By David Rogers. ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Even though Watauga High School’s varsity football game at Erwin High School was delayed by lightning for 24 hours — and the Pioneers had to endure a two and a half hour bus ride back to Boone late Friday night, then another two and half hours on a repeat trip to West Asheville Saturday afternoon — the Boone boys were nonetheless supercharged against the Warriors, winning 49-14.
The Pioneers again scored using many different playmakers, spearheaded by the quarterback play of senior Cade Keller, who completed seven of 11 passes for 140 yards and two TDs, one each to seniors Nyle Peays and Evan Burroughs. Keller also rushed for 95 carries on five carries, including two more TDs on the ground.
Watauga’s aerial attack was highlighted by big gainers, including a 37-yarder to senior wide receiver Kyle Williams, a 40-yarder to Peays for the TD, and a 28-yard catch-and-run endeavor by senior Burroughs.
As exciting as the Pioneer passing attack was, though, much more game on punishing runs by Keller (5 carries, 95 yards, 2 TDs), senior running back Everett Gryder (7 carries, 68 yards, two TDs, including a 38 yard scamper to paydirt around the right side in the second quarter), and senior Matthew Leon (5 carries, 83 yards), who produced a highlight reel worthy, 69-yard, tackle-busting sprint down the left sideline in Q1.
Seven touchdowns usually lead to seven extra point attempts and junior placekicker Miller Hankins was perfect on the night, successful on all seven attempts.
Watauga (4-0) makes a return trip to Asheville on Friday, Sept. 26, to face a highly regarded Asheville High School team to close out the non-conference slate for 2025.
Watauga is now ranked No. 20 in the state and No. 2 in North Carolina’s 6A classification, according to MaxPreps, only behind No. 1 Charlotte Catholic.
At 2-2, with wins over East Rutherford and independent Asheville School, Asheville HS is ranked No. 19 in the North Carolina 6A classification. Their losses were to perennial 5A powerhouse Crest (Shelby, NC) and Kingsport, Tenn.-based Dobyns-Bennett.
BONUS PHOTOS (Click on any image for larger version and Slide Show mode)
By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — If Watauga High School women’s volleyball team had any reservations about going up against a larger, in-conference school on Sept. 18, it didn’t show. The Pioneers all but routed the visiting McDowell Titans in Lentz Eggers Gym, 3-0 (25-5, 25-7, 25-17).
Now 14-1 overall, 4-0 in 6A/7A Northwestern Conference play, the host Pioneers rattled off 13 straight points to open the first set and never looked back. After back to back sets in which Watauga limited the Titans to single digits in scoring, head coach Kim Pryor was able to go deep into her bench, sprinkling in a number of younger reserves and give them valuable court time.
Caroline Childers receives a McDowell serve on Sept. 18, passing the ball up to setter Lainey Gragg. Photographic image by David Rogers for High Country Sports
It hardly mattered what combination of Pioneers were on the floor. The execution was fluid. The results were a powerful statement of the team’s overall preparation and togetherness.
Afterwards, Pryor acknowledged the reality of playing against a larger school with more student-athletes to draw from and credited McDowell for having some really good athletes, several of whom she sees on the basketball court after the volleyball season. But Pryor quickly focused her thoughts on the Pioneers, whose members play together outside of high school competition in various combinations for travel teams and local volleyball clubs. Such year ’round work in volleyball has helped make Watauga a North Carolina 6A West power.
Although typically not one of the Pioneer starters, sophomore outside hitter Gracyn Phelps got plenty of court time in the third and final set, contributing four decisive kill shots hit hard enough to scrape some varnish off the hardwood flooring on the McDowell side of the net.
Afterward, Phelps smiled broadly in telling reporters she loved her teammates and loved the opportunities when they came to fearlessly “swing away” in attack. She credited senior outside hitter Emma Pastusic with helping refine her hitting capabilities.
Although Pastusic was rested most of the third set, she still led the team’s offensive power with 17 kills. In the somewhat abbreviated match, overall, setter Lainey Gragg adroitly recorded 28 assists.
One of the more remarkable team stats: 13 service aces, seven off the arm of outside hitter Ashlyn Smith and four from the versatile Gragg.
SELECTED INDIVIDUAL STATS
Kills: Emma Pastusic (17), Kora Knight (6), Gracyn Phelps (4), Rae Coffey (3), Ashlyn Smith (2), Caroline Childers (1), Julia Rowan (1)
By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — A harbinger, perhaps, of things to come for the Watauga varsity later on, the Pioneers’ junior varsity swept McDowell, 2-0 (25-17, 25-20), on Sept. 18 in Lentz Eggers Gym.
