Stephen “Piney” Clay, age 73, of Blowing Rock, died Monday October 30, 2023. Born October 14,1950, in Caldwell County, he was a son of the late William Lawrence and Gladys Bowman Clay.
Stephen was the proud owner/operator of the Clay Insurance Agency in Lenoir. He was a graduate of UNC Chapel Hill and was known by his friends to be a jokester and total life of the party. He adored spending time with his family and taking photos of all the adventures they would go on together. Some of his favorites were going to Sunset Beach, hiking with the dogs, and skiing with friends and family.
He is survived by his wife of 37 years, Debbie Clay; his daughter Molly Clay; his son Martin Clay; and two brothers Larry Clay and wife Jan and Allen Clay and wife Nancy.
A service celebrating the life of Stephen Clay will be held Friday, November 3, 2023 at 4:30pm, at Rumple Memorial Presbyterian Church with Pastor Kathy Beach officiating.
Flowers are appreciated or memorials may be made to the Special Olympics, a program Piney loved to volunteer with. www.specialolympics.org/donate
Mrs. Alice Dare Hodges Barfoot, 82, of Blowing Rock, died Sunday, October 29, 2023, at Watauga Medical Center. Born February 1, 1941, in Watauga County, she was a daughter of the late Dow Cornelius and Dorothy Helton Hodges and wife of the late Jackie L. Barfoot.
Other than her husband and parents, she is preceded in death by a brother, Glenn Dee Hodges, a sister, Deborah Gragg and a grandson, Andrew Pack.
Mrs. Barfoot was a homemaker and member of Mountain View Baptist Church.
She is survived by 2 sons, Michael Barfoot, and wife Gwyndolyn of Blowing Rock; Jeff Critcher of Blowing Rock; her daughter, Cathy Sesco of Blowing Rock; sister, Diann Anderson of Baker, FL; brother, Dennis Hodges, and wife Charlotte of Blowing Rock; her special friend, Cheryl Turner of Milton, FL; 6 grandchildren, 8 great-grandchildren and several nieces and nephews.
Funeral services will be conducted 2:00 PM Sunday, November 5, 2023, at Mountain View Baptist Church with Reverend Gary Shew officiating. Burial will follow in the Mountain View Baptist Church Cemetery.
The family will receive friends at the church on Sunday from 1:00 until 2:00 PM, one hour prior to the service.
Online condolences may be sent to the Barfoot Family at www.hamptonfuneralnc.com
Hampton Funeral Service of Boone is in charge of arrangements.
BOONE, N.C. — App State team captain Jackson Greene, a safety and special teams standout, is one of 73 nominees for the Burlsworth Trophy that goes to the outstanding FBS player who began his career as a walk-on and has shown outstanding performance on the field.
A fifth-year redshirt junior playing for his hometown school, Greene has appeared in 43 career games for the Mountaineers. He made a career-high eight tackles Saturday in the win against Southern Miss, came up with a key interception in the second half of the season-opening win against Gardner-Webb and is a staple on all four App State special teams units (kick return, punt return, kickoff coverage, punt coverage).
Greene has accumulated more than 560 special teams plays in his career since arriving as a walk-on from nearby Watauga High School, and he has made three tackles on special teams already this season.
The Burlsworth Trophy is named in honor of Brandon Burlsworth, a former Arkansas walk-on and All-America offensive lineman whose life is the subject of the movie “Greater.” Without a single Division I scholarship offer, Burlsworth became a three-year starter at Arkansas and was eventually named an All-American in 1998.
He was selected with the 63rd overall pick by the Indianapolis Colts in the 1999 NFL draft but was tragically killed in a car accident 11 days later. The Burlsworth Foundation was created in his memory and supports the physical and spiritual needs of children, in particular those children who have limited opportunities.
By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — App State’s defense finally figured out how to stop Southern Miss running back Frank Gore, Jr. and put together two key defensive stops in the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, the Joey Aguilar-led Mountaineer offense scored 20 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to seal a Homecoming win on Oct. 28, 38-28, in front of 32,601 at Kidd Brewer Stadium.
After trading opening TDs, the Mountaineers trailed the Eagles by 10 points at three different points leading up to the last 14 minutes of the game. They trailed 14-24 late in the second quarter, 21-31 early in the third period, and 28-38 early in Q4.
