By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Two second half goals proved to be the winning difference on Oct. 30, as Watauga men’s soccer prevailed, 3-1, against visiting Alexander Central.

“It was not the prettiest soccer,” said Watauga head coach Josh Honeycutt after the final buzzer. “But it was a win.”

The first 10 minutes and the last 10 minutes were classic Watauga soccer, moving the ball downfield with short, possession-priority passing and working the ball into the opponent’s net. In between, the style of play was something else, even lethargic at times.

“We got away from our short passing game and lapsed back into Alexander Central’s game with long passes and keeping the ball in the air a lot,” admitted Honeycutt.”

Curtis Sevensky scored in the first four minutes of the game and then a see-saw, defensive battle ensued. Although the Pioneers seemed in control for much of the early part of the first half, that changed as the Cougars grew more dominant late in the half. In the second half, much of the game was played in the middle third of the field, without much in the way of opportunistic attacks by either side until the later phases of the game.

Noah Bauler came off the bench to knock in a goal past the midway point of the second half, then Alexander Central answered with a goal, with about five minutes to play. Then, near the two minute mark, the Pioneers’ Ben Myers found himself alone with the ball on the left wing, dribbled up field with a defender closing in from midfield, the rifled a shot along the ground. His feint had the goalkeeper diving left for a stop, but the ball whistled past him on his right and into the net. Myers goal allowed the Pioneers to retake a two-goal lead into what would become Alexander Central’s desperation minutes.

There was a bit of confusion at the end, and controversy. The Cougars were awarded a free kick and quickly put the ball in play, moving it past an almost motionless Watauga team to score an apparent goal. But the head referee had already started marching off 10 yards from the spot of the penalty, to move the Watauga wall back, and had not blown his whistle to restart play. He ordered the goal disallowed and brought Alexander Central back to take the free kick, much to the consternation of the Cougar coaches, players and fans. But, by rule, once the official starts marching off 10 yards play should be stopped until he blows his whistle to restart so, according to our sources, he made the correct ruling.

In addition to his second half goal, Myers was credited with an assist on Sevensky’s early goal as well as an assist on Bauler’s score.

Watauga had only six shots on goal, three of which went in. They were only awarded two corner kicks. Pioneer goalkeeper Jude Jackson recorded five saves on the night, his second half replacement, Solomon Triplett, had two saves and allowed one goal.

With the win, Watauga’s overall record improves to 15-3-2, and still undefeated at 7-0 in Northwestern Conference play. That unblemished record in league play will be tested on Oct. 31, vs. Ashe County on the Jack Groce Stadium field. Kickoff is slated for 6 p.m.

In the curtain raiser match of the evening, Watauga’s junior varsity and Alexander Central’s junior varsity battled to a 0-0 tie.

BONUS PHOTOS

By David Rogers. VALENCIA, Spain — Advertised as one of the fastest half marathon courses in the world, the Valencia Half Marathon lived up to its reputation on Oct. 27.

Yomif Kejelcha of Ethiopia smashed the the men’s world record, running the 13.1 miles in under an hour, in 57:30. He pulled along a brigade of the world’s top distance runners, including seven others from Kenya, Ethiopia, Bahrain, Spain and France all running under an hour.

Among those enjoying the fast pace was Blowing Rock-based ZAP Endurance team member, Andrew Colley, who crossed the finish line No. 18 (out of more than 20,000 runners) and set a new ZAP Endurance club record for the half marathon, in 1:01:35, just 27 seconds behind the top finisher from the USA, Morgan Pearson (No. 13) and 15 seconds behind the second American, Hillary Bor (No. 14).

Not too coincidentally, Colley’s previous personal best at the half marathon distance came  a time of 1:01:39, in Houston, Texas, this past January and establishing the previous club record.

Underlining how fast the field was for the Valencia race, Kenya’s Agnes Ngetich won the women’s division in 1:03:04, just 12 seconds slower than the women’s world record of 1:02:52, set by Letesenbet Gidey of Ethiopia, in the 2021 Valencia race.

“We had a plan for Andrew’s race and he executed it very well,” said ZAP Endurance head coach Pete Rea. “At 33 years old, Andrew is having the best year of his racing career. This was his eighth personal best established just in 2024. He’ll run in Houston this coming January and we are targeting his going under 1:01, possibly lower.”

This is a busy week for the ZAP Endurance head coach, boarding a plane within the next day for New York City where four members of the Blowing Rock-based professional running team will be competing on the weekend.

