By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — A barrage of second half shots on goal by Watauga were rewarded by the most unlikely of outcomes: an “own goal” scored when the South Caldwell goalkeeper whiffed on a clearing kick. It was the only score in the Pioneers’ 1-0 overtime win over the visiting South Caldwell Spartans.
Midfielder Nathan Bishop pushes the ball up the field in the Pioneers’ Northwestern Conference opener against visiting South Caldwell. Photo by David Rogers
It was arguably the Pioneers’ best night of the season, offensively, even if unable to put the ball in the back of the net. Flooding the attacking third of the field with numbers and aggressive shots on goal in the second half, the Pioneer barrage prompted the Spartan goalkeeper at one point to encourage his defenders to better organize, saying, “We can’t expect to get lucky forever.”
From backline to frontline, the Pioneers displayed championship form with slick, one- and two-touch passing and beating their Spartan counterparts to the ball, time after time.
Curtis Sevensky (10) maneuvers the ball along the right sideline in Watauga’s 1-0 overtime win over visiting South Caldwell on Sept. 26, at Jack Groce Stadium. Photo by David Rogers
“Our attack was better tonight,” said head coach Josh Honeycutt later, “but we are still having trouble getting the ball in the net.”
After a rigorous non-conference schedule, Watauga (3-7-1 overall, 1-0 Northwestern Conference), survived South Caldwell in the league opener, even if it took OT and an own goal by the Spartans. Their next NWC test will be at Alexander Central on Sept. 28, before returning home on Oct. 3 for a test against Hibriten.
By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Watauga’s Pioneers won all but one singles match and swept the doubles competition on Sept. 26 over visiting Alexander Central, led by Sienna Davidson’s 6-0, 6-4 defeat of ACHS’ Emmy Rogers.
The Pioneers’ Amira Younce similarly dominated the Cougars’s Taylor Sharpe in the No. 2 singles match, while Larisa Muse dispatched Hannah Kilby, 6-0, 6-1. Alaina Muse had just a little more trouble in defeating Adisyn Eckard, 6-4, 6-2 in the No. 4 singles match.
The No. 5 singles match saw Larson Berry of Watauga prevail over AC’s Ella Deal, 6-2, 6-2, before the Cougars’ Jenna Mason put the visitors on the team scoreboard in defeating the Pioneers’ Serena Jewell-Miller at No. 6 singles.
At No. 1 doubles, Younce and Davidson had little trouble with Alexander Central’s tandem of Rogers and Sharpe, winning 8-2. Alaina Muse and Laurel West teamed up at No. 2 doubles to defeat the Cougars’ Kilby and Mason, 8-4. At No. 3 doubles, Watauga’s Katie Harrison and Abbi Shuman prevalied over ACHS’ Eckard and Alaina Peterson, 8-5.
Now 10-1 overall and 7-0 in the Northwestern Conference, the Pioneers look to extend the unbeaten conference streak when they travel to Hibriten on Sept. 28 and to Freedom on Oct. 3, before completing the regular season at home vs. Ashe County on Oct. 5.
By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Caroline Farthing’s 16 kills and fellow senior Brooke Scheffler’s 12 kills and 18 assists helped host Watauga to a dominant, 3-0 women’s volleyball sweep over visiting Morganton-Freedom on Sept. 26, 25-7, 25-11, 25-4, at Lentz Eggers Gym.
Although Freedom had its moments with strong serving and good digging ability to keep the ball in play, by match’s end the overall skill of the Pioneers was clearly evident, up and down the host’s roster. Watauga head coach Kim Pryor emptied her bench in the 3-set sweep and didn’t lose a step when some of her younger players stepped in.
Pioneer setter Camryn Norris does her thing on Sept. 26 against Freedom at Lentz Eggers Gym. Photo by David Rogers
“I was really glad we could showcase our roster depth,” said Watauga senior Faith Watson after the match. “We have some very talented athletes, but only six of us can be on the court at any given time.”
Watson is a middle blocker and outside hitting specialist for the Pioneers, with plans to attend East Tennessee State and pursue a career in nursing, she told High Country Sports.
Now 13-1 overall and 4-0 in Northwestern Conference play, the Pioneers go on the road to Ashe County on Sept. 28 before returning home on Oct. 3 to face South Caldwell and Oct. 5 vs. Alexander Central before hosting a tri-match with two of the region’s more powerful programs on Saturday, Oct. 8, vs. Foard (Newton) and T.C. Roberson (Asheville).
