Defense Dooms Avery in 11-1 Loss at Swain

BRYSON CITY - The Avery Vikings dropped an 11-1 defeat at the hands of top-ranked Swain County this evening.

At the outset, prospects looked promising for the Big Red, as first inning leadoff hitter and senior shortstop Pedro Benavides took a 3-2 pitch by Swain southpaw starter White high over the left field wall to give the Vikings a 1-0 lead. Little did the Vikings know at the time that the run would prove to be the only one they would put on the board for the evening.

Later in the first inning Avery put a runner on, but a 4-6-3 double play killed the Avery rally. Swain answered the Avery tally with four runs in the opening inning off starter Brooks Oakley. Although all nine starters for the Maroon Devils were talented seniors, with five players going on to play collegiate baseball, it was Avery errors which hurt most in the first two innings, Four gaffes contributed to keeping rallies alive as Swain put up three runs in the second frame to lead 7-1 after two innings.

A bobble and an error, as well as three well hit balls helped Swain add two insurance runs in the third. Avery meanwhile continued to hit the ball solidly, as no less than four of the team's hits in the contest would have cleared the fence at the Avery ballpark. Deep dimensions at Maroon Devils Field as well as talented outfielders turned the shots into deep flyouts.

Avery's strongest offensive threat came in the top of the fourth, as two singles and a fielder's choice left two runners on with two outs. A deep flyout to center field ended the inning. Swain rudely welcomed relief pitcher Seth Philips into his final appearance on the mound as a Viking in the bottom of the fourth as White helped his own cause with a home run over the left center field wall. The Maroon Devils added one more run in the frame to account for the final margin in the contest.

The Vikings end their season with a final record of 5-15 on the season and lose four seniors from this year's team.

Lady Vikings Softball Fall to Madison, Baseball Travels to Swain Tonight

The Avery Lady Vikings softball team fell by an 11-0 score in six innings against Madison at a windy Viking softball field Thursday afternoon.

Avery had difficulty generating offense against Madison star pitcher Laurel Gregg pitched another masterful no-hit effort, striking out 15 Lady Vikings and surrendering only a walk to Morgan Yackey, who actually reached base twice in the game as she was also hit by a Gregg pitch in her second at-bat of the contest.

Madison picked up two runs in the first inning and four in the second before Avery starter Yackey and the Lady Vikings defense held the Lady Patriots scoreless for the next two innings. Madison picked up a single run in the fifth, then put the game away with a four-run sixth inning for the win, improving the team's record to 19-1 overall, and 11-1 in conference play.

Avery finishes the regular season with five victories and will wait until Sunday or Monday to find out if they qualify for the state playoffs and what potential opponent they may face.

The Vikings baseball team travels to Bryson City where it will take on the 19-2 Swain County Maroon Devils. Swain went undefeated in Smoky Mountain Conference play to claim its league championship, and boasts a University of Tennessee recruit in southpaw pitcher Josh Allman.

“Josh isn’t an overpowering pitcher,” says Swain County coach Brandon Deitz. “He throws in the mid-80s, but he is smart pitcher. He has been trained well. He throws a lot of off speed.”

The Maroon Devils played perennial power West Henderson on Monday, and ended its conference season with a win over Murphy. The following appeared in the Smoky Mountain Times newspaper:

"West avenged an early season loss to the Devils by taking a 6-5 win. But for the Maroon Devils it was great preparation for the 1A playoffs. The game itself went nine innings before the Falcons pushed across the winning run.

Brad Roland picked up the tough luck loss, but pitched brilliantly working seven full innings. Cory Hipp hit 3-5 while Luke Burton went 2-3.Against Murphy, the Devils built a 6-2 lead and then held off a furious Bulldog rally in the seventh to take a 6-4 win.

Nick Lyons drove in a pair of runs, while Cory Hipp went 2-3 with an rbi and a run scored. Hipp added two stolen bases as well.Josh Allman picked up the win for the Devils. Allman worked out of seventh inning trouble by striking out the final batter with the bases loaded. He struck out nine while scattering six hits."

Swain is a senior-laden team that Coach Benny Wellborn knows will be a tough team to beat, especially at home. "We know we have a tough one against Swain, they're ranked number one is the state for a reason. I think if we're able to put the ball in play, we have a shot. Anything can happen in the playoffs," the coach said.

The keys to tonight's game are simple. Avery must make routine plays and not give the Maroon Devils extra outs, and will utilize its versatile pitching staff to try to keep Swain off balance. Also, the team must hit the baseball, as the Vikings are hitting under .300 as a team.

"We have cut down on some errors in the field from the beginning of the year, and as long as our bats come alive, anything can happen." First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m. in Bryson City, and we hope to post the final score and a brief wrap-up shortly after the game (if web access makes it possible).

Women's Soccer Ends Phenomenal Season with Loss at Polk

The Avery Lady Vikings fell 5-1 to Polk County in opening round play of the NCHSAA 1A soccer playoffs.

Due to a middle school track meet at Polk, the opening kickoff of the match did not begin until after 8:30 p.m., over an hour later than the advertised start time. Avery faced difficulty even before the opening kick, as Katie Peters injured an ankle as the team warmed up on an adjacent practice field. Despite obvious discomfort and immobility, the senior captain put extra tape on the injury and played through the pain in the match.

