Draughn Outlasts Vikings in Wednesday's Home Dual Meet

The Avery wrestling team met up with a tough squad from Morganton Draughn High School on Wednesday evening at Viking Gym, losing by a total match score of 39-36.

Avery picked up 18 of its team points in the match via forfeit, with victories at the 103 pound class by Bennett Sweat, the 171 pound class by CJ Vance, and the 189 pound class by Lucas Lecka. The Vikings gave up forfeit defeats at the 125 pound and 160 pound classes, respectively.

In the remaining matches of the evening, the Vikings worked hard to earn team points. Nick Malgadey earned a pinfall victory at the 0:50 mark of the first period over Draughn’s Spencer Johnson. Brock Yackey earned a pinfall victory with ten seconds remaining in the first round of action over opponent Seth Cook.

Jose Munoz wrestled for Avery at the 152 pound weight class, earning a third period pinfall victory over opponent Robert McCarthy.

Avery fell by pinfall in three matches, and the match was decided by three narrow, hard fought matches, all won by Draughn in narrow decision victories.

In the 130 pound weight class Tyler Long wrestled a tough match with Draughn’s Jaron Johnson, losing by a 10-8 final score. At 130 pounds, Avery’s Forrest Sickler continued his string of well-wrestled matches, but Draughn’s Derrick Levan managed to escape with a narrow 9-7 win. Anthony Varacalli, the Big Red’s winningest wrestler thus far this season, took on Draughn’s Tyler Carey at 145 pounds. Carey came out on top in a low scoring affair by the final match score of 4-2.

The Vikings will wrestle in a pair of pre-Christmas tournaments in the next two weeks.

Vikings JV Girls Basketball Only Victors at Watauga Wednesday

In Wednesday’s JV girls rematch at Lentz-Eggers Gym in Boone between Avery and Watauga, the Lady Vikings gained a measure of revenge for a home loss from Monday, defeating the Lady Pioneers by a 45-29 final score.

The rivals played a tight first seven minutes of action. A three-point basket by Logan Johnson as time expired gave Avery the slim 12-10 lead after the first quarter. Both teams tallied nine points in the second frame as the Big Red preserved a 21-19 edge at halftime.

As the second half ensued, the Lady Vikings asserted themselves, particularly on the defensive side of the basketball. Limiting the Watauga club to only ten points in the entire second half, Avery snagged a 35-26 lead after three periods, and used a 10-3 run to close the contest for the win.

“The girls played inspired tonight,” Coach Daniels said after the win. “We realized some things on defense that we can and cannot do against Watauga, so we ran a 2-3 zone against them which worked well. The girls ran the defense well and kept them from getting good looks at the basket.”

Bentley again lit up the Watauga defense for a total of 23 points in the game, 14 of which came in the second half, along with seven steals and three rebounds. “Mercedes played a smart game. She was able to pick off several of their lazy passes and go the other way for layups,” Coach Daniels added.

Seven other players scored in the game, highlighted by Shayna Vance’s six points and five from Johnson. Mary Chesnut Smith had nine rebounds and five steals in the victory. The Lady Vikings also committed a season-low eight turnovers for the game and was 17 of 24 from the free throw stripe.

In Wednesday’s JV boys rematch in Boone the Vikings continued to play tough basketball against the rival Pioneers, trailing by only four points after one period of play. Watauga, much like the previous encounter, used an offensive burst to sprint out to an 18-point halftime lead.

Avery struggled shooting from the floor in the second quarter, as the Watauga defense held the Vikings to only four second quarter points in trailing 35-17 at intermission.

The Vikings played inspired basketball coming out of the locker room, however, as Avery outscored Watauga 15-9 in the third period to cut the deficit to 44-32 with seven minutes to play.

As the fourth and final period ensued, Avery managed to continue its run, further cutting the Watauga lead as far as 51-44 with just over two minutes remaining in the game. Watauga successfully played keep away with the Vikings in the waning minutes, however, and converted 8 of 14 free throws down the stretch to defeat the Vikings by a final score of 61-48.

Alex Villanueva paced the Big Red with 17 points, 13 coming in the second half, while Spencer Blackburn added 11 points. Austin Lyons and Benji Stewart scored four points apiece.

