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by Joel Frady
It was a hard-nosed brand of football that Ashe County Head
Coach Bill Strong instilled into his team for the
2008 season. Like any season, the team saw its share of ups
and downs, but it was the team's determination under pressure
that stands out.
On three separate occasions, Ashe County faced a halftime deficit
against a conference opponent on the road - and three times
the team came back to win, including a jaw-dropping 30-28 win
at Wilkes Central on a 30-yard touchdown as time expired.
The team finished second in the conference, behind only top-ranked
Starmount, and qualified for the playoffs before losing in the
first round.
From the season-opening 56-0 win over West Wilkes to the final
snap of the playoff loss to Bandys, here is a recap of the 2008
Ashe County Huskies football season.
Ashe County 56, West Wilkes 0
After a 30-27 loss to West Wilkes in 2007, the Huskies
were ready for their season-opener. The Huskies scored two quick
touchdowns for a 13-0 lead in the first quarter, then scored
23 points in the last six minutes of the second quarter for
a 36-0 halftime lead.
The Huskies added 20 more points in the second half, amassing
291 rushing yards and 443 total yards in the route.
"I was really pleased with our defense," Strong said
after the game. "They adjusted exactly the way they were
supposed to when West Wilkes gave us different sets."
Ashe County 34, West Caldwell 7
The Huskies' first road game of the 2008 season began as
a defensive match against the West Caldwell Warriors of Lenoir.
Aaron Scott managed a 24-yard rushing touchdown in the first
quarter, which accounted for the 7-9 lead the Huskies held at
halftime.
"I thought we were pretty sloppy, to tell you the truth,"
Coach Bill Strong said of the first half. "We didn't execute
real well offensively."
A different Ashe County team took the field after the break,
as quarterback Daniel Waln connected with Tatum Lemly for a
70-yard touchdown on the first play of the half. Scott scored
his second touchdown of the day minutes later to give the Huskies
a 20-0 lead. They held on for a 34-7 win.
Ashe County 39, Alleghany 19
The Huskies moved to 3-0 with a strong defensive performance
at home against the Alleghany Trojans. The defense held the
Trojans to 156 yards of total offense and forced two picks,
taking some pressure off the offense after the injury of Waln
during practice earlier in the week.
Back-up quarterback Dalton Lewis played well in his first start,
completing 10 of 15 passes for 137 yards and two touchdowns.
One of his touchdown passes, a 59-yard strike to receiver Grayson
Wells, came directly after Alleghany took advantage of an Ashe
County turnover and cut the lead to 13-6. After an Alleghany
safety on the ensuing kickoff, Lewis threw a second touchdown
to Wells for a 29-6 halftime lead.
"Dalton did a fantastic job tonight, and we thought he
would," Strong said. "Everybody had confidence in
him, and we're not the least bit surprised by his performance."
Watauga 27, Ashe County 6
The Huskies were unable to keep their streak alive as they
traveled to Boone to face the rival Watauga Pioneers. The Pioneers
were led by senior Baine Martin, who scored offensive and defensive
touchdowns.
The Ashe County offense started strong, moving 66 yards to the
Watuaga 2-yard line before a bad snap led to a missed 37-yard
field goal. The team would never find their offensive stride
again, and the Pioneer defense held the Huskies to a mere 22
yards offense in the second half.
The game's bright spot occurred in the fourth quarter, trailing
24-0, when Aaron Scott intercepted Watauga quarterback Caleb
Watson and returned the ball 65 yards for a score.
After the game, Strong said that they "didn't play well
enough to overcome our own mistakes, and we've got to get better."
Reagan 12, Ashe County 0
The Ashe County offense continued to struggle against the
Reagan Raiders in a battle between two fierce defenses. The
game, played on a Monday night due to heavy rains on Friday,
was decided by two plays.
Midway through the first quarter, an attempted Ashe County punt
turned disastrous when the ball flew over punter Richie Absher's
head. The Raiders fell on the ball in the end zone for a 6-0
lead. Reagan added their other score early in the third quarter
when quarterback Carson Smith ran for a 60-yard touchdown.
The Huskies' offense only earned 167 yards of total offense,
partially due to an injury to back-up quarterback Lewis, but
Strong expressed pleasure with the team's defensive play.
"Overall, our defense played very well," he said.
"They were on the field too long because we were severely
limited, to say the least, offensively."
Ashe County 19, North Surry 14
Ashe County was unphased by a two-game losing streak as
they entered conference play, and pulled off a come-from-behind
road win against Surry Central in Mount Airy using a run-heavy
offense and a strong defensive performance.
Both teams struck early, with North Surry converting their first
two possessions into touchdowns and Ashe County scoring on a
73-yard sprint by Jeren Holman. The Ashe County defense stuffed
North Surry for the rest of the match, forcing four turnovers
including three in the second half. Ashe County almost tied
the game as the first half ended, but settled for a 23-yard
Absher field goal after the drive stalled for a 14-10 halftime
score.
Ashe County moved the ball well offensively in the second half,
but found problems in the red zone. They made three consecutive
trips to the red zone, but only produced three points to cut
the deficit to one.
Jeren Holman scored the winning touchdown on a 24-yard run in
the fourth quarter. The Greyhounds moved the ball into Ashe
County territory on their final drive, but Husky defender Jake
Brown intercepted North Surry to seal the victory.
"Our kids battled tonight. My goodness, they played their
hearts out and did enough to win the football game," Strong
said. He noted that the coaching staff told players to "keep
punching, keep plugging and don't get your heads down. They
didn't, and they finally did punch it in there."
