Appalachian Shakes off Rusty Start, Rolls Over Catamounts

Following a slow two quarters of play at Whitmire Stadium in Cullowee, the Appalachian State Mountaineers pulled away with a strong second half performance by freshman DeAndre Presley to capture the Old Mountain Jug and a 35-10 victory on Saturday.

App's first offensive drive was disastrous as Matt Cline fumbled the ball to give the Catamounts the first break of the game.

Western moved the ball fairly well on the ensuing drive but failed to turn their opportunity into points. With 22 seconds left in the first quarter, former Pisgah High School standout Zack Jaynes crossed the goal line for a one-yard score and a 7-0 lead.

Following WCU's scoring drive, the Mountaineers were forced into several three and outs before ASU reserve quarterback DeAndre Presley got into an offensive rhythm. A 10 play, 52-yard Mountaineer scoring drive was capped by a three-yard scamper to the right side to tie the score at seven. Western answered with a field goal to take a 10-7 lead into halftime.

The second half was a different story as the Mountaineers stepped up. Presley led the Black and Gold to 28 unanswered points in the final two quarters, showing glimpses of brilliance that have been evident at times throughout his first season as an App. Presley hit tight end Ben Jorden for a 17-yard touchdown strike as part of 156-yard throwing performance on 16 of 25 passing. The emergence of the freshman allowed the Appalachian coaches to keep a recovering Armanti Edwards on the sidelines without further risking injury.

The Mountaineer defense was stingy all game ling, holding a weak Western Carolina offense to 72 yards of total offense on the afternoon, including minus-two yards total on the ground. WCU's only success on offense game in the passing game, but only for a paltry 74 yards.

ASU forced Jaynes into a poor day, as he completed only five of 26 attempts for 63 yards. In the process, ASU sacked the Catamount signal caller five times, and added one more later in the game, with defensive end Lanston Tanyi posting 2.5 sacks in the contest and his counterpart, Jabari Fletcher added 1.5 sacks. Led by Pierre Banks' 11 tackles, the linebackers were once again strong shutting down anything across the middle - both the pass and rush. D.J. Smith and Jacque Roman followed Banks' lead, clogging running lanes all night and hurrying Jaynes out of the pocket consistently. The ASU secondary also had a busy day, but responded nicely containing Western's experienced receiving corps.

Appalachian racked up a total of 382 total yards of offense, with 224 on the ground. The Mountaineers await its first opponent for the 2008 FCS playoffs with Selection Sunday tomorrow afternoon.

SCHEDULE CHANGES FOR AVERY WRESTLING, BASKETBALL

The Avery wrestling home dual meet against Draughn High School that was scheduled for Thursday evening has been rescheduled to Friday, November 21st at 6 p.m.

Avery Middle School and Cranberry Middle School will each be hosting Toe River Conference girls and boys basketball games this evening.

Avery Basketball has a few changes of note to its regular season schedule:

Avery's contests against Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy (Dec. 12 and Jan. 2) will both be VARSITY ONLY. The home game in December will begin at 6 p.m., with the road game beginning at 5 p.m.

In addition, the non-conference home game against Cloudland on January 27th is VARSITY ONLY.

Top Ranked Heels Rout Wildcats

Without the services of starters Tyler Hansrough or Marcus Ginyard, the North Carolina Tar Heels raced to an early lead of double digits and never looked back in a 77-58 victory before a capacity crowd at the Dean E. Smith Center on Tuesday night.

Carolina scored 15 of the first 17 points of the contest and took a 25-6 edge on an acrobatic alley-oop play from point guard Ty Lawson to teammate Wayne Ellington.

The Heels defense wreaked havoc on the visiting Wildcats on every trip down the floor, forcing six turnovers in the game's first five minutes en route to a 41-25 halftime lead.

"We had a fantastic 10 ten or 12 minutes, our defense was really aggressive with the intensity that we had hoped," Tar Heels head coach Roy Williams said following the win.

The offensive juggernaut of the evening was Deon Thompson. who tallied 14 of his team-high 20 points in the first stanza.

"I think I've just been doing the things that I've been doing over the summer. I guess I have just a little bit more of an opportunity with Tyler [Hansbrough] out of there and just taking advantage and not really trying to force anything," Thompson said post-game. "I think the way I've been scoring and getting rebounds has just been coming in the flow of our whole offense, just being in the right spot. So, I don't think I'm trying to force anything."

