Category: High School

By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Midway through the third quarter of the Oct. 6 junior varsity football game between host Watauga and visiting Alexander Central, the Pioneers led, 21-6. During the time remaining in the contest, each side more than doubled its offensive output.

Observing from just behind the east end zone at Jack Groce Stadium, Pioneer head coach Ryan Habich acknowledged that when a team gets a big lead, as coaches you like to get as many reserves on the field to get them some playing time. That kind of game experience, he noted, was invaluable to player development.

But giving those players experience comes with risk, especially if the opposing team leaves its starters on the field. While the risk occurs at every level, from the NFL to college to high school varsity and junior varsity, it is often more pronounced at the younger levels where there is often a greater disparity in player development.

That at least in part explains the scoring eruption on both sides at Jack Groce Stadium on an otherwise beautiful, early autumn evening: perfect weather for football.

We saw an 80-yard pass play to TD by Alexander Central. We saw touchdown passes and TD runs from the Pioneers. It was all heady stuff for the many fans in the grandstands.

SELECTED WATAUGA INDIVIDUAL STATS

Passing

• Matthew Habich 1 pass, 63 yards, 1 TD

Rushing

• Everett Gryder 5 carries, 143 yards, 2 TDs
• Matthew Habich 4 carries, 72 yards, 1 TD
• Evan Burroughs 2 carries, 54 yards, 1 TD
• Cade Keller 5 carries, 44 yards, 2 TDs

Receiving

• Luke Edmisten 1 catch, 63 yards, 1 TD

Defensive Highlights

• Luke Edmisten 1 pass interception
• Evan Burroughs 1 pass interception

Statistics provided by Watauga JV head coach Marshall Thomas

 

By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — After dropping the first set to Watauga volleyball, 25-12, a resilient Alexander Central team got their act together for a more respectable outcome in the second set, 25-21. The Pioneers nonetheless responded with even more firepower in the third set, completing the 3-0 sweep with a convincing 25-11 third set win.

“They picked up a lot in the second set,” said Watauga senior setter Camryn Norris after the match. “We usually can get down on teams but their resilience kind of messed with us at first. Then we started finding holes and were scrappy right back, so that helped us compete with them.”

Pioneer senior Faith Watson pointed out, “They picked up on their service feed a lot and went on some longer serving runs. And, honestly, they just had some good hustle plays. This is the second time we have played them this year. We had a bit of a home court advantage, but we know them as a team that will play up to our energy level. If you give them some motivation, they will definitely play and get scrappy with it, and score some points.”

Head coach Kim Pryor was quick to compliment the visiting Cougars.

“When we played at their place earlier, they scored in the 20s, so we knew them to be scrappy. They have some good hitters. If we are not on top of our game and kind of relaxed, they will take advantage,” said Pryor. “We started well, but kind of rolled over in the middle, then came back at the end.”

Pryor was again able to get plenty of floor time for her reserves, emptying her deep bench as the Pioneers prepare for the state playoffs. That fine-tuning will be tested on Oct. 8 when Watauga hosts regional volleyball powers Fred T. Foard (Newton, N.C.) and T.C. Roberson (Asheville), before closing out the regular season with two road matches against Hibriten (Oct. 10) and Freedom (Oct. 12), then returning for a final regular season home encounter vs. Ashe County (Oct. 17).

SELECTED WATAUGA INDIVIDUAL STATS

• Camryn Norris 21 assists
• Faith Watson 6 kills, 3 digs
• Brooke Scheffler 15 kills, 14 assists, 2 stuff blocks, 2 service aces, 12 digs
• Caroline Farthing 17 kills, 3 service aces, 12 digs
• Kate McCullough 4 stuff blocks
• Madi Combs 5 service aces
• Kenzie Baldwin 4 assists, 1 service ace, 11 digs

By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — After already clinching the Northwestern Conference regular season team title, Watauga women’s tennis head coach Jennifer Pillow put the “Senior Night” fate of the team in the hands of… the seniors, who came through to lead the Pioneers to a 7-2 win over Ashe County.

