Category: High School

By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Football is often a game of inches and that proved the case on Nov. 12 when Northwest Guilford rallied from 15 points down in the second half to advance past Watauga in the state playoffs, 33-27, at Jack Groce Stadium.

Watauga led 21-6 at  intermission but the Vikings scored on their first possession after halftime to shrink the deficit to a manageable, 21-12.  On the ensuing kickoff, Northwest was able to down the ball at the Pioneers’ 2-yardline, giving Watauga a long field in which to answer.

No problem, said the Pioneers. Sophomore QB Maddox Greene ambled 94 yards on a keeper, pushed out of bounds at the Northwest 2-yardline following a footrace against the Vikings’ secondary. After running back Will Curtis ran up the middle, gaining one of the remaining yards to the goal line, Greene finished things with a keeper into the end zone, expanding the Pioneers’ lead to 15 points again, 27-12.

But that was only the beginning of what would become the game’s reversal of fortune. A defensive stand by the Pioneers looked promising enough, the Vikings hurting themselves, too, with costly penalties. Forced to punt, NWG gave Watauga good field position, at their own 42.

Greene & Co. could do very little with the short field. After gaining one first down, Greene attempted to pass the ball to WR Jackson Pryor behind the line of scrimmage, but the exchange ended up as a fumble — recovered and returned for a TD by the Vikings’ Luke Rochon. And Northwest Guilford was soon rockin’ on, indeed, with the deficit down to just seven points, 27-20, following a successful 2-point conversion run by replacement QB, Bristol Carter.

The momentum in the game had clearly shifted. Watauga suffered a 3-and-out on their next possession, forced to punt as the third quarter ended.

Given the blustery conditions and their lack of success passing the ball earlier in the game, Northwest Guilford’s offense returned to its grinding ground game behind a large and powerful offensive line, with seniors Carter and running back Mike Godette carrying the ball. Taking almost five minutes off the clock with the drive, Godette finished off the last 13 yards and, suddenly, a game that had seemed out of the Vikings reach just moments earlier was tied at 27-27.

Did we mention that football is a game of inches? After picking up gridiron real estate in chunks on the next possession, Watauga looked to be heading for the end zone and the lead once again. They got the ball as far as the Viking 35, needing to get past the 34 on 4th down to extend the drive and potentially earn the win with a TD.

But, after the officials called time out for a measurement, Greene’s 4th down effort on a QB keeper was deemed just inches short of what was needed and the ball was turned over to Northwest Guilford. With 2:35 remaining on the game clock, overtime seemed a distinct possibility.

The Vikings’ Carter had other ideas. Although a holding penalty on the first play of the next NWG possession reset what they needed to do, Carter ripped off runs of 8, 4, and 7 yards, leaving the Vikings with their own 4th-and-1 situation, and only 45 seconds remaining on the game clock.

Carter got the one yard, and more, running through and beyond the Pioneer defense for 57 yards and a TD. The PAT kick was unsuccessful, leaving the score at 33-27. If only the Pioneers had a 36-seconds’ proverbial arrow in their offensive quiver they could win the game with a TD and PAT.

They almost found it, too. A Greene pass to Pryor gained 41 yards, getting the ball to the Northwest Guilford 31-yardline. But that was it. Two more incomplete passes and time had expired — and with the final buzzer, Watauga’s remarkable 2022 season also came to an end.

