Category: High School

By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Make it plural. Instead of “This girl…”, it is “These girls are on fire!”

BONUS PHOTOS at bottom of article (click any image for Slide Show Mode)

With apologies to Alicia Keys for borrowing the title phrase of her iconic, 2012 song (“Girl on Fire”), there is no better way to describe Watauga’s varsity volleyball performance on Oct. 17, in a nailbiter of a 3-0 sweep (25-19, 26-24, 25-23) of the heavily favored Ashe County Huskies in Lentz Eggers Gym.

“Those Watauga girls were on fire tonight,” said Ashe County head coach Dalton Lewis after the match. “When a team comes to play like that, you have to match it. Tonight, we weren’t quite there.”

Maybe because it was Senior Night. Maybe it was because the Pioneers had lost, 3-0, to the Huskies in West Jefferson on Sept. 25. Maybe it was finally having all of the team together for a couple of full, mandatory practices after the destruction and disruption of Hurricane Helene. Maybe it was all of those things, and more,

“This is the team that I knew we had in us, all season,” said a beaming Watauga head coach Kim Pryor. “You could see it in their eyes. They wanted it. Especially after everything they and the community have been through, I am so proud of these young women.”

Right from the opening serve by Ashe County when junior defensive specialist Lilli Combs dove forward for a saving serve receive to keep the ball in play, there was a fierce determination — and confidence — in Watauga’s style of play. The young roster that features only four seniors (Kaitlyn Darner, Grace Twillery, Addison Parker and Hadleigh Windish) also includes four freshmen, two sophomores, and seven juniors. They spent the early part of the season growing together, then the almost three weeks of post-Hurricane Helene disruption undid a lot of that. Two less than perfect performances together early in the week (one win, one loss) with little in the way of preparation and one full practice together later… well, at least for this night, they were “clicking.”

Watauga did it in all phases of the game. Sophomore setter Lainey Gragg’s 34 assists provided kill opportunities for six different Pioneers on the front line, including Emma Pastusic (14 kills), Ashlyn Smith (9), Grace Twillery (8), Kora Knight (6), Hadleigh Windish (3) and Gragg (2). Addi Parker, Lilli Combs and Carolina Childers were also credited with assists.

Pastusic’s kill shots often elicited calls of “Boom!” from a student section led by many members of the football team. The junior outside hitter’s powerful timing seemed to have returned.

“A full, mandatory practice with everyone together really helped,” Pastusic said later. “I was able to focus on timing and accuracy.”

Defensively, on both sides, the Oct. 17 contest was a “dig” affair as both the Huskies and the Pioneers kept the ball in play off powerful kill shots by their adversaries. For Watauga, three players were credited with double digit digs, including Darner (12 digs), Combs (12) and Childers (11). With eight digs each, Parker and Gragg were right behind the other three.

A quartet of Pioneers each recorded a stuff block, including Pastusic, Twillery, Knight and Gragg. Service aces on this night seemed more rare in sending the ball over the net to a well-skilled Husky team, but Childers (with 2), Pastusic (1), Gragg (1) and Bella Wade (1) all made their mark at critical times to extend leads and establish offensive momentum.

With the win and a conference record of 6-2, Watauga secures the top 4A seed from the Northwestern Conference, followed by Alexander Central (6-3) and South Caldwell (5-4). Being the No. 1 seed from the conference, Watauga is guaranteed a berth, but all three NWC member have a chance at a berth.

As the No. 1 NWC finisher, Watauga is likely to be seeded in the top 16 of a 32-team, North Carolina 4A West bracket and be guaranteed at least one home game during the playoffs. According to MaxPreps, Watauga’s 4A West ranking is No. 17 (up one spot from No. 18 after the Oct. 15 loss to Alexander Central). Through games of Oct. 17, Alexander Central remains No. 24 and South Caldwell at No. 32, but several factors, including conference standings and strength of schedule among other factors go into the playoffs’ bracketing.

The state playoffs brackets should be announced over the weekend, with Round 1 matches scheduled for Oct. 22 and Round 2 for Oct. 24.

