The Charlotte Observer from Charlotte, North Carolina • C5

THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER www.charlotte.com THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2006 5CSPORTS By Kevin Cary GASTONIA Skyland T.C. Ro- 5-1 win against Gastonia Forestview on Wednesday in the third round of the 3A state soccer playoffs boil in contro- versy. Instead, it resonated in silence. That silence started once Ro- berson scored three first-half goals to seize a 3-1 lead. The Rams have knocked out Forest- view in the state playoffs four times in the past six years, and took command of the game in front of about 300 people.

Those people just talk- ing about soccer. The contro- versy surrounding a Nazi speech played before win against Charlotte Catholic on Saturday had resulted in a sus- pension for assistant coach Sam Braxton and starting goalkeeper Jeremy Webb. Yet, the only noise came after Daniel Coward gave the Jaguars a 1-0 lead nine minutes into the game. Once Robert Franklin an- swered five minutes later, the game rolled over to Roberson. Forestview goalkeeper Alex Hooper made some difficult saves in the first half, but Frank- lin and Taylor Allen (two goals each) helped pepper Hooper.

did a good job, but with- out Jeremy we felt pretty naked back Forestview defender Jason Snider said. thought after our first goal take over, but we started backing up once they Forestview coach David Shearer said his team learn of the suspensions until two hours before the game. sure all that had an ef- he said. you always have storms. You have to learn how to weather Kevin Cary: 704-868-7753.

CLASS 3A SOCCER PLAYOFFS Roberson dominates shorthanded Forestview Assistant coach, goalie suspended before game Outdoors ADVENTURES INTHE CAROLINAS Notes Bass tournaments begin The Norman Fishery Alli- ance opens another season of striped bass tournaments Sunday on Lake Norman. David Clubb, the president, said this week that the events will be held the second Sun- day of each month at least through March. The entry fee is $100 per tournament, and competi- tors must hold NFA mem- bership, which is $25 annu- ally. Entrants can register Monday through Saturday at the Hook, Line and Sinker Tackle Shop at the corner of Brawley School and Stutts Roads in Mooresville. Or they can sign in starting at 5:30 a.m.

on tournament mornings at the Midway Ma- rina Restaurant at the west end of the Highway 150 Bridge. Fishing hours are 6 a.m.-3 p.m. The Catawba River above the bridge at Buffalo Shoals is off limits to competitors during the tournaments. TOM HIGGINS Tournament winners: Charly Faasens with a 24.75-pound king mackerel in the Fall Brawl at Ocean Isle Beach. The Virginia Anglers Club with seven red drum in one session during the Cape Hatteras Anglers Club Tournament, which at- tracted 120 six-person teams.

Five smallmouth bass weighing 12.72 pounds by Mike Winchester and Jamie Beck, both of Bryson City, in Fontana Fall Bass Tournament at Fontana Lake. T.H. Catches of the Week Stripers of 20 and 8 pounds at Lake Hickory by Brandy Yall of Morganton. A 10-pound Lake Hickory striper by John Snell. Limits of Fontana Lake smallmouth bass on three successive days of trolling by Jim Turpin of Robbinsville.

He was using a small shad-type lure. A 5-pound speckled trout in the Nags Head surf by Kim McCartney. Trout and blues red-hot Plentiful bluefish in the Hatteras Island surf and scads of speckled trout in the Atlantic City area offer the best prospects during the next few days. Blues in the 2- to 4-pound range are hitting cut bait and metal lures from Salvo southward to Hatteras Village. Trout to 5 pounds are striking in the surf, around jetties and in the marshes and backwaters of Carteret County.

Fishing Forecast TOM HIGGINS Staff 6 Charlotte Asheville Winston-Salem Wilmington Raleigh Fayetteville Florence Columbia Myrtle Beach Charleston Atlantic Ocean N.C. S.C.77 77 40 40 26 26 20 20 95 95 95 85 85 5 7 8 2 3 10 11 12 16 15 41 14 17 9 13 The Report 1. LAKE NORMAN: Stripers and largemouth bass in mixed schools north of the N.C. 150 bridge on surface lures, with best action in late afternoon. Stripers also are hitting shad, shiners and live trout.

Improving for crappie on minnows. 2. LAKE WYLIE: Especially good crappie catches, mainly on minnows fished 12-20 feet deep. Largemouth off deep banks on artificial worms, crankbaits. 3.

LAKES BADIN, TILLERY, BLEWETT FALLS: Much improved for crappie, hitting jigs and minnows. White bass are starting to feed in surface schools. 4. HIGH ROCK LAKE: Continuing fine catches of crappie. Small white bass in surfacing schools on jigs, spinners, spoons.

