St. Stephens and Watauga sputtered in the first half, but a wild finish left the Indians 25-22 winners at home and waiting to see if they get a spot in the state high school football playoffs.
The Pioneers mounted a comeback in the final two minutes, but the Indians prevailed on Senior Night at St. Stephens.
The win gave St. Stephens (4-7, 2-4) fifth place in the Northwestern 3A-4A, and head coach Fred Whalen his team’s 10-game record will go in as 4-6, making the Indians playoff eligible.
This year, the North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) will seed on 10-game records and each school with an 11-game schedule must have previously designated an endowment game to drop.
Whalen said a game against Bandys (28-7) loss was an endowment game, as was a 56-36 win over North Buncombe. The Indians are dropping the Bandys loss, Whalen said.
“They definitely gave it heart,” said Whalen said of winning on Friday night. “This is their (the seniors’) night, and I’m tickled to death with the way they performed. …I’m proud.”
Watauga (6-5, 4-2), which tied Hickory for second in the league, jumped to an early start with a 56-yard run by Kyle Chambers. He then scored from the 1.
The Pioneers drove to the Indians’ 26 on their next possession but the drive was stopped when Preston Bumgarner picked off Ethan Greene’s pass.
The teams traded punts in the second quarter until St. Stephens mounted a late drive. The Indians started on their 14 and capped an 11-play drive with a 36-yard TD pass from Matt Williams to Ian Martin.
Watauga led 7-6 at the half.
On the opening drive of the second half, St. Stephens drove to get a 35-yard TD run by Jon Sweet.
Later, Williams led the Indians on a 13-play drive that ended when he hit Martin with a 17-yard scoring pass with eight minutes to play, putting St. Stephens up 18-7.
After not getting a first down in the third quarter, Watauga drove 64 yards to get a 47-yard TD pass from Greene to Cameron Baker, closing within 18-15.
After both teams threw interceptions, the game remained tight.
“When I threw that pick I was thinking, ‘Oh gosh, this is going to be on me if they win’ and then our defense pulled it out,” said Williams.
The Indians thought they sealed the win when Sweet punched it in from the 2 for a 25-15 lead with 1:58 to play.
Watauga pulled within 25-22 when Greene threw to Ethan Poulos for a 25-yard score.
The Pioneers recovered the onside kick and had possession at the St. Stephens 44. Greene then hit Poulous for a 12-yard gain to set up the game’s final play.
Watauga sent four wide receivers down field, but Greene was stripped of the ball by Dale Huffman and Austin Reeves recovered for the Indians.
“One of our mantras this year has been ‘Finish’ and we definitely finished the game tonight,” said Whalen.
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