Polk scored a pair of goals at the 16th and 18th minute, respectively to take a 2-0 lead. Avery eventually settled down, withstanding an additional barrage of corner kicks to trail by the pair of goals at halftime.

Needing momentum to carry them into a comeback, Polk was the team who stole momentum authoritatively, scoring a goal in the half's first 12 seconds to take a commanding 3-0 lead. Avery's lone goal of the match came less than two minutes later as a Mary Chesnut Smith corner kick was headed into the goal by Peters, making the score 3-1.

The Lady Wolverines netted another pair of goals for the final margin of victory, sending the disappointed Big Red into the offseason.

We'll post some coach's comments and perhaps a photo or two over the next day or so. Congratulations to the Lady Vikings for a thrilling and successful season!

Playoff News and Notes

WOMEN'S SOCCER


The Avery women's soccer team travels to Polk County this evening for the opening round of the 1A soccer playoffs. That's right, the same Polk County that the Lady Vikings traveled to Friday night, losing a narrow 1-0 match on Polk's Senior Night.


The Lady Wolverines boast six players who have scored six or more goals this season, but Avery has given the team trouble like no other squad this season, being held to only a single goal a total of 180 minutes of soccer action.


Tonight's game is scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff. We'll have results as quickly as we can post them shortly after the match.


BASEBALL

Avery's varsity baseball team dropped a 3-0 contest yesterday in Ledger. Vikings starter Chris Childress gave up all three runs in the opening inning off a pair of bunt singles, a throwing error, and a 2-RBI single. He allowed only one additional hit over the final six innings of a complete-game effort.

The Vikings' struggles at the plate continued Tuesday night. The team's best scoring opportunity off Mitchell starter Pfouts came in the first inning when Pedro Benavides reached base, was bunted over to second and advanced to third on a groundout, only to have a strikeout strand the senior at third base.

Avery finished the regular season at 5-14 overall on the season, with a 2-10 conference mark. It was a "Good news, Bad news" scenario earlier today as the NCHSAA playoff brackets were released. The Good News... Avery qualified for the postseason as a Wild Card entrant. The Bad News?? They must face 19-1 Swain County, the top team in the Impact Baseball 1A state baseball poll, in Bryson City on Friday afternoon.
Again, we hope to post game results shortly after the game, so check the blog late Friday night or early Saturday morning for details!

Avery's junior varsity baseball team picked up a 10-9 win and season sweep yesterday over the Mitchell Mountaineers in Newland on Tuesday, and wrap up its season this afternoon with a conference make-up game at Hendersonville.

SOFTBALL:

The Lady Vikings softball team lost a heartbreaking 6-5 contest to Mitchell on Senior Day Tuesday afternoon. The game was a back-and-forth affair, as the teams traded the lead on multiple occasions.

Avery's seniors were honored during the game, and it appeared the team would provide a victory for its veteran pair of players when a two-out double by junior Samantha Shook in the bottom of the fourth inning gave Avery a 5-4 lead. Mitchell rallied for a pair of runs in the top of the fifth for what proved to be the winning runs.

Avery starter Morgan Yackey gave up only three earned runs and eight hits over seven innings of work and struck out seven Lady Mountaineers.

"The girls played hard and came back to take the lead twice during the game. We had a couple defensive mistakes that helped give them three unearned runs. I am proud of the effort and our continued abilty to compete for the entire game," Coach Merritt Yackey said after the game. "As it was senior day we recognized our two seniors, Andrea McFee and Sierra Perkins, both of whom were escorted by their parents. Hopefully we will get a bid to play in the state tournament."

Avery hosts Madison on Thursday afternoon in the team's home finale, and will then wait to see if they have earned a likely berth in this year's 1A softball playoffs.

TRACK AND FIELD

Avery boasts an array of athletes who have qualified to participate at this weekend's Western Regional Track and Field Championships at Polk County High School.

On the women's side, seven ladies will be attempting to qualify for the state meet. In women's Shot, Judi Dillashaw and Heather Carpenter have qualified, with Dillashaw also qualifying in the women's discus. Caroline Crenshaw has qualified in the women's long jump, triple jump, 100 meter hurdles, and 300 meter hurdles.

Also qualifying in the triple jump and 100 meter hurdles, as well as the high jump is Ginny Smith. Katelynn Eudy has qualified in the 100 meter dash and 400 meter dash, with Kate Griewisch and Mary Chesnut Smith qualifying in the 1600 meter and 3200 meter runs. Mary Chesnut also qualified for a third event, the 800 meter run.

On the boys side, Andrew Ingram has qualified to compete in the men's discus and long jump. Alex Brannon also qualified for the long jump, in addition to the men's 400 meter run. Chase Arrowood will compete in the men's triple jump, with Quentin Burleson competing in the men's 300 meter hurdles. Forrest Sickler and John Ray Benfield have qualified for the 800 meter run, while Kyle Griewisch and Tony Villanueva will compete in the 200 meter dash. Villanueva has also qualified and will compete in the men's 100 meter dash.

Best of luck to all of Avery's track and field athletes this weekend at Regionals!

Manis Tabbed as New Vikings Varsity Men's Basketball Coach

At Monday evening's meeting, the Avery County Board of Education announced that Bo Manis has been named the new varsity boys head basketball coach at Avery County High School.

