October 2009 Archives

Watauga Pioneer volleyball was eliminated from the state playoffs Thursday, falling to Hopewell 3-0 at Lentz-Eggers Gym. The Titans won the first game 25-20, and followed with 25-19 and 25-21 victories, taking advantage of some Watauga mistakes. Nicole Tesh and Hannah Stewart had nine kills apiece and  Maddi Bakken and Colby Combs had five each. Skylar Hicks finished with 15 digs, Combs had 10 digs and three serving aces. The Lady Pioneers outstanding season comes to a close with a great 22-4 record. Hopewell advances to the fourth round Saturday.

High school football Friday night will once again be played under threat of rain.

The Watauga Pioneers will be playing their last regular season game at Jack Groce Stadium, as next year they'll be at the new high school. Its also senior night for the Pioneers. Watauga welcomes Hickory for a game that will decide third place in the Northwestern Conference. Both teams bring identical records into the contest: 5-4 overall and 2-2 in conference play and both will have one more game after this one. Watauga needs to win both games to finish third in the conference and get the No. 3 seed in the 4-A playoffs.

The Avery Vikings are at home Friday night, also senior night for the Vikings, hosting Mountain Heritage. The Cougars are 7-2 overall, 4-1 in Western Highlands conference play, while the Vikings come in at 4-5 overall, 2-3 in the league. Avery has come out on the short end of their last three games and would love to pull an upset at McDonald Stadium, with Alex Villanueva leading one of the region's top passing attacks. Villanueva is second in the Western Region at almost 1500 yards passing and 16 touchdowns this season. The Cougars only losses on the season are to conference foe Hendersonville, and non-conference opponent Asheville Erwin.

The Ashe Huskies are on the road to Yadkin County to take on the Forbush Falcons, after a short week. The Huskies just played Monday night after their game with Wilkes Central was postponed by the rain. The Huskies won that contest, taking out the Eagles 14-7, and bring a 4-5 overall record and a 3-3 conference mark into the game. Forbush has struggled all season. Their only win was the opening game of the season over North Surry, since then they've dropped seven in a row.

MTN's Game of the Week will be a little different this weekend, in that we will have special coverage of all three football games this week. Since Ashe was at home this past Monday, and Watauga and Avery are at home tonight, we will have extended highlights from all three games, beginning at 5:30pm Saturday and Sunday evenings here on MTN.

The ASU Mountaineers take the Halloween show on the road this weekend, down to Greenville South Carolina to put a scare into the Furman Paladins. Armanti Edwards and the Mountaineers will have their "top offense in the nation" costumes on, they're a very spiffy gold color. Meanwhile, Furman has the softest defense in the Southern Conference, allowing 411 yards to opponents a game. But with that said, no one should take the Paladins lightly. The Paladins have 13 passing touchdowns this season, second most in the conference, and Furman quarterback Justin Sorrells is third in the conference in passing, connecting on 150-of-234 passes for 1,573 yards, and 12 of those 13 touchdowns. And the real thing in Saturday's game is that everyone, players, coaches and fans alike, will be watching for another complete game from both the offense and the defense. Appalachian State trails the overall series 21-15-3, but the Mountaineers have won seven out of the last eight games against the Paladins, but have not won back to back games in Greenville ever. And every Mountaineer fan can tell you, that strange things happen when these two teams meet. Fumbles, interceptions, last minute stuff like that is sprinkled throughout the 38 year history of the series. The winning score has come with less than 3 minutes to play in five of the last 10 ASU-Furman showdowns, including three games decided in the final 35 seconds.

The Avery Middle School Panther girls and boys basketball teams opened their season at home in Newland on Thursday night hosting Bowman Middle School from Mitchell County. The Avery girls dominated play from the opening whistle, and they never trailed throughout the entire contest, opening up a 20 point lead at the half. Leading the scoring for Avery were Haley Woody, Brianna Heaton, and Jody Poore, all scoring in double figures. Avery played excellent defense throughout the game, creating many steals and turnovers, and limiting Bowman's efforts to get off quality shots.  Avery continued to dominate throughout the second half, and the younger Avery team members came in to play very well in the 4th quarter, extending the lead with some great outside shooting, as Avery went on to win by a final score of 53-16 and begins the season 1-0. In the Avery Middle School Boys game versus Bowman, the Avery boys picked up right where the Avery girls left off, jumping out to an early lead and continued to build on that lead throughout the game. The boys dominated in every phase of the contest under the excellent leadership of 8th grade returning starters Chase Buchanan, Ty Polsgrove, and Chance Watson. The Avery boys went on to win very decidedly by a final score of 57-23, and also begin the season 1-0.

The Ugly Mugg Avery Viking of the Week honors go to Andy Gonzales and Colton Blackburn. Andy Gonzales caught 4 passes Friday night for 122 yards and 2 touchdowns in the Vikings loss to Madison, including that long 58 yard pass play that scored a touchdown in the 4th quarter that brought the Vikings to withing 6 points. Colton Blackburn accumulated 8 tackles on the night, 3 solo, and 3 tackles for loss totaling 9 yards, plus that big blocked punt in the second quarter that set up the Vikings at the Patriots 6 yards line, and Alex Villanueva's touchdown on the next play. Andy Gonzales and Colton Blackburn are this week's Ugly Mugg Vikings of the Week.
The MTN Watauga Pioneer of the Week award goes to Jake Gilliam and Robbie Sherrill. Robbie Sherrill was the Pioneers leading tackler Friday night with 14 total, one was a solo stop. Jake Gilliam also had a big night defensively, with 11 tackles on the night, including 4 solo tackles, and one tackle for a 9 yard loss. Congratulations to the MTN Watauga Pioneers of the Week, Robbie Sherrill and Jake Gilliam.

(Photo Credit: Steve Behr/Watauga Democrat)

The Watauga Lady Pioneers Volleyball team has reached the third round of the state playoffs, with a 3-1 victory over McDowell Tuesday at Lentz Eggers Gym. Watauga took the first game 25-12 and edged out McDowell in the second game 26-24. McDowell would no go quietly as they won the third game 25-19, but the Lady Pioneers jump out to a 9 point lead and took the final game 25-16, and improve to 22-3. Including the two regular season meetings, Watauga has beaten McDowell three times, going 9-1. Watauga will host Hopewell in third-round action. Hopewell is 20-5 and the #2 seed from the I-MECK Conference. Admission to Thursday's match will be $5.00.  Only NCHSAA approved passes will be accepted. Doors open at 5, the match begins at 6.

The Avery Vikings mens soccer team fell Monday night to Mountain Heritage on Senior Night. Seniors Morgan Bounds, Dillon Gentry, Kyle Griewisch, Daniel Huff, and Cody Shadoin were honored before the match. Mountain Heritage held a 2-0 lead at the half, and the Vikings got on the board in the 61st minute, when Kyle Griewisch broke free of the Cougars defense, peeled off a shot against the Cougar keeper and ripped it into the net to cut the deficit to 2-1. The loss drops Avery to 12-6-2 and 8-4 in Western Highlands Conference action. The Vikings conclude the regular season schedule with matches at Mitchell Wednesday, and at Polk Thursday night. State playoff competition begins next week.
Avery was to play in the womens tennis 2nd round Dual Meet Tournament match at Mount Airy Tuesday, but it was rained out, and rescheduled for Wednesday. Avery Senior Anna Melton will compete in Cary this weekend in the state individual tournament at Cary Tennis Center. She will compete as the number 4 seed from the West. 

J.J. Elder scored off of a Steven Sassano corner kick in the 97th minute to give ASU Mens soccer a 2-1 overtime win over UNC Greensboro Tuesday night at the Appalachian Soccer Stadium. Sassano sent in a corner kick a little long, but Ryan Duffy headed it back toward the center of the goal where Elder headed it past the Spartans keeper to set off the celebration. ASU dominated most of the play, outshooting the Spartans 21-11, including 14-5 in the final 55 minutes and held a 9-4 advantage in corners. The win marks the fifth-straight for ASU over Greensboro, and puts the Apps at 5-8-1 overall and 2-4 in the SoCon. Appalachian travels to Gardner-Webb on Saturday for a non-conference match starting at 6 p.m.
(Photo from GoASU.com)

The High Country Soccer Associtation continues play. The U17 girls began their quest for a President's Cup title over the weekend with two matches in Statesville.  The Avalanche opened competition on Saturday against Triangle Futbal Club, and the team scored early and often, In the third minute Kebrina Keys put the Avalanche on the board first, Less than a minute later,  Hallie Hilliard found the back of the net for the second goal. Thirteen minutes later, in the 17th minute, Keys assisted  Christina Call on the third goal of the game. Hilliard got her second net of the game in the 25th minute, and the Avalanche would hold TFC scoreless in the second half to win 4-0.
The second match of opening pool play was Sunday, with the Avalanche facing the Piedmont Triad Football Club. The Avalanche had another terrific first half, again scoring all of their goals in the first 45 minutes of the game, with Mary Chesnut Smith getting the first, Less than 3 minutes later,  Hallie Hilliard made the score 2-0. In the 31st minute Call would get the third goal of the match, while Hilliard would get the 4th in the 36th minute. Call got another just before the end of the first half, and the Avalanche held on for th 5-0 win.
The Lady Avalanche have to win next Saturday in Wilmington against Triangle United to move on to the final four weekend on November 7 & 8.
(Photo Submitted)

