Haitian Relief Efforts in Avery County

(Courtesy of Nancy Morrison, Publisher, Avery Journal-Times)

Each year in March, Dr. Steve Cook of Banner Elk leads a medical team that travels to Haiti to help with much needed medical treatment for the vast numbers of Haitian citizens living in abject poverty. His team also takes supplies, toys, educational material, Bibles, and anything else useful that can be carried or shipped. Dr. Cook is using his medical expertise and his knowledge of the area to help with the Avery County part of the worldwide relief effort being mounted. The current crisis in Haiti was generated by the devastating 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck on January 12 near Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital city.

Cook's team is affiliated with Grace Mission, based in Florida. For the latest news postings from Grace Mission to Haiti, go to gracemissionpage.org. Grace Mission supports 29 churches, 20 schools, a medical program and medical clinic, a food distribution program, and a Bible Institute.

At present, Cook said, checks can be sent to Banner Elk Presbyterian Church in Banner Elk at P. O. Box 158, Banner Elk, NC 28604 and please clearly mark them "Haitian Relief Fund," as the church has a number of other missions. Church office administrator Rob Clemmer will be overseeing donations. The phone number is 828-898-5406.

Cook also recommends sending monetary donations through Samaritan's Purse in Boone. You can donate online at samaritanspurse.org. Samaritan's Purse already has a team on the ground working in Haiti and, according to Cook, the organization has excellent resources and contacts in Haiti.

Please be generous. Monetary donations are so important right now, and as soon as safe channels for goods can be ascertained, dry goods donations will be needed desperately. Suggested goods are: white rice, dried beans (especially red, black, and pintos), pasta, oatmeal, and other dried goods.

Drop off points for the dried goods in Avery County are:

Newland – The Avery Journal-Times (335 Linville Street beside Avery Tire) and Medi-Home Care (located in the old Newland fire department building).

Banner Elk – Dr. Steve Cook's office (110 Park Avenue, Banner Elk beside the Banner Elk Pharmacy) and Dr. David Kimmel's office (150 Park Avenue, Banner Elk).

A doctor and his wife affiliated with Cook's team flew into Haiti and landed about an hour before the quake hit. No one had been able to contact the couple for most of the first 24 hours. On Thursday, Cook was quite relieved because he had gotten word that his friends were safe.

"You just won't believe how I heard," Cook said. "A friend of the couple managed to get word out on Facebook!"

Cook said there was a team of 10 people on a mission trip to Haiti from Georgia and he had just heard that all ten were fine.

(Updates will be posted on our Web sites as we receive new information.)

Appalachian Announces 2010 Football Slate

(courtesy Appalachian Sports Information) BOONE, N.C. — Six home games, including two in September and three in October, highlight Appalachian State University’s 2010 football schedule, announced on Tuesday by director of athletics Charlie Cobb.

For the first time in 19 years, Appalachian opens the season with a Southern Conference matchup when it travels to Chattanooga on Sept. 4. ASU is 5-0 all-time when playing a SoCon game in the season opener but has not done so since topping former conference rival Marshall, 9-3, on Aug. 31, 1991.

Following the opener at UTC, the Mountaineers play back-to-back home games versus Jacksonville (Sept. 11) and North Carolina Central (Sept. 18). Both opponents are familiar to ASU, as the Apps defeated Jacksonville, 56-7, in 2008 and downed N.C. Central, 55-21, last season at Kidd Brewer Stadium. Both are up-and-coming NCAA Division I FCS programs, as JU won the Pioneer League in 2008 and finished 7-4 in 2009 while NCCU will play its first season as a member of the traditionally strong Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference in 2010.

Following an open date on Sept. 25, Appalachian begins conference play in earnest, with home dates versus Elon (Oct. 9), The Citadel (Oct. 16), Furman (Oct. 30) and Wofford (Nov. 13) and road tilts at Samford (Oct. 2), Western Carolina (Oct. 23) and Georgia Southern (Nov. 6).

Appalachian closes the regular season with a huge test at national power Florida on Nov. 20. In all, ASU and UF have combined to win five of the last 10 Division I FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) and FCS (Football Championship Subdivision) national titles with the Mountaineers earning FCS titles in 2005, ‘06 and ‘07 and the Gators claiming Bowl Championship Series crowns in 2006 and ‘08.

