Old Dominion linebacker Jason Henderson was among 75 players named to the Bronko Nagurski Trophy watch list on Tuesday.

The award is presented to the top defensive player in the country chosen by the Football Writers Association of America and the Charlotte Touchdown Club.

Henderson, a two-time All-American, led the country in tackles per game the past two seasons. He finished with 14.2 stops per game last season and 170 total tackles.

Virginia Tech defensive tackle Aeneas Peeples, Virginia safety Jonas Sanker, Liberty linebacker CJ Bazile and safety Brylan Green and East Carolina cornerback Shavon Revel also made the list.

Two W&M stars on Payton list

William & Mary left tackle Charles Grant, a former Churchland High star, and running back Bronson Yoder are among 35 players who have been named to the Walter Payton Award preseason watch list.

The award is presented to the FCS national offensive player of the year. Known as the Heisman of the FCS, it is named for legendary running back Walter Payton, who starred at Jackson State as part of his Hall of Fame career.

Richmond wide receiver Nick DeGennaro also made the list.

Grant, who enters his fourth season as a starter, was one of only three offensive linemen to make the list. He ranked as the CAA’s top tackle in pass blocking efficiency last season and allowed just one sack on 334 pass-blocking snaps.

Yoder enters his final season ranked among the Tribe’s career top-10 lists in rushing yards (2,660, eighth), rushing touchdowns (25, eighth) and all-purpose yards (4,322, fifth).

DeGennaro led the Spiders with 71 receptions for 904 yards and tied a program record with 11 touchdown catches last season.

Liberty center makes Outland list

Liberty center Jordan White has been named to the Outland Trophy preseason watch list.

The award is presented to the top interior linemen in college football.

White, a native of Largo, Maryland, and a transfer from West Virginia, was an All-Conference USA first-team selection last season and helped the Flames finish No. 1 in the country in rushing offense (293.3 yards per game).

• Cardinal Gibbons High (North Carolina) offensive tackle Jack Sheehan (6-6, 310) announced Tuesday on social media that he has committed to Old Dominion.

Football players Johnnie Barnes, Fred Freeman and Ed Tomlin and men’s tennis player Bruce Foxworth were the other inductees.

McCorory, a Bethel High product, won the gold medal in the 4×400-meter relay at both the 2016 and 2012 Summer Olympics and at two World Championships. She also won three NCAA titles while at HU.

Barnes was the most prolific receiver in Hampton history and went on to play four seasons in the NFL. He played for the Pirates from 1988-91 and finished as Hampton’s all-time leading receiver with 3,090 yards.

Freeman was one of HU’s most successful football coaches. He was head coach from 1984-91 and posted a 49-31-4 record.

The late Tomlin, whose son, Mike, is the Pittsburgh Steelers’ head coach, played from 1965-67 and led the Pirates in scoring all three years. He died in 2012.

The late Foxworth teamed with Roger de Santis Guedes to win the 1976 NCAA Division II doubles championship. The Pirates also won the team national title that year. Foxworth finished with a 71-11 singles record and a 50-18 doubles record. He died in 2021.

The induction ceremony is scheduled for Sept. 6. Tickets are available at www.hamptonpirates.com/hoftickets.

Pilots swept in CPL playoffs

A memorable Peninsula Pilots season ended Monday night in a frustrating playoff exit as the host Wilmington Sharks completed a two-game East Division final sweep with a 4-2 victory before 1,100 fans in southeastern North Carolina.

The Pilots came into the Coastal Plain League’s Petitt Cup playoffs with a league-best 34-13 record and were the East’s best in both halves of the season, but they had just three hits — all singles — in both of their postseason games.

Wilmington (26-19 in the regular season) advanced to the best-of-three CPL championship series against the West Division series victor, either Lexington County or Forest City.

Peninsula drew eight walks Monday but struck out 15 times against five Wilmington pitchers. Six of those bases on balls were issued by winner Nick Boyle, who struck out seven in 1/3 innings. Thomas Paxton and Greyson Linderman combined to strike out five without allowing a hit in the final two innings.

Pilots starter Brian Ereu took the loss, giving up four runs — two earned — and four hits in four innings.

Cam Hassert scored on a balk in the second inning, and Cam Suto clubbed a two-run homer in the third for a 3-0 lead.

In the top of the fifth, the Pilots’ Kyle Edwards walked, advanced on two wild pitches and scored on Trey Morgan’s sacrifice fly. The Sharks answered back in the bottom of the fifth as Drew Sturgeon walked and came home on Dylan Jeffries’ double.

