By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Controlling possession in the attacking half of the field for an estimated 80 percent of a soccer match is a good start. You also have to score goals.

BONUS PHOTOS at bottom of article (click any image for slide show mode)

On Oct. 31, Watauga did one and not the other in the first half against Ashe County. In the second half, the Pioneers were able to do both en route to a 3-1 Northwestern Conference win.

The victory elevated the Pioneers’ overall record to 16-3-2 and guaranteed its place as the conference champion. With two more league matches remaining, Watauga is now 8-0 in the Northwestern Conference. Only South Caldwell on Monday and Tuesday next week stand between the Pioneers and an unblemished 2024 conference record.

While Watauga was controlling possession in the first half of Thursday’s game against the visiting Huskies, Ashe County took advantage of its rare opportunities by scoring a goal midway through the opening period. On a counterattack by Ashe County and breakaway in transition, a Watauga defender made the initial tackle but the ball bounced outside and other Husky player was able to push the ball past Watauga goalkeeper Jude Jackson.

On the night, Watauga’s brilliant defensive effort limited the Huskies to just four shots on goal, with Jackson credited with three saves. On the other end of the field, the Pioneers crafted 11 shots on goal, three of which made it through.

The other thing the Huskies did was play strong defense by “packing the box” — bringing just about the whole team into the Pioneers’ attacking third of the field, satisfied with relatively few counterattacking opportunities.

“We were moving the ball pretty well tonight,” said Watauga head coach Josh Honeycutt after the game. “Our short, possession type passes up and down and around the field were working. You have to credit Ashe County for their defensive game plan, at least in the first half. By packing the box, they made it very difficult for us to score. We finally broke through in the second half.”

 

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Ben Myers Go-Ahead Goal Sequence

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A game of inches

For the tying goal early in the second half, Gavin Lapinski was credited with a hard shot that was actually caught by the Ashe County goalkeeper — but the ball’s momentum carried him across the front line of the net. Initially ruled a save by the referee, after a protest by Watauga he conferred with the near side linesman who confirmed that the goalkeeper had broken the plane of the goal face, stepping across and slightly into the goal space.

A few minutes later, Ben Myers found himself alone with the ball approximately 13 yards out and between the hash marks (for football), with the goalkeeper coming out. Myers punched the ball along the ground between a closing defender and the goalkeeper’s left side — and it rolled briskly into the net for Watauga’s go-ahead score.

Later in the half, Watauga’s short passing game worked to perfection in getting the ball up field. The Pioneer midfielders worked the ball across to an open Quincy Honeycutt on the right wing, approximately 20 yards from the goal. The sophomore’s shot at goal arched over the goalkeeper’s head and into the net for the final score.

“Us having possession didn’t seem to matter to them,” the Watauga head coach said later. “Their aim was to prevent us from scoring. It worked early. It makes it difficult to work the ball around the way we like to (in the attacking third). When there are so many bodies in the box… credit to them and their defense. They made it hard on us.”

Next Up

In a finish to Northwestern Conference play, Watauga has a condensed schedule next week, with two more games against 4A rival South Caldwell. Monday, Nov. 4, will find the Spartans in Boone, challenging the Pioneers in Jack Groce Stadium for the final regular season home game. Then, on Tuesday, Nov. 5, Watauga will travel to Hudson.

Now 9-8-1 overall and 3-5 in NWC play, South Caldwell split its home and away series with 5-14, 1-8 Freedom, losing 2-1 in Hudson and winning 1-0 in Morganton this week.

“South Caldwell has been up and down this year,” said Honeycutt. “Catch them on the right day and they can be trouble.”

BONUS PHOTOS

By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Two second half goals proved to be the winning difference on Oct. 30, as Watauga men’s soccer prevailed, 3-1, against visiting Alexander Central.

“It was not the prettiest soccer,” said Watauga head coach Josh Honeycutt after the final buzzer. “But it was a win.”

The first 10 minutes and the last 10 minutes were classic Watauga soccer, moving the ball downfield with short, possession-priority passing and working the ball into the opponent’s net. In between, the style of play was something else, even lethargic at times.

“We got away from our short passing game and lapsed back into Alexander Central’s game with long passes and keeping the ball in the air a lot,” admitted Honeycutt.”

Curtis Sevensky scored in the first four minutes of the game and then a see-saw, defensive battle ensued. Although the Pioneers seemed in control for much of the early part of the first half, that changed as the Cougars grew more dominant late in the half. In the second half, much of the game was played in the middle third of the field, without much in the way of opportunistic attacks by either side until the later phases of the game.

Noah Bauler came off the bench to knock in a goal past the midway point of the second half, then Alexander Central answered with a goal, with about five minutes to play. Then, near the two minute mark, the Pioneers’ Ben Myers found himself alone with the ball on the left wing, dribbled up field with a defender closing in from midfield, the rifled a shot along the ground. His feint had the goalkeeper diving left for a stop, but the ball whistled past him on his right and into the net. Myers goal allowed the Pioneers to retake a two-goal lead into what would become Alexander Central’s desperation minutes.

There was a bit of confusion at the end, and controversy. The Cougars were awarded a free kick and quickly put the ball in play, moving it past an almost motionless Watauga team to score an apparent goal. But the head referee had already started marching off 10 yards from the spot of the penalty, to move the Watauga wall back, and had not blown his whistle to restart play. He ordered the goal disallowed and brought Alexander Central back to take the free kick, much to the consternation of the Cougar coaches, players and fans. But, by rule, once the official starts marching off 10 yards play should be stopped until he blows his whistle to restart so, according to our sources, he made the correct ruling.

In addition to his second half goal, Myers was credited with an assist on Sevensky’s early goal as well as an assist on Bauler’s score.

Watauga had only six shots on goal, three of which went in. They were only awarded two corner kicks. Pioneer goalkeeper Jude Jackson recorded five saves on the night, his second half replacement, Solomon Triplett, had two saves and allowed one goal.

With the win, Watauga’s overall record improves to 15-3-2, and still undefeated at 7-0 in Northwestern Conference play. That unblemished record in league play will be tested on Oct. 31, vs. Ashe County on the Jack Groce Stadium field. Kickoff is slated for 6 p.m.

