Avery Tennis Completes Regular Season, Competes in State Duals and Conference Tournaments

The Lady Vikings had Senior Night on Tuesday night, but came up short against Mountain Heritage.

“Mountain Heritage came to play, and that they did,” Avery Tennis Coach Rhiannon Manis said. “However we held our own much better this time, but we just fell short. Even though the scores don't show it there were long close points in each game.”

In single action, Judi Dillishaw defeated Shanna Hensley 10-2, while Anna Melton, Morgan Yackey, Hayden Blackbrun, Leah Powell and Echo Wise all fell in their matches.
In doubles action, the teams of Dillishaw and Blackburn and Powell and Lauren Avery took their matches. Melton and Yackey came up short in their match.

“All of the girls worked hard and wanted this win more than ever, and that's what matters most to me,” Coach Manis said. “They really made Mountain Heritage this match. Tennis is not an easy sport, and no ordinary person can do what each of these girls accomplish, day in and day out. They have made the tennis program come a long way, and I'm very proud of their success this season.”

The Lady Vikings took on Cherryville in opening round State Duals action on Monday, defeating the Ironmen with five combined match victories in singles and doubles play.

Anna Melton and Morgan Yackey each were defeated in singles action in third set tiebreakers. Judi Dillashaw, Hayden Blackburn, Leah Powell, and Morgan Stout each won their singles matches, setting the Lady Vikings up to only need one doubles match victory to take the overall match.

The team of Dillishaw and Blackburn did the honors of clinching the match by winning their doubles match by a resounding 8-2 final score.

“This was a very even match all around. We knew nothing about this team, yet all the girls came to give it all they had, and showed tremendous determination and focus,” Coach Manis stated after the win. “To have many unknowns, play the matches different from the way the conference is usually done, and then have the pressure beginning doubles needing one match to win, the girls showed why they deserved to be there playing Cherryville and how badly they wanted this win. I am very proud of the girls and this accomplishment.”

The team returned to action on Tuesday, traveling to the Hendersonville Racquet Club for the conference tennis tournament. Three players, Yackey, Stout, and Melton, each advanced to the semifinal round, with Melton and Stout meeting in the semifinals. Melton was the only player to advance to the finals, and was defeated by Maddie Fahnley of Polk County.

In doubles action, the team of Leah Powell and Lauren Avery defeated Kristen Lastein-Emalee Robertson of Hendersonville 8-4, but fell in the semis to the Hendersonville team of Olivia Schoeff and Alice Colhoun. Avery’s duo of Judi Dillashaw and Hayden Blackburn defeated Polk’s team of Burgess and Magin in the other semifinal match. In the finals, Dillashaw/Blackburn captured a doubles conference championship by winning 8-7 (7-0 in tiebreaker) over Schoeff/Colhoun.

Melton, Dillashaw, and Blackburn will competed in regional tennis championships October 17th and 18th.

Vikings Carry Momentum into Grudge Match against Hendersonville

Looking to build off its first victory of 2008, the Avery Vikings (1-5, 0-1 WHC) welcome to town the Hendersonville Bearcats (6-1, 2-0 WHC). Avery defeated the West Henderson Falcons 31-30 on Homecoming last week, while Hendersonville also celebrated a victorious Homecoming last Friday, routing Madison 42-21.

Hendersonville defeated Avery 30-24 in a controversial overtime contest in Henderson County last season.

Scouting the Bearcats:
Hendersonville is coached by B.J. Laughter and utilize a version of the wishbone offense. The Bearcats were 7-6 overall last season, with a 2-4 mark in conference play, but have improved dramatically as its young players from a season ago have matured.

Hendersonville has experience at most skill positions. Leading the charge for the Bearcats is senior running back Cedrick Allen (107 rushes, 828 yards, 16 TD in 2008). An All-Western Highlands Conference player last season, Allen ran for over 1,500 yards in 2007 and scored 23 touchdowns.

“Cedrick’s the first kid I’ve ever appointed as a captain as a coach,” Hendersonville head coach BJ Laughter told the local newspaper in Hendersonville over the summer. “He has all the intangibles you want in a football player.”
Allen broke his nose in the first half of last week’s win over Madison. Rather than sit on the bench, he illustrated his heart by playing hurt and helping lead his team to victory.

Alongside Allen in the Bearcat backfield are seniors Darryl Demps and Darren Perry, who combined for 900 rushing yards last year and nine touchdowns.

“The chemistry is there and everybody knows what their role is,” Laughter said about the returning backfield. “There’s no dissension. They all share the load.”

Triggering the offense for Hendersonville is junior quarterback Ben Walgenbach (31 rushes, 220 yards, 2 TD; 32 of 54 passing for 917 yards with 11 TD). Walgenbach has already matched this season his 11 scores from a season ago. He is a player the coach calls one of the best quarterbacks he has ever coached, describing him as “a true field general.”

