An old proverb states that “Opportunities always look bigger going than coming”. The Avery Vikings were unable to seize an early opportunity that came to them to seize momentum against Watauga, while the Pioneers made the most of many opportunities afforded to them to put points on the scoreboard. By evening’s end, Watauga captured its fourth straight rivalry game over Avery and seventh in the last nine contests by a 35-12 final score.On the opening drive of the game, Avery’s Dustin Childress forced a fumble from Watauga quarterback Devan Corum. Viking John Masters recovered the loose ball to give Avery possession for the first time in the game at the Watauga 14 yard line.
The Pioneer defense held Avery on three straight plays, however, and the Vikings could not capitalize as a field goal attempt sailed wide left to keep the game scoreless.
Having dodged a bullet, the Pioneers fired their own shot when, just three plays later, Corum found wide receiver Travis Oliver in stride for an 84-yard touchdown pass play. Anderson Proffit’s point-after kick put Watauga ahead 7-0 at the 8:12 mark of the opening period.
“We had our opportunity to score and didn’t, then we had them third and long and let them throw the long touchdown pass. That was a huge swing in momentum,” Avery head football coach Darrell Brewer said after the game. “I felt at that point when we had the ball that we needed some points out of that. We shut down their run the first couple of plays, but we had a misread on the pass play and they capitalized.”
the visitors to the 15-0 edge late in the first period.On the first play of its ensuing drive, Avery returned the turnover favor as quarterback Alex Villanueva’s pass attempt was intercepted by Watauga’s Caleb Watson. An eight play, 51-yard drive followed the turnover as the Pioneers eventually found its way to the end zone as Logan Smith’s one-yard run capped the scoring march. Corum ran in a two-point conversion to stake
The Vikings offense could not get moving against a stingy Pioneers defense. Avery was held to three-and-out, and Watauga continued its offensive flurry. The Pioneers constructed another long scoring drive (9 plays, 66 yards) against the Avery defense, ending when Smith scored his second one-yard TD run of the half. The PAT gave the Pioneers a commanding 22-0 lead early in the second quarter.
The Vikings committed a second turnover in the half with a fumble on the ensuing kickoff, but the Pioneers returned the favor as Cole Blackburn forced a fumble by running back Kevin Rook that the Big Red pounced on. Avery was unable to move the football with consistency with its opportunity, as a sack and an intentional grounding penalty helped stall a drive that had crossed into Watauga territory.
It seemed Watauga was set to add to its large margin in its next offensive series, as a pair of completions to wide receiver Trey Kavanaugh gave Watauga a 1st and goal at the Avery 6-yard line, but the Big Red defense kept the Pioneers out of the end zone and forced a turnover on downs.
As the first half wound down, Avery moved into Watauga territory on the heels of a 41-yard dash by running back Cole Blackburn, who saw his first action after missing Avery’s first two games due to injury. The Vikings could move no farther, however, as the Watauga defense forced four straight incomplete passes to get the football back.
In its last drive of the half, Watauga made it count as it drove 55 yards over 14 plays and scored on a Corum five-yard pass to tight end Jordan Pineda with 39 seconds left in the half to put the Pioneers up by a halftime score of 29-0.
“They played a great first half. I don’t feel like our kids didn’t play hard or anything like that. But there are times when a good football team can make you look bad, which is exactly what they did,” Coach Brewer added.
Avery could only muster four first downs and 57 yards in total offense for the first half, while Watauga racked up 360 yards in offense, highlighted by a 11 of 15 passing effort for 238 yards by Pioneers signal-caller Devan Corum.
The Vikings moved the football to near midfield with its first offensive series of the second half, but Watauga turned Avery away with a Mo Gore interception on a fourth down pass play.
Watauga effectively put the game away with an eight play, 86-yard touchdown march on its first series of the third quarter. A Robbie Sherrill 31-yard run opened the series, while a 40-yard pass from Corum to Oliver moved the club inside the Avery red zone. Corum capped the drive with a four-yard touchdown run. The two-point conversion attempt failed, but Watauga held a 35-0 advantage with 3:41 to play in the third period.
Avery was able to finally put points on the board with a 14 play, 78 yard drive that elapsed 5:41 off the clock in the fourth period. Running back Kenny Hicks accounted for 27 rushing yards on the possession, including the final four yards that ended across the goal line for a touchdown.
Watauga was held to a three-and-out for the first time in the contest, and Avery rallied to score a second touchdown in the game’s final minute. Villanueva hit wide receiver Remington Austin for a 45-yard scoring strike with under a minute to play to provide the final margin in the Vikings defeat.“I felt at times our run defense played as well as it has all year. The offensive line looked good at times, but Watauga was a team that was hard to get a feel for on film,” Coach Brewer said after the game. “They were quite a bit bigger in size and were better up front than I thought they were. You’ve gotta give Coach Pruitt and his staff a lot of credit. That’s one of the most physical Watauga football teams that I’ve ever seen which really surprised me.”
Avery quarterback Alex Villanueva was 8 of 24 passing for 102 yards, with a touchdown and three interceptions. Devan Coram led the Pioneers with 12 completions in 17 attempts for 278 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
“Our guys fought and scratched until the final gun. I think we looked like a young team Friday night, and the pressure threw us off a little bit,” Coach Brewer added. “They got to us more than we thought they would.”
The Vikings fall to 1-2 on the season, and they will host the neighboring Cloudland Highlanders this Friday night at MacDonald Stadium in the 3rd Annual Avery Journal-Times Border Battle Classic.
