Athletics

Cannon relay team is among nation’s best

By C. JEMAL HORTON, July 7, 2021

CONCORD – Cannon School’s girls 4x200 relay team had already proven it was one of the best in North Carolina, based on its performance at the N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association track & field meet in May.

Last month, the quartet of Monique Moore, Sofia Rooney, Ellery Biehler and Teri Pridgen traveled across the country to prove it was one of the best in the United States.

Competing at the University of Oregon’s historic Hayward Field, site of the recent U.S. Olympic Trials, Cannon’s vaunted 4x200 relay team finished ninth in the nation at the U.S. High School Outdoor Nationals.

The Cougars clocked a time of 1 minute, 47.13.

The team features a good mixture of runners in different grades. Rooney is a highly regarded senior who has signed to compete in track at the University of Notre Dame and finished second in the NCISAA in the 400 meters. She also excels in the hurdles events and heptathlon. Rooney is regarded as one of the best track athletes in school history, as she holds several school records.

Pridgen is a ballyhooed freshman who won the NCISAA’s 200-meter dash championship while finishing second in the 100. She was also sixth in the long jump. Pridgen has already received interest from several major college programs, and she had some of the fastest times in the individual sprints in North Carolina this season, be it public school or private school.

Moore, a junior, was fifth in the 200 at the NCISAA meet and also competes in several events. Biehler, another talented freshman for the Cougars, excels in the jumping events while also being a competitive runner with a bright future.

Cannon School’s girls 4x200 relay team of, from left, Monique Moore, Sofia Rooney, Ellery Biehler and Teri Pridgen pose for a photo at the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field.

Photo by Darren Biehler.

GIRLS BASKETBALL Cannon makes history by winning program’s first state championship

By JOE HABINA, Independent Tribune, February 27, 2021

CONCORD – Maybe you’d expect the sigh-of-relief moment of a double-digit victory to come much earlier than in the last 65 seconds, but this was no ordinary game for the Cannon School girls basketball team.

Playing in the N.C. Independent School Athletic Association 4A state championship game on the Cougars’ home floor Saturday, an inspired North Raleigh Christian Academy squad would not grant Cannon any level of comfort, relief, or satisfaction until the game’s final minute.

Not until the Cougars’ Sydney Wood drilled a fist pumpinducing 3-pointer with 1 minute, 5 seconds remaining and added another for good measure 26 seconds later did Cannon School’s 53-39 triumph feel safe.

What it also secured was the program’s first state championship. “(I’m) excited as all get-out,” said winning coach Kelvin Drakeford minutes after draping around his neck the championship net he helped cut down. “We expected it, but it’s a great feeling I have. Especially starting out my first year (2017-18) being 4-15 and three years later winning a state championship.”

“(Wood) put a dagger (in NRCA),” Drakeford added. “For her to catch her stride and feel good in this game was huge. She had some games where she was off. But this game, the first one she shot and the second one she shot (both in the first quarter) went in, and I’m like ‘They’re in for a long night.’”

Wood, a senior guard who finished with four 3-pointers for 12 total points, scored six of Cannon School’s first nine points, then scored its final six. In between was a hard fought, nip-and-tuck contest which had the Cougars vulnerable at certain points.

The state championship was an especially sweet way to cap senior Reigan Richardson’s season – and high school career. The six-foot guard averaged 27 points, 10.4 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 4.2 steals this season. She was also named a McDonald’s All-American, and the Charlotte Observer’s Player of the Year. Reigan will play basketball at the University of Georgia this fall.

Led by 6-foot-3 junior Imani Lester and sophomore point guard Madison Mims, who is more than a foot shorter than her towering teammate, NRCA’s defensive effort frustrated Cannon School in the first half, including the Cougars’ McDonald’s All-American guard, Reigan Richardson.

Lester scored half of NRCA’s 22 first-half points and helped the Knights outrebound Cannon School over the first two quarters by an 11-5 margin. NRCA – coached by Avie Lester, a former N.C. State standout and Imani Lester’s father – interchanged man-to-man and zone defenses against the Cougars with Mims and fellow guard Maddy Powell trapping Cannon School ball-handlers near midcourt.

The Cougars committed 14 turnovers in the first half, including five on steals by Mims. Cannon School also missed all five of its free throw attempts before halftime.

“We know (Richardson’s) a good player,” said Avie Lester. “So what we want to do is just have bodies in front of her. We were able to really do that in the first half. But our two starting guards got in foul trouble (in the second half), and we couldn’t do the same type of pressure.”

Said starting point guard Zoe Edwards, one of eight Cannon School seniors: “It was tough because I was just getting frustrated. I kept getting (the ball) stolen and wasn’t getting calls. (Cannon assistant) coach (Ashley Rivens) told me to keep leaning into (Mims) and eventually we’d figure it out. I could get off the ball and get my teammates involved.”

