Monday Morning

Monday, Aug. 22, 2011

A WEEKLY DIGITAL MAGAZINE FROM YADKIN VALLEY SPORTS & FOOTHILLS FOOTBALL

HARD-HITTINGOPENERRams outlast Granite Bears in battle of defending champions News, notes & observations from week 1 Game Balls to our top performers Stats, schedules, results, rankings & more

STARMOUNT 20, MOUNT AIRY 19

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In The Rearview MirrorFriday, Aug. 19 Games

Starmount 20, Mount Airy 19Wilkes Central 48, Surry Central 7West Stokes 9, Albemarle 7East Montgomery 25, Elkin 13West Davidson 26, East Wilkes 14West Wilkes 14, South Stokes 12North Stokes 44, Alleghany 22North Surry 33, Forbush 9West Iredell 33, East Surry 0Ashe County 41, West Caldwell 6North Wilkes 55, Thomas Jeffer-son Academy 35Bishop McGuinness 40, High Point Christian 12

On The HorizonFriday, Aug. 26 Games

Avery County at West WilkesBishop McGuinness at Highland TechEast Surry at StarmountEast Wilkes at Surry CentralGrayson County (Va.) at AlleghanyNorth Surry at ElkinNorth Wilkes at South StokesPatrick County (Va.) at North StokesThomasville at Mount AiryWatauga at Ashe CountyWilkes Central at West Iredell

And we’re off!

By Eric LuskEditor

Welcome back to another excit-ing season of high school football in the Foothills of North Carolina. And welcome back to year two of Monday Morning Quarterback — the world’s first and only weekly digital magazine devoted to the 17 schools that play in the Northwest 1A/2A and Mountain Valley 1A/2A Conferences.

We hope Monday Morning Quar-terback will be a staple of your sports media diet over the next three months. Each issue will be chock full of in-formation, scores, stats, game recaps, news, notes, observations, photos and more — all put into the format of a magazine but accessible for free from your computer, laptop or tablet device.

Monday Morning Quarterback came into being last August on a bit of whim. It was meant to be, at first, just a story for www.YadkinValleySports.com recapping all that had happened in week one of the high school foot-ball season. It quickly dawned on me that the story and all I wanted to in-clude would be way too long to fit into the typical Web format.

So, I decided to create a multi-page PDF document, allowing for more creativity with the design and ease in reading. Each week, that PDF kept getting bigger and bigger as we in-cluded more information and photos.

This year, we’ve gone beyond PDF documents. We now host Monday Morning Quarterback through Issuu.com, which converts our magazine into an easy-to-view document on your monitor. With one click you can turn pages and zoom in on certain sec-tions of a page.

I’ll admit, I’ve drawn a lot of my inspiration for MMQ from Sporting News Today, a national digital sports magazine that has been publishing

daily for the past three or four years.As a long-time journalist, digital

publications like MMQ are where I see the sports media industry headed. Print will always have its place —hence why we publish magazines like Foothills Football & Fall Sports Pre-view 2011, which is available now all around the Yadkin Valley. But I fore-see a future where we do a lot more of our newspaper, magazine and book reading using digital technology (like the gentleman I saw last week in a res-taurant, reading his E-book on an iPad that rested on a stand next to his plate of food).

We hope you enjoy reading this cutting edge product. Feel free to share it with a friend by sending them a link. Please tell us what you think about it by sending an email to eric@yadkinvalleysports.com.

Be sure to patronize our business partners who have advertisements in MMQ each week. They help make it possible to deliver this publication free of charge. In many cases, you can reach their business Web sites just by clicking on their ads.

Be sure to check www.YadkinVal-leySports.com throughout the week for coverage of all the area sports. We have more than 850 followers on Facebook. Join the crowd and get in-stant updates and story links through-out the week.

We’re excited about the season ahead and glad to have you as a read-er. Good luck to your favorite teams. See you at the games!

Best regards

Eric LuskPublisher and Editor

Football is back and so is our unique, designed-for-digital sports publication

By Eric LuskEditor

1 Starmount and Mount Airy are going to be fine. The Rams and Bears, the defending cham-

pions of the Mountain Valley and Northwest confer-ences respectively, faced plenty of question marks following the graduation of several all-conference and MVP caliber players. Friday’s knockdown dra-gout battle in the Granite City, won by Starmount 20-19, showed that both teams have the mettle to be conference title contenders again.

2 But don’t hand Starmount and Mount Airy the trophies just yet. Wilkes Central and West

Stokes made impressive debuts Friday night as well. Wilkes Central ran all over what was expected to be a much-improved Surry Central squad. West Stokes went toe-to-toe -- and beat -- defending 1AA cham-pion Albemarle 9-7. Albemarle topped Mount Airy 38-14 in last year’s playoffs on the way to a state crown.

3 Mount Airy and North Surry both have found their quarterbacks. Bears coach Kelly Holder

expressed reservations over the summer about start-ing junior Austin Taylor at QB. Same with North Surry coach Brian Hampton and his new signal call-er, Alex Ratcliff. It’s not that the two players weren’t fit for the job. The coaches wondered if playing them under center was the best overall fit for their teams (since both are all-conference defensive backs too). After one game, it’s safe to say that both fit well. Taylor and Ratcliff were electric leading their re-spective teams Friday night and could be two of the top offensive players in the league.