Kentucky had 17 turnovers in the first half and totalled 28 in all. "We're just making too many mental errors, even though it's the second game of the season against a really good team and really well organized team and fine executing team. You can't make the mistakes that we made like picking the dribble up, not being strong with the ball, getting destroyed on the offensive ball," Kentucky head coach Billy Gillispie said after the game. "Our transition defense had too many mistakes with guys who didn't communicate well enough."

If there was a negative point to Tuesday's win, it was that freshman Tyler Zeller, filling in for Hansbrough, injured his wrist after a hard foul by Kentucky's Ramon Harris. Zeller left the game and was taken to the hospital for x-rays. "It doesn't give us a good feeling right now," Coach Williams said in the media room following the game.

Thompson led three Heels in double-figures, including 16 points (3 of 5 on 3 point FG) by Ellington, and 11 from Lawson. Freshman Ed Davis added nine points and ten rebounds. Carolina travels to Hawaii for the EA Sports Maui Invitational Tournament, but makes a stop to take on UC-Santa Barbara on Friday at 10 PM EST on ESPNU.

Avery Winter Sports Schedules announced

The Avery High School wrestling schedule as well as the men's and women's basketball schedules have been released. Click the links below to access the schedules:


2008-09 Basketball Schedule


2008-09 Wrestling Schedule

Lady Vikings Basketball Hosts McDowell in Home Scrimmage

The 2008-09 Avery Lady Vikings varsity and junior varsity squads played before the home folks for the first time on Thursday night in a scrimmage at Viking Gym against the Lady Titans of McDowell High School.

Avery’s varsity team took the floor first for two 10-minute sessions with running clock, followed by the junior varsity teams squaring off in a pair of 10-minute periods.

The varsity teams again retook the floor to close the evening’s festivities, this time for five consecutive 10-minute sessions. The teams kept track of team fouls and took foul shots in the last 10-minute block of time for extra practice on those particular drills.

If Thursday’s scrimmage is any indication, this year’s version of the Avery ladies basketball teams will be as formidable, if not more so, than its predecessors from the previous handful of seasons, among the best in school history.

“We were a little nervous early, but I was really proud of the team,” junior varsity head coach Pat Daniels said after watching his team scrimmage. “We have three sophomores in Mercedes Bentley, Mary Chesnut Smith, and Logan Johnson, and they all played really well with several steals. They’ve stepped up as leaders. The freshmen looked really good, particularly Megan Tennant and Brooke Buchanan down in the post.”

The junior varsity appears poised to continue its consecutive string of conference championships with a strong class of eight newcomers to add to the three veteran players on the roster.

“I believe this is one of our best freshmen classes we’ve seen come through Avery. Savannah Dellinger is starting at our point guard, and Lacey Barrier is also a good point guard. We have several great hustling players like Emily Pritchard and Shayna Vance. Brooke Buchanan had been sick and missed a lot of practice, but she still played well in the time she was on the floor.”

Avery’s varsity club worked hard to correct errors that took place during its first scrimmage the previous weekend at Draughn High School, where the team admittedly committed a greater number of turnovers than they wanted. “We did correct many of our previous errors,” Lady Vikings varsity head coach Missy Lyons remarked following the scrimmage. “But we still need to work on passing and need to come together as a team more.”

Although there are areas that need work as the season is in its infancy, the coach was pleased with several facets of the team’s play and with a number of her players.

“I was very happy with the hustle and effort of all three of my post players, Katie Ellis, Katelynn Eudy, and Sara Wiseman. I was also pleased to see Megan Tennant coming in and giving us a boost at the post.”

The scrimmage was a good barometer of where the team is on the court as it prepares for the upcoming season opener on November 25th at Watauga.

“McDowell is a premiere team, and to be able to compete with them is a success, especially this early in the season,” Coach Lyons added. “Lauren Avery is giving us depth at the guard position, and Elyse Perry came in and shot the ball well. We need our senior guards to continue directing the court and being leaders on the floor, and I feel that will bring our game together.”

All-Stars Strut Their Volleyball Skills

On Saturday, November 8, 2008, the Greensboro Sportsplex in Greensboro, NC was booming with talent of senior volleyball players from across North Carolina. Each conference had the opportunity to showcase its outstanding seniors in one last high school event.

This year there was a total of 30 conferences competing, the largest in the past two years. The tournament was set up so each team played two 25-point games, with no third game tie breaker within their pool. The showcase allowed college coaches and recruiters to watch these talented young ladies in action against the best of the best. Some took the time to speak with the athletes to garner their interests in the college they represented.