“I am pleased that we once again have a football schedule that is fan-friendly and hopefully gives our coaches and student-athletes the opportunity to make a run at a sixth-straight Southern Conference championship and continued postseason success,” Cobb said. “We are committed to doing everything in our power to play an all-Division I schedule while also giving our great fans the opportunity to see six regular-season games at Kidd Brewer Stadium. Obtaining both objectives is a very difficult task and I commend (associate athletics director) Jay Sutton for his hard work in making it happen.”

For the second year in a row, ticket prices will not be raised in 2010 for home games at The Rock, where Appalachian has led FCS in regular-season attendance for each of the last three years, including in 2009 when ASU averaged 25,969 fans per game during a rain-soaked regular season. Complete 2010 ticket information will be available in the coming weeks.

Vikings Basketball Fades Late versus Polk; Holds Off Patriots to Win Conference Home Opener

Despite a layoff since December 17th, the Avery varsity boys basketball team turned in one of its best quarters of the season to begin Saturday’s game at Polk County. Avery hit 11 of its first 14 shots to build a commanding 28-11 advantage, only to see the Wolverines come back to take a third quarter lead and hold off an Avery rally in a 74-68 win.

Timmy Stewart helped the Vikings get off to its blistering start as he scored all 12 of his points for the contest during the opening period. Everything went Avery’s way in the quarter, including a half-court heave to close the quarter that was caught out of the air and shot in one acrobatic motion by Luke Pittman for two points as time expired.

The two teams played virtually even in the second stanza as Avery picked up a pair of baskets off the bench from Spencer Blackburn and two field goals from leading scorer Dustin Clarke. Polk was paced by Andre Overholt with 11 points in the first half, but Avery held on to a double-digit lead at 41-30 at halftime.

Once the teams took the floor for the second half, Avery’s offensive firepower suddenly dried up. The Vikings managed only two points in the third quarter while the Wolverines reeled off 19 for the frame, erasing the Avery lead and pulling Polk ahead 49-43 as the final period began.

In the final eight minutes Avery regained its shooting stroke, but the Wolverines remained warm from the field. Polk hit eight of its 12 field goal attempts in the final stanza, while the Vikings converted on eight of its 14 shots from the field. Avery’s Clarke looked to bring the Big Red back as he drained three 3-point baskets in the quarter, but the Wolverines countered with a pair of three-pointers from Landon Schlabach and seven points from forward Bryant Twitty to stave off the Viking comeback and escape with the win.

Clarke led Avery with 26 points, seven rebounds, four assists, and three steals, while Stewart (12 points), Blackburn (11 points), and Dylan Eppley (10 points) all reached double figures in the defeat. Four players scored double figures for Polk, led by 17 from Overholt and 16 apiece from Twitty and Chandler Miller.

“The biggest problem we had was our consistency. We weren’t able to carry the same offensive intensity through four quarters,” Avery Vikings head varsity boys basketball coach Bo Manis said following the game. “We started off really well and shot the ball well, but we couldn’t score once the second half began. We had trouble rebounding the basketball with only one offensive rebound for the entire game. But I was proud of how the guys came back at the end. We still have to consistently play at a high level to be successful, though.”

On Monday night the Vikings hosted Madison in the Western Highlands Conference home opener. In a game that went down to the wire, Avery emerged victorious in a 56-54 thriller.
The teams played to a slow pace with numerous fouls in the first period as Avery trailed 11-6 after the first eight minutes of play.

The pace of the game picked up in the second quarter as Avery was buoyed by the play of junior Dustin Clarke, who netted 12 first-half points to keep the Vikings close. Madison answered Avery’s leading scorer with their own go-to player, forward Anthony Swann, who tallied 13 first-half points which allowed the Patriots to push ahead 27-22 at halftime.

Avery managed only two points in the third quarter of Saturday’s contest, but history did not repeat itself against the Patriots. Rather than take the floor tentatively, the Vikings were purposefully aggressive and took the action to Madison. Avery went on a 10-2 scoring spurt over the first 2:20 of the third quarter, highlighted by a dazzling alley-oop pass and dunk from Joey Potter to Dustin Clarke.

Although shaken by the Avery flurry, Madison answered the bell to rally itself behind Swann and guard Brennan Eggleton to stay within four points at 43-39 at third quarter’s end.

Madison’s offense quickly became “The Anthony Swann Show” in the final stanza as the Patriots offense ran virtually every offensive set through his hands. Swann 13 of Madison’s final 15 points. Avery weathered the Patriot comeback as Clarke, Dylan Eppley, and Timmy Stewart each scored field goals in the final quarter.