While the encounter was well-contested by the visiting Titans, with early lead exchanges in the second set, Watauga eventually pulled away.
Now 13-0, the junior Pioneers are slated to play at St. Stephens (Hickory) on Sept. 23.
SELECTED INDIVIDUAL STATS
Kills: Adeline Tate (8), Kira Beasley (5), Addin Hodges (4), Haileigh Peele (3), Anna Casey (3)
Assists: Mia Mitchell (20), Ember Honeycutt (2), Molly Nolte (1)
Digs: Ember Honeycutt (11), Kira Beasley (7), Mia Mitchell (4), Madison Plemons (4)
Service Aces: Ember Honeycutt (2), Madison Plemons (2), Mia Mitchell (1)
Blocks: Addin Hodges (1)
BONUS PHOTOS (Click on any image for larger size and slide show mode)
All photographic images by David Rogers for High Country Sports
By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Off a centering pass from the left side by Gavin Lapinski, Watauga striker Evan Mawhinney foot-flicked a shot into the right corner of the Ardrey Kell-defended net in the 11th minute of play on Sept. 17, giving the Pioneers an early lead. To the delight of a raucous, early autumn crowd at Jack Groce Stadium, Mawhinney added a second goal in the second half — and Watauga played stellar defense to secure a 2-1 win over the Charlotte-based Knights.
Ardrey Kell evened things up with barely 10 seconds remaining in the first half on a long pass from midfield to the center, followed and punched in by striker Matthew Kulyak, just under the outstretched arms of a diving Soloman Triplett, the Pioneer goalkeeper.
Mawhinney punched in his second goal in the 13th minute of the second half, taking advantage of a header assist from Asher Hampton to recapture the lead for the host Pioneers. Hampton capitalized on a long, downfield pass, advancing the ball by heading it backwards to a well-positioned Mawhinney.
The two non-conference adversaries battled mostly in the middle third of the field for the rest of the second half. Ardrey Kell threatened briefly with a long free kick from 37 yards out to in front of the goal, but Triplett was able to smother any semblance of attack on the loose ball.
Watauga had a good look at goal in the 24th minute of the second half when Lipinski slipped a pass to the left side to an on-rushing Hampton, but the side judge determined that he was offsides.
Find the ball in mid-air just to right of the New River Building Supply sign, a centering pass from Gavin Lipinski. Moments later, it was foot-flicked by Evan Mawhinney into the right side of the net for Watauga’s first goal vs. Ardrey Kell on Sept. 17, in Jack Groce Stadium. The Pioneers won, 2-1. Photographic image by David Rogers for High Country Sports
Watauga’s corner kick in the 29th minute was all but wasted, landing far out from the posts and secured by the Knights’ defense.
A nifty defensive play by Pioneer backline stalwart Noah Van Werkhoven turned away a Knights threat in the attacking right corner with just over eight minutes remaining.
The Pioneers rebuffed an Ardrey Kell threat a few minutes later, turning the Knights’ attack in the right corner into a Pioneer counterattack. Minutes later, a long shot off the foot of Quincy Honeycutt was slapped over the crossbar by the Ardrey Kell goalkeeper for a dramatic save, but it also left him writhing in pain. He remained on the ground in front of his net for several minutes until eventually getting to his feet to help defend what turned out to be two consecutive corner kicks by the Pioneers, both turned away by the Knights.
Mawhinney came close to having a “hat trick,” his third scoring opportunity coming with a break down the left side but it was ultimately squashed by the Ardrey Kell defense.
If this match had any real drama, it seemed to come in the final two minutes.
The Knights were awarded a penalty kick with 1:36 to go when a yellow card was flashed by the referee for alleged dangerous play inside the penalty box by Watauga’s Van Werkhoven. After conferring with his side judge, the referee jogged to the Watauga sideline to offer an explanation to head coach Josh Honeycutt, but apparently that didn’t go too well when the official turned back not once, but twice to flash yellow cards at the coach.
After the lengthy delay, Watauga’s goalkeeper, Triplett, turned away the penalty shot to preserve the Pioneer lead.
Watauga’s David Ganley (6) moves the ball ahead against Ardrey Kell on Sept 17. Photographic image by David Rogers for High Country Sports
The drama wasn’t quite over, however, when Ardrey Kell was awarded a free kick from 23 yards out on the right side, roughly 15 yards from the sideline. With Watauga showing a 2-man wall, the Ardrey Kell kicker curled the ball to the left side, where it was eventually cleared by the Pioneers and the well-contested match appeared to tick to an end.
