After a two-week break in the schedule due to last Friday’s open date, the Avery Vikings (4-0) kicks off Western Highlands Conference gridiron action against an old familiar foe in the Owen Warhorses. The Vikings were impressive in a 43-24 victory on September 10th in the Avery Journal-Times Border Battle Classic, while Owen (2-2) trailed at halftime this past Friday against the Enka Jets before a strong second half propelled the Warhorses to a 49-21 win in Swannanoa.
A season ago, Avery hosted Owen for Homecoming and defeated the Warhorses 14-7 on a rainy, foggy night in Newland.
Scouting the Warhorses:The Owen Warhorses are led by long-time head coach Kenny Ford and finished with a 4-3 record in conference play a season ago and 6-6 record overall. The record was an improvement from the 2008 campaign where Owen finished with a 4-7 record overall, its worst since the year 2000. Owen returned four starters on defense and three on offense from the 2009 season.
Traditionally, the Warhorses have employed a Pro I formation on offense, but this season the team has also utilized a single back offense as well as a Spread formation to move the football downfield. Owen is adept at using both its running back and fullback as active members in the offense, whether blocking or carrying the football.
Defensively the Warhorses use a 4-4 defense, but will at times line up only three linemen and blitz linebackers or other secondary members to force a bad decision by opponents. As displayed in last week’s win over Enka, Owen can drop as many as eight players into coverage when facing the Spread offense.
The Warhorses are led on the field by their senior quarterback Kaleb Fowler, who passed for 900 yards and rushed for 500 yards in 2009. This season Fowler has picked up where he left off, passing already for 614 yards on 34 of 59 passing with seven touchdown passes. The signal caller has also rushed for 258 yards on 39 carries and three touchdowns through the team’s first four games in 2010.
“Our starting quarterback returns with an experienced backfield due to playing time. We have a group of kids returning that did get a lot of playing time last season at a number of positions on offense and defense,” Coach Ford said prior to the opening of the 2010 season.
Senior running back Austin Davis has been a stalwart in the running game (68 rushes, 374 yards, 7 rushing touchdowns), as well as junior Jordan Littlejohn (24 rushes, 156 yards, 2 rushing touchdowns).
Austin Myers and Matt Marino are among the favorite receiving targets in the Owen passing game.
The Low Down:
This week’s showdown is the most difficult task for the Vikings to face thus far in 2010. Avery must go on the road this week and defeat an improved Owen team to prove to the doubters that this team is a contender and not merely a pretender.
Avery has had two weeks to heal up from any bumps and bruises and prepare for a more diversified Owen team than the Western Highlands Conference has seen in recent years. Although the head coaches share a good friendship, neither Coach Brewer nor Coach Ford would like nothing more than to get the upper hand with a win over the other.
In a loss to Erwin a little over three weeks ago, the Warhorse defense surrendered 379 passing yards to Erwin quarterback Garrett Brown. Aside from the Warriors, the Viking passing game offers comparable diversity and big-play ability. A key to Friday night will be how well the Warhorse secondary can contain the stable of Avery pass catchers and an emerging star in junior quarterback Alex Villanueva.
The Viking defense must also continue its streak of strong play. Against Watauga and Cloudland, Avery’s front seven has been active and limited opponents from gaining large chunks of yardage by ground. Continued consistency in that area will go a long way to helping the Big Red’s shot for victory.
A win this week would give the Vikings an early upper-hand in the Western Highlands Conference title chase, while a loss will not mean the end of the world, but could make the prospects of a conference championship somewhat slim.
By the Numbers:
2 – wins by the Vikings in the previous 10 matchups between Avery and Owen.
7 – margin of victory in points in both Avery’s wins over Owen since the turn of the 21st century.
10 – touchdown passes by Viking quarterback Alex Villanueva through four games in 2010.
39 – rushing attempts by Owen in its win last week over Enka, gaining 337 yards for the game.
100 – yards rushing by Austin Davis on 17 carries in Friday’s 49-21 Warhorse win last week.
245 – receiving yards by Avery receiver Remington Austin this season, including a season-high 108 receiving yards in the 43-24 win over Cloudland September 10th.
Read next week’s print edition of The Avery Journal-Times for a full recap of this week’s conference game at Owen, as well as a preview of next week’s Homecoming game against Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy. For more information on Avery sports, log on to The Avery Journal-Times Sports Blog at: www.ajtsports.blogspot.com