Manis, a former Senior Bowl football honoree and Vikings basketball standout, has most recently served as head basketball coach for the junior varsity boys team at the high school.

Manis takes over for Art Williamson, who led the club for seven years before resigning as head coach following a 3-23 campaign this past season.

Yackey Tosses No-Hitter as Vikings Softball Beats Hendersonville

The Avery Lady Vikings picked up its first conference softball victory in three seasons in a 4-1 domination of Hendersonville in Newland on Monday.

Avery junior right-hander Morgan Yackey pitched masterfully in allowing no hits to the Hendersonville nine, striking out three batters with the only players reaching base via walk.

Avery scored a run in the bottom of the first to take a 1-0 lead. The score remained unchanged as the Lady Vikings defense made several sterling plays in both the outfield and infield. Errors doomed several contests for the Big Red throughout the season, but on this evening the team played error-free softball.

The Lady Vikings added three runs of insurance the bottom of the fifth which was more than enough run support for a dominant Yackey. Sierra Perkins doubled and scored on a fielder's choice, sliding under a tag at home plate for Avery's second run. Kaylea Davis scored on a passed ball from third base during the ensuing at-bat for a 3-0 advantage. The play moved Jessica Banner to third base, who scored on an RBI groundout from Ramona McGowan for the team's fourth and final run.

Yackey allowed a base on balls to Hendersonville in the top of the seventh, and the hitter came around to score, sliding into home plate on a passed ball on a play where the runner appeared to be tagged out. Undaunted, Yackey retired the next hitter with a line out to end the game.

"I was very proud of the girls today. This was truly a team win with every position making a defensive putout or assist. We had nine putouts, nine assists and three strikeouts, and most importantly no errors. Morgan threw her first no-hitter and was effective hitting her spots," Coach Merritt Yackey said after the win. "Offensively we hit the ball efficiently, moved runners along and showed good patience at the plate drawing six walks. This momentum should help with another conference game against Mitchell tomorrow."

The victorious Vikings doused coach Merritt Yackey with the water container in joy after the win. Avery will look to continue its winning ways on Tuesday with a Senior Day contest with Mitchell, then will take on Madison on Thursday to close the regular season.

Pair of Avery Golfers Advance to Regionals

Carter Bumgarner and Chase Watson played well enough in last week’s two-day conference tournament to qualify for the regional tournament. The regional tournament was held this past Monday in Hiawassee, GA (The host school Hayesville uses a host golf course that is two miles over the state line).

“Carter has been our point man for most of the year, and Chase came on very strong as the season progressed,” said Avery golf coach Dan Fortune. “This is a wonderful opportunity for each of these two fine young men. They’ll get to play against an entirely different level of competition, as they will be competing against 108 other individuals who also qualified from our region.”

Bumgarner, a junior, and Watson, a freshman, will both be returning next year to lead the Vikings. Coach Fortune stated that he knew Carter had it in him to possibly qualify and that it was a pleasant surprise to find Watson “bringing his game together when it mattered the most, especially as a freshman.”

Avery Drops Season Finale at Polk, Gets Rematch in Playoffs This Wednesday

On Friday evening Avery closed out its regular season in Columbus with a road test against Western Highlands Conference champions and second-ranked Polk County. As was the case in a scoreless tie in the match earlier in the season, the two squads played skilled soccer as the game was scoreless through the first 72 minutes of action.

In the 73rd minute, however, Polk County’s Kaitlin Franks squeezed a shot into the back of the net for the only goal of the match. Avery rallied frantically to net the equalizing goal, but a pair of late-game shot attempts was turned away by the Lady Wolverines to escape with the victory.

“The girls really step up to the level of their competition, and we have played Polk tougher than any team this season,” Coach Tom Evaul remarked. “We can leave here with our heads up. Our defense has been the heart and soul of our team, and they have done a fantastic job. We’re proud of the effort and our defense is a key to our game right now.”

The Lady Vikings end the regular season with a record of 14-4-2 overall, and 8-3-1 in conference play. Avery enters the 2008 state playoffs as a wild card and will have a chance for revenge against the Lady Wolverines this Wednesday afternoon.

Lady Vikings Shut Out Mitchell on Senior Night

On a gorgeous evening for soccer, the Avery Lady Vikings celebrated Senior Night at Lees-McRae College, a 'home away from home', so to speak, with a 3-0 shutout victory on Wednesday evening.

Avery honored seniors Kate Griewisch and Katie Peters prior to the opening kick and the Big Red played a solid soccer match to send the girls off on a winning note in their final home match of their prep careers.

Elyse Perry put the Vikings on the board in the first half at around the 8-minute mark. Avery found itself with additional scoring opportunities, but unlike the teams' first meeting the Lady Mountaineers played competitive and improved soccer, preventing the Avery squad from cashing in for another score in the half. The Avery defense remained stout throughout, however, holding Mitchell scoreless in the half for a 1-0 lead at intermission.

Avery struck for a second goal early in the second half as Peters' foot found the ball and zipped a shot past the Mitchell keeper to double the Vikings' advantage. At around the 63-minute mark, Peters scored a second goal, this time off a direct kick to provide the Big Red with a 3-0 margin.

