By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Even starting the first home game in roughly five weeks “flat” and “sloppy,” Watauga still had enough — and more — to corral Hibriten on Oct. 25, 49-14.

When you see that Hibriten controlled possession for more than 24 minutes compared to Watauga’s 16 minutes (it was a running clock beginning midway through the 4th quarter), you might think that the Panthers dominated the game. That was far from the case, however, with the visitors from Lenoir choosing to continue running the football even after going down by three touchdowns, using up the remaining time on the clock in the process.

Meanwhile, Watauga scored early and often.

‘The Catch’ Sequence

For its part, Watauga rolled up 473 yards of total offense, while allowing Hibriten to gain just 192 yards. To say it was a stellar effort on both sides of the football for the Pioneers is an understatement.

By midway through the third quarter, the Pioneers’ starting quarterback, senior Maddox Greene, was already off the field except for an appearance to punt. He didn’t leave, though, without having an impact. Greene kept the ball for 10 carries, 115 yards and two touchdowns, his longest a weaving sprint off left tackle for 45 yards. Oh, and he passed, too, completing nine of 13 passes for 146 yards and two TDs. Plus, at one point early in the third quarter, junior QB Cade Keller came on, moving Greene to a wingback position — from which he promptly caught a pass and broke a couple of tackles for a 6-yard gain as a receiver.

Junior wingback Evan Burroughs continued his own stellar play on both sides of the ball, but as a receiver he caught nine of nine targets for 137 yards and two TDs. His production included being on the receiving end of a 28-yard pass from Greene that he miraculously caught and stayed inbounds before exiting the field on the one-yard line, tippy-toe.

While Burroughs’ pass reception was spectacular, one of the most skillful plays of the night was a slant pass thrown from Keller to wide receiver Landon Smith, coming toward the middle from the right side. Keller rifled the ball to Smith, catching it in stride and advancing for what became a 30-yard gain.

Running back Everett Gryder, one of those special Pioneer juniors, was back in form, carrying the ball eight times for 59 yards, the longest a 27 yarder through the middle of the Panther defense.

Watauga has a number of what head coach Ryan Habich affectionately refers to as “blue collar” players. They show up to work at whatever role they are called upon to play and none epitomizes that more than Dillon Zaragoza, who plays wingback on offense and cornerback on defense. While he is often called upon to block, which he readily executes, on this night he carried the ball four times for 21 yards, his longest for 18 yards in the second quarter that put the Pioneers inside the red zone, at the Hibriten 12 yard line, with a first down. Early in the third quarter, however, he got a well deserved opportunity to run the ball into the into the end zone from a yard out for his first TD run. Apparently, the whole team was working for him to get it as he took a handoff from Greene, running left, then cut upfield and across the goal line, untouched. He could have driven a proverbial freight train through the gaping hole opened by his offensive line.

After the game, Watauga head coach Ryan Habich admitted that there were some areas for improvement, but was thankful for the opportunity to get a number of players on the field as the coaching staff still is looking to create depth at various positions as the playoffs approach.

Now 7-0 overall and 2-0 in Northwestern Conference play, the Pioneers enter a grueling stretch of the season, condensed because of the Hurricane Helene-related rescheduling. They will play three games in just eight days beginning Friday, Nov. 1, with a much anticipated encounter with Freedom, at Jack Groce Stadium in Boone. Four days later, they travel to face Ashe County on Nov. 5, then turn right around to go in the other direction, meeting South Caldwell in Hudson on Nov. 8. The Freedom and South Caldwell battles are scheduled for a regular, 7:30 p.m. kickoff. At Ashe County, the game is currently scheduled to start at 7 p.m.