SELECTED WATAUGA INDIVIDUAL STATS VS. ASHE COUNTY

• Lainey Gragg – 34 assists, 2 kills, 1 stuff block, 1 service ace, 8 digs
• Emma Pastusic – 14 kills, 1 stuff block, 1 service ace, 4 digs
• Hadleigh Windish – 3 kills, 2 digs
• Lilli Combs – 12 digs, 1 assist
• Kaitlyn Darner – 12 digs
• Caroline Childers – 11 digs, 2 service aces, 1 assist
• Addi Parker – 8 digs, 1 assist
• Grace Twillery – 8 kills, 1 stuff block, 3 digs
• Ashlyn Smith – 9 kills, 3 digs
• Kora Knight – 6 kills, 1 stuff block, 1 dig
• Bella Wade – 1 service ace, 2 digs

BONUS PHOTOS

 

By David Rogers. LENOIR, N.C. — Taking 12 of the top 15 places is a good way to win a conference cross country championship. Watauga did just that and then some on Oct. 16 at the Lenoir Aquatic & Fitness Center course.

Pioneer senior Will Bradbury continued his dominance in the Northwestern Conference, picking up the win over 5,000 meters in 16:11.75. Teammate Grady Gates, a sophomore, finished second in 16:55.59 and junior Calvin Zwetsloot made it a 1-2-3 Watauga sweep by finishing No. 3, in 17:12.74.

South Caldwell’s Bryce Corpening was the only thing standing between Watauga and a perfect score (a sweep of the top 5 places) when he crossed the line at No. 4, only a a fraction of a second behind Zwetsloot, in 17:13.09.

James Bostrom (No. 5, 17:21.96) and Elliott Taft No. 6 (17:27.10) completed the Watauga team’s scoring as the top five finishers from the school but Zeke Walker (No. 7), Samuel Rex (No. 8) and Levi Anderson (No. 10) all placed in the top 10.

An Alexander Central senior, Griffin Duncan, crossed the line at No. 9.

Among the 68 athletes competing in the men’s race, Watauga easily had the largest contingent. Other Pioneers among the early finishers included Jonah Norris (No. 12), Andres Roman (No. 13), Isaac James (No. 14) and Holden Womack (No. 15).

TEAM SCORES

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TOP 40 – NORTHWESTERN CONFERENCE MEET

By David Rogers. LENOIR, N.C. — With a 1-2-3 sweep and eight of the top 10 finishing spots, Watauga’s women’s cross country team dominated the 3A/4A Northwestern Conference championships on Oct. 16 on the Lenoir Aquatic & Fitness Center course.

The 5,000-meter course saw Pioneers from all four classes in the top five, including senior Annabelle Stewart (No. 1, 18.26.14), freshman Cali Townsend (No. 2, 18:29.61), junior Janie Beach-Verhay (No. 3, 19:11.13) and sophomore Lainey Johnston (No. 5, 21:12.00).

The Pioneers had 11 runners in the top 15 and 16 in the top 25.

TEAM SCORES

 

 

 

 

 

 

TOP 40 – NORTHWESTERN CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS

 

By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — With only one blemish on its 2024 season record, Watauga’s junior varsity volleyball team extended its winning season on Oct. 15, defeating Alexander Central, 2-0 (25-19, 25-14), in Lentz Eggers Gym.

BONUS PHOTOS at bottom of article. Click any image for Slide Show Mode

Sophomore setter Ava Zaragoza spread around the kill opportunities in tallying 15 assists on the night. Middle blocker Rae Coffey was credited with a team-high six kills, while sophomore outside hitters Julia Rowan and Hannah Adams recorded four kills each. To round out the kill party, freshman outside hitter Kira Beasley and middle blocker Addie Stough contributed three apiece.

Much of Watauga’s offense came at the service line, with no less than five Pioneers credited with aces. Sophomore libero Graycie Collins posted a team-high five aces, while Zaragoza added a pair and one each from Rowan, and freshman defensive specialists Kelbey Windish and Madison Plemons.

Now 10-1 on the season, the Pioneers’ JV squad will get a chance to exact revenge for their only loss of the season on Thursday, Oct. 17, vs. Ashe County. The undefeated Huskies’ JVs clipped Watauga on Sept. 25, 2-1.

SELECTED STATS VS. ALEXANDER CENTRAL JV

• Graycie Collins – 5 service aces, 5 digs
• Rae Coffey – 6 kills, 1 block
• Ava Zaragoza – 15 assists, 2 service aces, 2 digs
• Julia Rowan – 4 kills, 1 service ace
• Kira Beasley – 3 kills, 3 digs
• Gracie Brown – 3 assists, 1 dig
• Addie Stough – 3 kills
• Hannah Adams – 4 kills
• Jillian Martin – 3 digs
• Madison Plemons – 1 service ace, 1 dig
• Kelbey Windish – 1 service ace
• Giana Clark – 1 kill
• Alaina Portero – 3 digs

BONUS PHOTOS

By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Visiting Alexander Central may well have upset the North Carolina 4A playoffs apple cart with a win over heavily favored Watauga on Oct. 15 at Lentz Eggers Gym, 3-1 (17-25, 28-26, 25-21, 25-19).