Inexplicably, the official put two seconds back on the clock and awarded a free kick to Ardrey Kell from near midfield, quite some distance from where the action was occurring in the apparent final seconds, in the attacking left corner. When the free kick was smothered by Watauga, he had another two seconds put back on the clock for yet another free kick attempt, which also failed.
Mercifully, for the Pioneer faithful, that was the end of the unusual finish to an otherwise well-contested match between longtime non-conference, friendly archrivals.
Next up for Watauga (5-3-3) is a final non-conference matchup on Sept. 22 against 8A power, Mallard Creek, in Jack Groce Stadium. Two days later, Sept. 24, the Pioneers open Northwestern Conference play at Freedom, in Morganton.
By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — While Watauga sophomore standout Cali Townsend (18:38.00) finished the 5K cross-country course more than two minutes ahead of her nearest rival, freshman teammate Josie Mayo (20:49.81), the Pioneers dynamic duo of underclassmen led a brigade of compatriots to a sweep of the first six finishing spots vs. visiting Hibriten on Sept. 17.
Senior Janie Beach-Verhay (20:50.34) crossed the finish line No. 3, followed by No. 4 Lainey Johnston, No. 5 Lilly Kimbrough, and No. 6 Nora Price before Hibriten junior Ama Higgs followed in 22:14.49.
With the top five finishers scoring from each team, Watauga secured the maximum, 15 points, vs. the Hibriten team total of 49 (placing 7-9-10-11-12), according to cross country’s unique scoring system. In actuality, Watauga captured 20 of the Top 21 places.
In the Men’s Division, the Pioneers recorded similar results, although the races were arguably tighter at the front. All five scoring Pioneers finished not only in the top five places, but less than a minute separated No. 1 from No. 5 in the 5K race. The Pioneers were led by Calvin Zwetsloot’s 17:29.58, followed by No. 2 James Bostrom (17:57.21), No. 3 Elliott Taft (18:16.34), No. 4 Zeke Walker (18:22.95) and No. 5 Levi Anderson (18:24.15).
By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — If the 10 members of Boy Scouts Troop 109 didn’t understand the importance of preparedness before their adventure treks in New Mexico this summer, they know it now.
From setting up and breaking camp to surviving a “popup” lightning storm on top of a mountain — at an elevation above the timber line — the scouts and their six adult advisers had a trip to remember to the Philmont Scout Camp.
Rock climbing at Philmont. Photo submitted
Finishing a day’s hike and all but ready to turn in for the night, the boys hadn’t given a lot of thought to the process of setting up their campsite before the trip.
“At the beginning of the trek,” said Eagle Scout member of the troop, Evan Cutlip, “it took us about an hour and a half to set up camp at night. By the end, we had cut that in half, to 45 minutes.”
Different boys had different motivations for making the trip.
“I was in Cub Scouts from about 4th grade on,” said Jackson Hill. “Now I am being home schooled but taking a couple of elective course at Watauga High School, auto tech and welding. I have been in Boy Scouts for about three years. I am mostly in it for the activities. I had never been backpacking before, so Philmont seemed like a really good experience, one of those once in a lifetime things. So, I decided to give it a shot. Before the Philmont trip, we underwent wilderness survival training, which you are required to take.”
New Mexico was very different than the Southern Appalachian Mountains in which he has grown up.
“New Mexico is very dry compared to here,” said Jackson. “Big mountains and beautiful landscapes. It is very red.”
For Oliver Blain, Philmont added to his education because the learning was based on real world experiences rather than more abstract learning from reading a book.
“I’ve been in Scouting since I was 13, about four years,” said Blain. “In our Troop 109, Philmont has always been presented as an opportunity, typically in your older years of Scouting, so you are getting into more high adventure type of activities. I wouldn’t necessarily say that Philmont is life-changing, for me personally, but it was great. At Philmont, was necessary that you learn how to read a map. You have to know your way around and where you are trying to go the next day.”
At Philmont, preparedness is a also a necessity.
“All of us that attended Philmont this year already had a first aid merit badge,” said Blain. “Some of us had Emergency Preparedness merit badges but we were all required to take Wilderness First Aid training and to get certified.”
Wilderness first aid became potentially real for Blain and his fellow Scouts at Philmont.
Boy Scouts Troop 109 made a side trip to Pikes Peak on their journey to Philmont in New Mexico. Photo submitted
“We got caught in a lightning storm on top of one of the most famous mountains, Tooth of Time, on our last full day. It is completely bald, just rock, above the timber line. We were split up into two crews. Our crew of five scouts and three advisers was a little bit slower going up. About three and a half hours in, we ran into the other crew, which had stopped about halfway up. There had been a lightning storm with pouring rain. They got to a certain height and decided it was too dangerous to go on.