4 Although South Stokes lost on Friday to West Wilkes (14-12), thoroughly frustrating sec-

ond-year coach Jonathan Frasher, there is a lot to like about the Sauras going forward. The team obviously is much tougher than in recent years, and with a favorable schedule could very well be three or four wins heading into October. Frasher certainly would like to be 1-0 right now, though, and felt like one got away.

4 MONDAY MORNING QUARTERBACK WWW.YADKINVALLEYSPORTS.COM WWW.YADKINVALLEYSPORTS.COM AUGUST 22, 2011 5

Week One Wrap-Up

First & 10Ten things to take away from week one of the new season

Photo by Eric LuskAustin Taylor of Mount Airy threw two touchdown passes and rushed for another in Friday’s game vs. Starmount.

5 Landon Walker is still very much a part of East Wilkes football

program. The senior — who galloped for more than 1,700 yards in 2010 —suffered major injuries in an ATV crash more than a week ago and remains hospitalized. East Wilkes players all wore No. 2 decals (Walker’s number last year) on their helmets. They also honored Dillon Wood, another former member of the team involved in the same crash.

6 It’s likely going to be a growing pains type of year for Elkin. The

Buckin’ Elks are one of the youngest teams in the Mountain Valley in terms of varsity experience (freshmen Josh Strickland and Daniel Brinegar took snaps at quarterback for example). It’s just going to take time for the young guys to come together, but this year’s freshman class will be one to watch over the next few years. Elkin fans might want to invest money in JV tick-ets this fall for a peek at the future.

7 Ashe County looks like it has put last year’s four-win campaign be-

hind it. The Huskies played more like the group that has been winning seven and eighth games a year in Friday’s opener, a 41-6 dismantling of West Caldwell. Sam Gammons threw three TD passes -- all to Matthew Sexton.

8 Joktan Moore, a junior defen-sive back for Mount Airy, has

the chance to have another spe-cial season. He always seemed to be around the ball Friday, drawing plenty of praise from Starmount coach Scott Johnson after Friday’s game. “He can absolutely play,” Johnson said.

9 Numbers matter. Forbush hung with North Surry for a half, trailing

7-3 at the break. But the Greyhounds’ numbers advantage (40-plus play-ers on varsity, compared to Forbush’s low 20s) wore down the Falcons and North Surry went on to win 33-9. North played very few guys both ways. The

Falcons needed several to go on both sides of the ball. That’s a tall task in 2A football.

10 Jason Lippard is undefeated as a head coach. North Stokes’

new head man, in his first head coach-

ing stint after coming over from Iredell County, directed the Vikings to an im-pressive 44-22 victory against Allegha-ny on Friday. North Stokes players ap-pear to be picking up Lippard’s spread attack well.

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Week One Wrap-Up

Close isn’t good enoughSouth Stokes coach wants more than moral victories in 2011By Eric LuskEditor

South Stokes coach Jonathan Frasher said he watched game film all weekend from his team’s 14-12 loss to West Wil-kes on Friday night.

“The more I watched, the madder I got,” he said. “You can continually see us self-destruct.”

Considering South Stokes’ recent struggles in football -- just four wins in the previous three years and a 1-10 mark last fall -- you might think the Sau-ras would be feeling pretty good coming out of Friday night.

South Stokes put a huge scare in what is considered one of the top teams in the Mountain Valley 1A/2A (coaches picked West Wilkes to finish third in the league -- the top 1A team). But Frasher didn’t hold that view.

“I’m tired of moral victories,” he said Sunday afternoon. “I’m not at South Stokes for moral victories.”

The Sauras scored first on Friday, when Dan Smith plowed in from the 1-yard line with 9:18 to go in the open-ing quarter. South missed the extra point, but the 6-0 lead held until deep into the first half.

The Sauras were hoping to run the clock out in the final minutes before the break but fumbled the ball away, one of two lost bobbles on the night. West Wilkes capitalized quickly, with Tyler Woods rushing 14 yards for a touch-down with 1:09 left in the second pe-riod. Bryson Mosteller hit the PAT and the Blackhawks suddenly had the lead -- and a nice dose of momentum -- head-ing into the locker room.

Seth Absher completed a 40-yard pass to Aaron Hudler to push the West Wilkes advantage to 14-6 in the third quarter. While South Stokes found the

end zone again early in the fourth quar-ter on a 20-yard run from Jaron Withers, the Sauras missed the two-point conver-sion.

West Wilkes held strong and celebrat-ed the victory -- several weeks earlier than its first win of the 2010 campaign.

“When you are that close, you second guess yourself even more,” Frasher said. “What could we have done here? What could we have done there? Should we

have called this play or that play? In the end, their players have been there before (winning close games) and we haven’t. We haven’t played in many of those games in the last three or four years.”

South will try to get a real ‘W’ in the books this Friday when North Wilkes visits. The Vikings also appear improved, earning a 55-35 win against Thomas Jef-ferson Academy on Friday.

Photo by Eric LuskZack Singleton and the South Stokes Sauras took West Wilkes to the wire on Friday night. The Blackhawks escaped Walnut Cove with a 14-12 victory.

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Week One Wrap-Up

Elite EightPower RankingsHow They Fared * What’s Next?