Senior Madison Ogden moved up to play No. 1 singles against Ashe County senior Claira Corley. After a tug of war in the first set in which Ogden eventually prevailed 7-6 (7-2) that saw the lead change hands at almost every crossover, the Pioneer who has more often played No. 2 singles this year was more convincing in the second set, winning 6-3.

Pioneer sophomore Sienna Davidson, who stepped down to No. 2 singles for Senior Night from her usual No. 1 singles position, had less trouble from Ashe County freshman Addison Dollar, 6-0, 6-1.

At No. 3 singles, senior Amira Younce sailed past Huskies junior Julia Herman, 6-2, 6-1, and at No. 4 singles, senior Alaina Muse got by Ashe County freshman Malea Lambert in a tussle, 7-5, 6-2.

Pioneer senior Laurel West stepped up to defeat Husky junior Olivia Glover, 6-4, 6-1, in the No. 5 singles match, before junior Ali Eller got Ashe County it’s first team point with a hard-fought 6-4, 6-1 win over Watauga senior Madeline Hays.

Pillow rostered an all-senior doubles lineup, with Ogden-Younce defeating Herman-Corley, 8-2, in No. 1 doubles before Ashe County got its final team point with Dollar teaming with Maleah Lovell to prevail over the Pioneer duo of Hays and Serena Jewell-Miller at No. 2 doubles, 8-0.

In the final matchup of the afternoon, Watauga seniors Macayla Kanoy and Katie Harrison dispatched the Husky tandem of Eller and Bailey Richardson, 8-3.

Next for Watauga will be the Oct. 21-22 NCHSAA West Regionals, to be hosted by Hough High School in Cornelius, according to the North Carolina High School Athletic Association website.

By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Not only did a trio of Watauga seniors finish 1-2-3 in the ‘Pre Conference’ cross country meet on Oct. 5, but the Pioneers captured seven of the top 10 spots and ten of the top 15 finishing positions.

Pioneer head XC coach Randy MacDonough explained during the afternoon races that while some schools were actually racing, others like Watauga were using the event as a “training run.” Then there were schools like Freedom, that had raced just the day before so were basically jogging the course while familiarizing themselves with the course.

MacDonough said that the real purpose of the event was to allow the non-Watauga teams to familiarize themselves with the course, the same one that will be host to the 2022 Northwestern Conference Cross Country Championships on Oct. 18.

In the women’s 5,000 meter race, Watauga seniors Gwedolyn Anderson, Brianna Anderson, and Savannah Duvall finished 1-2-3, with times of 20:55, 21:26, and 21:38, respectively. Ashe County senior Sherry Billings finished in the No. 4 position (21:42), followed by Andriana Rink at No. 5 (21:56), Virginia St. Clair at No. 6 (21:57) and Rachel Cathey at No. 7 (22:10).

Abilene Dollar of Ashe County was at No. 8, followed by the Pioneers’ Janie Beach-Verhay at No. 9, then Freedom’s Katie Deacon to round out the Top 10.

A total of 56 athletes from six Northwestern Conference schools took part in the Pre Conference event. Other Pioneers in the Top 20 included No.12 Sullivan McAulay, No. 14 Maddie Bollman, No. 15 Kara Schneider, No. 16 Mia Llibre, No. 17 Ellary Smith, No. 18 Sydney Cate Townsend, and No. 19 Anna Norris.

TEAM SCORES

• Watauga 17
• Ashe County 47
• Alexander Central 77
• Hibriten 116
• South Caldwell 120

Freedom only had four athletes running, short of the required five for team scoring.

By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Led by Watauga’s Will Bradbury, five different schools were represented in the top five finishing positions on Oct. 5 in the running of the 2022 Northwestern Conference Pre-Conference Cross Country event.

Bradbury finished the 5,000-meter course in 17:16, 36 seconds ahead of Hibriten’s Rylan Sedlacek (17:52.00). Noah Farmer (18:05) came in at No. 3, followed by Parker Bowman (18:26) of South Caldwell and Thomas Campbell (18.39) of Alexander Central in the No. 4 and No. 5 positions, respectively.