A small, but enthusiastic student section was on hand Sept. 26 to watch Watauga volleyball sweep Freedom, 3-0, in Lentz Eggers Gym. Photo by David Rogers
By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C., — Led by sophomore Tate Shore’s 1st place finish in 16:35, Reagan High School finished with three runners among the top six finishers, helping the Raiders to the team title in the High Country XC Classic on Sept. 24.
Watauga’s Will Bradbury (17:08) came across the finish line in second place, followed by Roman Sibaja (11th, 18:15), Collin Anderson (15th, 18:36), Sam Nixon (22nd, 19:01), Jonah Norris (26th, 19:12), and Elliott Taft (27th, 19:13), allowing the Pioneers to capture 2nd place in the team competition among the 85 varsity men’s athletes and 11 schools.
85 young men competed in the varsity division of the High Country XC Classic on Sept. 24. Photo by David Rogers.
In the men’s junior varsity race, Watauga junior Miles Page (19:41) came across the finish line first in the 5,000 meter run, leading a cavalcade of six Pioneers in the top 11 finishing positions. Other Pioneer runners included Santino Wood (5th, 20:22), Davis Crymes (8th, 20:29), Alex Gremmell (9th, 20:29), Silas Powell (10th, 20:35), and Elijah Healy (11th, 20:37) in helping Watauga to the JV team title.
By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — West Henderson sophomore Noelle Houlihan crossed the finish line first (19:51) in the women’s varsity division of the High Country Cross Country Classic on Sept. 24, but Lexington (S.C.), led by 8th grader Kendra Miles’ second place finish (20:02), captured team honors with all five of its scoring athletes finishing in the top 15 of the 84 athletes competing.
Host Watauga’s Gwendolyn Anderson (11th, 20:55) led a quintet of Pioneer athletes all finishing in the top 25 to secure third place in the team results 11 squads competing on the hilly course. The other Pioneer women contributing to the team’s finish included Brianna Anderson (13th, 21:14), Andriana Rink, (17th, 21:55), Janie Beach-Verhay (19th, 22:00), and Sydney Cate Townsend (24th, 22:17).
Watauga harrier Brianna Anderson placed 13th in the field of 84 athletes competing in the Sept. 24 High Country XC Classic. Photo by David Rogers
In the junior varsity women’s division, Reagan completed a 1-2-3 sweep in taking four of the top eight finishing positions before Science Hill came across in 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th.
A pair of Reagan freshmen harriers, Keira Bach (23:24) and Slayde Schott (23:52) led the field.
Watauga freshman Patricia Bailey Collins led the Pioneers, finishing 9th, with senior Caroline Beach-Verhay close behind in 11th. Watauga junior Vivi Rushing completed the 5,000 meter course in 14th.
By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Visiting Hibriten was a vastly more competitive team than in previous years, but Watauga still had their volleyball number on Sept. 21, winning 3-0, at Lentz Eggers Gym, 25-16, 25-11, 25-10.
“We knew that they were much improved over previous years,” said Watauga outside hitter Caroline Farthing after the match, “but we have won the Northwestern Conference for nine straight years. We want another conference championship this year. Our mindset going in was to focus on our side of the net and do what we do best. We try to never play down to an opponent’s level.”
Faith Hill (5) goes up for a Watauga block vs. Hibriten on Sept. 21.
Brooke Scheffler now splits her time between outside hitter and designated setter — and her stats reflect the dual role in this match with 15 kills, 15 assists, and 7 digs.
“From the time I first started playing volleyball in grammar school,” said Scheffler, “developing versatility has been important to me. At this level, and even at the next level in college, having that range of skills makes me more valuable to the team.”
Kenzie Baldwin (7) looks to set a kill opportunity for Carolina Farthing (22) on Sept. 21 vs. Hibriten at Lentz Eggers Gym.
When Scheffler was introduced as part of the senior class Homecoming court on Sept. 16 during the football halftime at Jack Groce Stadium, her college plans became no longer a secret: she plans to attend Furman University for her academic studies while also playing on the school’s volleyball team.
Offensively, Farthing led the team with 20 kills, 5 digs and 5 service aces, while Faith Watson added 3 kills and 3 stuffed blocks. Cam Norris contributed 18 assists, 9 digs, and a service ace to round out the statistical leaders.
Watauga junior varsity also won in straight sets, 25-19, 26-24. Hadley Woods recorded 9 kills 10 assists and 3 service aces, while Grace Tillery added 7 kills and a block to lead the JVs, statistically.