1. Starmount (1-0)Last Friday: Beat Mount Airy 20-19This Friday: Hosting East Surry

2. West Stokes (1-0)Last Friday: Beat Albemarle 9-7This Friday: Visiting Forbush

3. Wilkes Central (1-0)Last Friday: Beat Surry Central 48-7This Friday: Visiting West Iredell

4. Mount Airy (0-1)Last Friday: Lost to Starmount 20-19This Friday: Hosting Thomasville

5. West Wilkes (1-0)Last Friday: Beat South Stokes 14-12This Friday: Hosting Avery County

6. North Surry (1-0)Last Friday: Beat Forbush 33-9 This Friday: Visiting Elkin

7. Surry Central (0-1)Last Friday: Lost to Wilkes Central 48-7This Friday: Hosting East Wilkes

8. Ashe County (1-0)Last Friday: Beat West Caldwell 41-6This Friday: Hosting Watauga

‘ ’THEY SAID IT‘It’s always feels great to get a win, but it feels even better to start the season. The kids just

kicked off their school year right.’

Brian HamptonNorth Surry head coach after Friday’s win

West Stokes fells 1AA state champsBy Eric LuskEditor

It was not the start West Stokes wanted to its football season.

Preseason all-state quarterback Austin Flem-ing fumbled on the first play, and defending 1AA state champion Albemar-le recovered at the Wild-cats’ 26-yard-line.

But West Stokes made amends for the miscue quickly and went on to win Friday’s season opener 9-7.

Albemarle moved to the West 1-yard-line and had first and goal. Darryl Little stacked up an Albe-marle rusher for a loss on first down. Noel Helms sacked Albemarle’s quar-terback on second down, moving the ball back-wards another seven yards. The Bulldogs threw an incomplete pass on third down and a bad snap ended the drive on fourth.

Albemarle eventually took a 7-0 lead with a big pass play, but West Stokes struck back right before intermission. The Wildcats capped a 97-yard drive with a Fleming-to-Austin Long TD pass covering 16 yards. Zack Manley’s PAT with 24 ticks left in the half made it 7-7.

Of all things, a bad snap on a punt proved the difference. Albemarle snapped a ball over the punter’s head and out of the back of the end zone with 9:07 left in the game. That play resulted in a safety, and the Wildcats hung tough to preserve the victory.

West Stokes coach Jimmy Upchurch recorded his 50th victory at the school -- not a bad mark considering there were some who told him he couldn’t win in King (he’s now 50-47 overall, according to statistician Robert Money).

Albemarle is certainly a formidable foe to fell for victory No. 50. The Bull-dogs have won five state titles since 2001, including the past two. Albemarle hasn’t been held to single digits in scoring since 2007. The ‘Dogs topped Mount Airy 38-14 and Bishop McGuinness 27-14 in last year’s playoffs.

West Stokes will try to keep the momentum going this Friday, hosting Forbush.

Photo by Eric LuskNoel Helms had a big sack for West Stokes during a goal-line stand in the first quarter.

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MOUNT AIRY -- Allen Mendenhall booted two second-half field goals, and Starmount fended off Mount Airy 20-19 in a physical duel of reigning conference champions Friday night.

Mendenhall’s second kick from 30 yards away with 25.7 seconds left in the third quarter proved to be the game-clincher, helping the Rams beat the Granite Bears for the second consecutive year.

Mount Airy had just taken its first lead of the game minutes before when Tanner Joyce caught a three-yard TD pass from Austin Taylor. Dylan Wright’s PAT made it 19-17 Bears with 2:05 left in the third. But Starmount’s Eugene Billips turned things around in a hurry, taking the kickoff from inside his own 10-yard line to the Mount Airy 18.

While the Bears pushed Starmount backwards five yards total on the next two plays, Chaston Martin turned a run around the left end into a gain to the Bears’ 12. That put Mendenhall well within his range, and the senior split the uprights to push the visiting Rams back in front.

Mendenhall also booted two extra points after first-half touchdowns. Mount Airy, meanwhile misfired on two PAT attempts, with a penalty wiping away one successful two-point play.

“It was a big win. It would have been a big win for either team,” Starmount coach Scott Johnson said. “I think we’ve both got good football teams. I am just really, really proud of the way our guys have stayed together and fought for each other — people stepping in and making the plays when they had to.”

Mendenhall had never played football

before when he came out for the team last fall. Even though he didn’t win the starting kicker’s job from senior Ben O’Donnell, he did get to see varsity action on several Fridays. “Because of some of the scores

that we had last year, he got to be in and got a lot of experience,“ Johnson said.

Starmount asserted itself early Friday with a strong rushing attack, scoring a pair of touchdowns and jumping in front 14-0 by early in the second quarter. Brian King had the first score, capping an eight-play, 87-yard march with a six-yard scamper. A 35-yard run by Fondae McDaniel put the Rams into Mount Airy territory for the first time.

Chaston Martin bulldozed up the middle for the second touchdown from two yards away, with 10:45 to go before the half. Dillon Bray help set up that score, recovering a Mount Airy fumble on the Bears’ 31.

Mount Airy pulled within 14-6 before the break, traveling 80 yards in 10 plays for a touchdown. New starting quarterback Austin Taylor hit Garrett Vanhoy with a 5-yard jump pass to give the Bears their first TD of the season. The extra point kick was missed.

A Mount Airy turnover on the second-half kickoff set up Mendenhall’s first field goal. That boot put the Rams ahead 17-6. But the Granite Bears came roaring back.

