A.J. Blue took his share of handoffs on a local level at North Gaston before making a name for himself at the University of North Carolina.
Now part of the school's football strength and conditioning staff, the local product was in on extending another to a former Gaston County standout, helping bring his hard work of both full circle.
Blue helped surprise Ashbrook alum and North Carolina running back British Brooks, officially revealing to the latter he had earned his way on scholarship at the school.
“Just want to talk real quick about a guy who I think is very selfless. When you think about what he’s done and how he’s done it, with the character he’s done it with, I think it’s very commendable,” Blue said. “I think when you look at this guy, obviously what he’s done and how he’s done it he’s earned the respect of his teammates.
“I want to talk about British Brooks, coach,” the former North Gaston standout said, earning a round of applause from around the meeting room.
Brooks walked on at North Carolina in 2018 after twice earning first-team all-Big South honors at Ashbrook. In his final two seasons at the school, he rushed for 2,597 yards and 31 touchdowns.
A special teams contributor much of his first three years at the school — including recognition as the special teams captain — his first career start at running back came in the Tar Heels’ Orange Bowl loss to Texas A&M on Jan. 2. Despite the loss, Brooks had a good showing with 53 yards on 15 carries.
For his career, the former local standout has 166 yards and a touchdown along with 11 tackles.
High school
Boys basketball
South Point 60, Stuart Cramer 57: Garrett Hunt’s 17 points led all scorers, helping South Point get past Stuart Cramer on Monday. Mason Craig (15 points), Justin Rocquemore (14 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists) and Frankie Verdezas (9 points, 5 rebounds) had solid games for the Storm though in a loss.
Girls basketball
Varsity
Stuart Cramer 34, South Point 32: Ranija Hamilton and Dasia Harris each scored 11 points for the Storm in a close win over South Point. The Lady Raiders’ Lexi Birtwistle had 15 points to lead all scorers, with Kam Shipman (6 points, 5 assists), Lilly Gregory (14 rebounds, 5 assists) also contributing in a losing effort.
Junior varsity
Stuart Cramer 43, South Point 40: Isaiah Foster had 20 points to go with three rebounds, three assists and three steals in a winning effort for the Storm. Talean Whitley added four points, 10 rebounds and two blocks for Stuart Cramer. Owen Sloan also had four points, three rebounds and four assists for the Storm.
Jake McMahon led South Point with 10 points.
Boys soccer
East Lincoln 2, Lake Norman Charter 0: Blake Swanson and Helmut Rojas each scored a goal for East Lincoln, both off assists from Landon Graden. Will White had a clean sheet in goal, along with the back line. The Mustangs (1-0, 1-0) will travel Wednesday to Lincolnton.
Christ the King 8, Piedmont Community Christian 0
Chase at Cherryville: Postponed until Tuesday, Jan. 26.
Forestview at Crest: Game postponed.
North Gaston at Hunter Huss: Match postponed.
South Point at Burns: Match postponed.
Shelby at East Gaston: Match postponed.
Middle school
Kings Mountain 51, Burns 39: Caleb Nixon had 21 points, four rebounds, five steals and three assists while Bradley Floyd added 10 points, seven rebounds, three steals and three assists for Kings Mountain in a win over Burns. Charlie Foster (7 points, 6 rebounds), Brayden Mull (4 points, 7 rebounds), Tucker Robinette (4 points, 2 steals) and Kee’donn Linney ( 3 steals, 3 assists) also contributed in a winning effort.
Girls basketball
Crest 27, Shelby 15: Nautica Freeman had 13 points, DeKaylia Davis offered nine and Abby Edwards scored five in a winning effort for Crest, which moves to 4-0.
College
Men’s basketball
Gardner-Webb 80, Charleston Southern 71: Jaheam Cornwall scored a game-high 21 points and D’Maurian Williams added 18 points off the bench to help Gardner-Webb to a win over Charleston Southern on Monday. The Runnin’ Bulldogs (6-9, 5-5 Big South) won their third game in a row and swept a Big South series for the first time this season.
GWU’s Williams honored: Gardner-Webb’s D’Maurian Williams was voted Big South Freshman of the Week (Jan. 18-24) after averaging 18.7 points, 2.7 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.7 steals. The Runnin’ Bulldogs won 2-of-3 games during the span, with Williams the team’s leading scorer on two occasions. Among those was last Sunday’s victory over Charleston Southern, during which he hit five 3-pointers to go with three steals.
Women’s basketball
Belmont Abbey’s Spivey, Gardner-Webb’s Smith earn conference weekly honors: Belmont Abbey senior forward Keyanna Spivey averaged 11.3 points and five rebounds this past week en route to Conference Carolinas Player of the Week honors.
Alasia Smith was named the Big South Freshman of the Week after averaging 15.5 points, eight rebounds and five steals in a pair of games against USC Upstate.
Men’s volleyball
Belmont Abbey’s Davis honored: Belmont Abbey’s Brennan Davis paced Belmont Abbey to a .299 hitting percentage in its season-opening 3-1 win over former league rival Limestone. He had 40 assists to go along with five digs and one kill.
You can reach Joe Hughes at 704-914-8138, email jhughes@gastongazette.com and follow on Twitter @JoeLHughesII.
January 26, 2021 at 11:54AM
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QUICK HITS: Former Ashbrook standout sheds walk-on label at UNC - Gaston Gazette
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