Latest news with #JPII
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Two high school softball coaches separated by deputies after confrontation at softball game
MARTIN COUNTY, N.C. (WNCT)– A viral video posted to social media is gaining attention after a high school softball game on the night of Monday April 14th shows two head coaches being separated by deputies. Bystanders at the game said it was a normal game until around the fifth inning when some of the calls were getting close, leading to more fans speaking out from the stands, and the coaches from both schools also getting into the game more intensely. When the game ended both teams shook hands. The head coach for Martin County High School and the head coach for John Paul II Catholic School shook hands for an extended period and exchanged words. After they stopped shaking hands, more words were exchanged across the field as they began to move apart. Then, video shows the head coach for Martin County approaching the JP II coach while still exchanging comments. As Martin County's coach gets close to the JP II area, deputies begin holding him back and separating him. In the video you can hear a loud reaction and comments from fans on both sides. Martin County's head coach can be seen spinning out of the deputies' hands trying to get by but ultimately being restrained and returning back to his team's area. WNCT spoke with parents and fans from both teams about the incident from Monday night. Parents and fans from Martin County declined an on-air interview but gave statements saying that the negative comments were also coming from the JP II side throughout the game. A parent of one JP II softball player agreed to speak on-air about the situation. 'I think where I draw the line with the event is when adults are doing this in front of and at children. We're all grown adults we should have that compassion and that understanding not to do that in front of and at children,' Eddie, a parent of one of the JP II softball players said. Martin County School's released a statement today regarding the situation: 'We deeply regret Coach Lilley's emotion-filled response to profane and derogatory comments by the coaches of the opposing team made directly to and regarding our high school student athletes. However, we are deeply disappointed the video circulated by the opposing team only shows a portion of what transpired.' Martin County Sheriff's Office also releasing a statement today regarding their investigation of the incident: 'During the incident, there was a heated exchange of words between Coach Donell Albritton (John Paul II Catholic School) and Coach Bob Lilley (Martin County High School). Deputies separated the coaches and provided an escort for the visiting team and coaches to their bus. This incident was witnessed by Martin County Sheriff's Office Deputies and a subsequent investigation was conducted. At the conclusion of the investigation, it was found that no North Carolina General Statutes were violated and that no criminal charges were warranted.' 'I think the bigger piece is accountability. Just making sure that everyone is held accountable and everyone holds themselves accountable. Let cooler heads prevail and make sure that we allow these girls, and even boys in other sports, to really enjoy the sport versus having to deal with events like this,' Eddie said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
02-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
How MBA stunned JPII in double overtime to reach TSSAA basketball DII-AA state semifinals
HENDERSONVILLE — Montgomery Bell Academy senior guard Collin O'Neal panted and put his hands on his hips, completely out of breath after celebrating a wild, if not unlikely, victory with his teammates. MBA trailed by seven points with 58 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter before rallying to stun Pope John Paul Preparatory School, 80-78, in double overtime of the TSSAA basketball DII-AA state tournament quarterfinals on Saturday. 'I just ran out and found Kev (MBA senior guard Kevin Die') in the celebration. We knew this was our last year together. We've been playing together since we were 10-11 years old,' O'Neal said. 'It feels amazing. We've been talking about this since last summer.' MBA (23-5) captured its third state semifinal appearance in five years and will play either Briarcrest, Ensworth or Knoxville Webb on Friday in Cookeville. Junior guard Trey Pearson scored a game-high 34 points for JPII (27-5), which was denied its second consecutive semifinal appearance. Pearson had two empty free-throw trips late in regulation and JPII went 9-of-18 from the line in the fourth quarter. O'Neal, a Furman signee and the DII-AA Middle Region player of the year, finished with 21 points and scored seven points in the fourth quarter, going 5-of-6 from the line. It was one of the most improbable rallies MBA coach Kevin Anglin could remember from one of his teams. 'We were just managing the game one possession at a time,' Anglin said. 'We score and it gets to five. They go down and miss a free throw, then all of a sudden, it's three. With every possession belief started to creep back in. 'Relentless resolve,' that was the phrase I kept saying to them. Just, we're never going to quit.' MBA had to play without O'Neal after he fouled out in the first overtime and kept finding itself playing from behind. Die' made two free throws with 1.3 seconds left to force a second overtime. Mill Chapman scored five points on back-to-back possessions in the final OT to give MBA a 70-66 lead with 1:12 remaining, and the Big Red never trailed again. Chapman finished with a team-high 24 points. PCA: How redemption in TSSAA basketball playoffs fuels PCA boys entering DII-A semifinals 'As soon as we got to overtime, I grabbed the guys and said, 'we've got this,'' said Die', who finished with 11 points. 'Coach preaches perseverance all the time. We're not a one-man team, we're not a two-man team. Even when we got down, we just stayed and fought and gave ourselves a chance to win at the end of the game.' Reach sports writer Tyler Palmateer at tpalmateer@ and on the X platform, formerly Twitter, @tpalmateer83. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: TSSAA basketball: MBA defeats JPII in double OT to reach state semis