Week One Game Highlights

STARMOUNT 20, MOUNT AIRY 19

Rams slip by Bears with field goal

Photo by Eric LuskStarmount’s Eugene Billips (3) and Will Lambert double-team this pass to Mount Airy’s Tanner Joyce. The Rams managed to break up the play.

Click here to read the complete story from Yadkin Valley Sports.

WWW.YADKINVALLEYSPORTS.COM AUGUST 22, 2011 13

By Rick PapsunContributing Writer

EAST BEND – North Surry capitalized on an obvious advantage in the numbers game Friday en route to a 33-9 football victory over host Forbush in the opening game of the 2011 season for both teams.

The Greyhounds broke open a tight 7-3 halftime advantage by wearing down their beleaguered opponents, outscoring the Falcons 26-6 in the second half by utilizing several huge plays for scores.

Both head coaches recognized North Surry’s superiority in manpower as being the key factor in the game’s outcome.

“We just wore them down,” North Surry boss Brian Hampton said. “We didn’t play anybody both ways and they (Forbush) had a lot of guys doing that. That’s going to make the difference in a game. We want to try and play fast every game and take advantage of our numbers. Tonight it worked out well.”

Forbush coach Chris Johnson reiterated Hampton’s remarks.

“Our problem is obvious,” he said. “They (North Surry) had twice as many kids as us. They really wore us down.

But we competed well and fought hard the whole game. I’m proud of that.”

The Falcons’ numbers were further hampered by injuries as their starting backfield of Jared Gallion and Bruce Sims were both on the sidelines the whole game nursing injuries.

After a tight first half, the Greyhounds began their second half dominance midway through the third quarter when receiver Jacob Pelfrey took a slant pass from quarterback Alex Ratcliff and burst past a Falcons’ defender on his way to a 67-yard touchdown romp.

Later in the quarter North Surry struck lightening fast again. Jason King broke loose down the right sideline for a 70-yard touchdown run.

The Falcons held tough however. On the next play Brittan Baity hooked up with Casey Evans for a 53-yard TD pass, keeping the score tight at 20-9.

But the battle of attrition began to show its face in the fourth quarter, keyed by the quick legs of Ratcliff, who registered touchdown runs of 55 and 14 yards, respectively, in just over a minute span. The two scores set the final 33-9 count.

Ratcliff ended the night with 101 rushing yards on nine carries, while teammate King blitzed the Forbush

defense for 144 yards rushing, including 129 in the second half. Ratcliff was equally impressive with his arm, connecting on 9-of-14 passes for 202 yards.

“It’s always feels great to get a win, but it feels even better to start the season. The kids just kicked off their school year right,” Hampton said.

Two bright spots for the Falcons came in the play of a pair of freshmen. Zack Chambers, filling in as a backup for the two injured upperclassmen, put in a workman-like effort, garnering 50 yards rushing in his varsity debut. Meanwhile, fellow frosh Alex Torres, in his first field goal attempt of his high school career, registered a Forbush school record 47-yard field goal.

Johnson was especially pleased with Chambers’ effort.

“He did some good things tonight. Not only running but blocking, too. That’s why we called him up because we knew he could do the job. We were hit by injuries and he filled in really well.”

Forbush (0-1) next hits the road for a game at West Stokes on Friday, while North Surry (1-0) will be at Elkin.

Week One Game Highlights

NORTH SURRY 33, FORBUSH 9

Greyhounds pull away in 2nd half

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14 MONDAY MORNING QUARTERBACK WWW.YADKINVALLEYSPORTS.COM WWW.YADKINVALLEYSPORTS.COM AUGUST 22, 2011 15

By Will SparklinContributing Writer

MORAVIAN FALLS — Wilkes Central unleashed what can only be described as a rushing juggernaut on non-conference opponent Surry Central, defeating the Golden Eagles at home on Friday by a score of 48-7.

The Eagles combined for 364 rushing yards, totaling six scores on the ground. Packing the most punch for Wilkes Central offensively was running back Dustin Triplett, who broke free for 143 yards of rushing en route to three offensive TDs and a punt return.

Wilkes coach Jeremy Funderburk was happy to start off the year with a victory, but maintains that it’s still a long season and that even great games can leave some things to be

desired.“We’re happy to be 1-0. We played

reasonably well, especially to come out against a team like Surry Central with system their coach uses and their style of play,” Funderburk said. “We can never be satisfied. The team came in the locker room at half right after we gave up a touchdown due to a turnover. We talked about playing championship football, not just good football.”

Surry Central coach Monty Southern was left questioning his preparation after the game, which he likened to a heavyweight boxing bout. Still, he doesn’t think the game shows what the Golden Eagles are truly capable of this season.

“It was like walking into a boxing ring. We came into the contest trying to feel them out,

and Wilkes started off the game throwing body blows,” Southern said. “We knew Wilkes Central was a good team, but we honestly thought we were better than this. We don’t feel like this game is who we are.”

From the opening kickoff, Wilkes Central wasted no time finding the end-zone. Keeping the ball on the ground While the running backs certainly had an outstanding night for Wilkes Central, the veteran defense had some impressive stops, forcing Surry Central to punt numerous times and keeping the Golden Eagles from getting a first down in the entire first quarter.

The second three and out was the most painful, as Wilkes’ Triplett fielded the punt and returned it 80 yards to open the game up to 13-0 with nearly three minutes remaining in

the first quarter.Funderburk revealed that the core of his

defensive strategy was to contain junior running back Wes Brown, forcing other players to contribute for Surry on the ground.

