Viking Football Opens Conference Play Against Improved Warhorses

Editor's note: This week's preview was published prior to the injury suffered by Viking quarterback Alex Villanueva.

After a two-week break in the schedule due to last Friday’s open date, the Avery Vikings (4-0) kicks off Western Highlands Conference gridiron action against an old familiar foe in the Owen Warhorses. The Vikings were impressive in a 43-24 victory on September 10th in the Avery Journal-Times Border Battle Classic, while Owen (2-2) trailed at halftime this past Friday against the Enka Jets before a strong second half propelled the Warhorses to a 49-21 win in Swannanoa.

A season ago, Avery hosted Owen for Homecoming and defeated the Warhorses 14-7 on a rainy, foggy night in Newland.

Scouting the Warhorses:
The Owen Warhorses are led by long-time head coach Kenny Ford and finished with a 4-3 record in conference play a season ago and 6-6 record overall. The record was an improvement from the 2008 campaign where Owen finished with a 4-7 record overall, its worst since the year 2000. Owen returned four starters on defense and three on offense from the 2009 season.

Traditionally, the Warhorses have employed a Pro I formation on offense, but this season the team has also utilized a single back offense as well as a Spread formation to move the football downfield. Owen is adept at using both its running back and fullback as active members in the offense, whether blocking or carrying the football.

Defensively the Warhorses use a 4-4 defense, but will at times line up only three linemen and blitz linebackers or other secondary members to force a bad decision by opponents. As displayed in last week’s win over Enka, Owen can drop as many as eight players into coverage when facing the Spread offense.

The Warhorses are led on the field by their senior quarterback Kaleb Fowler, who passed for 900 yards and rushed for 500 yards in 2009. This season Fowler has picked up where he left off, passing already for 614 yards on 34 of 59 passing with seven touchdown passes. The signal caller has also rushed for 258 yards on 39 carries and three touchdowns through the team’s first four games in 2010.

“Our starting quarterback returns with an experienced backfield due to playing time. We have a group of kids returning that did get a lot of playing time last season at a number of positions on offense and defense,” Coach Ford said prior to the opening of the 2010 season.

Senior running back Austin Davis has been a stalwart in the running game (68 rushes, 374 yards, 7 rushing touchdowns), as well as junior Jordan Littlejohn (24 rushes, 156 yards, 2 rushing touchdowns).

Austin Myers and Matt Marino are among the favorite receiving targets in the Owen passing game.


The Low Down:
This week’s showdown is the most difficult task for the Vikings to face thus far in 2010. Avery must go on the road this week and defeat an improved Owen team to prove to the doubters that this team is a contender and not merely a pretender.

Avery has had two weeks to heal up from any bumps and bruises and prepare for a more diversified Owen team than the Western Highlands Conference has seen in recent years. Although the head coaches share a good friendship, neither Coach Brewer nor Coach Ford would like nothing more than to get the upper hand with a win over the other.

In a loss to Erwin a little over three weeks ago, the Warhorse defense surrendered 379 passing yards to Erwin quarterback Garrett Brown. Aside from the Warriors, the Viking passing game offers comparable diversity and big-play ability. A key to Friday night will be how well the Warhorse secondary can contain the stable of Avery pass catchers and an emerging star in junior quarterback Alex Villanueva.

The Viking defense must also continue its streak of strong play. Against Watauga and Cloudland, Avery’s front seven has been active and limited opponents from gaining large chunks of yardage by ground. Continued consistency in that area will go a long way to helping the Big Red’s shot for victory.

A win this week would give the Vikings an early upper-hand in the Western Highlands Conference title chase, while a loss will not mean the end of the world, but could make the prospects of a conference championship somewhat slim.

By the Numbers:
2 – wins by the Vikings in the previous 10 matchups between Avery and Owen.
7 – margin of victory in points in both Avery’s wins over Owen since the turn of the 21st century.
10 – touchdown passes by Viking quarterback Alex Villanueva through four games in 2010.
39 – rushing attempts by Owen in its win last week over Enka, gaining 337 yards for the game.
100 – yards rushing by Austin Davis on 17 carries in Friday’s 49-21 Warhorse win last week.
245 – receiving yards by Avery receiver Remington Austin this season, including a season-high 108 receiving yards in the 43-24 win over Cloudland September 10th.