SCORING SUMMARY

• 1st Quarter – NW Guilford’s Ryan Debow scored a TD on a 1-yard run. 2-point conversion attempt failed. SCORE: NWG 6, WAT 0
• 2nd Quarter – WAT’s Maddox Greene pass to Jackson Pryor for 33 yards and a TD. Grant Kight conversion kick good. SCORE: NWG 6, WAT 7
• 2nd Quarter – WAT’s Will Curtis, 5-yard run for TD. Kight PAT kick is good. SCORE: NWG 6, WAT 14
• 2nd Quarter – WAT’s Will Curtis, 4-yard run for TD. Kight PAT kick is good. SCORE: NWG 6, WAT 21
• 3rd Quarter – NWG’s Ryan Debow, 3-yard run for TD. 2-point conversion attempt fails. SCORE: NWG 12, WAT 21
• 3rd Quarter – WAT’s Maddox Greene, 1-yard run for TD. PAT kick is unsuccessful. SCORE: NWG 12, WAT 27
• 3rd Quarter – Fumble recovery and return by NWG’s Luke Rochon for TD, 2-point conversion run by Bristol Carter is good. SCORE: NWG 20, WAT 27
• 4th Quarter – NWG’s Mike Godette, 13 yard run for TD. PAT kick by Nate Wallace is good. SCORE: NWG 27, WAT 27
• 4th Quarter – NWG’s Bristol Carter, 57-yard run for TD. PAT kick is no good. SCORE: NWG 33, WAT 27

SELECTED TEAM STATS

• Total Offense: NWG 354, WAT 421
• Passing Yards: NWG 72, WAT 90
• Rushing Yards: NWG 282, WAT 331
• Penalties: NWG 9-78, WAT 2-16
• Turnovers: NWG 2 INTs, WAT 1 fumble
• Time of Possession – NWG 21:33, WAT 26:17
• 3rd Down Conversions: NWG 4/8 (50%), WAT 6/11 (54.5%)
• 4th Down Conversions: NWG 1/2 (50%), WAT 0-2 (0.0%)

SELECTED INDIVIDUAL STATS

Passing

• WAT Maddox Greene 5-11-90, 1 TD
• NWG Tanner Ballou 4-4-65
• NWG Bristol Carter 2-9-7, 2 INTs

Rushing

• WAT Maddox Greene 19 carries, 170 yards, 1 TD
• NWG Bristol Carter 16 carries, 159 yards, 1 TD
• NWG Mike Godette 22 carries, 111 yards, 1 TD
• WAT Will Curtis 19 carries, 92 yards, 2 TDs
• WAT Carlton Horine 7 carries, 50 yards
• NWG Ryan Debow 5 carries, 21 yards, 2 TDs
• WAT Cole Horine 2 carries, 14 yards

Receiving

• WAT Jackson Pryor 4-57, 1 TD
• NWG Bristol Carter 5-54
• WAT Carlton Horine 1-33

 

 

 

By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Nicole was just too generous, the hurricane bringing an expected 6 to 8 inches of rain to the High Country on Friday, which was just too much for high school football to be played. According to a communication from Watauga High School athletic director Dustin Kerley, the Round 2 matchup between Watauga and Northwest Guilford will be played on Saturday at Jack Groce Stadium, with kickoff scheduled for 6 p.m.

By David Rogers. WEDDINGTON, N.C. — Surely, Watauga was playing Real Madrid, Liverpool, or Bayern Munich players disguised as the Weddington Warriors on Nov. 7 in Round 3 of the NCHSAA 4A Men’s Soccer State Championships. They were ball-handling magicians with world class sprinters’ speed. And oh, but they were fit.

To use Pioneer head coach Josh Honeycutt’s words after the match, Watauga ran into a buzz saw in losing the tilt, 4-1. Fitness, speed, ball-handling skill, intensity, work ethic… Weddington had it all.

“Weddington is a quality team and one of the best high school teams I have ever seen,” said Honeycutt in describing Weddington’s performance to High Country Sports. “Their No. 1 seed is clearly deserved. We may not have given them our best game, but even that may not have been enough. They are that good.”

Warrior senior midfielder Wesley Atoyebi was often seen in the attacking third for host Weddington, and provided bookends for his team’s scoring. Midway through the first half, after he and his teammates had peppered the Watauga goal with shots that were either turned away by the Pioneer backline, saved by goalkeeper Kyle Painter, or just missed outside and above the net, Atoyebi ripped a worm-burner past Painter from about 10 yards out, from in front of the left upright.

