By David Rogers. CHARLOTTE, N.C. — If soccer games were decided by who spends the most time in an opponent’s half of the field, Ardrey Kell was the clear winner on Aug. 14 in the 2023season opener vs. Watauga. That didn’t happen, though, because the Pioneers’ defenders turned back the Knights’ onslaught — including three dramatic saves by senior goalkeeper Kyle Painter in the 0-0 draw.

BONUS PHOTOS AT BOTTOM OF ARTICLE

Watauga head coach Josh Honeycutt is intentional in his non-conference scheduling, loading up the early slate of matches with the strongest possible competition before starting to campaign for a Northwestern Conference championship. At least in North Carolina, the Knights’ program is among the best. Competing in the highest, 4A classification, Ardrey Kell finished No. 13 among all of the 566 high school soccer programs in North Carolina by the end of the 2022 season, according to MaxPreps.com, which had Watauga listed at No. 83.

“Before the game, we were all sitting around looking at social media and stuff and my buddy, Ben Myers, showed me a power ranking for North Carolina 4A, and Ardrey Kell was ranked as No. 7. We weren’t even mentioned. You wouldn’t even know that Watauga existed. So, we had a bit of a chip on our shoulders tonight, feeling we had something to prove. Coming away with a 0-0 is a statement to any school in the state that we are not a joke or just a bunch of hillbillies. We can play.”

Honeycutt put the Pioneers’ season opening performance into perspective after achieving a 0-0 draw when the Knights dominated possession.

“I am super proud of these guys the way they battled all night long,” said Honeycutt. “Defensively, we were as solid as we could be. Ardrey Kell has an unbelievable attack, one of the best high school teams I have seen. They have lots of talent on the ball, lots of good runs and quick one- and two-touch passing. They are very difficult to defend and we came out here and kept it a 0-0 game. That just speaks volumes to what our guys leave on the field every time they come out to play soccer.”

Honeycutt had special praise for Painter’s performance.

“Kyle had a couple of great saves and he commanded the field. It all starts with him. He is very vocal, directing traffic. Our backline is soaking wet right now, drenched in sweat because they did an excellent job of man-marking and tracking, making sure we were staying goal side and giving Ardrey Kell as few opportunities as possible. For an opponent like Ardrey Kell, on their pitch in this heat, to come away 0-0 in the season opener… I will take that all day long.”

Although Honeycutt understood the significance of the draw against a very strong Ardrey Kell team, he also realized there is room for improvement.

“We have to do a better job of possessing in the midfield,” he said. “We had a couple of guys say beforehand that they weren’t feeling great, even nauseous, perhaps because of the heat, so we were shuffling guys in and out. There wasn’t a lot of continuity as we were trying to keep the guys hydrated. I think if we can build our midfield possession and allow it to be purposeful, to build the attack moving the ball forward, we will be a lot better off. We were a little on our heels tonight, but that is also credit to Ardrey Kell and how good they are in their attack.”

Senior defender Ayden Johnson credited his team’s communication on the field for much of the evening’s performance.

“On the field, we have to always be talking to each other, checking your shoulders and communicating,” said Johnson. “A big thing is also trust. I have to be able to trust my outside back, let them fight their battles and trust them to win those. We have a lot of connection and togetherness on this team.”

Watauga returns home, hoping for more favorable playing conditions on Wednesday, Aug. 16, for their opener at Jack Groce Stadium against West Caldwell (Lenoir).

“I am excited for it,” said Painter. “We’ve been talking to friends and looking for a big crowd. If we play as well as we did tonight, everyone gets to go home early.”

“Win big,” added Johnson, smiling.

BONUS PHOTOS

By David Rogers. CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Giving up three goals in the first 13 minutes of play on Aug. 14 proved too much to overcome for the Watauga junior varsity men’s soccer. The Pioneers proved resilient in the second half, but fell to the host Ardrey Kell Knights, 4-0, in both teams’ 2023 season opener.