The Ashe  Huskies game on Friday night was rained out and rescheduled for Monday night,  the Huskies hosted the Wilkes Central Eagles in a Mountain Valley Conference match-up.  Ashe came into the game on a 2 game winning streak after defeating North Wilkes and Allegheny over the past two weeks.  However, the Huskies were in for a stern test as the Eagles came into the game on a 6 game winning streak and Wilkes Central was tied for first with an undefeated 5-0 conference record.  In the past 2 games, Wilkes Central had scored 115 points against Forbush and East Wilkes, so on paper it looked like it would be hard to stop the powerful Eagle offense.  But the Huskies were not looking at the paper as they came out on the field looking for a win.  The Ashe defense held Allegheny last week to only 20 yards of total offense, and the Huskie defense picked up right where they left off against Wilkes Central.  With 5:30 remaining in the 1st quarter, Ashe  held the Eagles deep in their own end, forcing an Eagles punt, and the Huskies tackled the punter on his own one yard line to set up Jeren Holman's 1 yard touchdown run.  The extra point gave Ashe a 7-0 first quarter lead.  From that point through out the rest of the first half, neither team was able to move the football as both defenses dominated.  Wilkes Central had great field position three times deep inside Husky terrritory, but on each occasion the Huskies came up with a great defensive effort, forcing key turnovers several times to stop drives.  The second half was very much the same as both defenses continued to have the upper hand.  Late in the third quarter the Ashe defense forced another turnover deep in Eagles territory.  Huskie runningback Fred Blanks carried the football down to the 1 yard line, and quarterback Dalton Lewis snuck it over for a 14-0 Ashe County lead.  With a strong defense and a 14 point lead, the Huskies fans felt comfortable, but all this ended on the ensuing kick-off as Wilkes Central's Trae Alexander took a hand-off on a reverse, and raced 80 yards down the right sideline for a touchdown to bring Wilkes Central closer at 14-7.  After getting 7 touchdowns last week against Forbush, this long return showed the potential that Wilkes Central had to launch a come from behind effort.  However, the Ashe County defense never let up throughout the entire 4th quarter, continuing to play aggressively and with great passion. The Eagles only got into Huskie territory once in the 4th quarter, but with 4:44 remaining the Huskies forced another fumble and recovered it to stop the drive.  From this point, the Ashe offense showed great character as they put together their best offensive drive of the night.  Running backs Aaron Scott and Jeren Holman ran the football very hard on every carry, making first down after first down until the Eagles ran out of time outs and time expired with Ashe getting their biggest win of the year 14-7.  With the victory, Ashe County moves to 4-5 overall, 3-3 in the conference, while Wilkes Central drops to 5-1 in the conference and 6-3 overall.     

Watauga Volleyball host McDowell Tuesday in playoff action. Watauga is 21-3 and the #1 4A seed from the Northwestern Conference, McDowell 17-8 and the #2 seed from the Mountain Athletic Conference. Watauga hopes to make the third round of the tournament for the fourth straight year. We'll have results on Wednesday. 

Appalachian State volleyball took a 2-1 match lead Sunday afternoon at Belk Arena, but could not hold that lead and the Mountaineers fell to SoCon South Division foe Davidson 3-2. Davidson won the first game 25-20, but Appalachian State won the second 25-22 and the third 25-19. However, Davidson won the fourth 25-23 and the fifth 15-12. The loss was the Mountaineers' second over the weekend. They also lost 3-0 to Georgia Southern on Friday. Meghann Forshey who recorded a season-best 13 kills, while Caroline Sedon posted an impressive nine block assists. Appalachian hosts College of Charleston Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Holmes Center.

Katy Dodd scored in the fourth minute and Caroline Clarke hung on to record a single-season, school record tying, seventh shutout to lead Appalachian State's women's soccer team to a 1-0 win Sunday over Furman, and in doing so, knocked the Paladins out of postseason play. The goal is Dodd's team-leading fourth of the season and the assist from Lindsay Jaffe is her third of the year. With her 18th start of the season, Leigh Morrow tied the ASU record for career starts with 75. Morrow, who has started every game in her four-year career. The win also snaps ASU's seven game losing streak. The Mountaineers close out the regular-season on Friday when they travel to Western Carolina.

ASU men's soccer hosts UNC Greensboro in its final home conference match of the season Tuesday. Appalachian comes in at 4-8-1 and 1-4 in the SoCon after a 2-1 loss at College of Charleston on Saturday. The Mountaineers travel to Gardner-Webb this coming Saturday to take on the Bulldogs in a non-conference match. 

ASU Women's Golf finished third at the Boscobel Intercollegiate over the weekend. The Mountaineers scored +55 in two rounds. Brooke DeHart carded rounds of 78 and 76 (+10) to tie for fifth place individually. Right behind DeHart was freshman Mimi Burke, who placed seventh at (+12) in just her third competition this fall. Fellow newcomer Kristina Boo finished 12th. ASU finishes out its fall slate on Nov. 2-3 at the Pinehurst Challenge at Pinehurst, N.C.

ASU field hockey dropped a NorPac conference game Sunday, falling 3-1 to the Radford Highlanders at Kidd Brewer Stadium. Junior forward Nicole Morgan connected in the 57th minute, making the score 2-1 at that time, her sixth goal of the season. Goalkeeper Bridgette Street posted 11 saves on the day to bring her season total to 194, ranking sixth all-time in school history. Appalachian will return to action next Sunday, as they host Longwood in the final regular-season game.

ASU men's tennis closed out the fall season with a strong showing at the College of Charleston Invitational. In singles action on Friday, the Black and Gold posted a 3-2 record against the 49ers. In Friday's doubles play against Richmond, ASU went a stout 3-0 against the Spiders. Appalachian played SoCon foe Charleston Saturday in singles action but could only go 1-6 against the Cougars. But in doubles against the Cougars, the Apps were 2-0. Appalachian finished up play on Sunday, squaring off against Richmond in singles action and C of C in doubles play. Against the Spiders, the Apps notched a 6-2 record and went 3-1 against the Cougars in doubles. 

The Watauga Pioneers let one get away Friday night in Taylorsville, falling to Alexander Central 28-14. Neither team was able to score on their initial possessions, despite some outstanding plays by the Pioneers, they couldn't get into the endzone. The Cougars got on the board late in the first quarter after a 10 play drive, when Kyle Kinnaird hit Zach Bumgarner for a 1 yard touchdown and the Cougars led 7-0. The Pioneers came back and put together a long drive that featured a big run by Logan Smith, but a fumble at the 1 stopped the drive and gave the Cougars the ball. However, Watauga would respond late in the second quarter after a 5 play 71 yard drive that included a 21 yard pass from Devan Corum to Travis Oliver, and a 42 yard pass to Mo Gore that set up Logan Smith's 7 yard touchdown run and the Pioneers tied it up a 7-7. The game remained tied until the fourth quarter when the Pioneers put together a 5 play 57 yard drive that started late in the third and was mostly Devan Corum running the ball down field, but finished up with two Logan Smith runs, the last one a one yard scamper for a touchdown and Watauga led 14-7. The Cougars were not done, as they took the ensuing kickoff and drove 68 yards in five plays for a touchdown to tie the game at 14-all, then held the Pioneers to three and out. A short punt plus a penalty set up the Cougars with a short field and they scored again three plays later to take a 21-14 lead. Central then intercepted a Devan Corum pass and drove down field for another touchdown and a 28-14 lead. The Pioneers could not recover and fall to 5-4 overall, 2-2 in the conference and Central remains undefeated. The Cougars play South Caldwell this Friday and the following week face Hibriten in a game that may well decide the NWC championship. If the Cougars beat South Caldwell they would clinch the number 1 seed from the conference for the playoffs. In that scenario, Watauga would be the number 2 seed. Should South Caldwell pull the upset, there would be a three way tie and there would be a drawing to determine the top seed. Watauga hosts Hickory this Friday night. 

Watauga Volleyball defeated TC Roberson 3-0 in the first round of the state playoffs, Watauga advances to the second round and will play Tuesday.
Pioneer tennis stand out Shannon Herndon advanced to the semi-finals and a guaranteed place in the state tournament in Raleigh with a first round straight sets win, followed by a second round straight sets win over the number 1 player from Lake Norman High School who came into the tournament 16-1. Shannon will play the defending state champion, Grace Baker of Myers Park Saturday for a chance to advance to the finals. Hannah Petersen was defeated in the first round. In doubles Laura Gulliver and Katelin Fox won in the first round but lost in the second round.

The Avery Vikings fell to Madison Friday night, despite have a two touchdown lead early in the second quarter. The first one came after the Vikings recovered a fumble on a punt and drove the ball 74 yards in 6 plays and Kenny Hicks carried it in from 3 yards out and the Vikings led 7-0. The Vikings second touchdown came after another special teams play, as Colton Blackburn blocked a Madison punt that the Vikings recovered on the 6 yard line and Alex Villanueva ran it in from six yards out on the first play and the Vikings led 14-0. Unfortunately that would be all the scoring for the Vikings until the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, Madison put up 21 unanswered points in the second quarter. Madison extended their lead with a touchdown early in fourth quarter, and Avery blocked the extra point, and the Patriots led 27-14. The Vikings responded in a big way, when Villanueva hit Andy Gonzales for a 58 yard touchdown pass and the Vikings pulled to within 6 points, 27-21. However, Madison would strike again to take a 33-21 lead. Avery scored again with a minute left in the game but the Vikings fell 33-27. Avery falls to 4-5 overall, 2-3 in the conference, and will host Mountain Heritage Friday night. 

