By Jacob Plecker for App State Sports. WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Despite a career day on the defensive side for junior goalkeeper Claire Grenis, the App State Mountaineers (4-2) fell to the No. 17 Wake Forest Demon Deacons (3-2) on Sept. 10, 3-0.
Grenis saved a career high six shots on Sunday in just her second career start. Even in the loss, the Mountaineers had another excellent showing. Along with Grenis’ six saves, the Mountaineers stopped several more Demon Deacon scoring chances in the contest, with pressure throughout the match.
App State was aggressive on offense in this contest, controlling the ball for much of the second half and putting pressure on the Wake Forest defense. The Mountaineers drew seven corners, tying a season high, and hammered five shots on goal. The pressure was good, but none of the App State shot attempts found the back of the cage as No. 17 Wake Forest would prevail.
How it Happened
1st Quarter: The Mountaineers started hot in Sunday’s contest, drawing a penalty corner just 35 seconds into the match. The team was able to take control of the ball early and generated a scoring chance, which saw Charlotte Bosma attempt the first shot of the game, missing wide.
The defense stepped up huge in the first quarter and held No. 17 Wake Forest scoreless through the first 15 minutes. Sarah Perkins made an incredible play to block a Wake Forest shot and Claire Grenis notched her first save of the game.
Despite a few Demon Deacon Scoring chances, the Mountaineer defense didn’t let any into the cage in the first quarter. The Mountaineers have now held their opposition scoreless in eight of their last nine quarters of play.
2nd Quarter: The second quarter turned in the favor of No. 17 Wake Forest, who controlled the ball for much of the quarter and put great pressure on Grenis and the defense.
Early in the quarter, Wake Forest would find the cage as Faye Janse would slip one past Grenis to record the first goal of the day. Shortly after Janse’s goal, the Demon Deacons would score again, this time coming off the stick of Rachel Thetford.
Despite the rough stretch in the quarter, App State played very well to finish out the half. They would allow just two more shots for the quarter, with Grenis grabbing another save, and apply pressure of their own on the offense. Lise Boekaar closed the half by attempting a shot that missed high, but Dinsmore liked the attack and resolve of her team to close out the half.
After 30 minutes of play, No. 17 Wake Forest led the contest 2-0 off the two second quarter goals and outshot App State 10-2.
3rd Quarter: The Mountaineers would seize control of the game coming out of the halftime break, rattling off multiple shots and drawing multiple corners. App State drew three penalty corners in the third, generating multiple chances. Birdget Donovan would attempt her first shot of the game off the first penalty corner, but had it blocked.
Later in the quarter, the Mountaineers generated a great scoring opportunity after a pass ahead from the midfield. Noa Ginjaume Matas took the pass into the circle and fired a shot that was saved by Jodi Brine. Brine tallied five saves for the match, all coming in the second half.
In the 39th minute of play, Wake Forest attempted a flurry of shots, but Grenis stood strong between the posts, saving two shots in six seconds. The two save stretch in the third would be her third and fourth of the game, setting a new career high for saves in a game.
Bridget Donovan would fire App State’s third shot of the third quarter with four minutes to play, but the Wake Forest defense played it well and stopped it. After 45 minutes of action, No. 17 Wake Forest still led 2-0.
4th Quarter: The Mountaineers had another solid quarter of play to close out the match, applying pressure and playing great defense. Wake Forest drew two penalty corners in the final 15 minutes, but App State stood firm and thwarted both opportunities.
The aggressive play of the Mountaineers was on display all afternoon, but especially in the fourth quarter as Charlotte Bosma would attempt two shots and Hadley Kuzmicky attempted a shot off three penalty corners, but each were stopped by the defense.
The Mountaineers would attempt four shots in the quarter, but still couldn’t pay off their aggression as the Demon Deacons stopped each chance App State generated.
No. 17 Wake Forest would pick up their third goal late in the quarter to reach the game’s final score of 3-0, but Claire Grenis and the defense played another outstanding game despite the loss.
Coach’s Thoughts
“When we press with numbers and press together, that is when we are successful,” head coach Emily Dinsmore said. “You saw that in the third and the fourth when we earned those penalty corners. Now we just need to go back to the drawing board and execute on those corners, but I’m proud of the way the team played today.”
Up Next
App State will open conference play on the road, Sept. 15, against Bellarmine at Trager Stadium. First touch is scheduled for 3 p.m. and can be streamed on the BU Sports Network.
By David Rogers. CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Appalachian State had a lot of answers for heavily favored North Carolina on Sept. 9, but none for Tar Heels running back, Omarion Hampton. The sophomore RB punished the Mountaineers at the line of scrimmage, rambling for 234 rushing yards and three TDs in helping UNC carve out a thrilling, double overtime win, 40-34.
When the Mountaineers’ defense denied the Tar Heels a 4th down conversion in the red zone on their opening offensive possession, it set the tone for yet another UNC-APP rivalry slugfest. In the first of the 3-game series, App State came away from Chapel Hill with a 34-31 win when Akeem Davis-Gaither tipped a UNC field goal with less than five seconds left. In 2022, Chapel Hill visited The Rock and wriggled away with a 63-61 barnburner of a victory.
