Going back a few weeks, to the point where it was obvious that barring an injury, Bryce Smoot was about to become the All-Time scoring record holder on the Boys 👦 side, I started looking for a unique angle for a story on it.

  The reason for this is because Allen Worrell and I have a terrific working relationship built on the foundation that we will never write ✍ the same story. I truly believe that its the cornerstone of our partnership.

  Allen writes the bigger stories about everything that would naturally appear in the Carroll News and I submit stories to him that in a perfect World 🌎 would be in the newspaper 📰. The third type of stories are the ones that I write because they are not going to make a daily or a weekly paper, like the amount of Junior Varsity reads that I create.

  I am thankful that it worked out that I was behind the 🎤 when the basket 🧺 that put Bryce over the Top was scored and the copy of what I wrote and read will forever be a part of the bigger journey. Allen wrote a feature story about the passing of the torch 🔦 from Tee Jackson to Bryce Smoot and its a great read. If you haven’t seen it, please check it out.

  Now its time to start working on the story as it appeared through the eyes 👀 of Brayden and Mom 👩 and Dad 👨.

To try and have a better understanding of Twin brothers playing the same sport I ended up down in Greensboro, North Carolina a few weeks ago to watch Ace Flagg play a game of High School basketball.

  Ace Flagg is the Twin brother of Duke University Freshman Cooper Flagg. While Cooper is leading the #2 team in the Country and is projected to go #1 in the NBA draft here in a few months, Ace is also on his way to playing D1 basketball at the University of Maine, near the family 👪 home.

  The parallel in the sets of twins is uncanny and let’s begin with the Love they have for each other, on and off the court. In both cases, one of the twins has taken their game to a higher level but the other brother has plenty of game himself.

The separation of the Flagg brothers came this year after Cooper reclassified to attend Duke a year earlier than normal. Its worth noting that another set of twins, the Boozer Brothers (Sons of Carlos) are set to play together at Duke next year.

  Bryce and Brayden have their Senior season together and they have made the most of it up to this point. Playing for Head Coach Anthony Barnes, the team is currently 16-1 overall and 5-1 in the Three Rivers District. Fellow Seniors Ethan Richardson and Cody Reece are joined in the starting lineup by Junior Isaiah Easter to form an incredibly balanced attack for the Carroll County High School team.

  Seven regular season games remain before CCHS heads to the postseason here in a couple of weeks. There’s no way of knowing when the Clock will strike Midnight for the Brothers playing Hoops together in organized basketball but hopefully we have the entire month of February to worry about the end to The Last Dance.

  When Basketball does end, Brayden will trade in his sneakers 👟 for track shoes and compete for Shawn Montgomery and Jon Delp. Last year, the younger Smoot (by a few minutes) ran fast enough to earn a trip to Lynchburg for the Class 3 State Championships. Naturally, his brother was right by his side during that trek along with a proud Mom and Dad.

Brayden has worked his way from the sixth man as a Junior to a main cog in the starting five as a Senior. A defensive stopper and capable scorer alongside Bryce is the best way to describe his game.

  Twins have a unique bond and the Smoot brothers are perfect example of it. So it was a natural connection of the dots to tell the story through the eyes of the person who shared every step of the journey with him.

  When we pick this back up in a bit, it will be one of the three Smoots holding the Wheel!

More to follow…..

Rocky Mount, Virginia –

Check out the Late Models and see 👀 our driver, Dakota Walls, finished 3rd for the season !

The story of Eddie and Dakota Walls is without a doubt one of my favorites since moving to Carroll County.

Dakota Walls just celebrated his 15th Birthday 🎂 which means he still can’t go to the DMV and get a Driver’s License but he has been driving a race car since he was 11 years old. Isabella Marshall is sitting next to Dakota tonight as the pair have been dating for seven months now.

Isabella comes from a family 👪 of racers as Eddie talks of watching her Grandfather racing 🏎. He will also tell stories about his racing against Boys Varsity Basketball Coach Anthony Barnes many a moon ago. It worth noting that Barnes has been competitive his entire life, which comes as little to no surprise.

  We just finished up our first season playing a small role in the racing team and the experience was much greater than we could have expected. The very first time we went over to Franklin County Speedway and watched the young man 👨 zip around the oval with our Logo on the Hood, we were hooked.

Looking forward to having Dakota and Eddie at our Banquet on March 2nd. The duo will be a part of our program in Laurel Fork.

Tonight belongs to Dakota Walls and he is surrounded by people that are excited for him !

Late Award…

Today at 1pm local time, Carroll County High School graduate 🎓 and current Emory & Henry student, Natalie Harris was in uniform for a NCAA Women’s Lacrosse game.

At 1:14 pm, Miss Harris entered the contest and officially began her Collegiate Lacrosse career. Having been around this motivated young Lady for a few years now, I can say that nothing surprises me about Harris setting a bar in a high place and then clearing said bar.

Southern Wesleyan University was the opponent so we have that as a footnote in the story. I was a little bummed about the fact that it took place so far from Carroll County, meaning Shelia and Marion Harris were having to watch it in the same manner as I did.

Trying not to mistep in the moment, Harris just became the first Lady Cavalier to graduate from Carroll County High School 🏫 and then move on to College and play in an NCAA sport that wasn’t offered at her High School. To add an extra layer of security, I will add a sentence saying that I’ve had the privilege of dining with her and her Family 👪.

Impressive thing, to pick up a Sport and play it well enough to compete in a NCAA D2 contest a few months later. I can picture a very proud set of Parents and in the same moment invision two equally driven Sisters thinking I could do that too.

A tip of the Ball Cap to Natalie Harris 👏