BONUS PHOTOS at bottom of article. Click any image for Slide Show Mode

The host Pioneers defeated the Cougars in Taylorsville, 3-0, on Sept. 16, but the roles and outcome were reversed in the latest encounter. Watauga took the first set and at times looked to have control in the second before the wheels seemingly came off and allowed Alexander Central to fight back for an all but unlikely overtime set win at 28-26.

Hitting errors and serve receive errors plagued the Pioneers throughout the night but especially in the third and fourth sets. Down by more than 10 points in the final set, Watauga finally started to gel and battled back fiercely to make the loss more respectable, but could not overcome the large early deficit.

With the win over Watauga, Alexander Central has reeled off five straight Northwestern Conference victories since a Sept. 18 loss at South Caldwell. In the interim, they have defeated Hibriten (Sept. 23, 3-1), Freedom (Sept. 25, 3-0), South Caldwell (Oct. 9, 3-1), Hibriten (Oct. 10, 3-1) and now Watauga.

The Cougars are led by junior outside hitter Hallie Harrington, freshman outside hitter Reagan Pierce, senior middle blocker, Emily Haas, and junior setter Makayla Williams.

“First, I have to give credit to Alexander Central because they played an incredible game,” Watauga head coach Kim Pryor said afterwards, in opening her post-match remarks. “They have some great athletes who stepped in and played very, very well.”

The veteran Pioneer head coach acknowledged her team’s inconsistencies.

“We played up and down,” Pryor admitted. “We got huge leads and let them go, giving Alexander Central the opportunity to finish that. It is kind of a picture of what we have been through for the past couple of weeks, up and down, having to stop and then restart in the middle of our season. Those can’t be excuses for us. We have to use the adversity, including this loss, to spur us on and into the playoffs.”

Speaking to the fourth set rally that came up just a little bit short, Pryor had nothing but praise for her charges.

“This is a resilient (group of players),” Pryor said. “Again, I can’t tell you how proud I am of what they have endured, the mentality of having to start up practice again, not having everybody here in the gym, yet. It has been hard, but it can’t be an excuse. We have to be tougher and we will be as we move forward. Life can hit you hard. We just have to make the most of it in the time we have together on the court.”

Classes are still not in session after Hurricane Helene ravaged through the western North Carolina mountains. Watauga High School principal Scott Strickland advised High Country Sports that the school district is still awaiting clearance from the North Carolina Department of Transportation to operate school buses on the roads around the county, because of the damage to so many streets, roads and highways.

Watauga has one more regular season volleyball match before a probable invitation to compete in the North Carolina 4A playoffs. That will be Thursday, Oct. 17, vs. conference rival Ashe County. The Pioneers were swept by the Huskies on Sept. 25, in West Jefferson. Now 8-8 overall, 5-2 in Northwestern Conference play, the young and rebuilding Watauga side will be looking for a measure of revenge against Ashe County (17-1, 7-0).

Currently, all three Northwestern Conference 4A teams are ranked among the top 32 in North Carolina’s 4A West, according to MaxPreps, with potential to earn a playoff spot: Watauga (No. 18), Alexander Central (No. 24) and South Caldwell (No. 32).

SELECTED WATAUGA STATS VS. ALEXANDER CENTRAL

• Emma Pastusic – 18 kills, 2 stuff blocks, five service aces, 18 digs
• Grace Twillery – 16 kills, 3 service aces, 1 dig
• Lainey Gragg – 42 assists, 12 digs
• Lilli Combs – 15 digs
• Caroline Childers – 20 digs, 1 kill, 2 assists
• Kora Knight – 4 kills, 2 stuff blocks
• Hadleigh Windish – 5 kills, 1 assist, 2 digs
• Grace Phelps – 3 kills
• Addison Parker – 4 digs, 1 service ace, 1 assist
• Kaitlyn Darner – 5 digs
• Ashlyn Smith – 1 kill, 1 dig

BONUS PHOTOS

 

 

By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — A scrappy South Caldwell team gave Watauga just about everything they could handle on Oct. 14, but the Pioneers finally prevailed in four sets, 3-1 (25-17, 20-25, 25-23, 25-17).

