Up & Coming Weekly

August 08, 2017

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.

Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/859123

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 25 of 32

AUGUST 9 - 15, 2017 UCW 25 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM The expanded version of the Cumberland County Football Jamboree begins a two-day run Wednesday and continues Thursday with Cape Fear and South View High Schools hosting the event. Vernon Aldridge, student activities director of Cumberland County Schools, has been working overtime the past few months, expanding the field for the jamboree and contacting sponsors to seek financial support and donations of various services to make the jamboree a bigger event for the fans and competing teams. "I've been really happy with the way the business community has supported the jamboree,'' he said. "Next year, I'd like to amp it up a little more and get to a point where we're giving a $500 scholarship to each participating school.'' This year's jamboree will include all 10 Cumberland County Schools as usual, joined by an assortment of Cape Fear region teams including East Columbus, Overhills, Triton, Union Pines, Hoke County and Lee County. Eight teams from outside the region, headed by traditional 4-A power Richmond Senior coached by former Terry Sanford and Cape Fear head coach Bryan Till, will also be taking part. Tickets are $8 each night and can be purchased in advance at ncprepsports.net. Aldridge said fans who buy tickets prior to the jamboree can enter through the pass gate at each location and won't have to wait in line to buy a ticket. A total of 18 businesses have either provided money or services to the jambo- ree this year, Aldridge said. One addition was a small meal for each player and coach consisting of a hot dog, chips and bottled water for them to have following their scrimmage. Aside from the larger field of teams and two days of play, the biggest change for the jamboree is a return to local high school fields after a few years at Fayetteville State. Fayetteville State did a good job hosting the event, Aldridge said, but the prin- cipals, athletic directors and coaches voted unanimously to return the jambo- ree to a high school campus in order to keep more of the gate receipts with the schools. "All of the money will be used to offset athletic expenses at the middle and high schools,'' Aldridge said of the jamboree ticket sales. "We use this money to help offset large purchases and send our coaches to the clinic in the summer and to pro - vide training courses for coaches and athletic directors.'' Cumberland County Football Jamboree 2017 Schedule Tickets: $8 both days. • WEDNESDAY at Cape Fear 6:30 p.m. – East Columbus vs. Farmville Central; Pfafftown Reagan vs. Overhills. 7:30 p.m. – Triton vs. E.E. Smith; Union Pines vs. Douglas Byrd. 8:30 p.m. – Richmond Senior vs. Cape Fear; West Johnston vs. Terry Sanford. • THURSDAY at South View 6:30 p.m. – Hoke County vs. Gray's Creek; East Montgomery vs. Westover 7:30 p.m. – Northern Nash vs. Pine Forest; Eastern Wayne vs. Jack Britt 8:30 p.m. – Lee County vs. South View; Southeast Raleigh vs. Seventy-First Cumberland County Football Jamboree by EARL VAUGHAN JR. Battle for the Bell Soccer Tournament by EARL VAUGHAN JR. Terry Sanford's Karl Molnar said soccer coaches always worry this time of year how ready their teams are for the season. Molnar is giving some of the better ones even more reason to worry as he's put together the first Battle for the Bell soccer tournament at Terry Sanford Aug. 15-19. The three-day tournament will feature some of the top programs in Cumberland County and the Cape Fear region and possibly provide a rare encounter between Terry Sanford and Fayetteville Academy. "Thanks to this tournament, everybody's first game is sooner than it would have been, and it gets competitive real quick'' Molnar said. "There are some top-level teams in this tournament.'' The field includes county pow- erhouses Terry Sanford and Pine Forest, along with the Academy. Traditionally strong region entries are Southern Lee, Pinecrest and Lee County. Molnar rates Lee County, with a number of veterans back, the early favorite. Regardless of who's favored and who isn't, Pine Forest coach Isaac Rancour said the tournament is great for soccer and a great chance to play some teams that his Trojans don't usually see. The tournament will also benefit Miller's Crew, a charity named after Molnar's son and established by him and his wife Kim. Its purpose is to raise money to provide vocational training, materi- als and equipment to help disabled people learn job schools and eventually become employed. There is a donations page at gofundme.com called Miller's Crew Classroom Crash for those who would like to contribute. "We're working together to achieve a goal, not only for soccer but to help out the community,'' Rancour said. "I think that's a great concept it's all planned around.'' Fayetteville Academy coach Andrew McCarthy agreed with Rancour and said the Eagles are honored to be part of the event. "I hope the community comes out to watch some great games,'' McCarthy said. "The tournament most importantly helps a great charity.'' Molnar said tickets to each day's play at the tournament will be $7. Vernon Aldridge, Cumberland County Schools student activities director Karl Monar, Terry Sanford soccer coach

Articles in this issue

Links on this page

Archives of this issue

view archives of Up & Coming Weekly - August 08, 2017