Category: High School

By David Rogers. RALEIGH, N.C. — Watauga’s highly ranked men’s and women’s cross country teams will be among the top contenders Oct. 25 in the NCHSAA 6A West Regionals, to be hosted at the Tryon Equestrian Center.

Sophomore Cali Townsend, freshman Josie Mayo and senior Janie Beach-Verhay will lead the Pioneers, all finishing 1-2-3 on Oct. 14 at the Northwestern Conference meet where Watauga swept the top seven spots, including No. 4 Lily Kimbrough, No. 5 Sophia Stull, No. 6 Lainey Johnston and No. 7 Susanna Goff.

Bryce Corpening of South Caldwell may be the favorite to win the Men’s Division of the 6A West Regionals, but Watauga may have a strong bid for the team title. At the Northwestern Conference meet, the Pioneers finished strong with No. 2 Zeke Walker, No. 3 Calvin Zwetsloot, No. 4 Levi Anderson, No. 6 Elliott Taft, No. 7 Brian Newmark, No. 8 Jonah Pearson, No. 9 Grady Gates and No. 10 Sean Rea.

By David Rogers. RALEIGH, N.C. — As the No. 1 seed in the 6A West, Watauga High School’s varsity volleyball team earned a bye in the first round of the NCHSAA Volleyball Championships, the state playoffs tournament that begins on Oct. 18.

Instead, with a pass through to the second round, the 23-1 Pioneers will face the winner of No. 16 Mount Tabor and No. 17 A.C. Reynolds.

With the reclassification of all North Carolina schools into eight classifications, there are more opportunities for teams to advance to the state playoffs this year. Watauga finished the regular season slate of Northwestern Conference matches undefeated, all sweeps, but some of their opponents also earned state tournament opportunities.

As the No. 5 seed in the 6A West, Alexander Central will also have a bye into the second round. No. 12 St. Stephens will host No. 21 Charlotte Catholic on Oct. 18, and No. 11 South Caldwell will host No. 22 Eastern Guilford the same day.

The second round is scheduled for Oct. 21, the third round for Oct. 23, the fourth round for Oct. 25, with the regionals on Oct. 28 and the state finals on either Oct. 31 or Nov. 1.

ALL 6A West 1st Round Pairings

• No. 1 Watauga – BYE
• No. 16 Mount Tabor vs. No. 17 A C Reynolds
• No. 8 Sun Valley – BYE
• No. 9 Asheboro vs. No. 24 Ashbrook
• No. 5 Alexander Central – BYE
• No. 12 St. Stephens vs. No. 21 Charlotte Catholic
• No. 4 North Iredell – BYE
• No. 13 T.C. Roberson vs. No. 20 Central Cabarrus
• No. 3 Northern Guilford – BYE
• No. 14 Piedmont vs. No. 19 Williams
• No. 6 Southeast Guilford – BYE
• No. 11 South Caldwell vs. No. 22 Eastern Guilford
• No. 7 Asheville – BYE
• No. 10 Scotland vs. No. 23 Olympic
• No. 15 Ragsdale vs. No. 18 Western Guilford
• No. 2 Kings Mountain – BYE

By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Rolling up almost 300 yards in total offense (290) while limiting the Alexander Central junior varsity to just 175 yards proved a good recipe for Watauga JV success on Oct. 16 at Jack Groce Stadium. The Pioneers JVs defeated the visiting Cougars, 28-16.

Eli Reed carried the ball eight times for 111 net yards and a touchdown, while teammate Easton Burns toted the pigskin nine times for 66 yards and a TD to lead the Pioneers’ offensive effort. As the QB, Reed only passed the ball once, completing it Bryson Cain for a 55-yard touchdown.

Watauga drew the proverbial first blood midway through the opening quarter, taking a 7-0 lead on a 30-yard ramble to the end zone by Reed and a successful PAT kick by Gaines Hunt.

Alexander Central countered with a 6-play, 65-yard drive that culminated with a 3-yard plunge by Lane Chapman, then took the lead on a successful 2-point conversion punch through the line of scrimmage by Chapman.

Late in the first quarter, Reed hit Cain for the 55-yard pass completion, giving the Pioneers a 14-8 lead when Hunt kicked another PAT through the uprights. The advantage was short-lived, however, as the ball hungry Cougars put together a 16-play, 61-yard drive with a little more than four minutes to go before halftime, finishing it off with a 4-yard rush for TD by Eli Queen and a 2-point conversion by Malachi Bennett, ACHS reclaiming the lead before halftime, 16-14.