Nate Noel (5) runs for TD against UNC. Photo courtesy of App State Athletics
In the last game of the series, the Mountaineers did just about everything they could to win the game except stop Hampton — and the Tar Heels braintrust used that to their advantage in the second OT period, using the sophomore RB as a decoy, when QB Drake Maye faked a handoff to Hampton plunging into the middle of the line of scrimmage, leaving Maye to stroll around the left side for a 13-yard TD run.
App State still had a chance to tie the game and send it into extended uncertainty as to an outcome, but came up short vs. the aggressive Tar Heel defense.
That last OT offensive possession was just about the only time over the course of the game that the Mountaineers underperformed. Promoted to starting QB after last week’s stellar leadership in the win over Gardner-Webb and the injury to Ryan Burger, junior transfer Joey Aguilar simply proved that maybe the job should have been his all along. While UNC’s Maye is deservedly ballyhooed as a Heisman Trophy candidate and a future No. 1 NFL Draft choice, Aguilar was every bit as effective as Maye in this one.
Eli Wilson (87) scores TD for App State at UNC. Photo courtesy of App State Athletics
Maye completed 21-of-30 passes for 208 yards, no TDs and no interceptions. Aguilar was 22-of-43 for 275 yards, 2 TDs, and one INT.
Take out Hampton — who UNC head coach Mack Brown said later was poised for a breakout game and, “I’m just glad it was this game.” — and App State was the more likely winner. Toward that end, credit defensive coordinator Scot Sloan and his assistants, as well as the players who executed a masterful defensive scheme to limit Maye & Co.’s production.
Joey Aguilar escapes the clutches of UNC defenders on Sept. 10. Photo courtesy of App State Athletics
But also credit the Mountaineers’ offensive coordinator Frank Ponce, along with his unit’s Aguilar-led efficiency, for keeping Maye off the field as much as possible, especially in the first half when the Mountaineers almost doubled the Tar Heels time of possession (18:26 vs. 11:34). By the end, Chapel Hill had narrowed the gap, but App State still controlled the ball 33:39 vs. 26:21 for the Tar Heels. The disparity was enough to harken back to last year’s upset victory over nationally-ranked Texas A&M, when the Mountaineers carved out a 17-14 win while holding onto a 41:29 vs. 18:31 time of possession advantage.
On the receiving end of Aguilar’s passes, Dashaun Davis made an impression with seven catches for 117 yards and one TD. The 6-4 WR Dalton Stroman only caught two of six targets, but they were big ones, including one in the third quarter facing 3rd-and-9, where he used his large frame to wrestle the ball from two UNC defenders for an 18-yard gain to extend the Mountaineer drive.
In all, Aguilar and his receivers manufactured seven big plays making up 161 of his 275 total passing yards.
APP STATE’S BIG PLAY SUMMARY, PASSING
Yards Gained
Context/Play
21
1ST QUARTER
Situation: 1st and 10 on ASU14
No Huddle-Shotgun Aguilar,Joey pass complete deep right to Davis,Dashaun for 21 yards to the ASU35 (Allen,Marcus), 1ST DOWN.
34
2ND QUARTER
Situation: 1st and 10 on UNC44
No Huddle-Shotgun Aguilar,Joey pass complete deep right to Davis,Dashaun for 34 yards to the UNC10, End Of Play, 1ST DOWN.
16
3RD QUARTER
Situation: 2nd and 10 on UNC49
No Huddle-Shotgun Aguilar,Joey pass complete short left to Stroman,Dalton for 16 yards to the UNC33 (Chapman,Don; Allen,Marcus), 1ST DOWN.
33
3RD QUARTER
Situation: 1st and 10 on UNC33
No Huddle-Shotgun Aguilar,Joey pass complete deep left to Davis,Dashaun for 33 yards to the UNC00 TOUCHDOWN, clock 12:43, 1ST DOWN.
20
3RD QUARTER
Situation: 3rd and 12 on ASU49
No Huddle-Shotgun Aguilar,Joey pass complete short right to Robinson,Kaedin for 20 yards to the UNC31 (Biggers,Giovanni; Echols,Power), 1ST DOWN.
19
3RD QUARTER
Situation: 4th and 1 on ASU44
No Huddle Aguilar,Joey pass complete short middle to Gibbs,Miller for 19 yards to the UNC37 (Gray,Cedric), 1ST DOWN.
18
3RD QUARTER
Situation: 3rd and 9 on UNC36
No Huddle-Shotgun Aguilar,Joey pass complete short right to Stroman,Dalton for 18 yards to the UNC18 (Allen,Marcus), 1ST DOWN.
Data courtesy of StatBroadcast
While many thought last season’s APP-UNC matchup that saw more than 1,200 yards could not be matched, the 2023 edition of the rivalry came close, at 1,021 (APP 494, UNC 527).
That’s because in addition to the aerial production by both teams, the run production was also prolific. In addition to UNC’s 236 yards rolled up by Hampton as the real difference maker, App State’s Nate Noel had among his best days as a Mountaineer in carrying the ball 26 times for 127 net yards and two touchdowns. Behind an offensive line that opened holes in the line of scrimmage, Noel slashed ahead for big gains of 24 yards (Q1), 15 yards (Q2), 14 yards (Q4) and 12 yards, (Q4), all in critical situations.
