Yesterday afternoon I took the time to answer a couple of questions that I had been asked and I think some folks felt I was bothered by something. Trust me, I can’t waste time getting bothered. There’s too much to accomplish and no guarantee on how long we get here on Earth to surrender time to being bothered.

 If I was on the otherside of whats taking place here I would want to ask me a question, like Dude have you lost your mind ? I pursue life in the same manner that Alyssa Ervin plays basketball or Emma Leath throws a Softball. Give it 100% every minute your out there and worry about the rest later.

 Jon Ervin took a minute to ask me a question the other day, why here ? How did I end up in Laurel Fork, Virginia ?

  The sign up top, if I had graphic design capabilities (I have less than none) would have a photo 📷 of My Mother 👩 to the left (Cumberland Gap) and a photo 📷 of my Dad to the right (Buggs Island 🏝 Lake). They were both born and raised on US-58 so if I was going to move off our Island in the Pacific Northwest in hopes of making a difference it was certainly going to be on the US-58 corridor. I came back to my roots.

Thank You Jon for the question !

 Intelligent questions of one another is how we continue to move in the right direction!

I want to add a note 📝 about just how much fun it was last night for me to try and add atmosphere to our ball games.

 Softball is where I exist and this year I did the same for Cindy Edwards and once for West Long. When it comes to the Hoops I am the substitute teacher that hangs around in case he or she is needed.

 In an analogy that possibly only Greg “Mr.T” Talley will appreciate. Johnny Carson would joke about Joey Bishop always chomping at the bit to get to host the show as he was the substitute Show Host.

Carson would talk about Bishop sending him ” Get Sick Soon Cards”.

 Anytime Mr. Mathews reaches out he knows that I’m thrilled to be the fill in.

 Next on the writing ✍ list is Greg Talley and Table #5

It was rather obvious during the pregame warm-ups that Head Coach Marc Motley was going to have the majority of his players back but they were going to be far from being 100% healthy. Fortunately they defeated a good Floyd County team 60-53 by gutting one out on Wednesday night in front of a packed house.

 The Lady Cavaliers picked up another Three Rivers District victory over the Buffaloes but traded in their speed and grace for grit and determination. 48 hours after having five players not available at James River due to a combination of illness and injury, the Cavaliers more players on the bench but clearly less fuel in the tank.

  Kiley Hylton proved to be a handful all night and she led Floyd County with a game high 25 points. By the end of the night Motley has sending help on the defensive end in hopes of slowing down the gifted scorer.

 Carroll County trailed early by double digits, 18-8, appearing to be in danger of being on the wrong end of the scoreboard for a second consecutive contest. The turning point came just as the first half was coming to an end. Alyssa Ervin picked the pocket of the player she was guarding and scored on a lay-up just before the buzzer to get Carroll County to within 26-20.

 The halftime break allowed the players to drink plenty of fluids, catch their breath and regroup. The only player that appeared to be playing at normal speed was Sophomore Corrie Delp. Delp’s energy on both ends of the floor in the second half was one of the keys to the victory.

 The gritty Cavaliers made some adjustments on the defensive end and it paid off in spades ♠️ in the third quarter. Floyd County was limited to 11 points in the third quarter and both Ervin and fellow Senior Katie Lam warmed up in a much slower paced offense. The duo combined for 21 of the Cavaliers 23 points, allowing the home team to carry a 43-37 lead into the final eight minutes.

Lam opened the scoring in the fourth quarter with her fourth 3-pointer and suddenly the lead was 46-37. The trouble was everyone not named Delp was starting to slow down half a step.

Floyd County went on an 11-2 run to pull within 55-50 with 1:15 remaining. Motley called a timeout to allow his group one last chance to catch their breath. The team came back on the court and finished off the Buffaloes by Ervin driving and dishing to Madison Lyons for a lay-up on consecutive possessions to put the game out of reach.

” We were far from full strength out there tonight,” said Motley. ” I am so proud of the effort they gave us, especially in the second half.”

 Once again seven Cavaliers played and each of them contributed at key moments throughout the evening. Ervin finished with 24 and Lam dropped 19 on five 3-pointers but they don’t cross the finish line without Madison Lyons (7 points), Sarah Alderman (3 points) and Delp (3 points). Both Callie Harris and Casey Young made their lone baskets during the four quarter push to protect the lead.