Jevin Relaford’s single brought home Carlos Pena in the seventh to make the score 4-2, but reliever Billy Hoffacker struck out Grayson Fitzwater, one of the CPL’s top players, with runners on second and third to end the inning.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Area players named Preseason All-Americans

Several players with area connections gained Stats Perform FCS Preseason All-America honors.

William & Mary offensive lineman Charles Grant and fellow Churchland High graduate Kenny Gallop Jr., a Howard defensive back, were on the first team. So was New Hampshire defensive lineman Josiah Silver, a former Phoebus High standout.
Richmond wide receiver Nick DeGennaro and punter Aaron Trusler also were on the first team.

The second team included W&M running back Bronson Yoder.

COLLEGE MEN’S BASKETBALL

Tribe reveals 13-game non-league schedule

First-year William & Mary coach Brian Earl announced a 13-game non-conference schedule that features five home contests, highlighted by a Dec. 18 matchup with Richmond, and five games against teams that played in the postseason last year, including four league champions.

The schedule in Kaplan Arena features Norfolk State (Nov. 12) and Navy (Dec. 29). The road slate includes trips to ACC Tournament champion N.C. State (Nov. 22) and Sun Belt regular-season Champion Appalachian State (Nov. 24), along with matchups at Old Dominion (Dec. 2) and VCU (Dec. 22).

W&M opens the season Nov. 4, against Division III Dickinson of Carlisle, Pennsylvania. The Tribe expects to have seven returnees and seven newcomers.

PRO BASKETBALL

Ex-Liberty star signs with German team

Former Liberty Flames standout Darius McGhee has inked his second pro contract, signing with Telekom Baskets Bonn in Germany for the 2024-25 season.

McGhee spent the 2023-24 season playing for the Indiana Mad Ants of the NBA G League. He averaged 7.1 points, 1.2 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game in 37 G League contests.

COLLEGE MEN’S TENNIS

JMU player from Virginia Beach gains academic honor

Harrison Lee of Virginia Beach was one of three James Madison men’s tennis players to gain Intercollegiate Tennis Association Scholar-Athlete honors, and the Dukes earned All-Academic Team status. Individuals need at least a 3.5 grade-point average to be a Scholar-Athlete, and the team needs a cumulative 3.2 or better for the year.

Lee, a Princess Anne High graduate, won the 2022 VHSL Class 5 singles championship.

Game 2 is set for Monday night on the Sharks’ field in southeastern North Carolina. A Peninsula win would force Game 3 at 7 p.m. Tuesday back at War Memorial Stadium in Hampton, where the playoff opener drew 2,213.

Most of them went home disappointed as Wilmington broke a 0-0 tie in the ninth inning to beat a Peninsula team that led the division in both halves of the regular season.

Starting pitchers Sam Rochard of the Pilots and Travis Lavendier of the Sharks dueled for most of the game. Rochard, a Warhill High graduate who pitched for Tennessee Wesleyan this year, gave up two hits and five walks in 6 2/3 innings. Lavendier, from Salem University in West Virginia, pitched six innings, yielding three hits and two walks while striking out three.

In the ninth, Wilmington’s Cam Suto drew a walk from reliever Cade Plummer, went to second on a wild pitch and advanced to third on Cam Hassert’s sacrifice bunt.

Pilots manager Hank Morgan brought in reliever Dalton Barham, who struck out Branton Jernigan but yielded a tiebreaking single to Mike Stellrecht.

Two more singles, by Jason Culley and Drew Sturgeon, brought home the second run.

Peninsula (34-13 in the regular season) had just three hits all night, singles by Trey Morgan, Jevin Relaford and Kyle Edwards. Relievers Cade Granzow, Thomas Paxton (the winning pitcher) and Greyson Linderman each threw a hitless inning to complete the shutout for the Sharks, who were 26-19 in the regular season.

Down 1-0, the Tides (49-52, 13-13 in the International League’s second half) took control with a three-run third inning and a two-run fourth off starter Valente Bellozo (2-3). Terrin Vavra tripled off the wall in center field in the third, scoring Coby Mayo and Kyle Stowers. Vavra then came home on Daniel Johnson’s sacrifice fly to left.

Billy Cook laced a triple off the wall in the fourth, bringing home Mayo and Stowers for a 5-1 lead. Cook enjoyed his fourth consecutive multi-hit game.

Justin Armbruester (3-6) survived a season-high six walks to last five innings for the victory. Far better in recent starts, he improved his season earned-run average to 7.05. The right-hander gave up just two hits and a run to Jacksonville (49-52, 14-12) while striking out four.