In addition to Hampton’s exploits on the UNC side, Maye carried the ball 10 times for 57 yards, including the decisive TD in overtime. Among the UNC receivers with big days were Kobe Paysour (8 catches, 73 yards) and JJ Jones (5 catches, 91 yards).
The Mountaineers will now try and put this heartbreaker behind them, knowing once again they can compete with a nationally ranked, Power 5 adversary. They return home to face East Carolina Sept. 16, with kickoff slated for 3:30 p.m., in a sold-out Kidd Brewer Stadium.
App State fans celebrate at UNC-Chapel Hill football game, Sept. 9. Photo courtesy of App State Athletics
SCORING SUMMARY
Team
Qtr
Clock
Score
Type
Play
Drive
Score
ASU
2
11:10
FG
Hughes,Michael 46 yd FG
19/66/08:10
0-3
UNC
2
10:43
TD
RUSH
Hampton,Omarion 68 yd rush
2/75/00:27
7-3
ASU
2
07:14
TD
PASS
Wilson,Eli 5 yd reception thrown by Aguilar,Joey
9/75/03:29
7-10
UNC
2
03:05
FG
Coe,Ryan 47 yd Field Goal
9/46/04:09
10-10
ASU
3
12:43
TD
PASS
Davis,Dashaun 33 yd reception thrown by Aguilar,Joey
By Katherine Jamtgaard. BOONE, N.C. — The App State volleyball team swept UNC Greensboro in the final match of the Black & Gold Tournament on Sept. 9 at the Holmes Convocation Center.
Saturday’s win marks the sixth sweep for the Mountaineers this season. The team is 9-0 (0-0 SBC) so far during the 2023 campaign, recording its best start since 2014, when it posted 13 consecutive wins from Aug. 29, 2014 to Sept. 21, 2014.
“I am so proud of this team,” said head coach Sarah Rumely Noble. “We talk all the time about showing up and doing the work — and we did that this weekend. The fan support was incredible, as well, and it was a fun environment to play in all weekend.”
A junior, Lauren Pledger and sophomores Kenady Roper and Maya Winterhoff made the Black & Gold All-Tournament Team. Pledger, who also earned Tournament MVP honors, posted 19 kills on the weekend with a hitting percentage of .567 through three matches. She also totaled 14 blocks and three digs.
Roper posted 50 digs, averaging 4.55 per set this weekend. She also served up five aces and made four assists during the tournament. Winterhoff tallied 22 kills, five aces, three assists, and 10 blocks (two solo, 8 assists) over the course of the weekend.
App State 3, UNC Greensboro 0
Junior Lulu Ambrose posted a team-high 10 kills on the afternoon with a hitting percentage of .417. Winterhoff and freshman Ava Leahy followed with nine kills and three block assists each. Leahy also posted two solo blocks. Redshirt sophomore Katie Cruise recorded a team-high 15 assists, while Roper recorded a team-high 12 digs.
App State outpaced UNCG in kills (41-28), aces (5-1), blocks (8-1), and assists (33-24). The Mountaineers held the Spartans to under 20 points each set.
The Mountaineers took a commanding, 6-0 lead in the first set. The Spartans struggled to catch up, closing the deficit to 13-9, but the Mountaineers padded their advantage with a 5-0 run that included kills from Denny, Ambrose, and Pledger. Kills from Ambrose and Winterhoff brought App State to a 22-12 lead. App State took the first set, 25-15, after a kill from Winterhoff and a Spartan error.
A Spartan serving error and a trio of kills from Winterhoff and Ambrose put App State up 4-0 early in the second set. The Mountaineers extended their lead to 9-2 with kills from Ambrose and Leahy, a block from Leahy/Winterhoff, and ace from junior Alexis Hardison. UNCG managed to close in on the Mountaineers with a 4-0 run, cutting App State’s lead to 17-14. App State responded with a 5-0 run of its own, which included back-to-back kills from Ambrose and Leahy and an ace from senior Sophie Cain to push the score to 22-14. Leahy and Denny closed out the second set, 25-16, with a pair of kills.
App State and UNCG fought point-for-point early in the third set, meeting at 8-8 after a kill from Pledger tied things up. App State gained momentum, following Pledger’s kill with a kill from Winterhoff, ace from Roper, and block from freshman Delanie Grevengoed/Winterhoff to take an 11-8 lead. The Mountaineers scored four more consecutive points to jump ahead, 15-9. Leading 16-11, freshman Taylor McNear entered the match, making her first collegiate appearance, and served for the Mountaineers as they went on an 8-0 scoring run that extended the Black and Gold’s lead to 24-11. The run included kills from Denny, Pledger, and Leahy, as well as a block from Leahy/Pledger. A block from Pledger/Leahy capped the set, 25-12, and match, 3-0, for the Mountaineers.
Up Next
App State will close out its non-conference slate with the Davidson Tournament on Sept. 14-15 in Davidson, N.C. The Mountaineers will take on Davidson at 6 p.m. on Sept. 14 and Wake Forest at 7 p.m. on Sept. 15.
