High Country Sports

Author: David

  • Whether crazy 8 or lucky 13, it was rally time for the Pioneers

    By David Rogers. HUDSON, N.C. — Watauga played a good, even dominating first half of soccer on Oct. 9 against South Caldwell but could not finish (read, score goals), leading to a halftime score of 0-0. The second half turned worse — until the last eight minutes.

    Call it a whirlwind effort by the Pioneers. Trailing 1-0 with just over eight minutes to go, Watauga wing forward Lade Oguntoyinbo found the back of the net to tie the game at 1-1. Four minutes later, Ben Myers put the Pioneers ahead with a goal of his own. Then, perhaps just to make a point about Watauga’s dominance, Oguntoyinbo scored a final Pioneer goal with just 13 seconds left on the clock to give the visitors from Boone a 3-1, Northwestern Conference win.

    Assists were credited to Jossue Alcaraz, Thomas Moss and Myers.

    “We played excellent the first half except for not being able to finish six great opportunities. We felt great tied 0-0 at half but we didn’t play well in the second half at all. Then there was that last eight minutes. I am proud of how our guys fought and never quit to pull out the win despite not giving our best effort in the second half,” said Josh Honeycutt, Watauga’s head coach.

    Now 4-2 and No. 3 in Northwestern Conference (6-10 overall) standings, behind undefeated Hibriten (13-2-3 overall) and 4-1-1 Alexander Central (10-3-2 overall), Watauga travels to Taylorsville on Oct. 11 to take on the Cougars with a chance to move into second place with a win. The Pioneers return home to face Hibriten on Monday, Oct. 16.

  • Clark gets save No. 250, named MAC ‘Defensive Player of the Week’

    By Jacob Plecker. CLEVELAND, Ohio – Fifth-year App State field hockey goalkeeper Addie Clark has been named the MAC Defensive Player of the Week after her exceptional performance in the cage against Kent State on Oct. 6.

    “We are so proud of Addie and her effort this past weekend,” head coach Emily Dinsmore said. “This is not only an honor for her but for our entire defensive unit.”

    Clark and the Mountaineer defense held a potent Kent State offense to just one goal in 80 minutes of play. The Louisville, Ky., native saved nine shots and held Kent State to just one score on five attempts in the shootout period as she played hero on her home turf in a crucial MAC matchup.

    I’m thankful for the journey…

    Most notably, Clark surpassed 250 saves for her career at App State after racking up her sixth save of Friday’s contest in the first overtime period.

    “Reaching 250 saves means a lot to me,” Clark said. “This milestone means a lot in terms of the quantity, but more importantly, it means a lot to me because of the work I have put in to get to that number. I’m thankful to Coach Dinsmore and Coach Fernsler for trusting me to lead the defensive unit, and I’m thankful for the journey I’ve had to get here.”

    This is the third time that Clark has been honored as the MAC Defensive Player of the Week in her career and first time this season. She has been a staple in the cage for the Mountaineers over her five years in Boone, as she has started in every game except two this season and has made 60 starts for her career.

    Clark has saved 59 shots so far this year and currently has the second-lowest goals-against average in the MAC, posting a 1.952 GAA over 10 games. She has held her opposition scoreless in 10 halves this season.

    Clark and the Mountaineers embark on a season-long, four-game road trip Oct. 13 against MAC rival Longwood, in Farmville, Va., with first touch scheduled for 5 p.m. App State continues on the road at Queens (Oct. 15), at Ball State (Oct. 20), and at Louisville (Oct. 22) before returning home to face Ohio on Oct. 27 and Saint Louis on Oct. 29.

  • Pioneers VB sweeps Panthers, 3-0

    By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — After a couple of dominating road games, Watauga volleyball returned to the friendly confines of Lentz Eggers gym to put an exclamation mark on the 2023 Northwestern Conference season, defeating Hibriten in straight sets, 3-0 (25-16, 27-25, 25-14).

    With the win, Watauga (8-0 in Northwestern Conference, 16-2 overall) have a firm hold on the NWC league championship, with regular season conference matches remaining vs. Freedom (0-7, 4-15) on Oct. 11 and at regional rival Ashe County (6-1, 14-3) on Oct. 16. In between, they have a non-conference encounter vs. St. Stephens on Oct. 12.

