Prep notebook: Retired Bessemer City coach resurfaces at South Point

BELMONT — Mike Mahaffey couldn’t stay away from coaching long.

After retiring at the end of last school year, the former Bessemer City baseball coach has agreed to serve as assistant softball coach under head coach Chip Wilson at South Point.

Mahaffey’s daughter, Taylor, is a junior pitcher for the Red Raiders.

Mahaffey has never coached softball in an official capacity but he’s helped with his daughters’ travel teams.

“It’s the same thing as baseball except for the pitching part and slap hitting,” Mahaffey said.

Mahaffey, 56, retired as a teacher and coach in June after 29 seasons as Bessemer City’s head baseball coach and 21 years as athletic director. He said he’s enjoyed a more relaxed lifestyle since his retirement.

“I don’t have any pressure on me,” Mahaffey said. “I’m happy. I’m kind of back to my old self years and years ago.”

200 and counting

Cherryville’s Scott Harrill became the 18th Gaston County basketball coach to reach 200 wins when the Ironmen beat Highland Tech on Friday.

Harrill now sports a 200-60 record in his 10th year as head coach. His 76.9 winning percentage represents the best average among the county’s 200-game winners.

Harrill took over midway through the 2000-01 season after David Watkins died of cancer. Since then, he has guided the Ironmen to three regular-season conference championships, two conference tournament titles and three regional appearances.

Harrill graduated in 1989 from Cherryville, where he was a star basketball player. After high school, he enrolled in Appalachian State University where he received a bachelor’s degree in business and a master’s degree in instructional technology and computers.

Harrill began his teaching and coaching career at South Point in 1995 after working in the banking business. At South Point, he served as assistant varsity football coach, head junior varsity boys basketball coach and assistant varsity boys coach.

He left in 1999 for Cherryville, where he was an assistant varsity football coach from 1999 to 2005 and JV basketball coach in 1999-2000 before taking over the varsity boys program.

Harrill’s current team is 10-2 overall and 6-1 in the Southern Piedmont 1A/2A Conference for first place at the halfway point of the league schedule.

East Lincoln ceremony

East Lincoln will honor its 1973 state championship girls basketball team at halftime of Tuesday’s girls home game against Lincolnton.

The 1973 team, led by eventual Western Carolina University and semiprofessional player Brenda Johnson and eventual Lincolnton coach Sheila Barker, went 29-0 and defeated Ragsdale 64-53 in the open classification championship game. Henry Barkley coached the team.

Great Eight tournament

Cherryville will face Murphy in the Great Eight 1A Invitational Monday in Hickory.

The Ironmen and Bulldogs will meet in the third of four games at Lenoir-Rhyne University’s Shuford Gymnasium. The event was designed to showcase some of the top 1A teams in western North Carolina.

The schedule:

Kernersville Bishop McGuinness vs. South Stanly, 1 p.m.

Hiwassee Dam vs. North Wilkes, 2:30

Cherryville vs. Murphy, 4

Mitchell and Mount Airy, 5:30

You can reach Phillip Gardner at 704-869-1843.