Black & Gold Invitational All-Tournament Team
Lauren Pledger, App State
Kenady Roper, App State
Maya Winterhoff, App State
Maya Johnson, North Carolina A&T
Liselotte Spoormakers, North Carolina A&T
Madeline Timmerman, UNC Greensboro
Ady O’Grady, USC-Upstate
Tournament MVP: Lauren Pledger
Full Black & Gold Invitational Tournament Scores & Schedule
Thursday, Sept. 7
App State 3, North Carolina A&T 2
Friday, Sept. 8
App State 3, USC-Upstate 0
North Carolina A&T 3, UNC Greensboro 0
UNC Greensboro 3, USC-Upstate 0
Saturday, Sept. 9
USC-Upstate 3, North Carolina A&T 0
App State 3, UNC Greensboro 0
By David Rogers. KERNERSVILLE, N.C. — With an estimated 2,000 cross country athletes converging on the Ivey Redmon Sports Complex, Sept. 8, there was plenty of “harrier-raising” action to be had.
Women’s 5,000 Meters Championship
In the Women’s Championship class, Mt. Tabor senior Bronwyn Parks ran away with top honors (17:49.80), followed by Chandler Welsh of R.J. Reynolds and Grace Hanson of Weddington in third place. Two hundred eighty-five (285) athletes from 39 high schools competed.
Watauga’s best included sophomore Janie Beach Verhay (No. 115), and a trio of freshmen in Maggie Visser (No. 149), Lainey Johnston (No. 157), and Winter Shaw (No. 164).
Men’s 5,000 Meters Championship
Out of 297 athletes competing, Watauga’s Will Bradbury finished No. 8. The event was won by Noah Valyo of Athens Drive (15:14.70). Ardey Kell’s Raghav Gopalakrishnan was second and North Raleigh Christian Academy’s Tyler Surface was third.
Watauga senior Sam Nixon finished No. 105 while Calvin Zwetsloot, still just a sophomore, finished No. 144.
Girls Middle School 2-Mile
Cate Townsend of Watauga continued to show she is someone to contend with by finishing No. 2 in the Girls Middle School 2-Mile event. Kaitlyn Estep of Without Limits Triangle running club topped the field, while teammate Anneka Hill was No. 3.
Just over 100 girls competed in the race, which saw seven Watauga runners in the top 50, including sixth graders Kate James Moore (No. 11) and Maia Carter (No. 14). Others included Lillian Kimbrough (No. 22), Sophia Stull (No. 24), Sadie Long (No. 31), Eva Hannon (No. 33) and Noelle Bollman (No. 47).
As a team, Watauga’s boys were No. 7, the girls No. 2 among all of the teams competing, including club teams. The girls were No. 1 among middle school teams only, the boys team was No. 6 among middle school teams only.
Boys Middle School 2-Mile
Out of 119 competing athletes, Watauga 7th grader Jonah Pearson was No. 16 around the course. Parkwood Middle School eight grader Joshua Palmer was No. 1, followed by a trio of Without Limits Triangle harriers in Galvin Clewly, Nathan Vo, and Samuel Neil.
Blowing Rock School 7th grader Sean Rea was No. 18 in the field, while fellow Watauga teammate Asa Freed, a 6th grader, finished No. 66.
By David Rogers. ASHEVILLE, N.C. — There was a little bit of everything football on Sept. 8, when Watauga took on A.C. Reynolds. There was even a smattering of “big play” defense in the Pioneers’ 36-35 win over the host Rockets.
BONUS PHOTOS AT BOTTOM OF ARTICLE ( click any image for slide show mode)
The first half saw the two 828 area code rivals battle toe-to-toe, the score knotted at 22-22 when the second quarter’s end invited the teams to intermission.
Watauga and AC Reynolds used different approaches in reaching identical first half point totals. The very athletic Rockets relied largely on the passing arm of senior quarterback Hayden Craig and a pair of talented receivers, sophomore WR Tyvon Patterson and senior Ty Johnson, picking up large chunks of gridrion real estate through the air.
Everett Gryder runs down the sideline after taking a lateral from Jackson Pryor with a ‘hook and ladder’ play. Photographic image by David Rogers
In countering the sheer advantage that ACR had in athleticism, the Pioneers rolled out an element of surprise with two trick plays in the first half. Early in the second quarter, after Watauga had established the run as offensive play of choice, it was a “hook and ladder” down the left side with quarterback Maddox Greene passing to senior wide receiver Jackson Pryor short, who then lateraled to the trailing running back, Everett Gryder, coming around the outside and down the sideline. The play was good for 31 yards, Gryder hauled down just short of the goal line. Two plays later, Greene hit tight end Trathan Gragg in the end zone for a touchdown and Greene ran in a 2-point conversion to give the visitors a 15-7 lead.
The other Pioneer skullduggery came in the form of a double pass, the second leg of which found Pryor cruising into the end zone.
Maddps Greene throws an impromptu TD pass after spotting Evan Burroughs in the end zone. Photographic image by David RogersEvan Burroughs is all alone in the end zone to receive Maddox Green’s impromptu pass at A C Reynolds on Sept. 8. Photographic image by David Rogers
In the second half, after a long offensive drive culminating with a 10-yard Greene run and a Jack Wilson PAT kick put Watauga ahead, 29-22, the Pioneer defense held and forced the Rockets to punt. This gave the Pioneers a chance to put the game further out of reach with another score, but instead a fumble by Gryder in front of the Rockets’ bench near midfield gave the ball back to Reynolds. It only took ACR’s Craig, Patterson, Johnson & Co. four plays to cover the 46 yards for a TD, the finishing effort a Craig-to-Johnson aerial for 30 yards. With a Rossi Santelia PAT kick, the score was back to knotted, 29-29.