The Avery defense did the rest of the work, as the team remained relentless throughout the match in holding the Lady Mountaineers scoreless in both meetings for the season. Cailan Calloway was sterling in net, as she registered her ninth shutout of the season and the Lady Vikings improved to 14-3-2 on the season.

It was a good win for the Lady Vikings and a fitting tribute to a pair of seniors who have been anchors for a group of younger and talented teammates.

"This was perfect tonight and exactly what we were looking for," Avery coach Lou Brancourt said after the win. "I thought Mitchell played a really smart game and stayed back, making it harder for us to score. They have improved, but we were a very calm team tonight. We had several college scouts here today and I believe this is the kind of soccer they are looking for in their players, a calm and patient. 10-0 scores are not fun games, but 3-0, that's a soccer score."

The win was a good one leading up to Friday's showdown at Polk, but it also showed some areas the Lady Vikings need to continue to fine tune. "We still need to do some things better without the ball, and not just with kicking, passing, and dribbling," the coach added. "We can still be better with positioning and talking, as well as support and body language."

Coach Brancourt was very complimentary of the Lady Viking seniors. "I remember Katie walking in at the Hickory Jamboree after winning the JV basketball tournament. I had heard about Katie Peters for a long time. I remember it like it was yesterday. She was sneaky and quick as a young player, and she is the best captain and role model for a team that you could ask for. She's just full of energy and fighting spirit, yet can score goals and even play calmly when she has to," the coach said.

"What Kate does in our back line is amazing. She's able to take the ball and dribble around players or steal a dribble like it's nothing. She is the kind of player that can be used more and used all over the field. She makes difficult moves look easy. Both the girls are great and all you can ask for out of senior captains and leaders. The two are definitely special and have been great to work with."

Lady Vikings Upend Mountain Heritage

The Avery Lady Vikings returned to their winning ways with a 5-1 win over the Lady Cougars of Mountain Heritage on Monday evening in Burnsville.

Mountain Heritage struck first in the match's opening minute with a quick goal to take a 1-0 advantage. The goal served as a wake-up call for the the Big Red, as Avery equalized the match on a goal by Mary Chesnut Smith off an Emily Banner assist. Avery scored twice more over the next seven minutes of the match. Katie Peters scored the go-ahead goal off a Brianna Strange assist, with Rachel Buchanan providing the helper for a goal from Emily Banner. The goals gave Avery a 3-1 halftime advantage.

The Lady Vikings went on to score two additional goals in the second half to close out the conference win. The second half was a physical tussle, with officials allowing rough play to take place on the pitch. Heritage had opportunities to score, but time after time Avery keeper Cailan Calloway rose to the occasion to turn each scoring chance away.

Elyse Perry tallied a fourth goal to extend the Avery lead. Katie Peters headed a Smith corner kick. The Lady Cougars turned away the initial scoring chance but was unable to clear, opening the door for the Perry outside shot on goal.

Avery closed out the scoring late in the match as Emily Banner scored a second goal off a Kaley Faulkner assist. The Lady Vikings benefitted from a man advantage for the final 12 minutes of the match as a Cougar player received a red card for excessive physicality.

Avery's record stands at 13-3-2 on the season, with a 7-2-1 mark in conference play. Avery takes on Mitchell for Senior Night this Wednesday at Lees-McRae College at the changed time of 5 p.m. The squad closes the regular season with a match at Polk County on Friday.

Softball Postponement and Award News

This afternoon's softball game scheduled at Avery High has been postponed due to weather. No information on a make-up date has been passed along, but when we know, we'll post it here.

In other news, the Avery Vikings women’s track team has won the Spring 2008 NCHSAA Scholar-Athlete Team Award with a cumulative grade point average of 3.754. In the team division, a varsity team earns Scholar-Athlete recognition by attaining a 3.1 aggregate GPA on a straight 4.0 scale for that designated semester. The school receives a certificate from the NCHSAA honoring the accomplishment and each member of the squad receives a certificate.

A minimum of five individuals is necessary to constitute a team, and all team members must be included in figuring the team GPA. The team achieving the highest grade point average in the state in its particular sport and submitting its application by the appropriate deadline receives a plaque commemorating that achievement.

The team’s award will be recognized at the NCHSAA’s annual meeting on Thursday at the Dean E. Smith Center on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Avery women’s soccer coach Tom Evaul will also be recognized with the Toby Webb Male Coach of the Year Award at the same ceremony.

Construction Underway at MacDonald Stadium

The scheduled renovation and replacement of the turf at MacDonald Stadium is officially underway. Trucks, graters, and other equipment has begun the work of removing the natural grass field that has graced the stadium since 1968, with a new FieldTurf surface and track area scheduled for completion before the fall school semester.

Here are some photos taken today of the field work. We'll try to update progress on the stadium as it happens.

Orange and White Game Highlights

Here is a slideshow consisting of photos that I took at Neyland on Saturday and some stats at the end. I hope you enjoy! -Matt

Vikings Fall to Freedom on Diamond

The Avery baseball team lost a close non-conference home game on Monday with Freedom, falling by a 6-3 final score.

Freedom picked up an early two-run lead, only to see Avery scrap back to tie the contest at 2 runs each. Junior right-hander Sutton Stanley got the start for the Vikings and gave the club a good outing, pitching 5 1/3 innings. John Hensley came on in relief to finish the contest. Reggie Washington picked up the victory for the Patriots, hurling a complete game.

