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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MARCH 14-20, 2018 UCW 25 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM Some big names that were fixtures on the Cape Fear High School softball roster for the last few seasons are no more. Stars like Haley Cashwell, Bri Bryant, Kaitlyn Knuckles and Kayla Molivas graduated, leaving Colt co-coach Jeff McPhail more than a few holes to fill this season. "We're probably going to go back to being young again,'' he said after leading the Colts to the 4-A championship series with North Davidson last year. "It will be hard to replace Haley and Bri and all of them, but these kids have been at workouts over the fall and winter, really working hard at it.'' e good news for McPhail is pitching returns intact – with an important addition. Both Katie Murphy and MacKenzie Peters are back for the Colts. ey're joined by a senior newcomer, Frankie Steins. Steins was an All-State selection at J.L. Mann High School in Greenville, Sout Carolina, last year. Originally from Southern Regional High School in New Jersey, she's won a United States Specialty Sports Association World Series title and the Pony Nationals. She has committed to play for North Carolina Central University. "I think she's going to help us,'' McPhail said. "With Murphy and Peters throwing the ball, we're going to be loaded up with three pitchers.'' Replacing all the offense lost with the exit of Cashwell and Bryant will be the big concern for McPhail. Fortunately, some productive bats do return in the form of Sammi Jo Loney, Alyssa Goshorn and Sidney Gronowski. Loney batted .450 and was second to Bryant in the county in RBIs with 48. Gronowski batted .333 and drove in 32 runs. Goshorn had 28 RBIs. "Sammi Jo is the leader of the crop,'' McPhail said. Loney said the feeling is a little different on this year's team with all the graduation losses, but she said that familiar Cape Fear chemistry is there. "Everybody has gotten the feel for it,'' she said. "We're getting to know each other and working really good together.'' She thinks with the addition of Steins, pitching will continue to be solid. "She's a good pitcher and has pretty good movement,'' Loney said. Aside from the changes in personnel, the Colts will be facing some new opponents when it comes state playoff time. Realignment moved them into the 3-A classifica- tion, and in some ways McPhail thinks the road to a state title could be tougher than it was as a 4-A team. "Hillsborough Orange is back and West Brunswick is bringing everybody back,'' he said. Greenville D.H. Conley, a familiar Cape Fear playoff rival from 4-A, is also dropping down to compete at the 3-A level. "If we do make it to the playoffs, the competition will still be there,'' Loney said. "I think we'll do well this year.'' Sitting courtside broadcasting high school basketball games with Trey Edge for DK Sports, the itch to return to coaching just became too much for Bill Boyette. After a two-year absence, the coach who guided Terry Sanford High School to its first state basketball championship in 50 years will return to the bench this fall when he takes over as head boys coach at Fayetteville Academy. "e first year I was out, I didn't miss it that much,'' he said of his abrupt exodus from Terry Sanford. "Sitting on the sidelines sort of brought that passion back to me, which I never really lost.'' Boyette doesn't dwell on the topic, but he also had painful memories of his exit from Terry Sanford, the result of a controversy over keeping a player on the team who was facing criminal charges that were eventually dismissed. Boyette said he chose to resign from Terry Sanford after being presented with a set of parameters from school administrators that he did not agree with. "According to the North Carolina High School Athletic Association, we did nothing wrong,'' Boyette said. "I chose not to go to the media because I did not feel the need to explain anything. "A lot of people thought I was fired. I was not. I chose to resign.'' All of Boyette's coaching experience has been in public schools, so he admits he's got some things to learn about coaching basketball at the private school level. "I've known (Fayetteville Academy athlet- ic director) Chip Bishop awhile, and we have had a very good relationship,'' Boyette said. "I'm not that familiar with private schools and I've got to sit down with Chip and find out what the main differences are.'' Bishop is the former head basketball coach at the Academy and guided the Eagles to state titles in previous seasons. "I don't think my style will change, regardless of public school or private school,'' Boyette said. Boyette will not serve on the Fayetteville Academy faculty, which will allow him the freedom to con- tinue two newer pursuits he has come to enjoy. "ey were willing to work with me,'' Boyette said. "I did not want to give up my radio shows.'' Boyette said he will continue to appear with broadcast partner Trey Edge Monday nights from 6-8 p.m. on e DK Sports Page talk show they host on WFNC, 640 AM. He will also continue to do high school football broadcasts for DK Sports, but he will have to give up broadcasting high school basketball with Edge since that would conflict with his coaching job at the Academy. As soon as he learns the rules regarding offseason workouts for the private schools, he plans to start working with Academy players during the offseason. "I want to sit down and meet the players, get to know them a little bit,'' he said. "We'll go ahead and start a few days a week with individual workouts. is is a situa- tion where all I have to do is coach, there's no teaching involved, and that fits right in with my schedule.'' Boyette said he's glad to be back. "I missed work- ing with the kids,'' he said. "I'm a competitive per- son. It's in my blood.'' Passion brings Boyette back to basketball by EARL VAUGHAN JR. Colts reload following graduation losses by EARL VAUGHAN JR. The Rocket Fizz scholar athletes will resume March 21. Bill Boyette (right) and Trey Edge (left). Frankie Steins Sammi Jo Loney Attention Students: Let Your Voice Be Heard Get published in our award-winning community newspaper Up & Coming Weekly Send in your feature articles, editorials, short stories, movie and music reviews or original poetry and artwork to: highschoolhighlights@upandcomingweekly.com Subject line: High School Highlights Please include your photo and school information.