Piedmont News

• OCT

  13

  Panthers move Anson Co. game.

  Due to the sudden death of Piedmont HC Ron Massey the Piedmont Anson Co. game has been moved from Friday Oct. 17th to Monday Oct. 20th according to Piedmont athletic director Bob Gearhart. The game will kick-off at 6:30 pm.

  • OCT

    13

    Panthers HC Ron Massey passes away.

    Piedmont High head football coach Ron Massey died suddenly on Saturday from an apparent heart attack, according to multiple sources close to the program. Massey, who was 56 years old, was hired as head coach at Piedmont in March of 2012 and was in his third season with the program. He coached in Friday's 74-58 home loss to Sun Valley and was vocal with his players and the officials. Unconfirmed reports say Massey died after completing a workout Saturday morning. Coaches at Piedmont met with the team on Sunday afternoon. The Panthers were scheduled to host Anson Co. on Friday but according to Piedmont athletic director Bob Gearhart that game has been moved to Monday Oct. 20th at 6:30 pm.

    • OCT

      11

      Panthers can't stop Sun Valley

      Piedmont had no answer for Sun Valley's Albert Funderburk and tried to answer every Sun Valley score with their own but came up short losing to the Spartans 74-58.Funderburke broke the Union County single-game rushing record with 456 yards on 20 carries in a 74-58 road win over Piedmont. Funderburke scored five touchdowns on runs of 71, 71, 7, 35 and 42 yards. Piedmont QB Cam Tripp was 19-of-35 for 267 yards and two touchdowns without an interception, and also rushed six times for 70 yards and a TD. His favorite target, Cody Leviner, caught eight passes for 155 yards and a TD. Junior Khris Missick led Piedmont’s ground game with 106 yards and two TDs on 10 carries. Piedmont is now 3-4 overall and 0-1 in the SCC. Sun Valley is at Marvin Ridge next week and Piedmont hosts Anson County.

      • OCT

        2

        Panthers roll dominate West Stanly 48-0.

        Piedmont's 1-3 start in football was a confidence shaker, but the Panthers have now won two straight and appear to be playing their best football heading into the conference season. Piedmont scored on five of its first six possessions and earned the program’s first shutout in 47 games in a 48-0 road win at West Stanly on Thursday. Piedmont racked up 583 yards of total offense — including 383 on 31 carries (12.4 yards per rush) — and held West Stanly to 181 yards from scrimmage. Piedmont led 21-0 after the first quarter, with QB Cameron Tripp leading the offense on touchdown drives of 67, 60 and 57 yards. Tripp kept the first drive alive with a 12-yard pass to Ben Radford on third-and-5, then hit Khris Missick with a 22-yard touchdown pass to put the Panthers on the board. Radford had a 41-yard catch on the second drive, setting up an 8-yard TD run by Aaron Braswell. Tripp also threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Cody Leviner, who finished with seven catches for 114 yards Tripp was an efficient 10-of-13 passing for 178 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions and also had a 74-yard touchdown run; he carried seven times for 107 yards. Aaron Braswell scored three TDs for Piedmont and rushed seven times for 119 yards. Braswell’s 80-yard touchdown run in the second quarter put his team ahead 28-0. Piedmont got its first shutout since 2010, which is also the last time the football team won a conference championship. Senior linebacker Rhett Byrum denied a scoring threat by the Colts when he forced a fumble on a sack on a second-down play from the Piedmont 8. Junior safety Trevor Barnette thwarted another threat when he intercepted a pass in his own end zone. Junior quarterback Hadden Gsell led the Panthers on touchdown drives of 80 and 67 yards. Gsell rushed six times for 90 yards, including a 20-yard TD run, while also throwing a 2-yard TD pass to Braswell with 35 seconds left in the first half. Piedmont scored five touchdowns before halftime. Carolina Conference play next Friday with a home game against 4-2 Sun Valley.

        • SEP

          26

          Panthers roll on their Homecoming night 23-14 over C.A.T.A.

          The Piedmont Panthers halted a two-game losing streak with a 23-1 4 victory over Central Academy on Friday night. Aaron Braswell gave the Panthers (2-3) a cushion when he took a handoff up the middle, cut to the left sideline and turned it into a 58-yard touchdown. The ensuing two-point conversion, a pass from Cameron Tripp to Cody Leviner, gave the Panthers a 20-8 lead with 11:48 left in the fourth quarter. Braswell’s touchdown came four plays after Piedmont linebacker Dalton Craig, the team’s leading tackler, was taken off the field with an apparent neck injury. Craig spent several minutes motionless on the field after a collision with Cougars (3-3) offensive lineman Bennett James with 57 seconds left in the third quarter. Khris Missick put the Panthers on the board late in the first quar ter when he took a Tripp pass 17 yards and into the end zone. Tripp ended up with 102 yards on 9-of-20 passing with no interceptions. Back up quar terback Hadden Gsell added to the lead with a 22 yard run around the right side to star t the second quarter for a 12-0 lead. The Cougars cut the lead down to four when r unning back Deshawn Morrison evaded a tackle on the sideline and out ran the Panther defense 49 yards for a touchdown with 4:17 left in the third. Morrison gained 105 yards on five carries. Piedmont kicker Jack Kiker added insurance with a 38-yard field goal with 4:50 left in the game. The Panthers travel to West Stanly for their final non-conference game in Week 7 while Central Academy has next Friday off before starting Rocky River Conference play at powerhouse Monroe.