By David Rogers. WEST JEFFERSON, N.C. — Now halfway through the regular season slate in the women’s tennis fall season, Watauga took down another Northwestern Conference opponent on Sept. 19, 8-1, over host Ashe County. The Pioneer women are now 8-1 overall, 5-0 against NWC adversaries. The lone loss came on Aug. 24 at T.C. Roberson, 2-7, although Watauga exacted a measure of revenge on Sept. 13 when the Pioneers defeated the Rams in Boone, 8-1.
“It has been a pretty good season, so far,” said Jennifer Pillow, Watauga’s head coach, “but there is still a lot of tennis to play. We are hoping to qualify athletes to regionals, and then qualify them for the state tournament. We have five more league matches, the last on Oct. 5 against Ashe County. Typically, the regionals are scheduled for early to mid-October and the state tournament for late October.
By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Across the Watauga men’s soccer roster, there are some really fast, exceptionally skilled student-athletes. Against Ardrey Kell at Jack Groce Stadium on Sept. 19, the Pioneers met their match — and then some.
The visiting Knights took home a 4-0 shutout against what the team’s head coach, Rob Dalton, explained after the match was much needed: stiffer competition — and that was exactly what they found in Watauga.
Watauga goalkeeper Kyle Painter recorded 10 saves against Ardrey Kell on Sept. 19, including this one in the first half. Photo by David Rogers
“I was pleased with our performance tonight,” said Dalton. “In our conference we have had some less than competitive games recently. So we were looking forward to coming up here to Boone and having a much more competitive game. And Watauga gave us just that. Our guys were on it from the beginning and we obviously got the good start with a penalty kick in the first minute. I don’t think we took our foot off the accelerator for the full 90 minutes. We are still building. When others see this result against a very well coached and capable Watauga side, it may not send shockwaves (around the state) but it will raise a few eyebrows. Watauga is that good.”
From a momentum standpoint, the visitors benefited from a penalty kick awarded to them when the starting whistle had barely faded into the early autumn night. The Knights’ senior captain Quinn McGuire sent the ball past Watauga’s goalkeeper, Kyle Painter, for the opening salvo.
Kyle Painter didn’t have an 11th save for lack of trying during the Sept. 19 Watauga match vs. Ardrey Kell at Jack Groce Stadium. Photo by David Rogers.
On attack, Ardrey Kell was relentless, peppering the Watauga-defended net with shots. Against most High Country and regional opponents, Watauga is fast to the ball and quickly finding teammates with one-touch passing to move the ball into space. The Knights were, simply put, faster and equally skilled. They were also effective in disrupting nearly every Pioneer possession.
Said Dalton, “It is difficult for the opposition, once you are all over them, to break the stranglehold.”
Watauga head coach Josh Honeycutt knew full well what his charges would be facing against Ardrey Kell and, despite the loss, knew that his team benefited in the long run from this non-conference scheduling.
Ardrey Kell’s Neil Singh pushes the ball up the left sideline in a full sprint during the first half of play against Watauga at Jack Groce Stadium. Photo by David Rogers
“Ardrey Kell is a really good team,” acknowledged Honeycutt after the game. “We may not have played our best game, but we didn’t play badly. What happened tonight is that we played a really good team that could move the ball really well. They were solid defensively. They threw numbers in on attack and had a lot of good speed. Hopefully, we learned that to battle, to fight, to continue to grind with another good team… We had good moments.”
For much of the game, the Watauga players in general moved away from their patented one-touch passing that they have exhibited so skillfully against other opponents. It wasn’t until the last 13 minutes that those combinations worked to put real pressure on Ardrey Kell’s defense.
In a battle of No. 5s, Ardrey Kell’s Sammy Lee, who had two goals on the night, goes one-on-one with Watauga defender Kai Suyao in the first half of the Sept. 19 non-conference match between the Knights and the Pioneers. Photo by David Rogers
“Yeah, that is one thing we talked about at halftime,” said Honeycutt. “You can’t hold onto the ball and take so many touches. Keep the ball moving, let the ball do the work. Take one or two touches and make the defense shift. We didn’t do a great job of that tonight but credit to Ardrey Kell, they didn’t allow us, really, with their pressure to connect a whole lot of passes. A lot of that was them but a lot of it was us holding the ball too long.”
The outcome could have been much worse if not for the athletic Painter’s diving this way and that to record 10 saves on the night.
At the other end, Watauga could do little against the Knights’ defense. The Pioneers recorded only one shot on goal during the 90 minutes, by junior midfielder Andrew Hill.