    SELECTED INDIVIDUAL PLAYER STATS
    • Brooklyn Stanbery: 16 kills, 1 service ace, 10 digs
    • Emma Pastusic: 15 kills, 9 digs
    • Evie Robbins: 14 digs, 1 service ace, 1 assist
    • Madi Combs: 22 assists, 6 digs, 2 service aces
    • Olivia Kop: 9 digs, 1 service ace
    • Lainey Gragg: 17 assists, 1 service ace, 3 digs
    • Kasey Gragg: 4 kills, 1 stuff block, 1 service ace, 5 digs
    • Grace Twillery: 2 kills, 2 stuff blocks, 1 dig
    • Kora Knight: 2 kills, 2 stuff blocks, 3 digs

  • Simon scores hat trick to lead App State WSOC past Marshall, 5-1

    By Matt Present. BOONE, N.C. —BOONE, N.C. – Freshman Olivia Simon tallied the sixth hat-trick in Mountaineer program history Sunday, part of a five-goal second half, helping App State to a dominant 5-1 victory over Marshall to remain unbeaten at home.

    App State (6-4-3, 3-1-2), went into halftime trailing 1-0, but wasted little time flipping the switch. Off a corner kick three minutes into the second stanza, Simon pounced on a Marshall (6-6-1, 1-5-0) clear attempt at the top of the box, and drilled a low line drive shot through traffic into the bottom left corner of the net, to tie the score at 1-1.

    The equalizer was Simon’s first career goal, but she was just getting started on the afternoon. Later in the second half, Simon buried the go-ahead goal, curling a shot from the far side of the field, just inside the near post, to give the Mountaineers their first lead, in the 65th minute.

    Just two minutes later, Izzi Wood carried the ball down the near side of the field and drew the Marshall defense forward before feeding a pass in front to Simon who completed her second-half hat-trick in the 67th minute of play.

    Simon’s three goals tie an individual program record for goals in a match, and she becomes the first App State player since Sam Childress in 2014 against Liberty to tally a hat-trick.

    The Mountaineers kept their foot on the accelerator, looking to build on their 3-1 lead. In the 79th minute, Wood notched her team-leading sixth goal of the season, using her left foot to fire home a goal, following a beautiful thru-ball from Felicia Erkenfeldt.

    Then, following the ensuing kickoff, the Mountaineers won possession right back, and Katie Fuller played a ball to Shannon Studer along the far side of the field. Studer dribbled past her defender before firing a shot into the top-right corner from 30 yards out, to put the exclamation mark on the win.

    The five goals that App State scored in the match are the most since 2019 when the Mountaineers topped UNC Asheville, 6-0 on Sept. 1. App State is now 5-0-2 at home this season and have outscored their opponents 13-2 on the turf at The Valley. Sunday’s win was the Mountaineers’ sixth of the season, which equals their win total from 2022 with four games still remaining in the regular season.

    App State will travel to Norfolk, Va., Friday where they will face off with Old Dominion at 6 p.m. The match will be broadcast on ESPN+.

  • Blowing Rock’s Colley, Van Ord set new ZAP Endurance club records in Chicago Marathon

    By David Rogers. CHICAGO, Ill. — A perfect day for road racing produced an astonishing world record and four course records for the Bank of America Chicago Marathon on Oct. 8. Blowing Rock-based ZAP Endurance’s elite professional running team also came away with new club records and two personal best times.

    Kenya’s Kelvin Kiptum, just 23 years old, flirted with a new world record in Valencia, Spain, in December 2022 and again at the London Marathon just over four months later. This time, on the streets of Chicago, he became the first person in world history to run the 26.2 mile marathon distance under 2:01, smashing the world marathon record in 2:00:35.

    “It was a perfect day for a marathon,” said ZAP Endurance head coach Pete Rea, watching the world record performance at the finish line. “The temperature was in the mid-40s, low humidity, the lightest of winds. It was a thrill for me to witness Kiptum’s performance.”

    Rea, of course, had other interests in the race. ZAP team members Andrew Colley, Tristin Van Ord and Annmarie Tuxbury were competing and he anxiously awaited their finishes — and it was worth the wait.

    Colley and Van Ord each set new personal records while finishing in the top 15 of their respective divisions. Both also established new ZAP club records.

    Colley’s 2:11:22 allowed him to finish No. 15 among the estimated 47,000 runners participating in the event, no longer having to share with teammate Josh Izewski the club record of 2:11:26 he achieved in Rotterdam, in April.