In the curtain raiser match of the evening, Watauga’s junior varsity and Alexander Central’s junior varsity battled to a 0-0 tie.

BONUS PHOTOS

By David Rogers. TAYLORSVILLE, N.C. — Falling behind to Alexander Central by halftime was not what Watauga men’s soccer planned but behind senior forward Curtis Sevensky’s second half “hat trick” and re-energized play all around, the Pioneers rallied for a thrilling, 5-3 win over the host Cougars.

BONUS PHOTOS at bottom of article (click any image for slide show mode)

The key Northwestern Conference 4A match started out on a positive note for the Pioneers. Some five minutes in, a rare penalty against the ACHS goalkeeper for fielding a ball with his hands that had been passed back to him with a teammate’s feet resulted in a direct kick from inside the penalty box. The Cougars assembled a massive wall in front of the goalkeeper with just about every available player, but somehow the Pioneers’ Ben Myers drilled the free kick along the ground, through the left side of the wall and past the goalkeeper, giving the Boone team a 1-0 lead.

Although the well-skilled Pioneers controlled possession for most of the first half, the Cougars took advantage of their opportunities, manufacturing two goals before intermission as the Watauga defense broke down.

The Pioneers’ head coach Josh Honeycutt told his players at halftime they weren’t playing badly, but they were allowing Alexander Central’s players to out-work them.

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Honeycutt to Sevensky sequence

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That, and the fact Watauga’s high level of fitness gives them an edge as an opposing team begins to tire, was just what the Pioneers needed. At first, the second half comeback was troublesome as the Pioneers lapsed back into a style of play not generally favored by Honeycutt, with long passes downfield and keeping the ball airborne for long stretches. Worse still, they weren’t getting the desired results, turned away by the Cougar defenders.

A crossing pass from the right side by Quincy Honeycutt that was headed sharply into goal by Sevensky changed all that, knotting the score at 2-2 and sending an emotional Sevensky racing with teammates to the sidelines screaming with supporters in the grandstands.

Just a couple of minutes later, Sevensky repeated his sideline celebration after punching home yet another goal to put his Pioneers in front, 3-2.

The Pioneer senior collected still another goal in the second half to complete his “hat trick,” but it was a well-placed rocket off Lucas Hamilton’s foot from 30 yards out that surprised everyone, including the Cougar goalkeeper who had been drawn out and left grasping the air futilely as Hamilton’s shot arched over the keeper’s head and ducked under the crossbar. It was one of those “icing on the cake” moments for the Pioneers.

In the waning minutes, Watauga allowed one more Alexander Central goal to tighten the deficit to 5-3, but it was too little, too late for the home side.

“Down 2-1 (at halftime), we knew we had to flip a switch and come to play the game we normally play,” said Sevensky after the game. “In the first half, we weren’t connecting very well and credit to Alexander Central, they were playing with a lot of energy. We had to match that.”

Coach Honeycutt broke it down, similarly.

“I felt our game plan and execution was ‘OK’ in the first half. I told the guys at halftime that it wasn’t because they were playing badly. We just weren’t playing with the same heart and passion that we usually have. The intensity and the work rate… we were being out-worked,” Honeycutt said. “So I challenged them at halftime to outwork their opponents in the second half. To put that to the test and see what happens. Well, obviously, a 5-3 result is what happens when you outwork your opponent.”

Honeycutt had special praise for his front line.

“Curtis (Sevensky) had a great game. He worked super hard the whole time. Quincy (Honeycutt) and Evan (Mawhinney) came in and gave us great minutes on the outside. And, of course, Ben (Myers) and Alex (Aguilar) started on the outside and we just pounded them with our speed. Thomas (Moss) and David (Ganley) in the midfield were terrific and Ganley was a lockdown defender. It was a great team effort, for sure, to come back and get those results in the second half.”

With the loss, Alexander Central falls to 11-6 overall, 4-3 in Northwestern Conference play. Watauga improves to 14-3-2 overall, and remains undefeated in NWC play (6-0). The Cougars get another chance at the Pioneers on Wednesday, Oct. 30, when they face Watauga in Jack Groce Stadium, slated for a 6 p.m. kickoff. The Pioneers host Ashe County on Thursday, Oct. 31, then have a home and away series with South Caldwell next week to finish off regular season play.

BONUS PHOTOS

By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Even starting the first home game in roughly five weeks “flat” and “sloppy,” Watauga still had enough — and more — to corral Hibriten on Oct. 25, 49-14.

When you see that Hibriten controlled possession for more than 24 minutes compared to Watauga’s 16 minutes (it was a running clock beginning midway through the 4th quarter), you might think that the Panthers dominated the game. That was far from the case, however, with the visitors from Lenoir choosing to continue running the football even after going down by three touchdowns, using up the remaining time on the clock in the process.

Meanwhile, Watauga scored early and often.

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‘The Catch’ Sequence

 

 

 

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For its part, Watauga rolled up 473 yards of total offense, while allowing Hibriten to gain just 192 yards. To say it was a stellar effort on both sides of the football for the Pioneers is an understatement.

By midway through the third quarter, the Pioneers’ starting quarterback, senior Maddox Greene, was already off the field except for an appearance to punt. He didn’t leave, though, without having an impact. Greene kept the ball for 10 carries, 115 yards and two touchdowns, his longest a weaving sprint off left tackle for 45 yards. Oh, and he passed, too, completing nine of 13 passes for 146 yards and two TDs. Plus, at one point early in the third quarter, junior QB Cade Keller came on, moving Greene to a wingback position — from which he promptly caught a pass and broke a couple of tackles for a 6-yard gain as a receiver.

Junior wingback Evan Burroughs continued his own stellar play on both sides of the ball, but as a receiver he caught nine of nine targets for 137 yards and two TDs. His production included being on the receiving end of a 28-yard pass from Greene that he miraculously caught and stayed inbounds before exiting the field on the one-yard line, tippy-toe.