Read next week’s print edition of The Avery Journal-Times for a full recap of this week’s conference game at Owen, as well as a preview of next week’s Homecoming game against Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy. For more information on Avery sports, log on to The Avery Journal-Times Sports Blog at: www.ajtsports.blogspot.com

Villanueva to Undergo Surgery after Breaking Collarbone at Practice

The prospects of the Avery varsity football team capturing the 2010 Western Highlands Conference championship were dealt a crippling blow Tuesday afternoon when Avery junior quarterback Alex Villanueva was injured during practice, suffering a broken right collarbone.

Villanueva was participating in a 7-on-7 drill when the injury occurred after falling to the turf at MacDonald Stadium midway through practice. According to his family, Villanueva undergoes surgery for the broken bone on Thursday afternoon and is expected to miss a minimum of four weeks of action.

Senior Dustin Childress and sophomore Lane Smith have been taking snaps in practice, with Childress likely to start under center for the Big Red Friday night when the team travels to Swannanoa to open Western Highlands Conference play against the Owen Warhorses.

Through four games this season, Villanueva was 56 of 102 passing for 949 yards with 10 touchdowns and only three interceptions, to go with 143 rushing yards on 27 carries.

Vikings Soccer Triumphs at TJCA, Shut Out at Hendersonville

The Avery soccer team has had a tumultuous pair of weeks on the pitch. After a week that included a win over North Henderson and a conference loss to Owen, the Vikings bounced back early last week with a 3-2 win at Thomas Jefferson Academy.

Last Wednesday Avery met its most talented foe to date, traveling to Dietz Field to play at top-ranked and defending 1A state champion Hendersonville. The Bearcats were as strong as advertised, defeating the Vikings by an 8-0 final score.

Avery appeared to show no lingering effects from the previous week’s home defeat to Owen, as the Vikings netted all three of its goals in the first 40 minutes of play.

The Vikings played the match without the services of leading scorer Daniel Lusk, who was still sporting an injured knee. Due to the loss of firepower, the Vikings adapted its offensive formation, changing to a 4-2 offense rather than the usual 3-3 formation.

Ten minutes into the match, Heraclio Flores scored off an assist by Isauro Estrada. Around 10 minutes later, Estrada got into the scoring spree, netting a goal off an assist from Javier Bravo to give the Big Red a 2-0 advantage.

“Our offense seemed to be clicking, and the defense was holding its own,” Avery head coach Tom Evaul said after the match..

Just three minutes after the second score, Forrest Sickler pealed a shot inside the woodwork, scoring off an Estrada assist to increase the Avery lead to 3-0.

Thomas Jefferson took advantage of some miscommunication and decision-making which set up a direct kick. The Gryphons scored off the kick around the 28-minute mark to cut the Viking lead at halftime to 3-1.

“The team came off the field frustrated that their level of play in the first 20 minutes of play had dropped drastically in the second 20 minutes,” Coach Evaul stated after the match. “The cohesiveness we had at North and lost against Owen was fading away quickly, and the team just didn’t respond to what the coaches were trying to get them to do in the second half. We resorted to a game of “kickie ball”…no passing, no talk, no support. It was just a second half that was atypical of what Avery had been doing earlier in the season.”

Thomas Jefferson managed to score one goal in the second half to cut the Viking lead to 3-2, but Avery regrouped and was able to hold on to secure its seventh win of the season.

Later in the week, the Vikings ventured to Hendersonville for a matchup of top ten state ranked 1A schools. The matchup proved to be a one-sided affair as Avery was again without Daniel Lusk for the contest. The team also played without Jorge Arreola for the first half, and was dealt another blow with an injury to senior defenseman Brock Yackey.

The Vikings surrendered four goals in each half, and was unable to crack the scoreboard offensively. Nevertheless, the Viking head coach was pleased that his team played hard for the entire match against a strong and talented club in Hendersonville.

