In an epic battle between two ranked 1A squads, Avery played with desperation and purpose, making enough plays on offense and riding a dominant second half defensive performance to earn its first victory over Hendersonville since 2006 in a 23-14 win at MacDonald Stadium last Friday, October 8.
Throughout the game there were several themes that consistently played out, two of which became evident on the game’s first series. One theme, Hendersonville’s penchant to commit penalties, started early in the contest with a pair of false start flags on the first Bearcat possession. The Bearcats were flagged often against the Vikings, 14 times in all for 117 yards. That, combined with Hendersonville’s repeated underestimation of Avery’s talent and speed on both sides of the ball became evident repeatedly throughout the game.
A sack of Hendersonville quarterback Desmond Whiteside by Avery’s Taylor Potter and Lucas Lecka forced the Bearcats to punt on its first series. Avery started its first drive inside Bearcat territory and wasted little time imposing its will and finding the end zone. Running back Colton Blackburn, returning from a hamstring injury suffered at Owen that benched him for last week’s win over Thomas Jefferson, capped a five-play drive with an 11-yard touchdown run. The point after touchdown (PAT) from kicker Dustin Clark gave the Big Red an early 7-0 lead with 7:18 to play in the opening quarter.
The Bearcats again failed to move the football with its second possession and were forced to punt. Hendersonville regained the ball in short order however when the defense forced Avery lone turnover of the evening, a fumble recovery caused by a sack of Avery quarterback Dustin Childress.
With the turnover, the Bearcats drove downfield and appeared to be stopped by the Viking defense near midfield, but a fake punt and pass completion for a first down kept the Hendersonville drive alive. The Bearcats eventually capitalized with a touchdown as Whiteside found Mahcallum Duckett in the end zone with a four-yard touchdown pass. The PAT by Bearcat kicker Burch Wadewitz knotted the score at 7-7 with 10:07 remaining in the first half.
Avery needed an answer as Hendersonville took momentum after tying the game, and they found it in the form of an eight-play, 64-yard scoring drive culminated by a one-yard touchdown plunge by Potter to propel the Vikes to a 14-7 lead with 5:29 left in the second quarter. The key play of the series was a 38-yard pass completion from Childress to wide receiver Remington Austin.
The pitch and catch showed Avery coaches, players and opponents alike the maturation and ability of the senior quarterback who took the reins of the offense for a third straight start filling in for injured signal-caller Alex Villanueva. Childress has proven more than capable of leading the offense over the past three games, throwing for more than 400 yards and efficiently managing the Viking attack.On its ensuing possession, the Bearcats composed its best offensive drive of the entire half, marching from its own 20-yard line to inside the Avery red zone. Two Whiteside pass completions netted 37 yards, while a scramble and run gained 29 more yards. Faced with a fourth-and-three from the Avery 12-yard line, Hendersonville head coach B.J. Laughter elected to roll the dice and go for the first down rather than the short field goal. The decision proved unwise as Whiteside attempted to run outside for the first down and was tackled for a loss by safety Potter to turn the ball over on downs.
“That stop was huge to shut them down. That was Taylor’s job all night to spy Whiteside, and he came through big for us,” Avery Head Football Coach Darrell Brewer said of his senior’s play. “Anytime you can get a fourth down stop in the red zone is a huge confidence builder for your team and keeps points off the board.”
The Bearcats forced Avery into a three-and-out following the defensive stand, and regained possession inside the Avery 40-yard line following the punt. With around a minute to play in the half, Hendersonville moved quickly and completed three straight passes, the last of which a seven-yard touchdown from Whiteside to Marques Johnson with just 18 seconds left before halftime. The PAT tied the score at 14-14 and remained unchanged for the rest of the half.