While Burroughs’ pass reception was spectacular, one of the most skillful plays of the night was a slant pass thrown from Keller to wide receiver Landon Smith, coming toward the middle from the right side. Keller rifled the ball to Smith, catching it in stride and advancing for what became a 30-yard gain.

Running back Everett Gryder, one of those special Pioneer juniors, was back in form, carrying the ball eight times for 59 yards, the longest a 27 yarder through the middle of the Panther defense.

Watauga has a number of what head coach Ryan Habich affectionately refers to as “blue collar” players. They show up to work at whatever role they are called upon to play and none epitomizes that more than Dillon Zaragoza, who plays wingback on offense and cornerback on defense. While he is often called upon to block, which he readily executes, on this night he carried the ball four times for 21 yards, his longest for 18 yards in the second quarter that put the Pioneers inside the red zone, at the Hibriten 12 yard line, with a first down. Early in the third quarter, however, he got a well deserved opportunity to run the ball into the into the end zone from a yard out for his first TD run. Apparently, the whole team was working for him to get it as he took a handoff from Greene, running left, then cut upfield and across the goal line, untouched. He could have driven a proverbial freight train through the gaping hole opened by his offensive line.

After the game, Watauga head coach Ryan Habich admitted that there were some areas for improvement, but was thankful for the opportunity to get a number of players on the field as the coaching staff still is looking to create depth at various positions as the playoffs approach.

Now 7-0 overall and 2-0 in Northwestern Conference play, the Pioneers enter a grueling stretch of the season, condensed because of the Hurricane Helene-related rescheduling. They will play three games in just eight days beginning Friday, Nov. 1, with a much anticipated encounter with Freedom, at Jack Groce Stadium in Boone. Four days later, they travel to face Ashe County on Nov. 5, then turn right around to go in the other direction, meeting South Caldwell in Hudson on Nov. 8. The Freedom and South Caldwell battles are scheduled for a regular, 7:30 p.m. kickoff. At Ashe County, the game is currently scheduled to start at 7 p.m.

SCORING SUMMARY

• WAT – Qtr. 1 – Evan Burroughs, pass from Maddox Greene, 50-yard catch and run. Jack Wilsson PAT kick is good. WAT 7, HIB 0
• WAT – Qtr. 1 – Maddox Greene rush for 45 yards. Jack Wilson PAT kick is good. WAT 14, HIB 0
• WAT – Qtr. 2 – Evan Burroughs 12-yard pass from Maddox Greene. Jack Wilson kick is good. WAT 21, HIB 0
• WAT – Qtr. 2 – Maddox Green, 1-yard rush. Jack Wilson PAT kick is good. WAT 28, HIB 0
• WAT – Qtr. 3 – Dillon Zaragoza, 1-yard rush. Jack Wilson PAT kick is good. WAT 35, HIB 0
• HIB – Qtr. 3 – Avin Crawford rush for 3 yards. Landon Key PAT kick is good. WAT 35, HIB 7
• WAT – Qtr. 4 – Nyle Peays fumble return for 70 yards. Jack Wilson PAT kick is good. WAT 42, HIB 7
• WAT – Qtr. 4 – Matthew Leon 18-yard rush. Jack Wilson PAT kick is good. WAT 49, HIB 7
• HIB – Qtr. 4 – Darius Dixon 47 yard rush. Landon Key PAT kick is good. WAT 49, HIB 14.

SELECTED TEAM STATISTICS

• Total Yards of Offense: HIB 192, WAT 473
• First Downs: HIB 7, WAT 22
• Rushing: HIB 35 carries, 170 yards, 2 TDs; WAT 29 carries, 237 yards, 4 TDs
• Passing: HIB 4 completions in 11 attempts, for 27 yards; WAT 16-22-236, 2 TDs
• Penalties: HIB 5-25, WAT-5-65
• Sacks by: HIB 0, WAT 2
• 3rd Down Conversions: HIB 1-10 (10%), WAT 3-7 (43%)
• 4th Down Conversions: 1-4 (25%), WAT 0-1 (0%)
• Time of Possession: HIB 24:07; WAT 16:51

SELECTED INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Passing

• • WAT – Maddox Greene: 9 of 13, 146 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INTs
  • WAT – Cade Keller: 7 of 9, 90 yards
  • HIB – Avin Crawford: 3 of 10, 17 yards
  • HIB – Colin Cook: 1 of 1, 10 yards

Rushing

• • WAT – Maddox Greene: 10 carries, 115 yards, 2 TDs
  • WAT – Everett Gryder: 8 carrries, 59 yards
  • HIB – Avin Crawford: 11 carries, 53 yards, 1 TD
  • HIB – DK Mitchell: 17 carries, 48 yards
  • HIB – Darius Dixon: 2 carries, 46 yards, 1 TD
  • WAT – Dillon Zaragoza: 4 carries, 21 yards, 1 TD
  • WAT – Matthew Leon: 2 carries, 18 yards, 1 TD
  • WAT – Evan Burroughs: 3 carries, 10 yards
  • WAT – Kyle Williams: 1 carry, 9 yards
  • WAT – Cade Keller: 1 carry, 5 yards

Receiving

• • WAT – Evan Burroughs, 9 catches, 137 yards, 2 TDs
  • WAT – Kyle Williams, 1 catch, 31 yards
  • WAT – Landon Smith, 1 catch, 30 yards
  • WAT – Matthew Habich, 2 catches, 13 yards
  • HIB – Micah Simmons, 1 catch, 10 yards
  • HIB – Julius Martin, 1 catch, 8 yards
  • HIB – DK Mitchell, 1 catch, 8 yards

BONUS PHOTOS

All photos by Jared Everett for High Country Sports

By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — An iconic Watauga volleyball season came to an end on Oct. 24. The young Pioneers battled fiercely against the No. 10 seeded Wildcats of Lake Norman, losing 3-0 (21-25, 23-25, 15-25).

The match was as entertaining as a high school volleyball match can get, with long rallies punctuated by powerful kill shots from both sides and blistering digs on either side of the net to keep the ball in play. In each set, the teams traded leads multiple times, though Lake Norman always emerged from the fray with the upper hand. Watauga seemed to take control of the third set, at one point leading 9-4 until the Wildcats got behind the serving of libero Abi Davis for a 7-point run and later surged to a 17-12 advantage.

