CHS Homecoming 2008

We are live at Orr Field tonight as the 'Landers host Tri-Cities Christian for Homecoming 2008. We will have updates as time permits.

8:00: The end of the first quarter is already among us, and it finds the 'Landers leading 14-0. Randall Johnson and Matthew Tipton have scores for the 'Landers.

Quick Notes: This is the first 11-man football game in Tri-Cities Christian. The 'Landers are 1-1 at home this season. They are 2-2 overall after defeating Chuckey-Doak last week.

8:15: Johnson finds Seth Houtsma from 12 yards out for the 'Lander touchdown. The extra point was short as the 'Landers lead 20-0 with 5:53 remaining in the second.

8:45: We are at the half in Roan Mountain. The 'Landers lead 20-0. The 'Landers have two turnovers on fumbled punts, but Morgan has an interception for the Big Blue. Cloudland has also had two touchdowns negated by flags.

Homecoming festivities are complete. This year's homecoming queen ia Holly Hughes. 7th grade princess was Jessica Miller, 8th grade was Hunter McKinney, 9th grade princess was Summer Hughes, 10th grade princess was Rebekah Greer, and the 11th grade princess was Megan Burleson.

9:05: The second half is started and the Cloudland defense rose to the occasion and held the Eagles to a 3 and out. On the first offensive possession, Morgan took a direct snap 20 yards for the score as the 'Landers lead 27-0.

9:12: 'Landers get back on the board to push the lead to 34-0 after Matthew Tipton rushes for a 40 yard touchdown.

9:30: It is the end of third quarter and the 'Landers are cruising after having some key mistakes in the first half. The 'Landers are up 34-0.

9:45: With five minutes remaining, the 'Landers are in full of control of this contest as they lead 34-0. For more details on this game including quotes and stats, remember to check the Avery Journal-Times and the Avery Journal-Times Sports Blog. Thanks for reading!

Lady Bobcats Get Sixth Straight Win in 3-0 Shutout of Converse

BANNER ELK, N.C. -- Senior captain Christine Calvert had two assists to propel the Lees-McRae Lady Bobcats to a 3-0 Conference Carolinas win over the Converse College Valkyries for their sixth straight win to begin the 2008 season.

In the 32nd minute, Calvert (Dallas, Texas) took a corner kick which was then poorly cleared by the Valkyries backline and served a ball that found Brooke Santerre's (Port Republic, Md.) foot and the back of the net to give the Lady Bobcats a 1-0 lead.With time running out in the first half, co-captain Maribeth Novak (Homer Glen, Ill.) received a through pass from Calvert and ripped a one-timer that was saved by the Valkyries' keeper. Novak collected the rebound and put it in the back of the net to make it 2-0.

The final goal came when Tiffany Rodman headed a corner kick from Calvert off the keeper's hands into the goal to make it 3-0.The Lady Bobcats out shot the Valkyries 24-5 in the contest.Marissa Middleton (Olathe, Kan.) had three saves to earn the shutout in the goal for the Bobcats.With the win, the Lady Bobcats climb to 6-0 overall and 2-0 in the conference while the Valkyries fall to 0-7 overall and 0-2 in the conference.

The Lady Bobcats' next match is Saturday, September 20th at 1:00 p.m. at Tate Field against conference foe Coker College. Saturday is also Parents' Day for the Lady Bobcats.

Lady Vikings Volleyball Split Pair of Conference Matches with Polk, Madison

Avery’s volleyball squad battled through two grueling five-game matches last week, taking on Polk County in Columbus on Tuesday evening, then repeated the effort against Madison in Viking Gym on Thursday evening. Although the Polk game did not end on a winning note, the Big Red learned from the match and emerged victorious against the Lady Patriots two nights later.

In junior varsity action prior to Tuesday’s match, the Lady Vikings squad took the first game in a best-of-three games match by the final score of 27-25, but was unable to clinch the match win as the Polk team came back to take the second game 25-21 and the rubber game of the match by a 25-17 final score.

The varsity match between the two clubs was a thriller as the two 1A schools battled it out on the court. Polk won the first game of the match 28-26, but Avery rallied to tie the match at one game each with a 25-20 victory. Polk regrouped to capture game three by a score of 25-14, but, faced with a do-or-die situation, the Vikings fended off a four-game defeat by roaring back to tie the match with a 25-17 win in game four.