It will probably surprise no one watching this game that App State’s fortunes began to turn in the fourth quarter when they apparently learned how to stop the Eagles’ featured running back, Frank Gore, Jr. The man was a Halloween monster in the eyes of App Nation through three quarters, with gains of 42 yards and 75 yards for TDs in the second and third quarters, respectively. But he also had big gains of 10 and 43 yards, respectively, that set up other Southern Miss scoring opportunities.
Gore’s impact on this game was reminiscent of North Carolina sophomore Omarion Hampton in Chapel Hill on Sept. 9, except the Mountaineers could find no answers for Hampton in the overtime loss, 40-34. Hampton rolled up 234 yards rushing and 3 TDs in his breakout game for North Carolina. Gore, more of a known commodity with a father’s NFL pedigree to match, tore through the App State defense for 247 yards rushing and 2 TDs and setting up others.
Southern Miss got its last touchdown at the 14:01 mark of the 4th quarter when running back Jakarius Caston swept around the left side for an 11-yard TD, also giving the Eagles their last 10-point advantage.
Christan Horn grabs TD pass vs. Southern Miss on Oct. 28. Photo by Charlie Ventura, courtesy of App State Sports
App State was not done on offense, however.
On the next possession, after Aguilar kept the ball and bowled through defenders for a 20-yard gain up the middle, advancing the Mountaineers to near midfield, three plays later he found wide receiver Christan Horn open in the left flat. The junior out of Columbia, S.C. strong-armed his way around one defender, then sprinted down the sideline and into the end zone to bring App State back to within a field goal with a successful Michael Hughes PAT kick, 35-38.
Wiles and the Southern Miss offense were able to get one first down early in their next offensive opportunity but, on 3rd-and-10, Wiles and receiver Tiaquelin Mim came up short with only a six-yard gain and the Eagles were forced to punt. App State safety E J. Jackson, a senior transfer from Marshall was credited with the stop.
After another App State defensive effort forced the Eagles to punt, redshirt freshman running back Kanye Roberts negotiated his way through the left side of the line of scrimmage, broke into the clear and sprinted down the sideline. It was a 61-yard dash to paydirt that gave App State its first lead of the day, 42-38 (with Hughes’ PAT), with a little more than six and a half minutes remaining.
Southern Miss was again frustrated by a stingy Mountaineer defense, the Eagles’ 10-play drive getting no further than the APP30 before turning the ball over on downs. With 2:44 left on the game clock, App State seemed in control but needed at least one, perhaps two first downs to effectively run out the clock — but they got more than that from Aguilar, Roberts, Horn et al.
After Roberts romped for 25 yards on the second play of the drive, with eight seconds remaining Aguilar found Horn running down the right sideline, finding him in the end zone for the night’s final points.
POSTGAME NOTES from App State Sports
App State snapped a two-game losing streak to win its fourth game of the year and move to 2-2 in Sun Belt Conference play.
The Mountaineers are 3-1 at The Rock this year. Their 51-10 record (.836 pct) in home games since making the transition to FBS in 2014 is seventh-best among all FBS teams (behind Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State, Georgia, Oklahoma and Oregon).
App State won on Homecoming for the ninth straight year and improved its all-time Homecoming record to 48-13-2.
Attendance at Kidd Brewer Stadium was 32,601, the ninth-largest crowd in stadium history.
App State defeated Southern Miss for the first time after taking losses in 1937 and 2014, both in the state of Mississippi.
This was the fifth straight game – and the sixth in the last seven – to be decided in the closing seconds. The Mountaineers’ fourth-down touchdown with 8 seconds remaining sealed a two-score victory after a Mountaineer fumble with 14 seconds left bounced around before being recovered by the home team.
Earning his first career start was cornerback Trenton Alan Yowe.
OFFENSE
The Mountaineers’ offense put up a season-high 48 points and a season-high 571 total yards, including 34 points and 301 yards in the second half alone.
Christan Horn caught a career-high eight passes for a career-high 165 yards and two touchdowns. His scores were an integral part of the final 12 minutes of the fourth quarter during which App State turned a 10-point deficit into a 10-point victorious margin.
Bouncing back from a pair of first-half turnovers, Joey Aguilar finished the game with a career-high 391 passing yards and matched his career high with four passing touchdowns, while completing 23 of 33 passes.
Aguilar has thrown multiple passing TDs in all but one game this season and leads the Sun Belt with 20.