That was the only scoring in the first half, although Weddington controlled possession and squandered several opportunities, often forced into rushed shots on goal by a pesky Watauga defense.

In the 48th minute, Weddington junior forward Eli Petko punched another Warrior goal into the Watauga net. That was followed in the 63rd minute by a rocket off the foot of junior Tucker Kern to put the Warriors ahead, 3-0.

Watauga finally got on the scoreboard with just under seven minutes remaining to shrink the deficit to 3-1. Senior forward Nathan Bishop maneuvered around a Warrior defender and that brought Weddington’s goalkeeper out. In the subsequent collision of Bishop, goalkeeper and another Warrior defender, the ball popped out to the right — and right to the feet of Watauga’s Klaus Best with nothing but an open net in front of him, some 10 yards a way.

“It was just a case of being in the right place at the right time,” said Best. “I just toed it in.”

Atoyebi, the Warrior midfielder who had started Weddington’s scoring spree, sent yet another rocket zipping past beleaguered Watauga goalkeeper, junior Kyle Painter, who was credited with an astonishing 13 saves on the night and saw at least a dozen more Weddington shots on goal sail past or over the net.

“They are really good,” Honeycutt said of Weddington. “Their intensity, their work rate, their speed, their ability to move the ball quickly. They are just good and we ran  into a buzz saw tonight. We may not have given them our best effort, but that at least partially was due to their intensity and skill. It is hard to come in and play the No. 1 seed and trying to find confidence. I think we came out a little scared and a little slow, which allowed them to build their confidence. We didn’t win the balls we normally do. We didn’t challenge. We didn’t do the things that we normally do.”

After looking at Watauga’s schedule and some of the film on the Pioneers in preparing for their Round 3 match, Weddington head coach Powell Williams was impressed by how well the Pioneers had competed against some stronger teams in their non-conference schedule and dominated the Northwestern Conference.

“Watauga is a smart team, a good soccer team,” said Williams after the match.”They are very balanced and clever at times. They have beaten some good teams. I told our guys that, No. 1, we had to finish. We left a lot of opportunities on the table in the first half. Watauga is the type of team that will fight back, even when they are down. You have to stay on top of teams like that. You can’t let those opportunities slip by. I reminded our team at half that this wasn’t a team that would go away in being down 1-0 or 2-0. Watauga is a team that will hang in there.”

Williams was perceptive in assessing Watauga’s preparations for facing his Weddington charges.

“I know they had a pretty rough non-conference schedule, but I don’t really think Watauga has had the opportunity to face teams with the kind of speed that we have. That was a major difference in the outcome. Our intensity probably got to them in the second half and kind of broke them down a bit,” said Williams.

Weddington now moves on to play No. 12 Myers Park in the West bracket’s semifinals. To advance, the Mustangs upset No. 4 seeded Lake Norman, 1-0.

In the bottom half of the bracket, No. 3 Northwest Guilford dominated No. 11 Cox Mill, 6-0, while No. 7 Ardrey Kell advanced past No. 2 Providence in a shootout, 3-2. Both semifinals will be played on Nov. 10.

In the East bracket, the lower half will feature lower seeded teams battling to the East semifinals, with No. 11 Laney (3-0 victors over No. 14 New Hanover) facing No. 23 Apex Friendship (3-2 winners over No. 15 Middle Creek).

Not all scores have been reported in the upper half of the East bracket, but at least one entry into the East semifinals has been confirmed: No. 1 seeded Hoggard. In the other quarterfinal match, also on Nov. 7, No. 5 Cardinal Gibbons was to play the unreported winner of the Round 2 contest between No. 13 Green Hope and No. 4 Lumberton.

 

By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Turnovers and penalties were costly for visiting South Iredell on Nov. 4, at Jack Groce Stadium in Round 1 of the NCHSAA 4A Football Championship. Host Watauga powered past the Vikings, 42-13, to keep the Pioneers’ state title hopes alive.