“We played with intensity again, but we appeared more relaxed. We were more patient and did a better job attacking with the pass. We were making a run and the kids were playing hard,” Coach Oaks remarked. “We mixed it up defensively with more pressure and a chaotic type of defense which seemed to help. We also knocked down some baskets that built our confidence. What broke our back was where Coach (Matt) Wiseman of Watauga took a timeout and called a set play where they came out and did a great job to get a three-point shot. But I really believe we can build on the intensity that we saw and with how we knocked our shots down.”

The Avery Lady Vikings next took the court against the Lady Pioneers, falling by the final score of 64-56. Avery used the hot hand of Samantha Shook to jump to a double-digit lead in the first quarter. The senior netted 11 points in the quarter, including a trio of three-point shots to help the Big Red to a 21-14 lead after eight minutes of action.

Defenses stepped up in the second quarter, as the 35 points combined by the teams in the first period was followed by only a combined 13 points from the two clubs in the second stanza. Senior guard Allison Vance netted five of the Vikings’ seven points in the period as led on the road by eight points at 28-20 at halftime.

The Watauga offense got in gear in the second half of play, turning up the intensity for 44 points over the final two periods. Katelynn Eudy scored six points in the third quarter to help Avery keep pace, but Watauga took advantage of its opportunity when senior rebounding machine Katie Ellis was saddled with a fourth personal foul early in the third.

The Lady Pioneer frontcourt duo of Nicole Tesh and Katharine Mayhew scored 16 total points and crashed the boards with greater success than in the previous half. The surge cut the Avery lead to only a single point at 44-43 going into the fourth quarter.

As the final period played out, the lead seesawed back and forth. Avery held a slim 52-51 lead with just over three minutes left when Watauga heated up for a 13-4 scoring run to close out the game, including an 8 for 10 stretch from the charity stripe.

With the Pioneers holding a slim two-point lead with 36 seconds left to play, a frightful moment occurred when Viking teammates Allison Vance and Katie Ellis scrambled for a loose ball. The two viciously collided heads diving on the Lentz-Eggers Gym floor. Both players stayed down for a few moments, with Vance suffering a bloody nose and Ellis experiencing concussion-like symptoms. Both players walked off the floor but did not return to the contest, and the Pioneers went on to its fourth straight victory over Avery over a two-season span.

Vance led the Avery scoring attack with 14 points and four assists. Shook added 11 points and five steals, with nine points and 11 rebounds by Katie Ellis and 13 points with six rebounds by Katelynn Eudy.

For Watauga Nicole Tesh scored a game-high 17 points, with 15 points from Katharine Mayhew.

In Wednesday’s night cap in Boone, Watauga varsity boys did not give the Vikings the opportunity to grab the early advantage it did on Monday night. Pioneer guard Murphy Fancher scored the first two buckets of the game to set the tone for the home team. At the same time, however, the Vikings did a better job early with containing the Pioneers. Watauga was unable to unleash its transition game through most of the first quarter.

The Vikings kept the game close for much of the first eight minutes, trailing by three at 12-9 with a couple of minutes remaining in the opening period. Watauga used a late scoring run to give itself breathing room and lead 18-11 after the first quarter.

Avery managed only 11 points in the second quarter of play, while the Pioneers got its transition game on track in the half’s final four minutes. The club continued to ride the strong play of center Jeff Newell to a 37-22 halftime lead.

The center Newell had 16 first-half points to lead all scorers, while Luke Pittman and Colton Blackburn had five each to lead Avery.

Watauga continued to score in the second half but could not race out to the 30-point lead that it did on Monday night. With the exception of the late second quarter and opening minutes of the third period, the Viking defense curtailed the transition game. The team could not mount a serious threat offensively on the Watauga defense, however.

Avery tried to stay within shouting distance behind the shooting of sophomore Dustin Clarke who drained three 3-point baskets in the stanza and four in all for the game.

The Pioneers took a 60-37 lead into the final quarter, however, and did not look back in the 22-point win.

“We stayed with Watauga better in this game, but we got a little tired and when we went to our bench, they were able to get their transition game going again,” Coach Manis explained following the Wednesday contest. “It seemed like we got behind by a few points and hurried ourselves, which led us to rush our shots and fall back into the transition pace that Watauga wants to run. We panicked a little and felt we had to score quickly. The guys played much harder than Monday and I’m really proud to see that. They boxed out better in this game although Watauga made a lot of their first shots. They’re a good shooting team.”