The Pioneers had eight runners finish in the top 15 and 12 of the top 20. In addition to Bradbury, they were Collin Anderson (No. 6), Jonah Norris (No. 8), Roman Sibaja (No. 9), Sam Nixon (No. 10), Elliott Taft (No. 11), Calvin Zwetsloot (No. 13), and Maxwell DePriest  (No. 14).

Rounding out the Pioneers finishing in the top 20 were Sam Rex (No. 16), Wesley Coatney (No. 18), Davis Crymes (No. 19), and Silas Powell (No. 20).

Six Northwestern Conference schools were represented by 75 athletes in the Men’s Varsity division of the event.

“This event was more about familiarizing all of the schools and their athletes with the course,” explained Watauga head coach Randy MacDonough, “because the conference meet will be run on the same course in roughly two weeks. Some of the guys were racing for finishing positions and times, but a lot were just checking out the course. You had schools like Freedom, who had a competition meet just yesterday, so they were basically jogging. Our guys were using it as a training run.”

The Northwestern Conference Cross Country Championships event is scheduled for Oct. 18, at Watauga High School, beginning at 4:30 p.m.

TEAM SCORING

1. Watauga 34
2. Alexander Central 57
3. Ashe County 81
4. South Caldwell 96
5. Hibriten 110
6. Freedom 154

 

By David Rogers. MORGANTON, N.C. — Continuing its tennis domination so far in Northwestern Conference play, Watauga High School’s women’s tennis team had another dominating performance on Oct. 3, 9-0, against Freedom High School, on the Patriots’ home court.

In one of the closest matches, Watauga’s No. 1 singles player, sophomore Sienna Davidson closed out Freedom’s Ellie Deacon, 6-1, 6-3.

At No. 2 singles, WHS senior Madison Ogden defeated Patriot sophomore Emily Kania, 6-2, 6-2.

Pioneer senior Amira Younce dispatched Freedom senior Sara Byrd Succop at No. 3 singles, 6-0, 6-1.

No. 4 singles saw Watauga sophomore Larisa Muse get by Freedom sophomore Leah Kirksey, 6-1, 6-0.

Alaina Muse, a Pioneer senior, played at No. 5 singles and had little trouble with Freedom freshman Zofia Losada, 6-0, 6-0.

Pioneer freshman Fiona Russell won the No. 6 singles match, 6-0, 6-0.

For the No. 1 doubles match, Watauga’s Ogen and Younce teamed up to defeat Deacon-Succop, 8-2. The Pioneers’ freshmen tandem of Kennedy Moore and Larson Berry defeated Kania-Kirksey, 8-5, at No. 2 doubles, while the Watauga team of Abbi Shuman and Elsie Davis defeated Freedom’s Delaney Dellinger and Siashi Xiong, 8-3.

Now 12-1 overall and an undefeated 9-0 in Northwestern Conference play, Watauga closes out regular season play at home on Oct. 5, vs. Ashe County.

By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — It was a chilly, early autumn night at Jack Groce Stadium on Oct. 3, but the action was fast and furious as the Watauga men’s soccer team scored late in the first half against visiting Hibriten, then held on for a 1-0 Northwestern Conference win over the Panthers.

Emmitt Coffey was credited with the first half goal, with an assist from Curtis Sevensky.

It was a match marred by confusing referee calls by both sides. During the match there were vocal protests from both sidelines as well as from the grandstands. Thankfully, both teams maintained their composure without mishap as the referee changed calls, sometimes without letting the teams reset when he re-awarded a free kick, the teams having to scramble back into defensive positions.

As frustrating as the officiating might have been, it did not take away from an entertaining, hard-fought match. Hibriten came into the tilt 2-0 after dominating, Northwestern Conference wins over Freedom (Sept. 26, 7-0) and Ashe County (Sept. 28, 5-1) while Watauga was bouncing back from a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Alexander Central on Sept. 28, after prevailing over South Caldwell, 1-0, on Sept. 26.