“Each year there is more and more interest in the showcase from each conference,” stated Trevor Hewitt, director of the Sportsplex Volleyball Club. “First I want to thank Omega Sports and Crocs for making the event a success! Also Alps Screen-printing did another great job on the shirts! Without the help of Omega Sports, who sponsored the event for the second straight year, this event would not be possible. Secondly, I want to thank all the conference coaches who took the time to answer all my emails, and really buy in and support this event. It is these coaches who really take the necessary steps to get their conferences to select a team and then get to the Greensboro Sportsplex for the all-star festival, and give up their Saturdays to coach in the event.”

The Western Highlands Conference, comprised of Avery, Hendersonville, Madison, Mitchell, Mountain Heritage, Owen, and Polk High Schools, had the opportunity to have ten very talented seniors represent our conference this year.

Avery was represented by libero Rachel Buchanan and outside hitter/ right side hitter Katie Ellis. Madison was represented by outside hitter Laurel Gregg. From Mountain Heritage came outside hitter Lacey Blevins, right side hitter/ setter Alli Huskins, defensive specialist Carleigh Fox, and middle blockers Courtney Huskins and Landrie Fox. Polk sent setter Kaitlin Franks and middle blocker/outside hitter Denise Edwards.

The coaches this year were head coach Becky Morris, assisted by Ivy Gregg, both from Madison High School. The team was fortunate to have two workouts on Sunday afternoons in order to prepare for the event.

“The workouts gave us the opportunity to play as one and to be successful against our competition this past Saturday,” explained Coach Morris. The work paid off as the team went 3-1-1 against teams from 1A, 3A, and 4A conferences. They swept the Super Six 1A Conference (Team A), Queen City 3A/4A Conference (Team A & Team B), split with the Greater Neuse River 4A Conference team, and lost to the MECA 7 4A Conference team.

“The girls did an amazing job. They did not let the bigger size school conferences intimidate them. They stay focused, concentrated on the task at hand, and played as a team. They represented our conference with great pride,” boasted Coach Morris.

Katie Ellis of Avery High School did a remarkable job switching back and forth between outside hitter and right side hitter. Katie, who is being recruited already by Lenior-Rhyne College and Lees-McRae College, was approached on Saturday by Montreat College recruiters about her outstanding playing ability as well. She is also interested in attending Appalachian State and The University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.

“Katie possesses the ability, mechanics, and the leadership to contribute wonderfully to any coach’s program at the collegiate level. I enjoyed coaching her through the all-star event,” stated Coach Morris. Katie capped the day off with 36 service points, 10 aces, two assists, 16 kills, 12 digs, and two blocks.

Rachel Buchanan, also of Avery High School, did an excellent job as our lead libero. The libero is a designated back-row player, intended to be used as a ball-control specialist. Rachel is considering Appalachian State, Wake Forest University, and East Tennessee State to continue her education.

“She might have been the smallest player on the team, but don’t let her size fool you!” Coach Morris stated. “She moves with ease and grace. She possesses range on the court and excellent ball control. No matter how hard or how soft the ball was hit, she recovered it and held her own against the overpowering teams we faced. She was a great asset to our team and did a wonderful job.” Rachel finished the day with two service points and 15 digs.

Congratulations to the senior class of 2009 all-stars who represented the Western Highlands Conference with such greatness and achieved so much.

Rain Soaked Rout: Vikings Mauled by Bearcats in Playoff Opener

On a rainy, foggy night for football at Dietz Field in Hendersonville, the #14 seeded Avery Vikings tangled with the third-seeded Hendersonville Bearcats in the first round of the 1-AA high school football playoffs.
Avery scored the first touchdown in the game, forced a turnover on its ensuing kickoff, and gained two additional turnovers on the Bearcats’ first two offensive series of the game.

Despite all the good fortune, the Vikings could not capitalize with any points. The Bearcats made Avery pay when they finally found their groove on both sides of the football, scoring 56 unanswered points to rout the Big Red by the final score of 56-6.

With the first possession of the game, Avery’s new-look offense seemed to confuse the Bearcats. A 47-yard romp by senior running back Chase Arrowood moved the Big Red into Bearcats territory. Two plays later, a wide receiver end-around run by Adam Pate was good for a 32-yard touchdown. The PAT was blocked, but the Vikings led 6-0 just one minute into the contest.