When the Bearcats choose to go to the air, the ball often falls into the hands of receivers Daniel Orr, Tory Sitton, and James Foster. The offensive line is anchored by 6’8”, 263-pound senior Wesley Cook.

The Low Down:
It is obvious that the Bearcats football program has been down the past couple of years, but this year’s team is one which many argue is its best since its 2003 team that went deep into the state 1A playoffs.

Although the Bearcats have talent and speed, the one team in the Western Highlands Conference that seems to fare well against them since 2005 has been the Vikings. If not for the travesty of the officials allowing a field goal to tie the game after time had expired at Dietz Field a season ago, Avery would have three straight victories in this series.

The Vikings showed a week ago that when they have all their players on the field and are able to avoid the injury bug, they can be both diverse and difficult to stop offensively.

For Avery to have an opportunity for victory this week, the defense will improve overall from last week’s performance, while maintaining the ability it showed last week to make momentum-changing plays. The team must also take care of the football.

Avery senior quarterback Adam Pate may be the X-factor on Friday night. If he is healthy enough to play at a high level this week, the two-headed attack of he and Chris Childress behind center will prove treacherous for the Hendersonville defense.

The wild card for Hendersonville this week will be their quarterback Walgenbach. He showed he can be a threat with both his arms and legs last week. The Big Red defense will have to keep him in check to improve its chances Friday night.

Finally, a number of Avery players remember well the debacle that occurred last season in Hendersonville which many say robbed them of a victory. This year’s squad has momentum and should be hungry to put that memory behind them by upending the Bearcats this week.

By the Numbers:
2- turnovers in Avery’s win last week over West Henderson, as well as touchdown rushes by Travis Thomas last week.
3- fumbles forced by the Viking defense last week.
4 – Avery players with multiple pass catches in last week’s 31-30 win.
18- cumulative tackles by Avery’s pair of Taylor Potter and Chris Childress in last week’s Homecoming victory.
224- Yards of total offense (124 passing, 100 rushing) by Hendersonville QB Ben Walgenbach in last week’s win over Madison.
292- rushing yards given up by the Hendersonville defense in last week’s win over the Patriots.

Vikings Football Breaks Through on Homecoming

The evening had a distinct fall chill in the air, but the gridiron action was anything but frigid. Using a late defensive stand and its highest offensive output of the season, Avery held on for a narrow 31-30 victory over the visiting West Henderson Falcons.

Avery opened the game with an impressive 71-yard drive encompassing ten plays and just over five minutes of the first quarter clock. The possession netted points as quarterback Adam Pate fired a fourth down pass to Chris Childress for a 27-yard score. A Sutton Stanley PAT staked the Big Red to a 7-0 lead.

West Henderson was also impressive once its offense possessed the pigskin, taking only seven plays to march 67 yards for a touchdown. Falcon fullback Kevin Thomas rumbled across the goal line from a yard out for the score, but West was unable to tie the game as Avery’s Jordan English blocked the point after attempt to allow Avery to keep a one-point edge at 7-6 with 4:05 to go in the opening period.

Late in the quarter the Vikings were able to again move the football with offensive efficiency, but the Falcon defense tightened and turned the Big Red away as a fourth down pass fell incomplete to turn the ball over on downs to West.

The Falcons relied heavily on its running game throughout the night, and the ground game moved West into Avery territory. A fumble by Kevin Thomas was recovered by Avery, however, to stop a potential scoring threat.

A five-minute drive ensued following the turnover, highlighted by a 40-yard pass play from Pate to wide receiver Tyler Blalock and capped off by a Pate two-yard scoring run. Stanley’s point after surged the Vikings to a 14-6 lead.
West Henderson sought out ways to move the ball downfield and looked for power and results from its running attack. Running back Kagan Williams broke away for a 50-yard run before being tracked down at the Avery 14. Four plays later, quarterback Dillon Baker bullied his way into the end zone from three yards out for a Falcon touchdown. A two-point run conversion was successful, knotting the score at 14 apiece with 2:28 left before intermission.

The teams traded possessions before Avery again had the football near midfield with 50 seconds left in the half. Over the course of five plays the Vikings moved the football into field goal range, where Stanley booted a 32-yard field goal attempt through the uprights for a 17-14 halftime lead.

During intermission, the Avery Homecoming court was introduced, with the announcement of Shaun Creech and Sara Singleton as 2008’s Homecoming King and Queen.

When action resumed for the second half, West was held to a three-and-out on its first series. A poor snap on the punt attempt resulted in excellent field position for Avery. The Vikings took advantage when running back Travis Thomas scored on a four-yard run. The extra point made the score 24-14 in favor of Avery with 8:42 left in the third period.