The fifth and deciding game of the match was a duel to the finish, but the home-standing Lady Wolverines proved too strong to overcome as Polk County won the final game by a 15-11 score.
“I felt like we matched up with Polk pretty well,” Avery head coach Kim Hayes said after the match. “They had one good, strong hitter, and definitely were not as good as Hendersonville. We just were not in the game like we should have been.”

Katie Ellis had 22 kills, eight digs, six service points and a service ace in the match, with 20 service points, five service aces and three digs by Savannah Dellinger. Rachel Buchanan had ten digs, six service points and a service ace in the contest, with 12 assists in the third game of the match alone by sophomore Cassie Bumgarner.

On Thursday evening Avery looked to hold serve at home against the visiting Lady Patriots from Madison High School. The junior varsity team set the pace for the evening as they defeated the Lady Patriot JVs by the scores of 25-18, 15-25, and 27-25.

In varsity action Avery captured the first two games of the match by scores of 25-19 and 25-20, respectively, but ran into difficulty as the Lady Patriots rallied to not only take game three by a 25-19 score, but came from behind in the fourth game of the match to win by a 25-22 score to force a fifth and deciding game.

In the tiebreaker game to determine the match winner the teams traded points early before Madison took a 4-2 lead. A 6-1 run by the Lady Vikings forced Madison to take a time out trailing 10-3. The Lady Patriots drew to within three points at 10-7, but Avery forged ahead with a 4-1 rally to have match point at 14-8. Refusing to quit, the Lady Patriots cut the lead to 14-11. Avery struck a winning kill for the final point of the match to take the final game by the score of 15-11, giving the Lady Vikings their first conference match win of the season.

Katie Ellis again led the way for the Big Red, as the senior had 32 kills, 21 digs, and three blocks in the match. Sara Singleton had 33 assists, nine service points, and five digs, while freshman Savannah Dellinger had 12 digs and 12 service points to go with three kills. Fellow freshman Megan Tennant chipped in with three kills and three blocks in the win.

“We won the first two games, then kind of lost it mentally as we dropped the next two games,” Coach Hayes said. “I told the girls in the middle of the fifth game that they lost to Hendersonville 11-15, then lost to Polk 11-15, so let’s make it our turn to win in the fifth, and they did in beating them with the ironic score of 15-11. I told them they needed to dig deep in their hearts and guts and go for it.”

Avery Soccer Ties Owen, Shuts Out Pisgah

The Avery soccer team traveled last week to Owen High School for a conference match with the Warhorses. The two teams played a physical contest which featured a number of fouls and a fair share of yellow cards, but neither team could leave Warhorse Stadium claiming victory as the clubs settled for a 1-1 tie.

Both clubs played with passion and intensity throughout the first half of action, but defenses were strong as the game was scoreless through the first 40 minutes of play. Avery finally put a score on the board in the 52nd minute as Andrew Ingram took a send from Andreas Castanedas and blasted a laser shot past the Owen keeper to stake the Big Red to a 1-0 lead.

The score held up for much of the remainder of the second half. As the time slipped away, the Warhorses became more desperate, playing with an intensity that rose tempers on both teams. In the final minute of the half, Owen was awarded a questionable penalty kick. Coach Brancourt of Avery pleaded with the officials concerning a foul on the previous Avery possession that was more deserving of a penalty kick while disputing the official’s decision. Owen capitalized on the break and scored the equalizer to knot the game at one goal apiece.

Throughout overtime the teams hustled and dug deep within themselves to find the golden goal, but neither defense budged as twenty additional minutes of soccer failed to change the score.

“We did a good job at Owen. Our defense is still playing hard and clean, but we still make too many fouls near the box,” Vikings head coach Lou Brancourt stated after the match. “Sutton (Stanley) is our leader, Andres and Daniel Huff are doing the dirty work and Morgan is back on track, which is really good news.”

Coach Brancourt was also frank about his feelings regarding the penalty kick that in the end took away what would have been an important victory for the Vikings.“The referee we had does not know how to handle games of that physical nature. It was just a good old Owen/Avery soccer match like the old days,” Coach Lou Brancourt stated after the match. “I am disappointed of course, but also pleased and confident that we can play like that again.”

On a rainy, cool, and foggy Wednesday evening, Avery played like a team on a mission of redemption following the events from Monday night, blanking the visiting Pisgah Bears by a 2-0 final score.

Avery put the first goal on the board with a kick from Kyle Griewisch in the final minute of the first half, The Vikings had other opportunities to score in the opening minutes of the second half of play, but the Bears keeper was strong in net for most of the evening. Avery scored a second goal off a throw-in as Kyle tallied his second tally at the 56 minute mark to provide for the final margin.