“I really thought we would give Hendersonville a better game than we did, but it wasn’t to be. They are obviously a much stronger team than they were last year, with more weapons, more speed, more aggression, and are a bigger and confident team compared to last year,” Coach Evaul stated. “The score could have been much worse, as Hendersonville’s coach didn’t take out his starters until the 73rd minute mark. Here lately, their scores have been 10 goals or better against opponents. Despite the barrage and humiliation, the guys played as hard as they could to the bitter end, not giving up nor getting so frustrated that it took their heads out of the game. I was proud of their effort against an excellent Hendersonville team…I’m truly surprised they have even lost a game.”

Coach Evaul was proud of the effort of his freshman goalkeeper Alex Magner, who faced a flurry of Bearcat shots all match long, and continued to fiercely defend between the pipes for the duration of the match.

“Alex stopped over 40 shots on goal, while allowing just the eight by Hendersonville. As a freshman goalie who has only played goalie for three months to take what he had to take at Hendersonville, and still stay focused and intense throughout that game, he made the coaching staff and his teammates admire him all that much more,” Coach Evaul shared.

The Vikings continue to battle in the thick of Western Highlands Conference action this week with a home match against Polk County and a road confrontation with the Madison Patriots mid-week in Marshall.

Mountaineers Roll over Blackhawks for Homecoming

The Mitchell Mountaineers forced four turnovers and rolled up 44 first-half points en route to a 50-23 pasting of the North Buncombe Blackhawks at Memorial Stadium in Ledger last Friday night.

The pageantry of the day-long celebration of Homecoming at Mitchell High culminated in the crowning of Ben Duncan and Ashley Greene as Homecoming King and Queen, respectively. In the meantime, Mitchell’s football team provided the punch to go with the evening pomp.

After a slow start to the first quarter, the purple-and-black clad Mountaineers club opened the scoring when Isaac Edwards booted a 26-yard field goal at the 5:21 mark to give Mitchell the early 3-0 lead.

In the second quarter, everything that could go right did for the Mountaineers. Troy Self scored the first touchdown of the night when he galloped across the goal line from three yards out, with the extra point giving the home team a 10-0 lead.

Following a Blackhawk turnover, Mitchell scored less than a minute later as Justin Hughes hit pay dirt with a one-yard plunge. The PAT put the Mountaineers ahead 17-0.

On the next series, the Blackhawks offense was victimized yet again by the Mitchell defense. After marching inside Mountaineer territory, a pass by North quarterback Christian Jewkes was picked off by Self, who took the interception 55 yards for a touchdown to boost Mitchell’s advantage to 24-0.

Mitchell went on to score 20 additional points in the final eight minutes of the first half. Hughes scored his second touchdown of the half with a five-yard run. Halfback Shawn Jackson got into the act as well when he crossed the goal line on a five-yard run of his own. Finally, Self found the end zone again for a third time when he reached the end zone on a two-yard run with just six seconds left in the first half. North Buncombe scored on an 86-yard touchdown pass at around the two minute mark of the second quarter, but the half was all Mitchell, as the Mountaineers took a 44-6 halftime lead.

Mitchell was never threatened by North in the second half, but the Blackhawks made the final score somewhat more respectable with 17 points over the final two stanzas well after the Mountaineers had begun playing its reserves.

Self ended the game with 197 yards in offense, while Hughes had nine carries for 95 yards and three touchdowns in the victory.

The win improved Mitchell to an even 2-2 on the season as the club opens Western Highlands Conference play next Friday night with a trip to Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy.

Middle School Football Roundup

Wildcats Defeat Harris for Second Conference Win

On Tuesday, September 14^th the Cranberry Wildcats played host to the Harris Blue Devils. The Wildcats ground game punished the Blue Devils defense and controlled the time of possession for a majority of the contest. A pair of Cranberry touchdowns staked the Wildcats to a 12-0 lead, and the team held off a late rally to defeat Harris by a 12-8 final score.

The Wildcats hit pay dirt early in the second period as running back Caleb Stansbury took a pitch play, and after momentarily losing possession of the football, the runner scooped up the pigskin, raced down the left sideline and scurried 70 yards for the first points of the ballgame. The conversion attempt failed, but the Wildcats held a 6-0 lead, a margin they kept until halftime.