Known Power

Watauga knew going into the game that Lake Norman was not a pushover. Competing in one of North Carolina’s strongest 4A leagues, the Greater Metro 4A Conference, the Wildcats finished first in league play with a 12-1 record, but rival Cox Mill was awarded the higher seed because of a stronger overall record (now 21-3 vs. Lake Norman’s 19-3).

The Chargers of Cox Mill received the No. 2 seed in the 4A West bracket for the playoffs despite splitting their home and away matches with Lake Norman. The Wildcats won at Cox Mill on Oct. 3, 3-0, but lost at home to the Chargers, 3-2, on Sept. 10.

In fact, the Greater Metro conference had five teams earn spots in the playoffs, including three teams in the upper half of the 32-team 4A West bracket (Cox Mill, Lake Norman and South Iredell).

Zeroing in on Pastusic, adapting

Reflecting the individual skill as well as the Wildcat coaching, Lake Norman did a respectable job in all but containing Watauga’s powerful outside hitter, junior Emma Pastusic, who was limited to 10 kills on the night, frequently blocked or when successful in driving the ball past the Wildcats’ front line, seeing a courageous dig in the back line to keep the ball in play.

Watauga had to find other points of attack, and did, to keep the match not only close but even leading at points. Setter Lainey Gragg recorded 27 assists in distributing the ball to four teammates who recorded kills, including Pastusic, Grace Tillery (12 kills), Ashlyn Smith (5) and Kora Knight (4).

Spectacular defense on both sides

Defensively, Watauga was often spectacular in fielding kill shots off the arms of Lake Norman hitters Izzy Sandoval, Emersyn Reiter and Brooke Lyons, all seniors. For Watauga, freshman libero Caroline Childers continued to show abilities beyond her years, with 24 digs. Defensive specialist Lilli Combs was credited with 16 digs. Other Pioneers included defensive specialists Addi Parker (9 digs) and Kaitlyn Darner (8 digs), and Pastusic demonstrating her versatility on the court with 8 digs.

After the Round 2 match against the Wildcats, Watauga head coach Kim Pryor was gracious in not only praising Lake Norman but also her players’ resilience.

“Lake Norman is a great team,” said Pryor. “It went back and forth. We fought hard. It just didn’t go our way tonight. I am so proud of how our girls showed resilience night after night, day after day. I told them I would go through a season a hundred times (with this group) because it is just a special, special group of girls.”

When a reporter tried to point out that all of the young players on the Watauga roster bode well for next season, Pryor deflected any such thoughts, at least for now.

“Tonight isn’t about that. Tonight is about (our) seniors. They gave everything they had. Those four girls all contributed in a mighty way, not just as players but leaders on and off the court. Tonight is all about them. We’ll talk about next year (at another time),” said Pryor, before adding, “We are excited about the way we ended our season because it was a phenomenal thing.”

Watauga completes the 2024 season with a 6-2 Northwestern Conference record, 10-9 overall — and at least the 17th consecutive season of making the state playoffs.

SELECTED WATAUGA STATISTICS

• Lainey Gragg: 27 assists, 7 digs, 1 kill
• Caroline Childers: 24 digs
• Grace Tillery: 12 kills, 1 stuff block, 4 digs
• Emma Pastusic: 10 kills, 2 service aces, 1 stuff block, 8 digs
• Addi Parker: 9 digs, 1 assist
• Ashlyn Smith: 5 kills, 1 dig
• Kaitlyn Darner: 8 digs
• Lilli Combs: 16 digs, 1 assist
• Kora Knight: 4 kills, 1 stuff block
• Hadleigh Windish: 2 digs
• Bella Wade: 1 service ace

OTHER 4A ROUND 2 SCORES

• No. 1 Marvin Ridge def. No. 17 Southwest Guilford, 3-0
• No. 8 Myers Park def. No. 9 Butler, 3-1 (25-20, 30-28, 31-33, 25-20)
• No. 12 Northern Guilford def. No. 5 Hough, 3-2
• No. 4 Grimsley def. No. 13 Weddington, 3-1 (25-16, 25-14, 15-25, 25-0)
• No. 3 Reagan def. No. 14 South Iredell, 3-0 (25-8, 25-15, 25-23)
• No. 11 Cuthbertson def. No. 8 T C Roberson, 3-2
• No. 10 Lake Norman def. No. 7 Watauga, 3-0 (25-21, 25-23, 25-15)
• No. 2 Cox Mill def. No. 15 West Forsyth, 3-1 (25-23, 22-25, 25-20, 26-24)

OTHER SCORES OF INTEREST

• 3A WEST: No. 5 Carson def. No. 12 Hickory, 3-0
• 3A WEST: No. 4 Ashe County def. No. 13 North Lincoln, 3-2 (23-25, 25-16, 25-27, 29-27, 16-14)

BONUS PHOTOS

 

 

By David Rogers. LENOIR, N.C. — Same score, same outcome — but the game had an entirely different personality.

BONUS PHOTOS at bottom of article (Click any image for slide show mode)

In one sense, Watauga’s 4-0 men’s soccer win over Hibriten on the Panthers’ home field  Oct. 23 was inevitable. In another sense, it was predictable — but then, that is why they play the games.

Two days earlier, the Pioneers’ 4-0 win over Hibriten (Oct. 21) at Jack Groce Stadium was a dominating affair. Watauga scored early and often, controlling possession with trademark, highly skilled passing before finding ways to get the ball into the Panthers’ defended net.

The Oct. 23 rematch had a completely different feel to it. After being embarrassed a couple of days earlier, the Panthers were fired up to defend their home field, and the field itself made for a different game.

On this night, Hibriten battled Watauga up and down the field for a 0-0 draw after the 80 minutes of regulation play. The Pioneers might well have had an edge in possession time, but both sides had clear scoring opportunities turned away by courageous defensive efforts. Shots on goal were rare and, when taken, sailed just a little high or wide and in a couple of instances clanged off a goal’s crossbar to draw a gasp from the crowded grandstands.