BONUS PHOTOS at bottom of article. Click any image for Slide Show Mode

With a little more than two weeks off because of the havoc wreaked by Hurricane Helene in the High Country and much of western North Carolina, a little “rust” was expected.

Outside hitter Emma Pastusic provided the power for the Pioneers on the night, with 21 kills, but the time off was evident as she was frequently long on her kill shots and credited with an uncharacteristic 11 hitting errors. The junior also tallied a pair of critical service aces, 2 stuff blocks, and 16 digs.

Watauga setter Lainey Gragg served up a whopping 46 assists on the night and was also credited for 5 digs and a kill.

Senior defensive specialist Kaitlyn Darner also enjoyed a big night, with a game high 24 digs and had several serving streaks to get Watauga on top. She was credited with two service aces.

“In the final set, we finally started playing Watauga volleyball,” said Pioneer head coach Kim Pryor after the match, before adding, “There aren’t many times that a team has to stop playing for more than two weeks in the middle of the season. We got a little practice in last week, for voluntary work, but we never had a full team, for many reasons.

“The resilience of our girls…,” Pryor added. “I am just so proud that they were able to take that big long break and come back. Not only did they have to stop playing, they had to watch their community go through (the ravages and destruction of Hurricane Helene). They volunteered. Every single one of them (helped) their friends and their community. I am just so proud of what they had to endure and what they did tonight.”

For Pryor, the team is about more than volleyball.

“I love the family we have on this team and that we can lean on each other during this time. Some of them had houses flooded. We had the road to our house washed out and had to use a neighbor’s driveway to gain access. Several of us have only gotten power restored in the last three or four days,” said Pryor, then pointed out, “On top of it, we were in about the third week of school — but no school.”

Pryor also had an even larger message.

“I am proud that I work in a school system where every single student and every single staff member was accounted for. They did that in a systematic way and to get that email announcement that every single kid, every single teacher and support staff member was safe… That was pretty neat.”

Most of North Carolina was unaffected by the storm and the schedule for the state playoffs for volleyball were not modified. Pryor said that the Northwestern Conference administrators did a really good job in figuring out what matches were important for the state playoffs’ seedings.

Although they could have played as many as eight matches before the playoffs, but the Northwestern Conference concluded that was too many to fit in before the playoffs start on Oct. 22. Watauga will have just two more matches before playoffs, the first on Tuesday, Oct. 15, at home vs. Alexander Central and the second also at home on Thursday, Oct. 17, a much anticipated rematch vs. regional rival, Ashe County.

South Caldwell, Alexander Central and Watauga are the three 4A schools in the Northwestern Conference, so those matches were vital to make up for purposes of seeding. Ashe County is a 3A member of the conference, but swept Watauga, 3-0 (25-20, 25-17, 25-20) on Sept. 25, as Helene was arriving.

Watauga is now 9-8 overall after a rigorous non-conference schedule and 5-1 in Northwestern Conference play. Except for the loss to Ashe County and dropping a set on Oct. 16 to South Caldwell, the Pioneers won by 3-0 sweep against all other conference opponents. At Alexander Central on Sept. 16, Watauga won in straight sets, 25-12, 25-19, 25-19.

SELECTED MATCH STATS FOR OCT. 14 VS. SOUTH CALDWELL

• Lainey Gragg: 46 assists, 5 digs, 1 kill
• Kaitlyn Darner: 24 digs, 2 service aces
• Caroline Childers: 16 digs, 1 service ace, 1 assist, 1 kill
• Emma Pastusic: 21 kills, 2 stuff blocks, 2 service aces, 16 digs
• Grace Tillery: 12 kills, 1 dig
• Kora Knight: 8 kills, 1 dig
• Hadleigh Windish: 6 kills, 1 assist, 6 digs
• Lilli Combs: 10 digs, 3 service aces
• Addison Parker: 2 digs
• Ashlyn Smith: 3 kills, 4 digs
• Bella Wade: 1 service ace

BONUS PHOTOS

By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — A brace apiece by Ben Myers and David Ganley, with single goals contributed by Curtis Sevensky and Alex Aguilar were just what the High Country soccer gods ordered for Watauga men’s soccer on Oct. 14 at Jack Groce Stadium. The Pioneers showed only a few indications of “rust” after more than a 2-week layoff caused by Hurricane Helene, soundly getting by Freedom to start Northwestern Conference play with 6-1 win.