“The conversation I had with the Hibriten coach after the game focused primarily on the horrific officiating, which seems to be the only consistency that we can find this year. Unfortunately, that is not a good consistency to have,” said Watauga head coach Josh Honeycutt after the match. “That said, credit to Hibriten because they are a great side representing an excellent program. They do a lot of really good things on the soccer field.

“We were able to find our consistency tonight, along with our passion and intensity and outwork them,” Honeycutt added. “That is really what it was tonight. We outworked them.”

Honeycutt conceded that Hibriten did a commendable job of taking his Pioneers off their normal one-touch and two-touch passing game.

“The first half was a little better, maybe, but in the second half we seemed to be happy just getting the ball out. When you have a lead, that is easy to do, but I want us to stay consistent with our connectivity, finding feet and connect those one-two passes and get the ball in and out. To Hibriten’s credit, they are a scrappy group that pressures really well. That makes it more difficult to make quick decisions and to maintain quick play with accurate passes, when they are pressing so much.” said the veteran Pioneer coach.

“I knew it was going to be a battle,” said Honeycutt. “They are sitting among the conference leaders for a reason. It was going to be a tough, scrappy, physical battle. But I also knew that we could play with them. That is what I told the boys leading into tonight’s game, that just because Hibriten has 10 wins and one loss doesn’t mean that we are not as good as they are. We proved that tonight and if we bring tonight’s passion and intensity to every game, we are not going to lose to Alexander Central, 3-0. But we have to find that consistency.”

Overall records, including non-conference results can be pretty deceiving. Watauga came into the match vs. Hibriten with a 3-8-1 overall record, but played some of the state’s toughest opponents in the non-conference portion of the Pioneers’ regular season schedule.

“That is why we do it,” said Honeycutt, “to prepare us for the conference schedule and, hopefully, the state playoffs. If we are 10-1 coming into conference play and we haven’t played any good competition, then what good has that done us? We intentionally scheduled one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the state and I think it is beneficial, looking beyond the records. We are battle-tested, having played with the best of the best. As a result, we are finally able to execute the way we should with some consistency. And we are finding wins.”

The Pioneers return to the friendly confines of Jack Groce Stadium on Oct. 5 against Freedom High School (Morganton), then travel to Ashe County on Oct. 10, as they reach the halfway point in the regular season schedule.

After the win, Watauga shares the No. 1 spot in the NWC standings with Hibriten and South Caldwell, all 2-1 in conference play. Alexander Central (1-1-1) is close behind, with Ashe County (0-1-2) and Freedom (0-2-1) rounding out the conference.

By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Watauga senior outside hitter Caroline Farthing reached the 1,000 career kills milestone and then some on Oct. 3, pummeling South Caldwell with 22 kills at Lentz Eggers Gym as the Pioneers bested the Spartans, 3-0 (25-7. 25-5, 25-9).

Farthing now has 1,004 career kills. After the match, she first noted to High Country Sports that there have been a number of Pioneer teammates along the way helping her toward that milestone. “You don’t do it alone,” said Farthing. “You must have good setters putting the ball into good positions for you to make those shots.”

Farthing said that being a teammate first is the more important accolade a player could receive.

“Personal milestones show how hard you have worked. I came in as a freshman and played with my sister (Rebekah Farthing), who already established as the outside hitter. I played right side and I had never played right side before,” said Farthing. “So having a slow freshman year going into a pretty big sophomore year because a lot of our players had graduated, that allowed me to show how much I had grown as a player, how hard I had worked. I think I am pretty versatile and can be put in any position. I will work hard, no matter what.”

In a dominating team performance against South Caldwell on the Pioneers’ home court, several Watauga players stood out, but particularly strong service efforts by Camryn Norris and Kenzie Baldwin, each of whom reeled off strings of points, including aces, in the decisive second and third sets. Norris recorded 18 assists to go with 3 service aces and a pair of digs, while Baldwin added 11 digs, 3 assists and a service ace to her stat totals.

Furman University-bound Brooke Scheffler had another effective performance as both a setter and hitter, with 15 assists, 5 digs, and 8 kills to further demonstrate her versatility around the court.