Watauga endured a three and a half hour bus ride to get to the Knights’ home pitch, the team’s arrival delayed three times by car crashes ahead of them on I-77. Upon arrival, they stepped out of the school bus into an oven — 96 degrees Fahrenheit and high humidity vs. the 71-degree weather they had left earlier in the afternoon, in Boone.

“Coming into it we knew it was going to be a tough matchup,” said Watauga JV coach Vern Collins afterwards. “As a program, we like to load the non-conference portion of our schedule with better teams because it is an opportunity for these boys to learn and to grow.

“It took us basically to the second half to play at the intensity level that we prefer,” Collins added. “We were sluggish in the first half. The heat was a shocker. Our mountain boys are spoiled! But seriously, we like to tell our guys that the heat and the conditions they can’t control. But what they can control is their level of play. Even though the scoreboard doesn’t reflect the outcome we wanted, we are very proud of the way they picked up the level of intensity in the second half.”

Collins pointed out that the Watauga JV team is quite young.

“We sent a lot of guys from last year to varsity this year,” he said. “We have a lot of freshmen, but there is a lot of talent on this team. We have been able to tell very quickly that these guys are buying into the culture of Watauga soccer.”

Watauga will play under more favorable conditions in their next encounter, on Aug. 16, when they host West Caldwell (Lenoir) at Jack Groce Stadium. The JVs’ kickoff is slated for 4:30 p.m., with the varsity to follow.

BONUS PHOTOS

By David Rogers. CHARLOTTE, N.C. — As a first look at No. 1 overall draft picks go, the preseason NFL debut the Carolina Panthers’ Bryce Young was fairly ho-hum. Young only directed the first three series in the New York Jets’ 27-0 drubbing of the Panthers at Bank of America Stadium, completing 4-of-6 passes for a pedestrian 21 yards, so no one is drawing any conclusions about his future.

Carolina head coach Frank Reich admitted later that the team’s offensive game plan was “vanilla,” that the coaching staff was just trying to see a lot of players and keep things fairly simple in a preseason matchup that means nothing in terms of its postseason ambitions, but he probably didn’t expect the lack of execution on several levels.

Although the Jets overwhelmed Carolina in all three phases of the game, what became most clear during this contest was the Panthers’ need to improve the offensive line play. Quarterbacks need time to find open receivers and neither Young nor relief pitcher Matt Corral — last year’s QB draft pick — got sufficient protection to orchestrate much through the air. One can always raise the question as to whether the QBs were getting the ball out of their hands fast enough, but the Jets recorded five QB sacks to rack up 35 lost Panther yards.

Running backs need gaps at the line of scrimmage through which to gallop — but few opportunities presented themselves.

Young and Corral combined to complete 19 passes on 28 attempts for 147 yards. Spencer Brown, signed as an undrafted free agent out of UAB in 2021, was the Panthers’ leading rusher, carrying the ball eight times for 34 yards. Chuba Hubbard picked up nine yards on four carries and Raheem Blackshear, a 2022 undrafted free agent out of Virginia Tech by way of Rutgers, gained two yards on one carry. Add in Corral’s one carry for seven yards and the Panthers rushed 15 times, gaining 52 yards, the longest a 13-yard pickup by Brown. It was only a first preseason game when coaches may be more interested in evaluating talent than taking a winning step toward the Super Bowl, but 165 total net yards on offense is nothing to write home about.

Failing to credit the New York Jets’ mostly reserve defensive unit would be a crime, too, as well as its ball-controlling offensive effort led by former BYU star Zach Wilson, trying to rebound from a less than steady NFL debut in 2022. Not only did the Jets defense shut out the Panthers with an interception, eight quarterback hurries and six tackles for loss, but the NY offense controlled possession almost 36 minutes compared to just 24 minutes by Carolina.

It may not have been a Carolina win but it gave head coach Frank Reich a lot to ponder afterwards.

“What we just talked about in (the locker room) was it was a good week that really just ended on a bad note with this game,” said the new Panthers head coach about the team’s first outing under his direction. “Obviously, the game weighs more important than the week, but you have to keep everything in perspective. So that’s what we do. What we do is we look at every play, every player. We evaluate everything. We will grow from it and look forward to diving into the tape and getting better next week.”