In the Northwestern Conference:
Hickory 21, St. Stephens 17
Fred T. Foard 20, South Caldwell 17
Hibriten 62, Mooresville 21

In the Western Highlands Conference:
Black Mountain Owen 16, Hendersonville 7
Mountain Heritage 69, Mitchell County 18
Polk County 62, Thomas Jefferson 0

In the Mountain Valley Conference:
Elkin 32, Alleghany 0
East Wilkes 20, Forbush 6
Starmount 68, North Wilkes 6
West Iredell 45, West Wilkes 0

In the Northwest 2A/1A:
East Surry 48, North Stokes 0
Mount Airy 31, Bishop McGuinness 14
Surry Central 48, North Surry 26

The ASU Mountaineers thoroughly dominated the Eagles at the Rock on Black Saturday, out gaining the Eagles 712 yards to 171 yards and winning by a score of 52-16, the most points given up by Georgia Southern to a D1 FCS opponent in a regular season game. The Mountaineers put together a complete, 4 quarter ball game, starting out with the defensive performance that everyone's been looking for all season. ASU dominated from the beginning, scoring on four of its first five possessions and racking up 411 yards of offense in the first half, and the defense holding GSU to minus-three yards on the ground and forced two turnovers and three three-and-outs in the first half. After the first Eagles three and out, the Mountaineers struck quickly, with Armanti Edwards hitting Matt Cline for the first score of the day. The Apps foreced another three and out and had the ball again, driving down the field when the only real mistake of the game took place. Edwards hit Brad Hardee on a pass to the right side, the ball popped out and the Eagles recovered and took it in for a touchdown that tied the game at 7 all. But other than that it was pretty much all ASU. Armanti Edwards, who crosssed the 4000 career rushing yards mark, then found CoCo Hillary on a 53 yard touchdown pass, the first of two on the day for CoCo. The Mountaineer defense just smothered the Eagles throughout the first half, and Mark Legree snagged his third interception of the season. It wasn't long after that before Devon Moore got the first of three rushing touchdowns in the game. That was followed by another big play by the Mountaineer defense when the Apps forced and recovered a fumble that resulted a few plays later in Devon Moore's second tochdown run. The Eagles did manage a field goal late in the second quarter, but the Mountaineers responded immediately with Armanti Edwards finding CoCo Hillary for his second touchdown pass and the Mountaineers took a commanding 35-10 lead into halftime. ASU did not let up the pressure on either side of the ball in the second half, as Rod Chisolm got a big run in the early minutes of the third quarter that set up Devon Moore's third touchdown of the afternoon. The Mountaineer defense continued to dominate but a couple of penalties gave the Eagles some help and they did score a touchdown with five minutes to go in the third, but failed on a two-point conversion attempt. That would be all the Eagles would do the rest of the way.  Armanti Edwards only played two second half series, and Travaris Cadet came on and led two scoring drives. With two mintues left in the third, Jason Vitaris hit a 43 yard field goal to extend the Apps lead. The other Cadet drive featured a long pass play to DeAndre Pressley - quarterback to quarterback. Travaris Cadet then scored a touchdown on a run from 15 yards out to put a cap on big game for the Mountaineers, putting them at 4-0 in the conference for the third time in the past four years, and more importantly, a complete game from start to finish on both sides of the ball. The Mountaineers head to Greenville this Saturday to take on the Furman Paladins. 

High School football teams will not only be battling each other Friday night but also the elements, as rain is forecast across western North Carolina during the night, and it could be heavy at times according to Ray Russell. Watauga is scheduled to play in Taylorsville against Alexander Central in a game that will determine the new Northwestern Conference's top seed in the 4-A division for the state playoffs. The Pioneers can lock up that position with a win over the Cougars, who's record is 8-0 overall, 3-0 in the conference. The Pioneers are 5-3 overall, 2-1 in conference play. In other conference games, St. Stephens at Hickory and South Caldwell is at Fred T. Foard. Hibriten will play a non-conference game at Mooresville.
-Watauga JV football fell to Alexander Central on Thursday, by a score of 40-12.

The Avery Vikngs are also on the road, down in Marshall to take on the Madison Patriots. The Vikings enter the contest at 4-4 overall, 2-2 in Western Highlands Conference play, while the Patriots are 3-5 overall with a 1-3 conference mark. The Vikings have beaten Madison in every game over the last ten years. Other games in the Western Highlands Conference have Hendersonville hosting Owen, Thomas Jefferson is at Polk, and Mitchell travels to Mountain Heritage.

The Ashe Huskies play Monday night at home hoping to improve on their 3-5 record against the the Wilkes Central Eagles. The Huskies are coming off of two very impressive victories, a 21-0 win over Alleghany and a 53-0 blowout of North Wilkes. The Eagles have a strong team and boast a 6-2 record, and are undefeated 4-0 in the conference, all but one of their victories have been by double digit points. 

If you are free before the football game, step over to the Holmes Center for a preview of the Mountaineer mens basketball team. Buzz Peterson has opened Saturday's practice to the public starting at 12noon. The Mountaineers will wrap up their first full week of fall workouts by hosting an intra-squad scrimmage between Black and Gold teams during the session. If you come by, please enter through the Southwest Entrance, and sit in the upper level of Sections 10, 11 and 12. And keep in mind there will be no food or drink allowed in the arena and no concessions for sale. Also please park in your usual football game day parking, as no extra space is available in the vicinity of the Holmes Center.

The first game of this weekend's ASU baseball Fall World Series was postponed due to rain. Game One of the annual intrasquad series will now be played Saturday night at 7 at Smith Stadium. The series continues on Sunday at 1 p.m. and concludes on Monday at 3:30 p.m. All three games are open to the public and admission is free. ASU's Fall World Series marks the culmination of the fall practice season.
Football, basketball and baseball, all this weekend in Boone. Can you stand it?

After knocking off number 21 Davidson, the Mountaineer mens soccer team looks for its second straight SoCon win Saturday down in the low country against the College of Charleston. The Apps have had 10 days to prepare for the Cougars since the Davidson win. Arie Muniz leads the team and is eighth in the Southern Conference in points with 12 while Tyler Regan has 10 and J.J. Elder is third with eight. Collin Taylor has started seven games in goal making 27 saves. College of Charleston comes into the match at 8-8 overall and 2-2 in the Southern Conference. The two teams split last year.
-Kaitlin Baker scored her first career collegiate goal as ASU womens soccer played the Wofford Terriers to a 1-1 tie in Spartanburg Thursday. After being outshot 5-3 in the first half, Appalachian kept control of the final 65 minutes, holding an 8-3 shot advantage over the Terriers. Caroline Clarke made five saves in goal for Appalachian, and the Apps are now 5-8-4 overall, 2-4-3 in SoCon play. The Mountaineers go to Greenville Sunday to take on Furman. 

Watauga Lady Pioneer Volleyball took on St. Stephens in the season finale Wednesday. The Watauga JV  won 2-0 (25-8, 25-21) and finishes the season undefeated at 19-0, 12-0 in the conference. In varsity action, Watauga won 3-0 and finishes the season 19-3 overall, 10-2 in conference play. Watauga will host TC Roberson in the first round of the state 4A volleyball playoffs Saturday at 12:00 PM. The Lady Pioneers, at 20-3, are the #1 4A seed from the Northwestern Conference while TC Roberson, at 11-15, is a wild card entry from the Mountain Athletic Conference. Admission to Saturday's match will be $5.00. Only NCHSAA approved passes will be accepted. Booster club passes, WHS fall sport athlete passes, Tar Heel Senior Cards, WCS employee passes, and conference passes will not be accepted. Doors open at 11:15 AM.

Watauga Cross Country teams participated in the Northwestern Conference Championship Meet in Lenoir and both the Pioneer men's and women's squads captured the conference championship. In the mens race Watauga finished first with 53 points, South Caldwell was second with 57 points, and Hickory was third with 61. Daniel Osborne was the top finisher for Watauga, he came in third overall, with a time of 16:52.74, Andrew Vandenberg was right behind in 4th and Clark Brackney was 5th. In the womens race, Watauga took six of the top seven spots, and seven of the top ten, and took the team title with 16 points. South Caldwell was second and Hickory was third. Individually, Kayla Schneider won the race with a time of 19:30.53, Hannah Barbour was second and Amanda Carringer third. Darby Middlebrook finished 4th, Madison Harmon was 6th, and Doria Kosmala was 7th. Haily Middlebrook finished 9th.
-Pioneer Men's Soccer fell to Alexander Central Wednesday, the JV lost 3-2, while the Pioneer varsity fell 4-0.

The Avery Lady Vikings volleyball team will host West Wilkes in the first round of the 1A state playoffs Saturday afternoon at 1pm. Avery, at 4-18, are the number 2 seed from the Western Highlands Conference. West Wilkes is the number 3 seed from the Mountain Valley conference and has a record of 12-8. The two teams met twice during the season, with West Wilkes winning both matches.
In other 1A pairings, East Wilkes will host Mitchell, Hendersonville will take on Thomas Jefferson, Alleghany faces Mount Airy.
In 2A, Starmount takes on Mountain Heritage, Polk will play against the Ashe Huskies.
In 3A, Hickory will face Erwin, Kings Mountain hosts St.Stephens, and Fred T. Foard goes to Morganton Freedom.
In other 4A pairings, McDowell goes to West Mecklenburg, AC Reynolds hosts Mooresville, and Alexander Central takes on Olympic.
-Avery Cross Country action saw Mary Chesnut Smith take 5th place and all conference honors Wednesday in the Western Highlands Conference Cross Country Meet. As a team, the Lady Vikings finished in 5th place. The Viking Cross Country teams will compete in Western Regional over the Halloween weekend.
-Avery Viking mens soccer earned a hard fought 1-0 victory over Madison in Marshall Wednesday night. The teams played to a scoreless tie through the first half. In the second, Viking Kyle Griewisch scored in the 65th minute for the only goal of the match. Avery senior keeper Morgan Bounds and the Viking defense have now shut out their last four opponents, all in-conference teams, and improve to 12-5-2 overall and 8-3 in Western Highlands play. Avery celebrates Senior Night on Monday, and finish the season on the road, playing at Mitchell next Wednesday and at Polk on Thursday.