Overtime (two, 10-minute halves) was a different story. The Pioneers’ junior striker Ben Myers scored within the first two minutes of the first OT period — then repeated the effort for another goal less than five minutes later, giving Watauga a 2-0 lead as the two Northwestern Conference rivals switched sides for the finish.

The visitors from Boone didn’t let up. Sophomore midfielder/forward Gavin Lapinski struck again midway through the second OT period and as if putting icing on the cake, junior striker Asher Hampton drove home the clincher with little time remaining.

It wasn’t Watauga’s “prettiest” win, perhaps, but it improved their undefeated Northwestern Conference record to 4-0 (12-3-2 overall).

Known for working the ball down the field with short, crisp passes before the ball finding a way into an opponent’s net, the Pioneers struggled at times, in regulation play.

“Playing on a field of thick, natural grass here at Hibriten is different than playing on our artificial turf at home,” Watauga head coach Josh Honeycutt told High Country Sports after the game. “The ball is a little slower and there are more imperfections or undulations in the playing surface than on the smoother artificial turf. That said, this is a really nice, well groomed field considering that the green is mostly gone from the grass at this time of year. At halftime, we told the players they just had to adjust to a slightly slower ball.”

Honeycutt said they also urged the guys to get back to playing Watauga soccer.

“Perhaps frustrated, we began to fall away from our preferred short passing style and started playing more of their game, with long passes downfield or across the pitch,” said the veteran Pioneer head coach, now in his eighth year at the helm. “In the second half, we did much better and certainly better in OT.”

Watauga’s elite level of fitness also was a factor.

“We may or may not be the most skilled team on the field,” said Honeycutt. “But we pride ourselves in being the most fit. The guys will tell you that our training can be a grind at times but as a match goes on, the team with the higher level of fitness will maintain a higher skill level and that is often the difference between a win or a loss. We needed that fitness tonight because Hibriten came ready to defend their home turf.”

Watauga continues with its condensed, post-Hurricane Helene scheduling on Oct. 24, at High Country rival, Ashe County. During their post-game “cooling down” period and stretching, Honeycutt urged players to hydrate and to mentally prepare for a tough test against the Huskies (10-6-1).

“Our job is not finished,” said Honeycutt.

BONUS PHOTOS

By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — After Watauga battled past visiting Mooresville to win the first set of the teams’ Round 1 matchup, the Pioneers fell behind the Blue Devils in the second set. Then, after Watauga earned a side out at 12-14, freshman libero Caroline Childers stepped to the service line.

BONUS PHOTOS AND ROUND 1 SCORES AT BOTTOM OF ARTICLE

Behind nine straight points with Childers serving, Watauga pulled ahead 21-14 and for the first time there was a feeling that the Pioneers owned the night — which they ended up doing, 3-0 (25-18, 25-21, 25-14).

Over the course of the three sets, Childers accounted for six service aces, a match-high, as well as a match-high 15 digs. Defensive specialists Kaitlyn Darner and Lilli Combs recorded seven and eight digs, respectively, to figure prominently in the Pioneers’ ability to defuse the Blue Devils’ offensive attacks.

Up front, on offensive, setter Lainey Gragg crafted 27 assists, most of them to three Watauga hitters: outside hitter Emma Pastusic (15 kills), middle blocker Grace Twillery (7 kills) and outside hitter Ashlyn Smith (6 kills).

Where the first set was a see-saw battle with several lead changes and ties until the Pioneers began to pull ahead at 15-13, Mooresville started to gain separation when leading 12-7 in the second set.

But Watauga battled back, tightening things up at 14-11 in the second set. On a thundering Pastusic kill shot from the left side that skipped just inside the lines in Mooresville’s far corner, the Pioneers earned a side out trailing 12-14. That’s when Childers did her thing.

“Specifically, in the second set,” acknowledged Childers, “I felt like we needed to go on a run because we were a little behind. I knew our team is good, we could get back up. We just needed a little bit more energy. We all worked really hard to get back up and on top of it. Volleyball is a game of skill and power, but it is also a game of mistakes. My mentality was to serve hard. If I made a mistake, I could shake it off. We all served pretty hard tonight.”

Smith, still just a sophomore, said later that it was a good game for her team and that they had prepared for it, studiously.

“This was for the playoffs. We watched a bunch of film, looking for what Mooresville did well and maybe what they didn’t do so well,” said Smith. “Really it was about their strengths and weaknesses and we focused our practices around that. Tonight was a good match. I felt our energy kept us alive and we had a lot of fun.

“One of the things Coach Pryor has emphasized with us is working on the ‘roller coaster’, the highs and lows, emotionally, and trying to keep things more even,” added Smith. “Getting excited about big hits and good plays is awesome, but we are working on keeping a high level of energy and communication on the court, all of the time, without the big highs and big lows.”

After the match, head coach Kim Pryor was pleased that her charges were able to sustain the momentum they established last week when defeating Ashe County, especially after the adversity and distractions caused by Hurricane Helene.

“Whatever it takes, I feel like our team on any given night can beat any other team,” said Pryor. “I hope we can continue to roll like we did tonight.”

Although there were a few anxious moments early in the match with misplays and mistakes, Pryor credited her players for getting things corrected.

“We started getting our passes to the setter and attacking. When we are in attack mode, we are hard to stop. We just needed to get in that groove,” said Pryor.

For Round 2 of the state playoffs on Oct. 24, the No. 7 seeded Pioneers will host No. 10 seeded Lake Norman, with first serve scheduled for 6 p.m. The Wildcats swept Alexander Central in Round 1, 3-0 (25-14, 25-10, 25-10), improving their overall record to 18-3. They were 12-1 in the highly competitive Greater Metro 4A Conference.

While the Wildcats and the Pioneers did not meet during the regular season, they shared some common opponents. Both were swept, 3-0, early in the season by North Iredell. Lake Norman defeated Ashe County in a non-conference match, 3-0, while Watauga split its home-and-home series with the Huskies. Watauga lost a tough match to Lake Norman’s conference rival, Cox Mill, 3-2, while the Wildcats split their two league games.