In the sixth. the Shrimp’s Jhonny Pereda doubled off reliever Luis González and scored on José Devers’ single, making the score 5-2.
Colin Selby, a Western Branch High graduate recently assigned to the Tides, had a more adventurous ninth inning than he would have liked.

He retired the first two batters before yielding a single to Javier Sanoja, and Troy Johnston clubbed a homer far over the right-field wall to cut Norfolk’s lead to 5-4.

Selby recovered, striking out Deyvison De Los Santos swinging at a breaking pitch to end the game.

The Tides are off Monday before heading to Charlotte to face the Knights.

At 5:45 p.m. Tuesday, the Tides and Knights plan to resume a 4-4 game that was suspended June 30 at Harbor Park because of rain, with Norfolk runners at first and second base and two out in the bottom of the ninth. The teams then will complete a quasi-doubleheader that night and are scheduled to play every day through Sunday, Aug. 4.

The Tidewater Wildcats won the Hampton Roads 7 Cities Pro-Am basketball championship, defeating First Class Real Estate 82-74 to cap a four-game Sunday tournament at Norview High in Norfolk.

Jalen Milt scored 21 points and Deangelo Canty 15 in the championship game for the Wildcats. For First Class, former Norfolk State and Lake Taylor High star Joe Bryant Jr. scored 19 and Old Dominion’s Dani Pounds had 16.

In the quarterfinals, Team Brown won by forfeit against Harvey Lindsay after ECG defeated NewRunz 75-65. Jamari Garnett scored 19 points and Norfolk State’s Chris Fields Jr. had 16 for ECG. Christopher Newport’s Jahn Hines led NewRunz with 21.

In the semifinals, Pounds poured in 27 points to help First Class Real Estate overcome ECG 90-62. For ECG, Garnett scored 17 and Fields 16.

The Wildcats rallied past Team Brown 87-79, finishing the game on a 17-5 run. Ky Oden had 24 points and Khalil Oden 19 for the Wildcats.
For Team Brown, James Madison’s Xavier Brown had 35 points and Mary Washington’s Dashawn Cook added 21.

Longwood’s Mike Christmas, a Landstown High alum who played for Harvey Lindsay, repeated as the league MVP.

AUTO RACING

Hall takes third after being spun

Hampton native Connor Hall took third place in a bizarre CARS Tour Late Model Stock 125 Saturday night at Hickory Motor Speedway in Newton, North Carolina.

Hall, the pole starter, was dueling Ryan Millington for the victory, and they had contact over the final laps. Late contact from behind put Hall into a spin as Millington crossed the finish line.

But officials penalized Millington for the contact and gave the victory to Ronnie Bassett Jr., who got his first win in the series after joining it full-time in 2023.

Bobby McCarty finished second. According to racingamerica.com, Hall was able to point his car in the proper direction to edge Kade Brown for third. That finish came on the heels of Hall’s runner-up finish to Brenden Queen in the previous Saturday’s Hampton Heat 200 at Langley Speedway.

“I thought we had the race won, but the fastest car doesn’t always win the race,” Hall, last year’s NASCAR Weekly Series national champion and current CARS Tour points leader, told racingamerica.com. “This is a tough one. That’s three in a row that have been pretty tough to swallow. We’re just going to keep putting ourselves in position to succeed, and hopefully one will fall our way pretty soon.”

SOCCER

Seacoast United wins at CNU, advances to national final

The Seacoast United Phantoms of Epping, New Hampshire, will fondly remember their trip to Newport News.

They defeated the Asheville City SC Blues of North Carolina 1-0 Sunday night at Christopher Newport’s TowneBank Stadium to earn a berth in the USL League Two national championship match.

Friday, Seacoast United handed Lionsbridge FC a rare home loss, outscoring the Lions 6-3. Two days later, in a far different match at CNU, the Phantoms shut out an Asheville team that had beaten Corpus Christi FC of Texas 1-0.

Brad Adams won the opener by 3.155 seconds over DJ Valente, while points leader Ryley Music followed in third, 3.865 behind Adams. Adams took more than 16:20 to emerge atop the field.

Wood, eighth among nine drivers in the first race, bounced back to edge Fowlkes by 212-thousandths of a second and Adams by 0.460 of a second. That nightcap took just more than 10:32.

It was Adams’ second triumph of 2024 and Wood’s first. They began the night sixth and eighth, respectively, in points.

In other events:

Virginia Racers: Organizers held two races because of previous rainouts, and Ayden Millette and Donovan Edwards captured victories.

Millette won the first race in more than 17:21, turning back Edwards by 683-thousandths of a second, with Doug Warren 1.163 seconds behind for third place.