In the final two minutes the Patriots shaved away a four-point Avery advantage to tie the game at 54 apiece. With 1:04 left to play, Avery’s Luke Pittman netted his only basket of the night on a shot inside the paint to stake the Vikings to a two-point lead. Avery made a final defensive stand in the closing seconds, forcing a turnover that sealed the Vikings’ first conference victory of the season.

Clarke led the Big Red in scoring with 22 points, to go with five rebounds, five steals, and three assists. Timmy Stewart added seven points, four rebounds, two steals, and three assists. Joey Potter and Dylan Eppley tallied six points each.

Swann led Madison with a game-high 30 points, in addition to nine rebounds and three steals.

“I think we learned in the first half a lot about what things we had success with and what we were not succeeding at. We talked at halftime about bringing consistency, and rebounding the basketball was a major point of emphasis before the second half,” Avery head coach Bo Manis said after the win. “We scored only two points against Polk which changed that game. This time we made sure to impress on the players the need to rebound and box out, that we couldn’t have that same Polk effort tonight.”

Avery shot an efficient 13 for 20 from the field (65 percent) to keep pressure on the Patriots, while Madison made only 9 of 33 shots over the final two periods.

“We took high percentage shots and that really brought us back into the game in the third quarter. We realized last weekend that we can’t make up a large deficit in one trip down the floor,” Coach Manis said. “I thought the alley-oop helped energize the players, yet we still took smart shots and took better care of the basketball. I was really pleased with how we played to win tonight rather than playing tentatively and not to lose.”

Avery hosts Mountain Heritage Wednesday night (1/13) in another conference tilt, then travel to Ledger on Friday to take on rival Mitchell. A full report on both games can be found online at the Journal-Times Sports Blog at www.ajtsports.blogspot.com as well as in next week’s print edition.

Lyons Nets 100th Career Coaching Victory as Avery Blasts Polk, Madison

Following a week and a half layoff between games, the Avery Lady Vikings looked to continue its recent trend of stellar basketball as they traveled to Columbus to take on the Polk County Lady Wolverines. Avery not only netted a decisive 60-42 win over Polk, but also gave head coach Missy Lyons her 100th career victory as Lady Vikings head coach.

Avery hit on seven of its 19 shots in the first period as the Lady Vikings took a 14-10 lead after one quarter of action.

Polk continued to hang around through the first half as the Lady Wolverines outscored Avery 7-1 at the free throw line. Nevertheless, Avery used its press defense to force turnovers and additional scoring opportunities, as the Vikings took 18 more shots than Polk through the first two periods.

The Vikings were paced early by Katelynn Eudy who scored six points in the opening stanza. Avery leading scorer Sara Wiseman scored nine of her team-high 15 points in the first half and Mercedes Bentley chipped in with five off the bench in helping Avery to a 32-25 halftime edge.

As the second half ensued, it became obvious which was the better team, as Polk struggled to bring the basketball downcourt and was cold shooting from the floor. Avery kept its steady offensive stream flowing as Wiseman and Lauren Avery scored six points apiece in the third quarter to extend the Lady Viking advantage to 48-32 after three quarters.

In the final eight minutes, Avery kept Polk from any hope of clawing back into the contest. Megan Tennant scored seven of her total of nine points in the last stanza to help the Big Red to the 18-point victory.

The Vikings shot 37 percent from the floor in the win and forced 28 Lady Wolverines turnovers.
Sara Wiseman finished the game with 15 points and eight rebounds, while Lauren Avery added 12 points and seven rebounds. Tennant added nine points and seven rebounds, with nine from Mercedes Bentley and eight points in addition to nine rebounds by Katelynn Eudy. Elyse Perry also had a solid all-around game, as the senior dished 10 assists in addition to three points, five rebounds, and three steals.

The win was especially sweet for Coach Lyons, who earned win #100 as the ladies varsity head coach at Avery High School.

“We’ve worked really hard at building this program up. The first few years were a little rocky and we didn’t get a lot of victories, but it took a little while to get to where we are. It was really special to get the win tonight, especially here at Polk where we haven’t always had a lot of luck,” Coach Lyons said following the milestone win.

“The girls played really hard and especially are working really hard. We went deeper in our bench tonight as Hayley (Pyatte) wasn’t available and Lauren (Avery) got in a little foul trouble. Everybody played and when they were in the game every one of them worked hard. The girls have putting the effort in during practice and that has carried over and paid off for us game in and game out.”

The win is the ninth in a row for the Lady Vikings, who brought its 9-1 record into its conference home opener on Monday night against the Madison Lady Patriots. Avery faced a stiff test as Madison rallied from a double-digit deficit on two separate occasions. In the end, however, Avery’s offensive firepower and stifling defense was too strong for the Lady Patriots as Avery defeated Madison by an 83-62 final score.

