South Meck to retire Joy Cheek’s jersey

South Mecklenburg will retire former McDonald’s All-American Joy Cheek’s No. 30 jersey Thursday night. The ceremony will be made at the conclusion of the girls’ game against West Mecklenburg and prior to the boys’ game.

Cheek led the Sabres to the 2006 N.C. 4A state championship and played at Duke University. She is now an assistant coach at Ohio State. Cheek’s jersey will hang in the Sabres’ rafters along with those of former North Carolina and NBA stars Bobby Jones and Walter Davis. Cheek is the first girls’ player at South to have her jersey retired.

Field Hockey

Charlotte Country Day’s Kathryn Holland was named to the National Field Hockey Coaches Association All-America second team. Charlotte Country Day beat Durham Acadejy 1-0 in two overtimes to win its second straight N.C. Independent Schools state championship.

Football

Parkwood High football player Andy Giarla, who was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer last spring and played in the fall, will serve as honorary Keep Pounding drummer for Sunday’s Panthers game. Giarla will be on the field prior to kickoff against the Cleveland Browns. Earlier this week, Panthers coach Ron Rivera called Giarla at school to give him the news.

Earlier this week, a Union County car dealer said it had taken a percentage of each car sold in September to help offset Giarla’s medical bills. Bob Mayberry Hyundai will present a $4,000 check to Giara and his family Dec. 22.

For the season, Surratt has 5,621 total yards and 72 touchdowns, the second-highest single-season total in North Carolina history. Josh Ladowski of Lake Norman set the record this season with 5,664 yards and 77 touchdowns. Ladowski broke the 12-year-old record set by former Independence High QB Chris Leak, who had 5,494 yards in 2002.

For his career, Surratt has 11,657 total yards and 159 touchdowns.

This story was originally published December 17, 2014 at 9:36 PM with the headline "South Meck to retire Joy Cheek’s jersey."