Edwards turned the tables in the nightcap for his first victory of the year, beating Millette by 0.450 of a second. Ryley Music was third, 1.206 seconds behind Edwards, after placing just 11th in the opening field of 17.

Music took the first green flag with a two-point lead on Edwards and a five-point edge on Millette, who has a series-high three victories.

UCAR: Brent Burgess took just over eight minutes to record a 25-lap victory by almost half a lap. It was his second victory of the season.
Mikey Chinn was the runner-up, 10.388 seconds behind, and Thomas Fontaine took third, 10.716 off Burgess’ pace. Christian Keller, who has five victories and the points lead, was not in the field of 11.

Legends: Tommy Jackson earned a 25-lap victory in just more than 7:36, beating Cody Carlton by 596-thousandths of a second. Charlie Beals, third among 12 competitors, was 1.354 seconds off the lead.

Carlton began the evening ahead by seven points over Beals and by 24 over Jackson, who tied for the series lead with his third win of 2024.

Grand Stock: Points leader Tim Wilson prevailed over 40 laps, outracing Paul Lubno by 2.107 seconds and third-place Bill Eaker by 2.694 for his fourth victory in six races this year.

Wilson took just more than 15 minutes and 46 seconds for his triumph in the field of nine. Lubno has won the other two of the division’s six races this season.

Bandolero: Landon Burbage cruised to a 15-lap victory in about 5:04, beating runner-up Tuggie Case by 1.990 seconds and third-place Andrew Sheffield by 2.420.

Burbage began the night just 13th in points, but he equaled points leader Bryson Nichols for the series lead with three wins this year. Nichols was fourth Saturday in the field of 11.

________

Leaders from Saturday night in Hampton (car numbers):

Bandolero 15: (11 starters); 1. (3) Landon Burbage; 2. (1) Tuggie Case; 3. (54) Andrew Sheffield; 4. (80) Bryson Nichols; 5. (02) Nevaeh Edwards.

Grand Stock 40: (9 starters); 1. (17) Tim Wilson; 2. (14) Paul Lubno; 3. (29) Bill Eaker; 4. (47) Nate Lundin; 5. (22) Mike Parker.

Legends 25: (12 starters); 1. (87) Tommy Jackson; 2. (11) Cody Carlton; 3. (5) Charlie Beals; 4. (80) Jake Harberts; 5. (17) Devon Courtney.

Modified 30 #1: (9 starters); 1. (3) Brad Adams; 2. (18) DJ Valente; 3. (47) Ryley Music; 4. (64) Rick Gdovic; 5. (51) Ryan Debolt.

Modified 30 #2: (9 starters); 1. (19) Kyle Wood; 2. (2) Eric Fowlkes; 3. (3) Brad Adams; 4. (18) DJ Valente; 5. (47) Ryley Music.

UCAR 25: (11 starters); 1. (18) Brent Burgess; 2. (3) Mikey Chinn; 3. (64) Thomas Fontaine; 4. (99) Crystal West; 5. (7) Dwight Nikles.

Virginia Racers 35 #1: (17 starters); 1. (9) Ayden Millette; 2. (26) Donovan Edwards; 3. (45) Doug Warren; 4. (57) Chase Johnson; 5. (88) Jacob Derrick.

Virginia Racers 35 #2: (17 starters); 1. (26) Donovan Edwards; 2. (9) Ayden Millette; 3. (47) Ryley Music; 4. (88) Jacob Derrick; 5. (78) Atley Wiese.

After the Jumbo Shrimp scored twice on a Holliday error in the top of the ninth, Nick Maton led off the bottom half with a double. Maverick Handley bunted him to third, and Holliday drove him home with a fly ball to right field.

The Tides (48-52, 12-13 in the International League’s second half) will try to gain a split of six games against the Jumbo Shrimp (49-51, 14-11) when they play their series finale at 4:05 p.m. Sunday.

Consecutive RBI doubles by Kyle Stowers and Billy Cook in the third inning put Norfolk ahead 2-1. Deyvison De Los Santos’ home run in the fourth and Victor Mesa Jr.’s RBI single in the fifth pulled Jacksonville even at 2.

Tides starter Bruce Zimmermann pitched five innings, his longest outing since returning from the injured list July 3. He struck out two, walked none and gave up six hits and two runs.

In the sixth, Cook doubled and scored on successive flyouts, the second by Niko Goodrum. Cook scored again in the eighth, this time on a Goodrum single, for a 4-2 Tides lead. Cook has 21 multiple-hit games, including three in a row.

In the Shrimp’s ninth, reliever Kade Strowd got the first two batters to ground out, but walked José Devers and pinch hitter Griffin Conine. Javier Sanoja then hit a ground ball to Holliday, one of baseball’s top prospects, whose throwing error allowed both runners to score. Strowd (3-2) still got the victory by retiring Mesa on a ground ball to second.