The Pioneers didn’t waste any time, starting the drive on their own 28 and going the distance in just six plays. On 2nd-and-9 from the Rockets’ 36, came one of the evening’s most dramatic plays. Greene rolled left on a designed run but before he reached the line of scrimmage spotted Evan Burroughs all by himself in the end zone (see photos above).
“I was supposed to keep running outside,”said Greene of his team’s final TD of the evening, but I looked up and saw Evan. It was totally impromptu.”
A C Reynolds QB Hayden Craig passed for more than 200 yards on Sept. 8, directing the Rockets’ offense. Photographic image by David Rogers
His opportunistic decision to loft a perfect spiral into the waiting arms of his sophomore teammate, along with another successful PAT kick by Wilson, gave the Pioneers the points they needed.
But A C Reynolds did not go quietly into the night. To start the fourth quarter, Watauga stopped the Rockets, who picked up some yardage but then failed on a fourth down conversion after getting all the way to the Watauga 20.
Two penalties, a false start and an illegal motion flag, were too much for the Pioneers to overcome and they were forced to punt the ball back to ACR, deep in Pioneer territory.
As a consequence, the Rockets enjoyed good field position, starting their final drive inside of five minutes remaining from their own 42. Craig clicked off successive passes of 12, 16, and 17 yards, then with just two carries Patterson went the remaining 12 yards to make the score, 36-35.
It was decision time for the Mean Green Machine, but there was little doubt that they would go for the 2-point conversion for a probable win the way they had been moving the ball both on the ground and through the air.
Everett Gryder cuts back for a big gain vs. A C Reynolds on Sept. 8. Photographic image by David Rogers
Interviewed after the game, Watauga’s Evan Burroughs told High Country Sports, “I was on the field, on defense, for that 2-point conversion attempt. During the timeout, Trathan Gragg came running up all excited and said, ‘I know what play they will run! I know what play they will run!’ I’ll be darned if he wasn’t right and he closed that gap to tackle the running back behind the line of scrimmage.”
Gragg followed up by saying, “They had run that play with success the whole night. During the timeout I spoke with our assistant coach and told him what I thought and he said, ‘Go for it!’ I guess you would call it instinct.”
It was obvious that Watauga was milking the clock on the Pioneers’ final possession, Greene waiting until less than four seconds remaining on the play clock before snapping the ball. But on 4th-and-5, just across midfield with still two minutes remaining, the Pioneers needed a first down. Get it and ice the game. Fail, and give the high-powered Rockets’ offense one last shot at carving out a win.
Greene got the first down with a couple of yards to spare, passing the ball to his “Mr. Reliable” wide receiver, Pryor, for a gain of eight yards. With no more timeouts, the Rockets could not stop the clock as the Pioneers went into victory formation.
Maddox Greene (4) spots Jackson Pryor (8) — and it is Watauga’s hook and ladder play with Everett Gryder (44) coming around to take a lateral from Pryor. downfield. Photographic image by David Rogers
Known as much for his running the option ground game, Greene passed on this night for 221 yards and four TDs, completing 12-of-13 passes. He also carried the ball eight times for 40 yards, including a TD.
Burroughs caught four passes for 74 yards and two TDs, while Gryder carried the ball 21 times for 130 yards.
Pryor caught five passes for 90 yards and one TD, the langest pass his game-opening 31-yarder. Including an acrobatic run around the left side, wingback Morgan Henry caught one pass for 37 yards and carried the ball four times for 18 yards. Gragg caught just two passes for 25 yards, but one of those was the 15-yard TD aerial in the first half.
For the Rockets, Craig completed 17-of-20 passes for 219 yards and a TD, plus a rushing touchdown. Wide receiver Ty Johnson caught six passes for 107 yards and two TDs. Running back Patterson ran 19 times, rolling up 78 yards and accounted for two TDs.
SOUND BITES
Watauga hea coach Ryan Habich
“We lost a lot of seniors from last year so we have a lot of young kids this year. But we have a good bunch of seniors this year who are leading by example in Jackson Pryor, Morgan Henry, Eli Greene… and they are developing into vocal leaders, too. Plus we have a bunch of younger players who are making big time plays.”
“We challenged our guys to be the champions of the 828 area code. Reynolds has been the ‘Alabama’ of this area code for a number of years. They have been a dynasty in this area. Few teams wanted to play them. We knew going in that we would be big underdogs to A C Reynolds, but I challenged the guys to make it a fourth quarter game and we could win. And they did that.”
Regarding defense: “That was a very good team that we faced. They are very athletic and they have a lot of quality depth (at every position). A lot of our guys are going both ways, so by the second half we were getting a bit tired while they were (platooning different guys on offense and defense). Again, they are very athletic and that hurts us on the edge. We made stops when we could.”
“It seemed like every time we did an onside kick we were able to stop them, but if we kicked off deep they would end up scoring.”
“We have to roll the dice a little bit when we play big time teams like this. We have to find a way to win.”