Avery takes on Hendersonville this afternoon in an important 1A baseball matchup. The Bearcats took the first matchup between the teams by a 4-2 final in Hendersonville.

From the Student Section: Orange and White Game

Hola!!! I hope all is well for everyone. I am sitting the Culp Center delaying working on homework again, and I thought I would take another look at some observations from the Orange and White game.

• Jonathan Crompton was down right impressive. I know he was against the second string defense and that led to some open recievers, but he threw accurate passes almost everytime in windy conditions. If there was any doubt that Crompton will be the starter, I think Saturday cleared it up as soon as he stepped on the field. His first play: a 74 yard touchdown pass to Denarius Moore. He ended the game 13 of 20 for 266 yards, threetouchdowns, and one interception.


• The first string defense was almost as impressive as Crompton. The UT secondary may be one of the best in the countries and showed it on Saturday. When they are healthy, look for the secondary to win UT a few games.


• Gerald Jones may be able to play just about any of the skill positions on the field. He caught 3 passes for 47 yards, threw a touchdown pass from 17 yards (his passing statline was 1 of 1 for 17 yards and 1 touchdown), and added 12 yards on just one carry. Jones is an offensive weapon , and new offensive coordinator Dave Clawson will make him an impact player.


• Walk-on Tanner Shamblin got a few snaps at quarterback for the Vols. All of the media people I talked to these weekend really liked Shamblin and his attitude. To recieve that praise from the those people is quite an honor.


• There was a huge crowd of around 28,000 to watch the game. They saw quite a lot of different things. It was a fun atmosphere that was worth the drive.

There is a quick look. I will have more later on in the week as time permits, possibly including a slideshow and other media that we are trying out here at the Journal. Anyway, have a great week and see you then!

White Crush: White Dominates Orange in Orange and White game

KNOXVILLE- On Saturday evening, the Tennessee Volunteers showed no signs of a new coaching staff and new starting quarterback as Jonathan Crompton led the White team in a 38-16 victory in the closing scrimmage of spring practice. Crompton and the first string offense put on a show for the fans as they scored early and often in the contest. Crompton ended the game 13 of 20 for 266 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception.

“I thought early, especially, we executed extremely well offensively,” head coach Phillip Fulmer said. “It was good to see Jonathan in that kind of rhythm. There were some really big plays in the passing game. I thought he had a good day except for that last ball. I don’t know his numbers, but they were outstanding the first two-thirds of the scrimmage. Generally, it was a good day for us.”

The White team scored on five of their first six possessions, including a 74 yard touchdown pass from Crompton to Denarius Moore on the first play of the game. Moore led all receivers with two catches for 91 yards and two touchdowns.

The White team also had big plays as Crompton found Josh Briscoe for a touchdown from 18 yards out, and when Lennon Creer found the end zone on a three yard run.

Briscoe had four catches for 72 yards and two touchdowns, while Creer led the way on the ground with 59 yards on 10 carries and a touchdown.

White led 35-3 at halftime as the Orange squad only mustered a 30 yard field goal from Devin Mathis.

The game was the first time most Tennessee fans saw new offensive coordinator Dave Clawson’s new system. So far, Fulmer has been pleased with his new assistant and his acclimation to the program.

“I think (it went) really well,” Fulmer said. “He’s a football junkie like I am. We had a scrimmage the other day and I had four pages of notes. There wasn’t one thing as we went through them that he took any exception to. I love that. We can sit there and discuss and argue -- there are a lot of good things to come out of that as we go along and as we continue to put this together.”

The contest also helped Crompton solidified his position on top of the depth chart at the quarterback position.

“He’s had a tremendous spring and today kind of capped it off,” Fulmer said. “I still pointed out to him that he’s got to take care of the football a little bit better than he did. It was great what he did in the early part of the scrimmage. To have that one play is kind of a downer, but he is definitely our quarterback and definitely a guy who has shown the ability to run the offense.”

While the contest was the end of spring practice for the Vols, Fulmer knows his team still has work to do.
“We’ve still got some real challenges in front of us to get through the summer,” Fulmer said. “Obviously, we hope to get some of the freshmen who can help us in the mix really quickly, whoever can give us more depth. We’re not where we need to be.”

Avery Soccer Suffers Heartbreaking OT Loss to Bearcats

In an exciting Wednesday night showdown, the fans at MacDonald Stadium in Newland were treated to a soccer match pitting two talented and exciting high school soccer teams. Although the #5 ranked Avery Lady Vikings held the lead on two separate occasions in the contest, a resilient group of Hendersonville Lady Bearcats took advantage of a key Avery injury and utilized an adept crossing game to defeat the Lady Vikings 4-2 in overtime.

Avery came into the home contest looking to avenge an embarrassing 3-0 loss in Hendersonville which saw the Lady Bearcats take advantage of the Big Red early and often in a lopsided first half. This story began differently, however, as the Lady Vikings were the girls to draw first blood, when Elyse Perry assisted on a terrific display of dribbling and shot-making by freshman Emily Banner, staking Avery to a 1-0 lead in the fifth minute of the contest.

Hendersonville knotted the match at 1-1 in the 38th minute on a Carissa Jones rebound in the box and shot on goal. The tally was the last of the half as the teams went into intermission tied.