Appalachian State's Michael Thomas won the Division 2 Men's downhill race by better than 8 seconds last Sunday at the USA Cycling Collegiate MTB Nationals in Truckee, CA. Its his second National Championship in Mens Downhill. Thomas took the win with a time of 4:13.23, and was one of three Mountaineers to finish in the top ten. Steven Trottier finished in 7th place at 04:30.58 and Andrew Mueller was 9th with a time of 4:32.22. 

Its time once again to choose out High School Football Players of the Week. The Ugly Mugg Avery Viking of the week award goes to two Viking players this week, Dylan Aldridge and Taylor Potter. On defense, Taylor Potter made several key defensive plays in the Vikings loss to Polk, hustling all night, making open field tackles and some touchdown saving tackles. Dylan Aldridge recovered a fumble in the final minutes of the first half, inside the Polk 20 yard line that set up Avery's first touchdown of the game. On offense, he caught a 13 yard touchdown pass late in the fourth for the Vikings third touchdown. Congratulations to the Ugly Mugg Avery Vikings of the week, Dylan Aldridge and Taylor Potter. The Avery Vikings are on the road this week, at Madison County.

The MTN Watauga Pioneer Players of the Week are Jordan Pineda and Trey Kavanaugh. Kavanaugh had three catches for 32 yards in the Pioneers win over Fred T Foard. He also had two kick off returns for 124 yards, including the big 94 yarder for a touchdown in the third quarter that put Watauga ahead for good. On defense Jordan Pineda had a big game, racking up 11 tackles, including 4 solo and 6 for loss totaling 23 yards, he had two sacks and two quarterback hurries. Congratulations to our MTN Pioneers of the Week, Jordan Pineda and Trey Kavanaugh. Friday night the Watauga Pioneers are also on the road, at Alexander Central. 

Watauga Lady Pioneer tennis fell to TC Roberson in the first round of the 4A state dual team playoffs Tuesday. Roberson won in straight sets over Watauga. The coaches decided that if doubles competition had no bearing on the outcome of the match that they would not play those matches. Since it only takes 5 wins to secure a match the two teams did not play doubles. Once again the top 3 matches were very tough, competitive matches. Shannon Herndon and Laura Gulliver both pushed their competitors to three sets, but could not get the wins. 

Hickory held off a late Watauga rally to defeat the Lady Pioneers 3 games to none in volleyball Tuesday night to clinch the Northwestern Conference crown. The Tornadoes won the first game 25-23, then cruised to a 25-17 win in game two. Watauga pushed Hickory in the third set but could not get over the top and fell 25-22. Hannah Stewart had the most success against Hickory's defense by landing 10 kills. Nicole Tesh and Maddi Bakken each had five kills. Skylar Hicks totaled 19 digs while Stewart and Bailey Hagaman each had 8. The Pioneers are 19-3 overall, 9-2 in the conference, and have already clinched the top 4-A seed from the conference and will open state playoffs Saturday at home. Watauga closes out the season hosting St. Stephens Wednesday for Senior Night. The Watauga JVs were 2-0 winners, downing Hickory 25-18 and 25-5. The JV team can finish the season undefeated with a win Wednesday. 

Avery volleyball played at Mitchell Tuesday night, and the JV squad started things off with a three set win. The Lady Viking Varsity squad followed with a 3-1 win over the Lady Mountaineers, taking the first set 25-14, but slipping in the second by a 25-21 score. But Avery came back strong to get the third set 25-13 and clinched the match with a 25-16 fourth set win. The Lady Vikings could be hosting West Wilkes in a first round state playoff match Saturday. Brackets are still to be released.

Hannah Yates fired an 18-hole round of 108 to lead Watauga's trio of golfers in the state 4-A Western Regional tournament held at Cedar Rock Country Club Monday, good enough for 38th place. Jenna Green shot a 112, putting her in 46th place, and Abby Shaki shot a 115, good for 49th overall. Watauga finished in 12th place overall in the team competition.

Watauga mens soccer fell to Fred T. Forad 3-1 Monday. The Pioneers are 4-12-1 overall and only 2-7 in the Northwestern conference, but they could still clinch a tie for the top 4-A seed in the state playoffs with a victory over Alexnader Central Wednesday at Jack Groce Stadium. 

(Photo by Phillip Greene)

The Avery Lady Vikings won Western Highlands Conference championships in both singles and doubles tennis Thursday at Gardner-Webb University. Anna Melton won the Singles Championship, Morgan Stout and Lauren Avery took the Doubles Championship. Avery received a bye in state team competition, and will return to action to continue postseason play on October 27th.

Avery Lady Viking volleyball hosted their final home match of the season Thursday, falling to Mountain Heritage in straight sets, 3-0. Avery closes the season Tuesday at Mitchell.

The Avery Viking mens soccer team got another big win Monday night, this time over Polk County, one of the top teams in the Western Highlands conference. Daniel Lusk scored the first goal for the Vikings to put Avery ahead 1-0, and that lead held through the first half. In the second half the Vikings struck again when Kyle Griewisch scored the Vikings second goal of the night, and that would prove to be enough, as Morgan Bound recorded his third straight shutout in goal. The Vikings came into the game ranked 9th in the state, and this win improves their record to 11-5-2. Avery goes on the road Wednesday to take on Madison and will return to Newland next Monday to host Mountain Heritage at 6pm for senior night.

The Ashe Huskies women's tennis team made history at Wilkes Central High School by taking home the Mountain Valley Athletic Conference Doubles Championship for the fifth consecutive season. Juniors Courtney Bowers and Lizzie Hanes took home the doubles title after defeating Chelsey Abernethy and Rachel Rigoti of Wilkes Central. Amanda Tugman and Haley Maloney fell in the first round of doubles play, and in singles Sierra Wilson won her first round match but came up short in the second round. Courtny Bowers and Lizzie Hanes overall record is 13-3, and they will now move on, for the second time, to compete in Regional's at Catawba College in Salisbury this weekend. 

After the Mountaineers come-from-behind win over Wofford Saturday, several players recieved weekly honors. Quarterback Armanti Edwards highlights Appalachian's honorees as the SoCon Offensive Player of the Week and The Sports Network's National Offensive Player of the Week. Edwards completed 27-of-34 passes for 415 yards and two touchdowns, the second-most passing yards in school history, just behind his 433 from last year's playoff win over South Carolina State. In addition to his two touchdown passes, he also scored on a three yard play as the first half ended. Mountaineer defensive back Mark LeGree was honored as the Southern Conference Defensive Player of the week, getting his first two interceptions of the season to key an ASU defense that didn't surrender any points over the final 27:22 of the ballgame. His first interception of the season was one of the most important of his career, picking off a pass at the ASU 12 yard line with Wofford up 34-20, stopping a Terrier scoring opportunity that could have put the game out of reach. Instead, 4 plays later the Apps scored to pull to within a touchdown. The junior added a second pickoff in the waning seconds of the game to end any Wofford hopes of a comeback, plus he had a team high 9 tackles. LeGree is tied for third among all active FCS players and tops among non-seniors with 12 career interceptions, including a national-best 10 last season. Finally, Jason Vitaris recieved the SoCon's Special Teams Player of the Week honors, after making 3-of-4 field-goal attempts against Wofford, including a career-long 49-yarder that cut the Mountaineers' deficit to four points in the fourth quarter. The national recognition from The Sports Network is the fifth of Edwards' career while the SoCon awards are the 12th for Edwards and the second for LeGree. Vitaris is the first Mountaineer to be named the SoCon Special Teams Player of the Week since the award's inception in 2007. The only weekly award the Apps didn't get was Freshman of the Week, that went to Dion Wilson of Western Carolina. The winner of four-straight games, the 8th ranked Mountaineers host Georgia Southern on Black Saturday at the Rock, kick off a 3pm. 

ASU mens Cross Country placed third in Friday's Blue Ridge open, but slipped to 13th in the Southeast Regional Rankings. Sophomore Sean Soderman led the way at the Blue Ridge, placing 10th overall out of 154 runners. Senior Josh Houser placed 13th. The ASU womens placed fourth out of 15 teams, with freshman Brittney Caudle leading the Mountaineer women with a fourth place finish, Junior Dani Reese was the next highest finisher for the Apps at 38th. The Mountaineers will be off until October 31, when they travel to Elon for the SoCon Championships. The men will be going for their fifth consecutive SoCon title.

College of Charleston scored a goal with less than a minute to go in each half to pick up a 2-1 win over ASU women's soccer Sunday afternoon in Boone. Sydney Hill knock a rebound off the right post into the net to give ASU an early 1-0 lead, but that would be all the scoring for the Mountaineers, who outshot CofC 8-7 in the first half but the Cougars finished with a 20-14 advantage and a 7-1 lead in corners. ASU drops to 5-8-1 overall and 2-4-1 in the SoCon. The Apps finish the season on the road, starting at Wofford on Thursday at 6 p.m.