Clarke led Avery with 16 points and four rebounds, with 14 points from Joey Potter. Luke Pittman added seven points and five rebounds. The Vikings play Patton tonight at Viking Gym, with JV girls action starting at 4 p.m. The JV and varsity girls were winners in Morganton a week ago, while the boys fell short in their contests.

Avery will be playing tonight without the services of two of its key players, as Hayley Pyatte is out due to illness and Katie Ellis is out due to headaches suffered during her collision with Allison Vance on Wednesday.

Edwards Wins Payton Award!

Courtesy of Appalchian Sports Information

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Junior quarterback Armanti Edwards became the first Appalachian State University player to ever win the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision’s top honor when he was presented with the Walter Payton Award on Thursday evening at the Chattanooga Marriott. The Payton Award has been presented annually to the nation’s top FCS (formerly Division I-AA) player since 1987.

Edwards easily out-distanced James Madison quarterback Rodney Landers for the award with 398 total points and 53 first-place votes, compared to 290 points and 17 first-place nods for the JMU signal-caller. Western Illinois running back Herb Donaldson finished third with 209 points and 14 first-place votes. Edwards is only the sixth underclassman in the 22-year history of the Payton Award to receive the honor.

The consensus first-team All-American and Southern Conference Offensive Player of the Year finished the season with 2,902 passing yards, 941 rushing yards and a SoCon-record 41 touchdowns responsible for (30 passing, 11 rushing). He ranks second nationally with a 170.19 pass-efficiency rating, seventh with 3,033 yards of total offense and 58th in rushing.

He threw only two interceptions in 224 regular-season pass attempts, with a school-record string of 176 passes without an interception that spanned over two months — eight full games and parts of two others.

In addition to the season-long accolades, Edwards earned national player of the week recognition twice, SoCon Offensive Player of the Week accolades four times — including a record-tying three-straight from Oct. 4-18 — and SoCon Offensive Player of the Month awards in October and November.

The previous best finish by a Mountaineer in Payton Award balloting came in 2004, when wide receiver DaVon Fowlkes placed third.In the other awards handed out on Thursday, Mark LeGree finished third in the voting for the Buck Buchanan Award, with 183 total points and seven first-place votes. Eastern Washington's Greg Peach won the award.

Head coach Jerry Moore placed fourth in voting for the Eddie Robinson Award. Moore received 11 first-place votes and 160 points. James Madison coach Mickey Matthews took home the honor.

Musings and Ramblings: Hansbrough Makes History

Tonight UNC big man Tyler Hansbrough will likely surpass the great former UNC point guard Phil Ford as the basketball team's all-time leading scorer when he notches his ninth point of the game and 2,291st of his storied career.

A lot has been written on "Psycho T" and his non-stop motor which seems to be at a different gear than anyone else on the playing floor. In addition to the team scoring record, Tyler is in reach of the team's rebounding record, set at 1,167. Hansbrough currently has 979 and, if he remains healthy, has an outside shot at catching the former Tar Heel All-American Perkins.

J.J. Redick of Dook holds the ACC's all-time scoring mark with 2,769 points. Counting this evening's game with Evansville, UNC plays a guaranteed 22 games (including the first round of the ACC tournament), with the possiblity of 25 or more if the Heels win the confererence tournament and advance deep into the NCAA tournament. If Hansbrough could average 20 points per contest, that would add 500 points to his career total, putting him at 2,791 and eclipsing the former Blue Devil standout.

During Hansbrough's freshman year in Chapel Hill, I was blessed to be personally invited by Coach Roy Williams to attend a closed practice at the Smith Center (no joke, I still have the letter!) I traveled to the Dome and watched the Heels work out for over two hours. When I arrived I was given a practice schedule for the day. The complete order of practice was listed down to the minute, along with a Thought for the Day for the players to consider.

I was not fortunate enough to have a high-quality camera with me, but I did manage to snap a few shots during practice. I dug those pics up from deep in my sports photo archives and posted the photo above as well as a few at the bottom of this post and even a short video clip of a defensive drill ran by the team.

If you follow Tar Heels basketball you owe it to yourself to sit back and enjoy this evening and the history that should be made. A player like Psycho T is a rarity and might not come around again for a while.

Grapplers Take on Watauga; Competes at NEO Invitational

The Avery wrestling team returned to the mat last week for a dual meet on Thursday in Viking Gym against rival Watauga, while on Saturday team members traveled to Tuscola High School in Waynesville to participate in the NEO Invitational Tournament.

