From staff reports

Football scholarship continue to pour in for Salisbury linebacker Jalon Walker (Class of 2022).

The latest offer is from Ohio State. At least 15 schools have offered the 6-foot-3 linebacker who has top-notch grades. He is the son of Catawba College head coach Curtis Walker.

Softball

West Rowan and N.C. State graduate Peyton Greene was named a first team All-American by the National Club Softball Association.

Greene was earlier named all-region.

NC3 baseball

Games will not begin before June 15 for the new NC3 baseball league that hopes to fill the void of a Legion-less summer.

Look for an announcement on June 1, regarding the June 15 starting date.

Rowan County drive-through sign-ups for Senior-age players are planned for today (Sunday) at Extreme Performance on Kentucky Street in Salisbury.

Packets will be distributed. Players can fill out the paperwork in their cars.

Players must bring insurance information. Players under 18 will need parents to fill out waivers.

There’s a staggered time for sign-ups to reduce the number of people in the parking lot.

Carson and North Rowan players are asked to report at 2 p.m.

Salisbury and West Rowan players at 2:30, and East Rowan and South Rowan players at 3 p.m.

Once sign-ups have taken place, Rowan head coach Jim Gantt said the next step will be getting practice information to the players.

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Barnes birthday

Landis legend Bill “Bullet” Barnes celebrated his 85th birthday on Thursday with a round of golf at Warrior.

Barnes was named the Post’s Athlete of the Century for the 1900s in 2000 and was part of the inaugural Salisbury-Rowan Hall of Fame class in 2001.

Barnes was inducted into the Wake Forest Sports Hall of Fame in 1975 and the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame in 1979.

A second-round pick, the 19th player drafted in 1957, Barnes played in NFL Pro Bowls in 1957, 1958 and 1959. He finished in the top 10 in the league in rushing all three seasons.

In 1960, Barnes played a key role in the Philadelphia Eagles’ win over the Green Bay Packers in the NFL championship game.

Barnes also played for the Washington Redskins and Minnesota Vikings in a nine-year NFL career. He totaled 3,421 career rushing yards and 1,786 receiving yards. He scored 38 career touchdowns and threw four TD passes.

At Wake Forest, Barnes was a football All-American. In 1956, he became the ACC’s first 1,000-yard rusher when he had 168 carries for 1,010 yards in the days of the 10-game schedule. He finished second nationally in rushing and was the ACC Player of the Year.

As a third baseman for Wake Forest’s baseball team, Barnes played a key role on the 1955 national championship team. He fielded the final out of the College World Series. He had a bases-loaded triple and stole home in a 7-6 victory. Barnes was All-ACC in baseball three times, second team in 1955 and first team in 1956 and 1957. He batted .314 for his career.

Barnes played for the 1952 Kannapolis American Legion baseball team that won the state championship and for strong baseball, football and basketball teams at Landis High. He scored 1,257 points in basketball,  the county record at the time.

Catawba baseball

A trio of Catawba College senior baseball players were named to the 2020 CoSIDA Academic All-District 3 team. Pitcher Hunter Shepherd, catcher Cameron Morrison and third baseman Jackson Raper were picked to the team. CoSIDA, recognizes the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined performances on the field and in the classroom.

NCHSAA

CHAPEL HILL – The NCHSAA announced the eight winners of the 2020 Homer Thompson Memorial “Eight Who Make a Difference” Awards. These awards are presented in partnership with the North Carolina Farm Bureau and recognize one individual in each region that serves as an excellent role model to their student-athletes through their positive and dedicated approach to coaching. The eight recipients for 2020 are Kristie Thach from Perquimans, Bevin Stokes from Pender, Jasmine Brown from Holly Springs, Jeff Nance from Gray’s Creek, Jason Tew from Cornerstone Charter, Mike Zimmerman from Harding University High, Laura Barry from Watauga, and Michael Connelly from West Henderson.

The awards are presented in honor of Salisbury native Homer Thompson, a member of the NCHSAA Hall of Fame Class of 1994.

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CHAPEL HILL – The  NCHSAA and the North Carolina Basketball Coaches Association will not hold the scheduled June Scholastic Basketball events that were planned to be held the final two weekends in June in Raleigh and Indian Trail. Earlier, the NCAA extended its recruiting dead period for collegiate coaches at least until June 30.