HS notes: local football kickers earn Army All-American roster spots

B.T. Potter and Skyler DeLong are headed to the Army All-American game this winter.

Potter (South Pointe) and DeLong (Nation Ford) are two of the best high school football kickers in the country and now have the chance to show their skills to a wider audience. The duo finished as the top-two kickers at the FBU Top Gun camp Friday in Rock Hill, earning their All-American game roster spots. Potter, committed to Clemson, will handle place-kicking duties, while DeLong, committed to Alabama, will do the punting.

The 2018 Army All-American game will be held in early January in San Antonio. Over 40,000 people attended the 2017 game. South Pointe’s Derion Kendrick will also play in the Army game with Potter and DeLong, while Lewisville’s Josh Belk is headed to the Under Armour All-American game in Orlando.

Watch B.T. Potter take on The Herald’s Bret McCormick in a field-goal kicking contest:

Local named MVP of Clash of the Carolinas

Nation Ford defender Michael Smith was named the MVP of the Clash of the Carolinas high school soccer all-star game Saturday in Raleigh. Smith, who will play for Winthrop this fall, starred for South Carolina in its 2-2 draw with North Carolina, which snapped the Tar Heels’ six-game winning streak.

Three new coaches named at South Pointe

South Pointe athletic director Lance Roberts announced three new varsity coaches Sunday morning. Bradley Rudisill (baseball), Freddy Dunn (softball) and Patricia Sacco (cross country) join the Stallions coaching staff.

Rudisill replaces Joel Taylor, who helped build the Stallions baseball program into a solid contender the last three years, culminating in the school’s first baseball state championship series appearance in May. Rudisill has previously coached at Watauga, South Iredell and Bandys high schools in North Carolina, and also as the pitching coach at Montreat College. He’ll teach the South Pointe 101 course at the school.

Dunn has served three years as assistant softball coach at South Pointe and now gets the head job. He’s been involved in baseball or softball most of his life and, like Sacco, is employed outside of the school system.

Sacco has assisted South Pointe’s cross country program in some capacity for nearly 10 years. The Winthrop graduate has been closely involved with the Stallions’ three consecutive girls’ cross country region championships.

This story was originally published July 9, 2017 at 12:30 PM with the headline "HS notes: local football kickers earn Army All-American roster spots."