“We were doing the things to put the ball in the QB’s hands,” Funderburk said. “We made a conscious effort to keep the ball out of the hands of Brown, and I feel like we did a pretty good job of that.”

Although Wilkes Central stuck to a run heavy format, it didn’t prevent senior quarterback Austin McConnell from setting up a touchdown pass. With nine minutes remaining in the second quarter McConnell linked up with receiver Trevor Greene for a nine yard strike.

Soon after the previous score, Wilkes was

gifted the ball back on a fumble recovered by Chasey Caul. From three yards out McConnell hooked up with Triplette on a swing pass, which put Central up by four scores with over seven minutes until the half at 27-0.

The gift however was repaid on a later drive, as Wilkes Central put the ball on the ground at the 39 yard line with just over four minutes before halftime. Surry recovered the fumble, and took full advantage of prime field position. The Golden Eagles strung together some hard fought runs, capping off their scoring drive with a 1 yard rush by quarterback Jesse Martin to make the score 27-7 heading into the half.

After halftime things calmed down a bit. Most of the third quarter was a defensive struggle. Wilkes Central displayed some impressive runs at times, especially when

fullback Chris Watt broke two consecutive plays for a combined 45 yards.

The lone score of the third quarter was an 8 yard strike by Jordan Carlton, lifting Wilkes 34-7 heading into the final 12 minutes of play.

Wilkes added two more scores in the fourth, both on big plays. The first was a 51 yard rush by Triplett, who maneuvered around a few defenders to find the end zone. The second touchdown, a 63 yard rush by Chris Watt, was slightly less crafty.

With longs runs being made by multiple players, runners often had to shed some defenders. Even though the backs have different styles, Funderburk said they all impressed.

Week One Game Highlights

WILKES CENTRAL 48, SURRY CENTRAL 7

Wilkes Central rushes to impressive home victory

16 MONDAY MORNING QUARTERBACK WWW.YADKINVALLEYSPORTS.COM WWW.YADKINVALLEYSPORTS.COM AUGUST 22, 2011 17

Conference Reports Northwest 1A/2A

Bishop McGuinness faced plenty of question marks about who would run the ball following the graduation of backs like Nick Sgroi, Marty DeFrancesco and Jared Pluciniczak. Patrick O’Shea, who was solid for the JV team a few years ago, answered the bell in Saturday’s win at High Point Christian.

O’Shey rushed for 190 yards and scored a couple of touchdowns in the Villains’ 40-12 triumph. He averaged nearly 10 yards per carry. He returned a punt 60 yards and also tallied a two-point conversion in what amounted to a career day.

Defensively, O’Shea was in on six tackles and knocked down a pass.

Alex Ratcliff (North Surry): Rushed for 101 yards on nine carries in the Greyhounds’ 33-9 win at Forbush. The new North Surry signal caller had TD runs of 55 and 14 yards in the second half to salt the game away. He also completed nine of 14 passes for 202 yards.

Jason King (North Surry): Led the Greyhounds’ rushing attack, earning 144 yards -- including 129 in the second half. King had a 70-yard touchdown run that helped break things open.

Austin Taylor (Mount Airy): The

junior quarterback had a hand in all three of the Granite Bears’ touchdowns against Starmount. He scrambled 16 yards for one score, then threw to Tanner Joyce and Garrett Vanhoy for the other

two. Joktan Moore (Mount Airy): Led

the Bears with 11 tackles in Friday’s game against Starmount, though it felt like he was around the ball just about every play.

Jason Lippard (North Stokes): Kudos to the Vikings’ new coach, who directed North Stokes to a win in his debut with the school. Lippard’s new spread offensive approach yielded 44 points, enough to double up on Alleghany’s final totals.

Darryl Little (West Stokes): Seemed to live in the Albemarle backfield on Friday night, wrangling six ball-carriers to the turf for lost yardage. Little had a sack and nine tackles total.

Brock Reynolds (West Stokes): Blocked a field goal and recovered a fumble in what amounted to a defensive struggle with Albemarle.

Austin Fleming (West Stokes): After fumbling on the first play of the game at Albemarle, Fleming made amends. One of his biggest accomplishments was leading the Wildcats on a 97-yard march to tie the game right before halftime. In all, Fleming finished with 102 passing yards -- including a 16-yarder to Austin Long for a TD.

Northwest 1A/2A StandingsTEAM CONF. TOTAL THIS FRIDAY

Bishop McGuinness 0-0 1-0 @ Highland TechMount Airy 0-0 1-0 ThomasvilleNorth Stokes 0-0 1-0 Patrick Co. (Va.)North Surry 0-0 1-0 @ ElkinWest Stokes 0-0 1-0 @ ForbushEast Surry 0-0 0-1 @ StarmountSouth Stokes 0-0 0-1 North WilkesSurry Central 0-0 0-1 East Wilkes

Top Players & Performances

Photo courtesy Mike O’SheaPatrick O’Shea runs during a Bishop scrimmage.

Photo by Eric LuskAndrew Bowman and the North Stokes Vikings gave their new coach a win in his debut.

