By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — There was high gridiron drama at Jack Groce Stadium on Nov. 21. The outcome of Watauga’s clash with perennial powerhouse Charlotte Catholic in the 6A West quarterfinals of the state playoffs wasn’t decided until the final seconds but, in the end, the Pioneers’ “prevent defense” lived up to its name with two pass interceptions in the waning minutes to secure a 27-19 win.
That 8-point final difference is a bit deceiving, though. This contest was closer than that.
Watauga struck for end zone gold in the Pioneers’ first two offensive possessions and, in the early going, denied Catholic’s rushing attack much in the way of movement. The regular tenants of Jack Groce Stadium took a 14-0 lead midway through the first half, but would it be enough?
The Cougars won the coin toss and wanted the ball first, but thanks to a stingy Pioneer defense were forced to punt after just six plays.
Starting with the ball at their own 28-yard line, Watauga promptly unveiled a perimeter attack featuring screen passes from QB Cade Keller to WR Evan Burroughs for a 10-play, 72-yard near-error free drive, highlighted by wide receiver Bowen Mayo finishing things off with a 6-yard TD run.
Watauga’s defense was impressive when the Cougars took possession after the kickoff at their own 36. Led by Everett Gryder, Crue Stoddard, John Wilson Mills and Mayo, the Pioneers stood up Catholic’s top running backs, Garrett Nowlan and Max Whalen, for no gain on the drive’s first two plays, then Gryder was Johnny-on-the-spot in limiting QB Chase Kummer’s completed pass to Nowlan coming out of the backfield to just two yards.
Watauga got the ball back with good field position at the 50-yard line when CC’s punter, Jude Spisso — under pressure from the Pioneers’ special teams unit — sliced the ball off the side of his foot. The Pioneers took advantage of the miscue, Keller orchestrating a 9-play drive that covered that 50 yards in just under four minutes, with running back Matthew Leon punching the ball into the end zone for the final yard. With yet another Miller Hankins PAT kick, Watauga sported a 14-0 early lead and Charlotte Catholic had barely seen the ball.
After the game, Watauga head coach Ryan Habich gave credit to the team’s offensive coaches for designing a game plan to go around Charlotte Catholic’s nearly impenetrable defensive line.
“We had to attack the perimeter,” said Habich, “and I consider those short screen passes out there to Burroughs behind the line of scrimmage to be running plays.”
Faced with a 14-0 early deficit, Charlotte Catholic had no intention of folding up their tents and slink off into the stillness of the night. The Cougars got on the board at the 5:09 mark of the second quarter with the kind of offensive drive for which they are known: a punishing, 13-play, 65-yard drive that kept Watauga’s dynamic offense off the field for more than six minutes. It was a one-two, CC punch featuring Nowlan and Whalen, picking up one- to seven-yard chunks before a Kummer-to-Kellan Nalitz 13-yard pass put the Cougars on the Watauga 10. Whalen ground out half the remaining distance, then Nowlan finished things off with a 5-yard TD run.
Once Watauga got the ball back, though, they produced their own 13-play scoring drive, going 77 yards in 3:41, capped off by an 18-yard TD pass from Keller to Mayo, twisting and wrestling his way into paydirt. The drive saw a lot of those Keller to Burroughs screen passes, again attacking the Cougars’ defensive perimeter, but Keller mixed things up with other pass completions to Mayo and the versatile Nyle Peays.
The drive allowed Watauga to go into the locker room at intermission with a heady, 21-7 lead — but Charlotte Catholic had demonstrated it could move the football.
Receiving the opening kickoff of the third quarter, Watauga looked to again be in control of both the clock and offensive possession. They got the ball on their own 20 when Charlotte Catholic placekicker Aidan Flynn sailed the kickoff over 60 yards and into the end zone for a touchback. Keller mixed in short passes to Burroughs, Mayo and Peays around a 28-yard run by Burroughs on a pitchout, around the outside.
In 10 plays, the Pioneers got the ball down to the Catholic 2-yard line and looked poised to score. But that formidable CC defensive front turned back Watauga attempts to get the ball in the end zone four times from 1st-and-goal from the CC10-yard line.
Charlotte Catholic inherited the ball at their own 3-yard line — and delivered. It took eight plays of short runs and short passes to get the ball out to their own 25-yard line and some “breathing room,” then Kummer hit tight end Jack Reilly in the right flat. The big Cougar senior evaded a couple of tackles, then outran the rest of the Pioneer defense for a 75-yard touchdown. The Cougar score narrowed the deficit to 21-13.
Catholic’s PAT kick was blocked by Watauga’s Gryder, providing an important end-of-game dynamic. On their ensuing possession, the Pioneers were held to a 3-and-out, giving the ball back to the Cougars with reasonable field position at their own 32 yard line. They couldn’t do much with it, having to punt after just six plays. A short time later, though, Watauga’s Peays received a pass at the Pioneers’ 37, the hit for no gain forcing a fumble that was alertly recovered by Catholic’s senior defensive lineman Dominic Basrawala.
Now, with good field position, Charlotte Catholic could potentially tie the game with a TD and a 2-point conversion.
They got the TD, covering the 37 yards’ distance in seven plays, highlighted by a 14-yard pass from Kummer to Nowlan and capped by a pair of “tush push” style keepers by Kummer behind his big offensive line into the end zone, shrinking the Pioneer advantage to just 21-19. With just over four minutes remaining on the game clock, Charlotte Catholic had little choice but to go for a 2-point conversion to tie the game, but Kummer’s pass over the middle was intercepted by the Pioneers’ Burroughs to deny the Cougars’ knotting the score.