The second half was dominated by Watauga, however, with two successful, long scoring drives in the third quarter. The first, a 6-play, 55-yard drive ended with a 1-yard TD rush by Brayson Gough (and Gaines Hunt PAT). The second was a 5-play, 51 yard possession that finished with a 1-yard Easton Burns run (and Gaines Hunt PAT).

Watauga’s defense was responsible for a whopping nine tackles for loss as well as two QB sacks. Isaac Blakely recorded a game-high 3 TFLs. Dominick Portante added a pair of TFLs. Portante and Blakely were also responsible for the QB sacks.

The High Country’s gridiron eyes now shift to Taylorsville where the Cougars and Pioneers face off in what could be undefeated Watauga’s toughest test to date.

Game statistics courtesy of Jonathan Watts, Alexander Central High School

By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Junior forward Evan Mawhinney posted a brace of goals while four other Pioneers added one apiece, powering the Watauga High School varsity men’s soccer team to a dominating, 6-0 win over South Caldwell on Oct. 15 at Jack Groce Stadium.

Match scheduling can be quirky and that has certainly been the case for Watauga this year in Northwestern Conference play. The Pioneers’ first half of the home-at-home series for each of the other five conference member were on the road — which also means the last five league matches are within the friendly confines of Jack Groce Stadium

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The Series: Gooaalll!!!

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After an 8-0 thumping of Freedom on Oct. 13, Watauga was playing the second of those five straight home affairs when they took on South Caldwell. The Pioneers dominated possession from start to finish against arguably an undermanned Spartan varsity.

Watauga played an almost near perfect style to match head coach Josh Honeycutt’s preferred approach: one- and two-touch passing, keeping the ball low and maintaining possession as the ball is worked downfield.

While the Pioneers, as a team, hammered at the South Caldwell goal with a total of 31 shots, on the other end of the field Watauga’s junior goalkeeper Rush Brasier’ biggest challenge may have been not falling asleep. In shutting out the Spartans, he recorded just two saves from shots on goal.

In tallying his two goals, Mawhinney worked his way in space with the ball to register a game-high eight shots. Junior Trace Martinez and senior David Ganley also benefitted from attacking in space, each putting in a goal on four shots. Other goals included junior Quincy Honeycutt (on a penalty kick) and sophomore Gavin Kimak.

Now 12-3-3 overall and 7-0 in Northwestern Conference play, the Pioneers will return to Jack Groce Stadium on Oct. 20, to face Alexander Central. On Oct. 22, they meet NWC’s 7A classification school, McDowell, before finishing the regular season on Oct. 27 vs. St. Stephens.

BONUS PHOTOS (Click on any image for larger view and Slide Show Mode)

All photographic images by David Rogers for High Country Sports

By David Rogers. MARION, N.C. — A double-double by sophomore libero Caroline Childers (19 digs, 16 serve receives) and a near triple-double by senior outside hitter Emma Pastusic (20 kills, 10 serve receives, 8 digs) highlighted Watauga High School’s sweep of Alexander Central on Oct. 15, 3-0 (25-21, 25-22, 25-19), in the championship final of the Northwestern 6A/7A Conference Volleyball Championships tournament, hosted by McDowell High School.

If there were any doubts as to the identity of the best women’s volleyball team in the NWC, the No. 1 seeded Pioneers shattered them in the conference tourney final. This may have been the first post-season conference tournament for the NWC but Watauga was in familiar territory after knocking off all league adversaries in the regular season with 3-0 sweeps before tournament play.

In the championship final, the Cougars confirmed themselves as the deserving No. 2 seed for the tourney, pushing the Pioneers to competitive and close straight set victories. Now the teams await the state tournament seedings and brackets, with Watauga almost certain to get home court advantage that comes with a high seed in the early rounds. The Pioneers’ gaudy, overall record is 23-1, including 10-0 in conference play before the tournament. MaxPreps currently has the Pioneers ranked as the No. 1 team in North Carolina’s 6A classification.

As the No. 9 ranked team in NC’s 6A class, according to MaxPreps, Alexander Central’s 16-7 overall record is likely to earn a spot in the playoffs, too.