    Van Ord finished No. 14 among the women, her 2:25:58 improving on her previous club record of 2:27:07, set in Houston this past January. Tuxbury developed some back troubles during the race, Rea explained, and faded to 2:38:49, well off her personal best of 2:36:59 set in April’s Rotterdam Marathon.

    “Andrew set a new personal and club record but I know he is frustrated,” said Rea. “With about 5,000 meters to go, he was running with some guys who ended up finishing two minutes ahead of him. We’ll get that figured out, why he is falling off so much at the end.

    “Tristin will take her new personal record, improving by well over a minute, as a positive,” added Rea, “but she had some trouble at the end, too. With about four miles to go she began to slow, but gutted it out to the end.”

    Van Ord knows where any trouble began.

    “I got a little excited, a little impatient,” she said. “I ran a 5:20 and a 5:22 mile pace for miles 18 and 19, which is about 10 seconds faster per mile than I had been running and it cost me a bit.”

    Even so, Van Ord bettered the Olympic standard by almost a full minute. That means if she can finish in the top three in Orlando at the February trials, she gets to go to Paris. In Chicago, there were only five other American women who finished ahead of her.

    Sifan Hassan of The Netherlands finished No. 1 among the women, setting a course record of 2:13:44, which is the second fastest women’s time in marathon history. Kenya’s Ruth Chepngetich was No. 2 (2:15:37) and Ethiopia’s Megerti Alemu was No. 3 (2:17:09).

    Emily Sisson was the top U.S. woman, finishing No. 7 in 2:22:09, with Molly Seidel of the U.S close behind at No. 8 (2:23:07).

    Ford, the “Rabbit” 

    An unofficial side note from the Chicago Marathon, ZAP Endurance’s middle distance specialist Ryan Ford ran as a hired pace setter.

    “The original pace setter hired by the Chicago organizers had gone back to home in Africa and had some trouble with his visa in returning,” said Rea. “So they called me last week to see if we had anyone who might be available to serve as a replacement. As it turned out, Ryan was supposed to run on Oct. 1 in a Twin Cities 10-miler up in Minneapolis-St. Paul, but the race was cancelled two hours before the start because of the heat. So, for Chicago he was hired to run about a 1:04:00 pace for the first half of the race, with bonuses if he reached certain benchmarks. He did great, when he finally pulled off the course at about 18 miles, he was running a 2:08:00 marathon pace, which is pretty remarkable. He said afterwards, ‘I think I am a marathoner now’.”

    Rea added that Ford will be trying to qualify for running in February’s U.S. Olympic Trials by competing in the Indianapolis Monumental Half Marathon at the end of October.

    VIDEO CLIP

    Zap Endurance head coach Pete Rea offers encouragement to team member Andrew Colley among some of the second group of elite runners in the Bank of America Chicago Marathon. Video clip by Sean Rea.

    CLICK HERE to view brief clip.

     

  • App State VB gets first SBC win, Farthing sees college debut in 3-0 sweep

    BOONE N.C. – The App State volleyball team swept Georgia State, 3-0 (25-16, 25-22, 25-17), in Saturday’s rematch against the Panthers at the Holmes Convocation Center.

    “I am so proud of our response today,” said head coach Sarah Rumely Noble. “We executed at a really high level and our serve and pass game was the difference in this match.”

    App State 3, Georgia State 0

    Fifth year senior McCall Denny led the team in kills, tallying 11, in addition to nine digs. Redshirt freshman Katie Cruise posted a team-high 18 assists and senior Sophie Cain posted 12. Sophomore Kenady Roper posted 13 digs on the night, while junior Lauren Pledger led the Mountaineers for a second consecutive match in the blocks category, tallying five (two solo, three assists).

    App State outpaced the Panthers in the kills category (38-27), aces category (5-1), and assists category (34-26). The Mountaineers and Panthers each had nine blocks apiece.

    Back and forth in first set

    The two Sun Belt Conference adversaries went point-for-point in the first set until Georgia State gained a 13-10 edge. App State answered with a 6-0 run that included kills from Denny and junior Lulu Ambrose, a block from sophomore Maya Winterhoff/freshman Ava Leahy, and an ace from Denny that put App State up, 16-13. The Mountaineers posted four more unanswered points that included a kill from Leahy, a solo block from Pledger, and a block from Pledger/Ambrose, to jump ahead 20-14. Back-to-back kills from Leahy and Ambrose gave the Mountaineers a 22-15 advantage. Ambrose and Denny slammed down kills to close out the set, 25-16, in favor of the Mountaineers.