Scattered largemouth on artificial worms, skirted spinnerbaits. 5. LAKES HICKORY, RHODHISS: At Hickory: Stripers to 20 pounds uplake from the U.S. 321 bridge. Increasing numbers of crappie on minnows.

At Rhodhiss: Nice catches of crappie on lures, minnows. 6. LAKE JAMES: Smallmouth bass on shiners, small lures worked around points. Some schooling white bass on a variety of small lures. 7.

FONTANA LAKE: Limits of smallmouth around points and off rocky shoreline on shiners, twister-tail grubs and trolled lures like the Deep Baby-N, which is difficult to find. Improving for walleye on spoons jigged 85 feet deep off points. 8. LAKE WATEREE: Largemouth off deep banks on artificial worms, crankbaits. Stripers at lower end of lake on cut bait fished 40-50 feet deep.

Crappie in the mouths of major feeder creeks on grubs, sliders. 9. LAKE HARTWELL: Stripers, hybrids on live herring fished 25-30 feet down. Also on lures cast to surfacing schools and on trolled RoadRunner plugs with trailing bucktails. Largemouth at dawn and dusk on topwater lures, flukes cast to points.

10. LAKE JOCASSEE: Largemouth on artificial worms, jerk baits and surface lures. Smallmouth on minnows drift-fished over points. 11. LAKE KEOWEE: Largemouth along the shoreline and around brushy cover on artificial worms, crankbaits and jerkbaits, especially in early morning.

Plenty of bream and catfish on traditional baits. 12. LAKE MURRAY: Largemouth off the points on topwater lures, including floating worms. Also on pig-and-jig combos fished 10-15 feet deep. Stripers on live baits 40-70 feet deep, and also in surface schools from Shull Island to the dam on topwater lures.

Crappie in the creek runs and around bridge pilings on minnows. 13. LAKE THURMOND: Stripers, hybrids on live herring, shiners, spoons and RoadRunner-type plugs. Largemouth on artificial worms, spinnerbaits. 14.

SANTEE-COOPER RESERVOIR: Lake Marion: Excellent for catfish on live and cut baits. Plenty of bream, shellcrackers on crickets, earthworms. Scattered stripers on live herring, shad. Lake Moultrie: Stripers on jigged spoons and live herring worked 30 feet deep near the powerhouse. Also on trolled Stretch 25 lures.

Largemouth on artificial lizards and worms, plus spinnerbaits around docks and other structures. 15. OUTER BANKS: Limits of yellowfin tuna and some billfish offshore of Oregon Inlet when sea conditions are favorable. King mackerel off Morehead City at Northwest Places and around the wreck of the Atlas tanker. Speckled trout to 5 pounds in the surf and at piers in the Nags Head area, and small stripers in the sound at the Manns Harbor Bridge.

Trout and whiting in the sloughs at Salvo, Rodanthe and Avon on Hatteras Island. Scattered big red drum at Avon Pier and Cape Point, near Buxton. Puppy drum, false albacore and whiting from Cape Lookout to Bogue Inlet. 16. SOUTHEASTERN N.C.

COAST: King mackerel offshore when sea conditions are favorable. A mix of black drum, blues, flounder, puppy drum, spots and whiting in the surf and at piers. 17. S.C. COAST: Reds, speckled trout in the backwaters and marshes.

Scattered blues, flounder, pompano, spots and whiting at piers. Little offshore activity because of unfavorable sea conditions. A A Major (Maj.) periods, best times to hunt and fish, begin at the times shown and last one to two hours. Minor (Min.) periods, second-best times to hunt or fish, are somewhat shorter: A.M. P.M.

Day Min. Maj. Min. Maj. Today 8:20 2:10 8:55 2:40 Friday 9:25 3:10 9:50 3:35 Saturday 10:20 4:10 10:50 4:35 Sunday 11:10 5:00 11:40 5:25 Monday 11:50 5:40 6:00 Tuesday 12:15 6:20 12:35 6:40 Wednesday 12:55 6:55 1:10 7:15 Next Thursday 1:30 7:30 1:45 7:50 Nov.

17 2:05 8:05 2:25 8:25 Nov. 18 2:40 8:40 2:50 9:05 Nov. 19 3:20 9:20 3:30 9:45 JAQUELINE SOLUNAR TABLES Calendar Nov. 16: Birding tour of Ft. Macon State Park near Atlantic Beach, 9:30 a.m.

Information: 252-726-3775. Nov. 18: Annual Rockfish Rodeo, Manteo. Information: 252-442-7887 or go to rockfishrodeo.com. Nov.

25: Canoe tour of Big Lake at William B. Umstead State Park near Raleigh, 10 a.m. Canoes, paddles, life jackets furnished. Reservations required. Information: 919-571-4170.

