The Avery Vikings used their high-powered offense to take a 43-24 victory over border rival Cloudland on Friday night at Orr Field in the fourth annual Avery Journal-Times Border Battle Classic. The victory keeps the Border Battle trophy in Newland for the second straight year, as well as keeps the Vikings undefeated on the year.“Cloudland did exactly what I knew they were going to do,” Avery Head Coach Darrell Brewer said. “They came out and tried to smash us and keep the football away from us, and they did a great job. They really got after us. I felt like they outplayed us in the first half. When our offense got the opportunity to score, they did. That says a lot about our football team.”
The Vikings wasted no time moving the ball after they received the opening kickoff as they embarked on an 11-play drive. That drive was capped off when Alex Villanueva scampered in from six yards out for the touchdown. Dustin Clark’s extra point gave Avery the early 7-0 lead with 8:30 left in the first quarter.
The ‘Landers responded with their own impressive 14-play drive, all running plays, ending when Matt Cole ran in from nine yards. Cloudland took the lead when Luke Childress scored on a two-point conversion with two minutes remaining in the quarter.
It took the Vikings all of 21 seconds to find the end zone as Villanueva hit Remington Austin for a 60-yard touchdown. The two-point conversion attempt was unsuccessful as Avery led 13-8 at the end of the first quarter.
The ‘Landers continued their ground attack as they ran to the Avery 25 on the legs of Cole and Childress, but was unable to convert a fourth and one that turned the ball over to Avery. The Vikings took advantage of the opportunity as they answered the call with a 57-yard touchdown pass from Villanueva to Andy Gonzalez with 5:16 left in the half. The duo hooked up again on the two-point conversion to improve their lead to 21-8.
Cloudland once again started driving, but was stopped when Avery recovered a CHS fumble. The Vikings took full advantage as Villanueva ran 47 yards into the end zone, and Taylor Potter punched in for the two-point conversion to give Avery a 29-8 lead at the break.
The second half saw Avery quickly add to their lead after recovering a Cloudland fumble at midfield. On the first play after the fumble, Villanueva hit Gonzalez for a 49-yard touchdown throw, and Clark’s extra point pushed the Avery lead to 36-8.
The ‘Landers kept fighting as they continued to have success moving the ball as CHS crossed midfield again, but was forced to punt. Avery moved the ball, but had their lone turnover of the night as Michael Hyden recovered a fumble for the ‘Landers on their own 2-yard line. However, Cloudland was unable to get anything going as they were forced to punt.
With 1:20 remaining in the third, Taylor Potter gave the Vikings their final score of the night when he ran in from nine yards out after having a 26-yard gain the play before. The extra point by Clarke gave Avery a 43-8 lead at the end of the third quarter.
Despite the score, the ‘Landers kept fighting as Taylor Whitehead scrambled into the end zone from five yards out. The ensuing two-point conversion was successful on a Tyler Shell run. Cloudland also scored in the fourth when Shell ran in from six yards out, then hit Colby Guinn to reach the final score. Both Avery and Cloudland allowed younger players to get experience in the final quarter.
For the Vikings, Villanueva was 12-for-20 passing for 281 yards and three touchdowns. He also added 55 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. Potter was the leading rusher for the Vikings with 76 yards on seven carries. Gonzalez had five catches for 134 yards and two touchdowns, while Austin had 108 yards on three catches and a touchdown.
The ‘Landers were led by Cole who had 144 yards on 30 carries and a touchdown. Whitehead had 77 yards on nine carries and was 3-of-4 for 55 yards passing. Childress gained 63 yards on 11 carries while Shell gained 29 yards on six carries and had 55 yards through the air. Ronald Banner had three catches for 74 yards.
“I felt like we could sustain drives, but when you sustain drives, you have to be able to score,” ‘Lander Head Coach Robbie Turbyfill said. “The fourth down we didn’t get and the fumble were two plays where we sustained drives, but couldn’t punch it in. I think Avery has a dang good football team, and most of the teams we play, they (Avery) would give them a fit.”
Cloudland had 464 total offensive yards on 67 plays, while Avery had 420 yards on 42 plays. The ‘Landers had the ball a total of 32 minutes and Avery had possession for 16 minutes.
For Brewer, the win had a special meaning.
“It is a very emotional game for me as a coach,” Brewer said. “I have very fond memories of the people in Roan Mountain and they have always been nothing but good to me. It is a hard game for me. It’s like playing your brother, and I am tickled to death to come out of here with a win. I feel for them and I hope they win the rest of them. This is the one game I hope they lose all year.”
Cloudland hosts county rival Unaka on Friday night while Avery will be off before going to Owen on Sept. 24.