Despite getting the win, Coach Brancourt knows that the team needs to capitalize on more opportunities to be successful during the conference season.

“We are getting ready for Hendersonville who just killed Madison 9-1. Our training sessions are going very well, as I am in charge of our defense, and Daniel Jimenez and Chris Logel are doing a great job with our offense,” the coach added. “The game against Pisgah was a nightmare for our offense, and we need to finish our opportunities against teams like Polk and Hendersonville.”

Avery dropped a narrow 4-3 loss against Hendersonville on Monday evening at MacDonald Stadium. Kyle Griewisch put Avery on the scoreboard first with a goal to take a 1-0 lead. Hendersonville responded with three unanswered goals to close the half. Brayan Aguirre scored at the 18-minute and 30-minute marks, respectively, with a goal by Eddie Hernandez at the 24-minute mark.

Avery was down but not out, however, Andrew Ingram heated up on offense for the Big Red, as Griewisch assisted on Ingram’s first goal at the 65-minute mark. Ingram laced the equalizing goal past the Bearcats keeper to tie the match at 3-3 in the 66th minute. Fate was cruel to the Vikings as the close of the match neared, however. An own goal by the Vikings on an awkward-angled Hendersonville shot attempt in the 76th minute proved to be the game-winner for the Bearcats, who improved to 7-0 on the season.

Strong Second Half Stampedes Longhorns over Vikings

Prior to Friday night’s contest between the Avery Vikings and Johnson County (TN) Longhorns, a bright rainbow shone over the landscape surrounding MacDonald Stadium. Unfortunately for the Big Red, it was the visitors from Mountain City who found the pot of gold in the form of a gridiron victory, handing Avery its fourth consecutive loss in a 27-14 final score.

The game started with a bang as Johnson County’s Brian Swayne took the opening kickoff 85 yards for an apparent touchdown. The score was negated due to a penalty, however, forcing the Longhorns to settle with beginning its first offensive series of the game at the Avery 30 yard line. The Big Red defense kept the Longhorns out of the end zone, so Johnson County all-everything senior athlete Christian Prudhomme scored the first points of the night with a 39-yard field goal for an early 3-0 lead.

Avery opened up the evening with a change of offense, as the wide open spread attack was replaced by a run-oriented single back offense formation featuring seldom used junior running back Ethan Sluder.

“Ethan was a heck of a runner last year. He hasn’t been running as hard as I expected him to do earlier in the season, but it seems like something just clicked in practice as he was running hard each and every practice the past week or so,” Coach Brewer said. “I told him that what he was showing us recently was what we expected out of him on Friday night and that he would have opportunities, and he did a heck of a job with the opportunities he had.”

The new offense was a promising change as Sluder ran for 83 yards on 16 carries to lead the team and the Vikings ran the ball with more effectiveness than at any point throughout the season. However, the offense was unable to reach its full potential on the evening as senior quarterback Adam Pate pulled his hamstring during a scramble on Avery’s fourth offensive play of the game, limiting his mobility and his effectiveness in rolling out of the pocket. Pate gutted out the injury for most of the contest, splitting snaps at times with backup Chris Childress and eventually sat out the closing minutes of the contest. Pate’s availability for Avery’s next game at Owen on September 26th is currently unknown.

“I felt like the offensive line did one of its best jobs all season in blocking, but we became really limited offensively when Adam got hurt. He had a hard time even getting back to make handoffs and we tried to use him in shotgun to help with the injury. It threw a big kink in what we wanted to do because we had tailored a lot of our offense during the week on his ability to roll out and throw on the run or carry the football,” Coach Brewer explained. “Adam wanted to stay in the game and I admire that he wanted to do that despite the pain he was in.”

In spite of the obvious setback to the Avery attack, the Big Red moved the football 49 yards on nine plays with its opening possession until the drive stalled at the JCHS 31-yard line. A long Avery field goal attempt floated a couple of yards short of the crossbar to give the football back
to the Longhorns.

Johnson County committed the first turnover of the contest shortly after regaining possession when quarterback Austin Phipps threw his first of three interceptions for the game, a ball picked off by Taylor Potter at the Avery 36-yard line.