Running back Kanye Roberts rushed 13 times for 109 yards and a touchdown, one week after he went for 109 in his first career start at Old Dominion. Of his 109 yards against Southern Miss, 92 came in the fourth quarter, including 86 on back-to-back runs. His 61-yard touchdown with 6:37 left in the game gave the Mountaineers their first lead at 42-38.
Running back Maquel Haywood scored his first touchdown as a Mountaineer.
Other touchdowns came from wide receiver Dashaun Davis (third of the season), tight end Eli Wilson (third of the season) and running back Ahmani Marshall (second of the season).
DEFENSE
Linebacker Andrew Parker Jr. led all players with a career-high 13 tackles.
In his most extensive action of the season, Marshall transfer safety EJ Jackson produced a season-high 11 tackles and two pass breakups.
Cornerback Ethan Johnson notched a career-high four passes broken up to lead the Mountaineer defense that broke up a season-high 10 passes.
Linebacker Caden Sullivan, who finished with seven tackles, a sack and a forced fumble, made one of the game’s biggest plays with a sack that knocked the ball out of Southern Miss QB Wiles’ grasp and was recovered by Michael Fletcher at USM’s 1-yard line.
Defensive tackle Santana Hopper made his presence known with a career-high five tackles, a TFL and two QB hurries after posting 1.5 sacks a week earlier.
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Gore was not the only Southern Miss offensive threat, of course. In fact, it could be argued that Gore’s success began in the second quarter after Southern Miss QB
By David Rogers. CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Having all five of your top runners of record complete a 5,000 meters cross country course among the top 50 finishers is a sure way to have a strong team showing when all is said and done. For Watauga in the NCHSAA 4A West Regionals at McAlpine Park, that is what both the men’s and women’s teams achieved on Oct. 28.
MEN’S DIVISION
Led by Pioneer junior Will Bradbury returning to form and capturing the No. 7 spot among 130 harriers in Men’s Division final of the 4A West regional meet, Watauga finished No. 7 in the team standing Removing the runners who did not have enough teammate participation to count as the required 5-man team, the Pioneer team scorers included at No. 7 (Bradbury) – No. 17 (Sam Nixon) – No. 31 (Calvin Zwetsloot) – No. 38 (Jonah Norris) – and No. 44 (Elliott Taft). Even the two alternatives embraced the top 50, including Sam Rex (No. 47), and Collin Anderson (No. 51).
Out of the 17 teams in the men’s division, Ardrey Kell swept the top two places, with senior Raghav Gopalakrishnan and junior Joey Joseph Wells taking top honors ahead of Kevin Cordero (T C Roberson), Will Fiore (T C Roberson) and Logah Hill (Charlotte Catholic) finishing ahead of Bradbury. Not even a full half-minute separated the seven racers. Gopalakrishnan’s first place time was 15:41.62 while Bradbury crosse the line in 16:14.59
WOMEN’S DIVISION
Watauga didn’t have a full contingent of seven student athletes (five scoring plus two alternates) in this race, but the six representing the Pioneers all ran among the top 38 team finishers, including No. 11 (Janie Beach-Verhay) – No. 19 (Rachel Cathey) – No. 24 (Lainey Johnston) – No. 25 (Winter Shaw) – No. 36 (Sydney Cate Townsend) and alt No. 38 (Ellary Smith).
A senior and a sophomore led Myers Park to the team title. Mary Bonner Dalton, the senior, claimed top individual honors in 18:15.39, roughly 45 seconds ahead of her young teammate. Ardreu Kell, T C. Roberson, and Charlotte Catholic rounded out the top four teams ahead of Watauga.
By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. —What started as an old-fashioned, offensive barnburner quickly morphed into a one-sided juggernaut of discipline and multi-faceted power on Oct. 27 at Jack Groce Stadium. The host Watauga Pioneers pummeled the Ashe County Huskies, 63-27, marking the end of the 2023 high school football “regular” season.
For Watauga, it is surely not the end of the 2023 football season as they await their seeding in the NCHSAA 4A West state playoffs and an opponent, almost certainly to be in Boone. For Ashe County, the Huskies’ 6-4 overall, 2-3 in conference play may well not be good enough to make the state playoffs this year.
With big smiles to match the big hands reflecting the 10-0 regular season, Watauga celebrates after its 63-27 win over Ashe County. Photographic image by Jared Everett for High Country Sports.