“As a group, our crew decided to keep going up. We were on top and about 200 yards away a lightning bolt struck a tree. It was as pure white as a light bulb in your room. Mike Reynolds, my stepfather, was one of our advisers. He told us to immediately drop our packs and get to the north side of the mountain. That lightning bolt struck on the southeast side, so we headed to the north.”
Going north was important.
“On the south side, there was a really dense stand of trees. In a lightning storm, you don’t want to be near any trees,” said Blain. Conveniently, on the north side, there were giant boulders. It took us about 30 seconds to leave our packs and go over and down the north side. We helped each other find hiding spots among the boulders and that is where we stayed for about 30 minutes.”
Mike Reynolds, Blain’s stepfather and the Scouts’ advisor, had a little different perspective.
“There were two reasons to go to the north side,” said Reynolds. “First, there was a cliff on the south side and I didn’t want our boys running over the cliff. Plus, all the trees were on the south ridge. On the north slope, there were just those giant boulders they could get under. We didn’t want our guys to be the highest thing around. Also, the storm was coming from the south.”
Reynolds drew on years of experience, influenced by Scouting, but acknowledged that times have changed, too.
“I grew up in Scouting, near Danville, Virginia,” he said. “My father was a longtime scoutmaster. I got highly involved as a youth. Growing up as a Boy Scout, we went backpacking and camping a lot but it was a different time and era. If we wanted to go backpacking, we had parents who would drop us off on the Appalachian Trail on a Friday, without any adults, and pick us up on Sunday. Nowadays, that doesn’t happen. But the Scouting experience was an introduction to kayaking, backpacking, rock climbing, hunting, fishing… all of it. New Mexico is great. It is a wild neck of the woods.”
Just starting at Watauga High School as a freshman, Sam Cooke internalized the Philmont experience, almost academically.
“I just started 9th grade at Watauga High School. I want to take an academic path combining math and science, looking at some sort of engineering or biology career. The Philmont trip was amazing, definitely the best I have been on,” said Cooke. “There is the scenery, of course, but with the trek it is this feeling that you have just overcome a challenge. You look back and think, ‘Wow, we just hiked between 65 and 70 miles, total.’
“The lightning storm was crazy,” Cooke added. “We learned not to keep going higher in a lightning storm — even if you want to get to the campsite faster and get out of the rain.”
Cooke appreciated the relationship between adventure and some aspects of science.
“At Philmont, each day we hiked and most days when we stopped there would be a program, like rock climbing, white powder musket loading and shooting, archery, or making arrowheads. There was one day we were hiking to Cypress Mines. It was a slightly longer day, with about 39 creek crossings. The route was uphill on loose rock. I had not balanced my backpack, so the weight wasn’t evenly distributed. It was very painful. I got it adjusted that night and it was better for the rest of the trip,” said Cooke, with a grin. “The trip was so worth it. If you are in scouting, sign up for Philmont.”
Ron and Evan Cutlip had a father-son experience at Philmont with Boy Scouts Troop 109 in 2025. Photo submitted
Ron Cutlip, one of the adult advisors, was on his second trip to Philmont, but this time coming at it with a much broader depth of experience.
“I went to Philmont previously, when I was 16, in 1977. We were on the northern side of the Philmont camp back then. This time we were on the southern side. The park is large, over a hundred thousand acres,” said Cutlip.
“Philmont is special,” said Cutlip. “It is an opportunity to really get deep inside yourself and see what you can accomplish. We had some incredible hikes up very steep terrain. There were mountain tops as high as 11,000 feet in elevation, or about twice as high as Grandfather Mountain, to put it into perspective. There were snow caps. We were able to see some beautiful sunrises and sunsets.
Boy Scouts Troop 109, at Philmont in June 2025. Photo submitted
“We did those kinds of things every day, for 12 days,” Cutlip recalled. “We carried our backpacks with supplies, personal gear, food and water. We hiked a minimum of 10 miles a day with the backpacks, then put in additional mileage after that going to different events or activities. There were talks on Indian lore. Being in nature, away from your cell phone and computer, as well as from the general stresses of life was absolutely incredible.”
For Cutlip, this trip to Philmont was a family adventure.
“I was with my son, Evan, who is now an Eagle Scout. In 1977, I went when I was 16 and now Evan has gone when he is 16. To be able to spend that time with him was very precious and valuable, as a father,” said Cutlip.