Avery began the second half strong. After Spencer Blackburn returned the opening kickoff of the second half to near midfield, the Vikings wasted no time moving the football. A seven-play, 57-yard drive elapsed slightly more than two minutes off the clock. On just the second offensive play, Colton Blackburn rumbled 35 yards into Hendersonville territory, and two plays later the senior broke off an 18-yard run to inside the Bearcat 20.
Two carries by Taylor Potter brought the Vikings to the doorstep, and Dustin Childress capped the scoring drive with a two-yard plunge to pay dirt. Dustin Clark missed the PAT, but Avery led 20-14 early in the third period.
“You always want to come out and put together a good drive to set the tone for the second half. With Hendersonville tying us up late in the first half I thought it was really important for us to take back control of the game and put points on the scoreboard,” Brewer said.
Hendersonville’s first possession of the third quarter proved to be the team’s best opportunity to score points or take the lead. The Bearcats started the drive in Avery territory after a 48-yard kickoff return from Whiteside. Four consecutive running plays moved Hendersonville to the Avery 22-yard line. On the fifth Bearcats play a pass was completed inside the 15-yard line from Whiteside to receiver Shawn Rogers, but a big hit from Potter forced a fumble which Viking linebacker Tyler Buchanan recovered to leave Hendersonville empty-handed.
The Vikings could not move the ball and punted back to Hendersonville. Again the Bearcats found themselves in Avery territory, but again they came away with nothing as a Whiteside pass was intercepted by Viking Kenny Hicks just outside the Viking 30-yard line.
For the remainder of the third period and the first half of the final stanza, both teams’ defenses tightened the reins and gave up few yards, forcing punts on each squad’s next two possessions.
With just under six minutes left on the game clock, Avery fashioned a key drive of 10 plays, which moved the offense 34 yards and elapsed almost five minutes. Faced with a difficult decision on fourth-and-seven at the Hendersonville 14-yard line, Brewer elected to attempt a Dustin Clark field goal.
The Avery head coach and field goals have not always been synonymous with one another. Five seasons ago, Avery held a commanding 14-0 first half lead on South Caldwell and the Vikings attempted a field goal to extend its lead. The kick was blocked and returned for a score by the Spartans, who went on to come back for a 52-34 win, one of just three losses for the Vikings that season.
“South Caldwell went though my mind and it was hard to think about,” Brewer admitted. “Dustin is a great kicker and I have all the confidence in the world in him, but there are so many things that have to correctly happen for a field goal: good snap, good hold, good blocking. But I felt like getting the three points at that point was huge for us. For good football teams to win important games, you have to execute those sorts of plays, so I felt kicking was the right thing to do.”Brewer’s faith in his kicker proved well placed, as the junior split the uprights with the 31-yard try for the two-possession margin.
A last-ditch effort by the Bearcats resulted in quarterback sacks by Lecka and Hicks on consecutive plays. When a fourth-down pass fell incomplete, the Vikings offense ran out the remaining 18 seconds to seal its second straight win and fifth overall.
“It was a nerve-wracking game. It felt like it could go either way right up to where we hit the field goal at the end,” Brewer said after the win. “I was especially proud of the defense and how they were able to contain a player with the ability of Whiteside and shut them out the second half.”
Despite being outgained by 40 yards, Avery (5-1, 1-1 WHC) was penalized almost 100 fewer yards than Hendersonville and was virtually even in every other significant team statistic.
Senior Colton Blackburn led all rushers with 139 yards on 18 carries with a touchdown. Austin led all receivers with 51 yards on a pair of receptions in the win.
The Viking defense recorded six quarterback sacks in the game, led by three from senior Lucas Lecka.
With the victory and other results from Friday night, Avery moves into a five-way tie atop the Western Highlands Conference. The Vikings face another tough opponent this week in Polk County, who suffered its first loss of 2010 last Friday night in Ledger against Mitchell.
“We’re sitting right where we need to be at this point in conference play, and it isn’t getting any easier. Every week is going to be a battle,” Brewer said. “It’s gonna be a dog fight from here on out.”
