With the closing of another school year in
Middle School Shootout: Cranberry Tops Avery in Brad King Bowl
Last September’s Toe River Conference football regular season finale pitted the two county middle schools in the 26th annual Brad King Bowl at MacDonald Stadium. The two schools provided plenty of offensive fireworks in a 60-42 Cranberry Wildcats win to recapture the traveling trophy.
Cranberry led 22-6 at the half, but Avery narrowed the gap to The two teams went on to combine for 52 points in the fourth and final quarter, exceeding the combined output from the first three stanzas.
Cranberry’s Bryce Pittman scored an astounding seven touchdowns and gained over 300 yards on the ground, and added an interception on defense. The football fund raiser earned close to $2,400 for local families in need.
Home Sweet Homecoming: Vikings Football Slips by Falcons
There weren’t a great number of bright spots for the Avery varsity football squad in 2008, but perhaps the brightest one of all was an exciting 31-30 victory over
Avery led 7-6 after one period, and upped its margin to 14-6 on a two-yard run by senior quarterback Adam Pate. A Falcon touchdown and two-point conversion tied the game at 14 with under five minutes to play in the half.
In the final possession of the first half, Avery’s offense moved the ball into field goal range, where kicker Sutton Stanley booted a 32-yard field goal to stake the Big Red to a 17-14 halftime edge.
Avery took advantage of a West turnover early in the third quarter, scoring on a four-yard Travis Thomas run to build a 24-14 lead. West got back on the board in the final seconds of the period, however, capping a nine play drive with a touchdown run to make the score
The Avery defense made two huge defensive stands inside the red zone in the fourth quarter to preserve its lead. An intentional grounding penalty called in the end zone against Avery resulted in a safety to cut Avery’s lead to a pair at 24-22. On Avery’s next offensive series the team scored on Thomas’ second touchdown run of the evening, padding the Viking lead to 31-22 with 2:06 left to play.
With little time remaining, West responded quickly with a three-play, 63-yard drive culminating in a touchdown pass. A successful two-point conversion cut the Big Red margin to 31-30.
Avery’s special teams recovered the ensuing onside kick and appeared to have the game in hand, but
Tournament Thriller: Mitchell Holds Off Avery in
The Western Highlands Conference women’s tournament final between Avery and Mitchell was surrounded by a lot of hype, considering both teams advanced into regional competition a season earlier and had played a pair of closely fought games during the regular season, with Mitchell capturing both victories. Avery was determined, however, hosting the tournament and having the advantage of playing on its home floor. An overflow capacity crowd cheered loudly for both teams through 32 minutes of heart-stopping action as Mitchell captured the crown with a 61-59 win.
The two teams were as equal in talent and desire as any game in recent memory. Neither team built a lead of greater than five points throughout the entire contest. The teams were knotted at 16 after one quarter, tied at 32 at halftime, and tied once again at 46 points apiece.
A brief scoring run by Avery gave the Lady Vikings a four point lead midway through the final period.
With a little over two minutes remaining in the game, Avery lost forward Katelynn Eudy due to fouls and senior Samantha Shook to injury.
A late free throw miss and rebound gave Mitchell an opportunity to hold for the final shot. The team held the ball and ran out the final minute of play with the teams tied at 59.
Conference Player of the Year Laken Norris served as surprise distributor with a pass to teammate Samantha Smith, who drained a 17-foot jumper with under three seconds left to give the Lady Mountaineers the win.
Sweet Victory: Lady Vikings Soccer Snaps Polk’s Undefeated Conference Record with 2-1 Triumph
Both Avery and
Polk scored the only goal of the first half in the 33rd minute on a tally from junior Anna Trakas. Avery roared back with resilience in the second half. Emily Banner headed a Mary Chesnut Smith corner kick into the goal to knot the score at 1-1.
Avery’s defense contributed heavily to the winning score. At the 54 minute mark, defensive pressure from forward Melinda Eggers forced a bad Polk pass that was stolen by Smith. The sophomore attacked the goal and slipped a low shot through the grasp of the keeper for what proved to be the winning goal.
The veteran Avery defense made the lead stand up for the final 25 minutes of action to seal the historic win.
Let’s Play Two! (days, that is): Avery Blanks Highlands in Opening Round of State Baseball Playoffs
On a sunny Friday morning the Avery baseball team ventured to
Leadoff hitter Chris Childress opened the top of the first inning with a solo home run. Brooks Oakley and Adam Pate also reached base before a lengthy rain delay and lightning forced the eventual postponement of Friday afternoon’s game until the following morning.
Avery stayed overnight in a local hotel and showed no ill effects from the unexpected circumstances, walloping the Highlanders by the final score of 10-0.
Daniels, Avery’s first hitter of the game, brought Oakley, Pate, and himself home with a long three-run homer over the fence to spot Avery a 4-0 lead when play resumed on Saturday morning.
Avery’s lineup mashed the baseball in the top of the second frame. Pate and Daniels went back-to-back with home runs to push the Avery lead to six runs. One inning later, Childress helped his own cause further by blasting his second home run of the game, a two-run shot which staked Avery to an 8-0 lead.
Two more runs plated for the Vikings in the final two innings. Daniels walked and was driven in by a Jack Buchanan single in the top of the fourth, and Pate smacked his second solo home run of the day to close the scoring. Nine of Avery's 10 runs scored jogged across the home plate due to home runs.