After stopping South Iredell’s opening drive, Watauga took over on downs at their own 45-yardline and quickly went into its patented grinding, ground control mode, picking up chunks of yardage by quarterback Maddox Greene and running back Will Curtis. A senior, Curtis finished off the six-play drive with a 16-yard TD run, weaving between his own blockers and would-be tacklers, to give the Pioneers an early 7-0 lead — and they would never again be trailing or tied in the contest.

Morgan Henry was the offensive star on the Pioneers second possession, after again taking over on downs when South Iredell failed on a fourth down conversion attempt. Henry surprised everyone except the Pioneers in taking a quick pitch before sweeping around the right side for 27-yard TD scamper.

A strong Watauga defensive effort, highlighted by a line of scrimmage stop by Isaiah Shirley and a sack by J.T. Cook forced the Vikings into another fourth down situation. Given their failures on the previous tries at “going for it” on fourth down, this time they elected to punt.

Watauga would find the end zone one more time before intermission, Greene finding Curtis along the right sideline for a 27-yard TD pass to put the Pioneers ahead 21-0. South Iredell finally got on the scoreboard with a nifty, 21-yard TD strike from senior QB Brice Warren to senior WR Will Vuk in the back of the end zone.

By halftime, Watauga sported a 21-7 lead. By game’s end, placekicker Grant Kight would be a perfect 6-for-6 on PAT attempts, as the Pioneers scored three more TDs in the second half. Greene found the end zone twice in the fourth quarter, highlighted by a 37-yard keeper, outracing all defenders across the goal line. Curtis also added a 21-yard run in the third quarter.

SELECTED TEAM STATS

• • Total Offense: WAT 359, SI 246
  • Turnovers: WAT 0, SI 1 (Interception by Maddox Greene)
  • Penalties: WAT 5/50, SI 7/80

More story to follow after game stat clarifications.

Miscellaneous images, all photos by David Rogers

By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Drawing first and last blood, Watauga prevailed in a double overtime thriller on Nov. 3, defeating Cornelius-based Hough High School, 3-2, in Round 2 of the NCHSAA 4A Men’s Soccer Championships tournament at Jack Groce Stadium.

Played in front of the season’s largest crowd, including a large contingent of fellow classmates at the grandstands’ rail near the 50-yard line, it was one of those games you hated that either team had to lose. It was thrill-a-second high school soccer at its best, played by equals in almost every way.

Watauga senior Noah Jamison scored the first goal of the evening, still early in the first half. On attack, Jamison and Hough midfielder Matthew Barnes battled for control of the ball on the right side of the Hough-defended goal.  The Huskies’ goalkeeper, senior Cole Kennedy, came out to secure possession, but during the three-way collision at the ball, it popped out toward the right goalpost. Jamison quickly chased it down to put it away, striking it across the goal face and into the left side of the net before Hough senior defender Bryson Waller could scramble back to challenge him.

Hough, which captured the Queen City 3A/4A Conference regular season title over North Mecklenburg and Hopewell, battled back to take a 2-1 lead with 25 minutes to go in the second half as the two teams raced up and down the field. Nearly out of breath, a sideline official quipped to a photographer, “I’m afraid I might pull a hamstring!”

In the early going of the first half, Watauga was able to control possession, but not long after the Jamison score, momentum shifted and much of the rest of the opening half was played in the visitors’ attacking third. Only a stellar defensive effort allowed the Pioneers to take a 1-0 lead into intermission, but then the Huskies knotted the score at 1-1 early in the second half, and surged ahead in the 65th minute, 2-1.

Desperate to at least tie the game, Watauga couldn’t quite get it done until midfielder Andrew Hill secured the ball on the left side and whipped the ball around a mass of players in front of the goal — and a surprised goalkeeper — with just 4:10 remaining on the clock in regulation.

And that is where things stood at the end of the second half. In the first overtime period, the teams battled without scoring. Then, midway through the second OT, Watauga’s Stryker Ward cleaned up a lose pinball in front of the net to punch it home for a 3-2 Pioneer lead.

