Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
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JULY 31-AUGUST 6, 2019 UCW 21 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM Heat issues in focus as fall practice opens by EARL VAUGHAN JR. After consecutive months of record-setting heat in June and July, high school football players and other outdoor fall sports athletes return to the practice fields in force Aug. 1 for the first official day of North Carolina High School Athletic Association preseason workouts. Heat is always a concern for athletes in Fayetteville and Cumberland County, but the string of triple-digit heat index days that were recorded during the last two months makes the challenge of keeping athletes safe in the heat a major focus heading into August. Vernon Aldridge, student activities director for Cumberland County Schools, said heat awareness is always a priority for his office and the coaches and athletes he helps to oversee. "Every athletic trainer is equipped with a wet bulb, and there's a heat protocol for what's sup- posed to take place at different temperatures on the wet bulb,'' Aldridge said. The wet bulb Aldridge referred to is a specially designed thermometer that is covered with a water-soaked cloth. Used in conjunction with a standard dry bulb thermometer, it measures the relative humidity of the air. The reading warns when precautions, up to and including suspending outdoor practice, should be taken. The NCHSAA Handbook requires constant observation and supervision of all athletes at out- door practices when the wet bulb temperature reaches 88-89.9 degrees. Once it hits 90 or above, all practice should be suspended. If that happens dur- ing an actual game, mandatory breaks are required. Aldridge said Cumberland County has long adhered to those policies, while also making sure athletes get frequent water breaks and that water is readily available in all practice situations. "We have misters that will be out to help keep the players cool,'' he said. If a true heat emergency takes place, each school needs to have an immer- sion pool on-site so they can immediately put a player suffering from any symptoms of heat illness in the pool and cool them off. Aldridge said that specifically in the case of foot- ball, where all the extra equipment increases the danger of heat illness, teams are discouraged from practicing between the hours of 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. "Most of our football teams practice either early in the morning or late in the evening,'' Aldridge said. "If for some reason the heat does come in earlier, I send out emails to the schools letting them know we are going to extend that time to 10 a.m. or 7 p.m. We keep a close eye on the heat index and try to make those decisions to keep the kids safe. "That will be our No. 1 priority.'' Local athletes shine in East-West All-Star games by EARL VAUGHAN JR. Here's a brief recap of how Cumberland County's players fared in the annual East-West All-Star foot- ball and basketball games held earlier this month in Greensboro in conjunction with the annual North Carolina Coaches Association Clinic. Basketball: Wake Forest-bound Alex Scruggs of E.E. Smith High School was named Most Valuable Player for the East girls' team as she led her squad to an 81-78 victory. The East built a comfortable 48-35 lead at halftime but had to hold off a strong West rally to get the win. Scruggs hit nine of 14 shots from the floor and one of three 3-pointers for a game-high 20 points. She led the East in rebounding with eight. East teammate Kendal Moore of Pine Forest, who's headed for N.C. State, also stood out with 17 points. She made six of 14 shots, two of six from 3-point range, and grabbed three rebounds. Scruggs and Moore both started in the game. Terry Sanford's Kate Perko, who will attend Meredith, scored two points and had four rebounds. Pine Forest's David May got the win as head coach, his final game as a head coach as he will be step- ping into an assistant's role next season. In the boys basketball game, Brion McLaurin of Seventy-First and his East teammates had a tough night as they lost to the West 119-80. McLaurin was one of four East players in double figures, coming off the bench to score 11 points on four of nine shoot- ing from the field. He made his only 3-point attempt. He was the East's No. 2 rebounder with six. Football: The East's Kyler Davis of Seventy-First and Dante Bowlding of Terry Sanford both started and contributed to a dominating 20-8 win over the West All-Stars. Davis earned a spot in the East-West All-Star game record book when he threw an 81-yard touchdown pass to Lamont Murray of Pamlico County in the first quarter. That broke the record for longest completed pass in game history by two yards. Davis finished with five completions in nine attempts and no interceptions for 116 yards. Bowlding started in the secondary for an East defense that totally throttled the West. The West team got no first downs in the game and finished with minus 15 total yards, including minus 36 rushing. The only touchdown the West scored came on a fumble return in the first period. Also enjoying the win for the East was Seventy- First head coach Duran McLaurin, who served as an assistant coach on the East staff. Alex Scruggs Vernon Aldridge Kyler Davis & 6-8pm MONDAY Congratulations to the 126 scholar-athletes earning college scholarships in 2019! BRINGING YOU THE BEST IN CUMBERLAND COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS