THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

North Carolina
States Jacoby
Brissett (12)
passes during
the rst spring
practice in Ra-
leigh on March
5.
3130 Hwy 70 SE Newton, NC 28658
hickorymotorspeedway.com 828-464-3655
Gates open at 5pm, Racing at 7pm.
Tickets: Adults $11, Seniors and Teens $9, 12 and under are free.
T
O
N
I
G
H
T
!
Tonight, Round 7 of the Paramount Kia Big 10 Chase
for the Championship for Hendrick Honda Hickory Night at the Races.
Presented by Frye Regional Breast Cancer Awareness.
Featuring 100 laps for the Nascar Whelen All American Series Bojangles Late Models, 35
Laps for the Gold King Limited Late Models, 30 Laps for the Street Stocks, 25 laps for the 4
Cylinders, and 20 Laps for the Wrench Rags Renegades followed by a HUGE Fireworks Show.
Frye Regional Medical Center will be on hand offering a variety of health screenings and
important health information.
SATURDAY, JUNE 28, 2014
Lenoir-Rhyne hires
new womens soccer
coach. 2B
SECTION B
SPORTS
KELLI SHUFFLER/HICKORY DAILY RECORD
Hickorys Nomar Mazara takes a swing against the Greenville
(S.C.) Drive at L.P. Frans Stadium on Friday.
South Atlantic League Baseball
Hickorys offensive surge too much for Greenville
NASCAR
Past winners
aim to solve
bumpy track
The Associated Press
SPARTA, Ky. NASCAR drivers wont
be shocked if Kentucky Speedways
fourth Sprint Cup Series race yields
a repeat winner or new face spraying
champagne in victory lane.
Either scenario could happen with
past winners Kyle Bush and Brad Ke-
selowski trying to strengthen their
bids for more success in Saturday
nights 400-miler by running com-
panion series races this weekend.
Defending race champion Matt Kens-
eth, meanwhile, seeks to repeat the
magic and earn his first win this
season.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Fans show their frustration toward the end
of a World Cup match between the United
States and Germany at Lynchs Irish Pub in
Jacksonville Beach, Fla., on Thursday.
World Cup
The Associated Press
DENVER Never mind that there
were dozens of TV sets at the bar, many
turned to pro wrestling, poker and
bowling to provide background noise
early one weekend morning. Jon Forget
walked in, asked the bartender to change
one set to soccer and got laughed out of
the joint.
Fast forward almost two decades and
theres no room to sit at the bar Forget
runs these days. His concept for a soccer
pub near downtown Denver is taking off,
and a new generation of American-born
soccer fans piled in by the hundreds
Soccer gets boost in
U.S. from young fans
See FANS, Page 4B
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
The Associated Press
RALEIGH
Jacoby Brissett
knows he will face
big expectations
when he nally
takes a snap for
North Carolina State.
The Wolfpack
struggled through a
miserable season that in-
cluded plenty of upheaval
at quarterback while he
sat out as a transfer from
Florida. All the while, Brissett
worked with the scout team as
fans talked about the guy waiting
in the wings to take over this fall.
Im just ready to go, he said.
Nobody really puts as much pres-
sure than I do myself. And I feel like
my goals are way bigger than what
people expect.
Brissett, who has two years of eligibility
remaining, takes over a team that won three
games and went winless in the Atlantic Coast
Conference for the rst time since 1959.
He enrolled in January 2013, shortly after Dave
Doeren left Northern Illinois to replace Tom OBrien.
He worked through the rst spring practices as
Doeren and offensive coordinator Matt Canada in-
stalled their no-huddle offense, then again this year
this time as the unquestioned starter of a young
team.
Hes not looked at as a transfer by anybody,
Canada said. Hes been here coming into the fall a
year and a half. Hes been here as long as a whole lot
of people in the program. Were a very young football
team. Its not like you bring in a guy and throw him in
... Hes earned everything hes gotten with the players.
Wolfpack fans are eager for stability at the position.
Last year Arkansas graduate transfer Brandon
Mitchell won the starting job and led touchdown
drives on the seasons rst two possessions
before breaking a on the third series. He missed
two months while Colorado State transfer Pete
Thomas stepped in, though Thomas was a
pocket passer who did not t Doerens scheme
that thrives with a run-pass threat at
quarterback.
The QB struggles stood out in a season lled
with frustration, but Canada said Brissett ts
the Wolfpacks scheme.
Most people are going to say, Oh just do
better than 3-9, Brissett said. Thats not
a real thing to just say. ... You dont need to
be better than every team every day. You
just be better than them on Saturday, and
make sure what you do Monday through
Friday is whats going to make you better
on Saturday.
Leader of the Pack
Brissett eager for chance
to run NC State offense
See TRACK, Page 4B
See BRISSETT, Page 4B
BY MARK PARKER
Record Sports Correspondent
HICKORY After falling behind
early, the Hickory Crawdads scored
six runs during a four-inning stretch
to take a 6-4 win against the Green-
ville (S.C.) Drive on Friday night in
front of 2,783 fans at L.P. Frans Sta-
dium.
With the win, the Crawdads (48-30
overall, 7-2 second half ) snapped its
rst two-game losing streak since
early May and remained in a three-
way tie for rst place with Hager-
stown (Md.) and West Virginia in the
South Atlantic Leagues second-half
Northern Division standings. The
loss for the Drive (37-41, 3-6) was
their fourth straight during their
current eight-game road trip.
The two teams continue their four-
game series at 7 p.m. today at L.P.
Frans Stadium.
Greenville opened the scoring with
two in the third. Kendrick Perkins
drilled a rst-pitch fastball from
Crawdad starter Cole Wiper over the
fence in right. One out later, Zach
Kapstein legged out a double to
center and eventually scored on a
sacrice y by Carlos Asuaje.
Hickory cut the decit in half in the
bottom of the inning against Drive
starter Myles Smith (3-5) when Lew-
is Brinson doubled into the corner in
left and scored two batters later on
Joe Jacksons groundout.
The Crawdads took the lead for
good in the fth on Kellin Deglans
10th home run of the season a line
shot to right eld. The homer was the
South Atlantic League leading sixth
CRAWDADS 6, DRIVE 4
See HICKORY, Page 4B