Middle distance specialist Dan Shaffer will run on Saturday, Nov. 2, in the Abbott Dash to the Finish Line 5K, the runners zipping through the the streets of Midtown Manhattan to the famed finish line of the New York Marathon in Central Park.

ZAP Endurance longer distance specialists Tristan Van Ord, Josh Izewski and Ryan Ford are entered in the New York Marathon, slated for Sunday, Nov. 3.

By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — After Isaiah Shreve knocked down four 3-pointers in the first half — three in the opening minutes of the first quarter — and East Carolina could not respond, the Watauga District middles school boys team seemed bound to run away with this Oct. 29 season opener.

BONUS PHOTOS at bottom of article (click any image for slide show mode)

Shreve poured in a game-high 14 points in the Wolverines’ dominating, 41-9 win, with teammate Jaden McInnis’ 12 points close behind. Where Shreve mostly worked the perimeter, McInnis put up most of his numbers inside the paint.

McInnis combined with fellow forward Nathan Koontz to dominate inside play with a distinct size advantage vs. the Falcons. For the most part, the duo controlled the boards.

SELECTED SCORING

• WAT – Isaiah Shreve: 14 points
• WAT – Jaden McInnis: 12
• WAT – Parker Williams: 5
• WAT – Joaquin Miranda: 4
• WAT – Nathan Koontz: 3
• WAT – Colt Farthing: 3
• EA – Bentley Pollard: 3
• EA – D J Spears: 3
• WAT – Avery Tester: 2
• WAT – Scott Ballenger: 2
• WAT – Wilson Henline: 2
• EA – Nijual Waters: 2
• EA – Kendall Jenkins: 2
• EA – DeShawn Aberado: 1

BONUS PHOTOS

By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — With a game-high 20 points, East Alexander Middle School Girls outpointed the Watauga District Girls, 43-16 on Oct. 29 in Lentz Eggers Gym.

It was the Watauga team’s first game of the season after only three practices, so the result was not unexpected against a team with a distinct size advantage.

Led by seventh grader Kate Moore, the Watauga girls were scrappy enough but have not yet developed the “chemistry” to know one another on the court nor the team passing skills necessary to overcome a size advantage. Moore recorded a team-high seven points.

SELECTED SCORING

• EA – Heavenly Craig: 20 points
• EA – Kennedy McLain: 6
• EA – Chloe Moose: 4
• EA – Lennox Price: 3
• WAT – Mia Mitchell: 2
• WAT – Ciena Cohen: 2
• WAT – Josie Roaden: 2
• EA – Leighton Bingham: 2
• EA – Ava Hamby: 2
• EA – Jayla Johnson: 2
• EA – Reese Dagonhart: 2
• EA – Riley Hall: 2
• WAT – Tatym Gragg: 1

BONUS PHOTOS

By David Rogers. TAYLORSVILLE, N.C. — Falling behind to Alexander Central by halftime was not what Watauga men’s soccer planned but behind senior forward Curtis Sevensky’s second half “hat trick” and re-energized play all around, the Pioneers rallied for a thrilling, 5-3 win over the host Cougars.

BONUS PHOTOS at bottom of article (click any image for slide show mode)

The key Northwestern Conference 4A match started out on a positive note for the Pioneers. Some five minutes in, a rare penalty against the ACHS goalkeeper for fielding a ball with his hands that had been passed back to him with a teammate’s feet resulted in a direct kick from inside the penalty box. The Cougars assembled a massive wall in front of the goalkeeper with just about every available player, but somehow the Pioneers’ Ben Myers drilled the free kick along the ground, through the left side of the wall and past the goalkeeper, giving the Boone team a 1-0 lead.

Although the well-skilled Pioneers controlled possession for most of the first half, the Cougars took advantage of their opportunities, manufacturing two goals before intermission as the Watauga defense broke down.

The Pioneers’ head coach Josh Honeycutt told his players at halftime they weren’t playing badly, but they were allowing Alexander Central’s players to out-work them.

Honeycutt to Sevensky sequence

That, and the fact Watauga’s high level of fitness gives them an edge as an opposing team begins to tire, was just what the Pioneers needed. At first, the second half comeback was troublesome as the Pioneers lapsed back into a style of play not generally favored by Honeycutt, with long passes downfield and keeping the ball airborne for long stretches. Worse still, they weren’t getting the desired results, turned away by the Cougar defenders.