18 MONDAY MORNING QUARTERBACK WWW.YADKINVALLEYSPORTS.COM WWW.YADKINVALLEYSPORTS.COM AUGUST 22, 2011 19

Conference Reports Northwest 1A/2A

Bishop McGuinness

1-0 Overall * 0-0 in NorthwestAug. 20 at High Point Christian W (40-12)Aug. 26 at Highland TechSept. 2 OpenSept. 9 South DavidsonSept. 16 at North Surry*Sept. 23 South Stokes*Sept. 30 at East Surry*Oct. 7 Surry Central*Oct. 14 at Mount Airy*Oct. 21 at West Stokes*Oct. 28 North Stokes** denotes Northwest 1A/2A Conference game

East SurryCardinals

0-1 Overall * 0-0 in NorthwestAug. 19 at West Iredell L (0-33)Aug. 26 at StarmountSept. 2 West MontgomerySept. 9 Newton-ConoverSept. 16 Surry Central*Sept. 23 at West Stokes*Sept. 30 Bishop McGuinness*Oct. 7 South Stokes*Oct. 14 at North Stokes*Oct. 21 at North Surry*Oct. 28 Mount Airy** denotes Northwest 1A/2A Conference game

Mount AiryGranite Bears

0-1 Overall * 0-0 in NorthwestAug. 19 Starmount L (19-20)Aug. 26 ThomasvilleSept. 2 at Carroll County (Va.)Sept. 9 at Central DavidsonSept. 16 West Stokes*Sept. 23 at Surry Central*Sept. 30 North Stokes*Oct. 7 at North Surry*Oct. 14 Bishop McGuinness*Oct. 21 at South Stokes*Oct. 28 at East Surry** denotes Northwest 1A/2A Conference game

North StokesVikings

1-0 Overall * 0-0 in NorthwestAug. 19 Alleghany W (44-22)Aug. 26 Patrick County (Va.)Sept. 2 at North IredellSept. 9 at RosewoodSept. 16 South Stokes*Sept. 23 North Surry*Sept. 30 at Mount Airy*Oct. 7 at West Stokes*Oct. 14 East Surry*Oct. 21 Surry Central*Oct. 28 at Bishop McGuinness** denotes Northwest 1A/2A Conference game

North SurryGreyhounds

1-0 Overall * 0-0 in NorthwestAug. 19 at Forbush W (33-9)Aug. 26 at ElkinSept. 2 Ashe CountySept. 9 OpenSept. 16 Bishop McGuinness*Sept. 23 at North Stokes*Sept. 30 at South Stokes*Oct. 7 Mount Airy*Oct. 14 at Surry Central*Oct. 21 East Surry*Oct. 28 West Stokes** denotes Northwest 1A/2A Conference game

South StokesSauras

0-1 Overall * 0-0 in NorthwestAug. 19 West Wilkes L (12-14)Aug. 26 North WilkesSept. 2 OpenSept. 9 at AlleghanySept. 16 at North Stokes*Sept. 23 at Bishop McGuinness*Sept. 30 North Surry*Oct. 7 at East Surry*Oct. 14 West Stokes*Oct. 21 Mount Airy*Oct. 28 at Surry Central** denotes Northwest 1A/2A Conference game

Surry CentralGolden Eagles

0-1 Overall * 0-0 in NorthwestAug. 19 at Wilkes Central L (7-48)Aug. 26 East WilkesSept. 2 South DavidsonSept. 9 OpenSept. 16 at East Surry*Sept. 23 Mount Airy*Sept. 30 at West Stokes*Oct. 7 at Bishop McGuinness*Oct. 14 North Surry*Oct. 21 at North Stokes*Oct. 28 South Stokes** denotes Northwest 1A/2A Conference game

West StokesWildcats

1-0 Overall * 0-0 in NorthwestAug. 19 at Albemarle W (9-7)Aug. 26 ForbushSept. 2 Central DavidsonSept. 9 at McMichaelSept. 16 at Mount Airy*Sept. 23 East Surry*Sept. 30 Surry Central*Oct. 7 North Stokes*Oct. 14 at South Stokes*Oct. 21 Bishop McGuinness*Oct. 28 at North Surry** denotes Northwest 1A/2A Conference game

Full Schedules & Results

Where to buy your copy of Foothills FootballEAST BEND* Wilco Hess Store #136 at 6721 NC Hwy 67

ELKIN* Diana’s Bookstore in downtown Elkin* Wilco Hess Store # 122 at 626 CC Camp Road* Wilco Hess Store # 121 at 1200 North Bridge Street* The Elkin High School Athletic Foundation is selling maga-zines at Friday’s game in the pep booth

JONESVILLE* Wilco Hess Stores #131 (411 S. Bridge St.)* Wilco Hess Store #133 (1648 N.C. Hwy 67)* D-Rex Pharmacy (450 Winston Road)

KERNERSVILLE* Bishop McGuinness Catholic High athletic boosters* Wilco Hess Store #127 at 1485 Hwy 66

KING* King Town Barber Shop (613 East King St.)* West Stokes High School football boosters

MOUNT AIRY* Wilco Hess Store #143 (840 W. Pine St.).* Wilco Hess Store #141 (1012 Rockford St.)

PILOT MOUNTAIN* Wilco Hess Store #138 (818 South Key St.)

DOBSON* Wilco Hess Store #146 (912 E. Atkins St.)

NORTH WILKESBORO* Wilco Hess Store #231 (701 2nd Street)* Wilco Hess Store #233 (1602 2nd Street)

WILKESBORO* Wilco Hess Store #251 (1844 Highway 421-B)* Wilkes Central High School football boosters have magazines

WEST JEFFERSON* Wilco Hess Store #241 (326 E. Second St.)