The final five minutes were tense for the Watauga faithful, as Hough mounted several attacks. At one point, a Husky forward seemed to have dead aim on an all but open Watauga goal when senior defender Kai Suyao flashed from across the field to clear the ball and avoid the Husky tally.

After the game, Watauga head coach Josh Honeycutt pointed out the differences in the two teams’ approaches.

 

“We watched film and knew that No. 19 was their main goal scorer and No. 9 was their second guy. Then we knew that No. 20 was going to try and push in and get in on the attack,” said Honeycutt. “What we didn’t anticipate is how much they were going to boom the ball directly forward. Eventually, we were able to handle it and adapt, but it is challenging when your style of play is to keep the ball at your feet, try to possess and try to penetrate with possession and combinations. But then, every time they get the opportunity it is long ball, long ball, long ball… It is a difficult adjustment to make.  But we were pretty effective, overall, minus a couple of marking letdowns that let them on the board. But I think we had an unbelievably effective defensive day.”

With a less competitive conference schedule, Watauga’s preparations for this matchup with Hough really began in the early, non-conference schedule, when the Pioneers lost seven of their first 10 games, mostly playing against teams that were likely to be in the state playoffs. Among the non-conference 4A opponents the Pioneers faced in the early going that made the playoffs were Cuthbertson, West Forsyth, Northwest Guilford, and Ardrey Kell. At the 3A level, North Iredell, Ledford, and Franklin were playoff bound, too.

“We could play a cupcake schedule and have great won-loss record going int our conference schedule,” said Honeycutt, “but to prepare for the actual playoffs at the end of the regular season, we needed to play against playoff-caliber competition. We get here now, and we are prepared.”

Part of the process against any opponent in any sport is making adjustments both at halftime, as well as during the game.

“We knew how hard we work, but on film it is hard to see how hard they would work,” said Honeycutt. “Credit to Hough. They were an unbelievably hard-working group. They were making it very difficult for us to possess and move the ball out of the back because they would press so quickly and so hard. We had to adjust there at halftime, to make sure that when we gained possession we could get it a little bit quicker into midfield, so we could secure possession and not give their forwards an opportunity to press us so much. At halftime, we said we have to go out and execute. They want to get us into the boom ball, long ball sort of game, but we have to possess to do what we do. Obviously, there were momentum swings”

Hough head coach David was very complimentary of the effort by both sides, telling High Country Sports, “I loved the fight in both teams. It was a well-played game and both teams played a pretty clean game. Watauga played with a lot of class and what it came down to was they made one more play than we did.”

Next up for Watauga is a trip south of Charlotte on Monday, Nov. 7, to face the West bracket’s No. 1 seed, Weddington, who defeated No. 16 seed Cuthbertson, 2-1, on Nov. 3 to advance. In other West bracket games, No. 12 Myers Park defeated No. 5 T C Roberson, 2-0; No. 4 Lake Norman swamped No. 13 Asheville, 5-2; No. 3 Northwest Guilford finished off No. 14 Charlotte Catholic, 1-0; No. 11 Cox Mill blanked No. 27 Mooresville, 4-0; No. 7 Ardrey Kell beat No. 23 Independence; and No. 2 Providence dominated No. 15 Hickory, 6-0.

 

 

 

 

By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Out of the creeping mists enveloping Jack Groce Stadium, the No. 8-seeded Watauga men’s soccer team tricked and treated their way to a second half rally. They spooked a talented No. 25-seeded West Cabarrus side, 3-2 — with two goals by senior Nathan Bishop in the final 15 minutes of play.

Seedings have proven deceptive in state tournament play almost every year, in every sport. Watauga knew that West Cabarrus might pose a problem in advancing to the next round, even though they were the fifth place team in the Greater Metro 4A Conference during the regular season. The conference produced five state tournament seeds compared to the Northwestern Conference just two (South Caldwell was awarded the No. 31 seed out of the 32 teams selected for the 4A West bracket of the state playoffs).  The other four teams from the Greater Metro conference and their seedings are No. 4 Lake Norman, No. 11 Cox Mill, No. 15 Hickory Ridge, and No. 27 Mooresville. All five had winning overall records during the regular season.