Both teams traded punts following the touchdown, but West got untracked offensively with a nine play, 44-yard drive. Kagan Williams raced into the end zone from two yards out for a touchdown, but a missed extra point left West trailing Avery 24-20 as time expired in the quarter.

In the final twelve minutes of action, high drama arose. On the first play of the quarter an Adam Pate pass was intercepted by West’s Gary Simpson and returned to the Viking 10-yard line. The Falcons were unable to score any points from the gaffe, however, as the team went four-and-out on a stellar defensive stand to turn the football over on downs to Avery.

With such poor field position the Vikings found it hard to advance upfield. The difficulty turned disastrous as Viking quarterback Chris Childress was called for intentional grounding in the end zone to award a safety to the Falcons and cut the Avery lead to only a pair at 24-22.

Following the free kick, Avery’s defense held again by forcing a West punt. With the football the Vikings again marched downfield poised to pad its lead. A pair of completions from Pate to tight end Colton Blackburn moved Avery into the West red zone, but an interception stalled the drive. A turning point in the contest arrived during West’s subsequent offensive series. A pass by Dillon Baker was anticipated and intercepted by defensive back Chris Childress, who cut through tacklers and was stopped four yards short of the goal line. The next play from scrimmage added to Avery’s lead as Thomas ran for his second four-yard touchdown of the night. Another PAT from Stanley gave the big Red a 31-22 advantage with only 2:06 left in the game.

In desperation mode, the Falcons abandoned its running game and took to the skies with an aerial assault. Baker completed two passes for 52 yards to move the visitors to the Avery 11-yard line. One play following a Viking penalty, Baker found receiver James Tracy for a five-yard touchdown pass. A two-point conversion succeeded to cut the Avery lead to a single digit at 31-30 with 1:27 still left on the clock.

West attempted to regain the football for the offense with an onside kick, but the Vikings recovered the bouncing ball. The Falcons held Avery to a three-and-out while conserving time using a pair of timeouts. Avery punted the ball to West, giving the Falcons one final shot to win the game with 59 seconds left.

A 33-yard pass completion from Baker to Keenan Young advanced the Falcons into field goal range at the Avery 14, but a shaky kicking game seemed to dissuade head coach Jeff Bailey from attempting a game-winning field goal.

Instead the Falcons attempted to score a touchdown and the Avery defense made one final stand, topped off by a fourth down quarterback sack by senior defensive lineman Christian Montgomery. A final kneel down by Avery shut the door and sent a large crowd gathered for Homecoming happy with a first Viking win on the season.

“Our defense had a little bit more of a letdown tonight than we’ve been used to, but they held when it counted most. West did a great job of shutting our run down. We want to be able to do that and couldn’t, but to be able to put 31 points on the board was good to see,” Avery Vikings head coach Darrell Brewer said after the thrilling victory. “I’m proud of the boys and how they just hung in there all night to win this one. It was especially great for those boys on the team who haven’t had a win for a year and a half to break through and get a win here tonight.”

Avery players and fans, as well as the coaching staff are aware of the significance of finally getting a victory this season. “Wins can cover up a lot of hurts and a lot of pain,” Coach Brewer added. “We’re looking at it now as 1-0, and we’ve got to keep rolling.”

Avery returns to Western Highlands Conference action next week when it hosts the Hendersonville Bearcats Friday night. Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. at MacDonald Stadium.

Former Vikings Shine in Weekend's College Action

It was a stellar Saturday for a trio of former Vikings football standouts last Saturday.

Avery grads Ricky Spradling and Zack Johnson were outstanding for Mars Hill College in a 61-49 shootout loss to Carson-Newman.

The Mars Hill offense was equally impressive, piling up 547 yards. Mars Hill quarterback Ricky Spradling was 15-of-31 through the air for 247 yards and four touchdowns. He also ran for a score. Zack Johnson led the Lions defense with 11 tackles (5 solo) in the contest.

Meanwhile, the Appalachian State Mountaineers easily handled the Citadel 47-21. Former Avery receiver Josh Johnson had a pair of receptions for 38 yards, including a 24-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Armanti Edwards to account for the only second half points in App's rout of their Southern Conference foe.

Apps Cruise Past Citadel

Courtesy of Appalachian State Sports Information

BOONE, N.C. — Second-ranked Appalachian State University jumped out to a 41-7 halftime lead and never looked back en route to a convincing 47-21 win over No. 12 The Citadel at Kidd Brewer Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Appalachian (3-2, 1-0 SoCon) racked up 363 yards of offense in the first half alone and found the end zone on its final six possessions of the half to take the commanding halftime lead.