According to MaxPreps.com, Ardrey Kell was the No. 18-ranked team in the entire state of North Carolina last season and the No. 8 team in the North Carolina 4A West region, when they recorded a 14-4-4 season, losing to Cornelius-based Hough in the fourth round of the 4A state playoffs. At 6-3-1 this year, so far, that ranking has slipped only a little while posting a 4-0 record to date in the 4A South Mecklenburg Conference, which includes Myers Park, South Mecklenburg, Palisades, Berry, Olympic, and Harding high schools.
“If we are going to win a state championship,” said Honeycutt, “Ardrey Kell is the kind of team we are going to have to beat.”
With only two officials calling the game, players and refs alike were frustrated during the Sept. 19, highly competitive pairing of Ardrey Kell and Watauga at Jack Groce Stadium. Photo by David Rogers
As good as this game was played, it was marred to an extent by a total of five yellow cards and 10 called fouls. Normally, there are three officials, a primary referee and two sideline judges. Only two officials were assigned to call this match, each having to not only be in position to call offsides, when they occurred, at the extreme ends of the field, but also to monitor what was going on in the middle of the field. Under that kind of pressure, the officials appeared to lose patience with the players in the second half, either backtalking or kicking the ball away after the whistle had blown.
“This is the first time we have played with only two officials and it is unfortunate that for this competitive of a match the full complement could not have been assigned. In conference play in Charlotte, we would not play without three officials. We would wait for the third to begin play,” said Dalton, suggesting how important it is to have three.
Next competition for Watauga (2-7-1 overall, 0-0 NWC) is on Sept. 21, at home against another strong non-conference opponent in Concord-Cox Mill (8-0-4), before beginning Northwestern Conference play on Sept. 26, also at home against South Caldwell (5-1-2, 0-0). Ardrey Kell resumes league play on Sept. 22 against Palisades (2-5-1, 1-2).
By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Watauga High School Principal Chris Blanton speculated after the Sept. 16 “Homecoming” football game that it was probably the largest crowd at least in the Pioneer grandstands in quite some time. And, by the way, they had a lot to cheer about with Boone’s favorite sons running away with a 55-21 win over regional rival, Ashe County.
For scheduling purposes, it was a non-conference game. With last year’s NCHSAA realignment of all North Carolina high school conferences and the growing Ashe County enrollment pushing the Huskies from the 2A to 3A level, both institutions are now in the 3A/4A Northwestern Conference that Watauga has seemingly dominated for the last several years.
The Pioneers student section was out en masse on Sept. 16, for Homecoming vs. Ashe County. Photo by David Rogers
Watauga head coach Ryan Habich discounted any notion that the early non-conference encounter provided either team with insight into the other’s game plan when they meet for the official conference game on Oct. 28. He noted that both he and the Huskies head coach, Brian Hampton, have led their respective programs for the last 10 years, so “… he knows what we do and we know he runs an ‘Air Raid’ offense,” said Habich. The only thing that changes, through the years, are the players’ names, he suggested.
Opening the playbook a little further as league play officially approaches, the Pioneers rolled up 482 yards of total offense, 353 yards of it on the ground and 129 yards — more than usual — through the air. While running back Will Curtis carried the ball 14 times for 101 yards and a TD to lead the rushing attack, he was joined in rushing TDs by Maddox Greene, Cole Horine, Carlton Horine, and Peyton Ash.
Meanwhile, Greene completed 8 of 11 passes for those 129 yards — and 2 TDs.
In this one, Watauga wasted little time in getting on the scoreboard. Ashe received the opening kickoff for the first offensive possession, but on the Huskies’ second play from scrimmage, the Pioneers’ Morgan Henry came up with an interception — and only 43 seconds had ticked off the clock. Then, on Watauga’s first play, Greene hit Jackson Pryor over the middle for a 28-yard TD. With a successful Grant Kight PAT kick, the score was 7-0. Arguably the largest Pioneer student section of the last 10 years, costumed in “white out” attire, had barely gotten to exercise their lungs.
After the Pioneer defense stopped the Ashe advance at their own 46 yard line, Greene & Co. staged an 11-play, 71-yard drive that took more than four minutes off the game clock. On a keeper off right tackle, Greene found a whole and galloped 9 yards for Watauga’s second TD of the night, with more than five minutes remaining on the first quarter clock.
Cole Horine (21) celebrates his TD run of 45 yards in the second quarter on Sept. 16, vs. Ashe County on Homecoming night. Photo by David Rogers
Although Watauga’s defensive end Isaiah Shirley at times seemed to take up residence in Ashe County’s backfield for QB sacks and tackles for loss, the Huskies’ QB Blake Peters and running back Matthew Peterson shook off those setbacks and orchestrated an 11-play, 60-yard drive that ended in an AC touchdown: Peterson finished it off with a one-yard punch into the end zone.