The Lady Vikings scorched the nets offensively to the tune of an 8-0 scoring run to begin the game and a 10-0 run late in the quarter as part of a 23 point first-quarter effort. Madison tied the score at 10-10 midway through the quarter but trailed 23-13 by quarter’s end.

Senior guard Lauren Avery led the Lady Viking surge as she scored seven points in the frame, with a pair of three-pointers from Mercedes Bentley and six points from Elyse Perry.

Madison used its own version of the press defense in the second period to get back into the game. The Lady Patriots appeared to make the Avery offense uncomfortable, forcing a number of turnovers which Madison converted into points. The Patriots made 11 of its 16 shots in the quarter to cut the Avery lead from ten points to a single point at 45-44 at halftime.

The first half score was indicative of many final scores in high school basketball. Both Avery and Madison shot 50 percent or greater from the field for the half, with the Lady Vikings paced by Lauren Avery’s 13 points. Kaitlyn Huff also tallied 13 points to lead the Lady Patriots.

In the third quarter the Big Red made a statement defensively, holding the Lady Patriots to only five points for the quarter on 2 of 13 shooting from the field. Avery kept up its hot shooting by converting 8 of 15 shot attempts. Both the senior guard Avery and teammate Sara Wiseman scored six points each as the Vikings pulled away to a 66-49 lead after three stanzas.

Madison looked to mount a comeback early in the final period behind the duo of Huff and Hannah Burnett, but the deep Avery bench and a consistent, impressive shooting effort propelled the Lady Vikings to its tenth consecutive victory.

Lauren Avery played perhaps her best game of the season as she scored 23 points, pulled down nine rebounds, and dished out six assists. Elyse Perry scored 14 points to go with eight assists, five steals and four rebounds. Fellow senior Sara Wiseman registered a double-double with 11 points and ten blocked shots. Hayley Pyatte chipped in with six points and nine rebounds.
Madison was led by Hannah Burnett with 18 points and seven rebounds, along with 17 points, four assists, and three steals from Kaitlyn Huff.

The Lady Vikings will play a pair of additional conference games this week. Avery hosted Mountain Heritage this evening and will travel to Ledger on Friday to take on Mitchell for the first meeting of the season between the perennial powers.

Avery Vikings Junior Varsity Basketball Roundup

Despite a long layoff due to the holidays and bad weather, the Avery junior varsity basketball squads finally returned to action with rare Saturday games at Polk County and home games on Monday afternoon against fellow conference member Madison.

JV Girls:
The Avery Lady Vikings snapped a recent streak of bad luck on the court at the expense of the Lady Wolverines, routing Polk by a 49-21 score for the team’s first conference victory of the season.

Avery came out strong defensively but showed a little rust on the offensive end during the opening quarter in taking a four-point edge at 6-2 after one quarter of play.

The team found its offensive groove to match its defensive intensity in the second stanza. Megan Dellinger and Kelsie Clarke each needed five points in the second quarter as part of a 13-0 second quarter spurt. The defense clamped down as well, holding Polk scoreless for the second quarter en route to a 19-2 halftime lead.

The Lady Vikings opened the third period with a 9-3 scoring run to effectively put the game out of reach. Shayna Vance netted a pair of three-pointers in the frame and eight of her team-high 12 points in the stanza as Avery led 31-10 after three quarters on the way to the road win.
Monica Estep added 11 points, seven rebounds, and six steals in the Avery victory, with nine points and five steals from Kelsie Clark.

“We were just hungry to play ball more than anything else today since we haven’t played in such a while. If we keep our heads about us, I don’t think we will lose a game the rest of the year,” head coach Pat Daniels said following the win.

The win was a complete team effort with the entire roster contributing to the triumph. “It wasn’t necessarily our best defensive effort this season, considering the competition being a little weaker than some we’ve faced. We played good defense at times against Watauga, Cloudland, and West Wilkes,” Coach Daniels added. “Even though this Polk team beat Mitchell by 12 points earlier this season, we could have beaten them by a larger margin. But we made an effort to give everybody the opportunity to play and I was happy to see the contributions off the bench. Paige Henderson scored four points which was good for her, and Abigail Vance also came in and played well.”

Avery did not play a junior varsity girls game on Monday against Madison as the Patriots do not field a JV girls team this season.

JV Boys:
Avery’s junior varsity boys team played a tight first half against the host Polk Wolverines Saturday afternoon, trailing by only three points at intermission. A scoring run by the Wolverines stole momentum from Avery in the third quarter as Polk went on to garner a 42-29 conference victory.