ORDER ONLINEJust pay with your PayPal account, clicking on the Buy Now button found HERE. The cost is $5, plus tax and shipping.

20 MONDAY MORNING QUARTERBACK WWW.YADKINVALLEYSPORTS.COM WWW.YADKINVALLEYSPORTS.COM AUGUST 22, 2011 21

Conference Reports Mountain Valley 1A/2A

Elkin’s Coley McCulloch might be the only player in the area who can say that he’s the leading scorer for two varsity teams after the first week of the fall season.

McCulloch, a senior, scored one of the Buckin’ Elks two soccer goals on Tuesday night against Mount Airy in the opener. He’s tied for the team scoring lead heading into this week with Cuauhtli Lozada.

McCulloch came out for football for the first time this summer and has made an immediate impact. He hit field goals from 32 and 29 yards against East Montgomery in Friday’s opener and also booted an extra point. Elkin lost 25-13 but McCulloch certainly was a bright spot. There were several fans who said they thought McCulloch’s third field goal attempt, which was ruled a miss from about 30 yards, looked good from their angle.

Here are other top performers from the Mountain Valley 1A/2A on Friday night:

Allen Mendenhall (Starmount): Fans at the game likely will remember the hard-hitting on both sides of the ball the most. But Mendenhall’s right leg provided some of the most important highlights. He hit two field goals, including the game-winner late in the third period to erased a brief Mount Airy lead.

Eugene Billips (Starmount): With the Rams offense mostly sputtering after the first quarter, field position played a huge role. Billips’ returned a Mount Airy kickoff

about 75 yards to set up Mendenhall’s second field goal.

Dustin Triplett (Wilkes Central): Rushed for 143 yards and three touchdowns in the Eagles’ dominating performance against Surry Central. Triplett also returned a punt for a score in the lopsided contest.

Chris Watt (Wilkes Central): Galloped for an additional 129 yards and one touchdown for the Eagles.

Seth Absher and Aaron Hudler (West Wilkes): Connected on a 40-yard pass play that resulted in what would be the game-clinching touchdown for the Blackhawks in a tight game with South Stokes.

L.J. Hendren (North Wilkes): Did damage on both ends of the ball in North Wilkes’ 55-35 win against Thomas Jefferson Academy. Hendren threw a touchdown pass in the first half and intercepted a pair of Jefferson passes to halt drives. North Wilkes had not won its opener in several years.

Garrett Miller (East Wilkes): Kept the Cardinals from getting shutout at home, finding the end zone twice in the second half against West Davidson (a 26-14 defeat).

Sam Gammons and Matthew Sexton (Ashe County): Connected three times for touchdowns -- Gammons to Sexton -- in Ashe’s comfortable win against West Caldwell.

Kolten Pilar (Ashe County): Picked off a pass, blocked a kick that set up a Huskies touchdown and ran the ball well against West Caldwell.

Alex Torres (Forbush): In what was a solid Friday for kickers in the MVAC, Torres put his stamp on the evening by booting a school record 47-yard field goal. Torres is just a freshman.

MVAC 1A/2A StandingsTEAM CONF. TOTAL THIS FRIDAY

Ashe County 0-0 1-0 Watauga North Wilkes 0-0 1-0 @ South StokesStarmount 0-0 1-0 East SurryWest Wilkes 0-0 1-0 Avery CountyWilkes Central 0-0 1-0 @ West IredellAlleghany 0-0 0-1 Grayson Co. (Va.)East Wilkes 0-0 0-1 @ Surry CentralElkin 0-0 0-1 North SurryForbush 0-0 0-1 West Stokes

Top Players & Performances

Mountain Valley1A/2A

QUARTET OF TDSFOR TRIPLETTNew Wilkes Central RB picks upwhere Trae Alexander left off in 2010 Starmount kicker boots two FGs, two PATs in win Ashe’s Sam Gammons-Matthew Sexton connect for 3 TDs Elkin’s Coley McCulloch leads soccer, football in scoring

Photo by Will Sparklin

Photo by Eric LuskAshe County quarterback Sam Gammons (front).

Photo by Eric LuskElkin kicker Coley McCulloch.

22 MONDAY MORNING QUARTERBACK WWW.YADKINVALLEYSPORTS.COM

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Basketball

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Conference Reports Mountain Valley 1A/2A

AlleghanyTrojans

0-1 Overall * 0-0 in MVACAug. 19 at North Stokes L (22-44)Aug. 26 Grayson CountySept. 2 North Wilkes*Sept. 9 South StokesSept. 16 at Wilkes Central*Sept. 23 Forbush*Sept. 30 at East Wilkes*Oct. 7 Ashe County*Oct. 14 at Elkin*Oct. 21 Starmount*Oct. 28 at West Wilkes** denotes Mountain Valley 1A/2A Conference game

Ashe CountyHuskies

1-0 Overall * 0-0 in MVACAug. 19 West Caldwell W (41-6)Aug. 26 WataugaSept. 2 at North Surry (E)Sept. 9 at Elkin*Sept. 16 Starmount*Sept. 23 at West Wilkes*Sept. 30 North WilkesOct. 7 at Alleghany*Oct. 14 Wilkes Central*Oct. 21 at Forbush*Oct. 28 East Wilkes** denotes Mountain Valley 1A/2A Conference game

