’

New Kent prevails in soccer thriller, toppling Northampton 5-4 in overtime

After building a three-goal lead in the first half, New Kent’s Trojans watched their early advantage gradually slip away in the face of a fierce comeback mounted by Northampton’s visiting Yellow Jackets. The visitors overtook their hosts by the end of regulation to force overtime. But the Trojans shrugged off the Yellow Jackets’ dominating second half performance to take control in the extra sessions. Sophomore Adam Caldwell’s two goals, one in the first extra period and the other coming with just over a minute to play in the second, proved to be the difference makers in New Kent’s thrilling 5-4…
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Equipment upgrade

Errors play major role in downfall of Panthers in baseball home opener

“We couldn’t make the simple plays.” That statement by returning Charles City baseball coach Irving Bradby summed up the Panthers 16-0 loss to Mathews Monday afternoon. For the first two innings, the host Panthers held Mathews explosive offense in check. As they entered the top of the third trailing 4-0, two back-to-back errors opened the floodgates for the visiting Blue Devils. A miscue on a pop fly by second baseman Dwayne Ghee and a ground ball misplayed by third baseman Andre’ Mason allowed three runs to cross the plate. Pitcher Brian Menefee’s attempt to halt the rally fell short, as…
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Powerhouse Mathews disposes of Lady Panthers

When Charles City moved to the Tidewater District five years ago, they knew that some programs would excel in some sports while others needed time to adjust. Fast forward to Monday’s home softball contest against top-ranked Mathews and it was evident that the transition is still a work in progress. The Lady Panthers couldn’t match the experience of the visiting Lady Blue Devils, falling 22-0 in Monday’s district contest. Mathews jumped out early on the hosts, racking up 13 runs in the first inning. The visitors racked up four more runs in the second as they notched 18 hits in…
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