Tim Stevens:The Cardinal Gibbons boys cross country team won its 12th straight conference championship Monday, running away with the Mid-State 1-A/2-A title.

Tim Stevens:I've never coached a high school football team, so I really don't know how I would have felt Friday night after Garner defeated East Wake 14-0 in one of the best games of the season.

Tim Stevens:N.C. State men's basketball coach Sidney Lowe could be on the verge of a sudden burst of recruiting commitments as the early signing period approaches.

Tim Stevens:Chad Day, a senior at Ravenscroft, has been named to the 12-player HP Scholastic Junior All-America golf team.

Tim Stevens:In about 40 years of covering high school football, I've only seen two calls by officials that gave me serious qualms.

Tim Stevens:Recruiting analyst Bob Gibbons of All-Star Sports is very impressed with N.C. State basketball coach Sidney Lowe's ability to get a commitment from 6-foot-9 J.J. Hickson of Wheeler High in Marietta, Ga.

Tim Stevens:Pikeville Aycock has extended its conference winning streak in girls tennis to 302 matches this fall. The Golden Falcons' string started in 1979 and has included wins in four different conferences.

Tim Stevens:High school athletics are showing up on primetime television, in major movies and in some really good books.

Tim Stevens:Matt Thompson, a defensive back at Eastern Alamance who has been receiving serious recruiting attention from Atlantic Coast Conference football teams, committed to East Carolina this past week.

Tim Stevens:The New Bern High track team's success during the 2005-06 school year has been recognized in an upcoming book.

Tim Stevens:It was common years ago for high school football games, especially in small communities, to be preceded by a brief prayer.

Tim Stevens:The GlaxoSmithKline Holiday Invitational has assembled one of its best fields in years for the boys basketball tournament at N.C. State's Reynolds Coliseum Dec. 27-29.