“I told the guys after the game how proud I was of them. I felt like they came out and played extremely hard. I think for us to beat Swain the way we did can catapult us to a different level. It’s like we knocked down a wall much like we did in 2005,” Avery head football coach Darrell Brewer said after the triumph. “I’d been reading online that some of the Swain supporters were saying that we should be getting ready for basketball after tonight. I told our players that I hated to disappoint them, but they’ll have to keep the basketballs put away and prepare for another football game next week.”
A large contingent of Swain fans made the approximate three-hour road trip from Bryson City to Newland to support their club who had ousted the Big Red from the playoffs in the 2007 postseason.
Avery made one of its few mistakes all evening during its first offensive drive. The Viking offense marched the football downfield with relative ease, but Swain defensive back Matthew Maennle intercepted a Villanueva pass inside the red zone to turn Avery away.
The Maroon Devils struggled for the entire first half to get any offensive momentum rolling on the Viking defense. Swain was held to a three-and-out to punt the football to the Vikings, and Avery ran over the Devils for its first touchdown. The potent running combination of Taylor Potter and Colton Blackburn did all the damage, with Blackburn pounding the Swain defense for a 32-yard gain and Potter racing 19 yards to paydirt. The Dustin Clark point after touchdown (PAT) gave the Big Red a 7-0 lead with 8:25 to play in the opening period.
Swain moved the football offensively with its ensuing possession, but a holding penalty and a personal foul penalty doomed its drive and forced a punt.
Throughout the first half, Avery found holes in the Maroon Devils defense both on the ground and through the air, and managed to again move downfield into the Swain red zone. However, three straight incomplete passes, the final one on a fourth-down conversion attempt, turned the football over on downs.
Both teams traded punts as the second period began. The Vikings struck for a second touchdown when, following a pass completion that was negated by an illegal block, Avery went for broke and fired a long pass play down the sideline. Villanueva hung a long pass to Hughes, which fell just outside the outstretched hands of the Swain safety and into the hands of Hughes in stride, who outran the Swain secondary for a 74-yard touchdown. The Clark PAT staked the Big Red to a 14-0 lead with 7:50 to play before halftime.
Again the Viking defense forced another punt from the Swain offense, and the Avery offense composed a masterpiece of a third scoring drive, journeying 77 yards over eight plays. An offside penalty against Swain on third down gave Avery a first down, and the Vikings capitalized with a 27-yard touchdown run by Potter. The extra point pushed Avery out front by a 21-0 score which it carried to intermission.
The opening two quarters were a testament to the domination of the Viking defense. Swain was held to just 97 first-half yards, while the Vikings bedeviled the Swain defense for 326 yards in total offense.
With its collective back to the wall, the Maroon Devils came out of the locker room fighting and motivated to get back into the game. Swain put together its best drive of the night with the first series of the third quarter, a 10-play, 72-yard drive that elapsed 4:56 off the clock. Quarterback Colby Hyatt connected with receiver Greg Tisho on a four-yard touchdown to put Swain on the scoreboard. The extra point was unsuccessful, but Swain cut the Avery lead to 21-6.
Avery was forced to punt on its first offensive series of the half and momentum appeared to shift in Swain’s favor. The Viking defense showed that it wasn’t ready to let the Maroon Devils make a game of it, however. Senior lineman Lucas Lecka picked up a key quarterback sack of Hyatt and the Devils were forced to punt the ball back away.
As the third quarter ended and final stanza began, Swain had possession deep in its own territory and were forced into yet another punting situation. On this occasion, the situation went terribly wrong for the visitors, as the punt snap sailed over the head of Swain punter Evan Sneed. As the ball bounced into the end zone, Sneed booted the ball out the back of the end zone for an Avery safety, upping the Viking advantage to 23-6.
Upon receiving the free kick following the safety and benefiting from an additional Swain unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, Avery put the game away with authority. Using just four plays to march the necessary 37 yards, the Vikings were again in the end zone. Villanueva and Hughes again connected, this time for a 31-yard touchdown as Avery led 30-6 with 8:45 to play in the game.
The teams traded punts as the final period transpired until Swain running back Josue Otero scored the final points of the game on a 22-yard touchdown against the Avery reserves in the game’s final minute of play.
As the final seconds ticked away, it was Avery who was triumphant and moving on to the third round to take on a familiar foe in Western Highlands Conference rival Mitchell at MacDonald Stadium this Friday, Nov. 27.
When the dust settled, Brewer boiled down the difference in the win to a simple, yet crucial element.