SCORING SUMMARY

• WAT – Qtr. 1 – Evan Burroughs, pass from Maddox Greene, 50-yard catch and run. Jack Wilsson PAT kick is good. WAT 7, HIB 0
• WAT – Qtr. 1 – Maddox Greene rush for 45 yards. Jack Wilson PAT kick is good. WAT 14, HIB 0
• WAT – Qtr. 2 – Evan Burroughs 12-yard pass from Maddox Greene. Jack Wilson kick is good. WAT 21, HIB 0
• WAT – Qtr. 2 – Maddox Green, 1-yard rush. Jack Wilson PAT kick is good. WAT 28, HIB 0
• WAT – Qtr. 3 – Dillon Zaragoza, 1-yard rush. Jack Wilson PAT kick is good. WAT 35, HIB 0
• HIB – Qtr. 3 – Avin Crawford rush for 3 yards. Landon Key PAT kick is good. WAT 35, HIB 7
• WAT – Qtr. 4 – Nyle Peays fumble return for 70 yards. Jack Wilson PAT kick is good. WAT 42, HIB 7
• WAT – Qtr. 4 – Matthew Leon 18-yard rush. Jack Wilson PAT kick is good. WAT 49, HIB 7
• HIB – Qtr. 4 – Darius Dixon 47 yard rush. Landon Key PAT kick is good. WAT 49, HIB 14.

SELECTED TEAM STATISTICS

• Total Yards of Offense: HIB 192, WAT 473
• First Downs: HIB 7, WAT 22
• Rushing: HIB 35 carries, 170 yards, 2 TDs; WAT 29 carries, 237 yards, 4 TDs
• Passing: HIB 4 completions in 11 attempts, for 27 yards; WAT 16-22-236, 2 TDs
• Penalties: HIB 5-25, WAT-5-65
• Sacks by: HIB 0, WAT 2
• 3rd Down Conversions: HIB 1-10 (10%), WAT 3-7 (43%)
• 4th Down Conversions: 1-4 (25%), WAT 0-1 (0%)
• Time of Possession: HIB 24:07; WAT 16:51

SELECTED INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Passing

• • WAT – Maddox Greene: 9 of 13, 146 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INTs
  • WAT – Cade Keller: 7 of 9, 90 yards
  • HIB – Avin Crawford: 3 of 10, 17 yards
  • HIB – Colin Cook: 1 of 1, 10 yards

Rushing

• • WAT – Maddox Greene: 10 carries, 115 yards, 2 TDs
  • WAT – Everett Gryder: 8 carrries, 59 yards
  • HIB – Avin Crawford: 11 carries, 53 yards, 1 TD
  • HIB – DK Mitchell: 17 carries, 48 yards
  • HIB – Darius Dixon: 2 carries, 46 yards, 1 TD
  • WAT – Dillon Zaragoza: 4 carries, 21 yards, 1 TD
  • WAT – Matthew Leon: 2 carries, 18 yards, 1 TD
  • WAT – Evan Burroughs: 3 carries, 10 yards
  • WAT – Kyle Williams: 1 carry, 9 yards
  • WAT – Cade Keller: 1 carry, 5 yards

Receiving

• • WAT – Evan Burroughs, 9 catches, 137 yards, 2 TDs
  • WAT – Kyle Williams, 1 catch, 31 yards
  • WAT – Landon Smith, 1 catch, 30 yards
  • WAT – Matthew Habich, 2 catches, 13 yards
  • HIB – Micah Simmons, 1 catch, 10 yards
  • HIB – Julius Martin, 1 catch, 8 yards
  • HIB – DK Mitchell, 1 catch, 8 yards

BONUS PHOTOS

All photos by Jared Everett for High Country Sports

By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — An iconic Watauga volleyball season came to an end on Oct. 24. The young Pioneers battled fiercely against the No. 10 seeded Wildcats of Lake Norman, losing 3-0 (21-25, 23-25, 15-25).

The match was as entertaining as a high school volleyball match can get, with long rallies punctuated by powerful kill shots from both sides and blistering digs on either side of the net to keep the ball in play. In each set, the teams traded leads multiple times, though Lake Norman always emerged from the fray with the upper hand. Watauga seemed to take control of the third set, at one point leading 9-4 until the Wildcats got behind the serving of libero Abi Davis for a 7-point run and later surged to a 17-12 advantage.

Known Power

Watauga knew going into the game that Lake Norman was not a pushover. Competing in one of North Carolina’s strongest 4A leagues, the Greater Metro 4A Conference, the Wildcats finished first in league play with a 12-1 record, but rival Cox Mill was awarded the higher seed because of a stronger overall record (now 21-3 vs. Lake Norman’s 19-3).