Neither team could get past their opponent’s defense in the third quarter. Early in the fourth stanza, CMS added a key insurance touchdown when Canaan Singleton scored on a fullback dive to put CMS ahead by a 12-0 score.

“That was a big touchdown for Canaan. He was really excited about scoring his first touchdown,” Cranberry Middle School head football coach Kent Hayes said after the game.

Despite trailing, the Blue Devils refused to fold. With two minutes left to play, Harris scored its first points of the game and was successful on its two-point conversion to cut the Cranberry lead to 12-8. Harris tried an onside kick to get possession back for its offense, but the Wildcats covered the bouncing football to retain possession, run out the clock, and seal its second Toe River Conference victory this season.

“We had a lead and pushed Harris up and down the field the entire game. We had some trouble sealing the deal, you could say, as we started slowly,” Coach Hayes said after the win. “Our defense played great. It was really our first game where our defense played up to its potential. I’m proud of the kids.”

The Wildcats can finish as high as in second place in the TRC, and the team continues to work toward achieve its goals for the season.
“We’ll have a tougher challenge the next couple of weeks with East Yancey and Avery, but we want to finish strong,” Coach Hayes added. “We’re getting better every week and we’re trying to get lined up for the tournament coming up.”

For Cranberry the victory was a team effort, as the squad continues to grow closer together and has adapted from the loss of its starting quarterback Tyler Pittman, rallying around one another to play hard and play well.

“It’s a great group of kids. They’re a really good team and there are no individual mentalities. I’ve been impressed at practice with how some of our backs will hop back up and run with our linemen and some of our last players to finish when we run sprints or banks,” Coach Hayes stated. “The players are really committed to each other. It’s more than football a lot of times with this group. These guys are going to be fine young men.”

Shane Carpenter has stepped up at the quarterback position for Cranberry and has evolved into a team leader who displays toughness for the Wildcats on the field.

“Shane has done a fantastic job. He’s a tough kid. He took a lot of hits in the Bowman game and had to get stitches on his arm, but he kept playing. He also took some hard shots against Harris,” Coach Hayes said of his signal-caller. “He’s a smart kid who does what we ask to the best of his abilities. It was tough losing Tyler, but it’s been good having Shane step in and do what he’s done.”

Second Half Rally Rolls Rebels Past Panthers

The Avery Middle School football team had a tough task last Tuesday, September 14^th at MacDonald Stadium when it tangled with the Rebels from Cane River Middle School. The game was a close contest through the first half, but the Rebels used a 30-point second half to pull away for a 46-16 win.

Avery scored first in the contest with a three-yard quarterback keeper from Austin Phillips. Phillips also ran in the two-point conversion for an 8-0 Panther lead at the 5:40 mark in the first quarter.

Cane River answered with an eight play, 65-yard drive capped off by a one-yard run from Ben Rice. The two point conversion pass attempt was good, tying the game at 8-8 with 2:37 left in the first period.

AMS was held to three-and-out and punted the ball away. On the first offensive play following the punt, Cane River gave the ball back to its workhorse Rice, who galloped 75 yards for a Rebel touchdown. Another two-point conversion pass play was complete, giving Cane River a 16-8 lead with 22 seconds left in the opening stanza.

On its ensuing offensive series, Avery wasted little time driving downfield. A Phillips scramble netted 15 yards near midfield, and four plays later Pittman found Kobe Pittman on a 38-yard touchdown pass. Phillips ran in the two-point conversion to tie the contest at 16-16 with 6:03 left in the first half.

The Rebels appeared poised to regain the lead, driving inside the Panthers 5-yard line and elapsing over four minutes off the second quarter clock. Avery’s defense rose to the occasion with a goal-line stand, however, leaving the teams knotted at 16 at halftime.

Cane River opened the second half with the first offensive series. Avery held the Rebels to a fourth and short from its own 43-yard line, but a quick pass to Rebels tight end Blake Fox resulted in a 57-yard touchdown play, swinging the momentum of the game in favor of Cane River for good. The two-point conversion failed, but Cane River led 22-16 midway through the third period.