INDIVIDUAL MATCH STATISTICS

Kills: Emma Pastusic (20), Ashlyn Smith (7), Kora Knight (6), Gracyn Phelps (3), Addie Stough (3), Lainey Gragg (2), Hannah Adams (1)

Service Aces: Ashlyn Smith (3), Caroline Childers (2), Lainey Gragg (2), Ember Honeycutt (2), Lilli Combs (1), Graycie Collins (1)

Blocks: Addie Stough (3), Emma Pastusic (3), Kora Knight (1)

Digs: Caroline Childers (19), Ashlyn Smith (11), Emma Pastusic (8), Lilli Combs (6), Lainey Gragg (4), Kora Knight (4), Graycie Collins (1), Ember Honeycutt (1)

Assists: Lainey Gragg (35), Ashlyn Smith (2), Lilli Combs (1)

Serve Receive: Ashlyn Smith (19), Caroline Childers (16), Emma Pastusic (10)

By David Rogers. MARION, N.C. — The Watauga High School varsity women’s volleyball team cruised through the semifinals of the Northwestern 6A/7A Conference Championships tournament on Oct. 14, defeating St. Stephens, 3-0 (25-12, 25-7, 25-15).

A familiar trio of Pioneers led the No. 1 seeded and regular season champion Watauga offensive attack, with senior outside hitter Emma Pastusic tallying a game-high 17 kills. Ashlyn Smith (7 kills) and Kora Knight (5 kills) proved an able supporting cast. Setter Lainey Gragg fed the attack with 27 assists.

Sophomore libero Caroline Childers and Smith got things started on the Indians’ serves with 14 and 7 serve receives, respectively.

Defensively, the Pioneers were efficient with team totals of 33 digs and a total of six blocks, led by Childers (12 digs), Lilli Combs (9 digs), Smith (6 digs), Gragg (6 digs), Kora Knight (2 solo blocks, 1 block assist), Addie Stough (1 solo block, 2 block assists), Athena Elliott (1 solo block, 1 block assist) and Pastusic (4 digs, 2 block assists).

The Pioneers continued to rack up service aces, with 12 as a team. Gragg recorded six aces and Smith four.

Next up is a return trip to host venue McDowell High School on Oct. 15 to face Alexander Central in the tournament championship final.

By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — It was one of those “Chamber of Commerce” autumn days in the High Country and if you were a fan of long distance running or one of the more than 150 harriers competing in the Northwestern 6A/7A Conference Cross Country Championships on Oct. 14, conditions (and setting) could not have been more favorable.

While the Watauga High School women’s cross country team may well have thrown down a gauntlet: making a statement they will be a team to beat for the 6A West Regionals and the 6A state championships, the Pioneers were also near perfect in winning the Men’s Division conference title. Both races were hosted by Watauga.

South Caldwell’s Bryce Corpening (No. 1, 17:30.41) and McDowell senior Dawson Spath (No. 5, 17:48.67) were the only runners preventing the Pioneer men’s runners from sweeping the top 12 finishing spots. Senior Zeke Walker (No. 2, 17:30.42), senior Calvin Zwetsloot (No. 3, 17:45.69) and senior Levi Anderson (No. 4, 17:47.63) led a brigade of Pioneers, including senior Elliott Taft (No. 6), junior Brian Newmark (No. 7), freshman Jonah Pearson (No. 8), junior Grady Gates (No. 9), sophomore Sean Rea (No. 10), junior James Bostrom (No. 11), senior Holden Womak (No. 12) and junior Isaac James (No. 14).

A total of 77 student athletes competed in the Men’s Division from the six Northwestern Conference member teams. Of that number, almost half (32) were Watauga team members.

Men’s Team Scores:

1. Watauga (22 points)
2. St. Stephens (83)
3. Freedom (98)
4. Alexander Central (99)
5. South Caldwell (110)
6. McDowell (122)

Townsend Dominates Women’s Division

Ninety-three harriers competed in the Women’s Division, but Watauga sophomore Cali Townsend finished a little more than minute ahead of the No. 2 runner, Watauga’s rising freshman star, Josie Mayo. Senior Janie Beach-Verhay (No. 3), sophomore Lily Kimbrough (No. 4), freshman Sophia Stull (No. 5), junior Lainey Johnston (No. 6) and junior Susanna Goff (No. 7) completed the Pioneers’ sweep of the top seven runners to cross the finish line of the 5,000-Meters course.

Including Sydney Townsend (No. 9), Nora Price (No. 10), Vivian Hans (No. 11), Josephine Walker (No. 14), Riley Benson (No. 16), Zoey Stille (No. 17), Bailey Collins (No. 19) and Ayla Crawley (No. 20), Watauga had 15 of the top 20 finishers in the Women’s Division.

Watauga was represented by 42 student athletes in the women’s division.

Team Scores

1. Watauga (15 points)
2. St. Stephens (54)
3. Freedom (96)
4. McDowell (111)
5. Alexander Central (112)
6. South Caldwell (171)

Top 25, Men’s Division

Top 25, Women’s Division

By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Scoring six unanswered goals in the first five minutes of a soccer match is a good pathway to winning — and that is exactly what the Watauga High School men’s varsity accomplished on Oct. 13 in what turned out to be an 8-0 thumping of visiting Freedom (Morganton).