While the lightning storm was only two hours of the 12-day trip, it made an impression.
“The lightning storm was actually a hailstorm,” Cutlip recalled. “We knew it was coming. We could see it, miles away, making its way toward us. We prepared ourselves for it. It first came with rain, which became a major hailstorm. There were lightning strikes all around us and we implemented our lightning protocol, not going further up the mountain. We were soaking wet, waiting it out for two hours. We had to take precautions not to get hypothermia. All of us were close to that, so we had to do our best to keep warm. The temperature had dropped, dramatically, from the upper 80s when we started at the bottom, but when the storm hit, it was in the low 50s. We were soaking wet and there was a slight wind, which made it even chillier.”
Adversity comes with lessons and benefits.
“One of the real benefits of Scouting is learning to be a leader. Like with the hailstorm, a leader knows what to do and to reduce the potential dangers in the situation. He is prepared. The boys learned how to lead. They took turns cooking, cleaning up, and putting up bear bags. These are all not just life experiences, but also developing problem-solving skills — being prepared,” said Cutlip.
At the beginning, it took the Scouts about an hour and a half to set up camp, said Eagle Scout Evan Cutlip. By the end, they had cut that time in half. Photo submitted
For Evan Cutlip, the lessons from the Philmont trek will stay with him for a lifetime.
“Sure, it is being outdoors, and in nature,” he said. “But you learn to be less scared of things, of the unknown. You get connected with nature and you learn to be more trustworthy of your camping equipment. But it was also a real opportunity to work on team skills, working with people you never had to work with before, whether it was setting up camp, cooking, or cleaning up. We had a couple of pre-treks, but they were nothing like the real thing.
“It is really interesting to be out there for a bit. People react to situations differently. Tensions can build,” added the younger Cutlip, a junior at Watauga High School planning on maybe playing college tennis before pursuing a career in finance and business management.
The Boy Scout Troop 109 participants in the 2025 Philmont trip were Sam Cooke, Oliver Blain, Jackson Hill, Nathaniel Walker, Evan Cutlip, James Pressly, Burlie Freeman, Daniel Wood, Dillon Miller and Brayden Hughes.
The adult advisors included Mike Reynolds, Ron Cutlip, Will Indicott, Justin Ginn, Tim Walker and Candis Walker.
Sunrise or sunset, Philmont 2025 was a ‘once in a lifetime’ experience for Troop 109. Photo submitted
By David Rogers. TAYLORSVILLE, N.C. — All that glitters is not gold. It is also the sparkling play of Watauga High School’s volleyball team on Sept. 16, in a showdown of undefeated Northwestern rivals. The Pioneers prevailed in sweeping fashion over the host Alexander Central Cougars, 3-0 (25-19, 25-15, 25-12).
Watauga jumped out to a 4-0 lead behind the serves of junior outside hitter Ashlyn Smith before the Cougars were able to slip in a point, but then the Pioneers got the ball right back and reeled off even more points behind setter Lainey Gragg’s service acumen.
Pioneer outside hitter Ashlyn Smith reeled off four straight points with well-placed serves in the opening set, Sept. 16, at Alexander Central. Photographic image by David Rogers for High Country Sports
Without question, what at one time was the most anticipated match of the month turned into somewhat of a rout, as Watauga was organized and in synch, running all their proverbial cylinders.
While Alexander Central mustered a few long rallies that showcased both teams’ defensive and attacking strengths, as the match wore on it became clear who was the better side, at least on this day.
“Alexander Central is a great team, with great hitting,” acknowledged Watauga head coach Kim Pryor after the match. “But we were clicking. We were ‘on’ from the very beginning. We were focused. This may have been the best all around we have played this year. This team keeps wanting to get better and better and better, always better than the last time out.”
With a rowdy crowd and raucous student section behind the Cougars, Watauga thrived.
“Our team loves to play in a hostile environment, a hostile gym,” said Pryor. “They love it. They feed off the energy.”
Sophomore libero Caroline Childers was complimentary of the opponent as well as her teammate.
“Both of these teams are pretty good and I expected a close game. We both have really good hitters. I knew we had to fight really hard to the end and I think we did just that,” said Childers. “We were really together tonight, very much in synch.”
Gragg made some acrobatic sets after teammates kept Alexander Central’s attack hits alive on Sept. 16. Photographic image by David Rogers for High Country Sports
One of those “big hitters” for Watauga was senior outside hitter Emma Pastusic.