Appalachian State field hockey dropped a non-conference match to Towson Sunday, by a 3-0 score. Towson scored all three goals in the first half, while the Apps struggled to generate any offensive momentum in the game, posting only two shots in the first half and one in the second. Sophomore goalkeeper Bridgette Street had seven saves on the day to bring her season total to 166, which ranks 10th all-time in single season saves in school history. Appalachian returns to action next Saturday, travelling to Davidson in NoPac action.     

ASU volleyball fell behind 1-0, but reeled off three straight set wins to hand Wofford a 3-1 defeat Saturday evening, capping off the Apps four match homestand.With the win, the Mountaineers improve to 9-13 overall and 5-3 in the SoCon. Appalachian returns to action this Saturday at Georgia Southern.

Hibriten scored touchdowns on five of their first six possessions in their 55-21 victory over the Pioneers Friday at Jeff Storie Memorial Stadium. Watauga actually led 7-6 following a Logan Smith 9-yard touchdown run, but Hibriten regained the lead shortly thereafter and stretched it out to 34-7 at the half. For the game, The Panthers only had to punt once, that in the second half, and the only time Watauga kept them out of the end zone in the first half was when Tanner Wilson recovered a fumble in the second quarter. Watauga totaled 301 yards of offense, getting 181 rushing yards on 38 carries, and 120 yards through the air, not bad numbers. Watauga played pretty well, but it was the mistakes that did them in. The Pioneers had five turnovers in the game, three fumbles and two interceptions, and Hibriten took advantage to put points on the board. Devan Corum was 5 for 10 in the passing game for 108 yards, and had 14 carries for 36 yards including the Pioneers second touchdown on a three yard run in the third quarter. Baker Stanley finished with 77 yards on 10 carries, including the Pioneers last score, a 1-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter that capped a 77 yard, 10 play drive. But as a result of the turnovers, the Panthers rolled up 499 yards in total offense, 306 of them in a first half. The win keeps Hibriten undefeated at 7-0, 3-0 in the Northwestern Conference, and the Pioneers fall to 4-3 overall, and are 1-1 in conference play, and will have to beat Alexander Central in two weeks and will have to rely on some other team beating Hibriten to get the No. 1 seed in the 4-A playoffs. Watauga will host Fred T. Foard for homecoming this Friday night.
-The 4A portion of the women's tennis Northwest conference tournament scheduled to be played at South Caldwell Monday was rained out and rescheduled for Tuesday at 2:00. Pioneer Men's soccer at South Caldwell is also postponed to Tuesday at 5pm and the Lady Pioneer golf is postponed, make up date will be announced later.

The Avery Vikings also faced an undefeated team Friday night, the Hendersonville Bearcats, and they showed their power early in the contest, with a 35-yard touchdown run by quarterback Ben Walgenbach for an early 7-0 lead. Not only was their offense powerful, their special teams racked up points as well, Desmond Whiteside fielded a long punt at the 18-yard line, and broke free down the sideline for an 82-yard touchdown return. Later in the first half, Hendersonville return man Daniel Orr took his shot, when he fielded a punt that rolled back to the Hendersonville 30 and took it back 70 yards for a touchdown. The Vikings also had trouble holding on to the football, turning it over four times, two fumbles and two inteceptions. Hendersonville was turned away on one drive by an Avery goal-line stand inside the red zone, but the Bearcats managed to score a pair of touchdowns, capitalizing on VIking turnovers to extend their lead to a commanding 33-0 margin at halftime. In the second half Avery, in the pouring rain, The Vikings prevented the shutout as quarterback Alex Villanueva got a 36-yard touchdown run early in the third quarter. Villanueva accounted for 50 yards rushing during the 5-play 68-yard scoring drive, cutting the Bearcats lead to 33-7. Hendersonville answered with a long drive that ended with the final touchdown of the game, and the Bearcats win 40-7. Avery falls to 4-3 on the season, with a 2-1 mark in conference play. The Vikings host Polk County Friday night.

The Ashe Huskies got a big win at home Friday night, knocking off North Wilkes 53-0.
The Huskies now own a 2-5 record.
Ashe travels to Alleghany Friday night. 

In other games-
In the Northwestern Conference:
Alexander Central 24, Hickory 20
Newton Foard 24, St. Stephens 17

In Western Higland Conference games:
Polk County 29, Mitchell County 0
Madison 49, Thomas Jefferson 0
Mountain Heritage 44, Owen 7

In the Mountain Valley 2A/1A:
East Wilkes 50, Alleghany 22
Wilkes Central 59, Forbush 28
Elkin 43, West Wilkes 20

In the Northwest 2-A/1-A:
East Surry 9, Bishop McGuinness 7
Mount Airy 54, North Stokes 0
North Surry 60, South Stokes 21
West Stokes 46, Surry Central 21

And other games from Friday:
Bandys 41, West Caldwell 9
R-S Central 38, Morganton Freedom 7
Erwin 58, McDowell  35 

The ASU Mountaineers celebrated homecoming with what became a lopsided victory over North Carolina Central Saturday at Kidd Brewer Stadium. However, once again, the Mountaineers had to overcome a sluggish start to post the dominating win. ASU wasted little time in grabbing a 7-0 first quarter lead, as Devon Moore scored on a 73-yard run on the Mountaineers' fourth play from scrimmage, but the Apps had two turnovers on their next two possessions, including Armanti Edwards's first interception in 85 passes, and a fumble by Devan Moore. Both turnovers left Central with short yardage and they scored two quick toucdowns, and the Apps were behind, 14-7. But from the second quarter on, however, it was all Appalachian. The Mountaineers scored on eight of their final nine possessions, driving at least 53 yards on all nine series, and out-gained the Eagles, 574-130, over the final three periods. Central ended with 186 yards passing, but only totaled 5 yards rushing, as a team, in the game. ASU finished the day with a whopping 644 yards of total offense. The Mountaineers didn't punt in 12 possessions on the afternoon and scored 17 points in the second quarter, 10 in the third and 21 in the fourth to turn the early scare into a big win. Moore led the way with his third 100-yard plus performance of the season, totaling 124 yards on the day, most of it on that early touchdown run, and on Monday was award the SoCon offensive player of the week honor. Edwards turned in his usual terrific day with 334 yards of total offense, including 237 on 17-of-29 passing and 97 on 10 rushes. His top receiver, Matt Cline, set career highs with eight catches for 107 yards, his first career 100-yard performance. On defense, Jacque Roman had 8 tackles, D.J. Smith had 7, and Malcolm Bennett and Lanston Tanyi each registered one of ASU's three sacks. 

Avery Lady Viking tennis easily handled the Hendersonville Lady Bearcats on Senior Night at Lees-McRae College Tuesday afternoon, winning the match by a 7-2 score. Avery continued its streak of strong play, winning five singles matches and a pair of doubles matches to secure the conference win and improve to a 6-2 record on the season. Avery hosts Mountain Heritage Thursday at Lees-McRae. Avery girls golf competed against Mountain Heritage and Owen Tuesday in a conference match at Mountain Glen Golf Club in Newland. The teams faced tough conditions as wind and rain were issues late in the match. The Vikings finished third overall, and leading the way for the Lady Vikngs was freshman Arden Stanley, who shot 113 for the 18-hole round. Avery hosts another match Thursday at Sugar Mountain Golf Club.

Friday night football will see the Avery Vikings travel to Hendersonville to take on the undefeated Bearcats on Dietz Field. Both teams shut out their opponents last week, the Vikings winning 51-0 over Thomas Jefferson in Newland, and the Bearcats taking a 28-0 win over Madison on the road. The Vikings are 4-2 overall but have one their last three game, and both teams are 2-0 in conference play.
-The Watauga Pioneers will be on the road in Lenoir to take on Hibriten. Hibriten is undefeated at 6-0 overall and 2-0 in conference play, coming off a 27-7 win over St.Stephens last week.
-The Ashe Huskies hope to find a win at home this week, hosting North Wilkes. The Huskies came very close last week against West Wilkes, only to lose by a point. The Huskies have lost two game this season in the final minute of play. North Wilkes has had a tough season as well, their only win was against Forbush in a forfeit. The Ashe vs North Wilkes game will be the MTN Game of the Week for this weekend and you'll be able to watch it both Saturday and Sunday beginning at 5:30 each evening, with Len Murphy and Terry Smith calling the action. Thats Ashe vs North Wilkes from West Jefferson, Saturday and Sunday beginning at 5:30pm.
Our other game this weekend is the ASU vs NC Central game, homecoming for the Mountaineers, and we will air that game on Saturday and Sunday nights, beginning both nights at 8:30, again with Len Murphy and Terry Smith. Lots of football on MTN this weekend, don't miss it. 

ASU linebacker D.J. Smith has been named the Southern Conference Defensive Player of the Month. Smith earned the honor on the strength of 39 tackles in three games, which tied for sixth nationally through the first month of the season. Amoung those 39 were a career-high 17 tackles, a sack, one-and-a-half tackles for loss, two pass break-ups and two quarterback hurries in the Mountaineers 20-7 win over Samford on Sept. 26. This the second Player of the Month award in Smith's career, he won as a freshman in November 2007. 

Wofford coach Mike Ayers has announced that running back Eric Breitenstein will miss the remainder of the season with a knee injury. The former Watauga Pioneer injured his knee two weeks back in a game against Charleston Southern. Breitenstein will take a medical red-shirt. He had racked up 187 yards in less than two games, and scored three touchdowns, was averaging nearly seven-yard-per-carry before the injury. The Terriers have a bye this week, and will host the Mountaineers next Saturday.

