By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — High drama took over the stage at Jack Groce Stadium on Dec. 6. A near capacity audience looked on, witnessing the agony, ecstasy and unbridled joy acted out by the players — except they weren’t acting. This was real.
BONUS PHOTOS AT BOTTOM OF ARTICLE
The football gods wrote a script featuring dramatic tension throughout, right up until the last second prompted a Watauga High School varsity football team’s jubilant celebration. There was no anti-climax in the Pioneers’ 43-42 win over Northern Guilford. The final minute was as thrilling as any other with host Watauga claiming the NCHSAA 6A West title in the North Carolina state playoffs.
With the win, the Pioneers earn a berth in next week’s 6A State Championship game in Kenan Stadium, on the campus of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. They will face the Middle Creek Mustangs, the 6A East champs, on Friday, Dec. 12, with kickoff slated for 4:00 p.m.
Seeded No. 3 in the 6A East, Middle Creek advanced to the final with a 31-21 victory over Jacksonville to earn the state championship opportunity. It is Watauga’s first trip to a state championship game since 1978, almost a half-century ago.
What A Football Game
There were so many great plays by both teams on both sides of the ball in Friday’s thriller pitting Watauga vs. Northern Guilford. Leading up to the pivotal final, decisive seconds, there were plot twists and turns aplenty.
The 6A West’s No. 1 seeded Pioneers and the No. 2 seeded Nighthawks traded touchdowns and PATs in the first quarter to take a 7-7 tie into the second period. Watauga looked to run away with the game in the second frame, the Pioneer defense forcing a pair of Northern Guilford “3-and-outs” to deny the Nighthawks’ offense any kind of momentum. The Watauga defensive stands were capped by an Evan Burroughs-crafted “Pick 6” interception, returned 31 yards for a TD.
Watauga’s three touchdowns to open the second quarter gave the home team a commanding, 27-7 lead — and fueled the Pioneer faithful’s hopes that a trip to the state championship game was well within Watauga’s grasp.
Northern Guilford was not to go away quietly, however. On the first play from scrimmage after the post-INT kickoff, senior QB Jaxson Kemp completed a 70-yard pass-catch-and-run to senior wide receiver Greyson Council for a touchdown and, just like that, the Nighthawks had life. And after a stellar defensive stand by the visitors — and an uncharacteristic “shank” of a 12-yard punt by Watauga QB and punter Cade Keller — the Nighthawks had another great opportunity: 1st-and-10 from inside Watauga territory, at the WAT42.
It only took Northern Guilford four plays to put another TD in the books. The drive finished with a 30-yard scoring run by star running back Amare Akers, closing the Nighthawks’ deficit to 27-21 after the PAT.
A little more than two minutes remained on the clock, so there was still opportunity for both sides. Another strong defensive effort by Northern Guilford limited the Pioneers to just four plays before having to punt again, giving the ball back to Kemp and his Mustang cohorts with 48 seconds left before halftime.
After Kemp completed a short pass to Akers coming out of the backfield for a 9-yard gain, Watauga’s Burroughs made sure there was no more Nighthawk damage to the scoreboard in the first half when he poached a Kemp pass for his second interception of the second quarter. With just 37 seconds left, Watauga opted to run out the clock and take their 6-point lead into the locker room.
Second Half Adjustments
As the second half got underway, it was apparent that Northern Guilford’s coaching staff made some adjustments during intermission. In receiving the second half kickoff, the visiting Nighthawks had some swagger and it started with senior wide receiver Bobby Bah receiving the opening kick. He returned it 31 yards before the Pioneers’ Thomas Dieters brought him down a yard shy of midfield. Akers carried the ball into Watauga territory with a 12-yard gain, then Kemp wove through Pioneer defenders the remaining 39 yards to the end zone on a designed QB keeper. That gave Northern Guilford its first lead of the night, 28-27, and the second half had only just begun.
Keller & Co. responded with a 13-play scoring drive that kept the Nighthawks’ offense off the field for nearly four minutes of the game clock. The drive featured Keller passes to Matthew Leon, Evan Burroughs, and Nyle Peays, as well as tight end Tyler Leyshon. By handing the ball off to Leon for short gains and keeping it himself a couple of times, Keller kept the defensive Nighthawks off-balance, allowing Leon to finish the drive with a 5-yard burst to the end zone. To make up for an earlier blocked PAT kick, the Pioneers went for a 2-point conversion and were successful with a quick pass from Keller to Mayo, restoring the Pioneer lead to 35-28.
Northern Guilford wasted little time in knotting things up with a 7-play, 75 yard drive, highlighted by another keeper by Kemp, this one for 39 yards to the Watauga 7-yard line. Two plays later, he kept the ball for another rushing TD. With Guardado’s PAT kick, it was a new ball game at 35-35.