Junior outside hitter Brooklyn Stanbery (4 kills, 1 stuff block) and senior Faith Watson (3 kills, 2 stuff blocks) and junior middle blocker/hitter Kate McCullough rounded out the Pioneers’ top offensive performances.

“(Lopsided) games like this have a really low energy, so it is hard to stay up and engaged at times,” said Farthing, “to stay excited when the match is super flat like that. Last match (in Hudson), South Caldwell came into it with more energy, so they definitely can be better when they want to. But tonight they came in with low energy, for some reason.”

Although the result was one-sided, Watauga head coach Kim Pryor described it as still fun.

“We were able to get into a groove with our offense,” Pryor said, “so it was a lot of fun on our side. Our mindset is always to play our game. South Caldwell really played well against us when we were at their place earlier in September. In fact, we started out 0-6. Tonight, our focus was playing our style and we came out clicking from the very beginning. We had a few missed serves that we fixed as the game went on, but I liked how we were clicking as a team, from both the defensive side as well as the offensive side.

“When you look at a match that you dominate,” added Pryor, “you always want to look at HOW you dominate. Was it because of what we did or because of the opponent’s play? I want our domination to always reflect what we did, attacking at all times. Tonight, we did. We mixed it up really well in running great plays. It was fun to watch.”

Now 15-1 overall, 6-0 in Northwestern Conference play, Watauga next plays Alexander Central at Lentz Eggers Gym on Oct. 5 before hosting two strong non-conference opponents on Oct. 8 in Fred T. Foard (Newton, N.C.) and T.C. Roberson (Asheville). The Pioneers close out regular season and conference play with two road contests, Hibriten (Lenoir, Oct. 10) and Freedom (Morganton, Oct. 12) before returning home to face Ashe County (Oct. 17) in preparation for the state tournament.

 

By David Rogers. HUDSON, N.C. — Turnovers can define momentum in football. Watauga took advantage of five miscues by South Caldwell — in just the first half — on Sept. 29, the Pioneers storming to a decisive, 56-7 win in the opening game of Northwestern Conference play.

Both of the longtime NWC adversaries went 4-1 in their non-conference schedules to open the 2022 season. Both teams feature balanced attacks that lean heavily on the ground game.

That is where most of the similarities ended in this match-up. The Thursday night lights — the tilt moved up a day because of Hurricane Ian’s forecasted arrival on Friday — shone brightly on Watauga.

Just in the first quarter, the Pioneers poached two interceptions, recovered a muffed kickoff return, and forced a turnover on downs. Then, early in the second period, a quarterback sack by senior defensive end Isaiah Shirley on 4th-and-9 led to yet another short field to paydirt for the visitors. In a virtual blink of an eye (almost 10 minutes were still left in the first half), Watauga rocketed to a 28-0 lead.

The Pioneers were never behind. Receiving the opening kickoff, they marched 65 yards on 10 running plays before running back Will Curtis started the scoring barrage with a 3-yard plunge over the goal line. It was a drive that saw Curtis and quarterback Maddox Greene taking turns running the football. Behind the offensive line’s precisely executed blocking schemes, the duo methodically chewed up gridiron real estate in relatively small chunks. The longest gain by Greene was an 18-yard keeper, while the longest by Curtis was 13 yards. It was an efficient drive that took just over three and a half minutes off the clock.

South Caldwell’s response looked promising at the start with leading rusher Suan Moore helping the Spartans advance from their own 34 yard line, to midfield. But that is where the evening’s foibles began for the home team. Along the Spartans’ right sideline, quarterback Anderson Raynor had a pass intercepted by Watauga defensive back Ben Gosky. It took just four plays for the Boone boys to take advantage, culminating with an electric, 34-yard pass from Greene to wide receiver Jackson Pryor. With another successful Grant Kight PAT kick, the Pioneers had a 14-0 lead and the game was just 8 minutes old.

And it immediately got worse for the Spartans, better for Watauga. On the ensuing kickoff that could be recorded as an onside kick, the ball was mishandled by the receiving team and recovered by Aiden Watson for the Pioneers, at the South Caldwell 49.