          • SEP

            12

            Panthers fall to Yellow Jackets 32-20.

            Piedmont had no answer for the Yellow Jackets' rushing attack as Forest Hills kept the ball on the ground most of the night after having early success in the run game. The Yellow Jackets attempt- ed just six passes compared to 49 rushes for 257 yards. Junior back Floyd Louallen added 71 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries. Forest Hills snapped a two-game losing streak with Friday’s win. The Jackets forced six turn overs and held Piedmont quarterback Cameron Tripp to 8-of-23 passing for 77 yards with three interceptions. The Panthers finished with just 164 yards of total offense, including 87 rushing yards on 30 carries. Their lone offensive touchdown came on a four-yard run by senior back Aaron Bras well early in the second quarter. Piedmont senior Mitchell Woody scored the only touchdown of the second half on a 24-yard interception return at the 8:04 mark of the third quarter. Panthers junior Khris Missick put the Panthers on the board with an 80-yard kickoff return in the first quarter. The Panthers are off this week and will look to turn things around as they host CATA on Friday September 26th.

            • SEP

              5

              Panthers comes up short 49-47 to Rebels.

              Piedmont falls to 1-2 aftger coming up short in a a thrilling 49-47 loss Friday. Parkwood jumped out to a 21-7 lead, highlighted by an unconventional special teams touchdown. After a 2-yard touchdown run by Butler on the first play of the second quarter, Park- wood junior Zack Tyson forced a fumble on the kickoff by pull- ing the ball out on the return. It flew roughly 10 yards before Brandon Massey snatched it out of mid-air and turned it into a 38-yard touchdown. Piedmont responded with three unanswered touchdowns, and took a 27-21 lead into halftime. Aaron Braswell scored both of his touchdowns during the second-quarter rally. Braswell, a senior tailback, led the Panthers in r ushing (151 yards) and receiving (79 yards).Piedmont senior QB Cameron Tripp was also valiant in defeat, throwing for four touchdowns and rushing for another, and junior Khris Missick had a scoring catch, a fumble return for TD, an interception and a sack. Missick’s 55-yard fumble return early in the third quarter gave Piedmont a 35-28 lead, but Parkwood regained it on back-to-back TD catches by Parkwood WR Max Robinson. Piedmont QB Cameron Tripp capped his team's final drive with a 1-yard plunge with 11 seconds left. On the two-point try, he completed a pass but Robinson made the tackle at the 1

              • aug

                29

                Piedmont outlasts Porter Ridge

                Piedmont stunned rival Porter Ridge on Friday, pulling out a 36-33 road victory by scoring with 38 seconds left. Senior QB Cameron Tripp scrambled into the end zone from 14 yards out to score the game-winning touchdown, and also ran in the two-point conversion. Piedmont trailed 20-0 in the first quarter and 20-7 at halftime before rallying Porter Ridge won last year's game against Piedmont by 49 points, and the two previous meetings were by 50-plus points. The Pirates had won five straight in the series. Tripp threw a 47-yard touchdown pass to Cody Leviner, and Aaron Braswell had touchdown runs of 1 and 38 yards. Khris Missick contributed a 7-yard TD run for the Panthers, who are now 1-1. Piedmont travels to Parkwood Friday.

                • Aug

                  22

                  Panthers fall to Hickory Ridge!

                  Piedmont tied the game in the fourth quarter but Hickory Ridge answered for a seven-point win. Panther running back Aaron Braswell scored his second touchdown of the night to tie the game uppat 28 with 6:40 left in the game. Forty three seconds later, Hickory Ridge scored the game winning TD and then held the Panthers of Piedmont senior QB Cameron Tripp was in on three touchdowns on the night — two through the air and one on the ground. The Panthers’ defense forced a fumble in the first quarter that Tripp turned into a three yard touchdown run. Right before the half, Tripp found Braswell for a 19 yard touchdown pass. Late in the third quar ter, Piedmont senior receiver Ben Radford caught his first career touchdown on a 20-yard pass from Tripp that cut the lead to 28-21. Piedmont is at rival Porter Ridge Friday.

                  • Aug

                    15

                    Tripp picks Harvard!!

                    Piedmont QB Cameron Tripp,the rising senior at Piedmont High is going to play football at Harvard University. He was presented the opportunity by the Harvard coaching staff and after mulling it over with his parents accepted the schoolarship to play at Harvard. Tripp, a 6-foot-6 quarterback, turned down a full scholarship to play football at Alabama Birmingham, and could have opted for all-expenses-paid offers to play basketball for The Citadel or West Point. Harvard's football team won the Ivy League championship in 2013 and has won the conference title six of the last 13 years.t.