Avery was dealt a costly blow in the 52nd minute when senior starter Katie Peters suffered an ankle injury and had to be helped off the field. Peters was unable to return to the match, subtracting an experienced leader off the pitch for the Big Red.

Despite the adversity, Avery regained the lead at 2-1 when Mary Chesnut Smith was fouled in the penalty area near the Hendersonville goal and converted a successful penalty kick in the 60th minute to give the Lady Vikings a 2-1 lead. The Lady Vikings were playing with much confidence against a talented Hendersonville squad and looked poised to pull off the home victory.

Hendersonville would not lay down and quit, however, battling back to tie the match on a Sam Reeves follow goal to tie the match at 2-2 in the 68th minute. The two teams continued to compete through the remainder of regulation, with goalkeeper Cailan Calloway fending off a couple of late Lady Bearcat scoring attempts to keep the contest tied at 2 goals apiece and force the match into two-10 minute overtime sessions.

In the third minute of the first overtime session the Lady Bearcats tallied a second goal from Reeves to give the Lady Bearcats their first lead at 3-2. Despite playing five freshmen and three sophomores for much of the contest, the Lady Vikings continued to stand up to a physical and, at times, downright rough playing Lady Bearcats team. The first session ended with Hendersonville holding the one-goal advantage.

Hendersonville added a much-needed insurance goal three minutes into the second session of overtime, with Jones adding a second goal for a 4-2 edge in what proved to be the final margin of the match.

"I think the biggest turning factor of the match was losing Katie. She's a key player and it put pressure on our bench which plays well, but doesn't have a lot of experience. Without her as a threat up front, we had to juggle our lineup with positions that affect us down the road," Avery coach Tom Evaul said after the match. "The girls played hard and we're proud of them. I think the fans enjoyed this game more than they enjoyed the one where we won 7-1 because this is good soccer and two good teams who went head-to-head. We had three mental breakdowns, and Hendersonville scored goals on them and also got lucky."

Avery falls to 12-3-2 on the season and now takes a few days off to heal up before returning to the pitch to take on Mountain Heritage on April 28th.

Tennessee's Orange and White Game

The Tennessee Vols Football team ends their spring practice on Saturday with the annual Orange and White game. If all goes as planned, I will be in Knoxville to cover the game. Here is a video I made to get introduce it. All photos used in the video are mine and the music is of course Rocky Top!

Prep Roundup

BASEBALL:

Avery baseball defeated Mountain Heritage in varsity action 10-9 on Tuesday evening in Burnsville. Chris Childress and Brooks Oakley took the mound to help lead the Vikings to the one-run win. The team stands at 4-6 on the season and will host the North Wilkes Vikings on Friday afternoon at Avery High.

Avery's JV squad fell 12-0 to Mountain Heritage on Tuesday and will take on North Wilkes' JV squad following Friday's varsity game.

SOFTBALL:

Avery softball swept a doubleheader over Cloudland by scores of 11-1 and 14-11, respectively.

Lady Vikings Dominate Erwin 7-1

Despite playing without two starters in the match, Avery's talent and skill was simply too much for an overmatched Erwin squad, as the Lady Vikings took a 7-1 victory to run its consecutive games won/tied streak to 12 games.

Senior Katie Peters started the scoring frenzy with a goal in the 18th minute to take a 1-0 lead. Four minutes later Melinda Eggers found the back of the net with a helper from Peters to push Avery ahead by a pair of goals. Just three minutes elapsed before Avery scored again, this time Rachel Buchanan provided the assist on Peters' second goal of the half. Avery was not finished scoring for the half, however, as Peters earned a hat trick before intermission, scoring off a Brianna Strange assist in the match's 37th minute for a 4-0 Avery halftime lead.

The Big Red continued to rain shots on the weary Erwin net-minder in the second half. Rachel Buchanan crossed a pass to Emily Banner in the 51st minute, who peeled a shot into the net for a five-goal advantage. Strange got into the scoring act for Avery two minutes later off yet another Buchanan touch.

A seventh and final goal scored came off the foot of Emily Banner who dribbled downfield on a breakaway and blasted a shot for a 7-0 lead. Avery used much of the half to move players to various positions on the field in preparation for future contests. Erwin remained aggressive to the end, preventing an Avery shutout in the 73rd minute on a goal by Haley Allen for the final scoring margin.

"The game gave us an opportunity to play a couple of freshmen more minutes than they've had to play for us in a game this season. We wanted to see how our chemistry would be with the new girls playing, and for the most part I felt like they did a good job," Coach Tom Evaul said after the win. "This game gave us a chance to play a lot of girls in a lot of different positions, because down the road we'll need to know what we've got."

Although the Lady Vikings have been dominant at times, the coaching staff knows there is still work to do for the team to be able to reach its ultimate goals for this year. "At times we were a little over-aggressive in the second half. We weren't being very patient and we were stabbing at the ball at times."

Avery gets some much needed rest before Wednesday evening's showdown at MacDonald Stadium with conference foe Hendersonville, one of only two teams to defeat the Lady Vikings this season as they upended the Big Red 3-0 in a match back on March 17th. The coaches see a couple of keys for the Lady Vikings to be successful in returning the favor and handing the Lady Bearcats a defeat.