Ashe County 35, North Wilkes 7
Although the Huskies walked away from their game against
the North Wilkes Vikings, Strong was unhappy with the team's
performance - primarily defensively, as they allowed the Vikings
to accumulate 245 total rushing yards.
"We were pretty sloppy tonight," he said. "We
weren't very physical, and they took it to us. They whipped
us up front and ran the football right down our throats. Offensively,
we were awfully sloppy with too many penalties. We just did
not play very well at all."
Offensively, the story was just the opposite. Jeren Holman rushed
for an eight-yard score on the team's first offensive play,
and quarterback Lewis rushing 14 yards for another touchdown
and a 15-0 lead with 4:51 remaining in the first quarter.
North Wilkes committed five turnovers in the game, giving the
Huskies the opportunities needed to stage a 22-7 halftime lead
and a 28-point victory.
Ashe County 14, Forbush 3
The Huskies traveled to East Bend to face the Forbush Falcons
on a cold, rainy night that created difficult field conditions
for the first half. Both teams performed poorly on offense,
combining for six turnovers, and a 30-yard field goal that gave
the Falcons the 3-0 lead at the half.
But the Huskies were able to put together their second come-from-behind
victory on the road in the second half. The go-ahead touchdown
was set up by a 46-yard Jeren Holman run, who then ran three
yards on the next play to give Ashe County a 7-3 lead. Aaron
Scott added a two-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
According to Strong, the difference in the game was ball control.
"In the first half, they had the ball all the time,"
said Strong. "In the second half, we had it some."
Starmount 22, Ashe County 13
The game determining the Mountain Valley Conference championship
was delayed from Friday to Saturday in late October. Both the
Huskies and the Starmount Rams were 3-0 in conference play entering
the game, and would finish 5-1 and 6-0 in conference play, respectively.
Despite hanging close for most of the game and forcing the Rams
into six turnovers, the Huskies weren't able to make enough
plays to get past Starmount and leading rusher Rashaun Gaither,
who ran for 192 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries.
The teams traded scores, with the game tied at seven in the
second and the score separated by only one point (a 14-13 Starmount
lead) in the fourth quarter. But the Rams would get the last
score, a 10-yard Gaither touchdown with 1:09 remaining in the
game. Gaither then ran in the two-point conversion for the 22-13
final.
"We had a lot of people that did a lot of good things,
but we made enough mistakes that kept us from winning the game,"
said Strong.
Ashe County 30, Wilkes Central 28
Ashe County rebounded from the Starmount loss with their
third, and most exciting, come-from-behind on the road performance
against the rival Wilkes Central Eagles. Unlike the North Surry
game, which began as a shootout before turning into a defensive
battle, the Huskies match against Wilkes Central was tied 0-0
at halftime and remained so until the Eagles scored late in
the third quarter.
The Huskies trailed by 14 points twice - at 14-0 and 21-7 -
but were able to claw their way back into the game due to quarterback
Waln's arm and the legs of Scott and Jeren Holman.
After battling back to a 21-21 tie, kicker Richie Absher kicked
a 24-yard field goal with 2:48 remaining in the game for the
first Ashe County lead. But with under a minute remaining, facing
fourth and eight from the Ashe County 32-yard-line, Eagle quarterback
Martin Hague broke what appeared to be the game-winning sack
and hit a wide open Landon Freeman in the end zone for a 28-24
lead with a mere 48 ticks on the clock.
Ashe County began on their own 37-yard-line and moved to the
Wilkes Central 30, where the ball was spotted with only seconds
remaining. But Waln took the snap, scrambled to the right and
then back to the left before throwing a prayer to the end zone
that landed in the hands of Wells for a 30-28 victory.
"Win one like that after a disappointing loss last week,
it doesn't get any better than that," said Strong.
Ashe County 48, Surry Central 21
The regular season ended on a high note as the lowly Surry
Central Golden Eagles visited West Jefferson. The game was not
as many had expected against a team that finished the year at
2-9.
The Golden Eagles scored on the game's opening drive to go up
7-0, a score that would last throughout the first quarter.
The second quarter would prove huge for the Huskies', however,
as they scored offensive and defensive touchdowns during a 35-point
quarter that gave them a comfortable 21-point lead at the break.
The Golden Eagles would close the margin to 20 midway through
the third quarter, but Ashe County was easily able to hold back
any comeback hopes and finish with a 48-21 victory.
The win was not enough to win the conference, however, as Starmount's
perfect conference season prevented Strong and the Huskies from
winning a share of their third straight conference title.
"I don't like it much," Strong said of the outcome,
"but Starmount earned it, and they're a good football team."
Bandys 42, Ashe County 24
The Huskies began their "second season" at home
against the Bandys Trojans, but the trip to the playoffs was
a short one for the Huskies. Bandys moved the field with ease,
scoring six touchdowns enroute to the 18-point win.
"We weren't able to stop them," Strong said. The game
was competitive for the first half, with the teams trading scores
and the lead. The Huskies took a 17-14 in the second quarter
on an eight-yard Scott touchdown run, but Bandys would respond
by scoring 21 consecutive points.
Despite the loss, Strong spoke fondly of the team.
"I am very proud of our kids and the effort they gave throughout
the season," Strong said. The Huskies will lose a handful
of players to graduation - including Waln, Phillips and receivers
Tatum Lemly and Kyle Guyton - but has high hopes for the 2009
season.
"We're losing a bunch of players and we're certainly going
to miss them," he said. "They have contributed to
the success of this program. We'll just have to start all over
with the ones we got back and try and get better."
Special thanks to Ronald Ray for keeping statistics for the
Ashe County High School football team during the 2008 campaign.
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