NWC crown within reach
By Steve Behr
sports@wataugademocrat.com

MORGANTON — In a game that is always big, Watauga called on one of its star players to play a bigger role.

Eric Breitenstein had no problem delivering. Offensively, Watauga called on Breitenstein to gain 202 yards on 28 carries. Defensively, Breitenstein had 13 tackles and forced a fumble.

The rest of the Pioneers took it from there. Watauga methodically took control of the Patriots in the first quarter and beat not only a dense fog that settled in during the third quarter, but they also beat Freedom 27-8 Friday night.

Watauga (7-3, 4-1 Northwestern 4-A Conference) plays for a share of the NWC championship this Friday against A.C. Reynolds, which is 5-0 in the league.

Should East Burke (4-1 NWC) lose to Freedom this Friday, and Watauga beat A.C. Rey-nolds, the Pioneers would be co-champs with the Rockets, but hold the edge in the tiebreaker and earn the league’s No. 1 seed for the 4-A playoffs. They would officially share the NWC championship with East Burke, which beat Watauga, and A.C. Reynolds, which beat East Burke.

“It feels great,” defensive tackle Preston Oliver said. “We’ve done something that no other Watauga team’s done. We knew we had to come down here and win so we’d have a shot at winning the conference title in Boone next week.”

Should A.C. Reynolds beat Watauga, the Rockets would be the outright champion.

None of that seemed to be on the Pioneers’ mind, especially in the first quarter. The Pioneers outgained the Patriots 131-9 by the end of the first quarter, which included a 66-yard, 12-play march capped by an Adam Chiarolanzio 4-yard touchdown run.

Another long drive ended in a fake field goal that did not work. On a fourth-and-goal from the 2-yard line, Watauga went into its extra point formation. However, instead of Savva Kostis kicking a field goal, Chiarolanzio missed Cam Steury in the end zone.

“We’ve got to punch it in,” Chiarolanzio said. “Whenever we get it that close, we’ve got to do what we have to do to get it in.”

However, it was Freedom that showed signs of life in the second quarter by driving 69 yards in 12 plays. Fullback John Kincaid capped the drive with a 1-yard run. The extra point was blocked, and Watauga held a 7-6 halftime lead.

“Let me tell you something,” Pioneers coach Adrian Snow started, “If they uttered the letters A.C., or the word Reynolds, then it was going to get ugly around me. I think they did a good job of focusing and understanding the importance of this game. We talked about it at halftime and asked them if they could give everything they could in the second half to play for a conference championship, would they do it? Everyone of them said, ‘Yes.’”

Snow said the blocked extra point took Freedom's momentum away heading into halftime.

“I think a big play was the blocked P.A.T.,” Snow said. “You think about that and it’s just momentum swing. Here you are getting ready to tie this sucker up and that happens. We go and block that thing and they’re still down even though they had a good drive.”

Kincaid and halfback Taylor Smith provided 186 of Freedom’s 242 total yards. The Patriots gained 242 yards on the ground on 52 carries.

But the Patriots could not generate much offense through the air. Quarterback Bo Taylor hit 2-of-5 passes for 23 yards and an interception. They all saw plenty of Watauga linebacker David Alder, who made 21 tackles.

Logan Smith added 12 and Jordan Steward had five solo tackles, seven overall.

After Freedom tackled Chiarolanzio in the end zone for a safety, which was set up by a Colin Taylor punt that rolled to the Watauga 4-yard line, the Pioneers regrouped. Breitenstein capped an 85-yard drive in just six plays with a 6-yard touchdown run with 3:36 left in the third quarter.

His 17-yarder capped an 85-yard drive in which Breitenstein got the Pioneers out of the shadow of their own end zone with runs of 31 and 38 yards.

“I guess that’s what it called for tonight,” Breitenstein said. “It was wet conditions and we weren’t able to pass the ball as much. It was a slippery ball and slippery conditions, so we had to run the ball more.”

Breitenstein scored from 17 yards and from 4 yards out in the fourth quarter. Watauga rushed for 281 yards on 41 carries, and pounded out 370 yards in total offense. Chiarolanzio hit 4-of-7 passes for 89 yards, including a 39-yarder to Baine Martin and a 26-yarder to Jake Wallace.

“In big games, big players usually step up and (Breitenstein) did that,” Martin said. “He carried us a bit, but we did have a few other players step up and provide yards for us.”

• Watauga also converted 7-of-10 third downs, compared to 4-of-10 for the Patriots. ...Colin Taylor, who averaged 48.5 yards per his four punts Friday, has signed to play soccer at Appalachian State next fall.

• The Pioneers said they were not affected by a dense fog that decended on the field in the third quarter. “It wasn’t horrible on the field. I think if we tried to pass it would have been a little risky,” Breitenstein said.

Watauga 27, Freedom 8
Watauga 7 0 6 14 — 27
Freedom 0 6 2 0 — 8
Scoring summary
First quarter
W—Chiarolanzio 4 run (Kostis kick)
Second quarter
F—Kincaid 1 run (Kick blocked)
Third quarter
F—Safety, Chiarolanzio tackled in end zone
W—Breitenstein 6 run (Run failed)
Fourth quarter
W—Breitenstein 17 run (Wallace pass from Chairolanzio)
W—Breitenstein 4 run (Kick failed)

Watauga Freedom
First downs 17 12
Rushes-yards 41-281 45-221
Passing yards 89 21
Passes 4-13-0 4-7-1
Total yards 54-370 52-242
Return yards 0 0
Penalties-yards 4-31 7-44
Punts-avg. 2-35.0 4-48.5
Fumbles-lost 0-0 2-1
Time of Poss: 24:34 20:30
Individuals
Rushing: Watauga—Breitenstein 28-202, Chiarolanzio 11-55, Martin 1-32, Beason 1-(8); Freedom—Smith 19-100, J. Kincaid 16-86, B. Taylor 3-23, O’Neal 3-11.
Passing: Watauga—Chiarolanzio 4-7-0 89, Beason 0-6-0 0; Freedom—B. Taylor 2-5-1 23, O’Neal 2-2-0 (-2).
Receiving: Watauga—Martin 2-41, Wallace 1-26, Steury 1-22; Freedom—King 2-11, E. Kincaid 1-16, A. Taylor 1(-6).