“It was a 6-1 win,” said Pioneer head coach Josh Honeycutt afterwards. “I don’t think we should have (allowed) the goal and we should have scored more goals, but a win is a win. The first conference game and the first game back after a weird couple of weeks off, I’ll take it. That said, there are definitely a few things we can do better.

“We did improve in the second half,” Honeycutt added. “Our quality of play was much better. If it had been that way for both halves, it would have been a different game.”

Asked about how the unexpected time off affected his team’s overall fitness, Honeycutt didn’t balk.

“We were able to get back to practice last week and try to get back into some semblance of game shape,” the coach said. “As you know, for us fitness is huge. It is key. It is one of the things that we try to be better at than everybody else so we can play longer and better late in a game. We’re not quite there but definitely having that one week of practice helped.”

Assists on the night were credited to Lucas Hamilton, Sevensky, Aguilar and Myers.

On being able to get back to playing soccer after enduring the storm and its aftermath, Honeycutt gave a lot of credit to his players as well as the community.

“I can’t express enough how excited I am for these guys to get back to something more normal,” said Honeycutt. “It’s good for these kids and I appreciate the school, the school board, and the athletic director and everyone else involved to get things back in place, so they can get back to some normal life. For the most part everyone came out of it pretty unscathed, though obviously there were a lot who lost power like everyone else.

The Pioneers will see Freedom again on Wednesday, Oct. 16, in Morganton. Due to the impact of Hurricane Helene, the match has been moved to Mountain View Elementary, 805 Bouchelle Street, Morganton. The junior varsity match is slated for 4:30 p.m., the varsity match to immediately follow.

BONUS PHOTOS

 

 

 

By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — With things normalizing in the High Country after the broad swath of destruction, including school and business closures, caused by Hurricane Helene, Watauga High School athletics director Dustin Kerley released an updated schedule of competition for all Fall sports, subject to any future weather-related modifications.

Things get started in earnest again on Monday, Oct. 14, with events scheduled for Women’s Tennis, Women’s Golf, Volleyball, and Men’s Soccer. Cross Country has a Northwestern Conference meet scheduled in Lenoir on Wed., Oct. 16, and Watauga has its first post-disaster Football game on Friday, Oct. 18, at Alexander Central (kickoff has been moved up to 6:30 p.m. due to an 11 p.m. curfew).

It is important to note that while Junior Varsity events have been scheduled, Varsity events are prioritized. Therefore, JV competitions may be cancelled due to numerous circumstances including but not limited to site/field availability, official availability, staffing, or timing because of reporting deadlines for playoffs.

Updated: 10/10/24

Women’s Tennis

• Mon 10/14: 4A Qualifier @ South Caldwell – Coaches Meeting @ 12:00 & Play @ 1:00
• Tues 10/15: Dual Team Match @ Freedom 4:00
• Wed 10/16: Dual Team Match vs Ashe 4:00
• Thur 10/17: Rain Date

Cross Country

• Wed 10/16: Conference Meet @ Lenoir Soccer Complex 4:00

Women’s Golf

• Mon 10/14: Conference Match @ Brushy Mountain Golf Course 3:00 (9 Holes)
• Tues 10/15: Conference Match @ Cedar Rock 3:00 (9 Holes)

Volleyball

• Mon 10/14: South Caldwell @ Watauga JV/V 4:30/6:00
• Tues 10/15: Alexander @ Watauga JV/V 4:30/6:00
• Thur 10/17: Ashe @ Watauga JV/V 4:30/6:00
• **Matches vs Hibriten and Freedom will not be made up**

Men’s Soccer

• Mon 10/14: Freedom @ Watauga JV/V 4:30/6:00
• Wed 10/16: Watauga @ Freedom (@ Mountain View Elementary) JV/V @ 4:30/6:00
• Mon 10/21: Hibriten @ Watauga JV/V 4:30/6:00
• Wed 10/23: Watauga @ Hibriten JV/V 4:30/6:00
• Thur 10/24: Watauga @ Ashe JV/V 4:30/6:00
• Mon 10/28: Watauga @ Alexander JV/V 4:30/6:00
• Wed 10/30: Alexander @ Watauga JV/V 4:30/6:00
• Thur 10/31: Ashe @ Watauga JV/V 4:30/6:00
• Mon 11/4: South Caldwell @ WHS JV/V 4:30/6:00
• Tues 11/5: Watauga @ South Caldwell JV/V 4:30/6:00
• Wed 11/6: Rain Date