The Pioneers dominated possession for the first 13 minutes of play against the Wolverines, highlighted by a rocket off the foot of senior midfielder Silas Jackson. Cleaning up loose ball, Jackson moved the ball left into space just outside the top right corner of the penalty box. Then, with one step he hammered a shot that curled around a mass of players and sliced into the upper left side of the net for the match’s first goal.

Then, with the first half clock having ticked down to 4:10 remaining before intermission, the Wolverines put together an attack that saw junior T J David, Jr. find the net off of a pass from junior midfielder Jason Hernandez-Salinas to tie the game.

Early in the second half, Hernandez-Salinas put the Wolverines ahead on a penalty kick awarded because of a Pioneer hand ball in the penalty box. That’s the way things stood until Bishops goals in the final 15 minutes.

Especially during the first three-quarters of the match, West Cabarrus often peppered the Watauga net with shots, including some challenging saves by goalkeeper Kyle Painter. By game’s end, Painter had been credited with six saves on the evening.

“I think we were the better team but they had a couple of really quality players with a lot of speed. No. 10 (junior striker Drew Waller) and No. 15 (senior midfielder Fabian Caceres) was very good with the ball,” said Watauga head coach Josh Honeycutt. “The only thing they really looked to do was get the ball in space for No. 10. Overall, as a whole, we were better at possession, better at connections, better penetrating and better getting into opportunities that were dangerous vs. just kicking the ball to their speed. I am super proud of our guys.”

By the last 15 minutes of the game, the Wolverines looked to be tiring and the Pioneers didn’t hesitate to pick up the pace.

“I think our hard work and fitness level was a key factor in the second half,” said Honeycutt. “It was pretty easy to tell that we still had our feet on the accelerator and they were exhausted. They were tired.”

Honeycutt shared that stopping No. 10 was a primary objective coming into the match.

“We knew that the West Cabarrus offense ran through No. 10,” the Pioneer coach said. “He had scored 37 goals this season and the next most among his teammates was 16, so I assigned senior defender Noah Jamison to be his shadow. Everywhere No. 10 went, Jamison was there and he did a very good job of neutralizing him for this game.”

A half moon shone eerily across the field in the first half but even it became invisible as incoming fog hung over the stadium lights at intermission before descending down to envelop the playing surface. Only the keenest eyes could see any of the action occurring on an opposite sideline. Even then, there were startled shouts erupting as a ball would come into view. It was a night for fog-piercing glasses — or Ghostbusters — to be sure.

“They were difficult conditions with that fog,” admitted West Cabarrus head coach Demetrius Marlowe to High Country Sports after the match. “Both teams played well. Watauga has a great side and I wish them good luck as they move forward. Both teams played hard and fought, but someone had to win tonight. Unfortunately it went the wrong way for us tonight, but Watauga’s last goal was a great goal. It was great touch inside, then he turned and hit it.”

With the win, Watauga’s record improves to 12-8-1 overall. In advancing to the second round of the playoffs, the Pioneers will leverage their high seed to host Hough High School (Cornelius, N.C.) on Thursday, Nov. 3, at Jack Groce Stadium.

 

 

By David Rogers. RALEIGH, N.C. — The High Country will be well represented in the North Carolina High School Athletic Association’s state football championship playoffs in 2022, beginning with Northwestern Conference champion No. 3 seeded Watauga hosting the No. 30 seed, South Iredell on Nov. 4.

