Burke County Public Schools’ administration is suggesting that all four county high school football teams schedule one another again starting this fall, a source close to the situation says.
The source did not want to be named as no final decision has been made, with 2025 football schedules still not yet finalized.
If the policy goes into place, it would bring back a Draughn-Freedom matchup that had been dormant since 2019. The Wildcats and Patriots — the county’s most successful gridiron programs over the last handful of years — played once a year from 2009-19, with Freedom going 11-0 in the head-to-head series.
According to the source, Freedom will play Patton in Week 1, Draughn in Week 2, and East Burke in Week 3 as is. Draughn, Patton, and EB will face each other later in the fall as members of the same conference.
Draughn and Patton are both slated to move to the 3A classification this fall, EB will be a 4A program, and Freedom is headed for the 6A ranks.
Freedom baseball field not usable
The Freedom baseball team won’t be playing its home games on campus any time soon as the field is still not playable after flooding along the Catawba River from Hurricane Helene in the fall.
BCPS countywide athletic director Casey Rogers at Monday’s Board of Education meeting said that an estimated 300 tons of silt was removed from the football and baseball fields at FHS.
“The baseball field took the worst beating of any of our facilities,” Rogers said, noting that the outfield fence and windscreen wouldn’t allow floodwater to recede, and that the left-center field portion of the playing surface remains in rough shape.
BCPS received a $20,000 grant from the Carolina Panthers’ Helene disaster relief fund and is currently in a five-month process to get the playing surfaces usable once more, with work still remaining.
An alternate site for FHS home baseball games has not been determined. Both Rogers and Freedom athletic director Rob Scott said they are approaching the schedule on a week-by-week basis, with all opening week home games having been switched to away games.
Moving forward, Shuey Field, Patton’s field, and Big League Camp in Marion are all options for home contests, though all have issues as well.
Shuey also experienced flooding from Helene, Patton’s field would have to be scheduled when PHS was not playing or practicing on it, and Big League Camp is a significant distance from campus.
Rogers said that the FHS girls soccer team will be able to use the football field for home games this fall and noted that there is a possibility the baseball team may be able to play on campus near the end of the spring.
Burke County youth diamond signups
Signups are now open for the 2025 Burke County Recreation Department’s youth baseball, softball, and T-ball leagues. T-ball is open to ages 5 and 6, and there are three age divisions (7-8, 9-10, and 11-12) for both baseball and softball.
Participating programs in 2025 are expected to include Drexel, George Hildebrand, Glen Alpine, Morganton Day, Mull, New Dimensions, Oak Hill, Ray Childers, Salem, and W.A. Young, as well as East Burke, Liberty, and Table Rock in the middle school JV softball program (ages 11-12).
Regular-season play this year is expected to start in April. All children living in Burke County are eligible to participate, including those who attend charter or private schools or who are homeschooled. Call 828-764-9090 for more details about where and how to sign up.
Simpsons win Silver Creek couples tourney
Reigning super senior club champion David Simpson and his wife Martha bested a field of 10 other couples to win the Valentine’s Scramble tournament at Silver Creek Golf Club on Feb. 22.
The Simpsons finished with 58 points to win the gross portion in the two-person, captain’s choice event which used a stableford scoring system, while Steve and Dawn Jones won the net division with 65.35 points.
The club also recently announced dates for three spring tournaments. The Ladies Derby Scramble will be held May 3, the Member-Member tournament will be June 21-22, and the Drive, Chip and Putt event will be July 19.
Call the pro shop at 828-584-6911 for more details or to register for any of the upcoming tournaments.
Mimosa Hills announces 2025 calendar
Mimosa Hills Golf Club recently announced its 2025 tournament calendar, which starts later this month with the annual Appalachian State University Ladies Intercollegiate on March 31-April 1.
The course hosts a Carolinas Golf Association (CGA) Ladies Fourball event on April 29, and the club’s Member-Member tourney will be May 3-4.
June features three big events: the Member-Guest tourney is June 5-7; the Frank Bowers Junior club championship is shortly afterward, on June 9-10; and the CGA’s Carolinas Super Senior championship is coming to Mimosa on June 23-25.
The annual Dan Dobson Junior Open will be July 7, and Mimosa hosts the opening round of the Burke County Open on July 25.
Mimosa’s Club Championship is Aug. 16-17, and the sixth annual Mimosa Hills Junior Invitational is slated for Aug. 22-24.
The Parent-Child tournament is Sept. 21, Mimosa Hills’ annual fourball tournament is Oct. 4-5, and the club landed the North Carolina Senior Open, which will be held Oct. 20-22.
The GProTour makes its return for a tournament from Nov. 4-6, the only one listed at Mimosa this year after the club has hosted two GPro tourneys for most of the last decade.
Bigfoot Gym hosts public competition
Bigfoot Climbing Gym will host the fourth annual “Bigfoot Beatdown” rock climbing competition on March 8.
This event is open to the public and has several categories for both youth and adults, with all ages and abilities welcome to compete. Prizes will be awarded to winners of each category. The gym also encourages spectators to attend and cheer on the climbers.
“This has been a really fun event the past few years,” said Julie Cross, owner of Bigfoot Climbing Gym. “Our team puts in a lot of time and effort to put it on, and we have been rewarded with great support from the Morganton community. I know this year will be no different.”
Youth competition (12 years old and younger) will begin with check-in at 9:30 a.m., and climbing begins at 10 a.m. Adult check-in begins at 12:30 p.m., with climbing starting at 1 p.m. The finals for the highest scoring climbers will begin at 5 p.m.
Registration is available online now at bigfootclimbinggym.com and can also be done on site the day of the event.
Burke County Fairgrounds to host pro wrestling event
For the third time in as many months, the North American Wrestling Alliance (NAWA) will hold a professional wrestling show at the Burke County Fairgrounds, which are at 145 Bost Road in Morganton.
The event takes place on March 8 at 7 p.m. — doors open for the preshow meet-and-greet at 6 p.m. — and general admission tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for children ages 6-12, and free for kids ages 5 and younger. Concessions will also be available for purchase, while there is no cost for parking.
The main event will see Silver Fox defend the NAWA Heavyweight Title against Carolina Dreamer, while Rob Killjoy will challenge NAWA Television Champion Zay Vega for his title, George South will put the NAWA Carolinas Title on the line against Thomas Extreme, V.S.P. (Mike Maughan and Curtis Robertson) will defend the NAWA Tag Team Titles against the Wranglers (David Sellers and Tucker Rhodes), and Intense Wrestling Entertainment Mayhem Champion Suge D will defend his title against NAWA regular Dre the Goat.
Two non-title matches are also on the card: a singles match between Luke Fury and Quan Anderson and a six-man tag team match pitting Big Donnie and Moonshine Express (Big Nasty and Dusty Money) against Golden Gladiator 2 and The Closers (Myric Moore and Derek Driver).
Tickets for the March 8 show can be purchased online at tinyurl.com/yc6eabdr or at the door prior to the event.
Paul Schenkel can be reached at 828-445-8595 or paul@thepaper.media.