Football

• Fri 10/18: Watauga @ Alexander 6:30pm (Due to 11pm Curfew)
• Fri 10/25: Hibriten @ Watauga 7:30pm
• Fri 11/1: Freedom @ Watauga 7:30pm
• Tues 11/5: Watauga @ Ashe 7:00pm (No JV Game vs Ashe)
• Fri 11/8: Watauga @ South Caldwell 7:30pm (Could be moved up to 6:30 if needed for curfew)
• *****JV Games are scheduled be played on Thursday @ opposite sites @ 7:00pm unless otherwise noted*****

******Note Regarding JV Games for ALL Sports*****

Varsity games will be prioritized therefore JV contests could be cancelled due numerous circumstances including but not limited to site/field availability, official availability, staffing, or timing due to reporting deadlines for playoffs.

By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — One of Watauga’s youngest volleyball team’s in recent years survived a rigorous non-conference slate with a 3-6 record — but gained confidence with every encounter. Four dominant sweeps over Northwestern Conference finds the Pioneers “running on all cylinders.”

BONUS PHOTOS AT BOTTOM (click any image for Slide Show mode)

While Watauga’s 3-0 performances against South Caldwell, Alexander Central and Hibriten were all closer, the latest victim was Freedom on Sept. 23, 3-0 (25-5, 25-4, 25-16) — and given the number of Pioneers who saw court time, it could have been even more demoralizing for the Patriots.

The Pioneers all but emptied their bench on this night and hardly missed a beat with any combination of players. Eight different Pioneers recorded kills on the night, led by Emma Pastusic and Grace Twillery, with 14 and 7, respectively. But the firepower also came from the likes of Kora Knight (5 kills), Gracyn Phelps (3), Sophie Wade (2), Ashlyn Smith (2), Hadleigh Windish (1) and Athena Elliott (1).

While Watauga exhibited some broad-based power at the net, much of the team’s scoring success can be attributed to strategic and aggressive serves, particularly off the arms of senior Addi Parker (14 aces) and freshman Carolina Childers (4). Also contributing service aces were freshman Quinn Haines (1) and Bella Wade (1).

Watauga faces arguably their stiffest challenge for the Northwestern Conference championship on Sept. 25 when the Pioneers travel north to take on Ashe County to complete round 1 of conference play. The Huskies also lost a couple of seniors to graduation after last season, but nonetheless are sporting a 14-1 overall record and the same 4-0 record against other Northwestern Conference opponents.

On attack, the Huskies are led by a trio of seniors, Lanie Bowers, Abby Sheets and Maylee Bevins. Their assist leader is junior Lorali Overcash and defensive leaders include senior Alexis Rollins (173 digs and 250 serve receptions this season), and Sheets (28 blocks). Blevins has tallied 49 service aces.

SELECTED WATAUGA STATS VS. FREEDOM

• Addi Parker: 14 service aces, 2 digs
• Lilli Combs: 5 digs
• Caroline Childers: 4 service aces, 7 digs, 2 assists
• Emma Pastusic: 14 kills, 4 digs
• Grace Twillery: 7 kills, 1 stuff block
• Kora Knight: 5 kills, 1 assist
• Lainey Gragg: 20 assists, 3 digs
• Quinn Haines: 10 assists, 1 service ace
• Hadleigh Windish: 1 kill, 2 digs
• Gracyn Phelps: 3 kills
• Ashlyn Smith: 2 kills, 1 dig
• Athena Elliott: 1 kill, 1 assist, 1 dig

BONUS PHOTOS (all photographic images by David Rogers for High Country Sports)

By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Oops, he did it again.

Just two weeks after Watauga running back Everett Gryder electrified the packed grandstands at Jack Groce Stadium with a 66-yard TD run on the first play from scrimmage against Maiden, he ripped off a 62-yard romp on Sept. 20 in front of an even bigger Homecoming crowd against North Davidson. Everett was forced out of bounds at the Black Knights’ 8-yard line but finished the job one play later, slicing through the middle of the line to paydirt.