“If we can get into the fourth quarter and still in it, I feel we have a chance to win the game because that is the kind of character we have in our players.”
“I told our kids after the coin toss that we were going to play to win, that we were going to onside kick the first kickoff. We were not going to play close. We were going to play to win. They did a great job. This was a big time win for us.”
On the last fourth down conversion: “Pick the first down up and win the game. We are an aggressive football team. We are not going to punt the ball and let them return it or have one or more large runs. We tried to draw them offsides, but ultimately we had a lot of confidence in our quarterback and wide receiver. I told Maddox and Pryor, ‘Big time players make big time plays in big time games.’”
Watauga now improves to 4-0 on the still young season, with one more non-conference road game at North Davidson (Sept. 15) ahead of a bye week before opening conference play on Sept. 29 vs. South Caldwell.
BONUS PHOTOS
Watauga wingback/tight end Morgan Henry hurdles a would-be tackler on Sept. 8 during the Pioneers’ 36-35 thriller win at A C Reynolds. Photographic image by David Rogers
By Zach Smith. ASHEVILLE, N.C. – For the first time in seven years, Watauga traveled to Asheville to face off against A.C. Reynolds. Here are notes and play-by-play from the press box. Without question, the Pioneers and Rockets combined for a thrilling Friday night under the lights.
Pregame Notes
On the road, Watauga (3-0) to play A.C Reynolds (1-2)
Watauga has won 2 of 3 games this season by 3+ scores.
A.C. Reynolds has not played in a game decided by more than 7 points this season and has a point differential of 0.
This is the teams’ first meeting since 2016, when Watauga fell to A.C. Reynolds @ home 45-43
Watauga Team Leaders
QB/DB #4 Maddox Greene (Jr)
TE/LB #9 Jackson Pryor (Sr)
RB #44 Everett Gryder (So)
LB #6 Trathan Gragg (Jr)
WB/LB #14 Morgan Henry (Sr)
A.C. Reynolds Team Leaders
QB #8 Hayden Craig (Sr)
WR/DB #12 Tyvon Patterson (So)
WR/DB #11 Ty Johnson (Sr)
LB #36 Lincoln Rogers (Jr)
DB #14 Austin Worrell (Sr)
PLAY BY PLAY
1st Quarter
ACR wins coin toss, elects to receive
Watauga attempts onside kick, ACR ball on their own 46
Tyvon Patterson carries up the middle for 1 yard
Hayden Craig pass complete right to Wesley Rumbough for 13 yards
Holding against ACR, 1st and 20 on the 50
Patterson carries up the middle for 3 yards
Patterson carries right for 1 yard
Craig complete right to Kenyon Swimmer for 3 yards
ACR punts, ball downed at Watauga 6
Watauga ball on their own 6
Everett Gryder carries up the middle for 10 yards
Gryder carries up the middle for 3 yards
Maddox Greene carries up the middle for 7 yards
Gryder carries left for 10 yards
Morgan Henry carries left for 5 yards
Gryder carries up the middle for 2 yards
Greene carries up the middle for 3 yards
Greene carries up the middle for 5 yards
Gryder carries right for 24 yards
Greene tackled for 2 yard loss
TOUCHDOWN WATAUGA
#4 Maddox Greene 22-yard pass (1) to #9 Jackson Pryor (1)
#41 Jack Wilson PAT is good
Watauga 7 A.C. Reynolds 0
Facemask against Watauga, ACR ball on their own 48
Craig pass complete right to Swimmer for 12 yards
Craig pass complete over the middle to Ty Johnson for 30 yards
Craig scrambles left for 8 yards
TOUCHDOWN A.C. REYNOLDS
#12 Tyvon Patterson 2-yard rush (1)
#84 Rossi Santelia PAT is good
Watauga 7 A.C. Reynolds 7
Watauga ball on their own 25
Gryder carries up the middle for 1 yard
End of 1st Quarter
Watauga ball, 2nd and 9 on their own 26
Gryder carries up the middle for 9 yards
Greene complete right to Pryor for 12 yards
Gryder carries up the middle for 6 yards
Gryder carries up the middle for 6 yards
Greene complete left to Pryor, Pryor laterals to Gryder for 31 yards
By Zach Smith. ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Two top teams of the mountains combined for an electric Friday night on Sept. 8, as undefeated Watauga (now 4-0) met powerhouse A.C. Reynolds (1-3). This was the first meeting between the two since 2016, when A.C. Reynolds defeated Watauga. In this nail biter, Watauga won the night, 36-35.
Watauga entered the contest hoping to remain perfect through their non-conference slate. Meanwhile, the Rockets looked to change their luck on the season. It was a study in contrasts: the Pioneers won two of their first three games by large margins (55-6 vs. Avery County and 47-21 @ Maiden), while none of A.C. Reynolds’ early season games were decided by more than seven points.
A.C. Reynolds won the opening coin toss and elected to receive, hoping to gain momentum early on. The Rockets were unable to take advantage and punted to the dangerous Watauga offense, who subsequently scored by way of a Maddox Greene 22-yard touchdown pass to senior Jackson Pryor. In retrospect, the opening A.C. Reynolds drive proved to be one of two possessions that didn’t result in a first half touchdown as both teams traded blows before intermission, with the halftime score knotted at 22-22.