After turning back two Watauga 4th down conversion attempts, one at the end of the third quarter and another at the start of the 4th, the Nighthawks took their second lead of the game at 42-35 with a methodical, 14-play, 75 yard drive featuring Akers. While quarterback Jaxson Kemp mixed things up to keep the Pioneers’ defense off-balance, on nine of those 14 plays he simply handed the ball off to Akers, who diced and sliced his way through openings created by Northern Guilford’s stalwart offensive line. Fittingly, it was Akers who punched into the end zone the final yard for the go-ahead TD. Guardado’s PAT kick sailed through the uprights to complete the conversion, giving the Nighthawks a 7-point lead with little time on the clock (3:29).
Final Drama
If the Nighthawks’ goal was to prevent Watauga from responding within the allotted 3:29 remaining time, Northern Guilford didn’t do themselves any favors. Guardado lofted a long kickoff more than 50 yards that the Pioneers’ Kyle Williams fielded near his own 10-yard line, then battled through traffic for an 18-yard return, to the WAT28. As if the return wasn’t enough, the Nighthawks were penalized another 15 yards for an illegal block, setting up the start of Watauga’s next offensive drive near midfield, at their own 43-yard line.
With good field position, Keller completed a 16-yard pass to Mayo. But Keller was hit late on the play, so a “roughing the passer” penalty tacked on another 15-yards and, suddenly, in the space of just the kickoff and one play from scrimmage the Pioneers were on the doorstep of the Nighthawks’ end zone, with 1st-and-10 at the Northern Guilford 26-yard line.
Keller and the Pioneers shrugged off an illegal motion penalty that set them back five yards, looking at 1st-and-15 from the NG31. Keller took care of business with 15- and 7-yard passes to Mayo, getting the ball down to the NG14. Then a short pass to Matthew Leon coming out of the backfield might just as well have been a running play. The speedy senior collected the ball on the right side then dove just inside the right goal line pylon for a 9-yard TD. SCORE: NG, 42, WAT 41, with the conversion attempt forthcoming.
To Be, Or Not To Be…
It was decision time for the Pioneers. Do they go for a 2-point conversion for a probable win with so little time remaining, or tie the game with a Miller Hankins PAT kick? There was risk with either choice. A Hankins PAT to tie might have had the highest probability rating, but…
… In OT, Northern Guilford might well have had an advantage because, thanks to a rushing juggernaut of an offensive attack behind Akers and Kemp, the Nighthawks had a degree of momentum. Worse, still, for Watauga: workhorse running back and defensive star Everett Gryder left the game earlier, limping severely, and electric wide receiver and defensive back Nyle Peays was also newly sidelined, not to return.
After the game, Watauga head coach Ryan Habich deflected any description of his decision to go for the 2-point conversion as a “gutsy call.” He simply said, “I trust my players” in the decision to go for the win at that moment.
So when Mayo caught Keller’s pass for his second successful 2-point conversion catch of the night, all manner of jubilation erupted on the field, on the Watauga sidelines, and on the jampacked Pioneer grandstands. With the student section jumping up and down enthusiastically, the press box had the sway of a downtown San Francisco high-rise during a California earthquake.
As Habich disclosed after the game, there were some circumstances that really made the 2-point conversion play special. He initially suggested a different play, but Keller promptly said, “I want to run ‘mash’.” So that is what they agreed on. But complicating matters was the Peays injury, which put Mayo in the heretofore unfamiliar X-slot. As the play developed, recalled Habich, Keller progressed through two early “reads” before finding Mayo in the end zone.
With the successful 2-point conversion, Watauga had the lead with under a minute remaining, but Northern Guilford still had a chance and either a TD or a field goal would likely win it for them.
Watauga’s kickoffs seem intentionally designed to prevent runbacks by an opposing team’s featured athletes. So it was hardly a surprise when Matthew Leon’s kickoff rolled out of bounds at the NG14, which would have given the Nighthawks starting possession at their own 35-yard line. Instead, Northern Guilford elected to have Watauga kick again from five yards further back, per the terms of the penalty.
This time, Leon pounded the ball 60 yards, where NG’s Bobby Bah pulled it in at the 5-yard line. Exceptional kick coverage by the Pioneers’ special teams, led by sophomore linebacker John Wilson Mills and teammate Brayson Gough, limited Bah’s return to just five yards, to the NG10, but an illegal block penalty pushed the ball back half the distance to the goal line, meaning the Nighthawks had to start their last-minute, desperation offensive at their own 5-yard line.
As it were, Northern Guilford only had 37 seconds to mount a scoring offensive and there were 95 yards between them and the goal line. Watauga’s worst fears were realized when, on the second play, Kemp hurled a long pass downfield. His receiver, Greyson Council again, at 6-2 was taller than all Watauga defenders. He leaped above the Pioneers’ double-coverage, “prevent” defense to haul the pass in for a 49-yard gain, advancing the Nighthawks to the Watauga 38. Another pass to Council gained 10 more yards before the senior wide receiver was pushed out of bounds by Leon at the 28-yard line, stopping the clock with about 19 seconds remaining. Two more Akers rushes (and two more NG timeouts) got the ball to the Watauga 19 with just five seconds on the clock. The Nighthawks called on Guardado for a 36-yard field goal attempt that would win the game, if successful. The snap and hold appeared good, but the ball sailed just inches wide of the left upright as the clock ticked to zero — and it was another highlight reel-filled Watauga win, 43-42.