Following an Avery three-and-out, Cane River running back Ben Rice broke out for a 48-yard touchdown run. A penalty called back the score, however. The disappointment did not last long for the Yancey County fans, however, as Rice raced through the Panthers on the next play for a 38-yard touchdown run. The two-point conversion pass was complete to give the Rebels a 30-16 edge with 41 seconds to play in the third period.

The Panthers were again denied on its next series by the Rebels defense and turned the football over on downs. Cane River’s offense continued its assault in the final eight minutes of the game, scoring twice more in the period to provide for the final margin in the 46-16 victory.

Cranberry hosted East Yancey this past Tuesday, while Avery hosted Harris. Avery and Cranberry will square off against one another in the 28^th annual Brad King Bowl next Tuesday, September 28^th at 6:30 p.m. at MacDonald Stadium. The game serves as a benefit contest to assist a local resident or family in need. This year’s contest will benefit Carolina Sky Odom, daughter of Anthony and Amanda Odom. Avery Middle School won last season’s game by the final score of 22-6.

Avery High School Prep Roundup

Junior Varsity Football:

Last Thursday evening the Avery Vikings junior varsity football team hosted the Elizabethton Cyclones freshman team in a non-conference matchup. In an exciting game that thrilled to the finish, the Vikings fell behind but mounted a huge fourth quarter comeback. Avery had one final opportunity in the final two minutes to win the game, but the Cyclones defense held stout as the Vikings came up just short in a 19-13 loss.

Elizabethton struck first with its opening possession of the contest, when quarterback Caleb Bailey found fullback Jacob Woodby for a 10-yard touchdown pass play. The extra point by kicker Cody Guess gave the Cyclones a 7-0 lead at the 4:00 mark of the opening stanza.

The Vikings wasted little time answering the Elizabethton score, marching downfield with the running game and behind the arm of quarterback Stetson Stafford. The key play of the Avery scoring drive came on a 18-yard pass completion which moved the Vikings inside the Cyclones 10-yard line.

Stafford completed the drive with a one-yard quarterback sneak. An extra point by Heraclio Flores was good, tying the game at 7-7 with 2:56 remaining in the first period.

As the first half transpired, both teams worked to move the pigskin downfield, but both defenses turned away offensive drives.

In the final minute of the half, Elizabethton used a hook-and-lateral pass play to advance the football to the Avery 3-yard line. On the next play Bailey put the Cyclones ahead with a three-yard run. The extra point kick failed, but Elizabethton held a 13-7 lead over the Vikings at halftime.

During the third quarter Elizabethton used a time-consuming drive after starting a possession deep in its own territory. The possession ended with a three-yard touchdown tote by Cyclones running back Landon Pearson. The two-point conversion pass play failed, but the Cyclones increased its lead to 19-7 with 3:19 left in the period.

Following the touchdown, Avery continued to show flashes of its ability to move the football on the Elizabethton defense. The Vikings advanced one series into Cyclone territory, but turned the football over on downs.

As the fourth quarter clock ticked away, Avery’s defense was faced with the task of needing to stop the Cyclones to get the football back into the hands of the offense. The defense did its job and forced an Elizabethton punt.

Having already hit one big play earlier through the air, the Vikings struck pay dirt in a hurry when Stafford connected with wide receiver Lane Smith on a 70-yard touchdown pass down the Avery sideline. The point after kick was unsuccessful, but Avery drew to within 19-13 with 3:19 to play in the contest.

Needing one final stop, Avery held the Cyclones to a three-and-out on its next series, forcing a punt with under two minutes remaining. Avery marched from its own 38-yard line to the Elizabethton 41, but could get no closer as Jacob Woodby intercepted a pass in the final 30 seconds of play to preserve the Cyclone win.

The Avery junior varsity football team will open Western Highlands Conference action this Thursday evening at MacDonald Stadium when it hosts the Owen Warhorses. Kickoff time is slated for 7 p.m.

Cross Country:

The Avery boys and girls cross country runners ventured to Buncombe County last week to race in the Owen Invitational.

A total of three Viking ladies competed at last week’s race, with Avery senior runner Mary Chesnut Smith setting the pace for the team in the girls event, completing the course in 13^th place overall with a time of 22:00. Catalina Adams (29:32) and Teddi Jablonski (30:56) also represented the Lady Vikings running at the event.