Fortunately the Lady Cavaliers will enjoy a day off now before returning to The Hill Friday night to host Patrick County at 5:30pm. Friday night will be an event more so than a normal basketball double header. Among the things taken place is this years Hall of Fame class will be honored in between the contests.

Earlier in the evening the Kayla Show was in full force. Head Coach Kayla Nester collected another victory with Kayla Young pouring in 20 points during the 48-37 victory. Both Laynie-Jo Leonard and Faith Clontz added eight points to help secure the win. The entire team played tough defense from start to finish, allowing the team to avenge an overtime loss at Floyd County.

It is worth noting that Carroll County just completed a four game sweep over their neighbors to the East. Not sure about the number of times that has happened over the years we have been playing against the Buffaloes.

 Ervin’s 24 points has her 14 points shy of tying the School record currently held by Erin Gibson. Assuming she continues to regain her strength that bit of School history will just be one more part of an amazing evening on Friday.

Every morning when I wake up the first thing I ask myself is who can a direct kindness to. Somedays there is no platform other then my writing but I received a text message at 8:48 am from Darren Mathews. The message was short,” are you available to announce tonight “?

My answer was YES and I think I responded before Darren set his phone down. See, in my mind the only thing I do better than write ✍ is public speaking. I immediately went into serious thought about how can I make the atmosphere in the Gymnasium on The Hill more electric?

 The first two were no Brainers, I was going to acknowledge Carlie Beamer and I was going to show my appreciation for Coach Kayla Nester and the Parents of the starting 5. I asked Chris Leonard and Kevin Burress to help spread the word so the parents would know it was coming. The only sad thing about doing something like that is that I can’t share in the experience because I am too focused on not goofing it up.

 #3 – Stay with the call from start to finish, apply the same energ. Just slightly less volume.

#4 – Acknowledge the Cheerleaders every time they perform.

#5 – Show some Love towards the Dance 💃 team ahead of their routine.

 The Bonus one was using 3 otherwise wasted minutes at halftime to have some fun while also supporting the Boys 👦 Basketball program. Isaiah Easter did a nice job answering my questions and I think it played out as well to the public as it did in my head. Another opportunity to prepare someone for public speaking !

 With all of that done let’s take a look at the Basketball game itself. If Homer McHomerson covers the Boys 👦 we will let Henrietta McHomerson be the beat writer for the Girls JV team.

 Lady Cavaliers hold off Floyd County 48-37 in crucial Three Rivers District game.

By : Henrietta McHomerson

The Hill – Kayla Young paced the Carroll County High School offense with her 20 points and the tenacious team defense did the rest in the teams 48-37 victory Wednesday night.

The team defense limited the Buffaloes to just 12 first half points while building a 24-12 halftime advantage. Head Coach Kayla Nester returned from the lockeroom saying two halves make a whole as her team was trying to answer an Overtime loss at Floyd County earlier in the year.

CCHS extended their lead across the third quarter, eventually pushing their lead to 35-19 before Floyd County mounted its comeback. The Buffaloes started to press full court and quickly mounted a 10-1 run to cut the lead to 36-29. Young netted five of her 20 points down the stretch and Natalie Burress scored all four of her points in the closing minutes to allow the Cavaliers to hold on and close out yet another victory.

 Once the victory was finally secured Coach Nester was able to enjoy the moment.

“So proud of how my girls played tonight. They are battling right here at the end of the season and we are playing our best basketball, which is what you want in the end. I get compliments about these girls being well coached all the time, but it has nothing to do with me. That is 110% a testament to their work ethic and determination to get better everyday. Coaching is easy when they want to get better and play hard. “

 Seven Cavaliers contributed to the point total with both Faith Clontz and Laynie-Jo Leonard contributing eight points apiece. Both CC Mitchell and Kenzie McMillan added three points in the second half and Raylee Goins rounded out the scoring with two points.

Carroll County will return to action 🎬 on Thursday across Lovers Leap, against Patrick County as part of a doubleheader along with the Boys JV.

FCHS… 6 6 7 18 – 37

CCHS.. 12 12 11 13- 48

Nice Crowd !