Watauga is the lone 4A survivor from the Northwestern Conference in Round 1. While Lake Norman was defeating Alexander Central, No. 2-seeded Cox Mill dispatched No. 31-seeded South Caldwell, 3-0.

FULL ROUND 1 SCORES, 4A WEST BRACKET

• No. 1 Marvin Ridge def. No. 32 Porter Ridge, 3-0 (25-14, 25-14, 25-16)
• No. 17 Southwest Guilford def. No. 16 Sun Valley, 3-0 (25-15, 25-19, 29-27)
• No. 8 Myers Park vs. No. 25 North Mecklenburg
• No. 9 Butler def. No. 24 East Mecklenburg, 3-0
• No. 5 Hough def. No. 28 Southeast Guilford, 3-0 (25-16, 25-20, 25-20)
• No. 12 Northern Guilford def. No. 21 Northwest Guilford, 3-0
• No. 13 Weddington def. No. 20 Ardrey Kell, 3-0 (25-22, 25-12, 25-23)
• No. 4 Grimsley vs. No. 29 Mallard Creek
• No. 3 Reagan def. No. 30 Asheville, 3-0 (25-13, 25-17, 25-16)
• No. 14 South Iredell vs. No. 19 Hickory Ridge
• No. 6 T C Roberson def. No. 27 East Forsyth, 3-2 (15-25, 20-25, 28-26, 25-17, 15-13)
• No. 3 Cuthbertson def. No. 22 Davie, 3-2
• No. 7 Watauga def. No. 26 Mooresville, 3-0 (25-18, 25-21, 25-14)
• No. 10 Lake Norman def. No. 23 Alexander Central, 3-0 (25-14, 25-10, 25-10)
• No. 15 West Forsyth def. No. 18 Independence, 3-0
• No. 2 Cox Mill def. No. 31 South Caldwell, 3-0 (25-23, 25-14, 25-15)

OTHER SCORES OF INTEREST

• 3A West – No. 12 Hickory def. No. 21 St. Stephens, 3-0 (25-21, 25-19, 25-22)
• 3A West – No. 4 Ashe County def. No. 29 Tuscola, 3-0 (25-13, 25-10, 25-15)
• 3A West – No. 22 Foard def. No. 11 Franklin, 3-2 (16-25, 25-23, 14-25, 25-18, 15-7)

BONUS PHOTOS

By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — There was a certain irony in the Watauga’s 4-0, men’s soccer win over Hibriten on Oct. 21. The Josh Honeycutt-coached Pioneers pride themselves in being among the fittest, if not THE fittest high school soccer team in North Carolina, aiming to wear opponents down and still have the legs to outpoint them in the 60th minute and beyond.

BONUS PHOTOS at bottom of article. Click on any image for Slideshow Mode

Against the visiting Panthers at Jack Groce Stadium, Watauga only needed 18 minutes to get on the scoreboard when Ben Myers looped a ball from the middle of the attacking third, into a heavily populated area some 20 yards in front of the Hibriten net — and Curtis Sevensky suddenly emerged between two Panther defenders, dribbled ahead, then punched the ball past the surprised Hibriten goalkeeper for the game’s first score.

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Sevensky’s sequence to open scoring

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Barely five more minutes had ticked off the clock when Alex Aguilar lifted another pass, this one from the right side and into the same “danger zone” — finding Myers with the ball at his feet and an open net in front. So, of course, the junior striker did the “gentlemanly” thing and smacked the ball past a diving goalkeeper, into the goal.

There was no question who was the superior high school soccer team on this night, fittest as well as most skilled. Watauga all but dominated possession and quickly subdued the few Hibriten counterattacking opportunities to earn the shutout.

In the second half, the Pioneers tallied goals by Gavin Lipinski, as well as by Aguilar. Myers and Sevensky were both credited with second half assists.

“We played pretty well. We figured out how to play through the middle and across the field,” Myers said after the game. “It really opened things up for us… We have really worked hard these past two weeks to regain our fitness, after the storm. Overall, we played at a high level.”

Over the past few years, Hibriten has emerged as Watauga’s archrival, of sorts, the two teams always seeming to battle for Northwestern Conference supremacy. Because of Hurricane Helene’s impact in effectively shutting down schools in the High Country, Hibriten had played a few more games than the Pioneers, coming into the match. The Panthers were 14-4-1 overall and unbeaten at 5-0 in conference play coming into the match while Watauga 10-3-2 overall and just 2-0 in conference play.

“We have some games to make up,” said Honeycutt, Watauga’s head coach, after the final buzzer had sounded. “Right now, we are sitting at the top with no losses, which is exactly where we wanted to be at the end of the day.”

Now in his eighth year as head coach of the Pioneer program, Honeycutt had high praise for his charges, especially given what they have been through the past three weeks in dealing with the effects of Hurricane Helene, individually as well as in the wider community, volunteering to help others.

“They did absolutely everything we asked of them,” said Honeycutt. “And that is crucial because sometimes you get a half and not the other half (and end up losing). These guys came ready to win tonight. They did everything we asked them to do: our passing, possession, moving the ball through the midfield, changing the point of attack, getting into dangerous offensive situations and taking advantage. They worked all night long.”

A big lead in the second half allowed Watauga to play a number of rostered players, getting valuable on-field time.

“It is huge for us to have bench depth,” said Honeycutt. “It helps keep players fresh and part of what we want to do is run people. We try to be the most fit team on the field. If we can get opponents tired, then their skill drops. So having guys on the bench that you can trust and you are going to get quality minutes out of them, that is huge. And that is especially true in a week like this where we are playing three conference games.”

Watauga will travel to Hibriten on Wednesday (Oct. 23) before traveling in the other direction on Thursday (Oct. 24), to face another dangerous NWC opponent, Ashe County (9-6-1, overall).

Honeycutt expects the Oct. 23 rematch to be intense and exciting.

“Hibriten will be fired up, looking for revenge after this result up here,” he said. “They have a great program and a passionate fan base, so we have to be at our best.”

