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| Avery QB Dustin Childress made his first start for the Big Red Friday night. |
For the first half of Friday night’s conference opener in Swannanoa, the Avery Vikings kept the Owen Warhorses guessing and dominated most statistical categories. Unfortunately for the Vikings, there are two halves to a football game.
A combination of key Avery second-half injuries, a resurgent Owen rushing offense and stiff Warhorse defense served to doom the Viking chances of spoiling Owen’s Homecoming as the home team rallied to defeat the Big Red 24-21.
The most intriguing question entering Friday’s matchup surrounded the Avery quarterback position, as Dustin Childress earned his first career varsity start after Vikings starting signal-caller suffered a broken collarbone in Tuesday’s practice.
In their first series, the Vikings displayed an immediate wrinkle: a variation of the Wildcat offense known to the team as “Wild Potter”. Rather than Childress taking snaps from center, direct snaps were made to the backfield to either running back Taylor Potter or running back Colton Blackburn, who would either hand off the football or run the pigskin.
Avery’s offense caused confusion among the Warhorse defenders and opened up holes for the Viking running game. Despite an Owen timeout during the drive, Avery marched upfield with little resistance.
Avery struck first on the scoreboard when the drive concluded with a 24-yard touchdown pass from Childress to fellow senior Andy Gonzalez. The extra point gave Avery a 7-0 lead with 7:24 left in the first period.
Owen was unable to gain back momentum as the Warhorses turned the ball over with a Taylor Potter interception on its first offensive series.
On the first play of the second quarter Potter wrapped up a second Avery scoring drive with a seven yard touchdown run. The extra point from Dustin Clark resulted in a stunned and silent Owen fan section and a 14-0 Avery lead.
After Avery’s defense forced a Warhorse punt, the Vikings appeared poised to make the game a rout. The Vikings marched the football from the Avery 47-yard line to the Owen 16-yard line over the course of over six minutes of clock time. However, the drive stalled when a Childress pass on third and goal was intercepted in the end zone by Owen’s Cory Watkins.
The turnover seemed to energize the downtrodden Warhorses, as Owen marched 82 yards over nine plays and scored its lone touchdown of the half on a 30-yard touchdown run by quarterback Kaleb Fowler. The Gerald Cruz PAT cut the Avery lead in half at 14-7, which remained unchanged through the remainder of the half.
With the first possession of the second half, Owen made it count, moving 57 yards over 11 plays. An Austin Davis four-yard touchdown run capped the series and tied the game at 14-14.
In desperate need of momentum, Avery regrouped and organized its strongest drive of the second half, a 7-play, 55-yard scoring march culminating in a 10-yard reception by Andy Gonzalez for his second score of the night. The touchdown put the Vikings back on top at 21-14 with 4:29 left in the third period.
On its ensuing series, the Warhorses showed their mettle by driving offensively on an Avery defense that was less than 100 percent. Owen converted on three key pass plays, and used its rushing attack to cover the remaining ground. Fowler dashed into the end zone from two yards out, and the extra point tied the game at 21 entering the fourth quarter.
Without a healthy Colton Blackburn and with a banged-up offense, Avery was held to three-and-out on its ensuing possession and punted the football to Owen.
The Warhorses continued riding its momentum on its ensuing offensive series until the Viking defense stonewalled the Owen drive at the Avery 6-yard line. Faced with a choice, Owen head coach Kenny Ford chose to kick a field goal, which proved wise as the Gerald Cruz 23-yard field goal gave the Warhorses back the lead by a slim 24-21 margin.
With under six minutes to play, Avery had one final drive to tie or win the game. Starting from its own 24, the Vikings picked up yardage quickly with a pair of Taylor Potter carries which netted a total of 37 yards and put the Vikings in Warhorse territory. Avery ran the ball on every play of the drive and was forced into a 4th and 2 decision at the Owen 31. Head coach Darrell Brewer decided to go for the first down, but try to draw the Warhorses offside with a hard snap count. The plan appeared to work, but the officials did not blow a whistle or throw a penalty flag. Owen forced an Avery fumble and recovered the football.
The Warhorses held possession of the football with an 8-play drive that forced Avery to use all its remaining time outs and served to run out the remaining time to preserve the 3-point win.
“It was one of those games where you hated for either team to lose. I really felt like the kids left it all out there on the field. As a coach, this has probably been the easiest loss I’ve had to swallow because the kids absolutely played their hearts out,” Vikings head football coach Darrell Brewer said after the game.
Colton Blackburn led the Avery rushing attack with 108 yards on 13 carries, while Taylor Potter had a superb game with 15 rushes for 71 yards and a touchdown, to go with an interception on defense and numerous tackles.
In his first start, Dustin Childress was an efficient 6 of 8 for 116 yards and threw two touchdowns.
A combination of key Avery second-half injuries, a resurgent Owen rushing offense and stiff Warhorse defense served to doom the Viking chances of spoiling Owen’s Homecoming as the home team rallied to defeat the Big Red 24-21.