With its newfound opportunity the Vikings offense capitalized as a drive aided by a pass interference penalty against the Longhorns moved inside the Johnson County 30. Two plays following the infraction Chase Arrowood used his brute strength to bull his way through a set of Longhorn tackle attempts for a 25-yard touchdown run. A Sutton Stanley extra point gave Avery a 7-3 lead with under a minute left in the opening quarter.

Another long kick return on the ensuing kickoff gave Johnson County excellent field position in Viking territory, where eight plays later the Longhorns regained the lead on the scoreboard at 10-7 with an Adam Shelton two-yard touchdown plunge and Prudhomme PAT.

Avery continued to show it was able to run the football on the Longhorn defense, driving inside the red zone to the Johnson County 17-yard line. Faced with a difficult fourth and short decision, Vikings head coach Darrell Brewer opted to attempt a 34-yard field goal which was wide right to quell the drive.

Johnson County quickly moved downfield in the half’s closing minutes, managing another Prudhomme field goal with under a minute remaining to increase the Longhorn lead to 13-7 at halftime.

Avery received the kickoff to begin the third quarter, but a fumble on the third play from scrimmage was recovered by the Longhorns, giving them field position inside the Vikings 30-yard line. Four plays later Johnson County was back in the end zone as Phipps fired a four-yard touchdown pass to Prudhomme, giving the Longhorns a commanding 20-7 lead.

The Vikings caught a break on its next series when they were forced to punt. Kick returner Prudhomme dropped the punt by Avery’s Dylan Aldridge, and Paul Townsend recovered the ball for the Big Red at the Johnson County 17-yard line. But, in a common theme throughout a large portion of the night, Avery could not score when it failed on a fourth down conversion attempt.

Johnson County committed turnovers on two of its next four offensive series, both by way of intercepted passes by Avery’s Chris Childress. The Longhorns were forced to punt on its other two drives. Much to the home crowd’s chagrin, the Vikings could not muster a serious scoring threat with its possession opportunities. Avery’s offense stalled for much of the second half and the team was forced to punt at the conclusion of three separate drives.

A final Longhorn touchdown came on a 46-yard touchdown pass from Phipps to wide receiver Ian Bellamy with 4:29 left in the game. Avery bounced back to answer the touchdown with one of its own as Childress, subbing for the injured Pate, scrambled 17 yards to cross the goal line. The Stanley extra point kick with only 58 seconds left in the contest closed out the scoring for the night as Avery dropped to 0-4 on the season.

“Johnson County wants to pound you on offense, but they weren’t able to do that against us. They hit a few long passes on us, but we didn’t let them do everything they wanted to do,” Coach Brewer said after the contest. “I feel like we’ve gotten better every week, and as long as we continue to do that I think we’ll be all right in conference play. Our team has a good attitude and we will not go winless this season. We’ll win some ballgames. We could have hung our heads against Johnson County, but we fought, we scraped, and clawed. I was proud of them for that.”

Avery has a bye this Friday night and returns to action on September 26th at Owen.

Tennessee Defeats UAB 35-3

By: Matt Laws- Avery Journal-Times Sports
(matt.laws@averyjournal.com)

Knoxville, TN- The Tennessee Volunteers needed to a victory to bounce back from their defeat at UCLA and get in a groove before Florida came to town. On Saturday, they got that as they defeated University of Alabama- Birmingham 35-3.

I'm just really glad to get the win,” Tennessee Coach Phillip Fulmer said. “I do think we made improvements in some areas that we really had worked hard on.”

The Vols got on the board midway through the first quarter as quarterback Jonathon Crompton found Gerald Jones in the corner of the end zone from 20 yards out. The duo struck again before the first quarter ended, this time from 14 yards out.

Neither team could get any offense going in the second quarter. UAB got a field goal in the third quarter, before the Volunteer running backs took over the contest. Arian Foster’s 31 yard run set up a Montario Hardesty’s six yard run into the endzone. Lennon Creer added two scores before the games end.

Crompton finished the game 19 of 31 for 240 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. Foster led the way for the Vols rushing with 100 yards on 12 carries. Creer added 93 yards on eight carries and two touchdowns. Lucas Taylor had 132 yards receiving on nine catches.

“We didn't have any injuries, which was a plus for us,” Fulmer said. “I was really glad to see us run the ball as effectively as we did. I thought we wore down UAB as the game went along. We'll continue offensively to keep working to find our complete personality.”

The Volunteers host Florida next week for their SEC opener. Keep checking the Avery Journal-Times Sports Blog for more information on the victory over UAB and other features on the Volunteers.