Area athletes update …

It was like old times for junior Kevin Parks on Saturday as he and his Virginia teammates overmatched VMI in a 49-0 romp.
Parks, who broke all the county rushing and scoring records in his varsity seasons at West Rowan, had a 61-yard run and a 54-yard reception to lead the Cavaliers.
Parks scored Virginia’s first two TDs on his 61-yard dash and a 2-yard run. Parks sat down early but still finished with 137 rushing yards on 17 carries and had three receptions for 69 yards.
Parks put his fourth career 100-yard game in the books by halftime. On his 61-yard run, the longest by a Virginia player since 2008. Parks started left, hesitated, and then broke through the first wave of defenders into the open.
“Our offensive line sealed the defense,” Parks told UVAFootball.com. “I cut back and knew it was there, and I took what they gave me. I don’t think they touched me.”
• In UNC’s 28-20 loss at Georgia Tech, Romar Morris (Salisbury) scored the first touchdown of the game for the Tar Heels on a 4-yard run. Morris finished with 11 carries for 54 yards. He caught one pass for 12 yards.
Safety Darien Rankin (Salisbury) made three tackles for the Heels, and Damien Washington (A.L. Brown) played on special teams.
Georgia Tech sophomore DB Domonique Noble (West) had a pass breakup and one tackle — a stop that held Morris to a 2-yard gain.
•West Virginia linebacker Jared Barber (Davie) made five tackles in a 37-0 loss to Maryland. Barber had two stops for loss.
• In Arkansas’ 28-24 loss to Rutgers, Chris Smith (West) had a sack for a 15-yard loss for the Razorbacks. With Arkansas leading 10-0, Smith had a sack of Rutgers QB Gary Nova on a first-down play to bring up second-and-25, but Rutgers still got a first down with the help of a personal foul and went on to score a momentum-changing TD.
Smith had a fumble recovery on a sack by teammate Trey Flowers, and he also was credited with a QB hurry.
• Western Carolina had to stage a fourth-quarter rally to beat D-II Mars Hill 30-23. Shaun Warren (Carson) scored an early TD for the Catamounts. Warren, a junior, rushed six times for 36 yards, including a gain of 22, and he returned two kickoffs 65 yards.
• Charlotte’s Kalif Phillips (A.L. Brown) rushed nine times for 29 yards in a 34-7 loss to James Madison.
• South Carolina State’s Javon Hargrave (North Rowan) is getting healthy after an ankle injury. He had two tackles, a sack and two QB hurries in a 59-6 rout of Benedict in the Palmetto City Classic.
• Gerald Holt (A.L. Brown), a 6-foot-3, 275-pound redshirt freshman defensive end, saw action for Liberty in a 30-21 loss to Richmond.
• Running back Trey Mashore (West) was one of the bright spots in Catawba’s dreary 27-0 loss to Newberry. Mashore netted 58 yards on 14 carries, including a gain of 16. Tim Pangburn (West) started at right guard for the Indians. Safety Mark McDaniel (South Rowan) made three tackles for Catawba.
• Lenoir-Rhyne fullback Ike Whitaker (Salisbury) broke a 49-yard run to start the scoring in the Bears’ 34-13 SAC win over Wingate in Hickory. Whitaker rushed 16 times for 98 yards as the Bears rolled for 422 yards on the ground.
Senior linebacker Zach Long (Davie) made one tackle for the Bears.
• Nationally ranked UNC Pembroke romped 41-20 against Shaw. Ben Decelle (East Rowan) had five catches for 32 yards for the Braves. Cadarreus Mason (South) made two tackles, one for loss. Backup QB Jonathan Efird (A.L. Brown) was 1-for-2 passing for 6 yards.
• West Liberty’s Quentin Sifford (West) made four tackles, two for loss, as the Hilltoppers shut out West Virginia State 9-0.