The most intriguing question entering Friday’s matchup surrounded the Avery quarterback position, as Dustin Childress earned his first career varsity start after Vikings starting signal-caller suffered a broken collarbone in Tuesday’s practice.
In their first series, the Vikings displayed an immediate wrinkle: a variation of the Wildcat offense known to the team as “Wild Potter”. Rather than Childress taking snaps from center, direct snaps were made to the backfield to either running back Taylor Potter or running back Colton Blackburn, who would either hand off the football or run the pigskin.
Avery’s offense caused confusion among the Warhorse defenders and opened up holes for the Viking running game. Despite an Owen timeout during the drive, Avery marched upfield with little resistance.
Avery struck first on the scoreboard when the drive concluded with a 24-yard touchdown pass from Childress to fellow senior Andy Gonzalez. The extra point gave Avery a 7-0 lead with 7:24 left in the first period.
Owen was unable to gain back momentum as the Warhorses turned the ball over with a Taylor Potter interception on its first offensive series.
On the first play of the second quarter Potter wrapped up a second Avery scoring drive with a seven yard touchdown run. The extra point from Dustin Clark resulted in a stunned and silent Owen fan section and a 14-0 Avery lead.
After Avery’s defense forced a Warhorse punt, the Vikings appeared poised to make the game a rout. The Vikings marched the football from the Avery 47-yard line to the Owen 16-yard line over the course of over six minutes of clock time. However, the drive stalled when a Childress pass on third and goal was intercepted in the end zone by Owen’s Cory Watkins.
The turnover seemed to energize the downtrodden Warhorses, as Owen marched 82 yards over nine plays and scored its lone touchdown of the half on a 30-yard touchdown run by quarterback Kaleb Fowler. The Gerald Cruz PAT cut the Avery lead in half at 14-7, which remained unchanged through the remainder of the half.
With the first possession of the second half, Owen made it count, moving 57 yards over 11 plays. An Austin Davis four-yard touchdown run capped the series and tied the game at 14-14.
In desperate need of momentum, Avery regrouped and organized its strongest drive of the second half, a 7-play, 55-yard scoring march culminating in a 10-yard reception by Andy Gonzalez for his second score of the night. The touchdown put the Vikings back on top at 21-14 with 4:29 left in the third period.
On its ensuing series, the Warhorses showed their mettle by driving offensively on an Avery defense that was less than 100 percent. Owen converted on three key pass plays, and used its rushing attack to cover the remaining ground. Fowler dashed into the end zone from two yards out, and the extra point tied the game at 21 entering the fourth quarter.
Without a healthy Colton Blackburn and with a banged-up offense, Avery was held to three-and-out on its ensuing possession and punted the football to Owen.
The Warhorses continued riding its momentum on its ensuing offensive series until the Viking defense stonewalled the Owen drive at the Avery 6-yard line. Faced with a choice, Owen head coach Kenny Ford chose to kick a field goal, which proved wise as the Gerald Cruz 23-yard field goal gave the Warhorses back the lead by a slim 24-21 margin.
With under six minutes to play, Avery had one final drive to tie or win the game. Starting from its own 24, the Vikings picked up yardage quickly with a pair of Taylor Potter carries which netted a total of 37 yards and put the Vikings in Warhorse territory. Avery ran the ball on every play of the drive and was forced into a 4th and 2 decision at the Owen 31. Head coach Darrell Brewer decided to go for the first down, but try to draw the Warhorses offside with a hard snap count. The plan appeared to work, but the officials did not blow a whistle or throw a penalty flag. Owen forced an Avery fumble and recovered the football.
The Warhorses held possession of the football with an 8-play drive that forced Avery to use all its remaining time outs and served to run out the remaining time to preserve the 3-point win.
“It was one of those games where you hated for either team to lose. I really felt like the kids left it all out there on the field. As a coach, this has probably been the easiest loss I’ve had to swallow because the kids absolutely played their hearts out,” Vikings head football coach Darrell Brewer said after the game.
Colton Blackburn led the Avery rushing attack with 108 yards on 13 carries, while Taylor Potter had a superb game with 15 rushes for 71 yards and a touchdown, to go with an interception on defense and numerous tackles.
In his first start, Dustin Childress was an efficient 6 of 8 for 116 yards and threw two touchdowns.
“I told the kids that there are a lot of schools across the state who don’t have a quarterback as good as Dustin. The only drawback against Dustin was time in the backfield taking snaps. For where he came in and stepped up and played, he really impressed all of us,” Coach Brewer said of his senior quarterback’s performance.
The Vikings look to get back on the winning track this Friday night, October 1st when they host the Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy Gryphons for Homecoming 2010 at MacDonald Stadium in Newland. Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m.
The Vikings look to get back on the winning track this Friday night, October 1st when they host the Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy Gryphons for Homecoming 2010 at MacDonald Stadium in Newland. Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m.