Appalachian State field hockey dropped a NorPac conference matchup Wednesday night, falling 4-1 to the Radford Highlanders. Radford broke open a 1-1 game at the break with three unanswered second half goals, dropping the Mountaineers to 1-1 in NorPac play (6-7 overall).

It was the Highlanders who drew first blood in this key conference matchup as Courtney Poole connected for the first time this season in the eighth minute to put the Apps in an early 1-0 hole. Appalachian battled back to tie the game in the 17th minute, as senior Jessie Harris scored her fifth goal of the '09 season. Harris' goal would be the last action of the first half as both teams struggled to generate an offensive attack and headed to the intermission knotted at one all. The second half proved to be a different story as Radford's offense kicked into high gear, outscoring the Mountaineers 3-0 to move to 6-6 on the season. Marlee Schram connected twice in the second half, including once on a penalty stroke in the 67th minute to lead the Highlander attack. Sophomore goalkeeper Bridgette Street posted 11 saves on the day to bring her season total to 139. Appalachian will return to action Saturday, when they travel to Farmville, Va. take on Longwood in a NorPac conference game slated for 2 p.m.

ASU Cross country has recieved accolades from the Southern Conference. Senior Phil Mitchell is the Men's Runner of the Week after finishing 14th out of 362 runners in the Paul Short Run Saturday at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania. His time of 23:56 on the 8K course bested the previous school record by 25 seconds. As a team, the men finished 13 out of 42 teams. The Mountaineer men moved up two spots to 11th in the latest USTFCCA Southeast Regional poll.
Freshman Brittney Caudle was named SoCon Runner of the Month, after beginning her career with a third place finish in the Covered Bridge Open in Boone, the third fastest 5k in school history by a freshman, and followed that with first-place at the Mountaineer Open, posting the 10th fastest 5k in school history. She was named SoCon runner of the Week twice in September. The ASU Cross Country Teams will host the Blue Ridge Open October 16th at the Don Kennedy Trail in Boone. 

Lees-McRae Bobcats men's soccer is second in the NCAA and first in the Southeast Region, and they are also in the top ten of ten NCAA statistical categories. The Bobcats have single individuals ranked in the top ten in six of the nine categories and are ranked in the top ten of four of the six team categories. Richard Guffens is tied for first with seven assists in nine games, tied for 11th with five assists in eight games, Sean Paradise is ranked ninth in goals against average and fourth in save percentage, Berin Boracic is ranked eighth in goals per game and ninth in points per game, Jamie Price is tied for first with three assists in a single game, while as a team, the Bobcats rank eighth in scoring offense, eighth in goals against per game, sixth in save percentage, and tied for first in winning percentage. That last one due to the fact that the Bobcats are one of two teams that haven't suffered a loss or a tie this season. The number two ranking ties the school's highest ranking.
And lets not forget the women. Lady Bobcats are ranked in the top 50 in three individual and one team category. Midfielder Vickie Rich is ranked 13th in goals per game, 19th in points per game, and tied for third in goals in a single game. Aerial Gregston also had three goals in a game, and is also tied for third with eight points in a single game. As a team, the Bobcats rank 39th in scoring offense.

MTN presents our High School Football Players of the Week. This week's Ugly Mugg Avery Viking of the week honors are again shared between two players, E.J.Shoupe and Trent Mitchell. E.J.Shoupe had five tackles in Friday night's win over Thomas Jefferson, including 4 solo tackles, 2 sacks and one forced fumble. His tackles for loss totaled 24 yards. Our other Viking of the week is Trent Mitchell. Trent got things started for the Vikings on the opening kickoff, which he returned 79 yards for touchdown. He also had a solo tackle and an assist on defense. Congratulations to E.J.Shoupe and Trent Mitchell, our Ugly Mugg Avery Vikings of the Week.

The MTN Watauga Pioneer of the Week award is also shared this week, going to Robbie Sherrill and Baker Stanley. Robbie Sherrill had 11 tackles in the Pioneers win over South Caldwell, 4 were solo and 7 were assisted, including a sack for a seven yard loss. Our other honoree, Baker Stanley, had three carries for 24 yards, not big numbers, but one of those runs was for a touchdown in the third quarter that put Watauga ahead 14-7. He also had two kickoff returns for 22 yards, plus six tackles on defense, three solo and three assisted, including an 8 yard sack. Congratulations to Robbie Sherrill and Baker Stanley, out MTN Watauga Pioneers of the Week.

The Avery Middle School Panthers football team traveled to Yancey County to play in the Toe River Conference Semi-Final Play-offs on Tuesday. Avery, the number 2 seed, faced the undefeated East Yancey Panthers. Early in the game, the offenses for both teams were firing on all cylinders. East Yancey took the opening kick-off and only needed a minute and a half to get into the end zone. Their 2-point conversion pass gave them an early 8-0 lead. Avery was ready for the challenge, though, and came straight back on their first possession, moving the football 70 yards on a time-consuming drive that used up most of the first quarter. Avery running back Chase Buchanan was the workhorse in the drive, carrying the football time and again into the teeth of the hard-hitting East Yancey defenders, but Chase gave as good as he got, and he continued to find a way to get first down after first down for Avery. Facing a 3rd down from the 8 yard line, Avery coach Donnie Johnson shifted Chase out to the slot receiver position, and Avery quarterback Ty Polsgrove found Chase in the left corner of the end zone where Chase made a great catch to put Avery on the scoreboard. On the 2-point conversion attempt, Polsgrove ran around the left side and dove across the goal line to bring Avery even at 8-8.  But East Yancey answered straight back, scoring on a 50 yard touchdown run down the left sideline for a 14-8 lead. East Yancey completed the 2-point conversion pass in the left corner of the end zone, and Avery trailed 16-8. However, Avery was not going to go quietly, and their offense came right back on their second possession. Avery Head Coach Donnie Johnson came up with a mastermind play as he saw a weakness in the East Yancey defense against Avery's three wide receiver trips offensive set. Johnson sent his quarterback Polsgrove on a quarterback sweep to the 3 receiver side, and 60 yards later Polsgrove was in the end zone to bring Avery within 2 points. Polsgrove's pass was tipped away and East Yancey held onto the lead 16-14.  On East Yancey's 3rd offensive drive, the Avery defensive players began to figure them out, and Avery forced 2 fumbles, recovering both of them, but the referee ruled the East Yancey runner down on both occasions and so East Yancey kept possession.  Avery also forced East Yancey into two 4th down and long situations on the drive, but East Yancey came up with 2 big plays, the second on a 4th down and 8 situation on a touchdown pass into the right corner of the end zone. The 2-point conversion failed, and so East Yancey went into halftime with a 22-14 one touchdown lead. Avery came out ready to create an upset in the 3rd quarter, but the East Yancey defense began to shut down the Avery running game, and their blitzes did not give enough time for Avery to pass the football. The Avery defense came up with a fumble recovery at the start of the 4th quarter to stop an East Yancey drive, and were still in striking position as they only trailed by two scores, but on the next play East Yancey intercepted an Avery pass and ran it back for a touchdown. East Yancey scored again late in the game, and although Avery continued to move the ball and battle hard throughout the entire game, East Yancey held on to win. East Yancey moves on to the Tri-County Bowl next week to face Harris Middle School in Spruce Pine. Harris defeated Cane River 20-6 in the other semi-final. As Avery reflects back upon their 2009 season, they can be very proud of their accomplishments with a 2nd place finish in the Conference. They can also be proud of the fact that even as their season was ending on Tuesday against East Yancey, they kept battling as hard as they could until the final whistle. With that winning attitude, they have some bright high school football futures ahead of them.  

Lees-McRae Mens soccer is now ranked second in the nation, and still first in the southest region. The Bobcat men cruised past Belmont Abbey 3-0 Tuesday to remain undefeated. Berin Boracic was involved in all three Bobcat goals. Boracic, who is 8th in the nation in points per game and goals per game, scored in the 11th minute to put the Bobcats on the board, he got a pass off to Luke Perry for the second goal in the 24th minute. Richard Guffens took a Boracic pass and scored the final goal of the match at the 30 minute mark. Sean Paradise earned the win in goal with one save on the night. The Bobcats improve to 10-0 overall, 6-0 in the conference.
It was not a happy ending for Lady Bobcat soccer. In a battle between the top two teams in the conference, The Lady Bobcats fell to Belmont Abbey 4-2. Jessica O'Leary got the first Bobcat goal, Mary Beth Novak scored the second on a free kick, but could get no more, and the Lady Bobcats fall to
6-5 overall, 4-2 in Conference Carolinas play. Both Bobcat soccer teams travel to Anderson Saturday.

Lady Bobcat volleyball defeated Tusculum 3-1 Tuesday. Whitney Justcie finished the match with 18 kills, 5 blocks and a point 45 hitting percentage. Kay Marie Legg had 10 kills, Luana Rocha totale3d a match high 17 digs, and Megan Mitchell had the double double, with 38 assists and 11 digs. The Lady Bobcats improve to 14-4 and is riding a four-match winning streak, and have won 10 of their last 11 outings. They'll host Converse on Thursday night at Williams Gym. 