There’s no way anyone should put Northern Guilford’s loss on Guardado’s shoulders, not with all the visitors’ self-inflicted wounds, i.e. penalties, and all the timely offensive and defensive plays by the Pioneers, including three pass interceptions. The penalties gave Watauga good field position and scoring opportunities. Three passing turnovers poached by the Pioneers, including Burroughs’ “Pick 6” midway through the second quarter, gave Watauga a 27-7 lead before halftime.
When you consider that most of Watauga’s playmakers are playing both ways, offense and defense, and several are even on special teams, the grit and determination, as well as the “next man up” team-focused approach make for a championship-caliber entry in the 6A state playoffs.
SCORING SUMMARY
- Q1 – WAT: Bowen Mayo 26 yard pass from Cade Keller, Miller Hankins PAT is good, 7-0
- Q1 – NG: Amare Akers 1 yard run for TD, Kobe Guardado PAT is good, 7-7
- Q2 – WAT: Bowen Mayo 20-yard pass from Cade Keller, Miller Hankins PAT is good, 14-7
- Q2 – WAT: Bowen Mayo 40-yard pass from Cade Keller, Miller Hankins PAT blocked, 20-7
- Q2 – WAT: Evan Burroughs 31-yard interception return, Miller Hankins PAT is good, 27-7
- Q2 – NG: Greyson Council 70-yard pass from Jaxon Kemp, Kobe Guardado PAT, 27-14
- Q2 – NG: Amare Akers 35-yard run, Kobe Guardado PAT is good, 27-21
- Q3 – NG: Jaxson Kemp 39-yard run, Kobe Guardado PAT is good, 27-28
- Q3 – WAT: Matthew Leon 5-yard run, 2 point conversion, Keller to Mayo, is good, 35-28
- Q3 – NG: Jaxon Kemp 3-yard run, Kobe Guardado PAT is good, 35-35
- Q4 – NG: Amare Akers 1-yard run, Kobe Guardado PAT is good, 35-42
- Q4 – WAT: Matthew Leon 9-yard pass from Cade Keller, 2 point conversion, Keller to Mayo is good, 43-42
SELECTED INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCES
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- NG – Amare Akers: 20 carries, 157 net yards rushing, 3 TDs
- NG – Jaxon Kemp: 10 carries, 107 yards, 2 TDs; 8-of-18, 188 yards passing, including 1 TD, 3 INTs
- NG – Greyson Council: 5 catches for 160 yards, 1 TD
- WAT – Bowen Mayo: 7 catches for 136 yards, 3 TDs, and two 2-pt conversion catches; 4 carries for 24 yards; on defense, 8 total tackles, 1 INT returned 55 yards
- WAT – Cade Keller: 21-of-30 passing for 267 yards, 4 TDs
- WAT – Evan Burroughs: 6 catches for 45 yards; 3 carries for 42 yards; on defense, two INTs, including a TD
- WAT – Matthew Leon: 12 carries for 33 yards, 1 TD; 3 catches for 30 yards, 1 TD; on defense, 3 total tackles
- WAT – Everett Gryder: 11 carries, 46 net yards rushing; 1 catch for 8 yards; on defense, 6 total tackles
- WAT – Nyle Peays: 2 catches for 35 yards; on defense, 1 pass breakup
- WAT – Kyle Williams: 2 kickoff returns for 27 yards; on defense, 3 total tackles and 2 passes defended
- WAT – John Wilson Mills: on defense, 15 total tackles
- WAT – Thomas Dieters: on defense, 6 total tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss
- WAT – Crue Stoddard: on defense, 5 total tackles, 1 tackle for loss
- WAT – Brady Lindenmuth: on defense, 4 total tackles, 1 tackle for loss
- WAT – Aidan Plemons: on defense, 4 total tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 1 pass breakup
SELECTED TEAM STATS
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- Total Offense Yards: NG 473, WAT 415
- Net Yards Rushing: NG 285, WAT 148
- Net Yards Passing: NG 188, WAT 367
- Turnovers
- Fumbles (No.-Lost): NG 1-0, WAT 0-0
- Interceptions Thrown: NG 3, WAT 0
- Penalties: NG 9-for-77 yards, WAT 5-for-45 yards
- Time of Possession: NG 18:55, WAT 29:05
- 3rd Down Conversions: NG 4-of-10, WAT 4-of-12
- 4th Down Conversions: NG 2-of-3, WAT 2-of-5
- Red Zone Scores-Chances: NG 3-4, WAT 3-3
BONUS PHOTOS
All photographic images by Jared Everett for High Country Sports