“We came out really hot,” said Pastusic, “and that was intentional. We knew that Alexander Central is a really good team. We took advantage of what we perceived were their weaknesses. We have recently been working on our serves, because we thought their serve receive was off a little bit. And we really wanted to get the ball down on attack. We executed well, tonight.”
With the win, Watauga is now in sole possession of first place in Northwestern Conference play, improving their overall record to 13-1, 3-0 in conference play.
Their next opponent (on Sept. 18 at Lentz Eggers Gym in Boone) should be formidable in McDowell, the lone 7A classification (larger school) team in the 6A/7A Northwestern Conference. The Titans are 9-5 overall, 1-2 in Northwestern Conference. In their Sept. 16 match, McDowell swept St. Stephens, 3-0 (25-17, 25-10, 25-19). Their losses were to Alexander Central (3-0) and South Caldwell (3-2).
WATAUGA INDIVIDUAL STATS
Kills: Emma Pastusic (17), Julia Rowan (7), Ashlyn Smith (5), Kora Knight (5)
Assists: Lainey Gragg (32)
Service Aces: Ashlyn Smith (5), Lilli Combs (3), Lainey Gragg (1)
Digs: Emma Pastusic (11), Caroline Childers (10), Lainey Gragg (9), Ashlyn Smith (8), Lilli Combs (8), Alaina Portaro (4)
JUNIOR VARSITY SWEEPS, TOO
It was a 2-0 sweep for Watauga’s junior varsity team, too, 25-12, 25-13. Kira Beasley and Adeline Tate share top honors in attack, with seven kills apiece. Mia Mitchell’s 18 assists helped set up the attack opportunities. Mitchel and Ember Honeycutt each had three service aces, while Beasley and Honeycutt led the team defensively, with six digs each.
All photographic images by David Rogers for High Country Sports
By Bret Strelow. HATTIESBURG, Miss. — App State Football hit the road for its Sun Belt Conference opener and suffered a 38-22 loss at Southern Miss on Saturday night.
App State (2-1, 0-1) has a bye next weekend before playing two consecutive nonconference games, starting with a Sept. 27 visit to Boise State.
Hosting the Sun Belt’s first league game of the season and playing at home for the third straight week, Southern Miss improved to 2-1 overall.
Turnovers a Problem
Despite falling behind 24-7, with three first-half interceptions on plays inside the Southern Miss 10, including a 99-yard return for a touchdown, the Mountaineers pulled within 24-14 when true freshman running back Jaquari Lewis took a handoff from true freshman quarterback Noah Gillon and scored his first touchdown on a 10-yard run late in the third quarter.
Elijah Mc-Cantos recovered a surprise onside kick at midfield, and Gillon followed a sack with a completion to Izayah Cummings to push App State into scoring range, but a 49-yard field-goal attempt aimed at making it a one-score game sailed wide. Southern Miss then broke the game back open by scoring touchdowns on each of its next two possessions, moving 69 yards on five plays and 61 yards on just three plays.
AJ Swann completed 15 of 23 passes for 217 yards but was helped off the field after his third interception and didn’t return. Gillon, a Mississippi native who attended Tupelo High School about 3.5 hours north of Hattiesburg, completed 11 of 24 passes for 109 yards in his first career game appearance before giving way to Billy Wiles, a former Southern Miss quarterback.
Wiles threw his first touchdown pass in an App State uniform, hitting Jaden Barnes for a 3-yard score in the final minute.
Barnes caught 10 passes for 132 yards and Cummings hauled in seven passes for 82 yards, while running back Rashod Dubinion scored App State’s first touchdown as part of a 95-yard outing on the ground.
The Golden Eagles’ three first-half interceptions occurred in or just outside the end zone, with App State turning the ball over on snaps from the Southern Miss 4, 4 and 7.
The first miscue — stopping a productive opening drive — was an end-zone pick that followed a low snap from the 4 and a rushed, errant throw intended as a fade toward the back-right corner.
The Mountaineers quickly forced a three-and-out punt and took the lead via a 62-yard drive that ended with Dubinion’s 2-yard touchdown run, but Southern Miss scored the final 17 points of the half.
The Golden Eagles answered App State’s score with a 10-play, 75-yard touchdown drive, forced a three-and-out punt and moved into scoring range for a 39-yard field goal after Thomas Davis recorded a third-down sack to open the second quarter.
App State quickly marched back down the field to set up a first down from the 10, and Swann’s third-and-goal pass from the 4 sailed toward an open Dubinion leaking out along the right sideline. A lunging Dubinion tried to corral the pass, but as his momentum carried him down to the ground, the ball popped up into the air and into the hands of Southern Miss safety Ian Foster, who had no one near him as he started his 99-yard sprint down the sideline.