To their credit, Catholic’s defense did their part to give the visitors another chance to win the game, although Watauga made it tough with savvy clock management. Starting at their own 23-yard line, Watauga used up almost four minutes of game clock before Keller was forced to punt. He angled the ball out of bounds to the right side, the ball crossing the sideline at the CC12.
It was desperation time for the Cougars, faced with just 38 seconds to try and move the ball 88 yards and possibly win the game with a TD. A penalty pushed the ball back even further, to the Cougars’ 7-yard line, so now with only 34 seconds to go 93 yards. After an incomplete Kummer pass attempt, the junior QB rolled into his own end zone and threw back to the right flat — but Watauga’s Matthew Leon read it perfectly, stepping in front of the intended receiver to poach the ball and sprint into the end zone for his first interception of the season and his first “Pick 6” as a Pioneer.
The Cougars had one more chance, receiving the kickoff and starting a next offensive possession at their own 32 — but with only 19 seconds remaining. It was desperation time again and Kummer’s long pass on first down, almost predictably, was intercepted by Burroughs near midfield. It was game over once Keller took a knee for one play in victory formation.
Coach Habich acknowledged later that his defensive coaches had Leon, Burroughs and their comrades in “prevent” schemes for both of the INTs.
“Charlotte Catholic is not really known as a passing team,” said Habich, “so we had an advantage there.”
For the host Pioneers, it was one of the program’s most impressive wins against a powerful opponent, a multi-dimensional performance of complementary football.
Keller finished the game having completed 29-of-40 pass attempts for 199 yards, one TD, and no interceptions. The offensive line held up well against the bigger Cougar defensive line and linebackers, not giving up a single QB sack.
Burroughs collected 17 of Keller’s passes for 91 yards and added 5 carries on the ground for a net of 43 yards.
Defensively, John Wilson Mills tallied six solo tackles and nine assisted tackles for a total of 15, to lead all defenders. Not counting Burroughs INT on the late 2-point conversion attempt by the Cougars to tie the game (on PAT’s, pass interceptions are not counted, statistically. The play is just noted in the record books as a failed conversion), the two late turnovers by the Cougars in the face of Watauga’s prevent defense turned out to be critical defensive plays.
No. 1-seeded Watauga (12-0) advances to the fourth round of the 6A state playoffs and the semifinals of the 6A West. The Pioneers will host the 6A West’s No. 5 seed, Sun Valley, which upset No. 4 Freedom, 46-20.
In the bottom half of the 6A West bracket, No. 3 Ashbrook defeated No. 11 Dudley, 15-7 and No. 2 Northern Guilford trumped No. 10 Kings Mountain, 37-7.
SELECTED TEAM STATS
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- Total Offensive Yards: CC 237, WAT 318
- Net Yards Passing: CC 124, WAT 199
- Net Yards Rushing: CC 113, WAT 119
- First Downs: CC 13, WAT 21
- Penalties: CC 5-40, WAT 3-25
- Interceptions By: CC 0, WAT 2
- Fumbles Lost By: CC 0, WAT 1
- Time of Possession: CC 23:38, WAT 24:22
- 3rd Down Conversions: CC 5-of-11, WAT 6-of-11
- 4th Down Conversions: CC 2-of-2, WAT 1-of-2
- Red Zone Scores: CC 2-of-2, WAT 3-of-4
SELECTED INDIVIDUAL OFFENSIVE STATS
Passing
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- WAT – Cade Keller: 29-34-199, 1 TD, no INTs
- CC – Chase Kummer: 9-14-124, 1 TD, 2 INTs
Rushing
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- CC – Garrett Nowlan: 14-49, 1 TD
- WAT – Evan Burroughs: 5-43
- CC – Max Whelan: 12-31
- WAT – Cade Keller: 5-28
- WAT – Everett Gryder: 5-25
- CC – Kellan Nalitz: 5-23
- WAT – Matthew Leon: 8-19, 1 TD
- WAT – Bowen Mayo: 1-6, 1 TD
- CC – Frank O’Brien: 1-4
- CC – Chase Kummer: 3-3, 1 TD
- CC – Lukas Lupinski: 1-3
Receiving
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- WAT – Evan Burroughs: 17-91
- CC – Jack Reilly: 3-85, 1 TD
- WAT – Bowen Mayo: 7-54, 1 TD
- WAT – Nyle Peays: 4-45
- CC – Garrett Nowlan: 3-21
- CC- Kellen Nalitz: 1-13
- WAT – Tyler Leyshon: 1-7
- CC – Michael Brady: 1-7
DEFENSIVE HIGHLIGHTS
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- WAT – John Wilson Mills: 15 total tackles
- WAT – Thomas Deiters: 12 total tackles, TFL, Pass BreakUp
- CC – Caden O’Neill: 10 total tackles
- CC – Andrew Kuhn: 9 total tackles
- CC – Keenen Teeter: 9 total tackles
- WAT – Crue Stoddard: 8 total tackles
- CC – Teddy Vellio: 8 total tackles
- WAT – Everett Gryder: 7 total tackles, blocked PAT
- CC – Dominic Basrawala: 6 total tackles, TFL, Fumble Recovery
- WAT – Brady Lindenmuth: 5 total tackles, TFL
- CC – Carter Garnett: 5 total tackles, TFL
- CC – Danny Ostergaard: 5 total tackles
- WAT – Bowen Mayo: 4 total tackles
- WAT – Cayman Hayes: 4 total tackles
- CC – Lukas Lupinski: 4 total tackles, TFL
- CC – Cooper Abrams: 4 total tackles
- WAT – Matthew Leon: 3 total tackles, 1 INT, 1 TD
- WAT – Kyle Williams: 2 total tackles
- WAT – Aidan Plemons: 2 total tackles
- CC – Jackson Williamson: 2 total tackles
- WAT – Evan Burroughs: 1 total tackles, 1 INT