Reich was similarly philosophical in talking about Young’s debut with the first team offense.

“Obviously, we had a little too much pressure at times,” Reich conceded, before adding, “Bryce was accurate. He got rid of the ball quickly. There is some good in having to try to overcome some bad field position which we did not do. We got our second drive. We are backed up there pretty much. Those are great situations. We talk about this all the time. Let’s get the tough situations and put ourselves to the test. We had a couple of those today. We didn’t pass those tests but those are good to learn from.”

Other meaningful postgame Reich soundbites:

• “I thought Matt Corral showed some flashes.”
• “You don’t like getting shut out and getting beat, 27-0, but I have a lot of years in this league that tell me preseason scores are not the most meaningful thing. Not that we aren’t accountable for that. We are — but it is not the most important thing right now.”
• “When you are a new coaching staff, I just don’t want to show too much. Some teams don’t know the things we are going to do and there is some of it I’m willing to take on the chin a little bit in preseason to hide things we are going to do in the regular season.”

Carolina will look to learn from this week’s lessons when they take on the New York Giants on Aug. 18 at The Meadowlands, then return home to host the Detroit Lions on Aug. 25 in a final preseason tuneup.

RELATED LINKS

• Carolina Panthers

By Bret Strelow for App State Sports. BOONE, N.C. — Saturday started with referees coming up the mountain to officiate the first preseason scrimmage and continued with sage advice being dispatched from a high-profile guest speaker in Jon Gordon.

Gordon, also a well-renowned author (including his best-selling book titled “The Energy Bus”), addressed the App State football team on a day when he also spoke to other student-athletes on campus. Gordon talked to a large gathering of Mountaineers in the Holmes Center at the same time the football team was conducting Fall Camp practice No. 8, which included a scrimmage with more than 100 plays.

Defense provides bookend highlights, but QBs throw TDs, too

The scrimmage began with a free-play deep throw (because of defensive offsides) that was intercepted in acrobatic fashion by cornerback Ethan Johnson and ended with outside linebacker Caden Sullivan delivering a sack on a fourth-and-goal snap.

There were plenty of offensive, defensive and special teams highlights in between, as Ryan Burger threw touchdown passes to Kaedin Robinson (a 7-yarder with six seconds showing on the clock to complete an end-of-half scenario that had begun at the 50-yard line) and Nate Noel (a 14-yard connection in a red-zone scenario). Burger scrambled for one touchdown.

Joey Aguilar also delivered a pair of touchdown passes, with Coen Sutton breaking a tackle on a 30-yard score to cap a 75-yard drive and tight end Kanen Hamlett scoring an 11-yard touchdown on a third down, a few plays after a 46-yard gain by receiver Makai Jackson.

The offense moved effectively under Burger’s direction after a strong start by the defense — Burger went through his progressions well on a patient check-down throw to Noel for 22 yards and then completed a 16-yard pass to Robinson before Robinson’s score — and Aguilar showed great accuracy in completing a high percentage of his throws.

The run game featured several productive carries from Ahmani Marshall and some open-field explosiveness from Kanye Roberts.

Defensively, in addition to the previously mentioned efforts from Johnson and Sullivan, officials credited sacks to defensive end Michael Fletcher (two solo sacks), safety Nick Ross, outside linebacker Nate Johnson and outside linebacker Brodrick Gooch with some of the Mountaineers’ top units on the field. Inside linebacker Jack Scroggs also had a sack, and redshirt freshman safety DJ Burks intercepted a deep pass.

Castle finds end zone against first team defense

Jordan Favors, a candidate to start at one safety spot, made several nice plays in run support and forced a fumble that was recovered by Derrell Farrar, a candidate to start at one inside linebacker spot. Defensive end Shawn Collins’ downfield tackle after continuing to swarm to the ball shows he’s fitting in with how App State wants to play defense.

Another takeaway came via Kevin Abrams-Verwayne’s fumble recovery, and Milan Tucker blocked a kick on special teams.