A large number of Vikings ran in the boys race. Some of which, including Justin Gragg (boys soccer), Mark Polsgrove (basketball, baseball) Dustin Clarke (basketball), and Joey Potter (basketball) are running on the boys team and hope to excel as they have in other sports for the Big Red.

Gragg was the first Viking to cross the finish line as all the male runners ran better times than the team’s opening meet, cutting anywhere from a minute to two and a half minutes off their times.

With a strong turnout of runners, head coach Reggie Oakes is excited about the potential for the team, and is also impressed with the effort of the student-athletes.

“The cross country kids have been working really hard in preparing for the season,” Coach Oakes said following last week’s event. “We have some work to do, but the kids are committed to getting better, and I expect to see the runners continue to improve their times as the season goes on.”

Ladies Golf:

The Avery High School girls golf team is just beginning to tee off for the 2010 fall season. The team, in just its second year of existence, opened its season last week in Black Mountain.

This year’s club has a new head coach, as Kaitlyn Mattox takes over the helm from Coach Boe Barinowski, who is still helping to advise the team. The squad lost a number of talented players from last season, but returns a number of returning experienced players in Kelli Burleson, Noelle Henline, Kendra Puckett, and Nikki Wright.

The Lady Vikings will host the team’s first home match on September 27^th at Sugar Mountain Golf Course in Banner Elk. The team will also host a match in Newland at Mountain Glen Golf Club in early October, with the season concluding with the state tournament in early November.

Brotherly Bond: Gonzalez and Villanueva Share Lifelong Friendship On and Off Field

Editor’s Note: The following is the first of a two-part interview with Avery Vikings quarterback Alex Villanueva wide receiver Andy Gonzalez. Part one highlights the pair’s relationship with one another and influences growing up in Miami, Florida

For local fans, the duo of Avery Vikings football senior wide receiver Andy Gonzalez and junior quarterback Alex Villanueva bring excitement to the gridiron and a renewed pride and passion.

The best pitch-and-catch combination since the duo of Garrett Sutphen and Josh Johnson in Avery’s storybook 2005 season that led the Vikings to the third round of the state playoffs, the current signal-caller and wideout have been lifelong friends dating back to the youth growing up on the same street in Miami, Florida. In fact, the pair considers each other to be about as close to brothers as a pair can be without the bloodline.

“Our parents have always been close. My dad was there when he was born, and his mom was there when I was born,” Gonzalez said of how long the pair had been connected as friends.

The pair played in Pop Warner football from the age of five or six years of age, but due to their size difference, they didn’t compete as teammates. “I was heavier than Andy so I was always on the older team,” Villanueva said. “He was old, but he had to stay on a different team because of being smaller, so I was always a year ahead in the league.”

Andy and Alex’s parents were best friends in high school, so their friendship has deep roots. Because of their long-time friendship, the pair knows each other extremely well on the field. It’s that familiarity that proves helpful when under the Friday night lights.

“Andy isn’t the biggest player, but he has great hands and we trust each other. He’s an all-around great player who never gives up. When something goes bad he gets back up and does what he has to do to make the team better,” Villanueva said of Gonzalez.

“Ever since we were little in Miami, Alex was a kicker. He grew up as a kicker in little leagues, and I played nose guard at 65 pounds. Over the years, we played almost every position on the field. As we grew older, he became a better athlete and in middle school he decided he wanted to be a quarterback. He worked hard, went to camps and has dedicated himself to becoming the best quarterback he could be,” Gonzalez said of his friend. “He started his first high school game as a freshman in the state playoffs and made a huge jump. He’s a tough kid and has taken some hits and is an aggressive player with a lot of heart.”

Off the field, the tandem spend a vast amount of time together and have a good idea of what makes the other person tick.

“We fight a lot and argue, but it’s good because in a way it brings us closer together. We get along well enough that we can have our arguments, but we can let them go and move on as if nothing ever happened,” Villanueva shared. “Andy is a nice guy that always has something good to say about people.”