A crossing pass from the right side by Quincy Honeycutt that was headed sharply into goal by Sevensky changed all that, knotting the score at 2-2 and sending an emotional Sevensky racing with teammates to the sidelines screaming with supporters in the grandstands.

Just a couple of minutes later, Sevensky repeated his sideline celebration after punching home yet another goal to put his Pioneers in front, 3-2.

The Pioneer senior collected still another goal in the second half to complete his “hat trick,” but it was a well-placed rocket off Lucas Hamilton’s foot from 30 yards out that surprised everyone, including the Cougar goalkeeper who had been drawn out and left grasping the air futilely as Hamilton’s shot arched over the keeper’s head and ducked under the crossbar. It was one of those “icing on the cake” moments for the Pioneers.

In the waning minutes, Watauga allowed one more Alexander Central goal to tighten the deficit to 5-3, but it was too little, too late for the home side.

“Down 2-1 (at halftime), we knew we had to flip a switch and come to play the game we normally play,” said Sevensky after the game. “In the first half, we weren’t connecting very well and credit to Alexander Central, they were playing with a lot of energy. We had to match that.”

Coach Honeycutt broke it down, similarly.

“I felt our game plan and execution was ‘OK’ in the first half. I told the guys at halftime that it wasn’t because they were playing badly. We just weren’t playing with the same heart and passion that we usually have. The intensity and the work rate… we were being out-worked,” Honeycutt said. “So I challenged them at halftime to outwork their opponents in the second half. To put that to the test and see what happens. Well, obviously, a 5-3 result is what happens when you outwork your opponent.”

Honeycutt had special praise for his front line.

“Curtis (Sevensky) had a great game. He worked super hard the whole time. Quincy (Honeycutt) and Evan (Mawhinney) came in and gave us great minutes on the outside. And, of course, Ben (Myers) and Alex (Aguilar) started on the outside and we just pounded them with our speed. Thomas (Moss) and David (Ganley) in the midfield were terrific and Ganley was a lockdown defender. It was a great team effort, for sure, to come back and get those results in the second half.”

With the loss, Alexander Central falls to 11-6 overall, 4-3 in Northwestern Conference play. Watauga improves to 14-3-2 overall, and remains undefeated in NWC play (6-0). The Cougars get another chance at the Pioneers on Wednesday, Oct. 30, when they face Watauga in Jack Groce Stadium, slated for a 6 p.m. kickoff. The Pioneers host Ashe County on Thursday, Oct. 31, then have a home and away series with South Caldwell next week to finish off regular season play.

BONUS PHOTOS

By Layne McNary. NORFOLK, Va. — The App State field hockey team fell on the road to No. 22 Old Dominion by a score of 2-1 in nonconference action on Oct. 27.

The Mountaineers’ senior Jillian Orcutt found the back of the cage for the second time this season. Claire Grenis tallied 10 saves against the Monarchs (11-5), tying her total from the Oct. 6 matchup against Liberty. The loss dropped the App State record to 9-7 overall, 6-1 in the MAC conference.

How it Happened

1st Quarter: Old Dominion opened the game quickly, scoring its first goal less than four minutes into the contest. The Mountaineers answered back four minutes later with a goal of their own, with Orcutt finding the cage for the second time in two games. The Monarchs scored a second and final goal in the period, giving them a 2-1 lead going into the second period.

2nd Quarter: It was a tighter period, with both teams generating one penalty corner apiece. Grenis tallied three saves, bringing her total up to five in the game.

3rd Quarter: The close, defensive battle continued, with App State and Old Dominion each having limited chances. Grenis tallied two more saves, keeping the Monarchs scoreless in the third. The Mountaineers were held without a shot on goal.

4th Quarter: Both teams earned shots on goal. The Mountaineers had two corners late in the contest with chances to tie the game but could not convert. Grenis tallied three more saves.

The Mountaineers return home to play another non-conference game on Friday, Nov. 1, against Queens, with a 4 p.m. scheduled start on the Dr. Jan C. Watson Field at the Brandon and Erica M. Adcock Field Hockey Complex.

By Matt Present. BOONE, N.C. – In a highly-competitive Sunday afternoon battle, App State fell 1-0 to Texas State in the penultimate regular season contest of the season.

In a game that featured 25 combined shots, neither team was able to find the net in the first 75 minutes of play. Sarah Wommack was outstanding for the Mountaineers in goal, registering six-saves, including several diving efforts to buoy her team throughout the contest.