• In a 38-15 win against Virginia-Wise, Charleston’s John Knox (Salisbury) had a quiet day, rushing seven times for a net of 11 yards and catching a 9-yard pass.
• Erick Amaya (A.L. Brown) was 5-for-5 on PATs and averaged 65 yards on six kickoff as Johnson C. Smith stayed unbeaten with a 35-22 win against Davidson. Jamar Clemmons (A.L. Brown) made a tackle for the Golden Bulls, while J.P. Lott (A.L. Brown) broke up a pass.
• Local players accounted for 24 points in Averett’s 30-27 win against Guilford in a D-III thriller. Fast freshman Dante Pinkston (A.L. Brown) scored touchdowns for the Cougars on his only two touches, a 6-yard reception and a 21-yard run.
Dontae Gilbert (Carson) scored a TD on special teams when he recovered a bad snap on a punt. Gilbert also made six tackles and forced a fumble.
Hobie Proctor (West) kicked a 26-yard field goal and three PATs for Averett.
Zack Grkman (Carson) made three tackles for Averett.
For Guilford, standout receiver Adam Smith (Davie) had three catches for 81 yards.
New York Mets closer Bobby Parnell (East) has undergone surgery for a herniated disk on his neck but expects to be ready for Spring Training.
Parnell had 22 saves this season. He was shut down for good on July 30 after he experienced pain in his neck, shoulder and down his arm.
“For me to be ready for spring training I needed to do that (the surgery),” Parnell told the New York Daily News. “The chances are pretty good, everybody has assured me I will be fine, all the discomfort from the pinched nerve is gone. Right now, it’s all soreness from the surgery. I am very confident.”
Dr. Robert Watkins performed Parnell’s surgery. He’s the same physician who operated on Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning, and Manning has come back strong.
• Kyle Seager (NW Cabarrus) has hit 22 homers and driven in 67 runs for Seattle this season. He’s batting .264.
• Corey Seager (NW Cabarrus) batted .269 with 16 homers and 72 RBIs at two levels in the Dodgers farm system. Seager won’t turn 20 until next spring, but he’s likely to be in the major leagues in 2015.
• Justin Seager (NW Cabarrus) batted .267 with three homers and 30 RBIs for one of Seattle’s rookie-league teams.
• Nick Lomascolo (Catawba) went 2-3 with a 2.90 ERA for the Johnson City Cardinals. The stat that stood out for Lomascolo was 43 strikeouts in 31 innings.
• Jordan Jankowski (Catawba) went 3-1 with 103 strikeouts in 106 innings at two levels in Houston’s farm system.
• It was a tough season for Jerry Sands (Catawba). He batted .212 in Pittsburgh’s farm system with nine homers and 37 RBIs.
• Chicago White Sox prospect Daniel Wagner (South) batted .274 in Double-A ball with a homer, 23 RBIs and 23 steals.
•Kansas City prospect Whit Merrifield (Davie) batted .270 in Double-A ball with three homers, 43 RBIs and 17 steals.
Kayla Morrow (South) had six kills, five digs and four blocks as Lenoir-Rhyne beat Tusculum 3-2 on Friday. Emma Pope (South) had two digs for L-R.
• Averett’s Nicole Barringer (South) had 68 assists, 13 digs and four kills as the Cougars beat Meredith and Methodist on Saturday.
• Guilford’s Taylor Whitley (Carson) had 16 assists and five digs in a loss to Southern Virginia on Friday.
• Brevard’s Amanda Possidente (East) had two digs in a 3-0 loss to Mars Hill on Friday.
• Hollins setter Lela Moore (West) had 17 assists, six digs and three kills in a 3-0 loss to Virginia Wesleyan.
• The Bucs of Hickory’s Catawba Valley Community College are still undefeated (18-0). Aimee Cloninger (Carson) had eight kills, 17 digs and three aces in a sweep of Greenville’s Pitt Community College. Tiffany Brooks (South) had six kills and three aces.