The Chargers of Cox Mill received the No. 2 seed in the 4A West bracket for the playoffs despite splitting their home and away matches with Lake Norman. The Wildcats won at Cox Mill on Oct. 3, 3-0, but lost at home to the Chargers, 3-2, on Sept. 10.

In fact, the Greater Metro conference had five teams earn spots in the playoffs, including three teams in the upper half of the 32-team 4A West bracket (Cox Mill, Lake Norman and South Iredell).

Zeroing in on Pastusic, adapting

Reflecting the individual skill as well as the Wildcat coaching, Lake Norman did a respectable job in all but containing Watauga’s powerful outside hitter, junior Emma Pastusic, who was limited to 10 kills on the night, frequently blocked or when successful in driving the ball past the Wildcats’ front line, seeing a courageous dig in the back line to keep the ball in play.

Watauga had to find other points of attack, and did, to keep the match not only close but even leading at points. Setter Lainey Gragg recorded 27 assists in distributing the ball to four teammates who recorded kills, including Pastusic, Grace Tillery (12 kills), Ashlyn Smith (5) and Kora Knight (4).

Spectacular defense on both sides

Defensively, Watauga was often spectacular in fielding kill shots off the arms of Lake Norman hitters Izzy Sandoval, Emersyn Reiter and Brooke Lyons, all seniors. For Watauga, freshman libero Caroline Childers continued to show abilities beyond her years, with 24 digs. Defensive specialist Lilli Combs was credited with 16 digs. Other Pioneers included defensive specialists Addi Parker (9 digs) and Kaitlyn Darner (8 digs), and Pastusic demonstrating her versatility on the court with 8 digs.

After the Round 2 match against the Wildcats, Watauga head coach Kim Pryor was gracious in not only praising Lake Norman but also her players’ resilience.

“Lake Norman is a great team,” said Pryor. “It went back and forth. We fought hard. It just didn’t go our way tonight. I am so proud of how our girls showed resilience night after night, day after day. I told them I would go through a season a hundred times (with this group) because it is just a special, special group of girls.”

When a reporter tried to point out that all of the young players on the Watauga roster bode well for next season, Pryor deflected any such thoughts, at least for now.

“Tonight isn’t about that. Tonight is about (our) seniors. They gave everything they had. Those four girls all contributed in a mighty way, not just as players but leaders on and off the court. Tonight is all about them. We’ll talk about next year (at another time),” said Pryor, before adding, “We are excited about the way we ended our season because it was a phenomenal thing.”

Watauga completes the 2024 season with a 6-2 Northwestern Conference record, 10-9 overall — and at least the 17th consecutive season of making the state playoffs.

SELECTED WATAUGA STATISTICS

• Lainey Gragg: 27 assists, 7 digs, 1 kill
• Caroline Childers: 24 digs
• Grace Tillery: 12 kills, 1 stuff block, 4 digs
• Emma Pastusic: 10 kills, 2 service aces, 1 stuff block, 8 digs
• Addi Parker: 9 digs, 1 assist
• Ashlyn Smith: 5 kills, 1 dig
• Kaitlyn Darner: 8 digs
• Lilli Combs: 16 digs, 1 assist
• Kora Knight: 4 kills, 1 stuff block
• Hadleigh Windish: 2 digs
• Bella Wade: 1 service ace

OTHER 4A ROUND 2 SCORES

• No. 1 Marvin Ridge def. No. 17 Southwest Guilford, 3-0
• No. 8 Myers Park def. No. 9 Butler, 3-1 (25-20, 30-28, 31-33, 25-20)
• No. 12 Northern Guilford def. No. 5 Hough, 3-2
• No. 4 Grimsley def. No. 13 Weddington, 3-1 (25-16, 25-14, 15-25, 25-0)
• No. 3 Reagan def. No. 14 South Iredell, 3-0 (25-8, 25-15, 25-23)
• No. 11 Cuthbertson def. No. 8 T C Roberson, 3-2
• No. 10 Lake Norman def. No. 7 Watauga, 3-0 (25-21, 25-23, 25-15)
• No. 2 Cox Mill def. No. 15 West Forsyth, 3-1 (25-23, 22-25, 25-20, 26-24)

OTHER SCORES OF INTEREST

• 3A WEST: No. 5 Carson def. No. 12 Hickory, 3-0
• 3A WEST: No. 4 Ashe County def. No. 13 North Lincoln, 3-2 (23-25, 25-16, 25-27, 29-27, 16-14)

BONUS PHOTOS

By David Rogers. LENOIR, N.C. — Same score, same outcome — but the game had an entirely different personality.