The Viking offense in the first quarter came courtesy of Dustin Clark, who scored all eight points on four field goals as the Big Red led 8-7 after one quarter of action.

Five different players scored for Polk in the second quarter, but a three-pointer from Austin Lyons helped the Vikings stay within 17-14 at halftime.

Polk County came out like gangbusters to start the second half. Avery on the other hand was unable to find the basket and had difficulty rebounding against the taller Polk club. The Wolverines outscored Avery 19-3 in the third quarter to take a commanding 36-17 advantage.

Avery refused to give in as it outscored Polk 12-6 in the final stanza, but the third quarter proved the downfall as Polk took the 13-point win.

Clark’s eight points paced the Vikings, with five from Dylan Greene and four points from Shea Buchanan.

On Monday night the junior varsity boys picked up its second win in three games, winning an exciting contest by a 35-34 final score.

The first period was nip-and-tuck as the teams played to a virtual standstill. Avery received two baskets from Dustin Clark to help take a narrow 10-9 lead after the first quarter of play. Madison bounced back to regain the lead at 17-15 at halftime despite the second of two 3-point baskets in the half by Austin Lyons.

Indicative of the back-and-forth nature of the contest, the Vikings worked to regain the advantage, outscoring Madison 8-4 in the third period to again pull in front by the score of 23-21. Avery made the only significant scoring run early in the fourth quarter with a 7-1 margin over the first four minutes of the final frame to take a commanding 30-22.

Much to the Patriots’ credit, Madison rallied late to draw even with the Vikings at 32-32 in the final minute of play. The teams traded baskets to tie the game again at 34.

Late in the contest Avery guard Lane Smith collected a Madison turnover and was fouled on a layup attempt with 0.1 second left on the clock. Smith hit the first of two free throws to provide for the final margin of victory.

“Watching the game if felt like déjà vu all over again from last year,” Avery head coach Reggie Oakes said after the win. “I thought defensively we played great. We had a little trouble with boxing out and we got away from our game and remaining aggressive late, but the kids played really hard considering the layoff and having played only one game. We had kids contribute off the bench also. Our offense is doing a better job of taking the ball to the basket, but we still need to work on being ready for the pass when a player penetrates.”

Shea Buchanan led Avery with eight points in the victory, with seven points from Austin Lyons and six apiece from Bryce Pittman and Dustin Clark.

The Vikings returned to action earlier this week with a home game against Mountain Heritage and travel this Friday night to Ledger to take on rival Mitchell. Reports on these contests can be found in next week’s print edition, as well as the Avery Journal-Times Sports Blog at www.ajtsports.blogspot.com.

Kiffin resigns as UT Coach

Courtesy of Tennessee Sports Information

The University of Tennessee Athletics Department announced Tuesday night that first-year head football coach Lane Kiffin has resigned his post effective immediately. Kiffin, hired Dec. 1, 2008, has accepted the position of head football coach at the University of Southern California, where he served as an assistant coach from 2001-06.

"I want to thank Coach Kiffin for his work with our program this past year," said Men's Athletics Director Mike Hamilton. "We have already begun a search for the new head football coach of the Tennessee Volunteers and we'll complete this process as quickly as possible to put the right person in place to lead our great football program forward in the months and years ahead.

"Kippy Brown, who has been a critical piece of our success in years past, will serve as interim head coach until this process is completed."

Brown, who most recently served as assistant head coach and passing game coordinator for the Detroit Lions, brings an extensive amount of experience to the Vols -- including 13 years in the college ranks and 13 years in the NFL.

Brown began his coaching career at Memphis State University (now University of Memphis), where he served as running backs coach and wide receivers coach. He has also served as wide receivers coach at the University of Louisville. Brown joined the Vols under head coach Johnny Majors in 1982 as wide receivers coach. During his first stint with the Vols, Brown helped Tennessee acquire the nickname "Wide Receiver U," coaching numerous pass catchers to greatness, including Anthony Miller, Tim McGee, Alvin Harper and Carl Pickens.

He left the Vols in 1990 to serve as running backs coach for the New York Jets from 1990-92, before returning to Rocky Top in 1993 as assistant head coach and wide receivers coach for Phillip Fulmer. During his second stint with the Vols (1993-94), UT compiled an 18-6 record and outscored their opponents 847-383 over the course of those two years. Peyton Manning also benefited from Brown's guidance during his freshman campaign as the Vols' signal caller.