With another short field in front of them, it took Greene, Curtis & Co. just three plays to travel the distance, highlighted by runs of 21 and 14 yards by Curtis — and extending the Pioneer lead to 21-0 with still three minutes remaining in the opening quarter.

Down by three touchdowns as the first quarter was coming to a close, the South Caldwell coaching staff opted to try and close the gap on the ensuing possession by “going for it” on 4th-and-7 from the Watauga 24 yard line. Any hopes were dashed when Raynor’s pass fluttered to the ground, incomplete, and with the Pioneers back in possession of the football.

Of course, Watauga capitalized as the game clock turned the corner into the second quarter. It was run-run-run for the Pioneers, again featuring Curtis and Greene, with Curtis finishing off the 8-play drive with another punch-in TD from two yards out.

At 28-0 with still 9:45 left in the first half, any Spartan hopes for a comeback against the Pioneer onslaught were dimming, fast. The Watauga student section’s chanting message, “I believe that we will win! I believe that we will win!” on most nights may have been premature, but for this game Watauga was making a statement.

In a poignant moment afterwards, Watauga head coach Ryan Habich awarded a game ball to senior Colin Phelps and his family, including assistant coach Jason Phelps. Young Phelps suffered a neck injury against South Caldwell during the 2021 season that ended his season and prevented him from playing football his senior year. Habich added that the year before his arrival at Watauga, in the fall of 2012, South Caldwell had defeated the Pioneers, 55-15, on the same Spartan field, pointing out that there is a long and storied history between the two schools, even a Northwestern Conference rivalry.

South Caldwell finally got on the scoreboard still early in the second quarter on a 7-play drive that advanced the ball from the SC 29 to the end zone, aided by a 15-yard “roughing the passer” penalty, but the TD scamper by Sylas Scruggs and the PAT kick by Andrew Pruette would prove all the Spartans could manage in terms of scoring for the rest of the night.

After two more TD runs by Curtis and yet another by Greene on a QB keeper, a fourth quarter highlight would follow: sophomore backup QB, Matthew Habich, scored his first varsity TD on an 11-yard maneuver through Spartan traffic. And it came just moments after his father had scolded him for not properly setting his offensive linemen when they went to the line of scrimmage. Coach Habich called a timeout, all the while not sparing his voice in having his son do two pushups in the middle of the field during the chewing-out — and the younger Habich responded with a nifty run to the end zone, Watauga’s final score of the night that put the game out of reach for the Spartans, 56-7.

In taking advantage of the Spartan miscues that resulted in “extra” offensive opportunities, Watauga rolled up 488 yards of total offense, 342 rushing and 146 yards passing. Coach Habich explained later that while they run the ball a lot, when the opposing team stacks the interior of the line of scrimmage with extra run defenders it opens up passing opportunities.

The Pioneer defense limited South Caldwell to just 218 yards of total offense, 123 rushing and 95 through the air. Losing one of four fumbles on the night and having three passes intercepted ultimately short-circuited the Spartan offensive efforts.

Next up for Watauga is a trip to Taylorsville to face yet another longtime rival, Alexander Central. The Pioneers got by the Cougars, 28-21, a year ago on their way to a sweep of the NWC slate before losing to Cuthbertson in the first round of the state playoffs, but Alexander Central in recent years has proven one of Watauga’s most challenging conference opponents. The Pioneers’ last loss to the Cougars was in the fall of 2017, a 33-38 thriller also in Taylorsville, when Watauga finished 5-2 and runner-up to ACHS’ 6-1 NWC championship campaign. It was also the last time the Pioneers didn’t win the conference title.

South Caldwell moves on to a date in Morganton against Freedom on Oct. 7. The Patriots lost, 43-20, to Hibriten in their conference opener in Lenoir.