BONUS PHOTOS at bottom of article (Click any image for slide show mode)

In one sense, Watauga’s 4-0 men’s soccer win over Hibriten on the Panthers’ home field  Oct. 23 was inevitable. In another sense, it was predictable — but then, that is why they play the games.

Two days earlier, the Pioneers’ 4-0 win over Hibriten (Oct. 21) at Jack Groce Stadium was a dominating affair. Watauga scored early and often, controlling possession with trademark, highly skilled passing before finding ways to get the ball into the Panthers’ defended net.

The Oct. 23 rematch had a completely different feel to it. After being embarrassed a couple of days earlier, the Panthers were fired up to defend their home field, and the field itself made for a different game.

On this night, Hibriten battled Watauga up and down the field for a 0-0 draw after the 80 minutes of regulation play. The Pioneers might well have had an edge in possession time, but both sides had clear scoring opportunities turned away by courageous defensive efforts. Shots on goal were rare and, when taken, sailed just a little high or wide and in a couple of instances clanged off a goal’s crossbar to draw a gasp from the crowded grandstands.

Overtime (two, 10-minute halves) was a different story. The Pioneers’ junior striker Ben Myers scored within the first two minutes of the first OT period — then repeated the effort for another goal less than five minutes later, giving Watauga a 2-0 lead as the two Northwestern Conference rivals switched sides for the finish.

The visitors from Boone didn’t let up. Sophomore midfielder/forward Gavin Lapinski struck again midway through the second OT period and as if putting icing on the cake, junior striker Asher Hampton drove home the clincher with little time remaining.

It wasn’t Watauga’s “prettiest” win, perhaps, but it improved their undefeated Northwestern Conference record to 4-0 (12-3-2 overall).

Known for working the ball down the field with short, crisp passes before the ball finding a way into an opponent’s net, the Pioneers struggled at times, in regulation play.

“Playing on a field of thick, natural grass here at Hibriten is different than playing on our artificial turf at home,” Watauga head coach Josh Honeycutt told High Country Sports after the game. “The ball is a little slower and there are more imperfections or undulations in the playing surface than on the smoother artificial turf. That said, this is a really nice, well groomed field considering that the green is mostly gone from the grass at this time of year. At halftime, we told the players they just had to adjust to a slightly slower ball.”

Honeycutt said they also urged the guys to get back to playing Watauga soccer.

“Perhaps frustrated, we began to fall away from our preferred short passing style and started playing more of their game, with long passes downfield or across the pitch,” said the veteran Pioneer head coach, now in his eighth year at the helm. “In the second half, we did much better and certainly better in OT.”

Watauga’s elite level of fitness also was a factor.

“We may or may not be the most skilled team on the field,” said Honeycutt. “But we pride ourselves in being the most fit. The guys will tell you that our training can be a grind at times but as a match goes on, the team with the higher level of fitness will maintain a higher skill level and that is often the difference between a win or a loss. We needed that fitness tonight because Hibriten came ready to defend their home turf.”

Watauga continues with its condensed, post-Hurricane Helene scheduling on Oct. 24, at High Country rival, Ashe County. During their post-game “cooling down” period and stretching, Honeycutt urged players to hydrate and to mentally prepare for a tough test against the Huskies (10-6-1).

“Our job is not finished,” said Honeycutt.

BONUS PHOTOS

By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — After Watauga battled past visiting Mooresville to win the first set of the teams’ Round 1 matchup, the Pioneers fell behind the Blue Devils in the second set. Then, after Watauga earned a side out at 12-14, freshman libero Caroline Childers stepped to the service line.