With its collective back to the wall, the Maroon Devils came out of the locker room fighting and motivated to get back into the game. Swain put together its best drive of the night with the first series of the third quarter, a 10-play, 72-yard drive that elapsed 4:56 off the clock. Quarterback Colby Hyatt connected with receiver Greg Tisho on a four-yard touchdown to put Swain on the scoreboard. The extra point was unsuccessful, but Swain cut the Avery lead to 21-6.
Avery was forced to punt on its first offensive series of the half and momentum appeared to shift in Swain’s favor. The Viking defense showed that it wasn’t ready to let the Maroon Devils make a game of it, however. Senior lineman Lucas Lecka picked up a key quarterback sack of Hyatt and the Devils were forced to punt the ball back away.
As the third quarter ended and final stanza began, Swain had possession deep in its own territory and were forced into yet another punting situation. On this occasion, the situation went terribly wrong for the visitors, as the punt snap sailed over the head of Swain punter Evan Sneed. As the ball bounced into the end zone, Sneed booted the ball out the back of the end zone for an Avery safety, upping the Viking advantage to 23-6.
Upon receiving the free kick following the safety and benefiting from an additional Swain unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, Avery put the game away with authority. Using just four plays to march the necessary 37 yards, the Vikings were again in the end zone. Villanueva and Hughes again connected, this time for a 31-yard touchdown as Avery led 30-6 with 8:45 to play in the game.
The teams traded punts as the final period transpired until Swain running back Josue Otero scored the final points of the game on a 22-yard touchdown against the Avery reserves in the game’s final minute of play.
As the final seconds ticked away, it was Avery who was triumphant and moving on to the third round to take on a familiar foe in Western Highlands Conference rival Mitchell at MacDonald Stadium this Friday, Nov. 27.
When the dust settled, Brewer boiled down the difference in the win to a simple, yet crucial element.
“I felt the difference in the game was the line play. We whipped them on both sides of the football up front,” Brewer said in victory.
Avery gained 401 yards in total offense for the game, highlighted by a 13-for-26 passing effort from Villanueva. The junior, returning to action after missing last week’s first round game upon re-aggravating his surgically-repaired collarbone, threw for 243 yards and two scores, both to senior wide receiver Hughes totaling 105 yards.
“I thought Alex played great. He did exactly what he had to do for us to win the game,” Brewer said of his signal-caller.
Senior running back Colton Blackburn gained 95 yards on 12 carries, and paced the Viking defense with 15 tackles. Fellow senior lineman Lecka had three sacks and 12 tackles, with a pair of sacks by senior Kenny Hicks.
Avery will play neighboring Mitchell in this week’s third round matchup. The Mountaineers defeated the West Wilkes Blackhawks 35-29 in Miller’s Creek in round two to set up this week’s colossal contest.
“I’ve pulled for Mitchell and I’m tickled to death that they made the third round, but I dread playing them again,” Brewer said regarding this week’s game, the second meeting between the squads in four weeks. “I’m proud for our conference, and I think this is big for both their community and for ours. We’ve got two Western Highlands Conference teams in the third round playing for a regional championship, and that’s big. I’m tickled that we’re playing Mitchell for that opportunity. It seems every time we play one another, there’s something on the line, so for us to play each other in a game at this level, it’s going to be an awesome atmosphere for everybody.”
Avery gained 401 yards in total offense for the game, highlighted by a 13-for-26 passing effort from Villanueva. The junior, returning to action after missing last week’s first round game upon re-aggravating his surgically-repaired collarbone, threw for 243 yards and two scores, both to senior wide receiver Hughes totaling 105 yards.
“I thought Alex played great. He did exactly what he had to do for us to win the game,” Brewer said of his signal-caller.
Senior running back Colton Blackburn gained 95 yards on 12 carries, and paced the Viking defense with 15 tackles. Fellow senior lineman Lecka had three sacks and 12 tackles, with a pair of sacks by senior Kenny Hicks.
Avery will play neighboring Mitchell in this week’s third round matchup. The Mountaineers defeated the West Wilkes Blackhawks 35-29 in Miller’s Creek in round two to set up this week’s colossal contest.
“I’ve pulled for Mitchell and I’m tickled to death that they made the third round, but I dread playing them again,” Brewer said regarding this week’s game, the second meeting between the squads in four weeks. “I’m proud for our conference, and I think this is big for both their community and for ours. We’ve got two Western Highlands Conference teams in the third round playing for a regional championship, and that’s big. I’m tickled that we’re playing Mitchell for that opportunity. It seems every time we play one another, there’s something on the line, so for us to play each other in a game at this level, it’s going to be an awesome atmosphere for everybody.”