In the 77th minute, freshman Ellie Garrison ripped a beautiful shot towards the top of the goal, but the ball bounced off the crossbar, keeping the Mountaineers (7-5-5, 4-2-3) off the scoreboard.

Less than three minutes later, Texas State cashed in. Mady Soumare fired a shot from right of the goal and Wommack was able to make the initial save. However, the rebound remained loose in front of the cage and Kaylie Smith was able to emerge from the scrum and put home the rebound to give the Bobcats (9-4-5, 5-1-3) the game-winning goal with 10 minutes to play.

Izzi Wood led the App State offense with four shots, including two on target, while Garrison added three shots and one on goal. App State’s starting lineup played all but 76 minutes in the contest, with seven players playing all 90 minutes.

App State will close out the regular season at home on Thursday, when the team hosts Old Dominion at 7 p.m. The contest will be broadcast on ESPN+.

By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — For many in the jam-packed Kidd Brewer Stadium on Oct. 26, the game was more about life than football.

Only a month earlier, on Sept. 27, Hurricane Helene swept through Western North Carolina, wreaking massive destruction with high winds and flooding. Just one day later, the regional carnage forced cancellation of a much anticipated home game against Liberty University. For the next two weeks, App State’s Mountaineers were out in the community, helping with recovery efforts. They were loading generators for people who had lost power. They were unloading distilled and bottled water for people with fouled water systems, whether municipal or private water wells. They were helping clean up the destruction.

And they prepared to play two football games, one on Oct. 5 at Marshall and then a week later, Oct. 12, at Louisiana. They lost both games, but playing them helped revive a sense of normalcy.

For the Oct. 26 home game vs. Georgia State, that sense of normalcy had spread to the better part of Watauga County and the High Country. Playing the game at Kidd Brewer Stadium instead of moving it to Wake Forest University or Charlotte (both had been considered) meant that the community’s regional infrastructure was returning to some semblance of normal. Roads were opened. Hotels and motels could accommodate the crowds. Restaurants and bars were prepared for business.

And to make it all perfect, App State played and won its first home game in 37 days with a come-from-behind touchdown no less, carving out a thrilling, 33-26 win over the visiting Panthers.

It may not have been the prettiest contest between two Sun Belt Conference adversaries sliding in the wrong direction, league standings-wise. Both programs entered the game with 2-4 overall records, and winless at 0-3 in conference play. At the end of the day, that was going to change. Someone was going to win.

With head coach Sean Clark and many others in the stadium sporting “Mountain Strong” sweatshirts, it was App State who ultimately emerged the winner of a see-saw battle to the finish. After no fewer than nine lead changes, the Mountaineers won the afternoon in the last two minutes of play when QB Joey Aguilar connected with redshirt sophomore tight end Kanen Hamlett on the right side, near the line of scrimmage. It was only the second career pass reception for the Madison, Ala. product and he made the best of it, reaching back to take the short pass from Aguilar, shaking free from one would-be tackler before dragging another into the end zone.

With Hamlett’s score giving the Mountaineers a 5-point lead at 31-26, App State’s braintrust wanted to make sure the Panthers couldn’t beat them with a final drive TD, so when Aguilar faked a handoff to Kanye Roberts and rolled right, twisting across the goal line for a successful 2-point conversion, the celebration was on.

Georgia State got the ball back with 1:15 remaining, but thanks to strong special teams coverage on the post-TD kickoff, had to start any potential game-winning drive from their own 12-yard line. A first play long pass down the right sideline made the Mountaineer faithful anxious perhaps — until linebacker Brendan Harrington swatted it away from running back Michel Dukes, the grad student transfer from the University of South Florida.

A short pass completion was not enough to move the chains and keep the Panther drive alive. After a QB sack and an incomplete pass on 4th down, the Mountaineers had the win in hand.

The game and the win probably had as much of a healing effect on the community as a FEMA grant has on financial and physical recovery.

Just as the game was a nailbiter, the stat lines reflected how close the game was. App State rolled up 479 yards of net offense, compared to 386 by Georgia State. Aguilar completed 18-of-27 passes for 299 yards, three TDs and no interceptions. While Kaedin Robinson was on the receiving end of five Aguilar aerials for 121 yards, the passing TDs were hauled in by Hamlett, freshman Makai Jackson (4 catches, 67 yards) and junior WR Dalton Stroman (2 catches, 32 yards).