"Their keeper plays as far up as near midfield, and we will need to be able have our back girls take shots. The number one thing we will have to do is finish. We had opportunities tonight to finish and couldn't take advantage of them," Coach Evaul explained. "We will also have to do a better job of protecting our weak side. That's how Erwin scored their goal, and Hendersonville really likes to use the cross to take advantage of a team's weak side, so we will have to really watch that. If we do those things, I think we'll be okay."

Both teams will enter Wednesday's contest ranked in the state's top ten 1A rankings and should be an exciting match. Opening kick is slated at 6 p.m. at MacDonald Stadium.

Lady Vikings Shutout Owen for Win #11

Avery's Lady Vikings soccer team continued its hot play with a 4-0 blanking of the Owen Warlassies Wednesday afternoon at MacDonald Stadium.

The Vikings opened the scoring as, off of a corner kick, Emily Banner assisted on a goal by Elyse Perry in the 22nd minute to lead 1-nil.

Later in the first half the Lady Vikings received a scare as freshman Mary Chesnut Smith took a kicked ball directly to her eye area. Smith was helped off the field suffering from blurred vision and sat out the remainder of the first half.

Fortunately she was able to return to the pitch, playing on the front line in the second half.
Late in the first half Avery scored a second goal as Rachel Buchanan scored in the 36th minute to increase the lead to 2-0, a lead that remained unchanged through the rest of the half.
Smith made her presence felt almost immediately as the second half began. Two minutes into the half the freshman dribbled over 30 yards by the Owen defense and fired a shot past the Owen keeper for a 3-0 Avery lead.

The scoring was closed out by the Vikings on a goal in the 48th minute by Katelynn Eudy off the foot of a Mary Chesnut Smith corner kick. The effort was the final goal as Avery went on to cruise to the conference win.

"The second half was the opposite side of the coin from the first half. In the first half we were doing everything up the middle, right where Owen's best players are, and everything was bungling down" Coach Tom Evaul said after the win. "There was no intensity in the first half, and we were just standing around and not getting to the ball. I think in the second half the girls responded well and were more aggressive. We were still sending the ball in the middle more than we wanted them to. Some of our younger girls who haven't played a lot, like Megan Robbins, came through and showed some promise, showing us some things they haven't shown us before. As a team we still need to stay sharp and not get complacent or comfortable because we have two big games still coming up."

Avery's victory improves their record to 11-2-2 on the year, with a match on Thursday afternoon at home against Erwin.

Lady Vikings Soccer Notches Tenth Win with 4-1 triumph over Madison

The Avery women's soccer team improved its record to 10-2-2 on Monday afternoon at MacDonald Stadium by defeating the visiting Lady Patriots of Madison County.

Freshman Mary Chesnut Smith (pictured) tallied two of the Avery scores on the night. Katie Peters began the scoring with a goal in the game's seventh minute off a Melinda Eggers assist. Madison answered the goal quickly, within 30 seconds in fact, to tie the match at 1-1.

In the 21st minute Avery took advantage of a direct kick after the Madison goalie collided outside the box with Avery's Katie Peters. Smith made the Patriots pay for the mistake, curling a shot into the left half of the goal as Avery retook the lead at 2-1, a lead that they held at intermission.

Avery further padded its lead in the second half with a pair of goals. Smith struck again for her second goal in the game's 50th minute to take a 3-1 advantage, while in the 59th minute Melinda Eggers closed the scoring as she rushed toward the goal on a direct kick, caught her foot on a rebound and guided a shot into the back of the net for the 4-1 victory.

"The goal that Madison scored was a mistake, but I'd rather us make it against Madison than against Polk. Mistakes happen, but we were confident we could come back from the mistake and be alright," Avery soccer coach Lou Brancourt said after the win. "Tonight we tried to manage the match, our fitness, and the mental side to prepare ouselves for the bigger games coming up in the season. As coaches we don't try to ask for too much, and at halftime we didn't yell or scream at the girls and they responded well from the talk."

Avery does much more than just score goals, as the team's defense has held opponents to only a 1.07 GAA (Goals Against Average) for the season. "The girls work hard on the defensive side. The work of Katelynn Eudy in the middle is like having both a defensive midfielder and a stopper in one," Coach Brancourt said. "She and Chesnut are able to cover a lot of space and control the field. It allows us to make a faux pas from time to time and still recover."

Avery takes on Owen at MacDonald Stadium on Wednesday at 5 p.m. and host Erwin High School on Thursday at 5 p.m.

Avery Softball and Baseball Travel to Madison

On Friday afternoon the Avery softball and baseball squads trekked to Marshall for conference contests against the Madison Patriots.

In the softball contest, the Lady Vikings hoped to bounce back from a 13-0 loss at Polk County. Unfortunately the Big Red ran into the freight train of Madison junior pitcher Laurel Gregg. The junior right-hander is among the state leaders in ERA and strikeouts, and has thrown five no-hitters and eight shutouts this season.

Gregg struck out 15 Avery batters en route to an 11-0 Madison victory. The hurler allowed only one base runner, as Samantha Shook reached on a passed ball from a dropped third strike. Tiffani Taffer led Madison (11-1, 5-1) at the plate by going 2 for 3 with a double and a triple. Kaitlyn Huff went 2 for 3 with a run.