    Second set features 7-0 runs

    In the second set, App State tied things up at five all in another tight start. Georgia State broke the tie with a 3-0 run to lead 8-5, but the Mountaineers went on a 7-0 run to take a 12-8 lead. The run featured a pair of kills from Leahy, a pair of kills from Ambrose, and an ace from Winterhoff. Georgia State tied things up at 13 all, then App State answered with another 7-0 run that put the Mountaineers ahead, 20-13. The second 7-0 run included a solo block from Pledger, a trio of kills from Denny, an ace from McBean, and a block from Pledger/freshman Delanie Grevengoed. Georgia State came within one of App State’s lead (23-22), but a Denny kill and Georgia State error sealed the second set for App State, 25-22.

    Third set features Farthing collegiate debut

    App State and Georgia State stayed close early in the third set. The Mountaineers broke away with a 6-0 run that included back-to-back kills from Ambrose and a block from Pledger/Ambrose to take a 12-5 lead. The Panthers worked to erase the deficit before App State extended it to 18-9 after a Roper ace, Winterhoff kill, and block from Winterhoff/Grevengoed. A kill from Denny, ace from Cain, and solo block from Winterhoff extended App State’s lead to 21-12. With a 22-13 lead, freshman and Boone native Caroline Farthing made her first collegiate appearance, subbing in for her first collegiate serve. The Panthers tried to chip away at the Mountaineers’ lead, but after a pair of Georgia State errors, App State won the set, 25-17, and the match, 3-0.

    UP NEXT
    App State will host ULM on Oct. 13 and 14. Friday’s match is set for 6 p.m. and will be Friday the 13th Night, where fans are encouraged to wear Halloween costumes. The Mountaineers will honor their graduating seniors at Saturday’s 1 p.m. match.

  • Photo of the Week: Watauga’s Evan Burroughs catch, art by Garner Dewey

    By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Football is a game of moments, strung together to make a play, either by the entire team or by a single individual. Last week against South Caldwell, photographer Garner Dewey captured this sequence of moments in the football life of Pioneer Evan Burroughs as he caught a long pass from QB Maddox Greene.

    This is called an “action sequence” photo. You can capture the images on any camera, including on many smartphones, then put them together in one image using Adobe Photoshop.

    “This is what they call a ‘photo merge’,” explained Dewey. “The first step, of course, is taking a burst of several shots following the play’s action. For this one, I was panning at the same time as shooting in order to follow Evan Burroughs’ catch throughout the sequence, from when he first looked up and spotted the ball, followed it as it descended, then caught it.”

    Dewey said he first used Adobe Lightroom to make various color corrections and crops, then used Adobe Photoshop’s “Photo Merge” tool.

    The original burst was about 10 shots,” said Dewey. “I could merge them manually, of course, but I wanted to get this done quickly. So I let Photoshop do all the work. The built-in artificial intelligence selected these four moments in the sequence and merged them all into one image.”

    Readers are welcome to submit images for “Photo of the Week” consideration, sending a minimum of 1280 pixels on the long side, preferably landscape view, very high resolution to david@highcountrysports.net. The theme should be sports at any level (professional, college, high school, middle school, rec leagues), outdoor recreation, or adventure sports.

     

  • High Country trio+1 set to tackle Oct. 8 Chicago Marathon

    By David Rogers. BLOWING ROCK, N.C. — Three High Country professional athletes are in the Windy City this weekend to compete in the Bank of America Chicago Marathon. For ZAP Endurance team members Andrew Colley, Tristin Van Ord and Annmarie Tuxbury, this 26.2 mile adventure around the streets of Chicago will be their final marathon before the U.S. Olympic Trials in Orlando, Fla., on Feb. 3, 2024.

    WATCH ZAP ENDURANCE ‘BUILD UP TO CHICAGO MARATHON’ VIDEO AT BOTTOM OF THIS ARTICLE

    This will be the 45th running of the Chicago Marathon, a popular event that usually draws some of the world’s top marathoners. The 2023 edition is no exception as, in the men’s division, the already announced professional field includes Ethiopia’s Kinde Atanaw, whose personal best of 2:03:51 was run in Valencia, Spain, in 2019.

    At least three other elite U.S. runners will be competing for the podium in Chicago, including Leonard Korir (2:07:56, Amsterdam, 2019), Daniel Mesfun (2:10:06, Toronto, 2018), and Sam Chelanga (2:15:02, Chicago, 2017).