Norfolk’s Justin Armbruester (2-3), who has been pitching better lately than his season earned-run average of 7.38 indicates, is scheduled to pitch Sunday against fellow right-hander Valente Bellozo (2-2, 3.94).

7 Cities Pro-Am tourney bracket set

Six teams are in the bracket for the Hampton Roads 7 Cities Pro-Am Basketball League’s one-day championship tournament Sunday at Norview High in Norfolk.

The first round will feature NewRunz against ECG at 11 a.m., followed by Team Brown against Harvey Lindsay at 12:30.

In the semifinals, First Class Real Estate will meet Sunday’s first victor at 1:45 p.m., followed by the Tidewater Wildcats against today’s second winner at 3. The championship game is planned for 4:15.

Roberts promoted on CNU women’s staff as Rader joins it

Chantel Roberts was elevated to the lead assistant coach position on Christopher Newport women’s coach Bill Broderick’s staff, and Katy Rader has been added as an assistant coach.

With Roberts on the staff, the Captains have compiled a 58-3 record, including an NCAA Division III runner-up finish in 2022-23. Rader was on those teams, and she was 109-8 in five years as a CNU player.

Terrance Gist and Julia Duggan will return as CNU assistants.

BASEBALL

Pilots fall in regular-season finale, will start playoffs at home Sunday night

The Peninsula Pilots finished their regular season with an inconsequential 10-0 loss Saturday night at Morehead City.

Having won both halves of the Coastal Plain League’s East Division season, they’ll be at home for Game 1 at 7 p.m. Sunday against the Wilmington Sharks at War Memorial Stadium in Hampton in the division’s best-of-three championship series.

The Pilots (34-13) had just two hits — one each by Darnell Parker and Grayson Fitzwater, who finished his season with a .349 average — off six Marlins pitchers. The third of them, Carson Gipson, pitched two innings for the victory.

Losing pitcher Walker Fuller gave up three earned runs, three walks and four hits in two innings, and he was followed to the mound by three teammates.

Marlins leadoff batter Ben Hamacher was 2 for 3 with three runs, and teammates Luke Scales and Casey Kleinman scored twice each to help Morehead City finish 25-21.

Game 2 of the Pilots’ playoff series will be in Wilmington on Monday. If Game 3 is necessary, it will be at War Memorial Stadium at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

TRACK AND FIELD

Wilson gains USATF weekly honor

Chesapeake native Quincy Wilson was named the USA Track & Field Athlete of the Week after he broke his own under-18 world record again in the 400 meters. The former Great Bridge Middle student, who now attends Bullis Prep in Maryland, ran 44.20 at the Holloway Pro Classic in Florida.

Marrion, a Great Bridge High graduate who soon will compete in the Big Ten for Illinois, shot a 3-under-par 67 in the final round for a 10-under-par 270, equaling Kinder. The former New Kent High star and Christopher Newport All-American, a two-time individual runner-up in NCAA Division III, finished at 69.

UNC Greensboro’s Branden Boyce, who shared the third-round lead, fired a final-round 70 for third place at 9 under.

Bobby Dudeck, a former Jamestown High and Radford standout, carded a final-round 70 to complete 72 holes at 8-under 272, tying rising 11th-grader Smith Summerlin of Raleigh, North Carolina, for fourth place.

Marrion bogeyed three holes in his final round, but made up for them with birdies on holes 2, 3, 6, 8, 11 and 18. Kinder birdied 2, 3 and 6, but bogeyed 5 and 12.

In the playoff, both players missed the fairway. Kinder’s second shot was just long and left. It kicked hard off the side of the green and into a hazard. Marrion played his second shot to 15 feet and two-putted for the win after Kinder’s par chip missed.

Kinder, playing in the last group for the third time in the past four years, had a chance to win outright in regulation, but his 9-foot birdie putt slid just by the hole.

Marrion became the eighth Hampton Roads resident to win the event, joining Tom Strange, Curtis Strange, Steve Liebler, JP Leigh, Sean Dougherty, Roger Newsom and Evan Beck.

Sixty-two players completed all 72 holes after making the cut at 5-over 145 or better through 36 holes.

Former Hickory High and Radford player Patrick Gareiss (tied for 13th, 3 under), recent Jamestown High graduate and future West Virginia player Ryan Leach (T-16, 2 under), Churchland High graduate and Washington and Lee University standout Jonathan McEwen (T-21, 1 under) and William & Mary player Preston Burton (T-34, 2 over) were among them.