For Watauga, the win over Ashe County completes the last smear of frosting on the regular season. They remained undefeated against Northwestern Conference opponents (5-0) and now go into post-season play with an unblemished, hard-fought, 10-0 record when you include the early, non-conference slate of tough opponents.
Remarkably, Watauga is now 30-0 after capturing the last of six consecutive Northwestern Conference titles, which speaks not just to the coaching staff assembled by head coach Ryan Habich, now in his 11th season at the helm of the Pioneer program, but also to the buy-in of the student athletes and their parents over the years into the culture that has been created in Boone. It is a blue color program with the acronyms to match.
Photographic image by Jared Everett for High Country Sports
Friday night’s contest was a matchup of differences: Watauga’s “NASCAR” offense vs. Ashe County’s “Air Raid” offense.
The latter is no slouch. In no way do we want to suggest that Ashe County was a doormat opponent, because they are the opposite. If they had not through realignment been thrust into the 3A/4A Northwestern Conference, they might well be competing for the 3A title this year.
In many respects, Watauga had more to fear going up against the Huskies than they did against the more athletic Alexander Central, Hibriten, and especially Freedom teams in the weeks before.
That’s because Ashe County’s attack strikes at arguably the Pioneers’ weakest position group — except for the fact Watauga overcomes the lack of roster depth by deploying several of the team’s best players on both offense and defense. That 2-way commitment and the high level of conditioning embraced by the players accepting the 2-way challenges provide at least a 1.5X roster multiple.
Maddox Greene (4) intercepts pass in the end zone during Watauga’s 63-27 win over Ashe Country on Oct. 27. Photo by Jared Everett for High Country Sports
Just as the term, “Air Raid” suggests, head coach Brian Hampton, now in his 12th year heading the Ashe County program, has modeled a high-flying aerial attack that can bring up big chunks of yardage, whether in one play or in an entire offensive series. The Huskies ran a whopping 72 offensive plays against the Pioneers, accumulating 388 yards of total offense. All but 51 yards of it was through the air.
Against many opponents at the high school level, controlling possession for 72 plays and rolling up 388 yards would be more than enough to win the day. Senior quarterback Blake Peters completed 35 of 51 pass attempts for 338 yards and two TDs, offset by delivering two interceptions into the poaching hands of Watauga defensive backs Ben Gosky and Maddox Greene.
Because of its high-octane, up tempo, “rule the roads” style, some Pioneer fans have started referring to Watauga’s offensive attack as a “NASCAR” blend, leaning toward a grinding, rushing offense but from time to time interspersing aerial strikes where the wheels all but come off. Now with a maturing quarterback in junior Maddox Greene, in whom Habich and his offensive coaches have been able to develop some effective passing skills to match his running acumen, the 2023 edition of the Pioneers evolved as a multi-headed offensive monster. If Greene, sophomore RB sensation Everett Gryder, sophomore “Swiss Army Knife” back Evan Burroughs, or senior hybrid back Morgan Henry aren’t getting the results you expected, a Greene-to-Jackson Pryor, Greene-to-Burroughs, Greene-to-Henry, or Greene to one of two capable tight ends, senior Grayson Elliott or junior Trathan Gragg are likely to get the job done.
Even with a reputation for keeping the ball on the ground, taking time off the clock and keeping opposing offenses off the field, Watauga has at times used its aerial combinations to great effect this year.
Against the Huskies, Greene directed an offense that rolled up 352 yards rushing, but showed balance with 221 passing yards to just two receivers, Burroughs (4 catches, 186 yards, and 3 TDs) and Pryor (3 catches, 36 yards).
Coming out party?
Rushing, of course Greene was a team leader in keeping the ball on the ground. In what has become characteristic production for the explosive junior playmaker, Greene kept the ball 13 times for 189 yards and three TDs, including a 2-point conversion. His longest ramble was “just” 58 yards, but that means the average yards per carry for the other 12 totes of the football was over 10 yards, or almost 11 yards per carry.
Evan Burroughs dances over and past an Ashe County defender on Oct. 27/ Photo by Jared Everett for High Country Sports.
