Cougars Claw Vikings on Senior Night

Halloween weekend was not much of a treat for Avery football fans. The high-octane ground game of the Mountain Heritage Cougars amassed over 450 yards rushing en route to handing the Vikings their fourth consecutive defeat in a 35-14 loss at cloudy and misty MacDonald Stadium Friday night.

The evening began with a celebration of eight Avery High School senior football players, as well as a number of senior cheerleaders and band members. Once the game began, however, the Cougars offense took center stage.

Heritage took the opening kickoff of the game and drove 77 yards in just six plays. The visitors set the tone on the game’s first play, a 30-yard scamper by Western North Carolina’s leading rusher Casey Randolph. Quarterback Josh Laws scored on a two-yard run to put the Cougars up 7-0.

Avery’s offense was forced into a three-and-out on its first series, but a Dylan Aldridge punt was fumbled by return man Josh Laws. Remington Austin recovered the loose football to give the Vikings a new set of downs. Avery found success running the football into Cougar territory, but turned the ball over when an Alex Villanueva pass was picked off by defensive back Matthew Kardulis at the Mountain Heritage 19 yard line.

The opportunistic Cougars capitalized on the Avery turnover, marching 81 yards over four plays. A Josh Laws 57-yard quarterback keeper brought Heritage inside the Avery red zone, and Randolph ran into the end zone from six yards out to take a 14-0 advantage with 3:35 left in the opening period.

As the opening period wound down the Vikings offense clicked into motion. Villanueva bounced back from the earlier turnover to hit receivers Keith McKinney and Andy Gonzalez on back-to-back plays for a total of 43 yards. The drive culminated in a Villanueva six-yard run to pay dirt on the opening play of the second quarter. The extra point cut Heritage’s lead in half at 14-7.

The Avery defense made a stand on the first Mountain Heritage possession of the quarter. Vikings defensive back Tyler Long picked off his fourth pass of the season to give the ball back to the Big Red. Avery was unable to move the football, but a 61-yard punt by Aldridge pinned the Cougars at their own 11-yard line.

Momentum swung in the direction of Heritage as the Cougars offense methodically pushed the ball downfield behind its mammoth offensive line. Twelve straight times the Cougars ran the football, while the thirteenth play, a 17-yard touchdown pass from Laws to receiver Eli Buckner, capped the drive with only 14 seconds left in the half. The six minute possession staked the Cougars to a 21-7 lead at halftime.

Avery received the kickoff to begin the third quarter, but the Vikings committed another turnover as Kardulis picked off a second Villanueva pass in Avery territory. The Cougars were on the board three running plays later, as Randolph scored from a yard out to push the Heritage advantage to 28-7.

Down but not out, the Vikings showed its strong will and heart as they tried to make a comeback. A 34-yard kickoff return by Taylor Potter gave Avery good field position. The Vikings raced 56 yards in just five plays to score its second touchdown of the night. A 29-yard pass connection from Villanueva to Gonzalez advanced the offense into Cougar territory, and Avery scored on a 23-yard touchdown pass from Villanueva to McKinney. The PAT narrowed the lead to 28-14 with eight minutes to play in the third quarter.

Vikings head coach Darrell Brewer reached into his bag of tricks following the score, as the Avery special teams successfully recovered an onside kick attempt. Seizing momentum, the Avery offense returned to the field and again moved the football on the Heritage defense.

Villanueva completed passes to Gonzalez and running back Colton Blackburn to bring up a first down and goal at the Cougar 5-yard line. A first down run lost two yards, while a second down pass fell incomplete. Villanueva completed a swing pass to Blackburn on third down, but the receiver was tackled at the three-yard line to set up fourth down and goal. An encroachment penalty against the Cougars moved the ball to the two-yard line for the pivotal fourth down play.

The game’s tipping point came when Villanueva attempted a quarterback sneak and appeared to cross the goal line. The quarterback appeared to stretch the football across the goal line, but he was ruled down by the official within inches of the end zone, turning the ball over on downs to the Cougars.

“From what we saw on the sideline, we thought Alex had gotten in,” Vikings head coach Darrell Brewer said after the game. “It appeared that he was able to stretch the football out across the goal line. The call there was huge.”

Mountain Heritage put the game out of reach on its ensuing drive, going 99 yards over seven plays in just over two minutes of clock time. A 50-yard run by Randolph was sandwiched between runs of 17 and 14 yards by Matthew Kardulis, the latter of which ended in the end zone for a touchdown and a 35-14 margin.

In need of points in a hurry, Avery was unable to move the football with its final drive of the third period, turning the football over on downs to the Cougars. The Vikings made a break for themselves, however, when Taylor Potter forced a Randolph fumble which Tyler Long recovered.

Avery worked to move the ball after the turnover, but the Cougars defense added injury to insult when Alex Villanueva was shaken up on a third down sack. The sophomore signal-caller walked off the field under his own power but did not return to the contest and status for this week’s game at Mitchell is uncertain.

Mountain Heritage made one final offensive surge to add points on the board, but the Viking Cole Blackburn forced and recovered a Cougar fumble to quell the threat inside the Avery 10-yard line.

With its starting quarterback out, Viking quarterback Samson Jennings, himself playing through a torn knee ligament, moved Avery into Heritage territory before a pass attempt was intercepted by Kardulis for his third theft of the contest, sealing the 35-14 final score.

Despite the loss, the Vikings played with determination and passion from opening kickoff to final whistle.

“The boys played really hard, and I was proud of them,” Avery coach Darrell Brewer said after the game. “Mountain Heritage is a good football team. We had the momentum a couple of times, but we couldn’t make the plays we needed to make.”

The loss dropped Avery’s record to 4-6 overall, with a 2-4 mark in conference play. The Vikings will close out the regular season this Friday night in Ledger when they take on the Mitchell Mountaineers in a 1A conference clash.