    Chicago Marathon organizers also have their eye on Jordan Gusman, of Malta, making his marathon debut but an accomplished, sub 4-minute miler who ran a 1:03:41 half marathon in Houston this past January.

    The women’s elite field also includes some formidable competitors in Megertu Alemu of Ethiopia (2:18:32, London, 2022), Rose Harvey of Great Britain (2:17:20, Seville, 2022), and Emiline Delanis of France (2:32:36, Chicago, 2022).

    The Blowing Rock-based ZAP Endurance runners will be right in the mix of things.

    Among other goals, Colley aims to better the ZAP Endurance club record he shares with teammate Josh Izewski of 2:11:26, a mark he established in April at the Rotterdam Marathon.

    “2023 has brought a level of training consistency that Andrew hasn’t seen in years,” ZAP Endurance head coach Pete Rea told High Country Sports. “It has resulted in the best racing performances of his career. He helped Team USA to a No. 6 team finish this past February in the World Cross Country Championships held in New South Wales, Australia. He had runner-up finishes in the U.S. Cross Country Championship and the U.S. 8km Road Racing Championship. We are excited to see what he can do in Chicago.”

    Van Ord is the former Appalachian State cross country and track star who joined ZAP four years ago to help in her transition to marathon running.

    “Tristin has also enjoyed a breakout 2023,” said Rea. “She kicked off the year at the Houston Marathon where she finished No. 4 in a personal best of 2:27:07. She has made consistent progress throughout her marathon career, running 2:32 in 2021, 2:29 in 2022 and 2:27 so far this year. In addition to her marathon best, Tristin has run personal bests at 5k and 10k this year, and most recently posted a career-best No. 4 at the U.S. 20k Championships on Labor Day.”

    Tuxbury is finishing her first year anniversary as a member of the ZAP Endurance team, making significant gains.

    “Tristin’s teammate and training partner, Annmarie will be taking aim at her 2:31:29 personal best set last December at the California International Marathon. She has put together the best buildup of her career. After battling some fatigue early in the training block, she has looked fantastic over the final month of training leading into Chicago.”

    In the last few days, another ZAP athlete and Rea have decided to use the Chicago Marathon for multiple purposes.

    “In addition to the three athletes racing, Ryan Ford will line up for ‘pacing duty’,” reported Rea. “He will be charged with pacing the group, aiming to run 1:04:00 through halfway.

    “On Oct. 1, Ryan was scheduled to run the Twin Cities 10 Miler, but the race was cancelled just two hours prior to the start because of heat concerns. So running the first half of Chicago will serve as a good replacement opportunity for him ahead of the Indianapolis Monumental Half Marathon at the end of October. In Indianapolis, he will be aiming for the 1:03:00 Olympic Trials qualifying standard that would allow him to enter the U.S. Olympic Trials for the Marathon, on Feb. 3 in Orlando.”

    In his stellar collegiate career, Ford was a middle distance specialist in 3,000 meters to 10,000 meter distances, but is now transitioning to the marathon under ZAP Endurance’s mentorship.

    The Chicago Marathon race begins at 7:30 a.m. Central/8:30 a.m. Eastern on Sunday, Oct. 8.

     

  • UPDATED: Winning ugly, Watauga survives late Alexander Central rally, 41-34

    By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — It was a high school football game that all but defined the concept of “winning ugly.” After leading by 27 points at the end of the third quarter, Watauga let Alexander Central score three unanswered touchdowns in the final stanza, still slipping by the Cougars, 41-34.

    BONUS PHOTOS AT BOTTOM OF ARTICLE (click any image for slideshow mode)

    Even while playing a sloppy first half, the Pioneers seemed to be in control of the game, dominating in spite of lackluster execution. B-back Everett Gryder finished the game with 17 carries for 158 net yards rushing and quarterback Maddox Greene also surpassed the century mark rushing, carrying the ball 11 times for 113 net yards. Each player reached the end zone one time for a TD.

    Everett Gryder vs. Alexander Central on Oct. 6. Photographic image by David Rogers

    Greene did even more damage through the air, completing six of 11 passes for 109 yards and three TDs — to three different receivers: Jackson Pryor, Evan Burroughs, and Trathan Gragg.

    After the game, Watauga head coach Ryan Habich was understandably none too happy about letting Alexander Central back in the game and threatening.