But with sophomore running back Everett Gryder suddenly showing up on the sidelines, on crutches, in the first quarter, it was “next man up” time for the Watauga running back room. Enter fellow sophomore and emerging Pioneer track star, Matthew Leon, who as a freshman last spring won the Northwestern Conference 400 meters event, according to records publicly available at MileSplitNC
It turns out that a sprinter’s speed is useful on a football field, too. In his first night as Watauga’s lead B-back, Leon carried the ball 16 times in a little more than three quarters for 101 yards and two touchdowns. As coming out parties go, Leon’s night was a good debut.
Next up for Watauga will be to see where their unblemished regular season record will land them in the NCHSAA 4A West Football Championship seedings. Prior to Friday night games, Watauga had the No. 2 RPI, behind top-seeded Weddington.
Ashe County awaits their fate in the 3A West classification. With a 6-4 overall record and 2-3 record in conference, the Huskies are likely to be on the outside looking in.
Dr. E. Frank” Buddy” Hancock, Jr.,75, of Blowing Rock, NC, passed away peacefully on October 23, 2023, at home, surrounded by love. He was born in Brooksville, FL on August 12,1948 to the late Frank and Emmy Hancock. He attended Hernando High School where he was a member of the National Honor Society and the Key Club. Frank excelled in sports, including basketball, baseball, and football. His athletic success led to Frank being inducted into the Hernando Sports Hall of Fame. He continued his love of sports throughout his life. He enjoyed coaching his sons’ youth teams and watching those he loved play any kind of sport.Frank attended Florida State University from 1966-1970, before he left to pursue his dream of becoming an Oral Surgeon. He attended Emory University from 1970-1974, obtaining his Doctor of Dental Surgery degree. He entered the United States Army Dental Corp in 1974 until 1977, serving three years in Germany. He made lifelong friends during his time overseas. Living overseas inspired his sense of adventure. Frank obtained his sailing Captain’s license and loved sailing the Caribbean. He enjoyed wonderful trips with family, friends, and staff throughout his life.Frank returned to the United States to attend the University of Oklahoma Medical Center Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Residency program which he completed in 1982. He moved to Boone, NC upon completion of his residency. He practiced Oral Maxillofacial Surgery for 39 years. He retired in July of 2021. He was a member of the Watauga Medical Center Medical Staff and later inducted into the Medical Staff Hall of Fame. He loved his time in the operating room in the earlier days. Eddy Arnold’s, “Cattle Call” will be a sweet reminder of these special years.Frank was a gifted surgeon. Blessed to do the job he dreamed of doing as a young man. He built a successful practice twice in his career. He appreciated those in the dental community so much. He loved sharing his knowledge with others, helping whenever possible. He appreciated his staff and those around him who helped create a warm and caring office. They were the backbone of his success.Frank, endearingly known as “Buddy” by those closest to him, loved the Florida State Seminoles. He was a member of the Golden Chiefs. He enjoyed attending games with family and friends throughout the years. It brought him so much joy to see them rebuilding their football program. He cheered them on even in his final days.Buddy loved to run in the woods and sail on the seas. We will feel him on a gentle mountain breeze or in a puff of wind from the ocean. We will hear him in his favorite songs. We will love him always.Buddy will be missed by those he leaves behind. His loving wife of 18 years, Tara L. Hancock. His son, Brian Hancock and partner, Lana Mizell; grandson, Barrett of Boone, NC. His son, Samuel Frank Hancock and wife, Rachael; grandson, Maxwell Frank of Smithfield, NC. Brother, Harry Hancock and wife, Rhonda of Eufaula, AL. Sister, Mary-Ann Hancock Shaw of Brooksville, FL. Father-in law, and Mother- in-law, Lonnie and Ada Webster of Blowing Rock, NC, Sister-in-law, Lori Jennings and husband, Dale of Purlear, NC. Nieces, Melissa, Jessica, Truett, and Chloe. Great-Nieces, Lucie, Vivian, Adeline, and Marijn.
The family is so grateful to his private care team, especially Rachel Sanders, Amberly Marquard, Deedee Taylor and the care team of Amorem Hospice. All provided such loving care during his final months. Family, friends, and caregivers who provided support throughout the journey for all of us kept us strong and made us feel loved.
A celebration of life is scheduled Saturday, November 18, 2023 from 1pm-4pm at The Blowing Rock Country Club for family and close friends. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to construct the High Country inpatient hospice care unit. www.amoremsupport.org/donate
or Amorem 902 Kirkwood Street, Lenoir, NC 28645.