In the 4A West division, Grimsley earned the No. 1 seed and Mooresville the No. 2 seed, ahead of No. 3 Watauga and No. 4 East Forsyth. The full seedings and matchups in the 4A West bracket:

#1 Grimsley (10-0) vs. #32 Davie (4-6)
#16 Reagan (8-2) vs. #17 Charlotte Catholic (8-2)
#8 Independence (9-1) vs. #25 Page (5-5)
#9 Olympic (10-0) vs. #24 T.C. Roberson (6-4)
#5 Hough (8-2) vs. #28 Providence (5-5)
#12 Mallard Creek (7-3) vs. #21 Ardrey Kell (8-2)
#13 Asheville (8-2) vs. #20 Mount Tabor (8-2)
#4 East Forsyth (10-0) vs. #29 West Forsyth (4-6)
#3 Watauga (9-1) vs. #30 South Iredell (4-6)
#14 Northwest Guilford (8-2) vs. #19 Southeast Guilford (7-3)
#6 Weddington (9-1) vs. #27 Marvin Ridge (5-5)
#11 Cox Mill (8-2) vs. #22 Lake Norman (7-3)
#7 A.C. Reynolds (9-1) vs. #26 A.L. Brown (6-4)
#10 Julius Chambers (8-2) vs. #23 Porter Ridge (7-3)
#15 Butler (8-2) vs. #18 Hickory Ridge (6-4)
#2 Mooresville (9-1) vs. #31 Southwest Guilford (5-5)

Watauga will compete in the lower half of the bracket. If the Pioneers get past South Iredell, they will play the winner of Northwest Guilford and Southeast Guilford in Round 2.

Watauga is the only Northwestern Conference 4A school to gain a berth in the playoffs. The others considered are Alexander Central and South Caldwell.

At the 3A level in the West bracket No. 9 Hibriten, #21 Freedom, and No. 29 Ashe County are familiar Northwestern Conference names that earned berths in the playoffs. Former NWC members making the cut include No. 32 St. Stephens and No. 22 Hickory. Both schools left the NWC last year with realignment. The complete list of 3A West pairings and seedings:

#1 Kings Mountain (10-0) vs. #32 St. Stephens (4-6)
#16 Central Davidson (8-2) vs. #17 Smoky Mountain (6-4)
#8 West Charlotte (5-5) vs. #25 Cramer (4-6)
#9 Hibriten (5-5) vs. #24 Southern Guilford (6-4)
#5 Northwest Cabarrus (9-1) vs. #28 Ashbrook (4-6)
#12 Ledford (9-1) vs. #21 Freedom (6-4)
#13 Tuscola (9-1) vs. #20 Forestview (4-6)
#4 East Lincoln (10-0) vs. #29 Ashe County (3-7)
#3 Oak Grove (10-0) vs. #30 West Mecklenburg (5-5)
#14 Crest (7-3) vs. #19 Statesville (7-3)
#6 Dudley (8-2) vs. #27 Pisgah (4-6)
#11 South Point (9-1) vs. #22 Hickory (7-3)
#7 Erwin (5-5) vs. #26 Carson (5-5)
#10 Parkwood (5-5) vs. #23 Eastern Guilford (6-4)
#15 West Rowan (8-2) vs. #18 Franklin (6-4)
#2 West Henderson (10-0) vs. #31 North Davidson (3-7

In the 2A West bracket, familiar names from the region receiving berths include No. 25 North Wilkes, No. 24 Wilkes Central, No. 5 Maiden, and No. 2 East Surry.

In the 1A West bracket, teams around the High Country region with a chance at a state championship include No. 17 Mountain Heritage, No. 28 Avery County, No. 4 Mt. Airy, No. 30 Elkin, No. 6 Draughn, No. 11 Mitchell, and No. 10 East Wilkes.

By David Rogers. CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Still only a sophomore, Watauga harrier Will Bradbury finished just 12 seconds behind Ardrey Kell junior Raghav Gopalakrishnan (15:50.42) and Charlotte Catholic senior Ian Pierce (15:55.04) on the Larry McAfee Course at McAlpine Park and ahead of 135 other 4A West Regional runners on Oct. 29. His third place finish in 16:02.83 was good enough to qualify him for the NCHSAA 4A State XC Championship meet at Ivey Redmon Sports Complex in Kernersville. The men’s race is scheduled for 9:40 a.m., the women at 11:00 a.m.

