Lake Norman Charter’s Alex Scearce looks to finish his career strong

When Alex Scearce gets the ball for his Lake Norman Charter teams, good things happen for the Knights.

Whether he is playing running back, wide receiver or linebacker on the football field or power forward for the Knights’ on the basketball court, Scearce is a constant spark for his teams, always seeming to make a big play when it matters most.

While Scearce’s future is on the gridiron, where he just capped a season where he accounted for over 2,000 all-purpose yards and 32 touchdowns while earning Southern Piedmont conference (SPC) offensive player of the year honors, he is now focused on the hardwood in what will likely be his final organized basketball season of his life.

In typical Scearce fashion, he is not only making big contributions, averaging 11 points, six rebounds and two steals per game, but also regularly makes the big plays, like diving for loose balls or setting a key screen, that don’t always show up in the box score.

While he has a reputation for make the tough, gritty plays -- Scearce, at 6-foot-3, 190 pounds -- can do it all. He can bench press 275 pounds, runs a 4.51 (second), 40-yard dash and also has a 32-inch vertical.

“I am a lot like my team in terms of the way I go out and play with a chip on my shoulder all the time,” Scearce said. “We don’t feel like we have ever gotten the respect that we deserve (Lake Norman Charter teams) in football or basketball. Almost every game, we talk about that before we play. We know if teams or people don’t respect us, then we are going to have to go out and earn and go get it ourselves.”

Scearce, 18, and the Knight football team earn a lot of respect this past football season, going 10-2 overall (school-record), including 6-1 in the SPC, with their only loss (in SPC play) coming to 2A state champion, East Lincoln.

So far, they are doing similar things on the basketball court, with wins over much bigger 3A teams like Ashbrook and Forestview as well as Cherryville (also 1A), and close losses to Hopewell, Hough and Charlotte Latin.

“We had a great year in football this season and surprised a lot of people around here,” Scearce said. “We hope to the same thing in basketball. We think we can not only be one of the top teams in our very competitive league (SPC), but also be a factor in the (1A) state playoffs.”

While Scearce is a big factor on his Lake Norman Charter team, he gets a lot of help from a senior class that has been together for some time now, including guards, Jamon Cunningham (11 ppg), Davis Elkins (11 ppg), Paul Mobely, III and Jake Williams.

Senior transfer, Marques Hill-Wilson and sophomores, Malik McCormick (12 ppg) and Max Fairbairn, are key players in the regular rotation.

“It’s great to have kids who are used to what you are trying to do, with our six seniors,” Lake Norman Charter boys’ basketball coach Aaron Reeves said, whose team went 13-13 overall (7-7 in the SPC) in his first year in the SPC making the second round of the 1A playoffs. “We played a tough non-conference schedule, but I think that will help us and I think we are starting to gel as a team.”

While Scearce focuses on helping take his team to the top of the SPC and beyond, he is also still working on his future in college football, where he currently has an offer from Coastal Carolina and a lot of interest from schools like Marshall and Wake Forest, and hopes more is to come in the near future.

“Right now, all I can do is wait and see who offers me,” Scearce said. “I know I am going to play football in college somewhere next year, so I try not to worry about it too much.”

Reeves says Scearce’s athletic ability and work ethic have been a huge key to his team’s success on and off the court. His example is something that the younger Knights can follow.

“Alex is a good leader and a hard worker and everybody sees that,” Reeves said, noting he has several strong senior leaders. “He is a tough guy and great athlete who goes 110 percent all the time. He is a kid that wants to win and will do whatever it takes to do that.”

While Scearce has a lot to look forward in the future, he says he is enjoying everything as it comes.

“I feel like we (seniors at Lake Norman Charter) have really made an impact here for our (various) teams,” Scearce said. “But we want to go out with a bang, and have a great (basketball) finish to my career.”