Both Avery High School (AHS) junior varsity teams were in action last week with a pair of non-conference matchups.
Junior Varsity Girls
Junior Varsity Girls
The Lady Viking JV club routed the West Wilkes Lady Blackhawks 40-17 last Wednesday, Dec. 8, for a momentum-building victory.
AHS’s press defense was strong in the early going, as it created a number of West turnovers. The Big Red led 12-5 after one period and took a 19-11 lead into intermission.
AHS blew the contest open in the third quarter, outscoring the Blackhawks 13-2 over the stanza to seize control of the game for good and lead 32-13. Kristen Burleson netted all five of her points in the frame, while teammates Taylor Hobbs, Katie Rigdon and Haley Woody each chipped in with a bucket. The Lady Vikings defense surrendered only four points in the final period to take the convincing victory.
Ten different Lady Viking players registered points in the victory, led by Bre Heaton, who tallied seven.
Last Friday, Dec. 10, the Lady Vikings ran into a buzzsaw in its rematch with the Cloudland Lady Highlanders (CHS ). The neighboring Landers, who are allowed in its home state of Tennessee
CHS
CHS52-16 after three periods en route to the win.
Shannon Smith led the Avery scoring charge with seven points, with four points each from Rigdon and Heaton.
“My girls just seemed to be intimidated from the start and didn’t help each other a lot,” said Avery Lady Vikings junior varsity head coach Pat Daniels after the game. “We didn’t play good team ball. We woke up eventually and played better defense, but we’ve got to find a rotation that’s going to work 100 percent.”
Daniels felt the addition of the Lander varsity players, who can play up to a combined six quarters in an evening, played a part in the lopsided outcome.
AHS’s press defense was strong in the early going, as it created a number of West turnovers. The Big Red led 12-5 after one period and took a 19-11 lead into intermission.
AHS blew the contest open in the third quarter, outscoring the Blackhawks 13-2 over the stanza to seize control of the game for good and lead 32-13. Kristen Burleson netted all five of her points in the frame, while teammates Taylor Hobbs, Katie Rigdon and Haley Woody each chipped in with a bucket. The Lady Vikings defense surrendered only four points in the final period to take the convincing victory.
Ten different Lady Viking players registered points in the victory, led by Bre Heaton, who tallied seven.
Last Friday, Dec. 10, the Lady Vikings ran into a buzzsaw in its rematch with the Cloudland Lady Highlanders (
CHS
CHS
Shannon Smith led the Avery scoring charge with seven points, with four points each from Rigdon and Heaton.
“My girls just seemed to be intimidated from the start and didn’t help each other a lot,” said Avery Lady Vikings junior varsity head coach Pat Daniels after the game. “We didn’t play good team ball. We woke up eventually and played better defense, but we’ve got to find a rotation that’s going to work 100 percent.”
Daniels felt the addition of the Lander varsity players, who can play up to a combined six quarters in an evening, played a part in the lopsided outcome.
“It definitely gives the other team a decided advantage,” Daniels said. “If I could play Kelsie Clarke and Lauren Burleson on the junior varsity level tonight, we’d probably beaten them.”
Junior Varsity Boys
The Viking junior varsity boys team played an exciting contest in Miller’s Creek last Wednesday, Dec. 8, against West Wilkes. AHS fell behind by double-figures in the first half, but staged a roaring comeback to force the game to overtime. West managed to hold on over the extra session and escape with a 44-42 win over the Big Red.
Both squads struggled to score in a defensively-minded first period, with West gaining a 7-5 lead after one period. In the second period, however, the Blackhawks build a working margin behind eight points from Jacob Dancy. Four AHS players scored in the frame, but West held a 23-14 lead at halftime.
In the third stanza, the defensive theme continued as both teams managed only three field goals apiece, with the Blackhawks maintaining a nine-point lead at 29-20. In the fourth quarter, however, the Big Red furiously stormed back. Chance Watson’s hand was white hot, as he stroked three three-point baskets and 13 points overall in the period. Bryce Pittman added five points in the stanza to account for all 18 Viking points. The AHS defense held West in check and knotted the game at 38-38 at the end of regulation.
In the extra period, Luke Wotell paced the Vikings in scoring, as he netted all four AHS points in overtime. West managed six points in the frame, however, including two key free throws and four points overall by Sam Allen to put the Blackhawks over the top and escape with the win.
Watson led the Big Red with 16 points, with eight points from Wotell. Pittman finished with five points, with four apiece from Stetson Stafford and Payton Lowery.
“We dug ourselves an early hole, which was a trait of having such a young team with so many freshmen. Not to make excuses, but every team we’ve faced has been an older and more veteran group made up primarily of sophomores,” Viking junior varsity head coach Reggie Oakes said after the game. “They outmatched us physically early on and played us tough in the lane on defense. They used a three-quarter court trap that we tried to dribble through, which wasn’t working. We finally got some continuity through passing the ball and made a good run to send the game to overtime. We did things better fundamentally that sometimes takes a little longer for freshmen to figure out.”