Senior striker Asher Hampton recorded a “hat trick” (three goals) and five other Pioneers got into the scoring romp with individual goals, including senior Shiris Kandel, senior Ben Myers, senior Lucas Hamilton, junior Evan Mawhinney and junior Trace Martinez.

Koa Lancaster, David Ganley and Martinez were each credited with an assist.

Even though head coach Josh Honeycutt emptied his bench and gave several reserves valuable playing time as the Pioneers gear up for a probable trip to the state playoffs, the 8-0 advantage Watauga secured by halftime held up for the duration of the match. Pesky defense and grounded possession passes are hallmarks of the Pioneers’ style of play and it was clearly evident against the Patriots.

Now 11-3-3 overall and 6-0 in Northwestern Conference play with four home games against NWC teams they defeated in the first round on the road in the home-at-home series, the Pioneers are in the drivers seat for the conference championship and a high seed in the 6A state playoffs if they can stay true to form and win out in Jack Groce Stadium.

Remaining league schedule:

• Oct. 15 – vs. South Caldwell, 6 p.m.(previously won, Sept. 29, 3-0)
• Oct. 20 – vs. Alexander Central, 6 p.m. (previously won, Oct. 1, 4-0)
• Oct. 22 – vs. McDowell, 6 p.m. (previously won, Oct. 6, 4-0)
• Oct. 27 – vs. St. Stephens, 6 p.m. (previously won, Oct. 8, 4-0)

BONUS PHOTOS (Click on any image for larger image and Slide Show Mode)

All photographic images by David Rogers for High Country Sports

By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Playing ultra-complementary football, Watauga High School celebrated “Homecoming 2025” by taking a wrecking ball to longtime Northwestern Conference rival South Caldwell. The undefeated Pioneers remained that way with a 56-0 win in front of a near capacity crowd at Jack Groce Stadium.

Senior quarterback Cade Keller completed 13-of-15 passes for 300 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions. On the receiving end, Evan Burroughs caught five passes for 184 yards and three TDs, some of them simple flare routes and screen passes that he turned into big chunks of gridiron real estate with his elusiveness and speed. Nyle Peays added five catches for 72 yards, while 6-4, 215 lb. senior tight end Tyler Leyshon caught two passes and dragged would-be tacklers with him for 43 yards.

Pioneer head coach Ryan Habich explained after the game that based on personnel and what the coaching staff usually sees from South Caldwell, defensively, they opted for a heavy dose of aerial attack. Plus, he said, the Pioneers wanted to be better prepared and more rounded as the playoffs approach and what he feels will be stiffer competition in Alexander Central, McDowell and St. Stephens over the next three weeks.

“When you are a good football team you want to play like a good football team regardless of who your opponent is,” said Habich, “and for the entire game.”

Certainly, the Pioneers kept the proverbial “pedal to the metal” against the Spartans. It was the sixth time this year that officials instituted the “mercy rule” with a running clock.

While the game plan favored passing the ball to take advantage of Keller’s skills and his receivers’ overall speed and athleticism, Watauga also fared well running the football.  Matthew Leon carried the ball only twice, but for a total of 50 yards and scored a TD on each carry. Everett Gryder carried the ball seven times for just 13 yards — but punched and plowed through the line of scrimmage for two TDs on the night.

Not left out of the scoring barrage was Bowen Mayo, who had two catches for 21 yards and a single carry for five yards into the end zone.

A key metric in the evening’s lopsided win was five turnovers committed by South Caldwell, those drive-killing, self-inflicted wounds. Watauga defensive lineman Brady Lindenmuth, defensive back Kyle Williams and linebacker John Wilson Mills all registered fumble recoveries. Peays and Burroughs both poached South Caldwell passes for interceptions. In addition to his fumble recovery, Mills was the team’s leading tackler on defense, while Crue Stoddard was in on at least three tackles and recorded a QBH (quarterback hurry).

Placekicker Miller Hankins remains perfect on the season in PAT attempts, including 8-for-8 on Oct. 10 against the Spartans.

A poignant moment came for the Pioneers after the game, when Habich and Keller presented the Homecoming game ball to Braxton Clark, the son of former App State head football coach Shawn Clark, who suddenly passed away recently. Before moving to Florida with his family, where Coach Clark was offensive line coach for the University of Central Florida, Braxton had served as a ball boy for the Pioneers varsity football team.