“People are different, and sometimes Alex can be a little hard-headed. But I know Alex like a book, and I know what makes him angry and what doesn’t. He gets into a mode sometimes where I have to ignore him, but off the field we spend a lot of time together hanging out and watching game film. We walk out of practice together and work out together more out of habit than anything else,” Gonzalez said.

Alex and Andy were blessed to have family members and football coaches in their formative years that loved football and cared about them, and those relationships positively impacted their lives.

“Growing up, we played at a park called Tamiami Park. We played two or three years, and the head coach that coached us opened up an Optimist Park at another location. The first year we joined at that park we played together and had a couple of other really good players. We went on to go undefeated for three or four straight years, but lost in championship games,” Gonzalez shared.

“Football has made us like brothers. Without football I don’t think I would have known him,” Villanueva added.

Growing up in Florida meant playing the game of football with a different style and pace. That difference has served the pair well as they help lead the Vikings against the rough and tumble foes of the Western Highlands Conference and eventually into state playoff competition.

“In Florida the game was much faster. The game was all about speed there, where up here the game is more about power,” Villanueva explained. “I think playing there helped us. When we play teams up here the schools have these reputations of being undefeated and beating everybody, but that doesn’t bother us. We grew up playing in camps and against other teams that were so much better than we were, so we’re accustomed to rising to play that level of competition.”

Coming to Avery County has brought a sense of rescue to both Andy and Alex from an area where their lives could have taken different and less healthy paths.

“I came up here and started playing football using the talents from living in Miami and from the camps and playing with my buddies there. Up here I have earned these achievements that have made my family proud,” Andy shared. “Nobody thought down there that I could be successful here as I have. I wasn’t such a great student in middle school. I used to just care about football and didn’t care about school, but coming up here to Avery has changed my thinking and focus and I’ve been able to take it to another level.”

“The atmosphere here is so much different,” Alex added. “Down there drugs were prevalent and you were pressured from a very young age. It was a rough city to be around. You had all your friends close by and there were things to do. You were always able to hang out, but there were times where you had to choose between hanging out with your friends and doing the right thing. Fortunately, all my friends and I stayed together through football and we were pretty good kids. Football kept us together on and off the field and we were all close. Coming here it was a little hard for both of us to blend in, not being from here. But we’ve both met most of our friends the same way as in Miami, which was through sports.”

Phillips Takes Reins of Viking Baseball Program as New Head Coach

The Avery County Board of Education approved the hiring of Samuel Phillips as the new varsity head baseball coach at Avery High School in a meeting held last week.

Phillips replaces Benny Wellborn, who led the Vikings to multiple state playoff berths during his tenure as coach with the club and stepped down last summer for family reasons. Phillips served as an assistant under Wellborn and worked with the junior varsity team as head coach last season.

“As a local kid growing up in Avery County, I feel like my feet definitely got wet in the program. Working alongside Benny was very helpful, and he has been there for me since I got the job,” Phillips said in an interview last week. “I am excited, I’m blessed and very thankful for the opportunity to have this job.”

“We’re delighted to have Samuel as our new baseball coach. I think he is a fine young man and he has always been a student of the game. Not only is he a student of the game, but he loves the game. He comes from a baseball-crazed family and he played for one of the best college coaches around in Ashley Lawson. With his enthusiasm for the game, I believe he will continue the progress in the baseball program that has been made the past several years,” Avery High School Director of Athletics David Wright said regarding the hiring of the new coach. “He’s identified some problem areas here in Avery County with the baseball program, such as the weakness between Little League and high school and affording opportunities for our kids to play baseball during that time, as well as the need for our kids to play baseball during the summer and outside baseball season. He has a good baseball mind and he sees what we need to do to improve and get better.”

Coach Phillips is looking forward to putting his own stamp on the program and plans to get to work quickly building Avery into a perennial 1A baseball contender.

“I see two programs at Avery: the way things are, and the way they could be. We had some great teams in recent seasons and had great success, and I’m thankful to Benny and his work in making the program what it is today,” Phillips shared. “This job has been a lifelong dream of mine. I told my parents when I was younger that I wanted to come back to this area and become a coach. My former college coach Ashley Lawson and I have spoken several times, and he now works as an assistant coach at the University of Tennessee. He encouraged me to “make this job my Tennessee”. Those words hit home with me, and I want to make this position the best it can be.”

