Does a great job! Really impressive at Fuquay Varina.
#2 Watauga vs # 15 Mallard Creek
- Thread starter Vik-Val 86
- Start date
No 2nd round win. On the positive end, they had an average season. Congrats to Watauga.
I will say none of the computers like Massy Ratings and Calpreps were picking Watauga. They all had MC winning pretty big. That’s why it’s played on the field though
I believe folks down the mountain said the same thing in 07 and 08 when watauga beat team after team "they werent supposed to". I believe you too, mrhonda, was on that gravy train as well. Watauga shouldn't have beaten MC, but they did. They won't hang with Indy, but they will. Keep in mind that, while Wataugas schedule wasn't the toughest, they did beat the dirt out of about every team they played. They averaged what 48-52 points per game? Beat ACR on the road. Beat about three other teams who were in the second round. Watauga, being a one high school town, will never get any respect and that's fine. But they do give it 💯 and I'm ok with that.
Ha ha ha ha ha.
You guys gotta get out of Charlotte sometimes.
You don’t know what you don’t know.
Glad to see nepsy back, after he ran away and ghosted us mid season….well, not really
As noted in this forum no one gave Watauga a chance , I was only one that picked them so thats how and also THIS is a BIG win for this program - ik MC isnt the MC of ole but still one of the best teams in clt area n for a Mtn school can prove that MTN team can WIN is BIG for the mtn areas imo
Actually, this defeat of Creek requires much more study and commentary.
It wasn’t that long ago that the mountain 4A programs were deemed by many 4A posters as far behind the so called “Charlotte Power Programs”.
We were roundly ridiculed on this board for citing Watauga and AC Reynolds as worthy 4A non conference opponents for our 2A program.
Chambers and Butler were defeated last year by Reynolds (now 3A, wow) and Creek goes down Friday.
Charlotte “Power Programs” is a myth, perpetrated by the fawning media and press that must report on them.
Are the state’s 4A programs the strongest?
Of course they are. They are supposed to be.
Many are twice the size of nearby 3A programs.
3 to 4 times the size of 2A.
But there hasn’t been a 4A power program since Indy in the 2000s. History has clearly shown that to have been the result of a single, strong willed, excellent head coach in Knotts, not a consistently winning program.
Creek’s run 10 years ago was centered on one player and one coach. Absent at higher levels since then.
Clearly again, history shows that Charlotte Catholic and Weddington are the consistently performing programs.
Many of you 4A posters need to get past your big city bias. It’s great to pull for your team and program.
But the smaller town teams have proven competitive, and your ridicule of them shows your ignorance and insecurity.
Pretty I'm the only Watauga alum on this board. I've been here since 2001, obviously I've had a profile name change, but I gave them a chance. Under habich, watauga has a chance against anyone left in the playoffs because of the perfect effort of their execution. Now, are there more athletic, physical, larger teams left, absolutely. Do they execute as well as Watauga, no chance.
Pride. I am going to disagree with one point. A one high school town is a huge advantage. If the head coach is truly promoting the school, the team and the town, they are involved in the middle school and youth teams and programming future players for their turn on the varsity team. Think Crest. Think Shelby. Byrnes in South Carolina. Many others. Catholic has that advantage in the city of Charlotte where a middle school feeding the high school has 6th, 7th and 8th grade teams that grow up playing the varsity's system for 3 years before they ever get to that level. In Charlotte, a typical middle school may send kids to multiple high schools. A smart coach with that one school town setup has a huge, and almost unfair advantage. Watauga has that.
I'll agree with you on that. Since the middle school program changed, and they're running the system correlated with the high school, watauga has gotten a lot better. I believe that's why the execution of the offense is so good.
That’s what crazy in a way. There is no middle school in Watauga County. So to be able to get all the schools to come together is a great coaching too. Getting the kids to know each other and realize they are a team before they get to high school is important.
Touche. I did see that Watauga County uses a K-8 format to feed into the high schools. Two avenues, however. I lived in the upstate of South Carolina for 30+ years. High School coaches, notably Byrnes, were out in full force on Saturdays with the youth leagues scouting talent and recruiting for their summer camps held at the school. They knew every 8, 9, 10 year old with athletic talent. They also had a middle school literally across the street. I also found one other detail. Watauga's JV's went undefeated this year. Many high school programs spend a lot time simply showing freshman and sophomores where to line up much less execute plays. Something positive is going on at that level.
I remember that 06/07 2nd round game up in Boone like it was yesterday. Page went on the road and was a big underdog against a Watauga team that had the best player on the field in Eric Breitenstein. At the time, Page was coming off two of their worst seasons in school history, and had just hired Coach Gillespie, he was in his first year at Page, the start of the rebuild. Page LB Nick Johnson knocked Breitenstein out of the game with a concussion, and went up 14-12 pretty late in the game. Thinking we were going to get out with a win in one of the coldest games I had ever attended, temps around 5 degrees (wind chill in the negatives), Watauga Tight End ended up snaring a one handed catch to keep a drive alive late to set up the game winning field goal. 15-14.