Another problem for Cannon School was Richardson’s foul trouble. She picked up her third foul at the second quarter’s 4:25 mark and missed most of the rest of the first half. The Cougars managed only two points without her – an Anna Galloway jumper from the free throw line – and fell behind 22-19 at halftime.

Some of the first half’s trends, including Cannon School’s defensive tactics, reversed themselves after halftime. Led by freshman forward Seini Hicks, the Cougars forced Imani Lester out of her comfort zone in the lane and out toward the 3-point arc. In the second half, Lester took more shots from outside the paint than inside and scored just five more points to finish with a team-high 16.

Hicks, who finished with seven points and six rebounds, offered this explanation of her team’s second-half defensive strategy against Lester: “Just keep on pressuring her. Just get in her head; she’s a very mental player. As long as we get in her head, we’re good. When we’re at the post, just keep pressuring her, keep a body on her, not spacing her out,” Hicks said. Led by Hicks, Richardson, and Jamyrah Cherry, Cannon School also outrebounded NRCA in the second half, 19-7. But what was most important for the Cougars after halftime was that Richardson got hot offensively.

Aided by ball screens from the likes of Hicks and Galloway, Richardson was able to maneuver much more freely in the halfcourt game. Being freed up for 3-pointers and drives to the basket, Richardson scored 12 of her game-high 24 points in the third quarter.

When the Knights shifted their double-teams to focus just on Richardson, the University of Georgia signee regularly found the open teammate. All four of her assists came in the second half.

Although Cannon School carried a 39-31 edge into the fourth quarter, the outcome was far from decided. A Mims’ layup, two free throws from Lester, and a floater by Emma Finster closed the Knights’ gap to 39-37 with 4:32 left in the game.

“My mind went to being solid on defense,” said Drakeford. “It’s a game of runs and we’ve been preaching all year that if we can’t score we’ve got to be good on defense. Our offense is going to come, but we have to be good defensively.”

But Cannon School scored in bunches over the final four minutes. Edwards drilled a 3 from the right corner, Richardson completed a traditional three-point play, Hicks was wide open for a layup, and Woods connected on her two 3-pointers to complete a 14-2 run to close the game.

Afterward, Richardson, who scored her 2,000th career point earlier in the week, reflected on her three years at Cannon School.

“I’ve been here since sophomore year, and it’s been a great experience,” she said. “I’m going to miss everyone here: my seniors, my teammates, the teachers, the coaching staff, everybody.

BOYS BASKETBALL Against the odds, Cannon boys truly earn a second straight state title

By C. Jemal Horton, March 3, 2021

Twice as nice! The boys’ varsity basketball team celebrates backto-back state championships.

MATTHEWS – If you’ve ever seen any of Che Roth’s social media posts about his beloved Cannon School boys basketball team, then you know the hashtag he uses to close each one.

#EarnIt

It’s a mantra he uses to motivate his players to work hard, even beyond the hardwood, and never before was there a greater example of the Cougars embodying that hashtag than this postseason.

On Saturday evening, the Cougars completed a rigorous playoff run that required them to win games on the home floors of three of their four opponents, defeating Matthews Carmel Christian, 94-85, on the last leg to claim their second consecutive state championship.

This was a Cannon team that started the season a tad underrated, partly because it lost one of the nation’s best point guards in Jaden Bradley, who transferred to a basketball factory in Florida, and partly because repeating in the N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association, especially at the 4A level, is one of the hardest things to do in high school sports.

But these Cougars pulled it off. They earned it. They did it with grit, talent and teamwork.

Standing at center court, with the Carmel Christian still rocking and a championship medal draped around his neck, Cougars star guard Jarvis Moss was happy to be No. 1 again, but he seemed more pleased with the WAY his team got back to the top: in a hostile environment and against many odds.

“I actually don’t know how to feel, but it’s just an amazing feeling,” said Moss, who has committed to play for Stanford University. “We won back-to-back. We worked hard for it. A lot of people doubted us, but we just proved a lot of people wrong."

“Of course, we lost Jaden, but it’s a next-man-up mentality with this team. Everybody had a bigger role, but nobody complained. We just put our heads down and got to work.”

“Our team is resilient,” Moss yelled in the still-noisy gym (after defeating Carmel Christian). “It doesn’t matter if (an opponent) is going on a 10-0 run or a 20-0 run, we find a way to come together and make it work.

“This was definitely a different season. We had to wear masks in games, but we didn’t complain. We put our heads down and went to work and proved everybody wrong. We deserved this. Everybody worked hard, everybody put in extra hours in the gym. We just did it.” They all did. This might sound like an exaggeration, but every Cougar who stepped on the court rose to the occasion. It was masterful.

In his final game, senior forward Elijah Ormiston was huge. He’s 6 foot 8, but he seemed to get taller whenever Carmel players ventured inside for what they thought would be simple layups, only for Ormiston to appear and alter their shots.