BONUS PHOTOS at bottom of article by Jared Everett and Garner Dewey for High Country Sports (click on any image for Slide Show Mode)

Although Watauga’s PAT kick attempt went uncharacteristically awry on this occasion, Gryder’s opening performance set the tone for what became a convincing, 47-21 non-conference win. With yet another early season victory, Watauga’s non-conference record improved to 5-0.

By all accounts, North Davidson is much improved over a season ago when the Pioneers lanced the Black Knights in Lexington, 56-14. Fast forward to the Sept. 20 rematch in Boone and North Davidson responded to Watauga’s quick, opening score with an extended offensive possession of their own, an 11-play, 54-yard drive that kept the Pioneer offense off the field for almost five minutes of the first quarter.

And they effectively mixed passes and runs. On 3rd-and-15, quarterback Dalton Pickle completed a 23-yard pass to Damani Chhorn, getting the ball into Watauga territory for the first time, at the 36. From there, a pair of Black Knights runners, Zaylan Hayes and Amir Dalton, alternated in picking up chunks of yardage until Hayes completed the mission with a 9-yard plunge into the end zone. The Black Knights PAT kick by Connor Dunn was good, giving NDA a tenuous, 7-6 lead.

It would be the Black Knights’ only and last lead of the night. After the game, Pioneer head coach Ryan Habich spoke about how his players responded to NDA’s opening drive.

“Defensively, we missed a lot of tackles on that first (Black Knights) drive,” Habich said. “I don’t think we played great defense on that first drive. But once they scored, our defense settled down in the first half and we played the way we are supposed to be playing.

“… That first drive, when North Davidson scored, you have to respond,” Habich observed. “I think our offense did a good job in scoring. If you give a team like North Davidson (an opportunity) to stay alive in the game, it could end up being a lot closer. In the first half, our offensive line did a good job of controlling the line of scrimmage.”

In fact, Watauga steadily put the game away with stifling defense and exceptional offensive production for the rest of the first half, leading 40-7 at intermission. And the offensive production was by a broader assortment of playmakers than we have seen from the Pioneers in previous games this season.

Of course, most of the usual suspects played a role. Gryder was a factor, finishing the night with 88 yards rushing on seven carries and a TD.

And, of course, quarterback Maddox Greene was a factor, carrying the ball seven times for 87 yards and two TDs to go with completing 6-of-8 passes for 103 yards and a TD.

But the Pioneers have evolved into a balanced juggernaut, even if with a run-first mentality. Junior running back and outside linebacker Matthew Leon is now splitting B-back duties with Gryder and rolled up 91 yards rushing on 15 carries, with one TD. Once into the second level, the speedster is likely to take it all the way to the end zone.

Another junior, Nyle Peays, has been used primarily as a defensive back in the early part of the season, but against the Black Knights was deployed on a wide receiver reverse, going 59 yards for a TD.

“For that play,” Habich told reporters later, “we needed a guy who could run under 4.7 in the 40-yard dash.”

Peays fit the bill, and then some. He also returned three kickoffs for a combined 64 yards to help put the Pioneers in good field position to start their offensive possessions.

Greene’s passing ability came into play, too, wowing the Homecoming crowd with two aerials to wide receiver Landon Smith, one of them for 53 yards. Smith also earned a TD reception on the night.

Versatile wide receiver/wingback Evan Burroughs had a quiet night running the ball against the Black Knights, but caught three passes for 32 yards. His first caught pass from Greene was for 12 yards on 2nd-and-6 in the first quarter, helping fuel Watauga’s 11-play, 80-yard, TD-scoring response to North Davidson’s first drive. Early in the second quarter, on 2nd-and-2, Burroughs flashed for a 20-yard pass reception from Greene in the middle of a 7-play, 86-yard scoring drive.

Late in the game with the outcome all but decided, backup QB Cade Keller took the reins of the offense in the 4th quarter and commanded a touchdown drive of his own. After North Davidson scored a second TD with just over a minute to go in the third quarter, Peays returned the kickoff 35 yards to to the Watauga 37. Three straight carries by Leon, each for three yards, put the Pioneers in a 4th and 1 situation at their own 46. Habich called three consecutive timeouts before the next play “to go for it,” with Leon rushing 6 yards for the first down. Keller & Co. made short work of the remaining 47 yards, featuring a cameo appearance by Thomas Dieters running the ball for an 8-yard gain and 13- and 27-yard keepers by the QB, the last one for a TD.