Next up for the Pioneers is another Northwestern Conference test, this one in Taylorsville against Alexander Central on Oct. 17, which defeated the conference’s only 7A classification team on Oct. 10, 30-28. All other NWC teams, including Watauga, are 6A classification schools. The Cougars are 2-5 overall, 1-1 in conference. Their losses have been against stiff competition in Newton-Conover, Hickory, Statesville, South Iredell and St. Stephens.

Now 7-0 overall and 2-0 in conference action, Watauga came into the Oct. 10 contest ranked by MaxPreps as the No. 13 school among all classifications and No. 1 in North Carolina’s 6A classification. Before its win over McDowell, Alexander Central was ranked No. 41 out of 57 6A classification schools.

SCORING SUMMARY

1st Quarter

• • Watauga PASS – Evan Burroughs 39 yards from Cade Keller, Miller Hankins PAT is good, 7-0
  • Watauga RUN – Matthew Leon from 2 yards out, Miller Hankins PAT is good, 14-0
  • Watauga RUN – Everett Gryder from 2 yards out, Miller Hankins PAT is good, 21-0

2nd Quarter

• • Watauga PASS – Evan Burroughs 73 yards from Cade Keller, Miller Hankins PAT is good, 28-0
  • Watauga RUN – Matthew Leon 44 yards, Miller Hankins PAT is good, 35-0
  • Watauga RUN – Everett Gryder 2 yards, Miller Hankins PAT is good, 42-0
  • Watauga PASS – Evan Burroughs 49 yards from Cade Keller, Miller Hankins PAT is good, 49-0

3rd Quarter

4th Quarter

• • Watauga RUN – Bowen Mayo 5 yards, Miller Hankins PAT is good, 56-0

BONUS PHOTOS (Click on any image for larger version and Slide Show Mode)

All photographic images by Jared Everett, processed by David Rogers for High Country Sports.

By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Completing a sweep of the entire Northwestern Conference, Watauga recorded yet another 3-0 decision on Oct. 9 vs. St. Stephens, on “Senior Night” at Lentz Eggers Gym (25-15, 25-10, 25-10).

“I’m just so proud to be a part of this team and how hard we have worked to get here, all season,” said senior Athena Elliott after the match. She aims to go to the Air Force Academy after graduation and become a fighter pilot.

Elliott didn’t record any “kills” in this match, but senior teammate Emma Pastusic chalked up a game-high 26 of them. Another senior, middle blocker Kora Knight, racked up 8 more kill with junior outside hitter Ashlyn Smith following with seven kills.

Head coach Kim Pryor used the lopsided win to give valuable on-court varsity experience to a total of 14 Pioneers as the team prepares for the conference tournament next week and then the state playoffs.

As a team, Watauga put up a whopping 18 service aces against the Indians, led by Lainey Gragg (6 aces) and three each by Ember Honeycutt, Caroline Childers and the versatile Smith.

Defensively, the Pioneers weren’t active at the net with sophomore middle blocker Addie Stough recording the only block, but a quartet of Watauga back row players led the team in digs: Caroline Childers (12 digs), Emma Pastusic (10), Ashlyn Smith (8) and Lilli Combs (6).

Lainey Gragg staged Watauga’s offensive attack with 38 sets, while Childers (18 serve receives), Smith (12) and Pastusic (6) kept the ball in play on St. Stephens’ serving opportunities.

The Pioneers finish the regular season with a 21-1 overall record, the lone defeat coming at the hands of longtime rival, Hickory, 3-1, in the season’s first match, at Hickory on Aug. 11. Watauga returned the favor to the Red Tornadoes in Lentz Eggers Gym on Aug. 25, 3-1. In addition to not losing a single set in Northwestern Conference play, the Pioneers swept non-conference opponents West Wilkes, Southwestern Randolph, North Iredell, Providence, Forbush, A.L. Brown, Foard and Ashe County, while taking 3-1 wins over Ashe County and Hickory Christian Academy.

As the No. 1 seed for the conference tournament, Watauga receives a bye into the semifinals, to be played Tuesday, Oct. 14, at McDowell. The finals will also be played at McDowell, whomever the contenders for the conference tournament championship game on Wed., Oct. 15.

REGULAR SEASON NORTHWESTERN CONFERENCE STANDINGS

1. Watauga (10-0, 21-1 overall)
2. Alexander Central (8-2, 15-6)
3. South Caldwell (5-5, 11-8)
4. St. Stephens (4-6, 8-11)
5. McDowell (3-7, 11-11)
6. Freedom (0-10, 3-18)

BONUS PHOTOS (Click on any image for larger version and Slide Show Mode)