High Country Soccer Association  U14 girls hosted the HSA Storm of  Hendersonville Saturday  and dominated the run of play and kept their undefeated record intact with a 2-0 victory. The U14 Girls are now 7-0-0 overall and 3-0-0 in league play.  The Lady Avalanche U17 team beat the previously unbeaten Charlotte Soccer Academy Mundial '92 team. Mary Chesnut Smith (Avery) put a long throw in near the goal where Kebrina Keys (Ashe) chipped the ball over the retreating keeper. Charlotte tied in the 52nd minute, but then In the 63rd minute, Bethany Miller (Watauga) took a free kick and forward Hallie Hilliard (Caldwell) took it in and got a high shot through the keeper's fingers. Two minutes later, Keys got an insurance goal to make the score 3 - 1.  CSA scored on a free kick but the final score was 3-2 Avalanche.  The U18 Girls hosted the Yadkinville  Scream and came out of the evenly-contested match on top with a hard fought 2-1 victory. Sydney Atkinson and Carrie Winkler, both of Watauga, got the goals for the home team. On Sunday, the U16 Lady Avalanche got the 3-0 shutout of the Lady Cobras from Cleveland County.  Kendyl Baird scored two goals, Skylar Hicks got the third one. The U14 Boys Boys hosted the Charlotte Soccer Academy (CSA Samba). After a frustrating first half, HCSA put together a strong possession-based performance in the second half to come away with a 2-0 win. Miguel Ramos of Ashe and Logan Raichle of Watauga got the goals, Watauga's Jeff Caldwell got his second shutout in goal. The U14 Boys are now 5-4-0 overall and 3-2-0 in league play, which puts them in third place.  For this weekend's schedule, visit hcavalanche.org.

Homecoming at Lees-McRae this past weekend was good for the now 3rd ranked Bobcat mens soccer team, as they shut down St Andrews 4-0 Saturday. Dale Parker scored the first goal in the 22nd minute, David Palmer got his first of the day in the 34th minute to give the Bobcats a 2-0 lead. Luke Perry scored 5 minutes into the second half and then Palmer scored his second of the day at the 58:40 mark to make it 4-0 Bobcats. Sean Paradise earned the win in goal on three saves. With the win, the Bobcats remain perfect at 9-0 on the season and 5-0 in the conference.
Vickie Rich notched two early goals to set the tone and the Lady Bobcats soccer team went on to a 5-0 shutout of St Andrews in the earlier game Saturday. Emily Jones, Brook Santerre, Aerial Gregston scored the other goals for LMC. Brittany Bolton earned her 4th shutout of the season. The Lady Bobcats improve to 6-4 overall, 3-1 in Conference Carolinas play. Both Bobcat teams host Belmont Abbey Tuesday evening, we'll have results Wednesday night on MTN.
-Megan Epperson had a match-high 13 kills and Luana Rocha had a match-high 22 digs to lead the Lady Bobcats to a 3-0 volleyball victory over Erskine on Satuday in Banner Elk. With the win, Lees-McRae improves to 13-4 overall and 8-1 in the conference. They are at Tusculom Tuesday evening. 

ASU women's soccer struck first but couldn't hang on, falling in overtime, 2-1 Friday night against the Mocs in Chattanooga. Chattanooga scored three minutes into overtime to take the win. Appalachian then moved on to Birmingham to take on Samford on Sunday, and had an even more difficult time against the Bulldogs, falling 4-0. Samford came out strong scoring three goals in the first half. ASU drops to 5-6-1 overall and 2-2 in conference play, and will host the Phoenix of Elon Thursday night at 7.
-Mountaineer mens soccer fell to Elon 1-0 Saturday night in Burlington. Appalachian managed just six shots in the game, two from Arie Muniz. With the loss, the Apps fall to 3-6-1 overall and 0-2 in the SoCon. The Mountaineers next match is at home Sunday against Furman at 2 p.m.
-Appalachian field hockey a 2-1 win in overtime against UC-Davis Friday night in Davidson. ASU's Christine Zanowicz scored the first goal, and Jessie Harris scored in overtime to give the Apps the win. But then the Mountaineers three game win streak ended Sunday, as the fell to 4th ranked Wake Forest 6-0. Appalachian moves to 6-6 on the season, they are 2-0 in NorPac conference play, and return to conference action Wednesday in Radford Virginia against the Highlanders.
-Three Mountaineers posted top-15 finishes and ASU mens golf took third place at the Mission Inn Intercollegiate in Orlando Florida over the weekend. Casey Johnson tied for second place by finishing with a 1 under 212. Dustin Hudson and Lance Wheeler tied for 15th individually. Florida Gulf Coast took the team title. The Mountaineers play next Monday at the Davidson College Invitational at River Run Country Club.

Mountaineer football moved up one place in the Sports Network Top 25 poll after the 30-27 overtime win against the Citadel. Richmond is still the top team in the poll, Villanova is second after beating then 5th ranked William and Mary, who fell to eighth. No. 3 is Northern Iowa, No. 4 Montana, and No. 5 New Hampshire. Southern Illinois moved to No. 6, McNeese State moves up to No. 7, William and Mary now 8th and the Apps at number 9. (10th in Coaches' Poll) Elon moved to number 10 with their win over Furman. Central Arkansas came up to 11th,  Massachusetts moved up to 12, James Madison fell from 7th to 13th, Eastern Washington moved from 17 to 14. Cal Poly is now 15th, Eastern Kentucky is up to 16, South Carolina State drops to 17, Jacksonville State moves from 20th to 18th, number 19 is Holy Cross, South Dakota State is 20th. The last five are Weber State, Florida A&M, Colgate, Montana State and Eastern Illinois. 

Watauga Pioneer mens soccer came up short against St Stephens Monday, falling 6-2. The Pioneer JV also fell by a 2-1 score.
-Lady Pioneer tennis were shut out for the first time the season, falling to TC Roberson 9-0. Shannon Herndon took Maya Blue Stauffer-McDowell to a 3rd set tiebreaker before falling 10-8 in the 3rd set. Hannah Petersen played much better at #2 falling 6-4, 6-4 to Lauren Vaughn, who she lost to last month by a 6-1, 6-1 score. Laura Gulliver lost her 1st match of the year in a tough 3rd set tiebreaker. Laura Gulliver and Katelin Fox fell in a close doubles match at number 2, losing 8-6 to Maya Blue Stauffer-Mcdowell and Syndney Hedberg, but played much better as those two beat Gulliver and Fox 8-0 at that slot the last time. So some improved play against one of the best teams out there, but unfortunately a loss for the Lady Pioneers, who fall to 11-2 on the season overall, but remain a perfect 10-0 in Northwest Conference action.
-Lady Pioneer Golf brought home their fourth consecutive match win Monday at Cedar Rock Country Club in Lenoir. The Pioneers bested the field with a team score of 159 which was 2 strokes better than second place Alexander Central. The win assures the Pioneers of their first Conference Championship in 8 years. Individually, Lauren Robertson continued her roll through conference by firing a 40, 8 strokes better than Alexander's Noelle Gwaltney.  The Pioneers' top finisher was Abby Shaki, who continued her solid and improved play. She finished with a 52 which was good enough for a tie for third place. Hannah Yates finished in 6th place with a 53 and Jenna Green finished in 7th place with a 54. Carrie Hayes did not play due to injury. 

The Watauga Pioneers took their first Northwestern Conference win beating South Caldwell 20-15 Friday night at Jack Groce Stadium. The Pioneers defense allowed only 196 total yards to the Spartans, and only 69 in the air. Watauga gained 289 yards of total offense, including 196 on the ground. Logan Smith gained 96 of those yards on 16 carries, including a 9 yard touchdown run in the first quarter that put Watauga up 7-0. South Caldwell got on the board in the second quarter after an 11-play, 60-yard drive that ened on a Cody Reid 4-yard run, and the score was tied at 7-all. In the third quarter, the Pioneers struck again, with a nine play, 69 yard drive that culminated with a Baker Stanley 4 yard touchdown run and Watauga led 14-7. Later, South Caldwell got a safety on a Pioneer punt play, the snap went over Mo Gore's head, he fell on the ball in the endzone, and the score was Watauga 14 South Caldwell 9. The Pioneers put it away with a big drive of 94 yards, only four plays long, that featured quarterback Devan Corum and reciever Travis Oliver on two big plays. One was a 47 yard pass completion that also included a facemask penalty that gave the Pioneers a first down at the Spartan 32 yard line. Two plays later, Corum again hit Oliver for a 24 yard touchdown pass, the extra point missed, and Watauga stretched the lead to 20-9. The Spartans scored late in the fourth quarter on quarterback Caleb Suddreth's 2 yard touchdown run, but failed on the two point conversion, final score 20-15. On defense Robbie Sherrill led the Pioneers with 11 tackles and a quarterback sack, Jordan Pineda had 9 tackles, and two quarterback sacks. Watauga wins its first conference game and improves to 4-2 overall, and head to Lenoir next week to take on Hibriten. 

The Avery Vikings played Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy in Newland Friday night and it was all Avery as the Vikings downed the Gryphons 51-0. Things started early for the Vikings, Trent Mitchell returned the opening kickoff 79 yards for a touchdown, and the extra point by Andres Castaned made it 7-0 Vikings. Avery got two points on a safety and led 9-0 with 8:43 to go in the first quarter. Andy Gonzales then caught a 35 yard pass from Alex Villanueva, a one play scoring drive, and with the extra point, Avery led 16-0. The Vikings scored again in the second quarter, Alex Villanueva ran in from six yards out, and its 23-0. Taylor Potter caught a 29 yard pass from Villanueva for a touchdown to put the Vikings up 30-0. And to close out the first half scoring, Villanueva hit Andy Gonzales again for a 13 yard touchdown pass with a minute left in the second and the Vikings led 37-0 at the break. Second half scoring took place in the third quarter and it all belonged to Colton Blackburn, who returned an interception 13 yards for a touchdown and then took a hand off on first and 10 at the Vikings 9 yard line and ran it 91 yards for the final Avery touchdown. The Vikings had 172 yards rushing and 126 passing, the Gryphons totaled 56 yards in the air, but the Viking defense held them to negative yards rushing. Colton Blackburn had 2 carries for 102 yards and 1 touchdown, Nathaniel Buchanan had five carries for 50 yards. Alex Villanueva had 6 completions on 8 attempts, and 3 touchdowns.  E.J. Shoupe finished with 5 total tackles and 2 sacks, to lead an Avery defense that totaled 10 tackles for loss of 66 yards. Next week, the Vikings travel to Hendersonville.