The Vikings started freshman junior varsity quarterback Alex Villanueva in the contest, along with a number of other junior varsity players who saw extended action on both offense and defense to help bolster the team for playoff football. The infusion of new blood seemed to energize the Avery sideline, as the team burst into elation upon taking the lead.

Avery’s special teams unit made a big play on the ensuing kickoff, forcing a fumble from return man Cedrick Allen. The Vikings recovered the ball inside the Hendersonville 30, but could not move the football and had to punt.

The Viking defense appeared overmatched as the Bearcats drove the football downfield. Cedrick Allen broke off a 68-yard scurry to set the offense up inside the Viking red zone.

However, the stunned Bearcats were dealt another blow when defensive end Cole Blackburn caused a fumble by Bearcats quarterback Ben Walgenbach inside the Viking ten-yard line. Linebacker Nathaniel Buchanan fell on the football to turn the home team away.

The stout Hendersonville defense forced another Avery punt, but the defense rose to the occasion as the second Bearcats offensive series was snuffed out by a Chris Childress interception of Walgenbach. A recurring theme of inability to capitalize occurred again for Avery, however, as the Bearcats refused to allow the Vikings to build further momentum and forced another punt, the third of six straight punts to close Viking possessions in the first half.

Hendersonville finally scored for the first time with 49 seconds left in the quarter on a two-yard touchdown run by Corey Cook. Kicker Will Roper’s extra point gave the Bearcats a lead it would never relinquish as the quarter closed with the Bearcats up 7-6.

The second quarter of play was a complete nightmare for Avery, as Hendersonville scored on five straight possessions with its big-play offense. The Bearcats scored on pass plays of 78 and 81 yards to wide receiver James Foster, Cedrick Allen added a pair of touchdown runs of 61 and 43 yards, and a wide receiver handoff to Daniel Orr netted a 49-yard touchdown, staking the Bearcats to a commanding 42-6 halftime advantage.

Hendersonville used a total possession time of only 1:51 in the entire second quarter and scored five times, while Avery held the ball for ten minutes with nothing to show for it.
The Bearcats exploded for 314 yards of total offense in the quarter, turning the game into a lopsided contest.

The Bearcats tacked on a pair of touchdowns in the second half while the defense held the Big Red scoreless over the final two quarters to seal the win and advance to the second round of the playoffs.

Chase Arrowood led Avery with 85 yards rushing on ten carries, all in the first half of play as he sat out the second half due to injury. Villanueva ended his varsity debut with 4 pass completions on 21 attempts for 37 yards as he was harassed all evening by a relentless Bearcats defense. Cedrick Allen led the Bearcats with 288 yards rushing on only 13 attempts and three touchdowns. Walgenbach was 3 of 7 passing for 197 yards and two touchdowns.

The Vikings close the 2008 season with a disappointing 2-10 overall record, their worst finish since a 4-7 record in 2001.

App Survives Elon

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

BOONE- The Appalachian State Mountaineers are accustomed to using a high powered offense to dominate opponents. On Saturday, the Mountaineer defense proved they can get the job done also as the #2 Mountaineers defeated #11 Elon 24-16.

In weather fit more basketball as a rain/snow fell and temperatures fell into the 30’s, the Mountaineers clinched at least a share their fourth straight SoCon title and a guaranteed FCS playoff berth. App can win the conference outright next weekend with a victory over Western Carolina.

Armanti Edwards’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Ben Jorden gave the Mountaineers their first touchdown 11 minutes into the contest. Edwards tehn found Matt Cline from 33-yards to give App a 14-0 lead.

However, the Phoenix, who were just a half game behind the Mountaineers in the SoCon standings before the game, came rushing back as they scored the next 16 points and took their only lead of the day at 16-14.

The Mountaineers quickly answered as it only took them 1:12 to march down the field as Edwards hit Brian Quick for a 23-yard touchdown that put App up 21-16. A late 24-yard field goal by Jason Vitaris gave the Apps the final margin of victory.

Edwards ended the day 25 yards short of becoming the 26th player in FCS history to have 10,000 total offensive yards in a career as he had 251 yards on the day.

The Mountaineer defense held Phoenix quarterback Scott Riddle, who was the SoCon’s leading passer, to just 196 yards on 20 of 39 passes. Jacque Roman had ten tackles and Jabri Fletcher had two sacks and a forced fumble for ASU.

The Mountaineers have one game remaining before they will start their quest for their fourth straight national title. Appalachian will head to Cullowhee on Saturday for the annual Battle for the Old Mountain Jug. Kickoff is set for 3:30pm and the game will be televised on Sportsouth.