Quarterback Armanti Edwards, who overcame an ankle injury suffered in last Saturday’s win over Presbyterian, highlighted ASU’s first-half dominance by rushing 11 times for 79 yards and two touchdowns and completing 10-of-12 passes for 177 yards and three more scores before the break. The junior, who became only the 12th player in NCAA Division I history (FBS or FCS) with 3,000 passing yards and 3,000 rushing yards in a career, finished the contest with 225 yards and a career-best four touchdowns on 14-of-18 passing and 80 yards on 15 carries.

The Mountaineers scored just once in the opening quarter on Devin Radford’s 29-yard touchdown run just under 10 minutes in. However, the second period was all Black and Gold, as the Apps scored five times to take the 41-7 advantage into the break. Edwards accounted for all five second-quarter touchdowns with runs of 16 and three yards and passes of 25 yards to Matt Cline, four yards to CoCo Hillary and, the back-breaker, a 68-yard screen pass to Radford with 15 seconds to go in the half.

Not to be overlooked in the impressive performance was the effort turned in by Appalachian’s defense. ASU limited The Citadel (3-2, 1-1 SoCon), which came into the contest with the Southern Conference’s second-ranked scoring offense at 35.5 points per game, to just 245 yards on the afternoon, 170 below its average. The Citadel managed only 82 yards in the first half.The Bulldogs tried to make it interesting by cutting the deficit to 41-21 midway through the fourth quarter on a 50-yard punt return by Andre Roberts and a nine-yard scoring connection from Bart Blanchard to Alex Sellars.

However, after recovering an onside kick, the Mountaineers iced the triumph on a 24-yard strike from Edwards to Josh Johnson. Besides Edwards, Radford was Appalachian’s offensive star with 72 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries to go along with the 68-yard touchdown reception. Cline chipped in with 74 all-purpose yards (49 rushing, 25 receiving).Cortez Gilbert paced the Mountaineers defensively with 11 tackles and two pass break-ups. D.J. Smith added nine tackles and a pair of pass break-ups and true freshman Lanston Tanyi made seven stops and hurried the passer four times. Appalachian continues SoCon play next Saturday when it travels to league-newcomer Samford. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. (EDT) at Seibert Stadium in Birmingham, Ala.

UT Squeaks By Northern Illinois

By: Matt Laws (matt.laws@averyjournal.com)

Avery Journal-Times

KNOXVILLE, TN- Tennessee desperately needed better quarterback play just as badly as they needed a victory. On Saturday night, they finally got both as they defeated Northern Illinois 13-9 at Neyland Stadium.

“We'll take the win,” Tennessee Coach Phillip Fulmer said. “We've been on the short end of a couple of those like that. It was a good football team we played tonight.”

The Volunteers named Nick Stephens the starter on Friday night, and he did not disappoint the coaching staff.

“He was extremely poised,” Fulmer said. “There are still a couple of things. The clock was really close a couple of times managing it. It was his first big game. Early especially, I thought he was really in rhythm. I thought he did a nice job.”

Stephens ended the game 10 of 17 for 156 yards with one touchdown. Stephens’ 52-yard strike to Denarius Moore was the only offensive touchdown of the game, and was also the longest play of the year for the Volunteers. Stephens also found Gerald Jones for a 43 yard strike that electrified the Tennessee crowd.

“Like everyone in the stadium pulling for Tennessee, I was very excited about the two big plays we made (offensively),” Coach Fulmer said. “Great play, great throw, outstanding call. It's something for us to build on.”

Despite Stephens’s successful debut, the offense still struggled to find a rhythm.

“Offensively, we made some steps, I think, in the right direction,” Coach Fulmer said. “We're still not as efficient as we need to be. It seems like everything we do is really hard for us.”

The Volunteers only managed 69 yards rushing with a majority of that coming in the closing quarter, and only had 225 total offensive yards. Foster led the way on the ground for the UT as he had 73 yards, but the team recorded losses of 34 yards to Northern Illinois. The offense only had nine first downs in the game.

Despite the offensive woes, the Tennessee defense stepped to the plate and once again played an outstanding game as they only allowed 190 offensive yards, and had four sacks.

Despite the lower attendance, Coach Fulmer was quick to thank the fans that were in Knoxville on Saturday.

"First of all, I want to say a really special thank you to all the fans,” Coach Fulmer said. “At the Vol Walk, I was taken aback at the encouragement and energy of that group and really appreciate the same thing all night long.”

The attendance was announced at 99,539, almost 2,500 short of a sellout. The Volunteers must get ready as they must travel to Athens to take on Georgia on Saturday. Coach Fulmer knows it will be a tough game.

"We'll take the film, look at it, correct it, learn from it,” Coach Fulmer said. “And obviously we've got a big challenge next week at Georgia."