BONUS PHOTOS AND ROUND 1 SCORES AT BOTTOM OF ARTICLE

Behind nine straight points with Childers serving, Watauga pulled ahead 21-14 and for the first time there was a feeling that the Pioneers owned the night — which they ended up doing, 3-0 (25-18, 25-21, 25-14).

Over the course of the three sets, Childers accounted for six service aces, a match-high, as well as a match-high 15 digs. Defensive specialists Kaitlyn Darner and Lilli Combs recorded seven and eight digs, respectively, to figure prominently in the Pioneers’ ability to defuse the Blue Devils’ offensive attacks.

Up front, on offensive, setter Lainey Gragg crafted 27 assists, most of them to three Watauga hitters: outside hitter Emma Pastusic (15 kills), middle blocker Grace Twillery (7 kills) and outside hitter Ashlyn Smith (6 kills).

Where the first set was a see-saw battle with several lead changes and ties until the Pioneers began to pull ahead at 15-13, Mooresville started to gain separation when leading 12-7 in the second set.

But Watauga battled back, tightening things up at 14-11 in the second set. On a thundering Pastusic kill shot from the left side that skipped just inside the lines in Mooresville’s far corner, the Pioneers earned a side out trailing 12-14. That’s when Childers did her thing.

“Specifically, in the second set,” acknowledged Childers, “I felt like we needed to go on a run because we were a little behind. I knew our team is good, we could get back up. We just needed a little bit more energy. We all worked really hard to get back up and on top of it. Volleyball is a game of skill and power, but it is also a game of mistakes. My mentality was to serve hard. If I made a mistake, I could shake it off. We all served pretty hard tonight.”

Smith, still just a sophomore, said later that it was a good game for her team and that they had prepared for it, studiously.

“This was for the playoffs. We watched a bunch of film, looking for what Mooresville did well and maybe what they didn’t do so well,” said Smith. “Really it was about their strengths and weaknesses and we focused our practices around that. Tonight was a good match. I felt our energy kept us alive and we had a lot of fun.

“One of the things Coach Pryor has emphasized with us is working on the ‘roller coaster’, the highs and lows, emotionally, and trying to keep things more even,” added Smith. “Getting excited about big hits and good plays is awesome, but we are working on keeping a high level of energy and communication on the court, all of the time, without the big highs and big lows.”

After the match, head coach Kim Pryor was pleased that her charges were able to sustain the momentum they established last week when defeating Ashe County, especially after the adversity and distractions caused by Hurricane Helene.

“Whatever it takes, I feel like our team on any given night can beat any other team,” said Pryor. “I hope we can continue to roll like we did tonight.”

Although there were a few anxious moments early in the match with misplays and mistakes, Pryor credited her players for getting things corrected.

“We started getting our passes to the setter and attacking. When we are in attack mode, we are hard to stop. We just needed to get in that groove,” said Pryor.

For Round 2 of the state playoffs on Oct. 24, the No. 7 seeded Pioneers will host No. 10 seeded Lake Norman, with first serve scheduled for 6 p.m. The Wildcats swept Alexander Central in Round 1, 3-0 (25-14, 25-10, 25-10), improving their overall record to 18-3. They were 12-1 in the highly competitive Greater Metro 4A Conference.

While the Wildcats and the Pioneers did not meet during the regular season, they shared some common opponents. Both were swept, 3-0, early in the season by North Iredell. Lake Norman defeated Ashe County in a non-conference match, 3-0, while Watauga split its home-and-home series with the Huskies. Watauga lost a tough match to Lake Norman’s conference rival, Cox Mill, 3-2, while the Wildcats split their two league games.

Watauga is the lone 4A survivor from the Northwestern Conference in Round 1. While Lake Norman was defeating Alexander Central, No. 2-seeded Cox Mill dispatched No. 31-seeded South Caldwell, 3-0.