I know 100% Watagua playing @ Home with the best player on both teams with Page starting a rebuild, Page was not "supposed" to win. We were playing with house money and came up short.
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Let me let you in on a secret. I moved to North Carolina (Charlotte) in 2008. Before then I lived in Richmond, Virginia (born and raised), Louisville, Kentucky (went to school), then Hagerstown, Maryland (45,000 and Washington county (155,000) for 25 years. My daughter went to North Hagerstown High School, which was a 2A school before moving up. I followed them, South Hagerstown, Middletown and Walkersville High Schools during football season. North hardly every made the playoffs, so I followed the other schools come playoff time. One other school I followed in the playoffs was Fort Hill High School in Cumberland, Maryland, a 1A school, but a very good 1A program.
Many a time the teams I followed did well when they remained in their local area or close to it. When they played teams, even in the same classification, from closer to Baltimore or D.C., they struggled.
Due to location, they didn't have the same level of competition. Accept for Fort Hill (which is still a very good program at the 1A level), those teams from western Maryland usually struggled with teams closer to the city.
I've followed high school ball here in North Carolina, since I moved here in 2008. So, I have experience in following football from smaller, western Maryland teams from the mountains.
I was born and raised in Richmond, Va. The same held true there. Historically, mountain teams didn't fair too well for the most part when they played teams from the Richmond area or in the playoffs against teams from northern Virginia, they struggled.
If Watauga beat up on 4A teams, it was before I moved here. They've been competitive and relatively strong against other mountain teams but from the time I've followed them, like their counterparts in other states, they struggled when they played teams out of the mountains.
Why did Watauga receive a #2 seed? Due to RPI. I expect them to struggle against Independence, but they could surprise and pull of another upset. They appear to be this year's Reynolds. LIke Reynolds of last year, they've had the advantage of having a few playoff games at home.
So besides Watauga, what do we have left in the West? We have the likes of Weddington, Charlotte Catholic, Hough, Grimsley, Mount Tabor, Butler and Independence. The road gets significantly tougher. I don't think I'd be alone, if I had to rank those teams, I'd have to rank Watauga eighth.
In my opinion the Mallard Creek team isn't like the MC teams of a few years past. Personally and frankly, I think the era of the super powerhouse Charlotte teams is over. This happened when they lost the coaches they lost, Knotts at Independence, Palmieri at MC and Brand at Chambers. The advantage of the Charlotte area is numbers to pull from. The disadvantage of the Charlotte area, as far as coaches go, is the lure of the big bucks from South Carolina.
Watauga is not a weak program, but it isn't normally a top rated program either. They are somewhere in the middle. I'm sure they're a significant program in the mountains, like the teams I mentioned earlier from Maryland.
So, no, because of the reasons I mentioned earlier, I don't have a "big city" bias. I've just followed high school football for enough years in enough states to see trends. And the trend I've noticed is that usually, not always but usually when mountains face schools closer to suburban and urban areas, they usually don't fare as well as in the mountains.
Just my opionion
But you seem angry abd heartbroken about the Watauga game. Why, may I ask?
I'm getting Mountain Vibes of AC Reynolds beating Butler last year with this Independence game coming up...seems very similar.
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That AC Reynolds team was a scrappy bunch, probably a the best defense Butler played last year. Butler struggled to block them up front.
1.) Mountain team vs City Team(Another Charlotte city team)
2.) Mountain team host
3.) Great Mountain Coach like Shane Laws…
4.) City team always favorite/point spread
Just like Butler and Mallard Creek trips to the mountains the past two years….they lost as favorites. I’m not saying Watuaga wins but it feels as though they just might.
2.) Mountain team host
3.) Great Mountain Coach like Shane Laws…
4.) City team always favorite/point spread
Just like Butler and Mallard Creek trips to the mountains the past two years….they lost as favorites. I’m not saying Watuaga wins but it feels as though they just might.
The big difference with AC Reynolds of last year, and Watauga of this year is defense. Reynolds played fast and disciplined on defense. When I look at Watauga I see over 260+ points allowed. Yes I know they held MC to 14 pts, but MC’s offense has proven to be anemic multiple times this year. I think this one turns into a shootout with Indy coming out on top by a touchdown or 2.
Anybody "just might" in the playoffs. That's why they're played. The key question always is, what's the probability of a certain team beating another. That's the way I look at mountain teams and why I usually don't pick them against teams from Charlotte or Greensboro. Anyone can beat anyone on a given night. But, given the circumstances (how a team received a high RPI rating, who they're competition is, what conference do they play in, etc., we need to then ask, what's the probability of that team winning. Like in all statistical studies, you have abnormalities, outliers and rooms for error. This is why I didn't pick Watauga so far in the playoffs and I'm not picking them tonight over Independence. I have nothing against Wautaga. I actually have no dog in the fight. The question is, we can have one of those abnormalities or outlier results one week, but can it happen again. We'll see. It'll be interesting.
