What was the top sports story from the Twin Counties Area in 2007?

What's your answer?

I have compiled, what I think, are the top sports stories from the area for 2007.

In no particular order, they are:

1. SouthWest Edgecombe's girls basketball team reaches the NCHSAA 3-A state championship game.

2. North Edgecombe's boys basketball team reaches the NCHSAA 1-A state championship game.

3. Former Southern Nash star Gary Tharrington helps Appalachian State to a shocker for the ages - an upset win at Michigan.

4. Rocky Mount's football team posts a record 14 wins en route to the NCHSAA 3-A East finals.

5. N.C. Wesleyan's football team wins the USA South title, makes the NCAA D-III playoffs and wins a game - posting nine straight victories in the process!

6. Northern Nash's baseball team reaches the NCHSAA 3-A East finals series.

7. Rocky Mount's B.W. Holt records his 300th career football victory.

8. Former Southern Nash star Gary Tharrington is a defensive stalwart for Appalachian State in its NCAA FCA Championship Game win over Delaware.

9. Former Rocky Mount football standout Terrell Hudgins leads the nation in receptions per game and reception yards per game for Elon.

Down the right column of this page, you may vote for one these events as the top area story of 2007.

Cast your vote now! Voting ends Friday, Jan. 4!

AP selects West Charlotte's Thomas

The Associated Press has voted West Charlotte quarterback Darius Thomas as the N.C. High School Football Player of the Year for 2007.

Were you aware that only one Rocky Mount area player has won that award since its inception in 1983?

North Edgecombe's Milton Shaw did the trick in 1991.

And I was priviledged to hand him the AP plaque (in the shape of the state of N.C. ) that year during a halftime ceremony of a basketball game at North Edgecombe in January 1992. I was representing the then-called Rocky Mount Evening Telegram with the presentation.

Here is a list of all the fine athletes over the years who have won the award. See if you remember some of them:

2007--Darius Thomas, QB, West Charlotte
2006--Quan Warley, RB, Thomasville
2005--Quan Warley, RB, Thomasville
2004--Joe Cox, QB, Charlotte Independence
2003--Andre Brown, RB, Greenville Rose
2002--Chris Leak, QB, Charlotte Independence
2001--T.A. McLendon, RB, Albemarle
2000--Chris Leak, QB, Charlotte Independence
1999--Manny Deshauteurs, RB, Brevard
1998--Nick Maddox, RB, Kannapolis Brown
1997--Nick Maddox, RB, Kannapolis Brown
1996--Montrell Coley, RB, Goldsboro
1995--Marcus Reaves, RB, Fayetteville Byrd
1994--Terence Stokes, RB, Bunn
1993--Ernest Tinnin, QB, Burlington Cummings
1992--(tie) Antoine Ikard, RB, Maiden; Maurice Mebane, WR, Burlington Cummings
1991--Milton Shaw, RB, North Edgecombe
1990--Donnie Davis, QB, Burlington Cummings
1989--Mike Thomas, QB-P, Richmond County
1988--Chuckie Burnette, QB, Burlington Cummings
1987--Anthony Barbour, RB, Garner
1986--Robert Siler, RB, Siler City Jordan-Matthews
1985--Alvin Baker, RB, Claremont Bunker Hill
1984--Todd Ellis, QB, Greensboro Page
1983--Darryl McGill, RB, Southern Durham

Doughtie goes for No. 1000!

Tony Doughtie will host his 1,000th sports broadcast next week during the Nash County Christmas Tournament at Rocky Mount High School.

As host of WHIG-TV's Stretchlon Sports Show taped broadcast of the girls championship game on Friday, Dec. 28, Doughtie, who has been doing radio and TV sports programs in the Twin County area for several years, will reach his milestone performance.

His first on-air broadcast was on Aug. 30, 1971 doing color commentary of Ahoskie (now Hertford County) High school football games.

Congrats, Tony!

Hudgins selected to Walter Camp All-America Team

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Sophomore wide receiver Terrell Hudgins ( Rocky Mount, N.C./Rocky Mount) became just the second Elon University football player – and first offensive Phoenix player – to ever be named to a Walter Camp Football Foundation All-America team when the 2007 squad was announced Friday.

The team was selected by the head coaches and sports information directors of the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision and certified by UHY Advisors, a New Haven-based accounting firm.

Dubbed a First Team All-Southern Conference athlete by both the league’s coaches and media last month, Hudgins was the lone sophomore to be chosen to the 27-player All-America squad. All other selections were either juniors or seniors. Former Elon linebacker and current Jacksonville Jaguar safety Chad Nkang – the only other Phoenix player tabbed to a Walter Camp team – earned the honor as a junior in 2005.

Behind Hudgins’ leadership, Elon finished the regular season ranked 21st in the FCS Coaches' poll and 23rd in The Sports Network's poll last month. Earlier this fall, the Phoenix ranked as high as 14th in the TSN poll and as high as 15th in the FCS poll.

Elon ended the 2007 regular season ranked second in the nation in passing offense, 14th in scoring offense, 16th in passing efficiency and 20th in total offense.Hudgins concluded the regular season leading the country in both receptions per game (10.6) and receiving yards per game (134.0) and ranked 11th in the nation in scoring with 9.8 points per outing.

A Second Team All-America selection by The Associated Press last year, Hudgins hauled in a program-record 16 receptions against both Liberty and Furman this fall. He also caught an Elon-record four touchdown passes against Liberty.

With 117 catches on the season, Hudgins came away with both a Phoenix and a SoCon single-season milestone in 2007. He also set new Elon single-season plateaus with 1,474 receiving yards and 18 touchdown receptions this season.

The Walter Payton Award finalist holds a SoCon single-season record with seven games of receiving for 100 or more yards. Hudgins earned SoCon Offensive Player of the Week status once and National Offensive Player of the Week recognition twice in 2007.

The receiving duo of Hudgins and senior Michael Mayers ( Virginia Beach , Va. /Landstown) established an NCAA single-season milestone for the most receptions (207) by two teammates as well as the SoCon single-season plateau for the most receiving yards (2,528) by two teammates this fall. The previous NCAA record was 189 receptions by Mississippi Valley State 's Jerry Rice and Joe Thomas in 1984.

A Holt is born

- B.W. Holt spends time holding grandaughter Maggie

Rocky Mount football coach B.W. Holt and his wife Barbara became grandparents Tuesday morning in Bowling Green, Ky. when their daughter-in-law Kim and their son Stu became newborn parents as Kim gave birth to a baby girl.

Margaret Claire Holt was born at 10:41 a.m. weighing 6 lbs., 12.5 oz and measuring 18 3/4 inches long. Mother and daughter are doing fine.

The parents plan to call their little girl "Maggie." Maggie has a stepsister in Payton, age 9.