By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — As “Senior Nights” go, it doesn’t get much better than for the Watauga High School varsity footballers, who all but shrunk the McDowell Titans on Oct. 24, 55-21.
BONUS PHOTOS at bottom of article (Click any image for larger view and Slide Show Mode)
Five senior Pioneers had a hand in the evening’s scoring barrage, most of it in the first half (49-7 at intermission). That triggered another “mercy rule” running clock and gave a legion of non-starters a chance to see meaningful live action in the final two quarters.
Senior quarterback Cade Keller completed 9-of-12 passes for 290 yards and four TDs, three of them to a fellow senior, wide receiver Nyle Peays. Keller’s aerials were on target, but the only three passes to Peays were caught for TDs, piling up 185 yards in the process. Important to note: an estimated 160 of those yards were earned by the speedy and elusive Peays after the catch.
Senior teammate Evan Burroughs had a relatively quiet night, at least by his recent standards. He “only” had four catches for 82 yards and a TD.
Primary running back duties this year have been evenly split between speedster Matthew Leon and the hard-charging Everett Gryder, both seniors. In a game primarily characterized by Watauga’s quick-strike capabilities through the air, Leon rushed just twice but averaged 5.5 yards per carry and hauled in a short pass, turning it into a 15-yard gain. Gryder, rushed four times for 54 yards and a touchdown, outrunning a platoon of Titans to paydirt.
Maybe the Pioneers should enter a football-only, 4×100 or 4×200 relay team for next spring’s track season.
Defense, Too
Coming into the game, McDowell’s senior quarterback Danny Charles Brown was ranked as the No. 1 passer in the Northwestern Conference, with some 1,800 yards through the air. At least through the first half when Watauga had all of its starters on the field, Brown looked unsettled and constantly under pressure. The Pioneers all but contained him.
Senior Bowen Mayo turned in a highlight reel-worthy big play in the first quarter, on defense, when he picked up a fumble forced by sophomore linebacker John Wilson Mills. Bowen ran it back some 40 yards for a “scoop and scoot” TD.
Mills led the defense with eight tackles, the forced fumble, and a quarterback sack. Gryder was in on five tackles, while the versatile senior lineman (offense and defense) Brady Lindenmuth recorded three tackles, including a tackle for loss (TFL).
The Series: The ‘Tackling Machine’, John Wilson Mills
Senior tackle Crue Stoddard also had a big night, with four tackles, two TFLs, as well as a pass breakup (PBU).
Peays, who like many of the top Pioneer athletes plays on both sides of the ball, stepped in front of McDowell pass in the second quarter for an interception and 40-yard INT return, while also recording a pair of tackles. The INT occurred on the Watauga side of the field and the Pioneer faithful in the grandstands could see Peays closing in for the “poach” as the play was developing.
Another versatile senior not wanting to be left out of the defensive fun, strong safety Kyle Williams tallied an INT, three PBUs, and another three tackles.
The Series II: The Nyle Peays (9) Show?
After the game, head coach Ryan Habich was generally pleased by his team’s play and especially the opportunity to get every senior playing time on Senior Night, but still had reservations about the performance of the mostly non-starters in the fourth quarter, including giving up a turnover (fumble). Whether a starter or not, Habich said the coaching staff’s expectation is for any and every Watauga player to execute, to do their job as they are trained to do.
“I didn’t like the way we finished,” said Habich.
Next up for Watauga is a visit to Hickory, to play St. Stephens in what has evolved as the de facto Northwestern Conference championship game. With the Pioneers at 4-0 in conference (9-0 overall) and St. Stephens at 3-1, the Oct. 31 tilt on the road should be a good one. The Indians’ only loss in conference was to Freedom, 28-21, on Oct. 10, in Hickory.
St. Stephens was a 48-2 winner over South Caldwell on Oct. 24. At halftime, Freedom was poised to move into a tie with the Indians for second place, leading Alexander Central, 35-0 (final score unavailable).
A win next week at St. Stephens, especially with a good showing, puts Watauga in the drivers seat for what should be a high seed in the 6A West playoffs bracket, perhaps even the No. 1 seed. Not counting all of this week’s games because not all scores are yet available, the only other undefeated (overall) team in the 6A West is Ashbrook (Gastonia). MaxPreps has Watauga ranked No. 1 in North Carolina’s 6A classification, 5-3 Sun Valley at No. 2, and Ashbrook No. 3, all in the 6A West. Two more 6A West teams, Charlotte Catholic (No. 4) and Northern Guilford (No. 5) round out the top 5, statewide.
If Watauga loses to St. Stephens, then its seeding and any home field advantage that comes with a high seed will suffer and probably catapult the Indians to a higher seed.
Freedom (8-1) is currently ranked No. 13 and could improve on that ranking after facing McDowell on Oct. 31 to close out the 2025 regular season. At 5-4, St. Stephens is ranked No. 30 in North Carolina’s 6A classification but has had some impressive wins and close losses, so the Pioneers have little room for error next week.
BONUS PHOTOS (Click any image for larger view and Slide Show Mode)