It was a night of creating roster depth for the Pioneers. In the last drive of the night, junior Crue Stoddard (wearing an offensive lineman’s jersey No. 61), lined up as B-back and gained 11 yards on two carries before Keller took a knee to run out the clock and end the game.

“I am really happy the way we played the first half,” said Habich after the game. “However, there were a ton of growth opportunities for the Pioneers in the second half. We were unfocused and had some key players not play well with dropped passes and lining up wrong, (including) false starts. That just isn’t Pioneer football. We could have really made a statement in the second half and probably played a lot more kids if the guys on the field were giving perfect effort in the second half. I’m a little disappointed but glad we got a touchdown in the second half. We did have a chance to play some guys late, both offensively and defensively.

“When guys don’t play well,” Habich added, “they get exposed. We are trying to develop some depth (at certain positions) as we get into conference play. Some guys did OK, some didn’t.”

Many of the top Pioneer athletes have been utilized on both sides of the ball, offense and defense. Normally, they include quarterback Maddox Greene but against North Davidson he only played on offense. Even then, he was not asked to carry the ball on keepers as much as he has in previous games — and the reduced workload was intentional.

“To be honest,” said Habich, “going into a bye week and the game getting out of hand, we were not going to be running our quarterback so much, saving him for conference play. He didn’t get a lot of touches in the second half. We put Crue Stoddard in at B-back in the second half because we don’t have any backups after Everett Gryder and Matthew Leon. So we wanted to play some backup guys and see what they can do on the field.”

Habich said the decision for players to play on both sides of the ball, offense and defense, is dictated by the opposition each week.

“In games like this, you want to get guys on the field to see what they can do,” Habich said.

After a week of rest and a bye on Sept. 27, the Pioneers throw themselves headlong into 3A/4A Northwestern Conference play on Oct. 4, going on the road to play 4A rival South Caldwell.  They go back on the road Oct. 11, at Alexander Central, in Taylorsville.

Other scores of interest:

• • Avery County 50, Rosman 0
  • Oak Grove 34, Hibriten 3
  • T C Roberson 60, McDowell 26
  • Hickory 42, East Lincoln 21
  • Johnson County 49, Ashe County 32
  • Freedom 63, Chase 13
  • Cuthbertson 56, South Caldwell 6
  • Sun Valley 42, Alexander Central 10

All game stats courtesy of Jonathan Watson

SELECTED TEAM STATS

• Total Yards: NDA 231, WAT 505
• First Downs: NDA 14, WAT 19
• Rushing: NDA 40-183, WAT 42-402
• Passing: NDA 3-of-10 for 58 yards, WAT 6-of-8 for 103 yards
• 3rd Down Conversions: NDA 3-of-10 (30%), WAT 3-of-6 (50%)
• 4th Down Conversions: NDA 1-of-1 (100%), WAT 1-of-1 (100%)
• Penalties: NDA 6-40, WAT 3-20
• Time of Possession: NDA 23:34, WAT 22:11

SELECTED INDIVIDUAL STATS

Passing

• • WAT – Maddox Greene: 6-8-103, 1 TD
  • NDA – Ethan Pickle: 2-9-33
  • NDA – CJ Morgan: 1-1-25

Rushing

• • WAT – Matthew Leon: 15 carries, 91 yards, 1 TD
  • WAT – Everett Gryder: 7 carries, 88 yards, 1 TD
  • WAT – Maddox Greene: 7 carries, 87 yards, 2 TDs
  • NDA – Zaylan Hayes: 12 carries, 64 yards, 1 TD
  • WAT – Nyle Peays: 1 carry, 59 yards, 1 TD
  • WAT – Cade Keller: 7 carries, 58 yards, 1 TD
  • NDA – Amir Dalton: 14 carries, 57 yards, 1 TD
  • NDA – Ethan Pickle: 6 carries, 29 yards
  • NDA – CJ Morgan: 4 carries, 24 yards, 1 TD
  • WAT – Crue Stoddard: 2 carries, 11 yards
  • WAT – Thomas Dieters: 1 carry, 8 yards

Receiving

• • WAT – Landon Smith: 2 catches, 63 yards, 1 TD
  • WAT – Evan Burroughs: 3 catches, 32 yards
  • NDA – Maurice Moseley: 1 catch, 25 yards
  • NDA – Damani Chhorn: 1 catch, 23 yards

BONUS PHOTOS BY GARNER DEWEY

BONUS PHOTOS BY JARED EVERETT