Peters completed 24 of 41 pass attempts on the night for 236 yards but to the dismay of the many Husky fans filling the south grandstands of Jack Groce Stadium, that yardage produced no TDs — but two interceptions that gave the ball back to the Pioneers. Unlike in many Watauga games where the Pioneers control time of possession, Ashe County’s 23:09 with the offense on the field was nearly identical to Watauga’s 24:44. Simply put, the Pioneers did more with their opportunities and committed no turnovers.
In spreading the ball around, Peters’ favorite targets on the night were wide receive Colin Estes (10 catches, 89 yards), receiver Ian Graybeal (7 catches, 88 yards), and Peterson (5 catches, 34 yards).
After the game, Habich conceded that Ashe County exposed an area of vulnerability in the Pioneer pass defense. “We have to get better,” he said, “if we are going to win a conference championship.”
Peterson also proved to be an elusive target at times once he got ahold of the football. Habich said, “He is a good player and good players make you miss tackles. That was another area of concern where we need to improve, tackling.”
Watauga wingback Carton Horine runs for a TD on Sept. 16 vs. Ashe County in Jack Groce Stadium, on Homecoming for the Pioneers. Photo by David Rogers
Even with Ashe County showing a lot of Northwestern Conference potential if it can only avoid turnovers (fumbles and interceptions), Watauga was much more consistent in playing near-error free football, with no turnovers.
And, the Pioneers showed off a number of offensive weapons in running back Will Curtis (14 carries, 101 yards rushing, 1 TD), Cole Horine (4 carries, 77 yards, 1 TD), Greene (8 carries, 75 yards, 1 TD) and Carlton Horine (4 carries, 48 yards, 2 TDs).
Greene also had an opportunity to show off his arm, passing. Wide receiver Jackson Pryor had 5 catches for 88 yards and a TD, while Cole Horine’s versatility led to 2 catches for 33 yards and a TD.
Watauga’s Cole Horine runs for a big gain against Ashe County on Sept. 16 at Jack Groce Stadium. Photo by David Rogers
Although he rambled over the century mark with 101 yards rushing on the night, Curtis was quick to point out that Watauga’s game plan relies on a total team effort.
“We are not always the biggest nor the fastest,” said Curtis, “so a lot of our success begins with the blocking upfront, the fakes, and then the reads in finding the gaps. It is a team game. I am just the one who happens to be carrying the ball but I can do very little without those blocks from our offensive line.”
Next up for the Pioneers is the first game of the Northwestern Conference slate in 2022, but it doesn’t come for two weeks, Sept. 30, at South Caldwell (4-1). They have a bye next week and it comes at a fortuitous time, allowing for players to “heal” after being a little banged up in the five early, non-conference games from which they emerged, 4-1.
Ashe County (2-3) also has a bye on Sept. 23, opening NWC play on Sept. 30 at home against Alexander Central (2-3).
SCORING
Q1 WAT – Maddox Greene TD pass, 28 yards to Jackson Pryor (Grant Kight PAT is good)
Q1 WAT – Maddox Greene TD run for 9 yards (Grant Kight PAT is good)
Q1 ASH – Matthew Peterson TD run of 1 yard (PAT kick is good)
Q2 WAT – Cole Horine TD run for 45 yards (2-point conversion run by Greene)
Q2 WAT – Carlton Horine TD run for 17 yards (2-point conversion run by Greene is no good)
Q2 WAT – Maddox Greene TD pass, 32 yards to Cole Horine (Grant Kight PAT is good)
Q3 WAT – Carlton Horine TD run for 16 uards (Grant Kight PAT is blocked))
Q3 WAT Will Curtis TD run for 4 yards (Grant Kight PAT is good)
Q3 ASH Matthew Peterson TD run for 6 yards (PAT kick is good)
Q4 WAT Peyton Ash TD run for 5 yards (Grant Kight PAT is good)
Q4 ASH Matthew Peterson run for 1 yard (PAT kick is good)
SELECTED TEAM STATS
Total Offense: WAT 482, ASH 286
Passing Yards: WAT 129, ASH 236
Rushing Yards: WAT 353, ASH 50
Penalties: WAT 1-15, ASH 1-10
Turnovers: WAT 0, ASH 2
Time of Possession: WAT 24:44, ASH 23:09
First Downs: WAT 28, ASH 19
3rd Down Conversions: WAT 2/3 (66.7), ASH 7/12 (58.3%)
4th Down Conversions: WAT 1/1 (100%), ASH 1/2 (50%)