The Pioneers’ other four scoring harriers all finished in the top half of the 138-runner field, but it was not enough to the team into the state meet as a team qualifier. Watauga finished  8th on the day. The Pioneers included junior Roman Sibaja (37th, 17L39.02), freshman Elliott Taft (44th, 17:46.48), junior Sam Nixon (51st, 17L55.04), and Sam Rex (61st, 18:18.15).

By David Rogers. CHARLOTTE, N.C. — With all five scoring athletes in the top 35 of 121 entered athletes entered in the 5000m NCHSAA 4A West Women’s Regional finals, including three in the top 18, Watauga grabbed a fourth place team finish on Oct. 29 at McAlpine Park.

On the Larry McAfee Course and the event hosted by Providence High School, Myers Park junior Mary Bonner Dalton (18:01.90) broke the tape over a half-minute ahead of second place finisher Hannah Caudill (18:42.90), a senior from Asheville. Olympic High School junior Natalia Martin (18:51.90) was nine seconds behind to secure the third spot.

A Watauga trio of junior Rachel Cathey (20:05.20), senior Gwendolyn Anderson (20:09.90). and freshman Savannah Duvall (20:13.20) finished in 15th, 16th, and 17th, respectively, to lead the Pioneers.

Watauga seniors Virginia St. Clair (20:52.90) and Brianna Anderson (20:53.90) also had strong finishes in 33rd and 35th, respectively.

With the 4th place finish, the Pioneer women qualified for the NCHSAA 4A State Cross Country Championships, scheduled for Nov. 5 at the Ivey Redmon Sports Complex in Kernersville.

By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Led by 5-8 senior outside hitter Aaliyah Mitchell, the Sun Valley Spartans stopped Watauga’s advance through the NCHSAA 4A state volleyball tournament on Oct. 29, 3-1 (20-25, 25-16, 31-29. 25-16), at Lentz Eggers Gym.

The host Pioneers captured the first set, but Mitchell and teammate Hailey Pearce, a 6-3 senior outside hitter, provided ample firepower in driving Sun Valley to the win — and a ticket to host the 4A West championship match as the highest remaining seed in the tournament.

Although the Spartans seemed to take control in the second set, Watauga fought gamely throughout the third, sending it to overtime and a 31-29 finish in favor of the visitors from Monroe, N.C. With apparent momentum and an attack that kept Watauga off-balance for much of the final three sets, Sun Valley left little doubt as to which was the better team on this day, at least, in winning the fourth and final set.

There were tears aplenty among the Pioneers as it sunk in that their momentous season had been brought to an end, but the many fans applauded the Watauga players enthusiastically for a terrific season and never-say-die effort.

“I am so proud of these girls for this great season we’ve had,” said head coach Kim Pryor after the final point had been scored. “Sun Valley’s No. 8 is really good and they kept us out of our normal attack.”

Starting out as the No. 3 seed for the 4A West bracket of the tournament, Sun Valley will now host Cornelius, N.C.-based Hough High School in the West final. Hough advanced to the final by beating South Iredell on Oct. 29, 3-1 (25-18, 25-10, 29-31, 25-15).

In the 4A East bracket, No. 4 Middle Creek lost to No. 8 Cardinal Gibbons, 3-2, while No. 2 Millbrook advanced past No. 11 Green Level, 3-1.

SELECTED WATAUGA INDIVIDUAL STATS

• Kenzie Baldwin 1 assist, 19 digs
• Evie Robbins 10 digs
• Cam Norris 21 assists, 2 service aces, 5 digs
• Faith Watson 2 kills, 2 stuff blocks, 5 digs
• Brooke Scheffler 12 kills, 16 assists, 10 digs
• Caroline Farthing 26 kills, 4 service aces, 19 digs
• Kate McCullough 2 stuff blocks
• Sara Marlowe 1 kill, 3 stuff blocks
• Emma Pastusic 2 kills, 1 assists, 3 stuff blocks, 1 dig