Tommy Burleson Basketball Camp Concludes Another Successful Week of Learning and Fun

The annual Tommy Burleson Basketball Camp wrapped up on Friday at the Avery Parks and Recreation Rock Gym with a visit from NC State and ABA/NBA legend David Thompson.

Thompson, a member of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, spoke to the youngsters attending camp about his life growing up, his storied college and pro career, and of the poor decisions he made in the past in regard to alcohol abuse.

"Skywalker", as Thompson was known during his playing days, also showed why he was touted as having the greatest vertical leap of any player in collegiate and perhaps NBA history, throwing down a slam dunk for old time's sake.

Over 55 campers enjoyed a week of drills, scrimmages, techniques and fundamentals taught by Burleson, two-time ACC Tournament Most Outstanding Player and one of the greatest centers in college basketball history, as well as high school players who worked with students from third grade through high school age.

In addition to Thompson, other noted guests appeared during the week-long camp. Bobby Jones, a former North Carolina Tar Heel star who was an 11-time member of the NBA All-Defensive Team during his 12 seasons in the league and won an NBA championship as a member of the Philadelphia 76ers, spoke to the campers on Thursday morning.

Former West Virginia and Duke head basketball coach and nationally-renowned broadcaster Bucky Waters attended Friday morning's camp session and visited with those in attendance.

More on the camp can be found in next week's print edition of the Avery Journal-Times

Golden Knights Continue to Improve in Inaugural Season

The Carolina Golden Knights returned to action on Saturday evening following an extended holiday break for a rematch off the mountain with the Burke Storm, falling by a final score of 30-0.

Much like the first half of the first encounter between the teams during the opening week of the season, the Knights hung tough with the Storm. Late in the second quarter, a Golden Knights interception was returned for a touchdown, providing Burke with a 14-0 halftime edge.

Carolina found its greatest success all season running the football, as two players, including quarterback Jonathan Hughes, combined for around 70 yards rushing for the contest.

“We’re doing a whole lot better. We moved the ball fairly well, especially running the football,” Golden Knights head coach Mark Beach said following the game. “I was excited to see us moving the ball and being able to get first downs. We had some people, including two of my starting offensive linemen and one of our starting defensive backs and long snapper on vacation. Jonathan Hughes stepped in at quarterback and helped us a bunch.”

The Knights had one of their better opportunities for points come by way of field goal attempt, but the kick was blocked to keep the squad scoreless. “I was excited that we had the opportunity to put points on the board,” Coach Beach said. “It was 14-0 at halftime, but they had to have the punt run back to put them up by that score.”

The Carolina defense played strong in their best effort of the season to date. Clifton Braswell recorded a quarterback sack in the contest and a number of players made key hits and blocks. Carolina primarily kept the football on the ground offensively, choosing to focus on rushing the football.

“We threw the ball maybe three times for the game, but we want to get where we can be consistently successful running the football,” Coach Beach added.

A scary moment took place in the game’s final play, as Knights player Brandon Ward sustained a hit and was briefly knocked unconscious. Ward rode back up the mountain toward Avery County following the game and experienced after-effects from the blow, so he was airlifted to Johnson City, where he underwent a number of tests and observation.

“Brandon was hit and it just knocked him out. He was given a CAT scan and everything turned out good and he was released on Monday,” Coach Beach remarked. “I think the difference in elevation got to him, and we’re just glad that everything looked good.”

Carolina will return for a home game this Saturday at 7 p.m. at Historic Cranberry High School Athletic Complex, where they are scheduled to take on the Glade Spring Pirates.

“We hope to have a number of our players back from injury this week. We wanted to make sure they took their time in getting healed up so they would be 100 percent when they get out on the field,” Coach Beach said. “We hope to have a big turnout this week as I see us continue to improve.”

The Carolina Golden Knights are a non-profit group that wishes to use proceeds from home games to help local individuals in need. The team hopes to minimize expenses to this effect, which includes the need to find officials who may share the team’s vision and offer their services at a lower rate than what the team is currently having to pay.

“In these non-conference games we play, it is great if we can find five officials who can help us with calling these games, it will help us save money and be able to pass that along to folks who can definitely use it,” Coach Beach stated.

Avery Best of the Best: Five Memorable Games that Highlighted School Year

There were many triumphs by the Avery County sports teams in the past 12 months. From numerous all-conference players, state qualifiers, and conference player of the year awards in sports like tennis, track and field, and basketball to coach of the year awards in golf and tennis and multiple state playoff victories, the Avery athletics programs had much to celebrate.

With the closing of another school year in Avery County and the dawn of the 2009-10 sports seasons approaching, the AJ-T sports department wanted to look back at five memorable contests that shaped the year in sports. The game selections are listed in order of date, starting last August and advancing through the spring.

Middle School Shootout: Cranberry Tops Avery in Brad King Bowl
Last September’s Toe River Conference football regular season finale pitted the two county middle schools in the 26^th annual Brad King Bowl at MacDonald Stadium. The two schools provided plenty of offensive fireworks in a 60-42 Cranberry Wildcats win to recapture the traveling trophy.

Cranberry led 22-6 at the half, but Avery narrowed the gap to 30-20 after three quarters behind the tandem of Chance Watson and Chase Buchanan, who connected for four touchdown connections.

The two teams went on to combine for 52 points in the fourth and final quarter, exceeding the combined output from the first three stanzas.

Cranberry’s Bryce Pittman scored an astounding seven touchdowns and gained over 300 yards on the ground, and added an interception on defense. The football fund raiser earned close to $2,400 for local families in need.


