Burns High School - Blazes Yearbook (Lawndale, NC)

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Senior Felicia Roberts (11) ‘shoots for two” against an R.S. Central defender. Burns lost the close game 63-69. TEAM BURNS OPP. Girl’s Basketball Cherryville 56 4 South Point 56 48 East Gaston 57 53 Chase 46 oY East Rutherford 52 65 R.S. Central 43 66 Kings Mountain 40 64 Crest 41 58 North Gaston 42 61 Shelby 39 59 East Gaston 37 54 Chase 68 40 South Point 44 25 East Rutherford 69 52 R.S. Central 63 69 Kings Mountain 49 57 Crest 58 52 North Gaston 55 64 Shelby 56 69 Shelby 63 69 Season Record 8-12 60 Angela Shuford (3) drives to- ward the bas eline against two Shelby players.

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ES es J.V. BASKETBALL: BOTTOM ROW: Dwayne Lee, Robert Baxter, Sammy Wimbush, John Deal, a I ooo S Kelvin Whitworth, Kevin Lancas- ter, Glenn Davis, Willie Clark. Dwayne Lee (42) goes forajump shot over the head of his Kings Moutain opponent. Dwayne Lee takes a jump shot while Elijan Brown waits for a rebound. Burns lost 50-48 to their North Gaston opponents. TOP ROW: Elijah Brown, Gary Clark, Jeff Maddox, Mike Queen, Raymond Curry, Melvin Cross, Kelvin Mintz, Anthony Dilling- ham, Tim Sanders, Jim Atkinson. Unsung Heroes Although the junior varsity boys had many obstacles in their way, in- cluding a 4:30 playing time, they had a surprisingly good season. Coach Jim Atkinson anti- cipated a lot more prob- lems than he actually faced, since at the junior high the boys had won Only one game. He also thought they would have trouble adjusting their first year here, but they did rather well in spite of ev- erything. In the beginning of the season, the team had trou- ble in passing and catch- ing, which resulted in a lot of turnovers. But as the year progressed, with a lot of hard practice, their pas- sing Skills improved, as well as shooting. Coach Atkin- son commented, ‘‘The sea- son went excellent com- pared to what | had ex- pected, but we should've done better. Coach Atkinson's most memorable games were both played against Kings Mountain. It was the team’s third win of the season, and the first time we had beaten them in three years. According to the coach, the team’s tough- est opponents were R.S. Central and East Ruther- ford. East beat them by 7 points on their home court, and at home, Burns escaped defeat by one point. R.S. beat the J.V. Bulldogs 78-59 on Burns home court, and 61-55 at R.S. Central. Even with small crowds attending their after- noon games, the boys did well. Coach Atkinson remarked, “ It was a very surprising season, put- ting it mildly.” TEAM BURNS OPP. J.V. Basketball South Point 44 63 East Gaston 75 55 Chase 66 60 East Rutherford 43 50 R.S. Central 59 78 Kings Mountain 66 63 Crest 43 4 North Gaston 61 50 Shelby 55 38 East Gaston 38 37 Chase 62 48 South Point 56 48 East Rutherford 47 48 R.S. Central 55 61 Kings Mountain 64 54 Crest 53 55 North Gaston 50 48 Shelby 44 47 Season Record 11-7 59

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Gail Williams (33) looks on as the ball goes out of bounds follow- ing a rebound in the Shelby game. BOTTOM: Denise Williams (23) steals the ball from a Kings Moutain player as Felicia Roberts (11) looks on. alsin Travel To a basketball team there are two halves to a season. For the varsity girls there was a good half and a bad half. During the first round of Southwestern confer- ence play, the Lady Bull- dogs posted a3-6 record. Coach Tommy Pruett ex- plained, ‘‘We got off toa slow start.’’ Losses to Crest, Shelby, Kings Mountain, and R.S. Cen- tral could have broken the team’s morale but hard work and greatly improved execution of basic principles brought the team together. Assis- tant coach-student teacher Lynn Hicks com- mended the squad, ‘‘The girls played better at the end of the season than when | first came to Burns. They learned a lot.” Improved shooting percentages played a large part in the 6-3 re- cord the team racked up during the second round Of conference action. “Our play was improved during the second half,” was an understatement by coach Pruett. Second half action in- cluded wins over South Point, East Gaston, Chase, GIRLS BASKETBALL: BOTTOM ROW: Rodney Pruett, Carol Borders, Kim Walker, Kim Bailes, Gail Williams, Angela Shuford, Kathy Miller, Ceci- lia Ward, Denise Lawrence. TOP A Long Road To Kings Mountain, and Crest. Coach Pruett felt the win over Crest, who held a share of first place before the game, gave them the confidence they needed, “We proved we could play with anybody.” The team’s goal of a dis- trict playoff berth was cut short when they finished eighth in the final team standings and lost to Shel- by in the first round of the conference tournament. Part of every season is the anticipation for the next. Losing only 4 seniors (2 starters) from this squad, the coaches feel that next year can only be better. Assistant coach Diane Clark related, ‘I think we had a young team that gained a lot of experience; we will be better prepared for next season.” Winning is alway impor- tant but losing can be be- neficial in teaching the les- sons of life. Sophomore Kathy Miller commented, “We came a long way dur- ing the season, and | wouldn't trade the experi- ence for anything.” “We came a long way A statement that aptly sums up the girl's varsity basketball program. ROW: Coach Tommy Pruett, Lisa Brown, Robin Fullove, Christine Webber, Sherrie Sain, Felicia Roberts, Denise Williams, Be- verly Haynes, Lynn Hicks. 61