No. 16 N.C. State (5-0, 2-0) at No. 3 Clemson (6-0, 3-0), 3:30 p.m. (ESPN) 

For the first time this season, the undefeated Wolfpack will have a national stage to showcase a surprising defense and a steady passing game led by quarterback Ryan Finley. A win for N.C. State would likely propel the…

Big East Conference

Wilson Fike (2-5, 0-2) at Rocky Mount High (6-0, 2-0)

Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday

Last week: Rocky Mount High defeated Wilson Hunt, 49-0. Wilson Fike lost to Franklinton, 37-36.

Numbers game

Rocky Mount High: All signs point to the offense figuring things out as the Gryphons have…

On the eve of the Patriots’ regular season finale, on a practice field tucked away on Faith Christian School’s campus behind its 14-month old football field, a fluent language was being spoken on Thursday afternoon.

It was football speak — shovel-passes, fold-blocking, gaps…

The Rocky Mount High girls’ tennis team couldn’t stave off elimination as its season came to an end on Wednesday in the first round of the NCHSAA 3-A dual team playoffs.

The Gryphons lost, 5-1, to New Hanover, an undefeated squad from Wilmington. One team would have to incur its first…

On the final day of regular season Big East soccer, Southern Nash (8-9-2, 6-4) fell on the road to Franklinton (15-4-1, 7-3), 2-1, in double overtime, Rocky Mount High (3-12-1, 2-8) beat Northern Nash (5-11-2, 0-10), 1-0, and Wilson Fike (14-2-1, 10-0) downed Wilson Hunt (6-10-2, 5-5), 4-0.

This…

In high school football this season in the Twin Counties, for the most part, teams are doing one of two things on Friday nights (or Saturday, Monday or Thursday nights): winning by a lot, or losing by a lot.

There’s been little in between.

If a 10-point-or-less result is to be considered a…

From 2004 to 2016, N.C State football found itself ranked in the AP poll for part of just one season, in 2010, when the team climbed to No. 21 and finished at No. 25.

Now for the second straight year, the Wolfpack is ranked in the mid-teens, traveling on the road to play a team in playoff position.…

As a freshman in high school I’ll never forget participating in my first invitational as part of my school’s swimming team.

At least a dozen teams dotted the pool deck, and the pop-up bleachers were filled with spectators. It was a small pool, and some fans had wet clothes from being so…

South Carolina’s Sherrod Greene had a big game on defense for the Gamecocks, Tahj Deans had a fine receiving day for East Carolina, and a true freshman running back out of Southern Nash turned in a breakout performance in a win.

It was a busy Saturday, so let’s get started.

Sherrod…

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Panthers quarterback Cam Newton is ecstatic to have Greg Olsen back on the football field.

And he wants Olsen to remain on the field, so much that Newton said he asked his spiritual grandmother Hattie-Lou Newton to pray for the tight end’s continued health.…

Finally, the Los Angeles Rams were tested, trailing by seven points heading into the fourth quarter on Sunday against the Seahawks in Seattle, but nine points scored in the final quarter improved their record to 5-0 with a 33-31 win. 

And, as is usually the case, Todd Gurley was at the heart…

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Graham Gano connected on a career-long 63-yard field goal with 1 second remaining to lift the Carolina Panthers to a wild 33-31 victory over the New York Giants on Sunday.

Gano’s winning kick, tied for second longest in league history, came after the Giants erased…