State 4-A playoffs: Alexander Centra at Watauga, 7:30 p.m.
Pioneers begin playoffs with NWC rival Cougars
By Steve Behr
sports@wataugademocrat.com

It’s not like Adrian Snow is willing to give back Watauga’s playoff berth. He’ll certainly take the No. 1 seed that the Pioneers were awarded last Saturday.

He would just rather play a team that is not from the Northwestern 4-A Conference, at least for the first round.

And no, Snow is not afraid to take on Alexander Central Friday night at Jack Groce Stadium. Still, there’s a slight concern about taking on a conference team for the second time in a season. For example, Watauga, after losing 31-6 to A.C. Reynolds during the 2006 season, beat the Rockets 24-23 in the 2006 playoffs.

The Pioneers (8-3) cruised to a 50-22 victory over Alexander Central (4-7) this season, but that Sept. 21 showdown seems like ancient history to the Pioneers.

“I think it’s tough to play somebody in the league twice, especially the way we beat them the first time,” Snow said. “I have no doubt we can beat them, but we talked to the kids all week long, saying that there is no doubt they can beat us.”

Alexander Central managed to throw for 325 yards during the regular-season game. Quarterback Josh Russell connected on 23-of 32 passes, collecting all 325 yards and three touchdown passes. Byron Mays was his favorite target, catching eight passes for 91 yards and a touchdown.

Kori Kinnaird and Ralph Adams also caught touchdown passes, but Kinnaird will not play because of a non-football injury.

Running the football proved to be much tougher for the Cougars. Watauga’s defense limited Alexander Central to just 52 yards on 23 carries. To make things worse for the Cougars, leading rusher Josh Montieth (eight carries, 40 yards) is also injured and out for the season. Russell grossed 50 yards rushing, but was sacked seven times and saw his total drop to 26 yards.

Kyle Bradshaw, a sophomore, will likely see the bulk of the work running the football.

Even with those numbers, Snow said there won’t be that much more emphasis on stopping the pass.

“In any game, you try to make a team one-dimensional,” Snow said. “You can’t forget about the run, but they are heavy on throwing the football. They’re about 70-30 throwing the ball. You’ve got to know that they can still run it and their back does a pretty good job.”

Watauga’s offense won’t change much. The Pioneers will use Eric Breitenstein to run the football and balance their run game with quarterback carries from Adam Chiarolanzio and Blake Beason. It’s also likely that Baine Martin will also be used to carry the football, either as a running back or on a reverse.

Breitenstein became more of a workhorse last Friday in the Pioneers’ 25-13 win over A.C. Reynolds.

Breitenstein, who will play in the Shrine Bowl, carried the ball 30 times, gaining 200 yards in the win.

Martin has emerged as a primary weapon in the Pioneers’ passing game. He has caught 15 passes for 400 yards and five touchdowns this season. He caught two touchdown passes against A.C. Reynolds.

Dennis McMenamin leads the Pioneers with 23 receptions for 261 yards and one touchdown, while Cam Steury has 18 catches for 344 yards. Tight end Jake Wallace has nine catches for 225 yards and two touchdowns, both caught at Freedom in Watauga’s 27-8 victory two weeks ago.

“We’ve got to be able to run it and throw it,” Snow said. “Balance is the key. We can’t let people stop the run without us throwing it. We have to keep our balance.”

Note: The Watauga shuttle service from the Boone Mall will be in use Friday night. It begins at 6 p.m., and is free of charge. The shuttle will begin taking people back to the mall and the end of the third quarter.

Admission for Friday’s game is $6. The gates open at 5:30 p.m. ...Watauga’s booster club is sponsoring charter bus service to the Shrine Bowl, scheduled for Dec. 15 in Spartanburg, S.C. The cost is $25 and is limited to the first 56 people who pay.