In addition to drives beginning with long fields, there were also instances of the offense starting inside the defense’s 5-yard line. Anderson Castle scored on a 1-yard run with first-team units going head to head, while freshman quarterback Mason McHugh threw a short touchdown pass to freshman tight end Max Drag. With penalties backing up one offensive group, the defense held strong, forcing a 36-yard field goal attempt that was made by Michael Hughes.

The regular season begins in three weeks, with App State welcoming Gardner-Webb to Boone for a Sept. 2 opener in Kidd Brewer Stadium.

By David Rogers. SALISBURY, N.C. — It was a scrimmage-style, high school volleyball tournament hosted by Catawba College on Aug. 12, but it wasn’t really about the scores, which weren’t kept or reported, officially. Instead, the timed, 30-minute (varsity) and 20-minute (JV) scrimmages gave the coaches some idea of their respective teams’ readiness for the soon-to-start regular season.

BONUS PHOTOS AT BOTTOM OF THIS ARTICLE

Watauga faced West Wilkes, Davie County, Mallard Creek and West Cabarrus in the packed Catawba College gyms — two of them — with family, friends, teammates and coaches lining the walls around the courts. If nothing else, it was a festive atmosphere celebrating high school women’s volleyball.

The Pioneers had the event’s largest contingent, with a varsity team and not one, but two junior varsity entries, the only school so represented.

EVERY YEAR PRESENTS A NEW PUZZLE. WE HAVE SOME REALLY GOOD PIECES THIS YEAR.

“Our hope was to get in here and play against some high level teams,” the Pioneers’ head coach Kim Pryor explained after her charges’ first matches against West Wilkes. “We have been hitting against each other for so long, it is nice to play someone different. That said, we get a lot out of our intrasquad scrimmages. Part of being a part of Watauga volleyball is being able to play against high level competition in every practice. Our talent level coming in is pretty good every year. To play against other teams, though, gives you a true feel for the game, putting different lineups in and checking things out.”

One of the stark realities of high school sports is turnover. Student athletes graduate and move on with their lives. A few go to play at the next level but every year the coaches are replacing at least some of their previous season’s stars.

Case in point: the Pioneers lost a couple of big hitters the last few seasons in Caroline Farthing and Brooke Scheffler, as well as the Northwestern Conference defensive player of the year, Kenzie Baldwin and multi-talented Faith Watson.

Replacing two hitters going on to play at Division I schools, Farthing at App State and Scheffler to Furman, is no easy task, but the Pioneers have a lot of potential in outside hitters Emma Pastusic (sophomore) and Brooklyn Stanbery (senior), as well as middle hitters Kate McCullough (senior), Sara Marlowe (senior), Grace Tillery (junior) and Kora Knight (sophomore). Marlowe and McCullough all-Northwestern Conference honorable mention selections last season.

A STARK REALITY OF HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS IS TURNOVER. STUDENT ATHLETES GRADUATE AND MOVE ON WITH THEIR LIVES, INCLUDING SOME WHO WILL PLAY AT THE NEXT LEVEL.

“We have a lot of depth with our blocking and hitting this year,” said Pryor.

Other varsity returnees from 2022 include Evie Robbins (senior libero, designated setter), Olivia Kop (senior, designated setter), Madie Combs (senior setter/designated setter) and Kasey Gragg (senior, setter).

The strength of the Watauga program may well be its numbers and roster depth, as reflected in the school’s entering a varsity team and two JV teams.

“Every year you have a new puzzle and you are challenged to fit all the pieces together. The pieces that we have this year bring a special set of skills in the area of blocking. When seniors move on, it creates opportunities for the girls coming up to fill those spots. It is always fun to put the new puzzle together. We have some great pieces to play with,” said Pryor.

“We have 50+ student athletes out for volleyball this year,” Pryor added, in referencing Watauga’s three tournament entries. “Especially at this time of year, we wanted to see them all play. Each one of them has been working hard.”

Pryor indicated the tournament’s scrimmage competition offered exactly what she and her coaches valued at this point in the 2023 season.

