Freedom set for 22nd annual Super Saturday girls hoops scrimmages

It’s time to hit the hardwood.

The Freedom girls basketball team will host its 22nd annual Super Saturday preseason scrimmage event today (Saturday, Nov. 7), with 15 total teams — including fellow Burke County squads Draughn and East Burke, as well as Bandys, which is coached by 2016 Freedom graduate Lindsey Adams — to play twice apiece and scrimmages to take place in both the main and auxiliary gyms.

Admission is $10 for the event, which begins at 10 a.m. and should end around 6 p.m. Scrimmages last year consisted of four eight-minute, running-clock periods, with the clock stopping and teams shooting free throws only in the final 2 minutes of single-digit contests.

The full schedule for Super Saturday is as follows:

• 10 a.m.: Alexander Central vs. Pisgah (main gym), Watauga vs. Hickory (auxiliary gym)
• 11 a.m.: Freedom vs. Bunker Hill (main gym), St. Stephens vs. Draughn (auxiliary gym)
• Noon: Alexander Central vs. Cherokee (main gym), South Caldwell vs. Kings Mountain (auxiliary gym)
• 1 p.m.: Bunker Hill vs. Lincoln Charter (main gym), Watauga vs. East Burke (auxiliary gym)
• 2 p.m.: Pisgah vs. Cherokee (main gym), South Caldwell vs. Bandys (auxiliary gym)
• 3 p.m.: Hickory vs. East Burke (main gym), St. Stephens vs. Newton-Conover (auxiliary gym)
• 4 p.m.: Freedom vs. Lincoln Charter (main gym), Draughn vs. Bandys (auxiliary gym)
• 5 p.m.: Kings Mountain vs. Newton-Conover (main gym)

Super Saturday has been held every year since 2004, with the exception of 2020 in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Amber Reddick, who enters her 23rd season as the Lady Patriots’ head coach, started the highly successful event.

Draughn hires Bickel to coach baseball

Following three successful seasons under Kenny Stephens, Draughn announced in a Facebook post on Oct. 23 that it has found its next head baseball coach.

A native of Huntington, Ind., new coach Scott Bickel was an all-state pitcher in high school who played collegiately at the University of Saint Francis (Fort Wayne, Ind.), from where he graduated in 2011. Bickel also attained a master’s degree from Liberty University (Lynchburg, Va.) in 2021.

The inaugural head baseball coach at Indiana University Columbus, Bickel led the Crimson Pride to five wins in 2023 and 10 victories in 2024.

At Draughn, Bickel will attempt to fill the shoes of Stephens, who guided the Wildcats to an overall record of 38-32 and three consecutive North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) state playoff appearances from 2024-26. Notably, Draughn was 22-2 in conference play during Stephens’ first two years at the helm, winning league titles and advancing to the third round of the postseason both seasons.

Stephens’ son, Griffin, is a 2025 Draughn graduate who is now a pitcher at Young Harris College in Georgia. Another former Wildcat, Blake McElyea, finished his prep career in 2024 and is also a pitcher at Young Harris.

Patriots’ Adkins to play in East-West football game

Freedom senior linebacker Ty Adkins was one of 36 players named to the West squad for the North Carolina Coaches Association’s 79th annual East-West All-Star football game when rosters were announced on Oct. 22.

The game is scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 19, at 1 p.m. at Grimsley High School’s Jamieson Stadium in Greensboro.

Through the Patriots’ first nine games of the season — individual statistics were unavailable from Freedom’s 41-8 win at McDowell on Oct. 30 — Adkins had 36 tackles (23 solo), 14 tackles for loss, four quarterback hurries, three passes defensed, an interception, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery. Offensively, he had 14 receptions for 191 yards and nine carries for 131 yards and two touchdowns.

Freedom (8-2, 4-1 Northwestern 6A/7A Conference) earned a No. 7 seed and an opening-round bye in the NCHSAA 6A state playoffs and will host a second-round game against either 10th-seeded Charlotte Catholic (6-4) or 23rd-seeded Piedmont (3-7) on Nov. 13. Those teams faced off late Friday.

Jillings helps Hickory win another state title

Valdese native and University of South Florida soccer verbal commit Piper Jillings helped Hickory High School win a state championship for the third time in a calendar year on Oct. 30 at Campbell University.

The Lady Red Tornadoes (38-2) defeated Seaforth in the NCHSAA 5A girls volleyball state title match for the second straight season, winning in five sets (25-21, 25-20, 21-25, 24-26, 15-12) this time around after a four-set victory a year ago. Jillings was also a member of Hickory’s first-ever girls soccer state championship team this past spring, playing under her father, Brian, who has coached soccer at Hickory since 2006 following a stint as East Burke’s coach from 1999-2005.

Jillings finished with 26 assists, 21 digs, eight kills, and two blocks on Oct. 30, and for the season the senior setter/right side hitter totaled 602 assists (second on team), 366 digs (fourth), 200 kills (third), 69 blocks (second), and 66 aces (first).

Morganton holding adult basketball signups

Registration for the Morganton Recreation Department’s winter adult basketball league started on Oct. 19 and continues through Nov. 18.

The registration cost is $525 per team, and the league is for those ages 16 and up as of Dec. 1. Both a church league and an open league will be offered if team counts allow.

The signup form is available online at tinyurl.com/2f8sec3v, and more information about the league can be obtained by calling Jesse Bunton at 828-438-5371 or sending him an email at jbunton@morgantonnc.gov.