Dec. 2: Bluefin Tuna Fishing Seminar, Ocean Isle Beach Fishing Center. Information: 910-575-3474. I I Sunday: Newberry College Baseball Benefit Bass Tournament, safe light to 3 p.m., Lake Murray, Billy Dreher Island State Park. $200 per team, proceeds go to baseball program.

Information: newberryindians.athleticsite.com/ Sunday: Season-opening Norman Fishery Alliance Striped Bass Tournament, Lake Norman. Entry fee $100. Must be an NFA member to compete (membership fee is $25 annually). Register through Saturday at Hook, Line And Sinker Tackle Shop, corner of Brawley School and Stutts roads, Mooresville, or at Midway Marina Restaurant at 5:30 a.m. on tournament days.

Fishing hours 6 a.m.-3 p.m. Tournaments will be held the second Sunday of each month through spring. I Through Friday: Muzzle loading deer season for Central N.C. Piedmont counties. Saturday-Nov.

17: Muzzle loading deer season for Northwestern N.C. counties. Saturday-Dec. 2: Second segment of N.C. duck season.

Saturday-Dec. 2: First segment of Canada and white-fronted geese season for the Resident Population Zone. Saturday-Jan. 1: Modern gun deer season for Central N.C. Piedmont counties.

Nov. 18-Dec. 16: Modern gun deer season for Northwestern N.C. counties. Nov.

18-25: Second segment of S.C. dove season. Nov. 20-25: Second segment of N.C. dove season.

Dec. 16-Jan. 27: Final segment of N.C. duck season and white-fronted geese season for the Resident Population Zone. Dec.

16-Jan. 27: Final segment of Canada and white-fronted geese season for the Resident Population Zone. Dec. 18-Jan. 13: Third segment N.C.

dove season. Dec. 21-Jan. 15: Third segment of S.C. dove season.

Through Jan. 1: Modern gun deer season for bucks in S.C. game zone 4 on private lands. Through Nov. 25; Dec.

11-Jan. 1: Modern gun deer season for bucks in game zone 4 on wildlife management areas. Monday: Fundraiser toward creating a Lowcountry Chapter of the Outdoor Dream Foundation, 6:30 p.m., Spiritline Dinner Cruise, Patriots Point, Charleston. Guest host will be former Miami Dolphins star Larry Csonka. The Foundation grants hunting, fishing and other outdoor adventures to children suffering from terminal or life-threatening illnesses.

Information: Terri Hallman, 843-953-9169. By Langston Wertz Jr. The celebration started with about five seconds to go. Myers final shots to tie a wild N.C. 4A third-round playoff game were done.

South Meck had beaten Myers Park 2-1 and the Sabres started rushing the field in celebration. South (19-5) had finally van- quished their biggest rival, after losing 3-1 and 5-0 during the reg- ular season. It was a physical game with five yellow cards and one red card between the teams. kids have worked hard the last two days and we thought we had a good game Sa- bres coach Jim Lynch said. worked out for Myers Park (20-2-2), which had its six-game win streak snapped, outshot South 20-7, but had two goals called back in the first half and missed multiple point-blank scoring opportuni- ties in the second.

Mustangs coach Bucky McCarley said he was disap- pointed for his seniors, who reached the N.C. 4A champion- ship game as freshmen, and were semifinalists as juniors. He called it one of the best classes in Mus- tangs history. In quarterfinals, the Sabres are scheduled to play Asheville Reynolds, who beat Gastonia Ashbrook 3-2 Wednes- day night. South Meck still has a chance to make history.

The school has never won a state title and been in the finals since losing there in 1985. had a couple lucky breaks Lynch said. shots were missed, shots hit the post, but we worked hard and when you work hard sometimes things go your SOUTH MECK 2 MYERS PARK 1 JASON E. MICZEK South Mecklenburg assistant coach Eric White (facing camera) congratulates Jose Intriago and Chris Zuerner after the win. For Sabres, 3rd game is a charm Mustangs beat Sabres twice in regular season By Dru Willis Special Correspondent HUNTERSVILLE It might not have been pretty but North Mecklenburg played a penalty filled match of soccer at home to defeat Greensboro Grimsley 3-1 Wednesday in the N.C.

4A sec- tional playoff game and continue its undefeated season. Vikings forward Drew Toler nearly scored a hat-trick twice, but both chances were swept away from opposing players. As Toler made a solo break- away into the goal box late in the match, Ryan Walker took out legs, setting up a penalty kick and getting Walker ejected with a red card. Toler took his penalty shot but the hat-trick was stopped when Grimsley goal keeper Will Cur- legs blocked the ball to Tol- left where mid-fielder James Broughman touched it into the net. Another red card for Grimsley and six yellow cards (five for Grimsley, one for North Meck) were given during the match.