“For the preseason, we want to play strong opponents,” said Pryor, “even the best and you will see that in our early schedule as we prepare for another Northwestern Conference championship run. Our conference has gotten stronger in each of the last few years, so preparing for conference play has gotten more demanding. Ashe County is already strong, Hibriten is coming up, Alexander Central and South Caldwell are always scrappy and good tests now. We get ready for conference play this year with early opponents like Cox Mill, Southwestern Randolph, Hickory, and Foard, which are all very strong programs.”

Pryor’s optimism for the new season is shared by her players.

“I am very excited for the new season,” said Pastusic. “We lost a couple of players who graduated and went off to college, but I think we are adapting well. This scrimmage will really help us with timing and all. We are really working hard in practice and there are some girls who played JV last year coming up to varsity this year and they are very, very good.”

Pastusic, who also represented the Pioneers last spring in track and field, said her multi-sport experience is a positive.

“Being able to play more than one sport helps you achieve a sort of balance in your conditioning and preparation,” she said. “By being in track, I also stay in shape for playing volleyball in the summer and fall.”

Standing at 6-feet tall, Tillery enjoys a height advantage and one of those student athletes moving up from the JV squad where she competed in 2022.

“Moving up from JV to varsity is a big change for me,” said Tillery, “but I just want to get in there and live up to the expectations. I have considered trying to play at the next level and a junior year is when a lot of the recruiting is taking place. But while I have some individual goals, helping our team win a conference championship and possibly go deep into the playoffs is the most important thing.”

Watauga gets started on the 2023 season in earnest this week, with three matches. On Tuesday, Aug. 15, the Pioneers host Southwestern Randolph in Lentz Eggers Gym, with the JVs kicking things off at 4:30 p.m. and the varsity match scheduled for 6 p.m. On Wed. (Aug. 16), Watauga travels to West Wilkes (4:30 p.m./6:00 p.m.), and on Saturday (Aug. 19), they’ll get up early to play 4A power Cox Mill in Lentz Eggers Gym (11 a.m./12:30 p.m.).

VARSITY IMAGES FROM CATWABA COLLEGE SCRIMMAGE

JUNIOR VARSITY IMAGES FROM CATAWBA COLLEGE TOURNAMENT

By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — A spirited, three-way high school football scrimmage graced Jack Groce Stadium on Aug. 11, involving host Watauga, Ashe County and North Surry each representing three different NCHSAA levels.

_{BONUS PHOTOS AT BOTTOM OF ARTICLE}

Each of the teams had their moments, but in the early part of the sessions perhaps the most impressive was 2A representative North Surry, which effectively moved the ball on offense against the two larger schools Watauga (4A) and Ashe County (3A), both members of the 3A/4A Northwestern Conference. North Surry also intercepted a long Watauga pass in the end zone to avoid giving up a TD.

“After graduating 22 seniors from last year’s team, six of them going on to play at the next level, there is no question we are young with a lot of questions,” Watauga head coach Ryan Habich said to High Country Sports in a weekend telephone interview. “We have probably the toughest non-conference schedule this season, at least since I have been here, so our challenge as coaches and players is to stay healthy physically, mentally and emotionally as we prepare for the conference schedule. Our No. 1 goal is always a conference championship because that is what earns you high seedings and home field advantage in the state playoffs.”

Habich indicated that several positions, including running back and tight end, are proving to be tough competitions among players with little or no experience at those positions, including veteran student-athletes like Morgan Henry, who has already started to receive college offers.

“We graduated our six top running backs last year,” said Habich, “so we are moving guys around. “Morgan Henry is a good example. He is transitioning from a pure receiver role to a hybrid receiver role where he will also line up as a running back.”

With all of its great resources, especially as a 4A level school because of the size of its enrollment near 1,500, Watauga High School has a significant challenge vs. other 4A schools in the larger metropolitan areas.