FULL ROUND 1 SCORES, 4A WEST BRACKET

• No. 1 Marvin Ridge def. No. 32 Porter Ridge, 3-0 (25-14, 25-14, 25-16)
• No. 17 Southwest Guilford def. No. 16 Sun Valley, 3-0 (25-15, 25-19, 29-27)
• No. 8 Myers Park vs. No. 25 North Mecklenburg
• No. 9 Butler def. No. 24 East Mecklenburg, 3-0
• No. 5 Hough def. No. 28 Southeast Guilford, 3-0 (25-16, 25-20, 25-20)
• No. 12 Northern Guilford def. No. 21 Northwest Guilford, 3-0
• No. 13 Weddington def. No. 20 Ardrey Kell, 3-0 (25-22, 25-12, 25-23)
• No. 4 Grimsley vs. No. 29 Mallard Creek
• No. 3 Reagan def. No. 30 Asheville, 3-0 (25-13, 25-17, 25-16)
• No. 14 South Iredell vs. No. 19 Hickory Ridge
• No. 6 T C Roberson def. No. 27 East Forsyth, 3-2 (15-25, 20-25, 28-26, 25-17, 15-13)
• No. 3 Cuthbertson def. No. 22 Davie, 3-2
• No. 7 Watauga def. No. 26 Mooresville, 3-0 (25-18, 25-21, 25-14)
• No. 10 Lake Norman def. No. 23 Alexander Central, 3-0 (25-14, 25-10, 25-10)
• No. 15 West Forsyth def. No. 18 Independence, 3-0
• No. 2 Cox Mill def. No. 31 South Caldwell, 3-0 (25-23, 25-14, 25-15)

OTHER SCORES OF INTEREST

• 3A West – No. 12 Hickory def. No. 21 St. Stephens, 3-0 (25-21, 25-19, 25-22)
• 3A West – No. 4 Ashe County def. No. 29 Tuscola, 3-0 (25-13, 25-10, 25-15)
• 3A West – No. 22 Foard def. No. 11 Franklin, 3-2 (16-25, 25-23, 14-25, 25-18, 15-7)

BONUS PHOTOS

By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — There was a certain irony in the Watauga’s 4-0, men’s soccer win over Hibriten on Oct. 21. The Josh Honeycutt-coached Pioneers pride themselves in being among the fittest, if not THE fittest high school soccer team in North Carolina, aiming to wear opponents down and still have the legs to outpoint them in the 60th minute and beyond.

BONUS PHOTOS at bottom of article. Click on any image for Slideshow Mode

Against the visiting Panthers at Jack Groce Stadium, Watauga only needed 18 minutes to get on the scoreboard when Ben Myers looped a ball from the middle of the attacking third, into a heavily populated area some 20 yards in front of the Hibriten net — and Curtis Sevensky suddenly emerged between two Panther defenders, dribbled ahead, then punched the ball past the surprised Hibriten goalkeeper for the game’s first score.

Sevensky’s sequence to open scoring

Barely five more minutes had ticked off the clock when Alex Aguilar lifted another pass, this one from the right side and into the same “danger zone” — finding Myers with the ball at his feet and an open net in front. So, of course, the junior striker did the “gentlemanly” thing and smacked the ball past a diving goalkeeper, into the goal.

There was no question who was the superior high school soccer team on this night, fittest as well as most skilled. Watauga all but dominated possession and quickly subdued the few Hibriten counterattacking opportunities to earn the shutout.

In the second half, the Pioneers tallied goals by Gavin Lipinski, as well as by Aguilar. Myers and Sevensky were both credited with second half assists.

“We played pretty well. We figured out how to play through the middle and across the field,” Myers said after the game. “It really opened things up for us… We have really worked hard these past two weeks to regain our fitness, after the storm. Overall, we played at a high level.”

Over the past few years, Hibriten has emerged as Watauga’s archrival, of sorts, the two teams always seeming to battle for Northwestern Conference supremacy. Because of Hurricane Helene’s impact in effectively shutting down schools in the High Country, Hibriten had played a few more games than the Pioneers, coming into the match. The Panthers were 14-4-1 overall and unbeaten at 5-0 in conference play coming into the match while Watauga 10-3-2 overall and just 2-0 in conference play.

“We have some games to make up,” said Honeycutt, Watauga’s head coach, after the final buzzer had sounded. “Right now, we are sitting at the top with no losses, which is exactly where we wanted to be at the end of the day.”