On Friday, Dec. 10, the Vikings hosted neighboring Cloudland (TN) High School. The two battled for four quarters in a physical contest, but the ‘Landers came out on top by a 60-52 final score.
As with the game at West, the Vikings played closely with its opponent, holding a narrow 13-12 lead after seven minutes of action. Wotell and Lane Smith each scored a pair of buckets in the frame to help the Big Red hold the lead.
In the second quarter the Vikings spurted out to a working lead, as Chase Buchanan scored seven points in the period, with five points apiece from Smith and Lowery to take a 30-23 lead into the dressing room at halftime.
As the second half ensued, the ‘Landers showed that it had made several successful halftime adjustments, outscoring AHS 19-10 to take the lead at 42-40 going into the final period.
CHS
The Vikings received a balanced scoring effort, as Smith and Wotell led the squad with 12 points each. Lowery was the only other AHS player in double figures with 11 points, with nine from Buchanan and six from Watson.
“I think we came out a lot stronger in the first half, and we did a better job of boxing out early. Then all of a sudden, it’s a freshman thing, we just got away from what got us the lead,” Oakes said after the loss. “Another thing is they made some halftime adjustments and switched their press over from a zone press to man. We tried to adjust with what we practiced because we expected that, and they were just beating us to the ball. We were trying to get a man in the middle to break the press like we normally do, and they were just beating us to the spot. I felt like they just out-hustled us there for a stretch and we let it get away for us. I think the kids are seeing now what it takes to win. If we can get all five guys to play team defense, we will be fine.”
Avery’s games with Owen on Tuesday, Dec. 14 were postponed and no makeup date has been set. The teams will travel this Friday, Dec. 17, toRutherford County Thomas Jefferson Academy
Both squads struggled to score in a defensively-minded first period, with West gaining a 7-5 lead after one period. In the second period, however, the Blackhawks build a working margin behind eight points from Jacob Dancy. Four AHS players scored in the frame, but West held a 23-14 lead at halftime.
In the third stanza, the defensive theme continued as both teams managed only three field goals apiece, with the Blackhawks maintaining a nine-point lead at 29-20. In the fourth quarter, however, the Big Red furiously stormed back. Chance Watson’s hand was white hot, as he stroked three three-point baskets and 13 points overall in the period. Bryce Pittman added five points in the stanza to account for all 18 Viking points. The AHS defense held West in check and knotted the game at 38-38 at the end of regulation.
In the extra period, Luke Wotell paced the Vikings in scoring, as he netted all four AHS points in overtime. West managed six points in the frame, however, including two key free throws and four points overall by Sam Allen to put the Blackhawks over the top and escape with the win.
Watson led the Big Red with 16 points, with eight points from Wotell. Pittman finished with five points, with four apiece from Stetson Stafford and Payton Lowery.
“We dug ourselves an early hole, which was a trait of having such a young team with so many freshmen. Not to make excuses, but every team we’ve faced has been an older and more veteran group made up primarily of sophomores,” Viking junior varsity head coach Reggie Oakes said after the game. “They outmatched us physically early on and played us tough in the lane on defense. They used a three-quarter court trap that we tried to dribble through, which wasn’t working. We finally got some continuity through passing the ball and made a good run to send the game to overtime. We did things better fundamentally that sometimes takes a little longer for freshmen to figure out.”
On Friday, Dec. 10, the Vikings hosted neighboring Cloudland (TN) High School. The two battled for four quarters in a physical contest, but the ‘Landers came out on top by a 60-52 final score.
As with the game at West, the Vikings played closely with its opponent, holding a narrow 13-12 lead after seven minutes of action. Wotell and Lane Smith each scored a pair of buckets in the frame to help the Big Red hold the lead.
In the second quarter the Vikings spurted out to a working lead, as Chase Buchanan scored seven points in the period, with five points apiece from Smith and Lowery to take a 30-23 lead into the dressing room at halftime.
As the second half ensued, the ‘Landers showed that it had made several successful halftime adjustments, outscoring AHS 19-10 to take the lead at 42-40 going into the final period.
CHS
The Vikings received a balanced scoring effort, as Smith and Wotell led the squad with 12 points each. Lowery was the only other AHS player in double figures with 11 points, with nine from Buchanan and six from Watson.
“I think we came out a lot stronger in the first half, and we did a better job of boxing out early. Then all of a sudden, it’s a freshman thing, we just got away from what got us the lead,” Oakes said after the loss. “Another thing is they made some halftime adjustments and switched their press over from a zone press to man. We tried to adjust with what we practiced because we expected that, and they were just beating us to the ball. We were trying to get a man in the middle to break the press like we normally do, and they were just beating us to the spot. I felt like they just out-hustled us there for a stretch and we let it get away for us. I think the kids are seeing now what it takes to win. If we can get all five guys to play team defense, we will be fine.”
Avery’s games with Owen on Tuesday, Dec. 14 were postponed and no makeup date has been set. The teams will travel this Friday, Dec. 17, to