“Some of those 4A schools in Raleigh, Charlotte, Greensboro… have as many as 2,600 enrolled students, so they already have a distinct advantage in terms of numbers compared to a 4A school like Watauga with 1,500 students.” said Habich. “But beyond that, in a metropolitan area most of the students live pretty close to their high school campuses whereas Watauga’s students live all around the county. Transportation becomes pretty important. In Charlotte, a kid might be able to catch a ride with a buddy or have a short walk to and from practice. Here, your buddy living in Deep Gap may not have the time or resources to give you a lift home to Bethel.”

With the transportation challenges, the more rural county schools like Watauga may not have the number of players coming out so suffer from a lack of roster depth.

“We will play against teams this year that have completely distinct offense, defense, and special teams units,” Habich pointed out. “They have so much depth that no one has to play both ways or even three ways for the team to be competitive. Here, as we do every year, we will once again have our top players competing on both offense and defense, like Maddox Greene at quarterback and defensive back or Jackson Pryor at wide receiver and outside linebacker.

“We have so many wonderful resources here at Watauga, from the stadium with its lights and turf to what the students have in their classrooms,” said Habich. “In some respects, you might think of us as an ‘Ivy League’ school but we have to have a military school mentality when it comes to football if we are to compete at a high level. We have to do things differently.”

Watauga looks to polish its execution in all three phases of the game before the regular season opener on Aug. 18, at home against longtime rival, T C Roberson (Asheville).

RANDOM CAPTURED MOMENTS FROM THE SCRIMMAGE

All photographic images by David Rogers

By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — In many respects, it was inevitable. Watauga High School’s women’s basketball head coach Laura Barry resigned from the program, effective Aug. 4, to become an assistant coach at Davidson College.

When high school coaches have the kind of success carved out by Barry in nurturing and growing the Pioneer program, job offers at a higher level are sure to follow. Since Barry was hired in May of 2016, she had an instant impact not just on the program but on the academic and personal development of her charges.

During her seven seasons at the helm of the Pioneer women’s program, Barry accumulated an overall record of 124-55, a 69.3 percent winning percentage or over 17 wins per season, on average. She also served as the Watauga men’s coach for two years while heading the women’s team, too.

I am so grateful for my time with this program and the opportunity to grow with these young people through basketball.

While Barry played collegiately at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill (2009 graduate), before arriving at Watauga she served as an assistant coach at East Tennessee State, St. John’s University, and Allegheny College.

In departing, Barry had nothing but praise for her experience in the High Country.

“Representing Watauga High School and working with these young women has been more
fulfilling and exciting than I ever could have imagined,” said Barry. “I am so grateful for my time with this program and the opportunity to grow with these young people through basketball. I know the standards and traditions will continue to carry on beyond my time here, and I am excited for the future of this team and these players and coaches. I would like to thank the dedicated leadership in Watauga County Schools, the past and present families, and most of all the staff and players that made coaching here so rewarding each day.”

“I am thrilled to be announcing the addition of Laura to our coaching staff,” said Davidson head coach Gayle Fulks. “She is an excellent basketball coach that has been a winner at every level, but an even better person that truly embodies our program’s values. Her mentorship both on and off the court will be great for our players, as she has been in their shoes, striving for championships on the court, being a great teammate and leader and excelling as a student in the classroom. I can’t wait for her to get started!”

While looking back at her time at Watauga, Barry is also looking ahead.

“I am extremely excited to join Coach Fulks’ staff and have the opportunity to coach and mentor these student-athletes,” Barry said. “Davidson College has a rich tradition of serious academics alongside a high level of basketball, and I am thrilled to be a part of that as well as compete in this league. I am grateful for this opportunity to continue to work with young people through the game of basketball and as a part of the Davidson Athletics family.”

Watauga High School athletic director Dustin Kerley was excited for what lies ahead in the next chapter of Barry’s career and life.

“Watauga Athletics is very grateful to Coach Barry for the time, effort, and commitment that she has put into our women’s basketball program,” said Kerley. “A very high standard has been set under her leadership. Coach Barry had some phenomenal accomplishments on the court, but just as important as her on the court accolades will be the impact she leaves off the court. Coach Barry built positive relationships with her players, staff, and colleagues at Watauga High School and did things the right way. She worked extremely hard to ensure her players were great people off the court, in our school, and in our community. For that, we are extremely grateful! We wish her nothing but the best as she moves on to her next endeavor.”

