The evening had a distinct fall chill in the air, but the gridiron action was anything but frigid. Using a late defensive stand and its highest offensive output of the season, Avery held on for a narrow 31-30 victory over the visiting West Henderson Falcons.Avery opened the game with an impressive 71-yard drive encompassing ten plays and just over five minutes of the first quarter clock. The possession netted points as quarterback Adam Pate fired a fourth down pass to Chris Childress for a 27-yard score. A Sutton Stanley PAT staked the Big Red to a 7-0 lead.
West Henderson was also impressive once its offense possessed the pigskin, taking only seven plays to march 67 yards for a touchdown. Falcon fullback Kevin Thomas rumbled across the goal line from a yard out for the score, but West was unable to tie the game as Avery’s Jordan English blocked the point after attempt to allow Avery to keep a one-point edge at 7-6 with 4:05 to go in the opening period.
Late in the quarter the Vikings were able to again move the football with offensive efficiency, but the Falcon defense tightened and turned the Big Red away as a fourth down pass fell incomplete to turn the ball over on downs to West.
The Falcons relied heavily on its running game throughout the night, and the ground game moved West into Avery territory. A fumble by Kevin Thomas was recovered by Avery, however, to stop a potential scoring threat.
A five-minute drive ensued following the turnover, highlighted by a 40-yard pass play from Pate to wide receiver Tyler Blalock and capped off by a Pate two-yard scoring run. Stanley’s point after surged the Vikings to a 14-6 lead.
West Henderson sought out ways to move the ball downfield and looked for power and results from its running attack. Running back Kagan Williams broke away for a 50-yard run before being tracked down at the Avery 14. Four plays later, quarterback Dillon Baker bullied his way into the end zone from three yards out for a Falcon touchdown. A two-point run conversion was successful, knotting the score at 14 apiece with 2:28 left before intermission.The teams traded possessions before Avery again had the football near midfield with 50 seconds left in the half. Over the course of five plays the Vikings moved the football into field goal range, where Stanley booted a 32-yard field goal attempt through the uprights for a 17-14 halftime lead.
During intermission, the Avery Homecoming court was introduced, with the announcement of Shaun Creech and Sara Singleton as 2008’s Homecoming King and Queen.
When action resumed for the second half, West was held to a three-and-out on its first series. A poor snap on the punt attempt resulted in excellent field position for Avery. The Vikings took advantage when running back Travis Thomas scored on a four-yard run. The extra point made the score 24-14 in favor of Avery with 8:42 left in the third period.
Both teams traded punts following the touchdown, but West got untracked offensively with a nine play, 44-yard drive. Kagan Williams raced into the end zone from two yards out for a touchdown, but a missed extra point left West trailing Avery 24-20 as time expired in the quarter.
In the final twelve minutes of action, high drama arose. On the first play of the quarter an Adam Pate pass was intercepted by West’s Gary Simpson and returned to the Viking 10-yard line. The Falcons were unable to score any points from the gaffe, however, as the team went four-and-out on a stellar defensive stand to turn the football over on downs to Avery.
With such poor field position the Vikings found it hard to advance upfield. The difficulty turned disastrous as Viking quarterback Chris Childress was called for intentional grounding in the end zone to award a safety to the Falcons and cut the Avery lead to only a pair at 24-22.
Following the free kick, Avery’s defense held again by forcing a West punt. With the football the Vikings again marched downfield poised to pad its lead. A pair of completions from Pate to tight end Colton Blackburn moved Avery into the West red zone, but an interception stalled the drive.
A turning point in the contest arrived during West’s subsequent offensive series. A pass by Dillon Baker was anticipated and intercepted by defensive back Chris Childress, who cut through tacklers and was stopped four yards short of the goal line. The next play from scrimmage added to Avery’s lead as Thomas ran for his second four-yard touchdown of the night. Another PAT from Stanley gave the big Red a 31-22 advantage with only 2:06 left in the game.In desperation mode, the Falcons abandoned its running game and took to the skies with an aerial assault. Baker completed two passes for 52 yards to move the visitors to the Avery 11-yard line. One play following a Viking penalty, Baker found receiver James Tracy for a five-yard touchdown pass. A two-point conversion succeeded to cut the Avery lead to a single digit at 31-30 with 1:27 still left on the clock.
West attempted to regain the football for the offense with an onside kick, but the Vikings recovered the bouncing ball. The Falcons held Avery to a three-and-out while conserving time using a pair of timeouts. Avery punted the ball to West, giving the Falcons one final shot to win the game with 59 seconds left.
A 33-yard pass completion from Baker to Keenan Young advanced the Falcons into field goal range at the Avery 14, but a shaky kicking game seemed to dissuade head coach Jeff Bailey from attempting a game-winning field goal.
Instead the Falcons attempted to score a touchdown and the Avery defense made one final stand, topped off by a fourth down quarterback sack by senior defensive lineman Christian Montgomery. A final kneel down by Avery shut the door and sent a large crowd gathered for Homecoming happy with a first Viking win on the season.
“Our defense had a little bit more of a letdown tonight than we’ve been used to, but they held when it counted most. West did a great job of shutting our run down. We want to be able to do that and couldn’t, but to be able to put 31 points on the board was good to see,” Avery Vikings head coach Darrell Brewer said after the thrilling victory. “I’m proud of the boys and how they just hung in there all night to win this one. It was especially great for those boys on the team who haven’t had a win for a year and a half to break through and get a win here tonight.”
Avery players and fans, as well as the coaching staff are aware of the significance of finally getting a victory this season. “Wins can cover up a lot of hurts and a lot of pain,” Coach Brewer added. “We’re looking at it now as 1-0, and we’ve got to keep rolling.”
Avery returns to Western Highlands Conference action next week when it hosts the Hendersonville Bearcats Friday night. Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. at MacDonald Stadium.