In baseball action, Coach Benny Wellborn's Avery Vikings looked poised for a victory Friday as Avery grabbed an early 4-0 lead behind timely hitting the pitching of southpaw starter Chris Childress, and led 6-2 as late as the bottom of the third frame. Errors and mental mistakes reared their ugly heads in the third frame. Avery was also the victim of a questionable safe ruling on an apparent tag by pitcher Chris Childress of a Madison runner. The play allowed Madison to come back to take a 7-6 advantage after four innings.

As the clouds thickened and darkened overhead, the rain began to fell in earnest. Before the worst of the rain, the Patriots picked up a pair of insurance runs to lead 9-6 going into the top of the sixth inning.

Facing the prospect of a second loss for the week, the Vikings reached down deep to ignore the elements and battle back. Pedro Benavides drew a walk and stole second base, and Seth Phillips followed with a walk to put a pair of runners on. Junior catcher Zac Hall came to the plate and 'Man-Bear', as his teammates refer to him, came through in the clutch in the largest of fashions, walloping a mammoth three-run home run over the left field wall to tie the game.

The Vikings were retired to end the half inning, but faced a different dilemma. The team had to complete the Madison half of the sixth inning before play was halted by umpires due to rain or, according to the umps, the score would revert to the previous inning (where Madison led 9-6). Avery reliever Sutton Stanley retired the first two batters, allowed two Patriots to get on base, but battled back to induce a third out to close the frame.

Umpires called a stoppage of play and deemed the contest a suspended game, meaning the teams must resume the game at a later date with the same score and statistics as when the game was halted. As of Friday evening, the Vikings appear headed back to Madison on Monday afternoon to resume the 9-9 ballgame.

MONDAY UPDATE: The Vikings returned to Marshall on Monday afternoon to resume the game suspended by rain last Friday. Seth Phillips went to the mound in relief of Sutton Stanley for the contest. Neither team could score in the seventh inning as action resumed, forcing the game into 'extra innings'.

In the top of the eighth, the Vikings batted around and scored six runs to take a 15-9 lead, with Phillips closing the door in the bottom of the frame to give the Big Red a win to finish a game that took three days to complete.

"Everybody hit the ball. We just started hitting the ball, hitting line drives and put the ball into play over their head basically," Coach Benny Wellborn said after the win. "They hit a couple of hard balls, but we were able to hold them, which was the important thing."

The win was particularly sweet since the Vikings had to give up a day of practice for Tuesday's matchup with Mountain Heritage in order to travel to Marshall to complete Friday's game. "I tried to use the trip as motivation to prepare the team. None of us were thrilled over having to make another trip down there and lose a day of practice. We wanted to finish it early and we did so," the coach added.

Due to Monday's finish, Avery was forced to cancel Thursday's contest at McDowell because a team cannot play more than three opponents in a week. Avery already has the Heritage contest as well as a home game on Friday with North Wilkes.

Avery Soccer Shuts Out Mountain Heritage, Plays Polk to Scoreless Tie

Avery concluded its three-game soccer week with a 3-0 victory over Mountain Heritage at home on Wednesday night and played Polk County to a 0-0 tie in a game called in overtime due to lightning.

In Wednesday's match Avery scored first only four minutes into the match as Melinda Eggers assisted on a goal scored by Katie Peters. The Lady Vikings struck again in the 31st minute off a corner kick by Mary Chesnut Smith. Kaley Faulkner controlled the loose ball in front of goal and fired a shot past the Heritage keeper for a 2-0 advantage, which held until intermission.

The contest was a physical match as there was a fair amount of pushing, holding, and tugging. Peters scored her second goal in the game in the final two minutes of the second half, this one off a through pass by Emily Banner to provide the final margin.

The win improved Avery to 9-2-1, the second best start to a season in program history. "We knew tonight would be as rough and challenging a game as Monday was. Madison had tied Heritage, so we knew this wasn't going to be an easy game. Plus three of our starters missed Tuesday's practice with sickness, but still came out to play today," Coach Tom Evaul said after the match. "We're really proud of the team tonight, especially our five defenders. They have a pretty good offensive attack, but our defense did a good job of collapsing and controlling the ability of their offense to advance."

On Friday evening the #8 ranked Vikings played host to the #4 ranked Polk Lady Wolverines to a scoreless tie on a cloudy and rainy pitch at MacDonald Stadium. The match was a rough and tumble affair with few whistles coming from the officials in relation to the physicality of the game. Neither team cracked the scoreboard in the first 40 minutes of play. Avery came out more aggressively on the attack in the second half of play as the team continued to gain confidence against a club who they have yet to defeat in 1A play.

Weather played a role through the course of the match as the rain fell at the match's outset, then tapered off as the match ensued. Following regulation and half of the overtime session, lightning was sighted in the distance, prompting officials to call a halt to the contest with the score tied.

Avery is 9-2-2 on the season (4-1-1 in conference play) and plays three home games this week against Madison (Monday), Owen (Wednesday), and Erwin (Thursday @ the changed time of 5 p.m.).

Ashe/Avery Baseball Game postponed

This afternoon's scheduled baseball game in Newland between Avery and Ashe County has been postponed due to rain. When we get word of rescheduled make-up date, it will be posted.