    “We did not play well. We did not practice well (this week),” said Habich after a lengthy post-game locker room meeting with the players. “We are a young football team that thinks we are better than we are. We are listening to the noise. If we are serious about being a good football team, winning a conference championship, and having a good future in the playoffs, our players need to focus. They have to stop listening to people telling them how good they are and start executing. And it starts at practice.”

    Jackson Pryor scores Watauga’s 2nd TD on a 6-yard pass from QB Maddox Greene vs. Alexander Central. Photographic image by David Rogers

    Asked to elaborate, Habich said, “If we played a really good football team and it came down to (what happened), I would be fine with it. But we aren’t doing the little things right even at practice. We have higher standards here at Watauga.”

    Habich said the entire week of practice leading up to Friday night’s game was really unacceptable.

    “I challenged the guys and said if we play (like we are practicing), then we ae going to lose. And we almost lost tonight to a team that I thought we were much better than them,” Habich said.

    The student section theme on Oct. 6 at Jack Groce Stadium was pink in support of breast cancer research. Photographic image by David Rogers

    He repeated that the team’s focus, or lack of focus was the culprit in explaining poor performance.

    “We aren’t blocking, we aren’t tackling, we aren’t doing the things we are supposed to do. We have been very successful the last 10 years, so we have high standards. You cannot control the outcomes, but you can control the process. I have been preaching that all along. If people are looking at outcomes and not talking about process, then we are not going to be a very good football team. We want to be a good football team here, but we have to start doing the right things at practice. Our younger kids, our older kids, too, we collectively have to do a better job if we want to be a championship team.”

    Asked about his confidence that this would be a necessary wakeup call, Habich said, “It should be a wakeup call. It was a bad week of practice. There were a lot of things (contributing) to that. We had some coaches out. We had some injuries here and there. But those are not excuses. We simply did not play and execute. Tonight should have been a game where we won by a lot so we could get a lot of players in. We couldn’t do that. We had to play the starters the whole game because we were not executing. I am disappointed in how we as a team executed, but I don’t think we prepared well throughout the week.”

    The Pioneers (7-0 overall, 2-0 in Northwestern Conference) will try to regain that focus in the coming week as they prepare to face 3A power Hibriten. The Panthers, a perennial 3A power, defeated another NWC and 3A power program, Freedom, on Sept. 29, 35-33, led by running back D K Mitchell.

    Now 3-4 overall, 1-1 in Northwestern Conference play, Alexander Central will look to rebound on Oct. 13, at home vs. South Caldwell.

    SCORING SUMMARY
    1st  09:25  WATAUGA   Evan Burroughs 5 yd run (Jack Wilson kick) 
             7 plays, 69 yards, TOP 2:35  0 – 7 
      04:02  WATAUGA   Jackson Pryor 6 yd pass from Maddox Greene (Jack Wilson kick) 
             6 plays, 44 yards, TOP 3:08  0 – 14 
    2nd  10:01  ACHS   Garison Millsaps 7 yd pass from Tanner Moore (Carson Davis kick) 
             5 plays, 53 yards, TOP 2:06  7 – 14 
      08:54  WATAUGA   Evan Burroughs 40 yd pass from Maddox Greene (Jack Wilson kick failed) 
             3 plays, 67 yards, TOP 1:06  7 – 20 
      02:17  WATAUGA   Trathan Gragg 14 yd pass from Maddox Greene (Jack Wilson kick failed) 
             8 plays, 77 yards, TOP 4:32  7 – 26 
    3rd  09:40  ACHS   Tanner Moore 1 yd run (Carson Davis kick) 
             5 plays, 54 yards, TOP 2:18  14 – 26 
      09:20  WATAUGA   Everett Gryder 28 yd run (Jackson Pryor pass from Maddox Greene) 
             2 plays, 84 yards, TOP 0:18  14 – 34 
      07:24  WATAUGA   Maddox Greene 11 yd run (Jack Wilson kick) 
             3 plays, 11 yards, TOP 1:29  14 – 41 
    4th  11:52  ACHS   Tanner Moore 24 yd run (Carson Davis kick blockd) 
             9 plays, 56 yards, TOP 3:33  20 – 41 
      02:17  ACHS   Braydon Rowe 4 yd run (Carson Davis kick) 
             12 plays, 70 yards, TOP 5:40  27 – 41 
      00:20  ACHS   Jaheim Redmond 7 yd pass from Tanner Moore (Carson Davis kick) 
             6 plays, 32 yards, TOP 0:58  34 – 41 
    SELECTED TEAM STATS
    • Total Offense: AC 323, WAT 411
    • Net Yards Rushing: AC 178, WAT 302
    • Net Yards Passing: AC 145, WAT 109
    • Turnovers
      • Fumbles Lost: AC 0, WAT 1
      • Interceptons: AC 1, WAT 0
    • Penalties (Yards): AC 5 (45), WAT 8 (60)
    • Time of Possession: AC 26:04, WAT 21:56
    • 3rd Down Conversions: AC 6-of-14, WAT 6-of-10
    • 4th Down Conversions: AC 3-of-6, WAT 1-of-2
    SELECTED INDIVIDUAL STATS
    Passing
      • AC – Tanner Moore: 8-20-145, 1 INT, 2 TDs, 0 sacks
      • WAT – Maddox Greene: 6-11-109, 3 TDs, 1 sack

