Watauga’s junior varsity football team stayed unbeaten with a 29-23 victory over Alexander Central at Jack Groce Stadium Thursday.

The teams combined to roll up 702 yards in total offense. Watauga (7-0, 3-0 NWC) finished with 353 yards in total offense, including 207 on the ground. Alexander Central had 349 yards, 285 of them on the ground.

Watauga quarterback Aaron Dobbins completed 16-of-25 passes for 146 yards and a touchdown and an interception. The most spectacular pass Dobbins completed didn’t even count. It happened on fourth down from the Watauga 48-yard line when Dobbins was in punt formation.

The ball was snapped over his head, but he ran the ball down and fired a pass into a group of Watauga players. Anthony Deiters came down with the ball and eventually reached the end zone.

The play would not count since Watauga was called for a block in the back penalty, but the Pioneers managed to keep possession of the ball anyway. Facing a fourth-and-two, Dobbins ran the ball around the right side for a first-down.

The Pioneers knelt down on the next three plays to kill the clock and ice the game. Dobbins finished with 99 yards rushing, including a 1-yard touchdown run in the first quarter that put the Pioneers in front 14-7. The freshman quarterback finished with 155 yards in total offense.

Still, Watauga (7-0, 3-0 NWC) found itself down 23-21 at halftime. Alexander Central, trailing 21-14 after Michael Ebaugh recovered a fumble in the end zone for a touchdown, crept back into the game by forcing Dobbins to intentionally ground the ball in his own end zone.

That left the Cougars behind 21-16, but they would get a 5-yard Devante Clark touchdown run with 1:11 left in the first half to take a two-point lead into halftime. Clark finished with 144 yards rushing on 17 carries.

Watauga scored the final touchdown of the game when Nathan Ford capped a 52-yard, four-play drive with a 9-yard touchdown run. Dobbins found Michael Ebaugh for the ensuing two-point conversion to go in front 29-23.

Alexander Central quarterback Landon Hammer completed just one pass, but it was a 64-yard touchdown to Jeremy Brown with 23 seconds left in the first quarter that tied the game 14-14.

Justin Greer caught eight Dobbins passes for 76 yards, including a 23-yard touchdown pass that put the Pioneers in front 7-0 in the first quarter. Austin Northern caught four passes for 48 yards. Deiters rushed for 47 yards on five carries, while Zach Williams ran for 45 yards on 12 carries.

Kevin Alanis ran for 99 yards on just six carries, including a 69-yard run. Hammer added 72 yards rushing on 12 carries.

Watauga plays at South Caldwell next week.

 

Watauga 29, Alexander Central 23

Alexander Central       14 9 0 0 — 23

Watauga          14 7 8 0 — 29

Scoring summary

First quarter

AC—Clark 12 run (Alanis kick)

WHS—Greer 23 pass from Dobbins (Greer pass from Dobbins)

WHS—Dobbins 1 run (Run failed)

AC—Brown 64 pass from Hammer (Alanis kick)

Second quarter

WHS—Ebaugh 0 fumble recovery (Palm kick)

AC—Safety, Dobbins grounded ball in end zone

AC—Clark 5 run (Alanis kick)

Third quarter

WHS—Ford 9 run (Ebaugh pass from Dobbins)

 

            ACHS Watauga

First downs     11        21

Rushes-yards  35-285 38-207

Passing yards  64        146

Passes 1-2-0   16-25-1

Punts-avg.       2-21.0  0-0 0

Penalties-yards           8-65     4-30

Fumbles-lost   6-2       1-0

Individuals:

Rushing: AC—Clark 17-114, Alanis 6-99, Hammer 12-72; WHS—Dobbins 16-99, Deiters 5-47, Williams 12-45, Ford 2-11.

Passing: AC—Hammer 1-2-0 64; WHS—Dobbins 16-25-1 146.

Receiving: AC—Brown 1-64; WHS—Greer 8-76, Northern 4-48, Ebaugh 2-15, Deiters 1-17.