Avery came up short in Thursday’s match against the Pioneers by a final match score of 48-22.
Picking up victories in the matchup were Brock Yackey by a 10-4 decision at 125 pounds, Forrest Sickler by 12-9 decision at 135 pounds, and Anthony Varacalli by 9-1 major decision victory at 145 pounds. Bennett Sweat (103 lbs.) and Jose Munoz (152 lbs.) each earned match victories via forfeit.

“We had some of our experienced guys who were unable to come away with wins. Most of our younger kids didn’t fare so well as they had a more experienced club. They fought hard and they are starting to learn, and part of that learning curve will be felt in these early dual meets,” Avery head wrestling coach Stacey Clark commented following the matches.

On Saturday morning a total of seven Viking wrestlers rode to Tuscola High School to compete in the NEO Invitational Tournament. The Vikings were without a number of their experienced grapplers due to prior commitments.

“A number of our kids had other events going on which they had to take care of over wrestling. We had the ACT going on over the weekend as well as Driver’s Ed finals. This was an individual tournament, so if there was one to be missed, this was probably the best one to have a number of kids unavailable,” Coach Clark added.

At 119 pounds, Brock Yackey earned a first period pinfall victory over Jack Elliott of McDowell High School in his second of four total matches. Bennett Sweat was victorious in two of his four matches on the day in the 103 pound weight class, defeating Tanner Piper of Franklin High School by a narrow 9-8 decision, and also defeated Polk County’s Anthony Sage by a first period pinfall. “Bennett is really well and starting to show great improvement in his wrestling,” the coach said.

A pair of Big Red grapplers earned three match victories. In the 135 pound class, Forrest Sickler lost his first two matches, but bounced back strongly to win his final three matches, upending McDowell’s Jeremy Buchanan by pinfall, defeating Franklin’s Cody Wake by a 17-13 decision, and picking up a first period pinfall win over Swain’s Robert Duplack. “Forrest had two convincing wins and is beginning to wrestle very aggressively. With this type of competition being similar to what we will face at Regionals, I think this was a really good weekend for him,” Coach Clark explained.

The other Avery wrestler with three wins during the day was Jacob McKinney, who placed third overall at 112 pounds. McKinney won his first two matches by pin, but was defeated by Jason Bottoms of host Tuscola. McKinney ended his day on a high note, however, defeating Swain’s Austin Curfice with a pinfall in 55 seconds.

“Jacob was the surprise of the tournament for us. He had three pins and beat some wrestlers from some pretty good schools. His only loss came to a very tough wrestler, and I believe he is really coming on and has improved greatly in recent weeks and vastly from last year,” the coach explained.

The Vikings return to the mat on Wednesday to take on Draughn High School in a make-up from a previously postponed match. The team was also scheduled to take on Mountain Heritage, but due to end-of-semester exams at the school Heritage had to reschedule, making Wednesday’s event only one dual at Viking Gym. Avery is then scheduled to travel to Fred T. Foard for another Saturday tournament event.

Pioneers Sweep Avery Hoops Monday night

The Avery Vikings could not hold off a strong Watauga Pioneers basketball program on Monday evening, as the rivals picked up four wins at Viking Gym.

Avery's JV girls got off to a slow start and could not overcome an early run by the Pioneers, falling behind 27-8 after one period. Mercedes Bentley carried the Lady Vikings offense with 32 points, but it wasn't enough as the Lady Pioneers avenged an earlier tournament loss at the hands of the Lady Vikings by a 60-49 final score.

The JV boys played well early, but Watauga pulled away for the win. Watauga grabbed an early 16-11 advantage after one quarter. The Pioneers mounted an offensive surge to start the second quarter, eventually holding a double-digit advantage at 33-20 at halftime.

Watauga's athleticism was difficult for the Vikings to overcome all evening, but Avery cut slightly into the Pioneer lead in the third period, trailing by 11 at 41-30 after three periods. The Pioneers spread the floor and used offensive motion through a large portion of the final three minutes of play to preserve its ten-point cushion. Avery tried valiantly to mount a comeback but fell short as the Pioneers captured the second game of the evening by a 50-41 final margin.

In varsity play the Avery girls squared off with a pesky Watauga Lady Pioneers club that always seems to play competitively as a rival. The teams traded buckets for much of the opening eight minutes, with the Lady Pioneers snagging a one-point lead at 17-16 after the first period. Senior guard Allison Vance led the Vikings with five points in the quarter, along with a pair of buckets by fellow senior Samantha Shook.