Ormiston was a threat offensively, too, finishing with 18 points, going to the hoop with authority.

Defensively, when Ormiston wasn’t making Carmel players redirect their shots, Reeves was. The junior center had 12 points, and his ridiculous wingspan seemed to grow as the game became more intense.

“I’m really excited,” Reeves said. “Last year, I was coming off injury and I was out of shape, and I didn’t contribute as much, so this one means a little bit more to me. It’s just a great feeling.”

The loud Carmel fans didn’t bother him, either.

“Unfortunately, we haven’t been too lucky with where we had to play, because we had to play (Charlotte) Latin at Latin, Greensboro (Day) at Greensboro and Carmel at Carmel. But it just feels great to get it here.”

There were so many other Cougars who starred in their roles.

Speaking of which, senior guard Deuce Rolle scored 12 points, but more impressive might’ve been his tough defense and timely assists in the late going. He was also perfect from the line (4-for-4).

Both Rolle and junior Karon Boyd – a pair of unsung heroes on this team, along with Ormiston – left it all on this Matthews court, using all five of their fouls while going against Carmel’s talented and aggressive players.

It was all of them, down to the freshman Swartz, who stepped to the line when Carmel players fouled him intentionally and showed the moxie of a veteran, calmly knocking down his free throws.

Moss (14 points) and Nix, the team’s two leading scorers this season, were their usual big-game selves. You could see that each of them wanted the ball as the game got tighter, not to be individual heroes but to help their team.

They were that confident, that in control.

When Moss went to the free throw line with 2:07 remaining, the Carmel students did what all wisecracking fans do to distract a star player from another team: They started chanting, “Overrated! Overrated!” at the future Pac-12 player.

It didn’t bother Moss at all.

Swish and swish.

His two free throws pushed the Cannon lead to 10 points, then it was back to the other end to play defense.

Enough said.

And Nix?

Please.

The kid was so confident while he was shooting free throws, at one point in the final minutes, as soon as he released the second of two foul shots, he was basically headed back down the court. He knew it was going in.

It made the repeat that much sweeter.

“Oh, my goodness!” Nix said afterward. “This only happens once for most people, but for me, it’s happened twice now. I can only say it’s like eating your favorite food over and over again. It’s so good, and I’m just happy to be here again. Words can’t even describe it.”

You just did a pretty good job, DJ.

But what impressed me the most about Nix all night weren’t his team-high 20 points or perfect free throw shooting. It was something he did after the game was over.

As a veteran sports writer, it’s still hard for me to see young players hurting when they lose big games. And the Carmel players had a really tough task after they’d lost and received their runner-up medals: In order to get to their locker room, they had to walk right past the Cannon players, who were celebrating with their own student section that made the trip from Concord.

In the midst of it all, Nix looked to the side and saw all the opponents walking past, heads hung low. Nix stepped away from his own celebration and took the time to shake the hands and pat the backs of every Carmel player and coach he could.

THAT’S a champion.

Cannon finished its season with a 27-5 record. It won a second consecutive Charlotte Independent Schools Athletic Association title. And, of course, it got its second state title in a row.

Cannon’s coach was a proud man.

“It’s an unbelievable feeling,” said Roth. “I just feel so much joy and happiness for our players. They’ve been so resilient all year. They’ve stuck together, weathered storms. This whole year, to even get to this point, is a blessing. But to come away and win a championship, back-to-back, it’s just a testament to our kids and how tough they are and how resilient they are and how together they are.

“We’ve been battle-tested,” he added. “We’ve played a big schedule the last several years, and (our players have) been in these moments. And big-time players make bigtime plays in big-time moments, and we had a lot of kids step up tonight and make big-time contributions. It’s 100 percent a team championship. This team is just special.”

The scary part, I believe, is that Cannon is just starting to take off. I truly see a dynasty emerging, which is hard to establish in the NCISAA. But that’s what I believe we are witnessing. Yes, players like Moss and Ormiston will be going on to college ball, but we see what the team did this season, even after Bradley took his talents to IMG Academy. (And for the record, Bradley is a great kid who deserves everything good he gets.)

And with guys like Nix, Reeves and Boyd coming back for their senior years, and Swartz and Jaylen Claggett only going into their sophomore seasons… my goodness.

And I hear there’s some other young talent coming through the Cannon ranks. There always is, as most of the players from this year’s team played middle school ball together at Cannon.

But for now, all that matters is what these Cougars did this year, putting together a truly magical season.

Asked Saturday evening how he would sum up what his team did this season, Roth channeled his inner DJ Khaled.

“We’re the best,” he said with a broad smile. “Our kids didn’t bat an eye. Every challenge, they stepped up. It was guys playing big, guys playing small. They didn’t care; it was next man up. They competed their tails off.

“We’re the best, and we had to earn the right to say that.”

Of course, they did.

CONGRATULATIONS TO BOYS GOLF – STATE CHAMPS!