Barry also serves as owner/operator of Peak Basketball LLC, helping basketball players of all ages in the High Country learn the game by allowing them to work hard, push their limits, and grow their game.

Some basketball highlights include:

2016-17 Season

• Reached Rd 2 of the NCHSAA Playoffs

2017-18 Season

• Co-NW3A/4A Conference Champions
• Reached Rd 2 of the NCHSAA Playoffs

2018-19 Season

• Reached Rd 2 of the NCHSAA Playoffs

2019-20 Season

• Reached Rd 2 of the NCHSAA Playoffs

2021-22 Season

• High Country Holiday Classic Tournament Champions
• Co-NW3A/4A Conference Champions
• NW3A/4A Conference Tournament Champions
• 100th win vs Garinger (60-32 win for the Lady Pioneers) on 2/22/22 in Rd 1 of the
  NCHSAA Playoffs
• Reached Rd 3 of the NCHSAA Playoffs

2022-23 Season

• High Country Holiday Classic Tournament Champions
• Co-NW3A/4A Conference Champions
• NW3A/4A Conference Tournament Champions
• Reached Rd 4 of the NCHSAA Playoffs`

RELATED LINKS

• Davidson College story

By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — What better way to learn more about soccer than a trip to the heartland of the game? That is the opportunity coming up for 13 members of the High Country Soccer Association’s 14-and-under Gold travel team.

“Next March, these young men will embark on an incredible soccer adventure,” said Ashley Barton, serving as the team’s communications director. “Most of them started playing soccer as soon as they could run, so you can imagine their excitement about this trip. They are really looking forward to the journey ahead.”

In describing the opportunity, Barton explained that the team will participate in “friendlies” (soccer matches against English youth team), visit and tour and English Premier League stadium, observe a training session, attend a coaching clinic and, as Barton said, “… get to experience the thrill of watching two professional soccer matches!”

In addition, the team will have guided sightseeing excursions led by a London tour director.

“It will be an unforgettable time full of soccer, of course, but to experience the sights and sounds of this historic city and meet some of its people… well, these are sure to produce some amazing memories for these young men,” said Barton.

To raise funds for the trip, the team organized fundraisers selling barbecue, popcorn, and baked goods. They’ve also set up a GoFundMe crowdfunding account: https://gofund.me/3e8e77a0

The U14 Gold team is a multi-county affair, with members from Watauga, Wilkes and Ashe County.

Ashe County players:

• Corbin Miller
• Carson Franca
• Braeden South

Wilkes County players:

• Kellen Barton
• Colton Harris

Watauga County players:

• Eero Ward
• Braxton Raymond
• Gavin Morgan
• Gavin Wright
• Henri van Werkkoven
• Jasper Berry
• Zach Rosen
• Mitchell Moss.

By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — It wasn’t the Boone Bigfoots pitching debut Jordan Fisher envisioned when he took command of the mound on August 5 at Smith Stadium. Two pitches, two hit batters — and it set the tone for what ultimately would be a 9-4 win by the Asheboro Zookeepers at Smith Stadium in Boone’s last game of the 2023 Coastal Plain League season.

Fisher will be a redshirt sophomore on Appalachian State’s 2024 baseball roster and made seven appearances earlier this summer for the Mooresville Spinners, the Summer Collegiate Baseball League’s 2023 champions. The towering, 6-4 righthander with a fastball in the low to mid 90s (miles per hour) has some “stuff,” as evidenced by his 11 strikeouts in just nine innings of relief for the Spinners and a 3.00 ERA.

So giving up five runs on seven hits in four innings against the Zookeepers is hardly characteristic of Fisher’s ability, especially when he put up a “zero” in the Zookeepers’ top of the fourth inning, giving up just one single before retiring the side on a fly ball and two strikeouts.