Avery found difficulty dealing defensively with the size of the Lady Pioneers, particularly the play of forward Katharine Mayhew. The 5'11" junior forward was a perfect 8 for 8 from the free throw line in the first half as part of a 15 for 21 overall foul shooting half for Watauga.

Foul trouble haunted the Big Red in the first half as both Vance and forward Katelynn Eudy were saddled with fouls in the early portion of the half, prompting head coach Missy Lyons to rely on her reserves. Freshman Megan Tennant and junior Sara Wiseman responded to the call with a combined seven points.

Mayhew scored 14 in the first half and was part of a defensive rotation that held Vikings standout senior Katie Ellis to only three first half points. Sarah Miller added six points off the bench to spark the Lady Pioneers to a 38-30 lead.

Avery trailed by as many as 11 points in the late second and early third quarters before organizing a furious offensive onslaught to erase the deficit. Shook caught fire, torching the Pioneers for eight points in the third quarter. Her three-pointer gave the Lady Vikings its first lead since the opening quarter at 46-44. Watauga added a pair of points in the closing seconds of the third quarter to knot the game at 46-46 heading into the final stanza.

The Lady Vikings had played well defensively all evening, holding Watauga leading scorer Nicole Tesh to a quiet seven points through three periods of play. Things would change quickly, however, as Tesh found her shooting touch in the fourth. The 6'1" junior forward scored 11 of her team high 18 points in the fourth quarter to provide the surge the Pioneers needed to outlast the Vikings.

Avery tried to stay close behind the shooting of Allison Vance who scored five of her 10 points for the game in the quarter before fouling out late in the contest. The Lady Vikings could not reel in the Pioneers, however, as Watauga escaped Newland with a 69-59 win.

The Lady Vikings were anchored by Samantha Shook who scored 17 points to lead the club, and was complemented by Vance's ten points, two steals and five assists for Avery's only double-figure scoring efforts in the game. Katie Ellis scored seven points with 11 rebounds, while Eudy also added seven in the loss. Sara Wiseman netted six off the bench for the Big Red.

Tesh scored 18 points to go with seven rebounds to lead Watauga, with 16 points and 10 rebounds from Mayhew. Christina Rees added eight points, five rebounds, and four assists off the bench for the Pioneers. The loss drops the Lady Vikings to 3-2 overall on the season.

In varsity boys action the Avery team got off to a fast start against the Pioneers, scoring the first two baskets of the game for an early 4-0 lead. Things went downhill quickly from the Big Red, however, as a 23-4 run by Watauga was highlighted by a trio of slam dunks by Watauga's center Jeff Newell to propel the Pioneers to a 23-8 lead early in the second period.

Avery's offense began to click midway through the period as Dustin Clarke found the shooter's touch, stroking three 3-pointers out of four attempts. The sophomore led the Vikings with 11 points in the first half, but no other Viking scored more than four points before intermission.

Watauga meanwhile received contributions from ten of its 12 players on the roster over the first two quarters. Newell led the charge with ten, followed by six each from Brandon Calhoun and Baine Martin. Watauga also took advantage of double-digit Avery turnovers in the half to stake itself to a commanding 43-20 halftime lead.

The Watauga offensive tsunami continued to pound the Avery club as Newell, a 6'6" senior, picked up where he left off with 12 of his game-high 24 points in the quarter. Clarke scored eight points in the quarter, including his fifth three-point basket of the night, but Watauga outscored Avery 26-15 in the quarter to lead 69-37 after three periods.

Avery showed the tenacity and no-quit attitude that has been taught by head coach Bo Manis and his staff, as the club outscored Watauga by a point in the final stanza. Lone Viking senior Jared Ward set the example for his teammates by scoring 11 of his 16 points in the final quarter. Keith McKinney added a pair of baskets, but the contest had long been decided on the scoreboard as Watauga cruised to the 90-59 win.

Dustin Clarke led Avery with 19 points, scoring all his points in the first three quarters, with 16 from Ward. Five other Vikings scored four points each in the contest. Newell's 24 points were complemented by 16 points by Caleb Courtney. Baine Martin added eight points, with seven each from Josh Coffey, Jake Wallace, and Will Koppenhaver.

The teams will renew acquaintances on Wednesday afternoon at Lentz-Eggers Gymnasium in Boone, with junior varsity action starting at 4 p.m.