The INT was upheld after a video review, enabling Southern Miss to claim a 17-7 lead with 10:40 remaining in the second quarter.
The Mountaineers looked poised to come up with a big answer of their own, as Barnes gained 26 yards to midfield on the second play of the next series, and App State moved inside the 10 before a first-down carry lost 6 yards. On a third-and-goal pass from the 7-yard line, a pressured Swann forced a pass into traffic, and USM linebacker Mathis Haywood came up with an interception in the end zone.
To make matters worse, with Haywood returning the ball 19 yards, Swann and senior left tackle Jayden Ramsey had to be helped off the field in the aftermath of Swann getting knocked into the back of his teammate. Gillon and true freshman left tackle Denell Nix Jr. started App State’s final offensive series of the half and played most of the second half.
With time to regroup at the break, App State kicked off to open the second half, and Southern Miss moved ahead 24-7 with a nine-play, 75-yard touchdown drive before forcing a three-and-out punt.
DJ Burks‘ second interception of the season — off a pass tipped by cornerback Emory Floyd — ended the next Southern Miss drive, and the offense had another three-and-out punt before moving the ball effectively late in the third quarter. A roughing-the-kicker penalty on a 37-yard field-goal attempt prolonged the drive, setting up Lewis’ touchdown run on the next play.
POSTGAME NOTES: Southern Miss 38, App State 22
App State fell to 2-1 on the season and 0-1 in Sun Belt play.
The Mountaineers outgained their opponent in total yards (470-389) for the third time in as many games.
App State lost the turnover battle (3-1) for the second straight game, with all three interceptions thrown when the Mountaineers were inside the Golden Eagles’ 10-yard line.
Since joining the Sun Belt Conference, App State is now 9-3 in league openers and lost its second straight.
True freshman quarterback Noah Gillon made his college debut in relief of injured starter AJ Swann. True freshman offensive lineman Denell Nix Jr. also made his debut.
OFFENSE
Running back Rashod Dubinion rushed for 95 yards on 24 carries with his second touchdown of the season. He has amassed 400 rushing yards through three games for a 133.3-yard average.
True freshman running back Jaquari Lewis scored a third-quarter touchdown on a 10-yard sprint up the middle to cut the Golden Eagles’ lead to 10. He rushed twice for 12 yards, caught four passes for 28 yards and scored a 2-point conversion.
Jaden Barnes went over 100 receiving yards for the second time in three games as a Mountaineer, catching 10 passes for 132 yards and a touchdown. He’s the first Mountaineer to amass double-digit catches in a game since Kaedin Robinson had 10 against ULM in 2023.
Playing against his former team, quarterback Billy Wiles led a scoring drive to close the game, going 5-for-5 passing and tossing a 3-yard touchdown to Barnes.
DEFENSE
This was defensive back DJ Burks’ second straight game with an interception. He made a one-handed catch off an Emory Floyd deflection in the third quarter.
Linebacker Colton Phares led the team with eight tackles, including three of the team’s six tackles for loss. It was his second straight game with eight tackles, which matches his career high.
Edge Thomas Davis came up with a timely sack to force a fourth down field-goal at the start of the second quarter.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Dominic De Freitas initiated a momentum-shifting play with an onside kick that was recovered by Elijah Mc-Cantos after App State scored to cut its deficit to 24-14 late in the third quarter.
By Matt Present. NORFOLK, Va. — App State Soccer drew against Old Dominion, 1-1, to begin Sun Belt Conference play for the 2025 season.
A late goal by Old Dominion (4-1-2, 0-0-1) was countered by a clutch, free kick score from the Mountaineers’ (4-3-1, 0-0-1) Kyli Switalski with four minutes remaining in the contest.
Behind with time winding down, App State mounted a counterattack and drew a yellow card from Old Dominion, outside the Monarchs’ penalty box. In the 86th minute, Switalski took the set piece after Olivia Simon faked the shot, burying it in the right side of the net for the equalizing goal for her third goal of the season.
The Monarchs, who held a 59% of possession advantage, outshot the Mountaineers 16-6 in the match. They also had more shots on goal, with five compared to App State’s three. Despite the disparity in offensive opportunities, the game remained scoreless through the first half.
Old Dominion put the pressure on early, taking 10 shots in the first half to App State’s two. App State goalkeeper Hanna Skogsfors made two saves in the first 45 minutes to keep the game deadlocked.