“coach hicks, i know what play they are going to run!”
The second half was nearly a carbon copy of the first as the Pioneers and the Rockets continued to match each other’s efforts, Watauga took a 36-29 lead into the fourth quarter.
Game-changing decisions
Following a scoreless possession by each team, A.C. Reynolds drove 58 yards to score a late-game touchdown, closing the deficit to a single point, 36-35. Going for the win, the Rockets attempted a two-point conversion but were denied by an explosive tackle behind the line of scrimmage, compliments of the Pioneers’ junior linebacker, Trathan Gragg.
“Funny story, No. 6 [Gragg], who made the tackle, came up to me before the play and goes ‘I know exactly what play they’re gonna run and I’m gonna make the tackle,’” sophomore wingback Evan Burroughs said when asked about the team’s discussion before the Rockets’ failed two-point try. “I just looked up as soon as the ball is snapped and I see him in the backfield making the tackle — and I was like ‘wow!’”
Gragg confirmed his pre-play prognostication, as well.
“I said to Coach Hicks, ‘I know what they’re gonna run. I’m gonna come through the backside because I know the guard’s gonna pull,’” Gragg Said. “And he said ‘Go for it, just get there as fast as you can.’”
WE ARE AN AGGRESSIVE FOOTBALL TEAM AND WILL GO FOR THE WIN.
There was still enough time left on the clock for Watauga to find themselves in their own difficult call situation, on 4th-and-5, just past midfield in Rockets’ territory. The three alternatives: [1] go for the first down and run out the clock for the win, [2] fail to get the first down and turn the ball over to A C Reynolds near midfield, or [3] punt, and risk a big return by one of ACR’s athletic athletes.
Watauga head coach Ryan Habich decided to go for the first down and Greene was able to complete an eight-yard pass to Pryor in the right flat to secure the win.
Later, Habich spoke about his confidence in the team’s offensive playmakers and that critical decision.
“We’re always gonna go for it,” Habich said. “Pick the first down up, win the game. We’re an aggressive football team.”
Overall, Greene continued his impressive form, completing all but one of his 13 passes while recording 261 total yards and five touchdowns. Burroughs was also key in the Pioneers’ victory, acquiring 74 yards and scoring on two of his four total receptions.
Greene gave a simple answer when asked where Watauga’s thrilling victory over A.C. Reynolds ranked among his previous wins.
“This one’s number one, for sure,” Greene said.
To complete its 3-game, early season road challenge, Watauga travels to Lexington, N.C.on Sept. 15, to face North Davidson — looking to finish the non-conference portion of their season perfect. Kickoff is at 7:30p.m. and will be streamed on the NFHS Network website.
By David Rogers. BLOWING ROCK, N.C. — Several split decisions marked the Watauga County middle school volleyball action on Sept. 20. Hardin Park and Parkway continued to roll through opponents, while the standings in the bottom two-thirds of the league got more muddled as teams that lost in the first two weeks seem to have gotten stronger and more confident with experience.
Green Valley’s Ansleigh Watson goes for a ‘dig’ against Mabel on Sept. 20, in a tri-match hosted by Blowing Rock. Photo by David Rogers
At the Blowing Rock gymnasium, the host Rockets dropped their first set to Green Valley narrowly, 22-25, but rallied to take the next two sets more convincingly, 25-18, 15-10.
In the second pairing at Blowing Rock, Mabel defeated Green Valley in a split decision, 2-1 (13-25, 25-15, 15-11), but then was swept by Blowing Rock, 2-0 (25-14, 15-13).
Two Blowing Rock players converge on the ball, including Alaina Portero (14), in a tri-match pairing vs. Mabel on Sept. 20, hosted by Blowing Rock. Photo by David Rogers.
At the Valle Crucis hosted tri-match, Hardin Park dispatched both Cove Creek (25-9, 25-17) and Valle Crucis (25-13, 25-8) in straight sets, while Cove Creek won a close encounter with their hosts, 2-1 (25-23. 20-25, 15-13).
In the lone solo match hosted by Bethel, Parkway proved to be an inhospitable guest in sweeping, 2-0 (25-7, 25-21).
By David Rogers. WEST JEFFERSON, N.C. — Now halfway through the regular season slate in the women’s tennis fall season, Watauga took down another Northwestern Conference opponent on Sept. 19, 8-1, over host Ashe County. The Pioneer women are now 8-1 overall, 5-0 against NWC adversaries. The lone loss came on Aug. 24 at T.C. Roberson, 2-7, although Watauga exacted a measure of revenge on Sept. 13 when the Pioneers defeated the Rams in Boone, 8-1.
“It has been a pretty good season, so far,” said Jennifer Pillow, Watauga’s head coach, “but there is still a lot of tennis to play. We are hoping to qualify athletes to regionals, and then qualify them for the state tournament. We have five more league matches, the last on Oct. 5 against Ashe County. Typically, the regionals are scheduled for early to mid-October and the state tournament for late October.
By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Across the Watauga men’s soccer roster, there are some really fast, exceptionally skilled student-athletes. Against Ardrey Kell at Jack Groce Stadium on Sept. 19, the Pioneers met their match — and then some.
The visiting Knights took home a 4-0 shutout against what the team’s head coach, Rob Dalton, explained after the match was much needed: stiffer competition — and that was exactly what they found in Watauga.