BONUS PHOTOS

By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — The NCHSAA Women’s Volleyball 4A West bracket has not yet been posted as “official” on the NCHSAA website, but MaxPreps.com has posted the pairings and, apparently, No. 7 seeded Watauga will host No. 26 Mooresville on Tuesday, Oct. 22, in Round 1 of the State Playoffs. The time for first serve is posted as 7 p.m. by MaxPreps.

Barring any 11th hour changes, according to a copy of the PRELIMINARY 4A West bracket obtained by High Country Sports earlier on Sunday, the winner of Watauga vs. Mooresville will play the winner of No. 10 Lake Norman and No. 23 Alexander County, meaning that a win by the Pioneers in Round 1 would bring a second home game to the High Country in Round 2.

All three Northwestern Conference 4A schools made the field, according to the preliminary brackets, including Watauga (No. 7), Alexander Central (No. 23) and South Caldwell (No. 31).

The 9-8 (overall) Watauga team will face an 8-11 Mooresville team that competes in the very strong, Greater Metro 4A Conference along with four other teams that are included in the 4A West playoffs. Those include No. 2 Cox Mill (19-3), No. 10 Lake Norman (17-3), No. 14 South Iredell (17-10), No. 19 Hickory Ridge (13-10) and No. 26 Mooresville (8-11). Understanding that three of the Greater Metro 4A representatives earned seeds in the top half of the 4A West bracket offers an indication of just how strong the Mooresville Blue Devils might prove to be.

The full PRELIMINARY pairings for the 4A West (subject to change once the pairings have been made official):

• • No. 1 Marvin Ridge vs. No. 32 Porter Ridge
  • No. 16 Sun Valley vs. No. 17 Southwest Guilford
  • No. 8 Myers Park vs. No. 25 North Mecklenburg
  • No. 9 Butler vs. No. 24 East Mecklenburg
  • No. 5 Hough vs. No. 28 Southeast Guilford
  • No. 12 Northern Guilford vs. No. 21 Northwest Guilford
  • No. 13 Weddington vs. No. 20 Ardrey Kell
  • No. 4 Grimsley vs. No. 29 Mallard Creek
  • No. 3 Reagan vs. No. 30 Asheville
  • No. 14 South Iredell vs. No. 19 Hickory Ridge
  • No. 6 T C Roberson vs. No. 27 East Forsyth
  • No. 11 Cuthbertson vs. No. 22 Davie County
  • No. 7 Watauga vs. No. 26 Mooresville
  • No. 10 Lake Norman vs. No. 23 Alexander Central
  • No. 15 West Forsyth vs. No. 18 Independence
  • No. 2 Cox Mill vs. No. 31 South Caldwell

 

By David Rogers. TAYLORSVILLE, N.C. — Before the Oct. 18 high school football game between Watauga and Alexander Central, the visiting Pioneers harbored a lot of uncertainty about how they would play after a month-long layoff induced by Hurricane Helene. After spoiling the host Cougars’ Homecoming with a convincing, 49-21 win, most of the doubts about how Watauga would respond to adversity evaporated.

On a clear, autumn night down the mountain in Taylorsville, Watauga showed little rust. Rolling up almost 600 yards (592) of total offense, the Pioneers scored in six different ways and proved to be an 8-headed offensive juggernaut. Defensively, not only did they neutralize Alexander Central’s rushing playmakers and limit their hosts to just 206 yards of total offense, but Watauga poached (two INTs) — as many Cougar passes as ACHS quarterback Wade Queen completed on the night.

A week ago, Alexander Central used a powerful rushing attack to record a come-from-behind, 30-20 win over a strong Freedom squad. After the game, Pioneer head coach Ryan Habich revealed a couple of key personnel changes to counter the Cougars’ rushing attack, moving Dillon Zaragoza and Nyle Peays closer to the line of scrimmage as linebackers and rotating Maddox Greene back to more of a safety position on defense. He credited the defensive coaches led by coordinator Dustin Kerley for effectively designing and implementing the plans.

Greene, of course, saw double duty as the Pioneers’ senior signal caller and his offensive leadership was clearly on display. Watauga controlled possession of the football for 30:08, keeping the pigskin out of Alexander Central’s hands for all but 17:52. Greene carried the ball 20 times for 187 net yards and two TDs and completed 10-of-12 passes for 161 yards, including two long aerials of 47 and 32 yards, to wide receiver Landon Smith.

After Watauga’s defense limited the Cougars to “three and outs” on both of the hosts’ first quarter possessions and the Pioneers’ offense responded by mounting consecutive scoring drives to put the visitors ahead, 14-0, Alexander Central looked to get in the scoring column and narrow the deficit early in the second quarter.

But nothing went right. An offside penalty on first down set the Cougars back 5 yards. A keeper by Queen lost a yard. On second down, a QB hurry by the Pioneers’ Luke Edmisten forced an incomplete pass. Then a Queen pass toward the left sideline was intercepted by Greene, giving Watauga possession again at the the ACHS 40-yard line.

The ensuing drive by the Pioneers proved to be a defining series for the night in how they handled adversity. First down runs by Greene and Zaragoza were offset by consecutive penalties, an illegal block and then a personal foul, knocking them back to the 44-yard line. Opening up the playbook on 3rd-and-24, backup QB Cade Keller took the reins and moved Greene to a running back position. Keller rifled a short pass left to Greene, who darted this way and that, gaining just over half of the necessary yards for a first down, but the Pioneers still faced 4th-and-11, on the ACHS 31.

Opening up the playbook a little further, the Pioneers decided “to go for it” rather than punt or try what would have been close to a 50-yard field goal attempt by kicker Jack Wilson. Instead, with three receivers right, Greene passed quickly to Evan Burroughs near the line of scrimmage for an apparent screen pass — with a Cougar defender bearing down on Burroughs for an almost certain stop. But the versatile Burroughs caught the ball first, then quickly flipped it to running back Everett Gryder looping around the outside and down the sideline for the needed 11 yards and a first down. Two plays later, Gryder carried the ball around the left side, weaving his way to the end zone for a 14-yard TD run.

If the pass interception hadn’t taken the wind out of Alexander Central’s proverbial sails, Watauga’s razzle-dazzle and 8-play TD-scoring series that took 3:36 off the clock certainly put them in a big hole at 21-0.

