By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Turnovers and penalties were costly for visiting South Iredell on Nov. 4, at Jack Groce Stadium in Round 1 of the NCHSAA 4A Football Championship. Host Watauga powered past the Vikings, 42-13, to keep the Pioneers’ state title hopes alive.
After stopping South Iredell’s opening drive, Watauga took over on downs at their own 45-yardline and quickly went into its patented grinding, ground control mode, picking up chunks of yardage by quarterback Maddox Greene and running back Will Curtis. A senior, Curtis finished off the six-play drive with a 16-yard TD run, weaving between his own blockers and would-be tacklers, to give the Pioneers an early 7-0 lead — and they would never again be trailing or tied in the contest.
Morgan Henry was the offensive star on the Pioneers second possession, after again taking over on downs when South Iredell failed on a fourth down conversion attempt. Henry surprised everyone except the Pioneers in taking a quick pitch before sweeping around the right side for 27-yard TD scamper.
A strong Watauga defensive effort, highlighted by a line of scrimmage stop by Isaiah Shirley and a sack by J.T. Cook forced the Vikings into another fourth down situation. Given their failures on the previous tries at “going for it” on fourth down, this time they elected to punt.
Watauga would find the end zone one more time before intermission, Greene finding Curtis along the right sideline for a 27-yard TD pass to put the Pioneers ahead 21-0. South Iredell finally got on the scoreboard with a nifty, 21-yard TD strike from senior QB Brice Warren to senior WR Will Vuk in the back of the end zone.
By halftime, Watauga sported a 21-7 lead. By game’s end, placekicker Grant Kight would be a perfect 6-for-6 on PAT attempts, as the Pioneers scored three more TDs in the second half. Greene found the end zone twice in the fourth quarter, highlighted by a 37-yard keeper, outracing all defenders across the goal line. Curtis also added a 21-yard run in the third quarter.
SELECTED TEAM STATS
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- Total Offense: WAT 359, SI 246
- Turnovers: WAT 0, SI 1 (Interception by Maddox Greene)
- Penalties: WAT 5/50, SI 7/80
More story to follow after game stat clarifications.
Miscellaneous images, all photos by David Rogers