By Jacob Plecker. LOUISVILLE, Ky. – In the final road game of the 2023 season, the App State Mountaineers (12-4, 5-1 MAC) flew the flag over the No. 8 Louisville Cardinals (12-5, 2-3 ACC) in shootout fashion on Oct. 22. The win marks the highest ranked win in program history, the first win ever against a top-10 opponent and the first win over an ACC opponent since 1999.
With the shootout period tied at two goals apiece heading into App State’s final attempt, freshman Florine Koopman calmly addressed the ball and made her way into the circle where she slapped the ball past the Cardinal keeper and sent the App State faithful into a frenzy. Koopman’s game-winning goal in the shootout gave App State its second consecutive shootout win.
It was an incredible defensive display put on by the Mountaineer defensive unit at Trager Stadium on Sunday, limiting Louisville to just one goal in regulation and stopping all 15 Cardinal corner chances. Fifth-year goalkeeper Addie Clark saved an impressive 12 shots in the game and held Louisville to just two goals in the shootout.
“Beating Louisville on their home turf on their senior day is a crazy feeling,” senior defender Grace Ball said. “We knew we had to come in and give it our all. We needed to slow them down and play together and that’s what we did. It’s a great feeling to come out on top.”
Having already clinched a spot in the MAC Tournament with their win on Friday against Ball State, the Mountaineers and head coach Emily Dinsmore now have 12 wins on the year. The 12 wins for Dinsmore in her first season at the helm ties Mountaineer legend Jan Watson’s record for wins by an App State first-year head coach. Dinsmore’s first chance to break that record will come on Friday at home against the Ohio Bobcats.
“All the credit goes to the girls for this win,” Dinsmore said. “They fought to the very end and withstood corner after corner. I knew that if we could get to shootouts we would win this game. It’s so exciting and I’m so happy for the group.”
By Bret Strelow. NORFOLK, Va. — App State had plenty of fourth-down magic, but Old Dominion’s late fourth-down conversion set up a go-ahead touchdown in the final minute of a 28-21 Sun Belt Conference victory against the visiting Mountaineers.
Each of App State’s last four games and five of the last six have been decided in the closing seconds.
After a fourth-and-10 completion of 19 yards from the App State 40 set up ODU’s go-ahead, 16-yard touchdown run with 48 seconds left, the Mountaineers (3-4, 1-2 Sun Belt) moved from their own 21 to the Monarchs’ 23 thanks to Joey Aguilar’s completions of 13 yards to Eli Wilson, 20 yards to Kaedin Robinson (to the ODU 44, with a 15-yard flag for defensive targeting reversed) and 21 yards to a sliding Christan Horn.
A spike with 11 seconds remaining from the 23-yard line gave App State two shots at a touchdown — the Monarchs (4-3, 2-1) had turned a 21-20 deficit into a seven-point lead with their touchdown and successful two-point conversion. ODU defensive back Khian’Dre Harris was credited with consecutive breakups on high, deep passes directed toward 6-foot-4 receiver Dalton Stroman in the end zone.
“Heartbreaking loss,” App State head coach Shawn Clark said. “I hurt for our players and hurt for our team. The kids played their hearts out tonight, and we came up one play short.”
Aguilar (22 of 31 passing for 252 yards) had a hand in three fourth-down touchdowns on a night in which App State went 4-for-4 on fourth down, with one touchdown run on a QB keeper preceding TD passes to tight end David Larkins and wide receiver Kaedin Robinson, who finished with 103 yards on seven catches. Starting in place of injured back Nate Noel, one of the nation’s top rushers before he suffered an injury in the previous game, Kanye Roberts posted the first 100-yard game of his career with 109 yards on 26 carries.
Nate Johnson led the defense by recording a season-high two sacks, increasing his season total to five with a pair of first-half takedowns, while Santana Hopper added 1.5 sacks, including a big one in the final six minutes to help force a punting situation in a one-point game. Hopper also teamed up with Derrell Farrar on a first-half sack.
Tight end David Larkins catches TD pass at Old Dominion. Photo by David Katzenmaier, courtesy of App State Sports
Leading 21-20, App State regained possession at its own 34 with 4:50 left and faced a second-and-1 scenario before a fumble that the Mountaineers recovered for a loss preceded a third-down incompletion. ODU took over from its 31 with 3:46 remaining and moved to the App State 33 for a third-and-3 play. An offensive holding penalty negated a long run, and a short QB keeper on third down set up a fourth-and-10 play from the App State 40 with 1:08 remaining.