The Cougars were down, but not yet beaten. They rallied for a TD-scoring drive that kept Watauga’s offense off the field for 4:31. The possession featured the kind of three- to five-yard runs by junior running backs Sawyer Chapman-Mays and Jeremiah Whitaker to collect chunks of real estate that Habich and his defensive coaches expected. The rushes were bookended by successful Queen passes to fellow senior wide receiver Garrison Millsaps of 7 and 15 yards. The latter was a left-to-right slant across the middle that found Millsaps wide open, and probably would have scored had it not been for a saving tackle by Peays at the Pioneer 13-yard line. Whitaker ran through Watauga’s defense on the next play, shoved out of bounds a yard short of the left pylon and Chapman-Mays punched it in from there. With the Cory Mays PAT kick, the commanding, 9-play sequence gave the Cougar faithful hope that another comeback win might be in the offing.

If only Alexander Central could have stopped Watauga and continued to replicate the mostly error-free performance of that scoring drive.

But they couldn’t. It took the Greene-led Pioneers just 3 plays to cover 65 yards, in just 41 seconds. A Greene keeper picked up 9 yards and a short pass to Burroughs collected another nine before Greene found wide receiver Landon Smith behind a pair of Cougar defenders, hitting the tall, speedy senior (who competes in track and field as a sprinter and high jumper) in stride for a 47-yard TD.

And the first half misfortunes continued for Alexander Central, when on their first play from scrimmage after the Smith TD, Queen’s pass was intercepted by Watauga senior Zaragoza, giving the ball back to the Pioneers with a short field ahead of them from the ACHS 43.

As if rewarding Zaragoza for his brilliant defensive gem, Greene hit him on the first play of the new offensive possession with a pass for a 15-yard pickup, but with time ticking down on the first half, Watauga’s drive stalled at the Cougar 7-yard line with 6 seconds left. On 4th-and-1, Habich elected to give his brilliant placekicker, Jack Wilson, a field goal opportunity. From 23 yards out, the kick sailed just outside the left upright, the lengthy Homecoming intermission starting with Boone boys sporting a 28-7 lead.

Important to note: Wilson just missed his one field goal attempt, but was a perfect 7-for-7 on PAT kicks.

In the second half, Alexander Central was able to put two more impressive scoring drives together, again featuring the Whitaker and Chapman-Mays combination, but the Cougars’ defense simply couldn’t stop Watauga’s offense. Greene capped the Pioneers’ opening possession of the half with another 32-yard TD pass to Smith after more than four minutes had evaporated from the game clock.

Alexander Central responded with another TD, but their grinding, ball-control rushing attack took another 4:31 off the clock. While the Cougars were demonstrating that they could move the football, they weren’t doing themselves any favors with the clock quickly closing the window of opportunities — and the home team’s inability to stop the Pioneer offense.

After Greene closed out the end of the third quarter and opened the final stanza with his second TD run, Alexander Central’s next possession stalled with incomplete passes and a QB sack, turning the ball over on downs at the Watauga 36-yard line.

That’s where Keller took the reins of the Pioneer offense, the junior and probable starter next season efficiently picking up where Greene left off — including finishing off the possession with crafty, 32-yard run to paydirt and making the score an insurmountable, 49-14.

At this point, Watauga was playing a lot of younger reserves on both sides of the ball, giving them valuable playing time to provide positional depth as the season heads toward the state playoffs next month. Alexander Central’s Whitaker took advantage, breaking free for a 75-yard TD romp down the right sideline, virtually untouched, for the home team’s final points (Watauga 49, Alexander Central 21).

Keller & Co. responded with a display of good sportsmanship. After the junior QB rushed 55 yards and was shoved into the ground late, out of bounds, by a Cougar defender, the personal foul gave the Pioneers a first down at the ACHS 5-yard line with just over a minute remaining in the game. Keller promptly got his offense in victory formation and kneeled down twice, running out the clock and not trying for the almost certain extra points.

Now 6-0 and in what has become an unusual, reconfigured Northwestern Conference schedule, Watauga is next slated to host Hibriten at Jack Groce Stadium on Oct. 25, then Freedom on Nov. 1 for the last regular season home game. They will have played three games in the space of eight days when they travel to Ashe County on Tuesday, Nov. 5, then to South Caldwell on Nov. 8 to complete Northwestern Conference play and await any playoffs’ seeding.

SELECTED TEAM STATS

• First Downs: WAT 27, AC 10
• Net Yards Rushing: WAT 400, AC 184
• Net Yards Passing: WAT 192, AC 22
• TOTAL OFFENSE: WAT 592, AC 206
• Turnovers
  • Fumbles-Lost: WAT 1-0, AC 1-0
  • Pass Interceptions: WAT 0, AC 2
• Time of Possession: WAT 30:08, AC 17:52
• 3rd Down Conversions: WAT 7-of-11, AC 4-of-8
• 4th Down Conversions: WAT 3-of-3, AC 0-of-1
• Penalties-Yards: WAT 6-50, AC 3-26

SELECTED INDIVIDUAL STATS

Passing

• WAT – Maddox Greene, 10-of-12, 161 yards, 2 TDs
• WAT – Cade Keller, 4-of-4, 31 yards
• AC – Wade Queen, 2-of-10, 22 yards

Receiving

• WAT – Landon Smith, 3-84, 2 TDs
• WAT – Evan Burroughs, 6-38
• AC – Garrison Millsaps, 2-22
• WAT – Dillon Zaragoza, 2-18
• WAT – Matthew Habich, 1-14
• WAT – Maddox Greene, 1-13
• WAT – Matthew Leon, 1-10

Rushing

• WAT – Maddox Greene, 20 carries, 187 net yards, 2 TDs
• AC – Jeremiah Whitaker, 10-112-1
• WAT – Cade Keller, 4-95-1
• WAT – Matthew Leon, 11-51
• AC – Sawyer Chapman-Mays, 10-46-2
• WAT – Everett Gryder, 8-40-1
• AC – Wade Queen, 4-17
• WAT – Evan Burroughs, 5-16-1
• WAT – Dillon Zaragoza, 1-14