Watauga goalkeeper Kyle Painter recorded 10 saves against Ardrey Kell on Sept. 19, including this one in the first half. Photo by David Rogers
“I was pleased with our performance tonight,” said Dalton. “In our conference we have had some less than competitive games recently. So we were looking forward to coming up here to Boone and having a much more competitive game. And Watauga gave us just that. Our guys were on it from the beginning and we obviously got the good start with a penalty kick in the first minute. I don’t think we took our foot off the accelerator for the full 90 minutes. We are still building. When others see this result against a very well coached and capable Watauga side, it may not send shockwaves (around the state) but it will raise a few eyebrows. Watauga is that good.”
From a momentum standpoint, the visitors benefited from a penalty kick awarded to them when the starting whistle had barely faded into the early autumn night. The Knights’ senior captain Quinn McGuire sent the ball past Watauga’s goalkeeper, Kyle Painter, for the opening salvo.
Kyle Painter didn’t have an 11th save for lack of trying during the Sept. 19 Watauga match vs. Ardrey Kell at Jack Groce Stadium. Photo by David Rogers.
On attack, Ardrey Kell was relentless, peppering the Watauga-defended net with shots. Against most High Country and regional opponents, Watauga is fast to the ball and quickly finding teammates with one-touch passing to move the ball into space. The Knights were, simply put, faster and equally skilled. They were also effective in disrupting nearly every Pioneer possession.
Said Dalton, “It is difficult for the opposition, once you are all over them, to break the stranglehold.”
Watauga head coach Josh Honeycutt knew full well what his charges would be facing against Ardrey Kell and, despite the loss, knew that his team benefited in the long run from this non-conference scheduling.
Ardrey Kell’s Neil Singh pushes the ball up the left sideline in a full sprint during the first half of play against Watauga at Jack Groce Stadium. Photo by David Rogers
“Ardrey Kell is a really good team,” acknowledged Honeycutt after the game. “We may not have played our best game, but we didn’t play badly. What happened tonight is that we played a really good team that could move the ball really well. They were solid defensively. They threw numbers in on attack and had a lot of good speed. Hopefully, we learned that to battle, to fight, to continue to grind with another good team… We had good moments.”
For much of the game, the Watauga players in general moved away from their patented one-touch passing that they have exhibited so skillfully against other opponents. It wasn’t until the last 13 minutes that those combinations worked to put real pressure on Ardrey Kell’s defense.
In a battle of No. 5s, Ardrey Kell’s Sammy Lee, who had two goals on the night, goes one-on-one with Watauga defender Kai Suyao in the first half of the Sept. 19 non-conference match between the Knights and the Pioneers. Photo by David Rogers
“Yeah, that is one thing we talked about at halftime,” said Honeycutt. “You can’t hold onto the ball and take so many touches. Keep the ball moving, let the ball do the work. Take one or two touches and make the defense shift. We didn’t do a great job of that tonight but credit to Ardrey Kell, they didn’t allow us, really, with their pressure to connect a whole lot of passes. A lot of that was them but a lot of it was us holding the ball too long.”
The outcome could have been much worse if not for the athletic Painter’s diving this way and that to record 10 saves on the night.
At the other end, Watauga could do little against the Knights’ defense. The Pioneers recorded only one shot on goal during the 90 minutes, by junior midfielder Andrew Hill.
According to MaxPreps.com, Ardrey Kell was the No. 18-ranked team in the entire state of North Carolina last season and the No. 8 team in the North Carolina 4A West region, when they recorded a 14-4-4 season, losing to Cornelius-based Hough in the fourth round of the 4A state playoffs. At 6-3-1 this year, so far, that ranking has slipped only a little while posting a 4-0 record to date in the 4A South Mecklenburg Conference, which includes Myers Park, South Mecklenburg, Palisades, Berry, Olympic, and Harding high schools.
“If we are going to win a state championship,” said Honeycutt, “Ardrey Kell is the kind of team we are going to have to beat.”
With only two officials calling the game, players and refs alike were frustrated during the Sept. 19, highly competitive pairing of Ardrey Kell and Watauga at Jack Groce Stadium. Photo by David Rogers
As good as this game was played, it was marred to an extent by a total of five yellow cards and 10 called fouls. Normally, there are three officials, a primary referee and two sideline judges. Only two officials were assigned to call this match, each having to not only be in position to call offsides, when they occurred, at the extreme ends of the field, but also to monitor what was going on in the middle of the field. Under that kind of pressure, the officials appeared to lose patience with the players in the second half, either backtalking or kicking the ball away after the whistle had blown.
“This is the first time we have played with only two officials and it is unfortunate that for this competitive of a match the full complement could not have been assigned. In conference play in Charlotte, we would not play without three officials. We would wait for the third to begin play,” said Dalton, suggesting how important it is to have three.
Next competition for Watauga (2-7-1 overall, 0-0 NWC) is on Sept. 21, at home against another strong non-conference opponent in Concord-Cox Mill (8-0-4), before beginning Northwestern Conference play on Sept. 26, also at home against South Caldwell (5-1-2, 0-0). Ardrey Kell resumes league play on Sept. 22 against Palisades (2-5-1, 1-2).