The Ashe Huskies got close but could not get the win over West Wilkes Friday night, falling 28-27 in Millers Creek. For the second time in the past three games, the Huskies have lost in the final ten seconds. The Huskies mounted a furious comeback after trailing 21-0 late in the second quarter. Fred Blanks scored with 1:48 to go in the second, and Jeren Holman returned the second half opening kickoff 84 yards for a touchdown, and Ashe was within striking distance. Holman scored again on a one yard run that capped a 53 yard drive with 7 and a half minutes to go and the score was tied at 21-all. The Huskies took their only lead of the night with 2:55 left when Dalton Lewis connected with Greyson Wells a 55-yard touchdown catch and the Huskies were on top 27-21 with less than three minutes left. It looked good for the Huskies who had put up 27 unanswered points but the Blackhawks were not done, quarterback Logan Hallock had a 46-yard rush to move the Blackhawks to the Huskies' four yard line with 1:11 remaining, then tossed a touchdown pass to Andrew Adams and the extra point gave West Wilkes the one point win, 28-27. Aaron Scott led the Huskies running game with 82 yards on 13 carries. Jeren Holman finished with 72 yards on 17 carries with two touchdowns. Dalton Lewis connected on three of seven passes for 105 yards and a touchdown. The Huskies host North Wilkes Friday night for Homecoming.

In other Northwestern conference action Friday night:
Hibriten beat St. Stephens 34-13
Hickory over Fred T Foard 28-20
Western Higlands Conference games:
Owen defeated Mitchell 35-28
Hendersonville over Madison 28-0
Mountain Heritage downed Polk 21-7
In Mountain Valley conference games:
Alleghany downed Forbush 19-6
East Wilkes over North Wilkes 41-12
Starmount defeated Elkin 42-12
In the Northwest 2-A/1-A:
East Surry over West Stokes 17-12
Mount Airy beat Surry Central 47-20
North Stokes defeated North Surry 58-14
Elsewhere:
Maiden downed West Caldwell 21-7
McDowell over North Buncombe 26-6
East Burke over Draughn 32-0

It was in doubt late, but the 10th ranked ASU Mountaineers got a 30-27 win in overtime against The Citadel Saturday in Charleston. Appalachian trailed 13-7 at halftime as The Citadel limited the Apps to just three possessions in the first two quarters by controlling the ball for 18:15 in the first half, and the Apps made three first half trips inside the Bulldogs' 10 yard line and only had seven points to show for it, thanks to a mishandled snap on a 25-yard field-goal attempt and a 26-yarder that went wide right. Appalachian got some momentum when it scored on its first two possessions of the second half - a one-yard touchdown run by Edwards and a 44-yard field goal by Vitaris - to take a 17-13 lead. The Mountaineers carried the four-point advantage into the fourth quarter but on the third play of the final period, The Citadel's Van Dyke Jones burst down the right sideline for a 69-yard touchdown that gave the Bulldogs a 20-17 lead. ASU drew even again with a 30-yard field goal by Vitaris but The Citadel's Kevin Hardy returned the ensuing kickoff 58 yards to the ASU 39, and The Bulldogs went ahead on a 29-yard touchdown pass from Bart Blanchard to Luke Caldwell. Two plays later, the Mountaineers tied the game at 27-all, when Armanti Edwards, who had another big day against the Dogs, found a wide-open Brian Quick for a 74-yard touchdown strike down the right sideline with 4:28 to go. After the teams traded punts, The Citadel had a final chance to win with 21 seconds left in regulation. On third-and-14, Bart Blanchard completed an 11-yard pass to Terrell Dallas to set up a Sam Keeler 53-yard field-goal attempt, and Brian Quick pulled a Corey Lynch out of his pocket and blocked the kick to send the game to overtime. ASU won the overtime coin toss, went on defense first and held The Citadel to five yards on three plays. Keeler hit two field goals earlier in the game but missed wide right on a 37-yard attempt and Appalachian took possession. Cedric Baker began with a 10-yard run to the 15. From there, three-consecutive carries by Devon Moore would set up Jason Vitaris for the 29-yarder straight through the uprights and the Mountaineers were victorious. Despite the wild finish, the story of the game was Armanti Edwards. Superman accounted for 407 of ASU's 478 total yards, getting 327 on 22-of-29 passing, and 80 yards on 10 rushes. He had a hand in all three Mountaineer touchdowns, and surpassed his predecessor, Richie Williams, as ASU's all-time passing leader with 7,857 yards and moved into 10th place in Division I FCS history in total offensive yards. Quick finished with 117 yards on four catches and Moore had 66 yards on 26 carries. Defensively, there are still some issues as ASU gave 373 total yards, but they held The Citadel's passing attack to 40 yards below its season average. D.J. Smith led the defensive effort with 10 tackles, Jabari Fletcher added seven stops, including a sack, and Demery Brewer was in on two of the Apps' three sacks. The Mountaineers host North Carolina Central this Saturday for a Solid Gold Homecoming. 

The Avery Viking women's tennis team came up short to Owen Thursday, falling 5-4 to the Lady Warhorses. Avery recorded singles wins by Hayden Blackburn, Anna Melton and Leah Powell. The doubles team of Blackburn and Melton took the Vikings only doubles win. The Lady Vikings host Hendersonville Tuesday of next week. 

In JV football in Newland Thursday night, the Viking JVs hosted Hampton at McDonald Stadium. The first half of the game was a low scoring affair, as Hampton got on the board first had a 6-0 lead up until halftime, with the Viking JV defense not allowing them any more. But it was a different story in the second half, as Hampton put up 16 points in the second half. Avery's Spencer Blackburn had a ten yard run for touchdown to put the Viking JVs on the scoreboard, but Hampton would allow them nothing further and went on to a 22-6 victory. 

High school Varsity football Friday night will see the Watauga Pioneers open Northwestern Conference play hosting South Caldwell at Jack Groce Stadium. The Pioneers vs the Spartans will be the MTN Game of the Week, and you can watch it all on both Saturday and Sunday evening beginning at 5:30. Len Murphy and Terry Smith will bring you all the action both Saturday and Sunday at 5:30pm. Other Northwestern Conference games - Fred T. Foard is at Hickory, Hibriten plays at St. Stephens.
Watauga JV Football fell to South Caldwell 16-0 Thrusday night. The Pioneer JVs fall to 2-3 on the season.

In Western Highlands Conference action, the 3-2 Avery Vikings host Thomas Jefferson at McDonald Stadium. This game was supposed to be on the Gryphons home turf, but because of lease issues, it is a home game for the Vikings now. Undefeated Hendersonville travels to Madison, Polk County goes to Mountain Heritage, and Mitchell is at Owen.  
And in Tennessee, Cloudland is on the road, travelling to Cosby.

In Mountain Valley Conference games, Ashe is at West Wilkes, Alleghany hosts Forbush, East Wilkes takes the short trip to North Wilkes, Elkin is at Starmount. In Northwest 2A/1A, East Surry at West Stokes, Mount Airy at Surry Central and North Surry at North Stokes. 

Watauga High principal Michael Wyant has announced some personnel changes that come as a result of the resignation of assistant principal Dr. David Kincaid, who has resigned for personal reasons. Jeff Link, Watauga High School athletic director, will become assistant principal, and P.E. teacher and coach Tom Wright will take over the athletic director position, and will also be testing coordinator. Watauga County Schools will interview and hire a PE teacher for the remainder of this school year. Jeff Link and Tom Wright will remain in their current position until an interim PE teacher is found.

The 10th-Ranked Appalachian State Mountaineers head to Charleston South Carolina to try for their 14th straight Southern Conference victory Saturday against the Citadel Bulldogs. It kicks off at 1pm in Johnson-Hagood Stadium. The Apps got off to a tough start this season, but bounced back against Samford, winning 20-7 in Boone. The Citadel, at 2-1 overall, has defeated Princeton 38-7 and downed Presbyterian 46-21 after opening the season with a 40-6 loss to North Carolina. Appalachian has won 14 of its last 15 against The Citadel, including six of the last seven played in Charleston. However, ASU is just 10-8 all-time at Johnson Hagood Stadium. The Mountaineers have scored at least 42 points in each of their last four match-ups with The Citadel and are averaging 38.5 points per game in their last 10 versus the Bulldogs. And for whatever reason, Armanti Edwards seems to have his best career performances against The Citadel. In three career games versus the Bulldogs, Edwards has racked up 953 yards of total offense and is responsible for 12 touchdowns, including last year's 305 total yards and six touchdowns (four passing, two rushing) in ASU's 47-21 win.

This weekend is homecoming weekend at Lees-McRae and Lady Bobcat Volleyball hosts Anderson Friday night at 7 and Erskine at noon on Saturday, while Bobcat men's and women's soccer hosts St. Andrews Saturday. The women go at 2pm and the number 3 men's team plays at 4 at Tate Field. There's also a men's lacrosse alumni game, women's softball alumni game, homecoming parade and dance, class reunions and more. For a full schedule, visit www.lmc.edu.