East WilkesCardinals

0-1 Overall * 0-0 in MVACAug. 19 West Davidson L (14-26)Aug. 26 at Surry CentralSept. 2 Elkin*Sept. 9 at Starmount*Sept. 16 West Wilkes*Sept. 23 at North Wilkes*Sept. 30 Alleghany*Oct. 7 at Wilkes Central*Oct. 14 Forbush*Oct. 21 OpenOct. 28 at Ashe County** denotes Mountain Valley 1A/2A Conference game

ElkinBuckin’ Elks

0-0 Overall * 0-0 in MVACAug. 19 East Montgomery L (13-25)Aug. 26 North Surry Sept. 2 at East Wilkes* Sept. 9 Ashe County*Sept. 16 OpenSept. 23 at Starmount*Sept. 30 West Wilkes*Oct. 7 at North Wilkes*Oct. 14 Alleghany*Oct. 21 at Wilkes Central*Oct. 28 Forbush** denotes Mountain Valley 1A/2A Conference game

ForbushFalcons

0-1 Overall * 0-0 in MVACAug. 19 North Surry L (9-33)Aug. 26 at West StokesSept. 2 Starmount*Sept. 9 at West Wilkes*Sept. 16 North Wilkes*Sept. 23 at Alleghany*Sept. 30 Wilkes Central*Oct. 7 OpenOct. 14 at East Wilkes*Oct. 21 Ashe County*Oct. 28 at Elkin** denotes Mountain Valley 1A/2A Conference game

North WilkesVikings

1-0 Overall * 0-0 in MVACAug. 19 Thomas Jefferson W (55-35)Aug. 26 at South StokesSept. 2 at Alleghany*Sept. 9 Wilkes Central*Sept. 16 at Forbush*Sept. 23 East Wilkes*Sept. 30 at Ashe County*Oct. 7 Elkin*Oct. 14 Starmount*Oct. 21 at West Wilkes*Oct. 28 at McDowell* denotes Mountain Valley 1A/2A Conference game

StarmountRams

1-0 Overall * 0-0 in MVACAug. 19 at Mount Airy W (20-19)Aug. 26 East SurrySept. 2 at Forbush*Sept. 9 East Wilkes*Sept. 16 at Ashe County*Sept. 23 Elkin*Sept. 30 OpenOct. 7 West Wilkes*Oct. 14 at North Wilkes*Oct. 21 at Alleghany*Oct. 28 Wilkes Central** denotes Mountain Valley 1A/2A Conference game

West WilkesBlackhawks

1-0 Overall * 0-0 in MVACAug. 19 at South Stokes W (14-12)Aug. 26 Avery CountySept. 2 at Wilkes Central*Sept. 9 Forbush*Sept. 16 at East Wilkes*Sept. 23 Ashe County*Sept. 30 at Elkin*Oct. 7 at Starmount*Oct. 14 OpenOct. 21 North Wilkes*Oct. 28 Alleghany** denotes Mountain Valley 1A/2A Conference game

Wilkes CentralEagles

10-0 Overall * 0-0 in MVACAug. 19 Surry Central W (48-7)Aug. 26 at West IredellSept. 2 West Wilkes*Sept. 9 at North Wilkes*Sept. 16 Alleghany*Sept. 23 OpenSept. 30 at Forbush*Oct. 7 East Wilkes*Oct. 14 at Ashe County*Oct. 21 Elkin*Oct. 28 at Starmount** denotes Mountain Valley 1A/2A Conference game

Full Schedules & Results

24 MONDAY MORNING QUARTERBACK WWW.YADKINVALLEYSPORTS.COM

Fall Sports Athlete Profile WAY TO GO!Wilkes County All-Stars

Ranked #3 in the world! We are proud of you!

Welcome home!

Mount Airy HighCross Country • SophomoreYears I’ve been on my high school cross country team: 2My best time over 5K: 20:04Where I was born: Mount AiryBest sports movie of all time: Without LimitsBook I’m reading now: PreMy most visited internet bookmarks: FacebookMy top cross country accomplishments so far: 6th in the state / #1 freshman (1A)Why I love to run: It’s a good stress reliever, and I am good at it.What I remember most about my first cross country race: I sat down after the second mileOne thing about cross country I wish more people knew: It’s a challenge. You can’t just go out there and be #1. You have to work for what you wantOther high school sports I play: TrackFavorite subject in school and why: Art — because I like being creativeLeast favorite subject and why: Science — because I don’t understand itSomeone who inspires me and why they inspire me: Steve Prefontaine, because he worked hard and was really confident in himselfThree things I want to accomplish before leaving high school: Get accepted into a 4-year college, state ring, 4.0 GPAFavorite place to visit: Wilmington, NCFavorite sports teams: UNCFavorite athlete to watch in a sport other than cross country: Wesley Frazier: TrackFavorite meal: Grilled shrimpTalent I’d most like to have: SingingMy greatest love: JesusWhat I value most in others: Good personalityI’d love to trade places for a day with … Mary DeckerIn 10 years, I see myself … trying to start a family and finding a jobIn 25 years, I see myself … with a great careerMy motto: To give anything less than your best is to sacri-fice the gift

Getting To Know: Kirsten Parries

Back Page Worth 1,000 Words

Follow ThroughStarmount kicker Allen Mendenhall and holder Eugene Billips watch what would be the game-winning field goal sail over the uprights in the 3rd quarter