Vikings Coach Marc Calde- rone said he was pleased with the way his team played. had a game plan going in and we kind of new what to expect. They are a quality team and unfortunately their heads just got the best of he said. made a mis- take on their first goal and I was proud that my boys recovered from that. It could have been a let down.

knew we were going to get our chances and we did and we finished them. high school North Mecklenburg will play Saturday night against the win- ner of Mount game. N. MECK 3 GREENSBORO GRIMSLEY 1 N. Meck continues its undefeated season Toler leads Vikings past Grimsley in playoffs By David Poole Bruton Smith, the Charlotte- based billionaire businessman whose motorsports empire in- cludes Motor Speed- way, is one of six people elected to the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in its Class of 2007.

Smith and legendary driver Curtis Turner joined forces to build what was then called Charlotte Motor Speedway. Shortly after the speedway opened in 1960, the financial strain of getting the project completed forced it into bank- ruptcy. More than a decade later, af- ter becoming successful in auto- mobile dealerships, Smith re- gained control of the 1.5-mile track. The past three decades, he has turned it into a template for the modern American racing fa- cility. Speedway Motor- sports Inc.

owns tracks in Bris- tol, Atlanta, Las Vegas, Texas and California. Joining Smith in the 2007 class will be Junie Donlavey, Ray Hendrick, Jack Ingram, Warren Johnson and Wayne Rainey. Donlavey is a longtime NASCAR car owner from Vir- ginia who gave several of the top drivers their first shots in stock-car top series. Hendrick won more than 700 modified and late model sports- man races and was named one of 50 greatest driv- ers in 1998. Ingram won the NASCAR late model sportsman titles in 1972, 1973 and 1974 and won two Busch Series titles and 31 races in that series.

Johnson is a six-time National Hot Rod Association pro stock champion who has 96 national event victories. Rainey is a three-time Grand Prix World motorcycle champi- on whose career ended in a crash in 1993. The six men will be inducted into the hall at the Talladega Su- perspeedway in Alabama on April 26. Keven Wood has knee surgery Keven Wood, the son of Wood Racing co-owner Len Wood, had surgery on the an- terior cruciate ligament on his left knee. He suffered the injury in a pickup soccer game last month, but the severity of the injury was not immediately ap- parent.

He continued driving in late model racing, finishing sixth in a race at Caraway Speedway in Asheboro the night before his surgery. Wood, a developmental driver for the team, hopes to be able to participate in an Automobile Racing Club of America series test for the team next month. MOTORSPORTS NOTEBOOK Speedway builder headed to hall Bruton Smith, 5 others make up Class of 2007 Smith By Jim Utter AVONDALE, Ariz. The NASCAR Busch Series sud- denly seems the series of choice for Indianapolis 500 winners. Reigning Indy 500 champion Sam Hornish Jr.

will attempt to qualify and join Juan Pablo Mon- toya, the 2000 winner of the 500, in Arizona.Travel 200 at Phoenix International Raceway (3:40 p.m., NBC). It would be first NASCAR start. Montoya, who will drive Cup Ganassi No. 42 Dodge full-time in the Nextel Cup Series next season, will make his third start. His best finish is 11th at Memphis.

Hornish, who still plans to compete full-time in the Indy Racing League next season with Penske Racing South, also will at- tempt the sea- son-finale Busch race at Homestead, and ex- pects to run in several Busch and Automobile Racing Club of America events when time al- lows next season. In the meantime, Hornish will concentrate on making the field for his first NASCAR start. One advantage he has plenty of experience at Phoenix. completed a lot of laps at Phoenix in an IndyCar the last several years. Hopefully, that experience will transfer to our preparations this week with the Busch Hornish said.

Elsewhere John Andretti and Danny Jr. remain tied in the race for rookie of the year, each with 198 points. been a lot of fun racing with these said. know going to be tough to do, but that would be some- thing nice to have on our re- Kevin Harvick got his ninth vic- tory of the season last week at Texas, moving him into second place on the season wins list be- hind Sam 10 victories in 1983. Harvick also tied record of 30 top-10 finishes in one sea- son, also set in 1983.

The race for 10th position in the final standings is com- ing down to the wire as Reed Sorenson holds a 16-point ad- vantage over 11th-place Kenny Wallace. Wallace holds a 112-point advantage over An- dretti in 12th. Jamie McMurray will make his final start for Rusty Wallace Inc. this weekend in the No. 64 Dodge.

McMurray will hand over full-time driving duties to Steve Wallace next season. Wal- lace is also entered in this week- race, in the No. 61. BUSCH SERIES NOTEBOOK Hornish will try NASCAR on for size Indy 500 champion to make run in Busch Hornish.