Home Sweet Homecoming: Vikings Football Slips by Falcons
There weren’t a great number of bright spots for the Avery varsity football squad in 2008, but perhaps the brightest one of all was an exciting 31-30 victory over West Henderson on a chilly Homecoming night at MacDonald Stadium.

Avery led 7-6 after one period, and upped its margin to 14-6 on a two-yard run by senior quarterback Adam Pate. A Falcon touchdown and two-point conversion tied the game at 14 with under five minutes to play in the half.

In the final possession of the first half, Avery’s offense moved the ball into field goal range, where kicker Sutton Stanley booted a 32-yard field goal to stake the Big Red to a 17-14 halftime edge.

Avery took advantage of a West turnover early in the third quarter, scoring on a four-yard Travis Thomas run to build a 24-14 lead. West got back on the board in the final seconds of the period, however, capping a nine play drive with a touchdown run to make the score 24-20 after three quarters.

The Avery defense made two huge defensive stands inside the red zone in the fourth quarter to preserve its lead. An intentional grounding penalty called in the end zone against Avery resulted in a safety to cut Avery’s lead to a pair at 24-22. On Avery’s next offensive series the team scored on Thomas’ second touchdown run of the evening, padding the Viking lead to 31-22 with 2:06 left to play.

With little time remaining, West responded quickly with a three-play, 63-yard drive culminating in a touchdown pass. A successful two-point conversion cut the Big Red margin to 31-30.

Avery’s special teams recovered the ensuing onside kick and appeared to have the game in hand, but West Henderson’s defense forced Avery to punt with under a minute remaining. A long pass play from West quarterback Baker to wideout Keenan Young advanced the Falcons into field goal range, but West opted for the touchdown rather than rely on a shaky kicking game. A fourth down quarterback sack by senior lineman Christian Montgomery put the final nail in the Falcon coffin to seal the emotional Big Red win.

Tournament Thriller: Mitchell Holds Off Avery in WHC Women’s Varsity Basketball Tourney Championship Game
The Western Highlands Conference women’s tournament final between Avery and Mitchell was surrounded by a lot of hype, considering both teams advanced into regional competition a season earlier and had played a pair of closely fought games during the regular season, with Mitchell capturing both victories. Avery was determined, however, hosting the tournament and having the advantage of playing on its home floor. An overflow capacity crowd cheered loudly for both teams through 32 minutes of heart-stopping action as Mitchell captured the crown with a 61-59 win.

The two teams were as equal in talent and desire as any game in recent memory. Neither team built a lead of greater than five points throughout the entire contest. The teams were knotted at 16 after one quarter, tied at 32 at halftime, and tied once again at 46 points apiece.

A brief scoring run by Avery gave the Lady Vikings a four point lead midway through the final period.

With a little over two minutes remaining in the game, Avery lost forward Katelynn Eudy due to fouls and senior Samantha Shook to injury.

A late free throw miss and rebound gave Mitchell an opportunity to hold for the final shot. The team held the ball and ran out the final minute of play with the teams tied at 59.

Conference Player of the Year Laken Norris served as surprise distributor with a pass to teammate Samantha Smith, who drained a 17-foot jumper with under three seconds left to give the Lady Mountaineers the win.


Sweet Victory: Lady Vikings Soccer Snaps Polk’s Undefeated Conference Record with 2-1 Triumph

Both Avery and Polk County brought top ten rankings into their first regular season showdown at MacDonald Stadium. Polk was undefeated in Western Highlands Conference play since joining the league back in 2005, but the Lady Vikings brought that streak to a screeching halt on a cool mid-April evening.

Polk scored the only goal of the first half in the 33^rd minute on a tally from junior Anna Trakas. Avery roared back with resilience in the second half. Emily Banner headed a Mary Chesnut Smith corner kick into the goal to knot the score at 1-1.

Avery’s defense contributed heavily to the winning score. At the 54 minute mark, defensive pressure from forward Melinda Eggers forced a bad Polk pass that was stolen by Smith. The sophomore attacked the goal and slipped a low shot through the grasp of the keeper for what proved to be the winning goal.

The veteran Avery defense made the lead stand up for the final 25 minutes of action to seal the historic win.

Let’s Play Two! (days, that is): Avery Blanks Highlands in Opening Round of State Baseball Playoffs

On a sunny Friday morning the Avery baseball team ventured to Highlands High School to play a first round contest in the 1A state playoffs. Little did the Vikings know they would be seeing more of the town of Highlands than they bargained for.

Leadoff hitter Chris Childress opened the top of the first inning with a solo home run. Brooks Oakley and Adam Pate also reached base before a lengthy rain delay and lightning forced the eventual postponement of Friday afternoon’s game until the following morning.

Avery stayed overnight in a local hotel and showed no ill effects from the unexpected circumstances, walloping the Highlanders by the final score of 10-0.

Daniels, Avery’s first hitter of the game, brought Oakley, Pate, and himself home with a long three-run homer over the fence to spot Avery a 4-0 lead when play resumed on Saturday morning.

Avery’s lineup mashed the baseball in the top of the second frame. Pate and Daniels went back-to-back with home runs to push the Avery lead to six runs. One inning later, Childress helped his own cause further by blasting his second home run of the game, a two-run shot which staked Avery to an 8-0 lead.

Two more runs plated for the Vikings in the final two innings. Daniels walked and was driven in by a Jack Buchanan single in the top of the fourth, and Pate smacked his second solo home run of the day to close the scoring. Nine of Avery's 10 runs scored jogged across the home plate due to home runs.