    Rushing

      • WAT – Everett Gryder: 17 carries, 158 yards, 1 TD
      • WAT – Maddox Greene: 11 carries, 113 yards, 1 TD
      • AC – Tanner Moore: 15 carries, 92 yards, 2 TDs
      • AC – Braydon Rowe: 11 carries, 63 yards, 1 TD
      • AC – Sawyer Chapman-Mays: 15 carries, 59 yards
      • WAT – Evan Burroughs: 3 carries, 13 yards, 1 TD
      • WAT – Morgan Henry: 2 carries, 15 yards

    Receiving

      • AC – Jaheim Redmond: 3 catches, 78 yards, 1 TD
      • WAT – Evan Burroughs: 1 catch, 40 yards, 1 TD
      • WAT – Morgan Henry: 2 catcjes. 37 yards
      • AC – Jeremiah Whitaker: 2 catches, 26 yards
      • WAT – Jackson Pryor: 2 catches, 18 yards, 1 TD
      • WAT – Trathan Gragg: 1 catch, 14 yards, 1 TD
      • AC – Garison Millsaps: 2 catches, 14 yards, 1 TD
      • AC – Wade Queen, 1 catch, 27 yards
    BONUS PHOTOS
    Eli Greene (59) comes close to getting his hand on the ball vs. ACHS on Oct. 6.Photographic image by David Rogers
    Eli Greene (59) got a lot of pressure on the Alexander Central quarterback. Photographic image by David Rogers

  • Middle School VB quarterfinals provide few surprises

    By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Leave it to the middle school volleyball gods — and Green Valley — to fashion an upset in the last match of the quarterfinals of the Watauga County middle school volleyball tournament on Oct. 5, in Lentz Eggers Gym.

    BONUS PHOTOS AT BOTTOM OF ARTICLE (click on any image for slideshow mode)

    The first three quarterfinal matches were decided according to form and expectations. No. 1 seed Parkway had little in the way of trouble while facing No. 8 Bethel, handily sweeping the Beavers, 2-0 (25-9, 25-9).

    No. 2 Hardin Park built up enough of an early first set lead to survive a No. 7 Mabel rally, then handily  dispatched the Mustangs, 2-0 (25-16, 25-8).

    As expected, the No. 3 Cove Creek vs. No. 6 Valle Crucis pairing proved a stiffer test. The Raiders ended up sweeping the Cougars to stay true to form, but the 25-22, 25-13 set scores reflected the challenge posed by a much improved Valle Crucis team vs. the year ago edition.

    Photographic image by David Rogers

    In the final quarterfinal match of the evening, No. 4 Blowing Rock and No. 5 Green Valley had the closest set as well as the biggest blowout, with the Rockets being upset by the Eagles in straight sets. Blowing Rock jumped out to an early, 8-3 lead in the opening set, only to have Green Valley chip away at the advantage and even things up at 15-15 in the first set. The two teams took turns looking like they would gain control, eventually forcing the match into overtime where the Eagles prevailed, 29-27. Green Valley’s dominating, second set win, 25-4, was little more than an anticlimax to the evening’s action.

    The tournament resumes on Tuesday, Oct. 10.

      • 4 p.m. – No. 1 Parkway vs. No. 5 Green Valley
      • 5 p.m. – No. 2 Hardin Park vs. No. 3 Cove Creek
      • 6 p.m. – CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
    BONUS PHOTOS FROM QUARTERFINALS