Grant Wilson scrambled and completed a 19-yard pass to Javon Harvey to get the Monarchs into short field-goal range, and Keshawn Wicks rushed for a 16-yard touchdown that at least gave the Mountaineers time to respond with 48 seconds showing on the clock.
All three App State touchdowns resulted from fourth-down execution, as Aguilar scored on a fourth-and-goal keeper around right end from the 1 in the first quarter and threw a 5-yard scoring pass to Larkins in a fourth-and-2 with 4:14 remaining before halftime.
Trailing 14-7, with a 12-play, 87-yard drive producing its first touchdown, ODU had runs of 19, 36 and 20 yards (a touchdown from Wicks) to march 92 yards on five plays to tie the game. The Monarchs then forced a quick three-and-out punt and followed a late 16-yard run to the App State 30 with a 47-yard field goal as the half ended.
ODU added a 46-yard field goal to open the third quarter, but App State had a pair of fourth-down conversions late in a go-ahead touchdown drive on the next possession. Aguilar gained 2 yards on a fourth-and-2 keeper from the ODU 25, then threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to Robinson in the back of the end zone on a fourth-and-5 delivery.
App State returns to action next Saturday with a homecoming game against Southern Miss. The game is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. at Kidd Brewer Stadium.
By Katherine Jamtgaard. HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — The App State volleyball team fell short to Marshall in five sets on Oct. 21, 3-2 (25-20, 25-23, 20-25, 19-25, 15-10).
Marshall 3, App State 2
Sophomore Maya Winterhoff, along with freshmen Ava Leahy and Delanie Grevengoed posted double-digit kills on the afternoon with Winterhoff recording 16, Leahy recording 12, and Grevengoed recording 11. Redshirt freshman Katie Cruise and senior Sophie Cain both recorded double-doubles, as Cruise posted 29 assists and 12 digs and Cain tallied 21 assists and 20 digs. Five Mountaineers tallied double-digit digs, led by sophomore Kenady Roper, who had 30. Fifth year senior McCall Denny and Winterhoff served up two aces apiece. Winterhoff also totaled eight blocks on the afternoon. App State recorded five aces compared to Marshall’s one, as well as 13 blocks to Marshall’s 11.
In the first set, Marshall built off a pair of 4-0 runs to take a 14-7 lead. App State chipped away at Marshall’s lead, going on a late 3-0 run that included kills from Grevengoed and Denny, but Marshall capped the set, 25-20.
App State and Marshall fought point-for-point in the second set, until Marshall broke a 17 all tie with a 4-0 run to take a 20-17 lead. Kills from Winterhoff and Grevengoed, as well as an ace from Winterhoff brought App State within two of Marshall’s 22-20 lead. A kill from Denny brought the Mountaineers within one (24-23), but Marshall took the set, 25-23.
In the third set, App State kept pace with Marshall early. Back-to-back kills from Winterhoff gave App State a 10-9 edge. The Mountaineers found momentum with a 4-0 run that included a pair of blocks from Denny/junior Lauren Pledger and Pledger kill (15-11). With another 4-0 run, the Black and Gold took a 20-13 lead. The run included a pair of kills from Leahy. Despite a run from Marshall, App State secured the third set, 25-20, after a Denny kill.
App State took an early 5-2 lead in the fourth set after a block from Leahy/Pledger and ace from Denny. A kill from Pledger and ace from Cain extended App State’s lead to 12-8. As Marshall chipped away at App State’s lead, the Mountaineers answered with a 4-0 run that included kills from junior Lulu Ambrose and Winterhoff, as well as a pair of block from Ambrose/Winterhoff (17-11). Back-to-back kills from Pledger and Winterhoff closed out the set for App State, 25-19.
Grevengoed opened the fifth and final set with a kill and tied things up at 2-2 with a second kill. Marshall took a 6-3 lead that the Mountaineers chipped away at with an Ambrose kill and Marshall error. Marshall jumped ahead, 11-5, after a 5-0 run. Despite kills from Ambrose and Grevengoed, Marshall took the set, 15-10, and match, 3-2.
UP NEXT
App State will host Old Dominion on. Oct. 26 and 27 for its last two home matches of the season. Both matches are scheduled for 6 p.m. and will be available to stream on ESPN+.