Phillips knows that for the Big Red baseball program to be successful, it will take a lot of dedication both in the classroom and on the diamond.
“If I can get our kids to do their best in the classroom, in the community, and on the baseball field, I believe success will follow,” Coach Phillips added. “But there’s no replacement for hard work. We’re going to work hard, no matter what.”

Phillips plans to meet this week with returning and potential players, integrate an off-season weightlifting program, and he also plans to become involve in aspects of baseball indirectly connected to Avery High School.

“I really want to involve myself with Little League Baseball here in Avery County. I want the kids to know my name and understand that I care for them and their baseball future. I want them to know that they are the future of the baseball program at Avery and that they mean as much to me as any other aspect of growing our baseball program locally,” Phillips explained. “The future and building a tradition is vital. I don’t want us to be good one year and then bad for five years. I want to have a program built where every year opponents know that when they have to play Avery they have to lace ‘em up tight and play.”

The coach doesn’t plan on, in his words, “re-inventing the wheel”, but does intend on helping players with aspects of the game which will strengthen the team dynamic in the weeks, months, and years to come, as well as hold high expectations for those who play for him.

“In my two years as a high school coach I’ve learned if you have a high school pitcher who can throw strikes, you can have success. If a pitcher has two pitches that he can throw for strikes, he can be dominant. In college, if you have a pitcher with three pitches that can be thrown for strikes, you can be dominant. You can be really successful at the high school level if you can throw two pitches for strikes,” the coach said.

“In the wintertime we will hit, hit, hit, and we will pitch, pitch, and pitch. I hope we can do some cage work and some tee work, but we will focus a lot on pitching, since I pitched in college and have some wealth of knowledge to pass along to pitchers. It will be tough on our pitchers. They’ll be the first ones at practice and the last to leave, and that’s just the way it is, as they have to do the extra legwork to really be successful.”

Avery baseball fans can expect a head coach who will expend every ounce of energy to make Viking Baseball the best it can possibly be, as well as something the community can be proud of.

“I can’t make any promises the first season that we’ll have some great measure of success,” Coach Phillips said. “But I can promise that I will give 110 percent every time out in every area of the job. That’s how I played the game, and that’s how I will coach.”

AJ-T Sports LIVE FROM...MacDonald Stadium (Avery Men's Soccer)

9:14 PM - Despite valiant efforts by both clubs, neither school was able to put a shot in net. Great goaltending by Avery's Alex Magner and solid defense results in a 0-0 tie. Good action by both teams. Avery moves to 7-3-2 for the season and will be back in action later this week. Thanks for reading!

9:00 PM - We've played through the first 10-minute overtime session and the match is still scoreless. Ten more minutes for a team to break through and pick up a conference win!

8:45 PM - At the end of regulation the match is tied at 0-0. We'll have two 10-minute overtime periods to try to determine a winner in this one.

8:40 PM - With 7 minutes left in regulation, Polk had its best scoring chance of the night, with the ball inside the box. The scrappy Viking defense kept battling, and benefited from an errant shot by Polk from up close, keeping the match scoreless.

8:25 PM - Midway through the second half and neither team has broken the ice and scored. Polk has had a couple of chances, as has Avery, but the keepers have had clean sheets thus far. Twenty minutes left in regulation and it's still 0-0.

7:55 PM - It's halftime and the match is scoreless. Avery had a scoring opportunity late in the half, but could not cash in for the first goal of the match. 0-0 at intermission.

7:30 PM - We're about halfway through the first half and there is no score. Polk had a scoring chance in the first 8 minutes or so but the shot was turned away. Avery just had a corner kick opportunity but it was staved off by the Wolverines.

We're LIVE from the press box at MacDonald Stadium on campus at Avery High School for this evening's men's soccer match between the Polk County Wolverines and the #10 ranked Avery Vikings.

The Vikings are coming off a difficult 8-0 loss at Hendersonville this past Wednesday evening and stand at 7-3-1 for the season. We'll have updates throughout our match this evening as the Big Red looks for their 8th win of 2010!