SELECTED TEAM STATS

• Total Offense: WAT 488, SC 218
• Passing Yards: WAT 146, SC 95
• Rushing Yards: WAT 342, SC 123
• Offensive Plays: WAT 55, SC 51
• Penalties: WAT 9-85, SC 5-70
• Turnovers: WAT 0, SC 4
• Time of Possession: WAT 25:41, SC 22:19
• 3rd Down Conversions: WAT 5/7 (71.4%), SC 1.11 (9.1%)
• 4th Down Conversions: WAT 1/1 (100%), SC 0/6 (0.0%)

SELECTED INDIVIDUAL STATS

Passing

• WAT Maddox Greene 7-11-146, 1 TD
• SC Anderson Raynor 6-17-63, 0 TDs, 3 INTs
• SC Ben Ellison 1-1-32

Rushing

• WAT Will Curtis 24 carries, 181 yards, 5 TDs
• WAT Maddox Greene, 11 carries, 93 yards, 1 TD
• SC Suan Moore, 4 carries, 33 yards
• SC Anderson Raynor, 6 carries, 20 yards
• SC Sylas Scruggs, 3 carries, 19 yards, 1 TD
• WAT Matthew Habich, 2 carries, 17 yards, 1 TD

Receiving

• WAT Jackson Pryor, 6 catches, 117 yards, 1 TD
• SC J.B. Robbins, 3 catches, 64 yards
• WAT Cole Horine, 1 catch, 29 yards
• SC Tyler Eggers, 2 catches, 18 yards

WATAUGA DEFENSIVE HIGHLIGHTS

• Isaiah Shirley 5.5 tackles, 1 sack, 0.5 tackle for loss
• Cole Horine 5 tackles
• Trathan Gragg 4 tackles, 2 tackles for loss
• Carlton Horine 2 INTs
• Ben Gosky 1 INT

 

 

 

 

 

 

By David Rogers. HUDSON, N.C. — With matching, 4-1 non-conference records, Watauga and South Caldwell meet on Sept. 29 at the Spartans’ stadium in Hudson for their respective Northwestern Conference football season openers. Both have played challenging non-conference opponents.

Watauga won early tilts against T C Roberson (42-13), Maiden (23-19), and Mitchell (28-21) before a Sept. 9 loss down the mountain at Burns (28-48) and a Homecoming win against Ashe County (55-21). South Caldwell did some regional damage, too, opening with a 28-7 win over West Caldwell, then losing to Hickory, 27-54, before closing out the non-conference slate with victories over the Hickory Hawks (28-7), Bandys (31-24), and Hibriten (35-34).

South Caldwell’s offense features a top producer in junior RB Suan Moore, averaging more than 168 yards per game with fellow junior, QB Anderson Raynor, averaging 71.4 yards rushing per game. Through the air, wide receiver J B Robbins is averaging 54 yards per game and TE/WR Tyler Eggers 36.2 yards per game.  Moore and Raynor have recorded 8 and 4 rushing TDs in the young season.

Defensively, cornerback Bryson Genwright has poached three pass interceptions already and middle linebacker Brady Stewart is averaging 8 tackles per game to lead the Spartans. Defensive tackle Dezmond Hackett, Genwright and Stewart have each forced a fumble over the course of the five non-conference games.

The Pioneers counter with a run-heavy offense featuring two athletes averaging more than 100 yards rushing during the non-conference slate. Sophomore quarterback Maddox Greene is averaging 114.4 yards per game and running back Will Curtis is averaging 101.4, and that tandem is bolstered by senior Trey Thompson averaging 61 yards per game. Curtis has scored a team-high total of 7 rushing TDs, closely followed by Greene’s 6 and Thompson’s three. Greene has been on the passing end of 4 TDs through the air, with senior Jackson Pryor on the receiving end of three of those.

Defensively, senior defensive end NC State commit Isaiah Shirley is averaging 6 tackles per game and already has been credited with 3.5 quarterback sacks and a forced fumble. Senior defensive back Cole Horine has hauled in two interceptions, while Greene and Morgan Henry each have one.

According to The Weather Channel, conditions should be near ideal for a football game, with cloudy skies, no precipitation, and temperatures near 63 degrees Fahrenheit at the 7:30 p.m. kickoff, falling to 57 degrees by 10 p.m. It may be breezy, with winds ranging from 8-10 miles per hour.