The Mountaineers made a change at goalkeeper at the start of the second half, with Anna Claire Jacobitaking over for Skogsfors. The Monarchs finally broke through in the 74th minute of the match, leading to App State’s late equalizer.
The Mountaineers will continue conference play against Georgia State on Sept. 18, in Atlanta. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. and will be streaming on ESPN+.
By Katherine Jamtgaard. KENNESAW, Ga. — The App State volleyball team rallied for a 3-2 (20-25, 25-23, 25-28, 23-25, 15-11) victory over Kennesaw State on Saturday to cap competition at the Kennesaw State Invitational. The Mountaineers improve to 7-1 on the season and now hold a 2-1 edge in their series with the Owls.
Saturday’s match marked the Mountaineers’ third, five-set victory in the month of September and fifth of the 2025 campaign.
“Another road trip, another set of five-set matches. We missed an opportunity to beat Michigan State and gutted out enough points to beat Kennesaw State. I’m very fortunate to coach a team that simply doesn’t give up,” said head coach Chad Sutton. “We need to focus on our training and continue to elevate our level of play each day as our schedule does not let up. We’re excited to be heading home with a ‘dub’ and looking forward to a great opportunity at Chapel Hill.”
App State 3, Kennesaw State 2
Senior Ali Morris recorded her 30th career double-double with a team-high 15 kills and 11 digs. Fellow senior Maya Winterhoff also registered a double-double with 10 kills and a career-high 10 blocks (two solo, eight assists). Redshirt senior Addison Heidemann tallied a team-high 20 assists and eight digs, while junior Maria Conteras made 12 assists and a career-high seven blocks. Sophomore MeMe Davis led the Black and Gold with 14 digs and served up four of App State’s nine aces. The Mountaineers outpaced the Owls in aces (9-5) and blocks (16-10).
App State and Kennesaw State kept pace with each other in the first set. Winterhoff knotted the score at 14 all with a kill. The Owls found momentum with a 6-1 run to jump ahead, 22-16. The Black and Gold answered with a 4-1 run, building off kills from senior Keionna Mackey, Davis, and Contreras, and a block from the duo of Contreras and Winterhoff. KSU managed to take the set, 25-20.
The Owls’ momentum carried into the second set as they established a 10-4 lead. The Mountaineers steadily chipped away at the deficit, cutting it down to two (20-18) with a 4-0 run that featured a Heidemann ace and a kill from sophomore Bella Hutchens. A kill by fellow sophomore Lou Johnson, followed by a block from the duo of Johnson and Morris, kept the Mountaineers within two of the Owls’ lead (22-20). With a late 5-0 surge built off a pair of Owl errors, a Davis ace, and kills from Morris and Winterhoff, App State secured the second set, 25-23.
In the third set, App State and Kennesaw State knotted the score five times before the Mountaineers broke a 10-10 tie with a Hutchens kill for the only lead change in the set. Davis served up an ace and Winterhoff went up for a solo block to extend App State’s lead to 13-10. The Mountaineers maintained the lead for the remainder of the set, jumping ahead 22-14 with a 4-0 run that featured a Contreras kill and block from the duo of Johnson and Contreras. Kills from Contreras and Johnson brought the Black and Gold to set point (24-16). Despite being held to two set points, App State took the third set, 25-18, after an Owl service error.
App State and Kennesaw State battled through a tight fourth set, tying the score on 13 occasions, but only trading the lead four times. Down 14-10, App State pushed ahead, 15-14, with a 5-0 run that featured a kill from Hutchens, a block from the duo of Morris and Winterhoff, and back-to-back kills from Morris. Late in the set, KSU managed to push ahead, 23-21. App State knotted the score at 23 after a kill from Morris, but Kennesaw State edged ahead to take set No. 4, 25-23.
The Mountaineers erased a 7-2 deficit in the fifth and final set with an impressive 7-0 run. With kills from Hutchens, Winterhoff, and Morris, and a pair of Davis aces, App State pushed ahead, 9-7. Another 5-0 run that featured a kill from Morris and a pair of Winterhoff kills brought the Mountaineers to set and match point (14-8). Kennesaw State held App State to a trio of match points before Contreras set Winterhoff up for a kill to cap the set, 15-11, and match, 3-2, for the Mountaineers.
Looking Ahead
The Mountaineers will travel down to Chapel Hill, N.C. to take on No. 25 UNC on Sept. 16 before returning to Boone to host Duke and Davidson for the 2025 Mountaineer Classic on Sept. 19-21. Tuesday’s match against UNC will be available to stream on ACCNX. The Mountaineer Classic matches will be available to stream on ESPN+.