What made the Mountaineers’ passing attack more effective was a strong performance running the football, too. This time, it was senior running back Ahmani Marshall, now in his third year as a Mountaineer after transferring from Wake Forest in 2022. The Winston-Salem native (East Forsyth HS) carried the ball 18 times for 115 yards and one TD.

After acknowledging the support of fans, students and interim Chancellor Heather Norris, Clark drew parallels between the community and the football team.

“Just like our community has rallied the last three or four weeks (after the hurricane-inflicted destruction), our football program has done the same thing,” said Clark. “I am proud of everyone involved in our program. Our players have never given up. We talked last night that you can’t lose something you never had. I told them we came into this season to play for a championship. What changed? We wanted to make sure we came out here with a great attitude. We played confident. We started fast and we finished strong.”

Key Notes from App State Strategic Communications

• In its first home game in 37 days and the first since Hurricane Helene hit the High Country, App State snapped a three-game losing streak and garnered its first Sun Belt victory of the season.
• App State’s 3-4 record is the same through seven games as last year’s team, which reeled off five straight victories to end the regular season.
• The Mountaineers have beaten the Panthers in all 11 meetings, dating back to 2014.
• App State improved to 98-39 since joining the FBS ranks in 2014. The only FBS programs with more wins in that span are Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State, Georgia, Oklahoma, Notre Dame and Boise State.
• The Mountaineers’ home winning percentage of .833 (55-11) since 2014 ranks top 10 in the FBS and is second among non-power conference teams behind Memphis (.836 – 61-12).
• App State scored the first two points of the game on a safety on Georgia State’s first drive, the first safety recorded by the Mountaineers since 2022 (vs. Troy).
• App State lost the turnover battle for the sixth straight game.

OFFENSE

• Joey Aguilar completed 18 of 27 passes for 299 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. He also scored a 2-point conversion on a QB run. Over his two-year career as the Mountaineers’ QB, it was the third time he’s had three-plus TDs with no picks and the 19th time in 21 games that he’s had at least one touchdown either passing or rushing.
• Two of Aguilar’s three touchdown passes resulted in App State taking back a lead, including the game-winning drive and score late in the fourth quarter. Last year, he led the country with 15 touchdown passes to either tie a game or give his team a lead.
• Kanen Hamlett’s second career catch was a big one. His 4-yard touchdown from Aguilar with 1:51 left in the game was the winning score. Hamlett entered the huddle late in the play clock to replace another tight end who was limping off the field.
• Ahmani Marshall rushed for a season-high 115 yards with a 1-yard touchdown that gave App State an 8-3 lead with 10:28 left in the second quarter.
• Kaedin Robinson had a game-high five catches for 121 yards, his third 100-yard game of the season and sixth game of 85+ yards in seven contests. He had four catches for 106 yards by halftime.
• Robinson, who has led the team in receiving yards in all seven games, has caught a pass in 32 consecutive games, which ranks top 15 among all FBS players.
• Makai Jackson caught four passes for 67 yards, including an 18-yard touchdown that gave App State a 15-10 lead with 3:57 left in the second quarter.
• A 23-yard touchdown connection from Aguilar to Dalton Stroman increased App State’s third-quarter lead to 25-16. It was Stroman’s fourth touchdown catch in the last four games.

DEFENSE

• The Mountaineers’ defense was very strong on third downs, limiting the Panthers to just one conversion on eight attempts.
• Santana Hopper had five tackles and was credited with 2.0 sacks. That included one solo sack and a hand in two more shared sacks. His solo sack on third down forced Georgia State to kick a field goal to take a 26-25 lead with 6:39 left in the game. On the Panthers’ final drive, he teamed with Thomas Davis for a 10-yard sack on third-and-two that forced an unsuccessful fourth-and-12 try that ended the game.
• Jordan Favors led the Mountaineers with a career-high 10 tackles and broke up a pass.

SPECIAL TEAMS

• On Georgia State’s first drive, Ahmani Marshall blocked a punt that went out the back of the end zone for a safety. It was the first blocked punt by a Mountaineer since 2019 (Demetrius Taylor vs. Coastal Carolina).
• Jackson Moore made a 33-yard field goal to help the Mountaineers regain the lead six seconds before halftime.
• Kaiden Robinson had the Mountaineers’ longest punt return of the year with a 30-yard return that helped set up the team’s third touchdown drive of the game.