Behind 342 rushing yards on just 19 carries by Rebel running back Ben Rice and seven touchdowns on nine possessions for the contest, Cane River dashed Avery’s hopes for a championship with a 50-15 triumph.
The Rebels maintained possession of the football for all but 25 seconds of the first period of play. Cane River slowly marched 71 yards over 14 plays, as the Avery defense forced the Rebels to earn each and every yard.
Rice toted the pigskin for 10 of his 19 attempts for the game during the team’s opening series, but it was a 13-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Avery Austin to wide receiver Gray McCurry that put the Rebels on the board first. A Rice two-point conversion run gave Cane River an 8-0 lead as the first quarter expired.
On its first possession, the Avery offense met stiff resistance from the Rebels. Facing a 4th-and-4, Avery head coach Donnie Johnson opted to go for the first down, but quarterback Austin Phillips was tackled for a loss to quell the drive and turn the football over on downs.
On the first play following the stop, Rice took a handoff and scampered through the Panthers defense for a 46-yard score. The Rice two-point conversion run was good to give the Rebels a 16-0 advantage.
Needing a score, the Avery offense rose to the task with its second series with a five-play, 74-yard drive. Phillips connected with Wade Smith on a 16-touchdown pass to cut the Cane River lead. Phillips ran in the two-point conversion and the Panthers trailed 16-8 with 5:57 remaining before halftime.
As it appeared the Panthers had stolen momentum away from the Rebels, the swift legs of Rice swiped it away just as quickly. On the first play from scrimmage following Avery’s score, Rice bolted 65 yards through the Avery secondary for another touchdown. The two-point conversion attempt failed, but Cane River held a 22-8 lead which remained unchanged through the remainder of the first half.
As the third quarter began, the Panthers drove into Cane River territory on its first offensive possession. However, a fourth-down conversion again fell short, preventing Avery from clawing back into the game.
As had happened twice previously, the Rebels again struck quickly as Rice busted out on the first play of the team’s ensuing offensive series for a 54-yard scamper to the end zone, giving Cane River a 28-8 lead at the 6:18 mark of the third period.
Avery was forced to punt on its next series, and the Rebels put the game out of reach with a 54-yard score again from Rice, the running back’s fourth touchdown of the contest. Avery stopped Rice on the two-point conversion run, however, but the Rebels led 34-8 as the teams entered the final eight minutes of play.
Midway through the final quarter Rice added a 40-yard run for his fifth and final touchdown of the night. Austin added a conversion run to up the Rebel lead to 42-8.
Showing no signs of surrender, Avery’s offense found a second wind in the final stanza. The duo of Phillips and wide receiver Kobe Pittman connected for three pass completions covering a total of 68 yards, the final 16 leading to the end zone. Kicker Tre Jackson added an extra point to make the score 42-15.
Cane River’s reserves added a late touchdown in the game’s final 70 seconds to account for the final margin of victory.
“The first drive of the game is what we were hoping to make Cane River do for the entire game, which is force them to drive the field,” Avery Panthers head coach Donnie Johnson said after the game. “After that drive it seemed like we got a little lazy. Against a runner like Rice everyone has to do their job in assignment football. I think we had a good shot coming in but we weren’t able to sustain that level of intensity that we were looking for.”
Although the season ended with a defeat, the Panthers still experienced a successful season with a Toe River Conference (TRC) runner-up finish.
“Our kids never quit. We had a good season and I’m really proud of the players,” Johnson added. “We surprised a lot of people and exceeded a lot of expectations that people placed of us coming into the season.”
Following the game, the conference coaches named the members of the TRC All-Conference Team. The following is the complete list of players comprising this year’s squad, with Avery County teams in bold:
Avery Panthers; Tyler Beach, Andy Hughes, Tre Jackson, Austin Phillips, Kobe Pittman, Wade Smith and James Stewart
Bowman Bulldogs: Oscar Cruz, Ryan McKinney, Zach Pressley and Jake Silver
Cane River Rebels: Avery Austin, Dalton Cannon, Blake Fox, Gray McCurry, EJ Ochoa, Ben Rice, Jake Robinson and Ernesto Velasquez
Cranberry Wildcats: Shane Carpenter, Kasey Ross, Cainan Singleton, Lane Sparks and Caleb Stansberry
East Yancey Panthers: Andrew Autrey, Joey Brown, Alex Cash, Derek Chrisawa, Jordan Loftis and Paul Woody
Harris Blue Devils: Dalton Beaver, Kegan Hoilman and Cole Phillips
Congratulations to all local middle schools for a terrific middle school football season!