You also have to credit Asheboro’s hot bats on the night. Over the course of the night, the Zookeepers rapped out a home run (CF – Lleyton Lackey), three triples (2B – Cole Laskowski, DH – Todd Hudson, and RF- Dylan Driver), and two doubles (3B – Jared Beebe and C – Dallas Callahan). A restated perspective: two-thirds of the Zookeepers’ batters were credited with extra base hits.

A bright spot on the mound for the Bigfoots was the two shutout innings by another young standout from the App State roster, Clayton Stewart, a 6-4 transfer from Florence-Darlington Technical College.

At the plate, Boone could do but little against the Zookeepers’ starting pitcher, Drew Siegner, the 6-0, 225 lb. righthanded freshman from Campbell University. The Bigfoots collected three runs on eight hits off of the Burlington, N.C. native, but for the entire game, the Boone batters collectively left 11 runners stranded, unable to push them across for runs.

Bright spots in the Boone batting order came at the top and the bottom. Leadoff batter Tristan Salinas, a June graduate of Watauga High School and soon-to-be freshman player for the University of South Carolina Gamecocks, opened the game with a sharp single to right and went 2-for-4 while scoring Boone’s first run in the first inning. His patience at the plate was also rewarded with a walk. Defensively, Salinas was on the front end of two double plays executed by the Boone infield.

At the bottom of the batting order, Transylvania University’s rising senior outfielder, Walt Munday, had arguably his best season performance at the plate, going 3-4, with a double and an RBI.

The Bigfoots also got doubles from App State catcher Braxton Critcher and Mars Hill infielder Zach Weaver. Unfortunately, Boone couldn’t string together many consecutive hits nor capitalize on four Zookeeper fielding errors to score enough runs and overcome Asheboro’s hot night at the plate.

Boone finished the second half of the CPL season at 9-14, tied for fifth with the Martinsville Mustangs and just ahead of the 8-15 High Point-Thomasville HiToms. For the full season, Boone was 19-26.

WEST DIVISION STANDINGS

1. Lexington County Blowfish (28-18)
2. Forest City Owls (26-20)
3. Macon Bacon (24-22)
4. Asheboro Zookeepers (20-24)
5. Boone Bigfoots (19-26)
6. Martinsville Mustangs (18-26)
7. HP-Thomasville HiToms (16-29)

EAST DIVISION STANDINGS

1. Morehead City Marlins (32-15)
2. Wilmington Sharks (24-21)
3. Wilson Tobs (25-23)
4. Peninsula Pilots (24-24)
5. Tri-City Chili Peppers (23-23)
6. Holly Springs Salamanders (23-25)
7. Florence Flamingos (20-26)

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By David Rogers. RALEIGH, N.C. — After cruising near the back of a 10-man pack for the first three laps of the 4-lap Sir Walter Miler men’s elite mile race on Aug. 4 at Meredith College, Blowing Rock-based Dan Schaffer used a blistering last 200 meters to capture third place in the prestigious event.

Amon Kemboi, representing Puma Elite, took the top spot with a time of 3:57.84, followed by Ben Allen of Empire Elite in 3:58.19.

Schaffer, who joined ZAP Endurance just a year ago, was less than a second off of first place with a time of 3:58.57.

A dozen elite milers competed in the race and exactly half of them put in sub-minute times, even though the first lap was relatively slow at 60 seconds flat. Shaffer did not begin to threaten the leaders until the end of the backstretch on the final lap, then jumped to the outside, picking off runners ahead of him but was unable to nose out Kemboi and Allen.

The top three finishers had different strategies for the race in terms of their positioning. While Schaffer ran toward the back of the back until the last lap, Allen was among the leaders almost the entire race. Meanwhile, Kemboi spent much of the race between fourth and fifth place positions before surging ahead at the end.

Kemboi had already taken the lead at the 1500-meter mark, just a half second ahead of Jesse Hunt (unattached). At that point, Allen was in third and Schaffer was a second behind Kemboi, in fifth.

Schaffer has enjoyed a successful racing campaign in 2023, finishing among the top five in almost every race in which he has competed.

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• Sir Walter Miler

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VIDEO courtesy of RunnerSpace