Now in his eighth year as head coach of the Pioneer program, Honeycutt had high praise for his charges, especially given what they have been through the past three weeks in dealing with the effects of Hurricane Helene, individually as well as in the wider community, volunteering to help others.

“They did absolutely everything we asked of them,” said Honeycutt. “And that is crucial because sometimes you get a half and not the other half (and end up losing). These guys came ready to win tonight. They did everything we asked them to do: our passing, possession, moving the ball through the midfield, changing the point of attack, getting into dangerous offensive situations and taking advantage. They worked all night long.”

A big lead in the second half allowed Watauga to play a number of rostered players, getting valuable on-field time.

“It is huge for us to have bench depth,” said Honeycutt. “It helps keep players fresh and part of what we want to do is run people. We try to be the most fit team on the field. If we can get opponents tired, then their skill drops. So having guys on the bench that you can trust and you are going to get quality minutes out of them, that is huge. And that is especially true in a week like this where we are playing three conference games.”

Watauga will travel to Hibriten on Wednesday (Oct. 23) before traveling in the other direction on Thursday (Oct. 24), to face another dangerous NWC opponent, Ashe County (9-6-1, overall).

Honeycutt expects the Oct. 23 rematch to be intense and exciting.

“Hibriten will be fired up, looking for revenge after this result up here,” he said. “They have a great program and a passionate fan base, so we have to be at our best.”

BONUS PHOTOS

By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — The NCHSAA Women’s Volleyball 4A West bracket has not yet been posted as “official” on the NCHSAA website, but MaxPreps.com has posted the pairings and, apparently, No. 7 seeded Watauga will host No. 26 Mooresville on Tuesday, Oct. 22, in Round 1 of the State Playoffs. The time for first serve is posted as 7 p.m. by MaxPreps.

Barring any 11th hour changes, according to a copy of the PRELIMINARY 4A West bracket obtained by High Country Sports earlier on Sunday, the winner of Watauga vs. Mooresville will play the winner of No. 10 Lake Norman and No. 23 Alexander County, meaning that a win by the Pioneers in Round 1 would bring a second home game to the High Country in Round 2.

All three Northwestern Conference 4A schools made the field, according to the preliminary brackets, including Watauga (No. 7), Alexander Central (No. 23) and South Caldwell (No. 31).

The 9-8 (overall) Watauga team will face an 8-11 Mooresville team that competes in the very strong, Greater Metro 4A Conference along with four other teams that are included in the 4A West playoffs. Those include No. 2 Cox Mill (19-3), No. 10 Lake Norman (17-3), No. 14 South Iredell (17-10), No. 19 Hickory Ridge (13-10) and No. 26 Mooresville (8-11). Understanding that three of the Greater Metro 4A representatives earned seeds in the top half of the 4A West bracket offers an indication of just how strong the Mooresville Blue Devils might prove to be.

The full PRELIMINARY pairings for the 4A West (subject to change once the pairings have been made official):

• • No. 1 Marvin Ridge vs. No. 32 Porter Ridge
  • No. 16 Sun Valley vs. No. 17 Southwest Guilford
  • No. 8 Myers Park vs. No. 25 North Mecklenburg
  • No. 9 Butler vs. No. 24 East Mecklenburg
  • No. 5 Hough vs. No. 28 Southeast Guilford
  • No. 12 Northern Guilford vs. No. 21 Northwest Guilford
  • No. 13 Weddington vs. No. 20 Ardrey Kell
  • No. 4 Grimsley vs. No. 29 Mallard Creek
  • No. 3 Reagan vs. No. 30 Asheville
  • No. 14 South Iredell vs. No. 19 Hickory Ridge
  • No. 6 T C Roberson vs. No. 27 East Forsyth
  • No. 11 Cuthbertson vs. No. 22 Davie County
  • No. 7 Watauga vs. No. 26 Mooresville
  • No. 10 Lake Norman vs. No. 23 Alexander Central
  • No. 15 West Forsyth vs. No. 18 Independence
  • No. 2 Cox Mill vs. No. 31 South Caldwell